Ripples

Red Leaf Town.

Watching Meng Hongsheng's figure disappear into the distance.

Liu Yuanshan retracted his gaze and looked at Tian Song's corpse on the ground, a cold sneer appearing on his face.

"Someone come and burn this place. Burn it clean."

"Yes, Second Gang Leader."

Not long after, the small courtyard erupted in fierce flames.

Liu Yuanshan's figure had already turned and left.

He walked into a dark alley several hundred meters outside the courtyard.

As he approached, two Tooth Gang members quickly emerged from the alley, dragging a figure with them.

The figure was petite, with long hair messily scattered. It was Xie Chunniang, though she looked quite disheveled at the moment.

Seeing the flames rising from the small courtyard not far away, her eyes were slightly unfocused.

"Tian Song is dead. Now take me to the hiding place you know."

Liu Yuanshan said to Xie Chunniang in a calm tone.

"Okay... okay..."

Hearing Liu Yuanshan's words, Xie Chunniang's consciousness returned, and she nodded repeatedly.

At this moment, she was filled with fear of Liu Yuanshan. In her eyes, he was no different from a devil. She no longer had the courage to resist.

After all, she had watched Zhou Tong being slowly dismembered by him right in front of her, bit by bit, until he was fed to the dogs.

This was what finally made her completely surrender and reveal Tian Song's hiding spot and all the intelligence she knew.

Xie Chunniang stood up from the ground and quickly walked in the opposite direction of the small courtyard.

She stopped in front of a dilapidated small earth temple.

"It's here... I saw Tian Song come to this small temple at night."

"Oh?"

Liu Yuanshan's gaze fell upon the ruined temple, less than half a person's height, in front of him. He swept out a leg, directly collapsing the broken structure.

Two trusted subordinates from the Tooth Gang quickly stepped forward and searched through the ruins. Before long, they found a package within the damaged idol.

He took the package and opened it. Inside, besides a few luminous pearls the size of quail eggs, was a blue-covered booklet at the very bottom. Seeing the monkey illustration on it, an unconcealable look of joy appeared on Liu Yuanshan's face.

"Haha... The Ape Fetus Technique is indeed here."

He tightly gripped the package and let out a loud laugh.

After witnessing Tian Song's formidable strength, he had long yearned for this martial arts technique.

After all, this was a top-tier technique even among second-rate martial arts, exactly what he was lacking. Although he possessed another second-rate martial art besides the White Ape Leg Technique, it was an incomplete version that could only be cultivated to the late stage of Muscle Forging, and it was obtained from Meng Hongsheng.

It would not be easy to obtain a cultivation method to enter the Blood Circulation realm in the future.

He might be controlled by the powers behind the Tooth Gang for his entire life. With this Ape Fetus Technique, he would undoubtedly have an easier time and wouldn't have so many scruples. Once his cultivation reached a certain level, he could leave the Tooth Gang without any issues.

Especially since he had already cultivated the White Ape Leg Technique to great mastery, and it also had "ape" in its name, the Ape Fetus Technique was undoubtedly more suitable for him, and he expected the cultivation difficulty to be lower.

Thinking of this, his mood improved greatly.

After putting away the package, his gaze fell back on Xie Chunniang on the ground.

Noticing Liu Yuanshan's gaze, Xie Chunniang seemed to realize something and quickly spoke.

"Gang Leader Liu, I've already brought you what you wanted. Your brother wasn't killed by us. Let me go... let me go..."

"Let you go..."

Liu Yuanshan raised an eyebrow and sneered.

"Who ever let my brother go."

As he spoke, he slowly walked towards her. Her value had been exhausted, and he naturally had no intention of keeping her alive. After all, Meng Hongsheng absolutely could not know about what happened here.

"Your brother's matter really has nothing to do with us. We only intended to kidnap your brother at the time. We had no reason to kill your brother... The killer... the killer is someone else. I can help you find the killer!!"

At this moment, Xie Chunniang's eyes were filled with fear, and she pleaded continuously.

"Hmm!?"

Hearing this, Liu Yuanshan's steps halted. His eyes narrowed as he stared intently at her.

These two Tooth Gang members kept saying that his brother wasn't killed by them, but by someone else.

Although he didn't quite believe it, it wasn't entirely impossible. After all, he hadn't found the White Ape Leg Technique that was passed to Liu Ergou on them. Moreover, compared to killing Liu Ergou, kidnapping him would have been more valuable.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Seeing Liu Yuanshan stop, Xie Chunniang seemed to have grasped a lifeline and quickly continued.

"I applied Fish Fat Grass liquid to your brother. That killer must have also been contaminated with it and will definitely leave traces. As long as that killer is still in Lin'an County City, I can definitely find them!!"

"Since that's the case, I'll give you a chance. If you can find the killer within half a month, you live. If you can't, then…"

Liu Yuanshan didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Soon, the figures of the few people disappeared into the night.

Three days later.

Yangping Town, the medical clinic.

"I never thought I, Zhang Ding, would see this day. Although I'd anticipated it, I didn't expect it to come so quickly…"

In a private room, Zhang Ding looked out the window with a somewhat dazed expression.

"Don't think too much about it. At least your life was saved, and there's still a chance for recovery…"

Lin Sheng stood beside him, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Ding's injured leg. He placed the food and drinks he brought on a side table and spoke words of comfort.

"I know the extent of my injuries. Recovery is probably out of the question."

Zhang Ding shook his head slightly, but then he let out a hearty laugh, seeming to have come to terms with it.

"This is for the best. I've retired from the Beast Hunter Hall this time, and I still get a monthly stipend. A life without fighting and killing is certainly better than yours, young man. And thankfully, my 'vital parts' are fine, so I can still 'show my prowess' in the future…"

Seeing that Zhang Ding was starting to ramble, Lin Sheng quickly reached into his embrace and pulled out a small box.

"Brother Zhang, this is your Blood Nourishing Pill. You guys put in a lot of effort this time, so the higher-ups gave you an extra Blood Nourishing Pill. The rest of the reward money will be yours after Captain Wang recovers from his injuries."

Taking the small box, Zhang Ding's face showed a look of emotion.

"This trip wasn't in vain. My remaining life will be quite leisurely…"

Lin Sheng stood by, quietly observing Zhang Ding. Since he joined the Beast Hunter Hall, Zhang Ding had treated him quite well.

That's why he had come to check on him. Due to the severity of his injuries, although Zhang Ding's leg was barely saved, he was now a cripple and clearly could no longer serve in the Beast Hunter Hall.

Physical defects also affected martial arts cultivation. With this injury, Zhang Ding likely had no chance of breaking through to the Muscle Forging realm.

Life was just that cruel, and the Martial Way even more so.