Death by Black Tiger Fist

Chen Luo did not disturb Old Man Liu. After pausing behind him for a moment and bowing to Auntie Wang, he continued onward.

The farther he went, the more desolate it became.

The places most ravaged by the Calamity of War were where these poor commoners lived.

Almost every two steps Chen Luo took, he saw someone burning paper offerings. Some families had lost one person, some had only one survivor remaining, and several households had seen their lights go out forever. Not one member of the entire family, young or old, had escaped.

The sight made his chest feel clogged.

At last, Chen Luo arrived at Third Uncle's door.

He glanced at the wooden door that had been kicked down and the pitch-black inner hall beyond it, then lifted his foot and walked inside.

The moment he entered, he felt that the ground beneath his feet was covered in black ash, soft and loose underfoot.

The house had clearly been ravaged by bandit soldiers as well. It had been turned upside down, and even the Water Vat in the courtyard had been smashed. The main room had also been burned, and the main hall had already collapsed. The side rooms, however, were still intact. It seemed someone had come later to put out the fire.

After sweeping his gaze around, Chen Luo quickly walked to the spot where Third Uncle had buried Eunuch Wei.

Though Third Uncle's methods had been professional, time had been too short. If anyone came to investigate, they would surely find traces.

"Someone really did come!"

Chen Luo's pupils contracted slightly.

He crouched down and carefully examined the area. Before long, he found something wrong.

The area where Third Uncle had scattered lime had been disturbed, and the black ash from burning Eunuch Wei's clothes and those of the others had also been dug up. Though it overlapped with the fire scene behind it, ash left behind by burning different materials was different. Chen Luo had worked as a corpse burier with Third Uncle for a long time and could distinguish the differences within.

To a professional, such traces were clues.

"People from the palace? Or someone else?"

Chen Luo stood up and scattered the black ash again, mixing it into the ashes from the burned house. This matter was certainly not over. The people behind Eunuch Wei were cautious; even now, Chen Luo did not know who his enemy was.

But he had a breakthrough point: the Magistrate of Qingya County.

If he had merely wanted to kill him before, now there was another reason. Passively taking blows was no good. Who could defend themselves for a lifetime? He had to find that hand and sever it completely. He did not want to spend the rest of his life with Third Uncle under unknown pursuit, too afraid even to turn over in bed.

"This place can't be visited again in the future."

Chen Luo did not stay long. He got up and walked outside.

Looking at the civilians in the distance, like walking dead, a thread of realization rose in his heart.

Strength!

Only great strength could give him the confidence to survive. In times like these, reasoning with people was useless—unless you possessed the strength to make them sit down and listen to reason.

If he had not happened to learn martial arts This Time, he and Third Uncle might have been among the corpses lying on the ground.

After going around the alley ahead, Chen Luo made another trip to the street where he had previously slapped two soldiers to death.

By now, the street had fallen completely silent. Not a single figure could be seen.

The corpses had been cleared away, but no one dealt with what came after. In the already chaotic Qingya County, two deaths were far too ordinary. These remaining bandit soldiers were no good either. Rather than soldiers, they were better described as bandits who merely happened to wear the skin of the Authorities.

After confirming that the little girl was not in danger, Chen Luo turned and swept off in another direction.

He planned to check on his master, Crippled Ma, and his junior sister apprentice, He Min.

Neither of them was ordinary. Their chances of surviving were much greater than those of common people.

Previously, his strength had not been enough, so he could only protect Third Uncle first. Now that he had the ability, he naturally had to look after the people around him as much as possible. Otherwise, would he not have learned all this martial arts for nothing?

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

The streets that had once been sealed off were no longer guarded. Chen Luo skimmed over the houses and saw several burned-out buildings. These houses had all been the property of Old Master Bai of Qingya County. Because he had "colluded with bandits," the houses had been confiscated and stripped clean. Even the plaster from the walls had been torn away.

As he passed over one house, Chen Luo suddenly stopped. With a rise and fall, he leaped into the courtyard.

Unlike the other burned areas, this courtyard had been preserved perfectly. Even the flowers and plants inside remained as they had been. The study was especially neat, and there was still ink ground in the inkstone. It seemed an important figure had lived here before.

Chen Luo looked around. After confirming there was no one present, he sprang into the room.

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

"Within ten days."

From the ink, he roughly estimated when the people in the courtyard had left.

That period was precisely when Qingya County had "rebelled." Whoever had lived in this courtyard had been able to know beforehand and leave, so they must have been connected to those people. At the very least, they should know who the hidden masterminds behind the "bandit suppression" were.

"Wang Chengguan?"

Chen Luo found this name on a writing desk nearby.

The handwriting was extremely neat, its strokes forceful, like sword moves.

Chen Luo did not understand calligraphy, but even he could tell it was fine writing.

After tucking the paper into his clothes, he searched the room once more. Only after confirming there were no useful clues did he set off again toward Crippled Ma's home.

After all the delays, the night had grown deeper.

Cold Qi enveloped the area, making the county town after the war seem even colder.

Soon, Chen Luo arrived at the alley where Crippled Ma lived. Like the alley near Chen Laosan's home, this place had also been looted. The stove next door to Crippled Ma's house had been knocked over, its windows burned pitch black, and even the paper pasted over them had burned away. Crippled Ma's house was the same. The repair tools were gone, and the stool beside them had been kicked over.

The front gate stood half-open, swaying faintly in the night wind with a creaking sound.

Chen Luo looked at the gate, then swept his gaze over the courtyard wall beside it. Climbing over the wall was safer than entering through the gate; it would prevent someone from killing him the moment he opened it.

So he lightly exerted force beneath his feet.

His whole body rose like a flying swallow, and in two steps he flipped over and fell into the courtyard. This was one use of Internal Qi. After Bone Forging, Chen Luo's control over his own strength had become more precise, allowing him to perform many movements he could not before.

The courtyard was empty.

The equipment Chen Luo had once used for training had been overturned. The sandbag had fallen to one side, its canvas cut open, sand scattered all over the ground. The main room had also been forced open, and the only intact door panel remaining was covered in saber marks.

Chen Luo quickly walked to the door. The moment he crossed the threshold, he saw a corpse lying inside.

His heart tightened. He swiftly stepped forward and turned the body over.

An unfamiliar face.

"Good."

Chen Luo sighed in relief, but quickly discovered something was wrong.

This corpse had actually been killed by fist force. The move was the killing technique from the Black Tiger Fist—Black Tiger Digging Heart!

Thinking of this, Chen Luo tore open the man's clothes and found a hole in his chest, just as expected. The heart inside had been dug out.

"Was the man who used this fist force killed by Master Ma?"

Chen Luo reached out and touched the wound. The remaining force of the Black Tiger Fist upon it gave him a faintly familiar feeling.