Died by Black Tiger Fist

Chen Luo didn't disturb Old Man Liu. He paused behind him for a moment, bowed to Auntie Wang, and then continued on his way.

The further he walked, the more desolate it became.

The areas most damaged by the calamity of war were where the poor common folk lived.

Chen Luo saw someone burning paper almost every two steps. Some families had lost one person, some were left with only one member, and there were even several households where the lights were permanently extinguished. Not a single member of the family, young or old, had survived.

Witnessing such scenes was heartbreaking.

Finally, Chen Luo arrived at Third Uncle's doorstep.

He glanced at the wooden door that had been kicked down and the dark interior, then lifted his foot and walked in.

As soon as he entered, he felt his feet sinking into black ash, soft and yielding underfoot.

The house had clearly been ransacked by the bandit soldiers. Everything was turned upside down; even the water缸 (water vat) in the courtyard had been smashed. The main hall had been burned, and the principal room had collapsed. However, the side rooms were still intact, suggesting someone had come later to extinguish the fire.

After a quick scan, Chen Luo hurried to the spot where Third Uncle had buried Eunuch Wei.

Although Third Uncle's method was professional, time had been too short. Anyone investigating thoroughly would surely find traces.

"Someone really did come!"

Chen Luo's pupils constricted slightly.

He squatted down and examined the area carefully, quickly noticing something was off.

The area where Third Uncle had scattered lime had been disturbed. The black ash from burning Eunuch Wei's clothes had also been dug up. Although it overlapped with the later fire scene, the ash left after burning different materials was distinct. Chen Luo had worked as an Undertaker with Third Uncle for a long time and could distinguish the differences.

To a professional, these traces were clues.

"People from the palace? Or someone else..."

Chen Luo stood up, re-disturbing the black ash and mixing it with the dust from the burnt house. This matter was definitely not over. The people behind Eunuch Wei were very cautious. So far, Chen Luo didn't know who the enemy he was facing was.

However, he did have one potential breakthrough: the Qingya County Magistrate.

If before it was just a simple desire to kill him, now there was an additional reason. Being passively beaten was definitely not an option; there was no logic in defending oneself for a lifetime. He had to find that hand and cut it off completely. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life living in fear of unknown pursuers with Third Uncle, not even daring to turn over in his sleep.

"I can't come to this place anymore."

Chen Luo didn't linger. He got up and walked out of the house.

Looking at the distant civilians who seemed like walking corpses, a sense of realization dawned on him.

Strength!

Only powerful strength could give him the confidence to survive. In this kind of world, trying to reason with people was useless, unless you possessed the strength to make them sit down and listen to you.

If he hadn't happened to learn martial arts this time, among the bodies lying on the ground, there might have been him and Third Uncle.

Bypassing the alley ahead, Chen Luo went to the street where he had killed two soldiers earlier.

The street was completely quiet now, not a single person in sight.

The bodies had been cleared, but no one had dealt with the aftermath. In the already chaotic Qingya County, two deaths were simply too normal. The bandit soldiers who remained were not good people either. These individuals were less like soldiers and more like bandits, just wearing the skin of the authorities.

After confirming the little girl was safe, Chen Luo turned and darted in another direction.

He planned to go see his Master, Crippled Ma, and his Junior Sister Apprentice, He Min.

Neither of them were ordinary people, and their chances of survival were much higher than ordinary people.

Previously, his strength wasn't enough, so he could only protect Third Uncle first. Now that he had the ability, he naturally had to take care of the people around him as much as possible, otherwise, wouldn't learning martial arts have been in vain?

After crossing the street, he quickly arrived at the sealed-off area.

The street that had once been sealed was now unmanaged. Chen Luo flew over the houses and saw several burned-down buildings. These houses were the property of Old Master Bai of Qingya County. Because he had 'colluded with bandits', these houses had been raided. Everything inside had been taken, and even the plaster on the walls had been removed.

As he flew over one house, Chen Luo suddenly stopped, landed, and jumped into the courtyard.

Unlike the other burned-down areas, this courtyard was very well preserved. Even the flowers and plants in the courtyard were still in their original state, and the study inside was neatly arranged. There was even ink that someone had ground in the inkstone, suggesting that a significant person had likely stayed here before.

Chen Luo glanced around, confirmed there was no one, and then leaped into the room.

The room was clean and emitted a faint fragrance. Chen Luo walked to the desk, dipped his index finger into the inkstone, and brought it to his nose to smell.

"Within ten days."

Based on the ink, he roughly estimated when the person in the courtyard had left.

This timeframe was precisely when Qingya County was 'rebelling'. The person in this courtyard being able to know in advance and leave must have been connected to those people. At the very least, they should know who the masterminds behind the 'bandit suppression' were.

"Wang Chengguan?"

Chen Luo found this name on the desk nearby.

The writing was very neat, with strong strokes, like sword moves.

Chen Luo didn't understand calligraphy, but he could tell it was good writing.

After putting the paper into his怀中 (bosom/pocket), he searched the room again, confirmed there were no other useful clues, and then got up again and headed towards Master Ma's house.

With the delays along the way, the night grew deeper.

The cold air descended, making the post-war County Town appear even colder.

Soon, Chen Luo arrived at the alley where Crippled Ma lived. Like the alley near Chen Laosan's house, this side had also been ransacked. The boiler next to Crippled Ma's house had been pushed over, the windows were blackened by fire, and the paper covering them had burned away. Crippled Ma's house was the same; his repair tools were gone, and the bench next to it had been kicked over.

The main gate was half-open, swaying slightly in the night breeze, making a creaking sound.

Chen Luo glanced at the gate, then swept his gaze over the adjacent courtyard wall. Climbing over the wall was safer than going through the gate, as it avoided the risk of being ambushed as soon as he opened it.

So he lightly pushed off with his feet.

He leaped up like a swallow, clearing the courtyard wall and landing inside in just two steps. This was a use of Internal Qi. After Bone Forging, Chen Luo's control over his own strength was much more refined, allowing him to perform many movements he couldn't before.

The courtyard was empty.

The training equipment Chen Luo used before had been overturned, the sandbag lay on its side, the canvas ripped open, scattering sand everywhere. The main hall's door had also been forced open, and the only intact door panel was covered in knife marks.

Chen Luo quickly went to the door. As he stepped over the threshold, he saw a body lying inside.

His heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to turn the body over.

It was an unfamiliar face.

Thank goodness.

Chen Luo breathed a sigh of relief, but soon he noticed something was wrong.

This body had been killed by a punch. The move was the killing blow from Black Tiger Fist—Black Tiger Digging Heart!

Thinking of this, Chen Luo ripped open the man's clothes and found that there was indeed a hole in his chest where his heart had been dug out.

Was this person killed by Master Ma using this punch?

Chen Luo touched the wound with his hand. The residual power of Black Tiger Fist on it gave him a sense of familiarity.