Pursuit

Zhou Li's eyes widened in terror. Just as he was about to struggle, a sharp agony shot through his neck, and in the next instant, everything before his eyes went black.

"Ah!"

Seeing Zhou Li collapse limply to the ground, Zhou Shi screamed in fright. But the moment the cry left his mouth, he discovered his lips had already been sealed by a palm, and not a single sound could escape.

"You were the one spying on me during the day, weren't you?"

Sun Shu lowered his head and looked at Zhou Shi. One hand covered Zhou Shi's mouth, while the other clamped around his neck, dragging him right up before him.

Zhou Shi's eyes instantly filled with tears. His feet kicked with all their strength, but he could not break free at all. All he could do was watch as Sun Shu's face drew closer and closer to his own.

"No matter what decision you make, there's a price to pay. Do you understand? Jie jie jie!"

Sun Shu suddenly laughed for no apparent reason. The hand gripping Zhou Shi's neck began to tighten, and Zhou Shi's eyes bulged uncontrollably. In the next instant, Blood Mist spread throughout the entire dilapidated courtyard.

"The price... the Zhang Family..."

Sun Shu murmured to himself and released his hands. Zhou Shi's corpse fell to the ground.

Outside the courtyard wall, a small figure was now peering through a hole in the wall, witnessing everything that had just happened.

Zhao Qi clamped both hands tightly over his mouth, not letting himself make a sound.

Every day, Zhao Qi would look through this hole and watch next door. Sometimes there was no one in the courtyard, but Zhao Qi could still watch with great interest.

But today, Zhao Qi regretted it. He had seen a murder.

Zhao Qi's teeth kept chattering, but he did not dare make the slightest sound. He knew that as long as he made a noise, that murderer would come over and kill him.

Zhao Qi's eyes stayed fixed on Sun Shu, watching him leave the courtyard.

Zhao Qi let out a slight breath of relief and loosened the hand he had been desperately pressing over his mouth. His heart eased a little, and when he raised his head to glance at the hole again, an eyeball was staring right back at him.

"Ah!"

Zhao Qi screamed in terror, his body scrambling backward with all its strength.

"So there was still a little mouse hiding here..."

North City Medical Center.

Inside the Pill Room, Chen Fei's hand techniques kept changing, and a medicinal fragrance spread out from within the pill furnace.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, the entire pill furnace shook, and the medicinal fragrance instantly turned into a burnt smell.

Chen Fei frowned slightly, opened the furnace lid, and looked at the scorched-black medicinal dregs inside. He could not help shaking his head helplessly.

"I wonder which herb is missing. It keeps getting stuck here."

Chen Fei scratched his hair, cleaned out the pill furnace, and recalled the details of the pill refining process just now. Suddenly, a somewhat noisy commotion came from outside.

Chen Fei stood up and walked out, just in time to see a handyman speaking with an agitated expression.

"Manager Chen."

Liu Jun was also at the side. Seeing Chen Fei, he hurried forward to greet him.

"What happened?"

"Something happened at this handyman's home. It seems his family was killed. Now he's begging us, hoping the medical center can advance him a bit of his wages first."

Chen Fei glanced at the handyman. His face was sallow-green, clearly malnourished; he had probably been found among the Refugees.

"Give him this money. Count it as mine."

Chen Fei took out several taels of silver, then turned and left. With this sort of matter, this was probably all Chen Fei could do. As for giving more, this handyman likely would not even be able to keep that money.

After Chen Fei had walked a few steps, the handyman's tearful voice of gratitude came from behind him. Chen Fei waved his hand and returned to the Pill Room.

Putting the matter from earlier aside, Chen Fei continued studying the Light Spirit Pill.

An hour later, Chen Fei rubbed his head with a bit of a headache. The results were meager. But that was normal. After all, trying to Reverse Engineer the herbs from a finished pill was an extremely difficult task in itself.

