Ambush Killing

Two days later, the night was black as ink, so thick it seemed impossible to dissolve.

Deep within Yazi Bay, a shabby little boat rocked gently. A few dim yellow lights leaked from its canopy.

Qian Biao sat cross-legged on the deck, an oily rag spread before him. On it lay several pieces of loose silver, a string of copper coins, and several rings and bracelets of varying quality.

His two lackeys, Ma Wu and Crippled Old Qi, squatted nearby, greed flickering in their eyes.

"Brother Biao, did we squeeze even the coffin boards out of the Wei Family?" Ma Wu rubbed his hands together, keeping his voice low.

Qian Biao picked up a piece of silver and weighed it in his hand, his lips pulling into a ferocious grin. "No matter how hard that old bastard's bones are, they can't be harder than the chisels in our hands. There are still a few more families. Tomorrow, we'll go light a lamp for them again and wake them up."

Crippled Old Qi took a swig of cheap liquor and said quietly, "Brother Biao, the wind's tight. Those mad dogs from the Tiger Gang have been biting hard at the docks these past two days. Even over by the canal entrance... I heard plenty of brothers are already packing up their valuables."

The flesh on Qian Biao's face twitched, his gaze sinister. "I saw it coming long ago! That's why we need to make one last haul, then... run!"

Ma Wu's eyes lit up. "Brother Biao is wise! Then... the water-lantern meat?"

"Sell it all!"

Qian Biao said decisively, "Who gives a damn whether it stinks? So long as it can be traded for copper coins! Especially that orphan and widow from the Chen Family. If that little Chen brat dares to keep making excuses, give them a warning first! If they still refuse to buy, don't blame me for forgetting all sentiment!"

He grabbed the four corners of the rag, haphazardly wrapped up the valuables inside, and stuffed them into his robe.

"Move! Head back! Before dawn tomorrow, we have to turn everything into hard currency!"

He rose to his feet, and the boat suddenly lurched.

The three extinguished the faint light in the canopy, jumped off the little boat, and then scattered in separate directions.

Qian Biao headed toward his "home."

Over the years, he had made enough enemies to have himself hanged ten times over, so he had always followed the cunning rabbit's rule of three burrows.

The night deepened, and all of Yazi Bay lay in dead silence.

Only his own footsteps echoed through the empty alleyways, sounding especially piercing.

Qian Biao unconsciously quickened his pace.

Just as he lowered his head and rushed into the depths of a narrow dark alley barely wide enough for one person, he suddenly heard a crunch behind him, like a shoe sole grinding dry branches to pieces.

Every hair on Qian Biao's body stood on end. He whipped around, but it was already too late.

A thick hemp rope soaked in tung oil had already coiled around his neck like a venomous snake.

"Ugh—!"

Qian Biao's eyes bulged. The instinct to survive drove him to claw frantically at the life-taking rope around his neck. His nails scraped harshly over the coarse hemp, leaving bloody White Marks behind.

A creaking, tightening sound came from the darkness. The rope bit deeply into flesh, and his throat bones groaned beneath the unbearable strain.

He struggled futilely, legs kicking wildly as he desperately threw his body backward, but the noose around his neck only tightened further.

Every futile breath brought nothing but burning suffocation. His lungs felt ready to burst.

In the shadows, a cold gleam shot from Chen Qing's eyes.

He had lain in wait for three days and had finally found his chance.

At that moment, he pulled the hemp rope tight with all his strength, his palms rubbed raw and red by the rope.

"Ah—!"

Qian Biao let out a strange cry as he was dragged stumbling backward, trying to use his body weight to resist.

Chen Qing spun sharply, slamming his back hard against the cold, solid brick wall.

Using the wall as a point of support, he kicked fiercely with both feet, and the strength of his waist and abdomen exploded in an instant.

The tangled figures of the two men were cast by moonlight upon the mottled wall, twisted and distorted like wild beasts locked in a fight to the death—one struggling desperately to survive, the other claiming a life amid the dead silence.

From extreme oxygen deprivation, Qian Biao's face changed from flushed red to bluish purple.

The bulging veins on his forehead and temples throbbed madly, as though countless earthworms were writhing beneath his skin in their death throes.

Chen Qing had made up his mind to kill. Veins stood out on his hands as he gripped the rope without letting go.

