Opening the Blind Box

Outside the courtyard wall.

Yang Jing looked at the situation inside the courtyard through a crack in the wall.

After the skinny monkey Zhang Kui came out of the main house, he picked up the short axe from the stone table and left the courtyard, heading south along the street.

"Huh? He's gone?"

Yang Jing was stunned and frowned, somewhat surprised.

He had been looking for an opportunity to strike, intending to kill the injured Xu Tai and Zhang Kui together while he was down. He hadn't expected Zhang Kui to leave.

However, it was fine if Zhang Kui left. It would allow him to concentrate on dealing with Xu Tai.

Zhang Kui was just an insignificant minor character. The person Yang Jing truly wanted to deal with was Xu Tai, the leader of the Great Fortune Gang.

Although Xu Tai was injured now, he was still a master at the peak of Bright Strength. To deal with him, Yang Jing had to be fully focused.

After Zhang Kui left, Yang Jing sensed that an opportunity had arrived, but he didn't act immediately.

The night was as thick as unmelting ink, not even a breeze stirred. The old locust tree in the courtyard stood still like a ghost.

After the skinny monkey Zhang Kui left, Yang Jing waited outside the wall for another half a stick of incense, confirming there was no further movement. Then, he lightly leaped, using the shadow of the wall to propel himself, and silently scaled the wall into the courtyard.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he crouched like a cat, his ears pressed against the cold brick wall, listening for movement in the courtyard.

There was only the occasional sound of sparks from the oil lamp in the main house and the sound of coughing. No other sounds could be heard.

He tiptoed, sticking close to the wall, and circled around to the window of the main house. He dipped his finger in some saliva and gently poked at a hole in the window paper, widening it slightly.

Peering inside through the dim yellow light, he saw Xu Tai leaning against a bedpost, eyes closed in meditation. A large dark red stain had seeped through the bandage on his chest, and his breathing was as heavy as a bellows.

Yang Jing's tense heart relaxed slightly.

It seemed Senior Brother Liu's information was correct. This old scoundrel Xu Tai was indeed seriously injured.

He took two steps back, listened intently to the sounds outside the courtyard, confirming no one was approaching. Then, he suddenly raised his foot and kicked the door of the house.

"Clang!"

The bolt of the wooden door snapped, and the door panel flew open, hitting the wall with a gust of wind.

"Who?!"

Xu Tai's eyes snapped open, a flicker of panic in them. But years of combat instinct made him instantly tense his body, instinctively wanting to hide under the bed.

At that moment, a cold glint flew from Yang Jing's hand. It was the short saber he carried, whistling through the air and stabbing directly at the bed board!

Xu Tai reacted quickly. Enduring the pain, he suddenly twisted to the side. The short saber grazed his waist, and with a "thud," it embedded itself deeply into the bed board, its hilt still vibrating.

But his evasive movement pulled at his wound. He was still half a beat slow. The area on his waist brushed by the saber's wind instantly tore open the bandage, and blood gushed out.

Xu Tai let out a muffled groan of pain, cold sweat instantly soaking his forehead. Just as he reached for the saber by his bedside, Yang Jing lunged forward like a tiger.

"Who are you?! Does the Righteousness Gang have a third Bright Strength expert?"

Xu Tai looked at Yang Jing, dressed in a night-blooming outfit and wearing a blue cloth mask, his face a mix of pale and green. He tried to guess Yang Jing's identity.

He struggled to get up, but as soon as he stood straight, he felt dizzy. He could only stagger back, his back hitting the wall heavily.

Yang Jing gave him no chance to breathe. He sank his waist and twisted his hips, unleashing the 'Stone Splitting' form of Mountain Collapse Fist directly at his chest.

Driven by Bright Strength, the fist wind carried a fierce force. Xu Tai hastily raised his arm to block.

With a muffled "bang," his arm went numb, as if he had struck a red-hot iron. He was thrown back against the wall again, a taste of sweetness and blood surging in his throat.

"Mountain Collapse Fist? You are... you are Yang--"

Xu Tai's expression changed instantly.

At this moment, he vaguely guessed the other party's identity.

But after guessing the other party's identity, he felt an unprecedented sense of absurdity and ridiculousness.

The Sun Clan Martial Arts School and the Great Fortune Gang were both in the West City district. Xu Tai, as the leader of the Great Fortune Gang, naturally knew a lot about the Sun Clan Martial Arts School, which was quite famous in West City. He even had some friends who were disciples of the Sun Clan Martial Arts School.

Therefore, Xu Tai had some understanding of the Mountain Collapse Fist taught by the Sun Clan Martial Arts School.

When Yang Jing used Mountain Collapse Fist, Xu Tai recognized it immediately.

He and the Bright Strength disciples of the Sun Clan Martial Arts School had almost no conflicts. If there were any conflicts, it would be with that Yang Jing.

But he hadn't had time to draw his hand to deal with Yang Jing yet. At least from his current perspective, it was only a matter of a dozen taels of silver. He had actually come to kill him for a dozen taels of silver?!

