Hearing footsteps behind him, Li Kui turned around and saw someone holding a broadsword, covered head to toe in blood. It was too dark to make out the man's face clearly.
Only when the distance closed did he realize that the man was Yang Heng!
"You..."
Li Kui was so frightened that he instantly fell silent, his soul nearly flying from his body as he stood there dumbstruck.
Yang Heng had appeared here drenched in blood. Without question, Li Kui's two brothers had already met their deaths.
At that moment, Li Kui felt as though all the blood in his body had frozen solid.
Li Kui forced out a smile, wanting to beg for mercy, but Yang Heng had no interest in wasting words on him and directly slit his throat with one stroke.
Blood gushed forth like a spring, and his head separated from his body.
The towering jet of blood sent Li Kui's head flying into the air. It flipped over several times before landing in the distance.
His lower body, having lost its support, crumpled limply to the ground.
"Whew."
With Li Kui dead, Yang Heng was finally completely at ease. He took deep breaths of the fresh air.
After resting for a moment, Yang Heng began searching Li Kui's corpse.
Before long, he found a book. Examining it beneath the moonlight, it appeared to be a fist manual.
There were also two Old Ginseng roots and some Copper Coins.
The Old Ginseng roots were much larger than the one he had obtained before.
He stuffed everything into his clothes and headed toward the site of the fight. Two more bodies were waiting for him to search there.
The two men were finely dressed, but they carried nothing truly valuable, only some silver—roughly fifteen taels in total.
Yang Heng began cleaning up the scene. He moved the two men's corpses and Li Kui's corpse to a secluded spot, then covered them with fallen leaves so they would not draw attention.
Besides, the area was barren and rarely visited. It was possible that no one would come by even in half a year.
With the bodies hidden here, they would be difficult to discover.
And even if someone did discover them, who would know that he had done it?
He was merely an ordinary apprentice at a pharmacy.
As for the bloodstains on the ground, Yang Heng did not deal with them, nor was there any good way to do so.
The night was deep and pitch-black. Cleaning them up would take time and effort for little gain.
Summer winds were strong. After blowing through a few times, the bloodstains would naturally be covered by dust and fallen leaves. There was no need for him to worry.
His body was currently covered in wounds, and his clothes and trousers were stained with blood. Returning to the pharmacy like this would certainly arouse suspicion and create several more layers of risk out of thin air.
Yang Heng decided to spend the night in the wilderness, rinse himself off, and wash his clothes clean.
The wind was strong at night, and it was summer. By dawn the next morning, his clothes would naturally be dry.
If the pharmacy asked why he had not returned until the next day, he could simply make up some excuse to brush them off.
Rumors were now circulating through the pharmacy that Shopkeeper Chen favored him, and Shopkeeper Chen had not stepped forward to deny them. He believed no one would interrogate him over such a trivial matter.
Xiahe Village was built along the river, situated downstream. The weather was dry and the current was weak, but it was still enough for a bath.
Holding two broadswords, Yang Heng headed in the direction of Xiahe Village.
The next day, Yang Heng hid the fist manual, the Old Ginseng, and the broadswords in a concealed place. Carrying only several dozen Copper Coins, he returned to the pharmacy.
Upon returning, Yang Heng handed the receipt to the master at the counter and briefly explained why he had not come back the night before.
The counter master nodded after hearing this and did not dig to the root of the matter or press the issue.
As long as he delivered the medicine and finished his work, they would not care about anything else.
Yang Heng wolfed down a few bites of food, then went out to deliver medicine again.
As for his injuries, Yang Heng had originally wanted to visit a medical clinic.
But news of Li Kui's death could not be concealed for more than a few days. Once the pharmacy investigated and learned that he was injured, and that neither he nor Li Kui had returned to the pharmacy that night, it would be easy to connect him to Li Kui's murder. That would be troublesome.
Therefore, Yang Heng decided not to visit a clinic for treatment. They were only superficial wounds, and they would heal after a few days of rest.
Moreover, while the Marrow Cleansing Pearl drew energy from food, it was also helping him digest the remaining energy.
Gradually, his injuries began to improve.
Thus, Yang Heng stopped worrying about his injuries and devoted himself to delivering medicine with peace of mind.
The pharmacy had yet to discover that something had happened to Li Kui. Seeing that he had not returned yesterday, they assumed he had gone drinking with friends. Such things had happened before, so the pharmacy paid it no mind.
Li Kui had a close relationship with Master Zhang. Even if he did not work for a day or two, the pharmacy would not blame him.
After delivering the medicine, Yang Heng lightly moved his body around before returning to the pharmacy. He did not go to the place where he had hidden his things.
