"Old Zhou, what are you here for?"
Shen Bai had been reclining in his chair. After taking a sip of tea, he set down the cup upon seeing Zhou Qing and asked.
When there was nothing going on, Zhou Qing would also come by, but Shen Bai had never seen him this impatient before.
Zhou Qing came closer, caught his breath, picked up the tea on the table, and without standing on ceremony, gulped down several mouthfuls.
Only after finishing did Zhou Qing speak.
"Old Shen, something happened."
Shen Bai was slightly taken aback. "Something happened? Is it that Five Hearts Sect again?"
If anything had truly happened recently, Shen Bai figured it was related to the Five Hearts Sect.
Zhou Qing nodded. "I came to investigate this time. I stopped by to tell you on the way. Apparently, two bodies were found on Willow Street, and they died horribly."
"One was a middle-aged man whose arms had been chopped off. The other was a five- or six-year-old girl who was tortured to death."
"The man's arms were severed cleanly. It's very likely connected to the Five Hearts Sect."
Hearing this, Shen Bai's hand holding the teacup stiffened slightly.
Zhou Qing and Shen Bai had known each other for a long time and were close friends. Seeing this, he asked, "Old Shen, what's wrong? Have you run into something lately too? Why not come to the yamen with me and lie low for a while?"
Shen Bai came back to himself and shook his head. "It's nothing. Old Zhou, shall I go take a look with you?"
Zhou Qing asked strangely, "Old Shen, don't you usually hate joining in the excitement?"
"Something this big naturally needs to be seen." Shen Bai put down his teacup and stood.
Before long, Zhang Chaofeng entered the room.
After having Zhang Chaofeng watch over the pawnshop, Shen Bai left with Zhou Qing and headed for Willow Street.
Willow Street was a remote, dilapidated street even within Ascending Cloud County. Hardly any households lived there.
At this moment, the inside and outside of a house on Willow Street were packed three layers deep with commoners.
Constables were maintaining order and driving the crowd away.
Zhou Qing arrived with Shen Bai. After passing through the crowd, Shen Bai saw the scene in the open space ahead.
The thin man without arms had his eyes wide open, wearing an expression of dying with eyes unclosed.
Beside him, the five-year-old girl's bones had all been shattered, her limbs twisted at unnatural angles.
In her left hand, the little girl clutched a money pouch made of coarse cloth, as though it were an incomparably precious treasure. Even in death, she held it tightly.
Shen Bai took a deep breath, instinctively gripping the longsword at his waist, his expression calm.
Zhou Qing did not notice anything unusual about Shen Bai. He told Shen Bai to watch from afar, then quickly joined the constables and began examining the scene with them.
Shen Bai's face was calm, but the hand gripping his sword hilt tightened more and more.
He had not expected Yaya to be dead.
And to have died with every bone in her body shattered.
One could imagine the pain she had suffered while alive.
Especially that hand clutching the money pouch, which made the fury in Shen Bai's eyes deepen by the moment.
"Old Zhou, I'll head back first."
Shen Bai felt that he was not suited to remain here.
If he stayed any longer, he feared he would be unable to suppress the rage within him.
Zhou Qing was busy and paid Shen Bai no mind, casually agreeing.
Shen Bai turned around and silently walked back toward the pawnshop.
On the way back, countless thoughts churned through Shen Bai's mind.
He felt that the struggle between enemies and allies in the martial world could be as cruel as it liked.
But to kill someone this powerless, and a child too young to understand anything—Shen Bai felt that was truly beastly.
Shen Bai still remembered how Yaya had sensibly held the money pouch, her face filled with gratitude toward him.
"Damn it. I've never been this angry before."
When Shen Bai returned to the pawnshop, even Zhang Chaofeng could sense that something was off about him.
Once in the rear courtyard, Shen Bai practiced Blood Sword Dance while recalling the corpses he had just seen.
Something called killing intent flickered relentlessly within Shen Bai's heart.
Night fell.
While practicing Blood Sword Dance, Shen Bai drank some medicine that replenished qi and blood, and his proficiency made considerable progress again.
Zhang Chaofeng had already left. Those getting off work were always enthusiastic.
After eating, Blood Sword Dance's proficiency increased considerably again, already nearing 1,300 points.
Shen Bai did not slack off in the slightest. Like an emperor of grinding who never stopped, he practiced tirelessly and with relish.
What had happened today gave Shen Bai the clearest possible understanding.
This world was chaotic. Who knew when one might lose one's life?
If he wanted to live well, he could only improve his own strength.
Only when his strength reached the pinnacle would the enjoyment of everything begin.
The night was cool as water, yet Shen Bai's figure continued to move ceaselessly as he practiced Blood Sword Dance.
In the stove beside him, the Qi-Blood Medicine bubbled and boiled.
After practicing for a while, Blood Sword Dance's proficiency finally reached 1,300 points.
Shen Bai rested briefly, then drank the Qi-Blood Medicine, preparing to continue practicing once his qi and blood recovered.
But at that moment, something unusual suddenly happened.
A knocking sounded outside the door.
Shen Bai frowned slightly, carrying the Rusty Longsword as he walked toward the door.
"At this hour, someone's still looking for me?"
With that thought in mind, Shen Bai had already reached the door.
At that moment, a sudden chill blew through the crack in the door.
When the chill entered the house, Shen Bai felt as though his entire body had fallen into an ice cellar.
Through the crack, Shen Bai seemed to see a pair of deathly pale eyes.
Before Shen Bai could draw his longsword, the door suddenly opened inward.
Outside stood two figures, one large and one small.
The thin man's arms were empty, with only his sleeves fluttering in the wind.
Yaya held one of the sleeves and tilted her head as she examined Shen Bai.
Her eyes were deathly pale, her face bloodless, and her twisted limbs resembled withered, skinny branches.
"An aberration."
With just one glance, Shen Bai understood.
During the day, Yaya and her father had been tortured to death. Now, resentment had bred within them, and they had become aberrations.
"Sir... money..."
Yaya's right hand held a pouch of bloodstained money.
Cold, eerie words came from Yaya's mouth.
At that moment, Shen Bai's gaze remained calm. The Rusty Longsword in his hand flashed with magnificent righteous qi as it swept across Yaya and her father's necks.
Blood Sword Dance stirred his qi and blood. As terrifying power of qi and blood surged forth, the thin man's head was the first to hit the ground.
Beside him, Yaya seemed provoked and began shrieking madly.
Her twisted limbs struck the ground as she crawled toward Shen Bai, her pale eyes filled with bloodthirsty desire.
Shen Bai swung his longsword back and slashed once.
The sound of wind rose, and a bloody mark appeared across Yaya's chest.
As the bloody mark widened, Yaya and the thin man both turned into two streams of black smoke.
Obtained two wisps of Killing Intent
Words formed from smoke appeared before his eyes, then quickly vanished.
This time, after obtaining Killing Intent, Shen Bai was not as excited as before. Instead, he felt the calm before a storm.
Looking at the place where the father and daughter had become black smoke, Shen Bai sheathed the Rusty Longsword.
"I'll keep account of the vengeance of you two."
Shen Bai's voice echoed through the pitch-black street.
Before you continue