Awakening

"Why did you have to force me?"

"Heh, that's just how the world is." Sheng Hong shook his head smugly. "Everyone does it. Running into me just means you're unlucky."

"Did you really knock those two unconscious?" Chen Mu lowered his head and asked.

"Now you know fear?" Sheng Hong grinned mockingly. "If you know fear, then obediently..."

"Fear? No, I want to thank you."

"What..."

"Thank you for knocking those two unconscious!"

Whoosh!

Screech!

Blood sprayed as Sheng Hong's eyes went wide. Half an ear had vanished.

"You!" Sheng Hong stared at Chen Mu in shock. If he had not dodged quickly enough just now, his eye would have been blinded!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

A barrage of Flying Locust Stones flew straight at his face.

Sheng Hong's figure blurred, leaving streaks of afterimages where he stood.

"Scholar, you've hidden yourself well!" Sheng Hong snarled. "Too bad I've trained to dodge hidden weapons!"

He drove the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique to its limit. The Flying Locust Stones came fiercely, yet could not touch him at all!

Sheng Hong gave a savage grin. "Once you fall into my hands, we'll see how I entertain you!"

The words had barely left his mouth when—pfft!

A Flying Locust Stone grazed his right forearm, tearing away a chunk of flesh.

"How is that possible?!" Sheng Hong's heart clenched.

"I clearly dodged it?"

Pfft!

A Flying Locust Stone punched through beneath his left armpit, bursting a spray of blood.

Sheng Hong suddenly understood.

He could see the Flying Locust Stones, and he had made the motions to dodge, but his body was gradually failing to keep up with his mind's commands.

His gaze abruptly snapped toward the Square Table.

That food...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... Pfft, pfft, pfft...

A string of bloody bursts erupted across Sheng Hong's back.

The Flying Locust Stones still carried momentum, slamming into the earthen yellow courtyard wall with bang after bang, leaving dark red splatters behind.

Sheng Hong glared furiously at Chen Mu, then collapsed with a thud.

It took Chen Mu a long while to come back to himself. Staggering over, he sat before the Square Table.

When he turned and saw Sheng Hong's blood-covered face and wide-open eyes, his scalp went numb.

He'd killed someone...

After practicing martial arts for so long, he had already known that one day, he would have to kill.

He had rehearsed it in his mind more than once.

But when it truly happened, Chen Mu's mind went completely blank.

This was completely different from those minor scuffles before!

"I only wanted to practice in peace. Why did you have to force me..."

Only after a long while did Chen Mu manage to settle his panicked emotions.

"I need to deal with the scene quickly!"

He climbed over the wall and walked to the entrance of his home.

Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan were sprawled on the ground, snoring soundly.

Chen Mu approached and examined them carefully.

A faint medicinal scent drifted over.

"They weren't knocked out. They were drugged unconscious with incense." Chen Mu let out a breath of relief.

He dragged the two men to the doorway and propped them against the wall where they usually squatted and sat.

Chen Mu jumped back into the house, wrapped Sheng Hong's corpse in a straw mat, climbed out through the gate, and activated the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique, silently darting toward the north of the city.

There were several abandoned houses there, perfect for burying a corpse.

Half an hour later, Chen Mu returned home.

After cleaning the blood from the ground and walls and changing into a fresh set of clothes, Chen Mu went to the entrance.

Opening the door and seeing the two men still snoring away, he finally relaxed.

Chen Mu rubbed his face, then shook the two awake. "Gentlemen, it's getting late. Time to head back!"

Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan woke groggily. "How did we fall asleep?"

"Thank you for guarding the door. I just braised some pig trotters—take them to have with your drinks." Chen Mu smiled as he handed them an oil-paper package.

The rich scent of meat wafted out, and Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan's eyes immediately lit up. "Thank you, Young Master Chen!"

"Then we brothers will take our leave." Zheng Huan grinned as he accepted the braised pig trotters.

