Tracks

Ten days flashed by. During the day, Chen Fei avoided running into Zhang Yuezhen whenever possible. After refining five batches of Blood Qi Pills, he began cultivating the Shocking Suspension Force.

The Shocking Suspension Force had not been far from Great Perfection to begin with. Chen Fei had diligently ground out proficiency recently, and now it had finally reached Great Perfection.

Inside the Pill Chamber, Chen Fei slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Compared with the original Wind Suspension Breathing Method, the Shocking Suspension Force alone now grants seventeen points of cultivation progress each day—nearly twice as much."

Chen Fei murmured softly. And this was only after fusing the Shocking Character Art. What if it were the complete Thunderous Sword Force?

Chen Fei swallowed. He wondered whether those dozen or so counterfeit Thunderous Sword Force manuals could bring him a pleasant surprise. But he had no time to deal with those manuals now; after all, his sword art fusion was not yet complete.

"Whoosh..."

A clamor suddenly rose from outside the Medical Hall, mixed with a boiling roar of voices. Somewhat puzzled, Chen Fei walked out of the Pill Chamber and arrived outside the Medical Hall, where he saw refugees passing by the entrance.

Chen Fei's brows twitched. These refugees were allowed into the city?

Previously, the County yamen of Pingyin County had forbidden these refugees from entering the city, fearing they would disrupt the stability of the entire county. Only refugees who had been hired could pass through the city gates.

There were now many odd-job workers in the Medical Hall, recruited from among those refugees. Their wages were far lower than what Chen Fei had earned back then.

Yet even so, the refugees fought until their heads bled for such jobs. Only by entering the city could they possibly eat their fill. Otherwise, outside the city walls, they could truly die at any moment.

Chen Fei glanced at Liu Jun. Liu Jun immediately understood and hurried out to inquire about the news. Before long, Liu Jun returned.

"Something strange appeared outside the city two days ago. Dozens of refugees died overnight. With no other choice, the County yamen opened the gates and settled the refugees in the northern district."

At the mention of something strange, Liu Jun could not help shrinking his neck. If ordinary people encountered such things, there was only one word for it: death. Liu Jun was merely an ordinary person with no cultivation. How could he not be afraid upon hearing such news?

The County yamen had agreed to let the refugees enter not only because they feared too many deaths would trigger a riot among them. They were even more worried that the strange entity would continue killing, until the situation became impossible to contain.

People could grow stronger through cultivation, while strange entities could grow by devouring people.

Under normal circumstances, the treasures suppressing the city within the County yamen would make strange entities avoid this place. Their effect beyond the city walls was weaker, but it should still have counted as safe.

But clearly, that strange entity had crossed this boundary, leaving the County yamen officials unwilling to let things continue unchecked.

For the entire day, aside from cultivating Internal Energy, Chen Fei spent all his other time practicing sword techniques. Even at night, he did not stop.

The appearance of the strange entity gave Chen Fei another layer of urgency. It could not yet break into the city, but who could say what would happen later?

Pingyin County was noisier than usual that night. From time to time, Chen Fei could hear sounds drifting over from afar.

Early the next morning, when Chen Fei arrived at the Medical Hall, he saw everyone whispering among themselves. Clearly, something else had happened.

"Nineteen people died in the city last night?"

Chen Fei looked at Liu Jun in surprise. He had expected the night to be far from peaceful, but he had not expected so many to die.

"Some were refugees, and some were city residents. Seven people were killed in one wealthy household. Only after they voluntarily handed over silver were the others spared," Liu Jun said fearfully.

Chen Fei frowned deeply. The refugees should not have possessed such strength. Ordinary wealthy households hired guards. If refugees could defeat those guards, they could have entered the city to work long ago. They would never have been dragged into this situation until now.

"Could those mountain bandits have disguised themselves as refugees and come back?"

The figures of Jian Liang and his group surfaced in Chen Fei's mind. If that was truly the case, then Pingyin County really would be unable to remain peaceful from here on.

There were so many refugees that the County yamen had no way to distinguish mountain bandits from ordinary civilians.

That night, Chen Fei entered the Dark Market.

"Gathering herbs has been truly difficult lately," Chi Defeng complained as soon as he saw Chen Fei.

"Add fifty percent to the market price," Chen Fei said evenly.

"I like doing business with you—straightforward!" Chi Defeng changed faces as quickly as turning a page, and a smile instantly appeared on his face.

Chen Fei said nothing and lowered his head to inspect the herbs.

Gathering herbs had indeed become more difficult. The refugees had grown increasingly afraid to go to Pingyin Mountain, especially now that safer and better jobs were available in Pingyin City. There was simply no need to risk their lives.

After a moment, Chen Fei stood and pointed at several herbs, looking at Chi Defeng. Chi Defeng decisively took those herbs away and replaced them with new ones.

Chen Fei felt somewhat helpless. He did not know whether Chi Defeng had recently started competing with him, but every batch of herbs contained fakes. Not many, just a few stalks, as if Chi Defeng wanted Chen Fei to miss them once.

But Chen Fei had long cultivated the Revival Pill to Great Perfection. He knew every characteristic of these herbs like the palm of his hand; there was no possibility of misjudging them.

Seeing that Chi Defeng had no intention of explaining himself, Chen Fei could not help laughing soundlessly. Was this his final stubbornness?

After leaving the wooden hut, Chen Fei was just about to leave the Dark Market when he looked up and spotted someone ahead. His footsteps paused slightly, but he immediately continued forward as though nothing had happened.

"It's that group of mountain bandits!"

Stopping before a stall, Chen Fei pretended to browse the wares, while focusing his attention toward the right.

In the Dark Market, most people concealed their true appearances. That mountain bandit was naturally no exception; he had even used a Disguise Technique to conceal himself.

However, someone else had likely performed this Disguise Technique for the bandit. Chen Fei's Disguise Technique had long reached Great Perfection, so he easily saw through its flaws.

Most importantly, Chen Fei remembered this bandit vividly, because he was the one who had kicked and broken Pu Liao's leg after bringing him back.

At the time, Chen Fei had subconsciously looked at the bandit a few more times, and thus remembered him.

"So they really did come. There's an eighty or ninety percent chance that last night's events were their doing."

Chen Fei wandered aimlessly through the Dark Market for over half an hour. Only after the bandit left did Chen Fei trail far behind him.

Chen Fei's movement technique was now far superior to that of ordinary Bone Forging Realm cultivators. The bandit was at the same realm as Chen Fei and was quite cautious, but Chen Fei still discovered where he lived.

Not only did Chen Fei find his residence, but the man also removed his hood and conical hat midway through. Chen Fei clearly saw his current appearance.

"So this is the face he has been using in the city lately."

From afar, Chen Fei carefully memorized the man's appearance before vanishing from sight.

It was already deep into the night in Pingyin County, yet the County yamen was still handling the case. If what had happened last night continued occurring within the city, Pingyin County would inevitably undergo upheaval.

Standing at a distance, Chen Fei weighed the stone in his hand, then hurled it with all his strength toward the County yamen.

Chen Fei's figure flickered and disappeared from where he stood. He had done all he could; now it depended on how the County yamen responded.