Pursuit

Zhou Li's eyes widened in terror. Just as he tried to struggle, a searing pain shot through his neck. The next moment, everything before his eyes went black.

"Ah!"

Seeing Zhou Li collapse limply to the ground, Zhou Shi screamed in fright. But the instant the cry left his mouth, he discovered that a hand had already clamped over it, leaving him unable to make a sound.

"You were the one spying on me during the day, weren't you?"

Sun Shu looked down at Zhou Shi. One hand covered Zhou Shi's mouth, while the other gripped his neck and dragged him close.

Zhou Shi's eyes instantly filled with tears. His legs kicked desperately, but he could not break free at all. He could only watch as Sun Shu's face drew closer and closer.

"Every decision comes with a price. Do you understand? Heh heh heh!"

Sun Shu suddenly cackled for no apparent reason. The hand around Zhou Shi's neck began to tighten. Zhou Shi's eyeballs bulged uncontrollably, and in the next instant, bloody mist filled the entire dilapidated courtyard.

"The price... the Zhang Family..."

Sun Shu muttered to himself and released his hands. Zhou Shi's corpse dropped heavily onto the ground.

Outside the courtyard wall, a small figure was peering through a hole in the wall, witnessing everything that had just happened.

Zhao Qi covered his mouth tightly, refusing to let out a sound.

Every day, Zhao Qi peered through this hole at the neighboring courtyard. Sometimes, even when there was no one inside, he could still watch with great interest.

But today, Zhao Qi regretted it. He had witnessed a murder.

Zhao Qi's teeth chattered without stopping, yet he did not dare make the slightest sound. He knew that if he made any noise, that murderer would come over and kill him.

Zhao Qi stared at Sun Shu and watched him leave the courtyard.

Zhao Qi relaxed slightly and lowered the hand that had been desperately covering his mouth. Just as he breathed a little easier and looked up at the hole again, an eyeball was staring straight back at him.

"Ah!"

Zhao Qi screamed in terror and desperately scrambled backward.

"So, there was still a little rat hiding here..."

North City Medical Hall.

Inside the Pill Chamber, Chen Fei's hand seals shifted continuously, and a medicinal fragrance wafted out from the pill furnace.

Bang!

With a muffled boom, the entire pill furnace jolted. The medicinal fragrance instantly turned into a burnt stench.

Chen Fei frowned slightly, opened the furnace lid, and looked at the charred medicinal dregs inside. He could not help shaking his head helplessly.

"I wonder which medicinal ingredient is missing. I've been stuck here all this time."

Chen Fei scratched his head, cleaned out the pill furnace, and recalled every detail of the pill-refining process just now. Suddenly, a commotion rose from outside.

Chen Fei stood and walked out, only to see a menial worker speaking excitedly about something.

"Manager Chen."

Liu Jun was also nearby. When he saw Chen Fei, he hurried forward to greet him.

"What happened?"

"There's been an incident at this worker's home. It seems someone in his family was murdered. He's begging us to see whether the Medical Hall can advance him some wages first."

Chen Fei glanced at the worker. His face was sallow, and he was clearly malnourished. He had likely been recruited from among the refugees.

"Give him the money. I'll cover it myself."

Chen Fei took out several taels of silver, then turned and left. This was probably all Chen Fei could do in such a matter. If he gave too much, the worker likely would not even be able to keep it.

After Chen Fei had walked a few steps, the worker's tearful words of gratitude came from behind him. Chen Fei waved a hand and returned to the Pill Chamber.

Setting the matter aside, Chen Fei continued studying the Light Spirit Pill.

An hour later, Chen Fei rubbed his head with a slight headache. He had made very little progress. But that was normal. After all, reverse-engineering medicinal ingredients from a finished pill was itself an extremely difficult task.

Still, Chen Fei found it rather enjoyable. Moreover, the overall progress was acceptable now. If he kept grinding away at it, Chen Fei was confident that he could restore the pill formula for the Light Spirit Pill.

Chen Fei picked up the longsword beside him and began practicing sword forms within the Pill Chamber.

Chen Fei's life was like this now. Apart from his unwavering daily cultivation of Internal Energy, he spent his remaining time either on swordsmanship or pill refinement.

This method of squeezing himself dry with almost no rest did not wear Chen Fei down. Instead, he remained full of vigor every day.

Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, another ten days went by.

During those ten days, Pingyin County had not been peaceful. Beyond Pingyin County, the winds and clouds had long been churning.

The imperial army sent to suppress the rebels had actually been defeated. It was now contracting its defensive lines and retreating step by step.

Naturally, the rebels' momentum surged. They pressed the imperial forces step by step, gradually gnawing away at them. Not only that, rebel forces had appeared in several other counties and towns as well. With attacks from within and without, the rebels' numbers grew ever larger.

Within Pingyin County, another direct descendant of the Zhang Family had died. Yet the Zhang Family's grasp of Sun Shu's whereabouts became increasingly precise. On one occasion, they had even exchanged blows, but Sun Shu had ultimately escaped again.

Chen Fei himself had already fused his swordsmanship into the fourth set.

Technique: Fire Pattern Sword (Mastery 7124/10000)

Compared to the Green Mountain Sword from before, the Fire Pattern Sword's power had now increased by at least seventy percent.

Just like Jian Liang back then, Chen Fei could now contend with him using his current swordsmanship. If the Fire Pattern Sword reached the realm of Great Perfection, Chen Fei might not be able to kill Jian Liang, but he would be more than capable of defeating him.

With a single sword technique, he could fight Cross-Rank. From that alone, one could see how outstanding this sword technique was. Compared with the inheritances of the great families in Pingyin County, Chen Fei's swordsmanship was no inferior.

Inside the Medical Hall's main hall.

Chen Fei was chatting with a physician, discussing the properties of various medicinal ingredients. The Light Spirit Pill had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and discussing medicinal properties with physicians could sometimes give Chen Fei new ideas.

Just as they were chatting happily, Zhang Yuezhen appeared in the Medical Hall.

"All guards, come with me. Chen Fei, you too!"

Zhang Yuezhen shouted. Spotting Chen Fei in the main hall, she considered it for a moment and called him along as well. He was at least in the Skin Tempering Realm. Compared with those physicians who were powerless as chickens, Chen Fei could count as some assistance.

More importantly, Zhang Yuezhen wanted to keep knocking Chen Fei into shape.

Chen Fei's expression shifted slightly. After thinking for a moment, he followed behind them.

Before long, all the Medical Hall's guards had gathered. Zhang Yuezhen swept her right hand forward. Without explaining a word, she charged ahead.

The others had no idea what was happening, but they all followed behind her.

Chen Fei ran near the middle-rear of the group. In no time, they left Pingyin County and arrived in a mountain forest. A figure stood there, pacing back and forth anxiously. Upon seeing Zhang Yuezhen, he hurried over to meet her.

"Sun Shu is still over there?" Zhang Yuezhen asked tensely.

"He is, and he's definitely injured. But we need to finish this quickly. If others get wind of this, they'll probably arrive soon as well." Zhang Qiang weighed the money pouch Zhang Yuezhen handed him and smiled.

"It's just one Sun Shu. I'll remember this favor!"

"I'll go back and wait for your good news!" Zhang Qiang said with cupped hands.

Zhang Yuezhen laughed loudly and hurried onward past Zhang Qiang. The guards behind her finally understood. So they had found Sun Shu. Zhang Yuezhen was trying to seize the initiative and remove the Zhang Family's recent thorn in the flesh.