Traces

Ten days flashed by. During the day, Chen Fei tried to avoid running into Zhang Yuezhen. After refining five batches of Qi Blood Pills, he would begin cultivating the Startling Suspension Force.

The Startling Suspension Force had not been far from Great Perfection to begin with, and Chen Fei had diligently been grinding Proficiency lately. By now, it had finally reached the state of Great Perfection.

Inside the Pill Room, Chen Fei slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"Compared to the original Wind Suspension Breathing Technique, the Startling Suspension Force alone now grants seventeen points of cultivation progress each day—nearly double."

Chen Fei murmured under his breath. And this was only from fusing the Startling Word Incantation. What if it were the complete Thunderclap Sword Force?

Chen Fei swallowed. He wondered whether those dozen-odd counterfeit Thunderclap Sword Force Secret Manuals could give him a pleasant surprise. But he had no time to deal with those manuals right now; after all, his Sword Technique Fusion was not yet complete.

"Whoosh..."

A clamor suddenly rose from outside the Medical Hall, mixed with a boiling tide of voices. Feeling puzzled, Chen Fei walked out of the Pill Room and came outside, where he saw refugees passing by the entrance.

Chen Fei's brow twitched slightly. These refugees could enter the city now?

Previously, Pingyin County's County Government Office had forbidden these refugees from entering the city, fearing they would disrupt the stability of the entire county. Only refugees who had been hired could pass through the City Gate.

There were now many handymen in the Medical Hall, recruited from among those refugees. Their wages were far lower than what Chen Fei had earned back then.

Yet even so, the refugees fought over such jobs until their heads bled. After all, only by entering the city could they possibly eat their fill. Outside the city, they could truly die at any moment.

Chen Fei glanced at Liu Jun. Liu Jun immediately understood and hurried out to inquire about the news. Before long, Liu Jun returned.

"A Weird appeared outside the city two days ago. Several dozen refugees died overnight. With no other choice, the County Government Office opened the City Gate and settled the refugees in the northern part of the city."

At the mention of a Weird, Liu Jun could not help shrinking his neck. For ordinary people, encountering such a thing meant only one word: death. Liu Jun was an ordinary man without cultivation; how could he not be afraid upon hearing this?

The County Government Office had allowed the refugees into the city not only because they feared that too many deaths would provoke the refugees into an uprising. They were even more worried that the Weird would keep killing, until the situation spiraled beyond control.

People could grow stronger through cultivation, while Weirds could grow by devouring people.

Under normal circumstances, the city was suppressed by the County Government Office's treasures, so Weirds would avoid it. Though the effect beyond the city walls was somewhat weaker, it should still have been safe.

But clearly, that Weird had crossed this boundary, making the County Government Office's people dare not continue letting things go unchecked.

For the entire day, aside from cultivating his inner force, Chen Fei spent all his other time practicing his Sword Technique. Even at night, he did not stop.

The appearance of the Weird gave Chen Fei another layer of urgency. The Weird might not yet be able to break into the city, but who could say what would happen later?

Pingyin County was noisier than usual that night. From time to time, Chen Fei could hear sounds carrying over from afar.

Early the next morning, when Chen Fei arrived at the Medical Hall, he saw everyone whispering among themselves. Clearly, something else had happened.

"Nineteen people died in the city last night?"

Chen Fei looked at Liu Jun in surprise. He had expected the night to be anything but peaceful, but he had not expected so many people to die.

"There were refugees, as well as city residents. Seven people were killed in one wealthy household. Afterward, they voluntarily offered up silver taels, and only then were the others spared," Liu Jun said fearfully.

Chen Fei frowned deeply. Those refugees should not possess such strength. Ordinary wealthy households hired guards. If refugees could defeat guards, they would have been able to enter the city and find work long ago; there was no way they would have been delayed until now.

"Could those mountain bandits have disguised themselves as refugees and returned?"

The figures of Jian Liang and his group surfaced in Chen Fei's mind. If that was truly the case, then Pingyin County really would not know peace in the days ahead.

There were too many refugees. The County Government Office simply could not distinguish mountain bandits from ordinary civilians.

That night, Chen Fei came to the Black Market.

"Gathering herbs has been truly difficult lately." Upon seeing Chen Fei, Chi Defeng could not help complaining.

"Fifty percent above market price," Chen Fei said flatly.

"I like doing business with you—straightforward!" Chi Defeng changed faces as if flipping a page, a smile instantly appearing on his face.

Chen Fei said nothing and lowered his head to inspect the herbs.

Gathering herbs had indeed become more difficult. The refugees were increasingly afraid to go to Pingyin Mountain, especially now that there were better and safer jobs within Pingyin City. There was simply no need to risk their lives.

After a moment, Chen Fei stood and pointed at several herbs, looking at Chi Defeng. Chi Defeng briskly removed those herbs and replaced them with new ones.

Chen Fei felt somewhat helpless. He did not know whether Chi Defeng had recently decided to compete with him, but every batch of herbs contained fakes. Not many, only a few plants, as though he wanted Chen Fei to misjudge them just once.

But Chen Fei had long since refined the Grass Return Pill to Great Perfection. He understood every trait of these herbs like the back of his hand, so there was no chance of him making a mistake.

Seeing that Chi Defeng had no intention of explaining himself, Chen Fei could not help laughing silently. Was this his final stubbornness?

After leaving the wooden hut, Chen Fei was just about to leave the Black Market when he raised his head and spotted someone ahead. His steps paused slightly, but he immediately continued forward as naturally as before.

"It's one of those mountain bandits!"

Stopping before a stall, Chen Fei pretended to browse its wares, but his attention focused on the area to his right.

In the Black Market, most people concealed their true appearances. That mountain bandit was naturally no exception; they had even used a Disguise Technique to conceal themselves.

However, someone else had likely used the Disguise Technique to alter this mountain bandit's appearance. Chen Fei's Disguise Technique had long reached Great Perfection, so he easily spotted the flaws.

More importantly, Chen Fei had a deep impression of this mountain bandit. After Pu Liao had been captured and brought back, this was the man who had kicked and broken Pu Liao's leg.

At the time, Chen Fei had instinctively looked at that mountain bandit a few extra times, and thus remembered him.

"They really did come. What happened last night was almost certainly their doing."

Chen Fei wandered aimlessly around the Black Market for over half an hour before the mountain bandit finally left. Chen Fei then trailed far behind him.

Chen Fei's Movement Technique was now far superior to that of most Bone Forging Realm cultivators. Though this mountain bandit was in the same realm as Chen Fei and was very cautious, Chen Fei still discovered where he lived.

Not only had he found the man's residence—the man had removed his hood and Bamboo Hat halfway there, allowing Chen Fei to see what he looked like now.

"Looks like this is the face he's been using in the city lately."

From afar, Chen Fei carefully made out the man's features, then vanished.

Pingyin County was deep in the night, silent and still, yet the County Government Office remained busy with the case. If what had happened last night continued to occur within the city, Pingyin County would inevitably descend into turmoil.

Standing in the distance, Chen Fei weighed the stone in his hand, then hurled it with all his strength toward the County Government Office.

Chen Fei's figure flickered, disappearing from where he stood. He had done all he could; now it depended on how the County Government Office would respond.