Killing Intent

2024-07-31

Killing Intent

Houli Street, San Hutong, Song Residence.

The thick layer of fallen leaves that had once piled up in the courtyard had already been swept clean.

Stone slabs lay neatly paved across the ground, while two old locust trees stood at opposite sides. Though left untended for many years, they had grown quite well.

Beyond that, after a round of repairs, the courtyard walls, doors, pillars, shaded corridor, and all the cracked wooden fixtures had been completely renewed.

The old, dilapidated feeling had faded considerably as well.

Though the renovation had cost more money, Song Changming was quite satisfied overall.

For roughly a hundred taels of silver, he had acquired such a large residence. It was well worth it.

That day, Song Changming placed a huge water vat beneath one of the locust trees in the courtyard. He filled it with water, then deliberately mixed in some river water dredged from the city river, turning the water in the vat murky.

"What's this for?" Father Song asked in confusion as he looked at the enormous vat, which was nearly large enough for children to swim in.

"I'm planning to try raising water silkworms." After checking the water quality and deciding it was about right, Song Changming smiled.

He also told his father about the Azure Water Silkworm Rearing Method he had obtained some time ago.

Father Song listened with great interest.

"This is somewhat like raising bugs for fun in the village when I was young. Back then, the bugs I raised were big and fierce. Whenever the other children in the village held bug fights, none of them could beat your father's."

Father Song recounted the amusing story of how he had earned the title of king of the children in his youth.

"Then when I'm not around, Father, please help look after them." Seeing his father's interest, Song Changming made the suggestion.

Father Song gladly agreed and asked for the rearing method, intending to study it carefully.

Now that he no longer had to worry about money or food, finding something to pass the time in his old age was not a bad idea.

That night, Song Changming did not slack off. He practiced his saber alone in the courtyard, striving to make further progress as soon as possible.

His saber skill at the Minor Accomplishment stage was indeed quite outstanding among the patrol guards, but compared with the several Patrol Captains, it held no advantage whatsoever.

Even Lu Gang and the other deputies generally possessed saber skills at the Minor Accomplishment stage.

Therefore, if he wanted to stand out, improving his saber skill was something he had to do.

[Soul Severing Saber: Minor Accomplishment (222/2000)]

"After body tempering, the time I can spend practicing the saber each day has been reduced. My efficiency has inevitably slowed."

Song Changming looked at the saber skill experience bar, which had only just passed one-tenth, but he was not anxious. As long as it continued to grow steadily and he improved every day, that was enough.

It was already extremely difficult to further improve saber skill at the Minor Accomplishment stage. There was no use rushing.

At his current rate of saber practice, by this time next year, he would have accumulated enough saber skill experience to break through another major bottleneck.

For other Martial Artists, that was already an astonishing rate of progress.

In comparison, his body-tempering progress was truly slow.

[Great Strength Bull Demon Art: Strength of One Bull (6/200)]

Even after practicing for three or four nights in a row, it might not increase by a single point. Though the two hundred body-tempering experience points did not seem like much, he estimated it would take two or three years of repeated hard training before he could succeed and break through.

The reason it was so slow was, on one hand, because body tempering was inherently like this.

Breaking past one's limits and remaking one's body, he was trying to evolve from an ordinary mortal body into a superhuman one. It was not an easy task when he thought about it.

On the other hand, the resources he could currently provide for his body tempering were insufficient, which greatly affected its efficiency.

For now, he could only hope that the next Annual Reward would still include martial arts experience, which would speed up his body-tempering progress.

Early the next morning, Song Changming went to work at the Patrol Guard Headquarters as usual. Now that he lived on Houli Street, his home was not far from the Patrol Guard Headquarters. At last, he no longer had to rise before dawn and return after dark just to spend more than an hour traveling back and forth, saving him quite a bit of time.

Sometimes, when he got up especially early, he could even practice his saber for a while before leaving.

"Something big has happened!" The moment Song Changming entered the Patrol Guard Headquarters that day, he saw Lu Gang's grim expression.

"What happened?" Song Changming asked. His gaze swept around, and he found that the other patrol guards also looked unusual.

"Sun Wenyen is dead!" Lu Gang said quietly, getting straight to the point.

Song Changming was shocked. One of the Patrol Captains, Sun Wenyen, had suddenly died. That was indeed a major incident for the Patrol Guard Headquarters.

"How did he die?" Song Changming was puzzled. He had seen the man full of life just yesterday. How had he suddenly died today?

"The body was found in an alley outside Spring Breeze Garden last night. Apparently, after drinking with the courtesans, he came out and was hacked to death. As for exactly what happened, we'll have to wait for further investigation," Lu Gang said, shaking his head.

Although Sun Wenyen did not get along with their Captain Liang, he was still a Patrol Captain of the Patrol Guard Headquarters.

For him to be murdered so inexplicably, the nature of the incident was far too vile.

If the culprit dared to kill a Patrol Captain tonight, then killing ordinary patrol guards like them in the future would be even less worth mentioning.

That was enough to fill them all with shock and anger.

"This will probably reach the higher-ups. We'll have plenty to do next," Lu Gang said based on past experience.

And that was indeed the case.

Before long, word came down that the Director of the Houli Street Patrol Guard Headquarters was furious. The patrol guards were dispatched in force, swearing to capture the vicious criminal.

For a time, the entire Houli Street district was on edge.

Spring Breeze Garden, in particular, became the target of a thorough investigation.

With a saber hanging at his waist, Song Changming stood behind Liang Chuanshan and looked at the rows of lovely women standing before them.

This was his first time entering such a pleasure house. He had never expected to come in this way.

"Master Liang, whatever the matter is, you can investigate it slowly. Why be in such a hurry?" The old madam of the establishment pinched a handkerchief between her fingers and called out to Liang Chuanshan in a shrill, winding voice.

From her tone, she not only knew Liang Chuanshan, but was also very familiar with him.

Liang Chuanshan coughed lightly, then put on a stern expression again. "We're here on official business today, Mama Liu. Be serious."

By the end, he had leaned close to the old madam's ear and whispered a few words.

The old madam's expression changed drastically. Only then did she put away her manner of soliciting customers and call over all the staff in the building to cooperate.

"Master Liang, Captain Sun's death truly has nothing to do with us girls. Spring Breeze Garden has been in business for so many years. Don't you know our background?" The old madam spoke in a flustered panic, her voice sounding almost tearful.

"You only need to tell us everything you know. As for those uninvolved, I naturally will not wrong them," Liang Chuanshan said sternly.

"Yes, yes." The old madam immediately agreed.

If an ordinary person had died, her years of experience would not have been enough to make her lose her composure.

But this time, the dead man was a Patrol Captain of the Patrol Guard Headquarters. The nature of the matter was completely different.

And Spring Breeze Garden had been implicated as well, leaving her no choice but to worry.

If she was careless, having Spring Breeze Garden shut down would be the least of it. If she were arrested and thrown into prison, that would truly be the end.

With her old arms and legs, she feared she would not last more than a few days in jail.