Exterminate Them All? Hoodlums Die Violently

Exterminate Them All? Hoodlums Die Violently

Exterminate Them All? Hoodlums Die Violently

"Top-quality Blood Qi Powder, just two mace of silver for a small packet. Take a look over here, sir."

"Stops bleeding and grows flesh, relaxes the sinews and unblocks the channels, promotes blood circulation..."

"Of course, if you're not satisfied, we also have Qi and Blood Pills. Don't be fooled by the reversed name—these are lower-grade Human-tier pills. Their effects are worlds apart..."

At Guo's Pharmacy, an apprentice led Lin Mo around the shop, rattling off the goods as if they were family treasures, smooth and practiced.

Ever since Lin Mo had entered in his coarse hemp clothes, no one had looked down on him. Instead, they eagerly addressed him as sir.

That form of address put Lin Mo in a much better mood. He was in no hurry and listened carefully to the introductions.

Blood Qi Powder?

He could use it, but powdered medicine was mostly ungraded, and its effects were only so-so. Lin Mo preferred pills, which had stronger medicinal effects.

If he could sense his qi and blood within a short time and pass the assessment, he might not earn the martial guild's special regard, but at the very least, senior disciples like Xu Changfeng would look after him somewhat.

"How much are the Qi and Blood Pills?"

"Three pills per bottle, three taels of silver. You may open it and have a look, sir."

The pharmacy apprentice took a bottle from the shelf and carefully poured its contents into his palm. The thumb-sized pills were blood-red throughout, gleaming with a faint luster.

Since obtaining that silver last night, Lin Mo was no longer the laborer who had to weigh every bite of food. Before coming to buy medicine, he had taken out enough silver specifically to purchase quality medicine here.

"Then I'll take one bottle."

"Certainly, sir. This way, please..."

After noon, many youths were once again training on the yellow-earth grounds.

At a glance, nearly all came from poor families. Their entire households depended on them sensing qi and blood, becoming martial guild disciples, and earning enough silver for a better life.

As the saying went, poverty bred scholars, wealth bred warriors. It was not without reason.

Without medicinal supplements, blindly training hard on nothing but hot-blooded determination usually led nowhere. In the end, they damaged their foundations and ruined their own futures.

After taking a Qi and Blood Pill alone, Lin Mo hurried to the grounds before its effects could erupt within him. He chose two Plum Blossom Stances and began practicing.

He gathered his breath and sprang up. His movements were far nimbler now. Once he had steadied his footing, he began methodically practicing the White Ape Stance Training atop them.

He reached out and traced circles, swung his fists in strikes, shifted his steps, and moved about. Amid a crackling series of pops, his bones and muscles gradually stretched open.

After completing the first three forms, only the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, yet Lin Mo could already feel hot sweat streaming down his back.

Before he could even feel tired, a surge of warmth shot from the soles of his feet through all four limbs and every bone in his body. His whole body warmed, and the sensation was indescribably pleasant.

"The first three stance forms are basically done. I only need familiarity now. While the Qi and Blood Pill is still working, I might as well try the final two forms and completely master the White Ape Stance Training..."

Lin Mo's memory was fairly good. Though the stance training was rather complicated, it only had five forms, and he remembered the final two clearly enough.

Following his memories, he slowly raised his hands, stepped forward, loosened his body, and twisted his waist. Yet whenever the movement was about to take shape, his waist would seize with a twisting pain for no reason at all.

Without the nourishing warmth of the Qi and Blood Pill, he would likely have been flat on the ground in less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn.

As Lin Mo practiced, he stole glances at the others. Some who had begun learning earlier were already attempting the fourth and fifth forms.

Every one of them gritted his teeth, faces flushed, occasionally sucking in sharp breaths.

"Who knows how these people keep going? But if they can do it, why can't I?!"

Lin Mo gritted his teeth and threw himself wholeheartedly into his own practice, working from the details and imitating them bit by bit.

Only when his sinews and bones ached unbearably did he let youths his own age help him onto the communal sleeping platform. Within a few breaths, he had already shut his eyes and fallen asleep.

At the third watch of the night, darkness lay thick as a mass of ink.

In the master bedroom of the Zhao residence, firelight cast two shadows against the window lattice.

"Zhao Wu is dead? How did he die? Where did he die?"

"His corpse floated down to the lower reaches of the Chang River. Fishermen dragged it ashore. There were strangulation marks on his neck, though no one knows whom he offended."