However, Chen Fei was rather finding joy in it. Moreover, the overall progress was currently acceptable. If he kept grinding away at it, Chen Fei was confident he could restore the Pill Recipe of the Light Spirit Pill.

Chen Fei picked up the longsword beside him and began practicing martial movements inside the Pill Room.

Chen Fei's life was like this now. Aside from cultivating his inner strength every day, rain or shine, the rest of his time was spent either on his Sword Technique or on pill refining.

This almost merciless method of squeezing out every bit of rest time had not made Chen Fei collapse. On the contrary, he was full of energy every day.

Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, another ten days had gone by.

During those ten days, Pingyin County was not peaceful, and outside Pingyin County, the wind had long since risen and the clouds were surging.

The Imperial Court's Army sent to suppress the Rebel Army had actually been defeated. At this moment, they were contracting their defensive line and retreating step by step.

The Rebel Army's momentum naturally soared. They pressed closer and closer against the Imperial Court's Army, gradually nibbling away at them. Not only that, but several counties and towns had also seen Rebel Army forces appear. With support from within and attacks from without, the Rebel Army's scale grew increasingly massive.

Within Pingyin County, another direct descendant of the Zhang Family died. However, the Zhang Family's grasp of Sun Shu's movements became more and more precise. Once, they had even already crossed hands with him, but in the end, Sun Shu escaped again.

As for Chen Fei himself, he had already fused his Sword Technique into the fourth set.

Cultivation Method: Fire Pattern Sword (Perfection 7124/10000)

Compared to the original Green Mountain Sword, the current Fire Pattern Sword had increased in power by at least seventy percent.

Just like Jian Liang back then, Chen Fei could now rely on his Sword Technique to contend with him. If the Fire Pattern Sword rose to the realm of Great Perfection, though it might not be able to kill Jian Liang, it would be enough to defeat him.

With a single Sword Technique, he could fight above his level. From that alone, it was clear how outstanding this Sword Technique was. Compared to the inheritances of the Noble Families in Pingyin County, Chen Fei's Sword Technique was already not inferior in the slightest.

In the Great Hall of the Medical Hall.

Chen Fei was chatting idly with a physician, discussing the medicinal properties of some Herbs. The Light Spirit Pill had been stuck at one point for a long time, and discussing medicinal properties with physicians could sometimes give Chen Fei a few more ideas.

Just as they were chatting happily, Zhang Yuezhen appeared inside the Medical Hall.

"All Guards, come with me. Chen Fei, you come too!"

Zhang Yuezhen called out, then saw Chen Fei in the Great Hall. After thinking for a moment, she called Chen Fei along as well. At any rate, he had the cultivation of the Skin Refining Realm; compared to those physicians who did not have the strength to truss a chicken, Chen Fei counted as a helper.

More importantly, Zhang Yuezhen wanted to keep knocking Chen Fei into shape.

Chen Fei's expression shifted slightly. After thinking for a moment, he followed behind.

In only a short while, all the Guards in the Medical Hall had assembled. Zhang Yuezhen waved her right hand, did not explain a single word, and charged straight ahead.

The others did not understand what was going on, but they all followed behind.

Chen Fei ran in the middle-back of the crowd. After a while, everyone left Pingyin County and arrived in a stretch of mountain forest. A figure was standing there, pacing back and forth anxiously. When he saw Zhang Yuezhen, he hurriedly came forward to meet her.

"Sun Shu is still over there?" Zhang Yuezhen asked nervously.

"Still there, and he really is injured. But you'll have to make it quick, or if the others get the news, I'm afraid they'll come very soon too." Zhang Qiang hefted the money pouch Zhang Yuezhen handed him and said with a smile.

"He's only Sun Shu. I'll remember this favor!"

"I'll head back and wait for your good news!" Zhang Qiang cupped his hands and said.

Zhang Yuezhen laughed loudly and hurried on past Zhang Qiang. The Guards behind her suddenly understood. So they had found Sun Shu. Now Zhang Yuezhen wanted to seize the lead and remove the Zhang Family's recent hidden worry.