Situation

Sensing Qin Hao's icy gaze, the bandit leader quickly reacted.

He immediately threw his zhanmadao saber aside and knelt down, kowtowing. "Please! I know I was wrong! Spare my life!"

"I'll never dare again! Please, spare my life!"

He kowtowed while crying, putting on a show of sincere remorse.

The people in the procession beside him merely glared. They didn't dare to speak up as the bandit leader apologized and knelt, fearing they might offend Qin Hao.

Qin Hao wasted no words, just stared coldly at the bandit leader, then walked towards him step by step.

The thump! thump! thump! of his footsteps echoed in the bandit leader's ears, like the death knell of a hellish messenger.

With each step Qin Hao took closer, the bandit leader's face grew paler.

Soon, Qin Hao reached the bandit leader and squatted down.

"Be more careful in your next life!"

As soon as Qin Hao finished speaking, before the bandit leader could even react, Qin Hao cupped the bandit leader's head with both his hands and applied slight pressure!

With a squish! sound, The bandit leader's entire head instantly exploded, and blood splattered all over Qin Hao.

Qin Hao disdainfully flicked the blood clots from his hands. If not for the actions of these bandit beasts, he wouldn't have killed these scums with his bare hands, dirtying them.

Covered in blood, Qin Hao stood up and looked at the people in the procession.

"Alright, you don't need to worry anymore. The bandits have all been peacefully sent on their way."

"You should leave quickly."

Although Qin Hao was their savior, everyone was stunned by his actions.

"Thank you, benefactor! If you hadn't intervened, we would have likely perished here!"

After a while, it was the elder who slowly stood up and expressed his gratitude to Qin Hao.

"It's nothing, just pack up and leave quickly."

Qin Hao waved his hand, preparing to depart.

He intended to look for a river or stream nearby to wash himself and his clothes.

Otherwise, going to the county town covered in blood might mean he wouldn't even be allowed in.

Qin Hao mounted his horse and rode towards the county town, paying no mind to the others.

Seeing Qin Hao preparing to leave, the mother and son in the group finally got up and ran towards the man who was severely injured.

Just as Qin Hao had moved far away from them, the man who had stood up for his wife and children earlier called out.

"Wait, benefactor!"

Hearing someone call him from behind, Qin Hao reined in his horse and turned to look.

He saw the injured man, supported by his wife and son, slowly walking towards him.

"Benefactor, please wait!"

"Hmm? Is there something else?"

Qin Hao looked at the injured man before him and asked in confusion.

"Hoo!"

"Thank you, benefactor, for saving my family and me!"

With that, the family of three immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Qin Hao.

"Hey, hey! Big brother, there's no need for this."

Seeing this, Qin Hao quickly dismounted and helped them up. He was not accustomed to people kowtowing to him.

"We must do this, otherwise, we wouldn't be able to rest easy."

As he spoke, the man reached into his satchel to take something out.

Qin Hao thought the man was going to take out money, and he was about to refuse, but the man pulled out a book instead of money.

"Big brother, what is this?"

"Benefactor, this is a body forging manual passed down from my ancestors."

Hearing "body forging manual," Qin Hao raised an eyebrow and sized up the man before him.

He couldn't tell from looking at the man that he possessed such a thing. The man before him was neither thin nor muscular, just of average build.

There was no indication that he had ever practiced body forging techniques.

Seeing Qin Hao's scrutinizing gaze, the man knew what he was thinking.

"Hehe, don't laugh, benefactor. It's because I couldn't endure the hardship and had no talent for martial arts, so I never managed to cultivate it."

"My ancestors obtained this item by chance. However, none of my ancestors succeeded in mastering it either."

"I see you are a martial artist, so I'm offering this to you as a gift. I hope you won't refuse it."

After speaking, he presented the manual with both hands.

"You're giving me your ancestor's treasure just like that?"

"And it's a very rare Body Forging technique."

Since it was the man's ancestral treasure, Qin Hao felt a bit awkward accepting it.

The man shook his head and said, "You jest, benefactor. It's just a technique that no one in my family has ever been able to master. How could it compare to the lives of my wife and son?"

"Please, accept it."

"Please, accept it!"

Even the man's wife and son chimed in.

Qin Hao had no choice but to accept the manual from the man's hands.

Seeing that Qin Hao had accepted it, the man straightened up with the help of his wife and son.

"Thank you, benefactor!"

"Oh, oh! Brother, you don't need to call me benefactor anymore. You can just call me Xiao Hao or Qin Hao."

"Otherwise, being called benefactor every day feels a bit unnatural."

Qin Hao waved his hand.

"Uh... this."

"Alright, then I'll call you Xiao Hao. After all, I look a bit older than you."

At this moment, the man carefully observed Qin Hao, noticing that although Qin Hao was built big and strong, his face looked remarkably young, disproportionate to his physique.

"Haha, that's right. By the way, brother, what should I call you? I don't even know your name yet."

"Ahem, my full name is Ma Wei. You can just call me Brother Ma. This is my wife, Miao Yulin, and this is my son, Ma Bin."

"Hello, brother!"

Ma Bin also stepped forward and greeted Qin Hao in a small, timid voice.

"Hello there, little guy."

As he spoke, he reached out to pat Ma Bin's head. However, the little fellow instinctively took a step back when he saw Qin Hao's large hand reaching towards him.

It was then that Qin Hao realized this child had personally witnessed him crush a man's head with his bare hands.

Qin Hao could only give a dry laugh and retract his hand.

"Xiao Hao, looking at your direction, are you heading to Qingshi County?"

At this moment, Ma Wei looked at Qin Hao's intended direction and then said.

"Yeah, why?"

"Qingshi County is experiencing a haunting right now. You'd best not go."

"It's very dangerous."

Ma Wei said with lingering fear.

Seeing Ma Wei's terrified expression, Qin Hao found it strange. Had he seen something?

"Brother Ma, have you seen a ghost?"

"Yes! Otherwise, I wouldn't be rushing back to my hometown with my wife and son to take shelter."

Ma Wei said helplessly.

"What? Is the situation in the county town very serious?"

Seeing Ma Wei's expression, Qin Hao felt that the county town wasn't just experiencing a simple haunting.

"Yes! Many people in the county town have disappeared inexplicably, and many others have suddenly died."

"The authorities are currently unable to control the situation."

Hearing this, Qin Hao immediately felt something was amiss.

Zhong Li Dao had previously told Qin Hao that each prefecture and county had one or more Human level Heavenly Dragon Guards stationed there.

Moreover, the local authorities should also have their own experts. How could they allow ghostly creatures to run rampant like this?