Chen Mu cupped his hands and saw them off.

Once the two disappeared from sight, Chen Mu's expression vanished at once. He quickly returned home and shut the door.

In the alley, Zheng Huan held the oil-paper package to his nose. "Smells amazing. That scholar's cooking is getting better and better. If he opened a deli, he'd definitely make a fortune."

"One of his paintings is enough to feed you for years. Why would he painstakingly open a deli?" Zhou Liang said enviously.

"Enough. Let's find a little tavern and hurry up and gnaw on these two pig trotters while they're hot," Zheng Huan urged.

"Sounds good. Eat and drink our fill, then get to bed early." Zhou Liang stretched lazily. "We played too late in Anle Ward last night. I could fall asleep sitting right in the street. No matter what, I've got to catch up on sleep today."

"Right, right. Let's eat quickly and go home to sleep." Zheng Huan yawned.

"At Yicui Tower last night..."

In the shadows of the alley, Chen Mu stood silently.

Listening to the pair's incoherent banter, he quietly put away the pebbles in his hand.

"These two probably didn't notice anything unusual."

"I can't stay in the city for now."

Even though Chen Mu knew that fleeing in a panic would look highly suspicious,

he still could not help wanting to get as far away from Qingshan County as possible.

If the city gates had not been closed and he could have left, he would have departed Qingshan County that very night.

Early the next morning.

Chen Mu waited for Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan to arrive.

Through their conversation, he confirmed that neither had noticed anything amiss.

Using a visit home to see relatives as an excuse, he sent the two away. Then he headed out carrying bundle after bundle, even packing the five hens he kept at home into bamboo baskets and carrying them on his back.

After leaving Qingshan County through the city gates, he hurried straight for Chen Family Village.

Year 639 of Daliang, January 27.

Chen Mu opened his eyes to the chirping of birds.

He pushed open the door, and the crisp air, carrying a slight chill, lifted his spirits.

The sky was cloudless, and verdant mountain peaks rose in the distance.

Dogs barked and roosters crowed, creating a peaceful rural scene.

The gloom that had weighed on him for days finally eased.

He had been in Chen Family Village for seven days. Today was the first day he had slept soundly.

At first, whenever he closed his eyes, Sheng Hong's blood-covered face would appear in his mind.

He would toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep. Even when he did fall asleep, nightmares often jolted him awake.

During the day, he was absent-minded while practicing and working, nearly failing to stop himself from crashing into a wall several times.

Only today had his emotions gradually calmed.

He had thought everything through, from beginning to end.

Sheng Hong had come to threaten him, saying Chen Mu could spend money to buy his life, but in truth, he had come to rob and murder him.

If Chen Mu had honestly handed over the money, Sheng Hong would absolutely have killed him to silence him.

Martial artists who cultivated Body Tempering Techniques and ordinary people were practically two different species.

They were stronger and faster. Crushing an ordinary person to death was no harder than swatting a fly.

That made it easier for them to treat human lives as worthless. Otherwise, there would never have been the Wang Family Massacre Case.

"Sheng Hong dared to kill without restraint for money."

"Why can't I kill him in return to protect myself?!"

"Should I have begged others to be merciful and spare my life?"

Thinking back on Sheng Hong's practiced movements and expression, it was clear that this was far from his first time robbing and murdering someone.

In that instant, Chen Mu understood.

"Sheng Hong was the vermin of this world. He deserved to die! By killing him, I protected myself and protected even more innocent people."

"I wasn't the one in the wrong. The fault lay with this world where the strong preyed upon the weak! With those wicked people harboring evil intentions!"

"When facing this world's malice, when facing the surging evil intent of others, what should I do? What can I do?

"Compromise and beg for mercy?"

"No, no, no. I must answer it with thunderous means!"

Chen Mu took a deep breath.

Next time...

Next time, he would be even more decisive!

Root out evil completely, and only then could it truly end!