Li Kui was dead. Although the outside world did not yet know, Yang Heng decided to act cautiously in order to avoid risks.
He had flipped through the fist manual that morning and learned that it was a Martial Arts Manual called Vajra Fist. It was even an Intermediate Martial Art that could be cultivated to the Iron Bone Realm. Yang Heng immediately beamed with joy, the corners of his lips rising as he danced with excitement.
His wish of many days had finally come true, and Yang Heng was beside himself with delight.
With a Martial Arts Manual, it was as though he possessed the key to push open the gates of martial arts. At last, he could charge toward becoming a martial artist.
As long as he became a martial artist, he would gain the strength to protect himself in these chaotic times, greatly increasing his ability to weather danger.
Upon seeing the fist manual, Yang Heng finally understood why those two martial artists had been willing to let Li Kui command them and come hunt him down.
The first realm of martial arts was called the Body Tempering Realm.
The Body Tempering Realm was divided into four minor realms: Blood Strengthening, Force Refinement, Iron Bone, and Organ Refinement.
Body Tempering Realm martial arts were divided into three grades: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Beginner Martial Arts could at most be cultivated to Force Refinement.
Intermediate Martial Arts could be cultivated to Iron Bone.
Advanced Martial Arts could be cultivated to Organ Refinement, and they recorded the secrets to breaking through the Body Tempering Realm. Their value was beyond measure, and they were the closely guarded secrets never passed to outsiders by a Lineage, a gang, or a faction.
Outsiders could never learn of them.
Most martial arts manuals on the market were low-grade ones. Intermediate Martial Arts were hard to come by, while Advanced Martial Arts were even rarer—one might not appear even once in ten years.
Vajra Fist was an Intermediate Martial Art that could be cultivated to the Iron Bone Realm. Its value was impossible to measure.
From what had happened outside the tavern, it was clear that the two men knew Li Kui well. There was a strong chance they were from Qingyang Town, usually studying martial arts elsewhere, and had happened to run into Li Kui upon returning this time.
People of the same level often gathered together.
Li Kui was merely an apprentice at a pharmacy. Either he came from an ordinary household, or his family had fallen into decline.
From this, it was clear that neither of the two men came from a distinguished family. The manuals they cultivated were most likely low-grade martial arts.
In order to obtain this Intermediate Martial Art and reach a higher realm, they had obeyed Li Kui's orders and pursued Yang Heng.
Unfortunately, the two had underestimated his strength and were ultimately killed in return.
Having figured this out, Yang Heng no longer worried that anyone would come seeking revenge.
His grudge with Li Kui had been completely settled, and he had avenged the original owner of this body.
Next, Yang Heng decided to focus wholeheartedly on cultivating Vajra Fist, becoming a martial artist as soon as possible. While gaining the ability to protect himself, he would also properly enjoy this world.
Three days later, Li Kui still had not returned to the pharmacy.
Now the pharmacy could be certain that something had happened to Li Kui.
As an apprentice at the pharmacy, Li Kui represented the pharmacy's face when outside. If something happened to him and the pharmacy ignored it, not only would it lose the hearts of its own people, outsiders would also think the pharmacy was strong on the outside but weak within, something that could be bullied at will.
Li Kui's death was a small matter; the pharmacy's reputation was the greater matter.
The pharmacy had two martial artists. Shopkeeper Chen was responsible for the pharmacy's daily management. The other martial artist was responsible for transporting medicinal ingredients to the main branch in Qinghe City and managed a transport convoy.
Of the two, Shopkeeper Chen held the higher status.
To show the importance he attached to the matter, Shopkeeper Chen personally took action.
Besides asking several other forces in Qingyang Town that had martial artists stationed there for information, he also seized several street thugs and questioned them.
After making inquiries, all he learned was that Li Kui had followed two men westward. As for what they had gone to do, no one knew.
Before long, the identities of the two men were also clarified. They were Li Kui's childhood friends, studying martial arts at the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School in Qinghe City.
Another three days passed, yet they still failed to find Li Kui's murderer or the location where he had been killed.
They had made such a grand display, only to end up with no valuable information at all. Would that not make them a laughingstock to outsiders?
Thus, Shopkeeper Chen seized several street thugs guilty of countless evils and publicly subjected them to the harshest punishment.
The explanation given to the public was that these men had been tempted by wealth and murdered Li Kui.
As for what everyone truly thought, he did not care.
By doing this, he was telling outsiders and warning those who harbored ill intentions toward the pharmacy that the pharmacy's backside was not to be touched. Whoever dared become an enemy of the pharmacy would have only one road: death.
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