Master Zhao was both shocked and suspicious. He had been turning a jade thumb ring in his hand, and unconsciously tightened his grip. Testing the waters, he asked, "Then wouldn't those water-ghoul dens be in chaos?"

"The men beneath us handled it properly. More than half are still there."

"That's good. Then the people I kept under my command..."

"They've all been dealt with. Since we've done it, we may as well do it thoroughly. Even if that person knows about the water ghouls, what use is that? There's no evidence once the dead can't testify!"

The young man in parrot-green martial robes laughed. In a loud, affected voice, he offered reassurance. "Why be so nervous? The yamen and the martial guild both have my people."

Crack!

Power burst from Master Zhao's hand, shattering the jade thumb ring into several pieces. Yet he still forced a smile onto his face. "Young Master Zhou is right... Then I'll have to rely on you for what comes next..."

The first light of dawn emerged, and the sky paled white like a fish's belly.

Through the streets and alleys, people carried shoulder poles, set up stalls, bought and sold goods, and worked. It was as lively as ever.

"Take a look, come take a look! Finest rouge and scented powder~"

"Have a look, come have a look! Delicate scented sachets and pouches~"

"Take a look, come look... De... dead body!"

The peddler had been shouting himself hoarse, his energetic cry echoing at the mouth of the alley. But as he shouted, his tune suddenly changed...

In no time at all, word of the deaths spread through every street and alley. Yet the people were not as panicked as before; many even wore smiles.

"Who died?"

"Not one person—more than a dozen vicious dogs!"

Someone had barely asked when a nearby vendor picked up the thread and joked, setting the crowd laughing and chattering.

"Tell me, why is the weather so nice today..."

"Exactly, exactly. Perfect for a stroll to clear one's head."

"What bad luck. Why has a pack of lackeys come?"

Two women were chatting on the street when they saw several constables in uniform pouring in from the roadside. They hurriedly shut their doors tight, afraid of catching bad luck.

There were seven or eight constables in all, their expressions perfectly normal. At the rear was a new face, his oversized uniform nearly swallowing half his body.

"Another new lackey. Why can't these vicious dogs ever die out?"

"People give birth to people, dogs give birth to dogs—without end..."

"Truly lowly trash..."

The small stall vendors by the street muttered their scorn, not bothering to hide the disgust on their faces. The new arrival could only grip his yamen saber tightly, his face reddening as he lowered his head.

The moment the group entered the courtyard where the deaths had occurred, cries of amazed clicking arose one after another from within the ranks. Clearly, they were all old hands accustomed to seeing corpses.

"Whoa, what a living King Yama. He really slaughtered more than a dozen people!"

As Constable Chief Wang Tianxiong led the group into the courtyard, a thick stench of blood rushed into his nostrils. He looked toward the main hall and secretly clicked his tongue.

Even though he had seen plenty of corpses, the sight of more than a dozen people piled like sacks still startled him. Bloody stains had smeared across much of the place.

"Search everywhere. Have a look around."

After giving the order, Wang Tianxiong kicked aside a corpse blocking the threshold and sat on a stool with the grand bearing of a general, taking a rest. Before long, a constable brought him a slip of paper.

"Chief, look at this. Seems like the murderer left it behind."

He glanced at the note. "Tsk, tsk. What a 'small punishment.' More than a dozen lives gone in one stroke—truly arrogant."

Though they said to search everywhere and look around, not one of them inspected the corpses. They all went into the rooms to scrape up whatever profit they could.

Before long, several constables emerged with black looks on their faces. "Pah! Damn it, living in such a fine courtyard, yet cleaner than a beggar's pocket!"

"Fine, then let's make this quick!"

Wang Tianxiong slapped the table and called out, "Yellow Dog, spread out the paper and ink. Draw the portrait while you listen to me."

"But we haven't investigated anything..."

"Investigate? Only fools investigate. The fewer troubles, the better. There are deep channels behind this!"

The newly arrived constable Huang Shanqing, nicknamed Yellow Dog, had inherited both his father's post and nickname. Fortunately, he possessed lifelike portrait-drawing skills, which was how he had secured an iron rice bowl in the yamen.

Huang Shanqing heard the order and could only sit down unwillingly, listening as the veteran constables talked over one another, embellishing the tale with oil and vinegar.

"If you ask me, this person ought to have been born fierce and powerfully built. How else could he have killed so many?"

"And he even left a note, hahaha. Well then, he must be one of Changhe County's rare heroes!"