Looking at the black-clothed man who didn't say a word and whose eyes blazed with icy killing intent, Xu Tai couldn't suppress a surge of regret.

After his subordinates investigated Yang Jing, he thought Yang Jing was just a foolish kid who only knew how to practice martial arts diligently. Even if he broke through to Bright Strength, it wouldn't amount to much.

If he had known this guy was a ruthless person who was ruthless and merciless, he wouldn't have cared about sixteen taels of silver, or even a hundred taels. He would have smoothed things over with him immediately.

People like him, who fought their way up from the bottom, were most concerned with the enemy's personality. In other words, they bullied honest people and tried to avoid provoking dishonest people. If conflict was unavoidable, they had to resolve it quickly and kill with one blow.

But with Yang Jing, they had misjudged.

Yang Jing was not only not a dull and honest person, but he was also a ruthless and decisive person.

"Brother, don't do it, I have money, I'll give you money, gold, silver, precious medicine--"

Xu Tai was both shocked and terrified. In his prime, he naturally wouldn't fear Yang Jing, but now, severely injured, he couldn't even muster thirty percent of his strength.

He wanted to beg for mercy, to use money and valuables to impress Yang Jing.

But before he could finish speaking, Yang Jing's fist struck again. Yang Jing said nothing, only punching with even greater force and ferocity!

Yang Jing knew Xu Tai was at the peak of Bright Strength. Even with only two or three tenths of his strength remaining, he couldn't be careless.

Xu Tai's face contorted. He suddenly curled his legs and fiercely kicked towards Yang Jing's lower abdomen, trying to force him back.

Yang Jing didn't dodge. His left hand clamped down on Xu Tai's ankle like an iron pincer, while his right hand formed into a fist.

With a bang, his fist struck the outside of Xu Tai's knee.

A light crack sounded. Xu Tai screamed in pain, his knee twisted at a bizarre angle.

At that moment, he knew he was finished. Yet, he was still unwilling to give up. He grabbed Yang Jing's wrist with his other hand, trying to use the leverage to flip over.

Yang Jing's eyes turned cold. The tip of his fist changed direction, sliding down Xu Tai's arm and landing heavily on an old wound on his chest!

"Pfft—"

Xu Tai spat out a mouthful of blood, the bandages soaking through. He collapsed like a puddle of mud off the bed.

Seeing Yang Jing approach step by step, unconcealable fear flickered in his eyes. "You—you can't kill me. I know your martial arts school."

Yang Jing remained silent, only gathering his Bright Strength into his fist.

He recalled his Master, Sun Yong, and his Fourth Senior Brother, Liu Maolin, both speaking of 'strength penetrating muscle and bone'. With each punch, he precisely struck Xu Tai's wounds—the shoulder socket, the ribs, the abdomen.

His fists carried the power to shatter mountains and split rocks, yet he controlled the force, not allowing Xu Tai to die instantly, only layering the agony.

Xu Tai's resistance grew weaker, from flailing punches to merely guarding his head with his arms, until finally, he lacked the strength to even lift his arms, only managing ragged gasps.

The oil lamp's flame flickered violently in the wind from the punches, casting their shadows on the wall. One stood tall like a pine, the other hunched like a dog.

With his final punch, Yang Jing gathered all his Bright Strength and smashed it into Xu Tai's chest.

A dull thud echoed. Xu Tai's body twitched like a sack that had been heavily struck, then lay completely still. His eyes were wide open, still holding his last moments of shock and unwillingness.

Yang Jing stood in place, breathing heavily.

From the moment he kicked the door open to killing Xu Tai, it all happened in the flash of an eye, taking only a few breaths.

No matter how eloquently Xu Tai spoke, or what methods he used to try and impress Yang Jing, Yang Jing remained unmoved.

He hadn't spoken a single word from beginning to end, until Xu Tai was dead.

Although Xu Tai was already heavily injured, he was still an experienced Bright Strength expert. Yang Jing dared not be careless during the fight, maintaining full concentration, determined not to stop until Xu Tai was dead.

During the brief, desperate struggle of a few breaths, Yang Jing couldn't help but break out in a light sweat.

However, this wasn't the first time he had killed someone. Including Feng Lei and Scarface Li before, Xu Tai was the third person to die by his hand.

As he killed more people, Yang Jing's mindset slowly shifted, and the initial discomfort was gone.

Moreover, people like Xu Tai and Scarface Li deserved to die, even more than Feng Lei.

After all, the Great Fortune Gang had always engaged in heinous businesses. Loan sharking was among their better activities; businesses like kidnapping and selling children were enough to warrant ten deaths for these beasts.

Soon, Yang Jing took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, steadied himself, then bent down to search Xu Tai's body.

His fingers probed inside Xu Tai's clothes. To Yang Jing's surprise, he didn't find any silver, but instead touched a rough-bound booklet.

Yang Jing withdrew his hand and pulled out the booklet. Written in thick ink on the cover were three words—Surging Wave Leg.

"This is actually a martial art?"