Several dozen breaths passed, yet to Qian Biao they felt as long as a century.

His struggles grew weaker and weaker. His wildly kicking feet gradually drooped, and the hands clawing at the rope fell limp as well.

But Chen Qing did not loosen his grip in the slightest. Instead, he pulled even harder.

His arms trembled violently from the sustained exertion, and his teeth nearly shattered from clenching them.

Crack! Crack!

The bone-chilling sound of breaking bones came from Qian Biao's neck.

Only then did Chen Qing's taut nerves abruptly loosen. As if all his strength had been drained away, he slowly released his hands, which had long since gone numb and stiff.

Thud!

Qian Biao's corpse crashed heavily onto the ground.

Chen Qing leaned against the wall, gulping down rough breaths. Sweat mixed with grime that had splashed onto him at some point and slid down from his forehead.

He wiped his face and looked down at his burning palms. The blood blisters there had long been rubbed open, leaving a mangled mess of flesh and blood.

"Hah—!"

Chen Qing exhaled, poured strength into his right foot, and stomped down viciously on the vital point of Qian Biao's twisted neck.

Crack!

The neck bone shattered at once, completely extinguishing the last trace of life.

More importantly, that stomp had also crushed the rope marks into a bloody pulp, making their original shape impossible to distinguish.

When finishing someone off, one had to be thorough.

Without pausing in the slightest, he exerted force beneath his feet like a cold crushing wheel, swiftly and heavily stomping several more times on Qian Biao's finger bones, sternum, and vital point between the legs.

Only after confirming that every trace had been erased or muddled did Chen Qing stop.

He quickly bent down and gathered up Qian Biao's valuables along with the hemp rope.

His movements were clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

After doing all this, his figure flashed away, and he quickly vanished into the depths of the alley, leaving only a heavy stench of blood spreading through the air.

Yazi Bay, a street.

Under the moonlight, Chen Qing looked at his trembling hands. The rough sensation of the hemp rope still lingered on them.

He had thought he would be afraid, that he would vomit, but there was only an icy calm in his heart.

With killing, there was only the first time and countless times after.

He had to adapt to the world as it was.

Chen Qing took out the bundle he had searched from Qian Biao's body. When he opened it, his eyes immediately lit up.

Inside were four or five taels of loose silver and a jade bracelet.

"Qian Biao only just died. These valuables can't be sold right now. I'll have to wait until the heat dies down. Then they can help support the household."

Chen Qing took a deep breath, his heart cold and sharp.

You were what you ate... eating bitterness would never make you superior; only eating people would.

The next morning, Lian Boat District, Yazi Bay.

"Have you heard? Master Qian got done in!"

"Wasn't he so arrogant when he collected Dragon King Incense last month?"

"Shh! The Golden River Gang is searching for the killer like mad. They say they'll tear the murderer into ten thousand pieces."

The neighbors of Yazi Bay were abuzz with discussion. When news of Qian Biao's death spread, no one knew how many people secretly clapped their hands in delight.

Zhou Academy, morning lesson.

The disciples formed a circle, their gazes focused on Zhou Liang at the center of the yard.

"Tongbei Fist is not flowery boxing and embroidered kicks."

Zhou Liang's voice was not loud. "It emphasizes 'extending far to strike from afar, cold snaps, crisp and swift.' Its purpose lies not in performance, but in killing!"

His eyes flashed like lightning as they swept over the disciples. "The foundation of martial arts lies in stance work, blood, and vitality. Sinews and bones are your weapons, Internal Force your blade. Today, we will not speak of flashy routines. We will speak only of how to take a life when facing an enemy!"

At those words, Chen Qing immediately held his breath.

He knew that his master was going to demonstrate real skill today.

"Sun Shun!" Zhou Liang barked.

"This disciple is here!" Sun Shun immediately stepped forward, his expression solemn as he assumed a guarded stance.

"Watch carefully!"

Before Zhou Liang had even finished speaking, his entire aura abruptly changed, like a ferocious ape poised to spring.

Zhou Liang's body did not move, yet his right arm suddenly snapped out as if boneless, so fast that it left only an afterimage. His five fingers were pressed together like a bird's beak. It was not a straight punch, but a strike that followed a tricky arc, pecking like lightning at the Yifeng Acupoint beneath Sun Shun's ear.

Smack! It was a crisp sound, not a heavy blow but a precise strike upon an acupoint.

Though Sun Shun had been prepared, his body still shuddered instinctively. His head flew uncontrollably to the side and back, leaving his guard wide open.

"This move is called Startling Thunder Shatters Window, also known as Acupoint Strike and Jaw Smash."

Zhou Liang withdrew his hand and said coldly, "A light blow to this acupoint causes dizziness; a heavy blow kills. The length of Tongbei lies in catching the enemy unprepared, attacking where they must defend. One strike breaks their balance and seizes their senses."

On the other side, Sun Shun had only just steadied himself when Zhou Liang's left hand silently darted out like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. His arm seemed to lengthen out of thin air, his five fingers forming a claw as they tore through the air with a shrill whistle and shot straight for Sun Shun's throat.

That claw strike was extraordinarily vicious. The penetrating force gathered at its fingertips seemed capable of piercing leather.

Chen Qing knew this move was called White Ape Severs Throat—a throat lock that shattered armor.

Sun Shun was greatly alarmed. In his haste, he crossed his arms in front of his throat to block.

Riiip!

Zhou Liang's claw did not collide head-on. Instead, it slid like a venomous snake along the inner side of Sun Shun's blocking forearm. His hooked fingertips precisely clasped toward the Tiantu Acupoint beneath Sun Shun's Adam's apple.

The claw wind was fierce. Goosebumps instantly rose across Sun Shun's neck, and he felt as if his throat bone had already been caught by a cold iron hook.

Zhou Liang's fingertips stopped firmly the instant they touched skin, but that bone-piercing killing intent made cold sweat instantly seep from Sun Shun's forehead.

"The throat is a land of death! Tongbei's cunning lies in avoiding the solid and striking the weak, slipping in through openings. With the force of fingers and claws, crushing throats and breaking bones takes but a moment!"

Zhou Liang withdrew his stance, his Aura steady, as though the two fierce and lethal moves just now had merely been casual gestures.

The field fell into utter silence.

The disciples' faces had gone pale, and even their breathing was cautious.

When they practiced boxing in ordinary times, they focused on the rules of technique and complete force generation. When had they ever seen their master so nakedly display the lethal killing intent hidden within the art?

Those precise strikes at vital acupoints, those tricky throat locks—every movement targeted the most vulnerable parts of the human body. What they sought was not victory or defeat, but instantaneous destruction.

Zhou Liang looked around. "Did you see clearly? This is how Tongbei Fist is used in combat. Martial practice trains the ability to kill enemies and preserve your own life. Stance work tempers your sinews, bones, blood, and vitality. Combat training tempers a ruthless heart and accurate hands. Fighting others is not a contest in the ring. When life and death hang by a thread, there is no room for the slightest hesitation or flourish."

"Remember!"

Zhou Liang declared loudly, "Boxing routines are the 'rules' that teach you to remember the conversion of Internal Force and the coordination of body movement and footwork. But when facing an enemy, forget all those 'rules.' Keep only one thing in your heart: how to use the fastest, fiercest, most effective method to knock down and destroy your opponent. Attack their Vital Points, break their foundation. That is a Killing Technique."

"Practice martial arts without training skill, and you'll have nothing in old age; train skill without understanding principle, and fighting means death."

Chen Qing felt a chill rise from his spine and shoot straight to the top of his head. His heart pounded without end.

Those few attacks just now were vicious, direct, and efficient to the extreme.

They were not a demonstration. They were the naked laws of survival.

True combat meant attacking where the enemy was unprepared, taking their vital points, refusing to be bound by form, and seeking only to subdue the enemy in a single strike.

Zhou Liang concluded, "If you want to live, train this ruthlessness and accuracy. Now get to practice."

"Yes!"

The disciples answered in unison.

Sun Shun walked forward and said, "Junior Brother Chen, let's exchange a few moves."

"Alright!"

Chen Qing took a deep breath, suppressed his churning emotions, and assumed his stance.

Under Sun Shun's guidance and as Sun Shun fed him moves, Chen Qing began truly practicing the combat applications of Tongbei Fist.

Starting with the first move, Startling Thunder Shatters Window, sweat soon soaked through his back.