Yang Jing was stunned, then a strong sense of pleasant surprise welled up in his heart.

He was no longer the greenhorn novice he was when he first transmigrated. As he continued to practice martial arts, his understanding of them grew.

Yang Jing knew very well that a martial art was extremely rare.

For instance, the Sun Clan Martial Arts School, the reason it had its current reputation and fame throughout Yuhe County, was thanks to Mountain Collapse Fist.

Of course, the complete Mountain Collapse Fist was only held by Sun Yong himself. Only Sun Yong had practiced it to the level of a Transforming Strength expert. It could be said that in Yuhe County, Sun Yong represented Mountain Collapse Fist.

Mentioning Mountain Collapse Fist brought to mind Sun Yong, and mentioning Sun Yong brought to mind Mountain Collapse Fist.

Yang Jing glanced briefly at the small booklet in his hand. The pages were yellowed, the corners worn, clearly showing its age. Although Yang Jing didn't know what level of martial art this Surging Wave Leg was, the fact that Xu Tai kept it close suggested it wasn't some cheap imitation.

In the heat of the moment after killing someone, Yang Jing hadn't had time to examine it. He folded the booklet twice and tucked it into his chest, hiding it close to his body.

He then quickly scanned the room, searching. On the table were only scattered medicinal herbs and an empty bowl. Under the bed were several empty wooden crates, and in the cabinet by the wall, only a few old clothes.

Yang Jing shook his head. It seemed there was nothing else of value in the room.

Without further delay, Yang Jing bent down, grabbed Xu Tai's corpse by the arm, and tossed it onto the bed.

The corpse was heavy, but Yang Jing was now an Entering Strength martial artist, his strength far exceeding that of ordinary people. Moving the body wasn't difficult for him.

Yang Jing then casually arranged Xu Tai's body, positioning it to look as if he had been trapped by fire and burned to death while heavily injured and unconscious.

After completing all this, he turned to the eight-immortal table, picked up the oil lamp, walked to the bedside, and brought the wick close to the bed curtain.

The dry fabric caught fire instantly. With a whoosh, the flames quickly surged, licking at the bed board and bedding.

Yang Jing immediately retreated, turned, and rushed out of the room.

He didn't dare to linger. He scaled the wall and disappeared into the darkness of the alley entrance.

Dozens of yards away, he looked back. The secluded courtyard had already erupted in a raging fire, illuminating half the night sky.

Quite a few figures were already gathering towards the flames, shouts and the clatter of buckets rising and falling in succession. Clearly, residents from the surrounding area were rushing to put out the fire.

Watching the raging inferno, Yang Jing knew in his heart that Xu Tai's corpse would soon be devoured by the flames, burned into unrecognizable charcoal.

The wounds on his fists, the shattered bones, the marks on his body, would all turn to nothing in the high heat. No one would be able to tell he died by the Mountain Collapse Fist.

Yang Jing no longer looked back, quickening his pace through the alleyways. The Surging Wave Leg in his embrace rose and fell gently with his steps.

The firelight behind him grew brighter and brighter, the clamor louder and louder, but none of it had anything to do with him anymore.

The karma between him and the Great Fortune Gang had come to an end with the death of their leader, Xu Tai.

Yang Jing, using the cover of night, circled back to the garbage heap in Fengle Ward.

Pushing aside the withered branches, fallen leaves, and other trash, the sack that Scarface Li had taken from the Great Fortune Gang headquarters was still there. The sounds of collision coming from inside made Yang Jing's anxious heart finally settle.

He immediately picked up the sack. It wasn't light, and Yang Jing couldn't help but feel a surge of intense anticipation for what was inside.

Next, Yang Jing found the sack and immediately hurried towards Datong Ward.

Along the way, he walked even more cautiously, sticking to the shadows of eaves and alley corners. When he encountered night watchmen or drunkards, he would shrink into a corner to hide.

Walking into the depths of a narrow alley, Yang Jing saw that there was no one around. He quickly hid in the shadows, took off his night-traveling clothes and mask, and stuffed them, along with the blood-stained short knife, into the sack.

After dealing with everything, he carried the sack and continued towards Datong Ward.

It was already close to the third watch. Datong Ward was deathly silent, almost everyone was asleep. Only a few courtyards still had lanterns lit, but it looked like they would be extinguished soon.

The firelight and commotion from Xinghua Ward were too far away. At this moment, Datong Ward was filled only with the silence of sleep.

Yang Jing arrived outside the courtyard he rented. He gently pushed open the slightly ajar courtyard gate, his footsteps extremely light.

The rooms of the other tenants in the courtyard were all dark. Yang Jing quickly returned to his own room and latched the bolt from the inside.

Only then did he let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the door and listening to his own somewhat rapid heartbeat.

"Tonight was a bit exciting."

Yang Jing let out a long breath, his gaze falling on the sack placed on the ground. His eyes shone brightly, a flicker of nervousness and anticipation flashing within them. "Whether I can break through to Hidden Strength soon depends on this blind box."