The Scroll!

Behind the main hall.

Qin Shuang hid in the darkness. He had learned that afternoon that Qi Yunfeng was stationed at this dock.

"You bastard. You actually came out and gave me the perfect opportunity!"

When he saw Qi Yunfeng come out, his eyes lit up. He tightened his grip on the Ice Soul Cold Heart Lamp.

Qi Yunfeng walked out of the main hall beneath the faint moonlight. He went to one side, unfastened his trousers, turned toward the ditch beside the hall, and started relieving himself!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out. Qi Yunfeng cursed inwardly. In his desperation, he shifted his body to the left, but it was already too late. He felt as if several wasps had stung his right arm, and a terrifying chill instantly swept through his entire body.

At that moment, he realized the abundant Qi and Blood in his body was no longer flowing smoothly.

"Someone!"

Qi Yunfeng roared, trying to call for help. Suddenly, a dark figure pounced from behind the corner of a building to his left!

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

Qi Yunfeng felt a heavy blow to his chest. His body flew through the air and crashed into the ditch nearby, and he spewed out a mouthful of blood!

Then—

His legs were stamped on and snapped. A wave of searing pain shot through him.

"Who are you?"

"We have no grudge against each other. Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

Blood trickled from the corner of Qi Yunfeng's mouth as he glared at the black-clad, masked figure before him, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"You bastard! Didn't you say at Fusheng Restaurant two days ago that I'd wasted your time and you'd settle the score with me? Well, I'm here now." Qin Shuang gripped Qi Yunfeng by the throat, lifted him up, and spoke into his ear.

"You!!!"

Hearing Qin Shuang's words, Qi Yunfeng's eyes widened in disbelief.

He never would have thought—

The black-clad man before him was none other than Qin Shuang, the young master of Fusheng Restaurant!

At that moment,

Qi Yunfeng couldn't believe that Qin Shuang, so young, had also advanced to the Bone Forging Realm, just like him!

"Leader!"

"Leader Qi!"

Just then, six men armed with swords rushed out of the dock's main hall. Qin Shuang tightened his grip. With a crack, Qi Yunfeng's neck was crushed!

"Boom!"

Qin Shuang grabbed Qi Yunfeng's burly body and hurled it at the six men who had rushed out at the sound. Two of them were knocked to the ground, and a series of bone-cracking sounds rang out.

The other four saw their leader, Qi Yunfeng, hurled toward them. Their expressions changed drastically, and they scattered in every direction!

Whoosh!

Grass on Flying excelled at chasing down fleeing targets. Qin Shuang caught up to one of them in an instant, channeled the Qi and Blood of the Bone Forging Realm, and unleashed a perfected Fierce Tiger Fist!

Qin Shuang saw a layer of red Qi and Blood Gauze covering his right fist!

Qi and Blood Gauze Robe!

"Boom!"

With a single punch, Qin Shuang shattered every bone in the fleeing Flying Eagle Gang disciple's body. The man flew through the air and crashed into Clear Water River some distance away.

Qin Shuang moved with incredible speed. In less than half a minute, he had killed five men.

Seeing he couldn't escape, the last one, a young man in blue with buckteeth, hurriedly dropped to his knees and kowtowed. "M-m-mighty hero, spare me! Mighty hero, I-I know where Leader Qi Yunfeng's home is... H-his house has s-silver!"

"T-there are... tr-treasures, too!"

"I-I saw them with my own eyes!"

"Oh? What treasure?"

Qin Shuang's interest was piqued.

He was currently in the Bone Forging Realm. To raise his strength, he had to temper his Qi and Blood, and Tiger Blood Pills were essential. They were terribly expensive, so he needed to squeeze every last coin out of this haul!

"A... a... a scroll!"

The bucktoothed man seemed to have a stutter. He glanced at Qin Shuang in terror and spoke with a tremble.

"A scroll? Take me there, and I might spare your life!"

Qin Shuang spoke in a hoarse voice. "If you try anything clever, I'll kill you on the spot!"

Y-yes... I-I wouldn't dare!"

Seeing Qin Shuang loot the bodies and toss them into Clear Water River, Bucktooth Su grew even more terrified. He waited silently where he stood.

Guided by Bucktooth Su, Qin Shuang made his way beneath the faint moonlight toward a cluster of courtyards three li from the dock.

On the way, he learned that Bucktooth Su's name was Su Congshan. One time, when Qi Yunfeng had gotten drunk, Su Congshan had helped him home. In his drunkenness, Qi Yunfeng had let slip that he once encountered a corpse on the Tianchu Grand Canal. There had been a scroll in the corpse's arms, and it hadn't been damaged by the water.

In order to save his life, he told Qin Shuang everything he knew.

Su Congshan led Qin Shuang to the entrance of a large courtyard with two rows of buildings and said respectfully, "Mighty hero, this is the place."

Whoosh!

Qin Shuang grabbed Su Congshan and leaped into the courtyard.

At that moment, a faint snore came from a room in the rear courtyard.

"Go look!"

Qin Shuang ordered Su Congshan to go inside and find the scroll while he waited by the door.

Once Su Congshan entered the room, the person in bed stopped snoring. Su Congshan dashed forward and strangled him. Only after he stopped breathing did Su Congshan begin rummaging through the place, searching room by room.

"Mighty hero, I found it!"

Half a quarter of an hour later, Su Congshan found a two-foot-long scroll in a gold-trimmed box at Qi Yunfeng's home. He also found over three hundred taels of silver and a book of martial arts techniques. He respectfully handed everything to Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang leafed through the manual and discovered it contained the Tablet Splitting Hand.

"Get lost! If I ever see you again, I'll kill you!"

Qin Shuang looked at Su Congshan and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Yes!"

At his words, Su Congshan scrambled out of the courtyard.

Carrying the bundle, Qin Shuang used Grass on Flying. His figure flashed, and he leaped out of the courtyard, appearing a hundred zhang away, along the route Su Congshan had to take.

"Huh? M-mighty hero, you..."

Seeing the black-clad, masked man appear before him again, Su Congshan had a bad feeling. Had the mighty hero changed his mind?

"Sorry, we meet again. I told you that if I saw you again, I'd kill you!"

Qin Shuang spoke calmly and punched Su Congshan in the throat. With a crack, Su Congshan dropped like a torn sack three zhang away. He didn't even struggle before he died.

Qin Shuang stepped forward and checked the body. Then he left.

It wasn't that he was cruel and ruthless. He simply couldn't leave any loose ends!

Fusheng Restaurant.

Qin Shuang flashed into the back courtyard and landed there.

Carrying the bundle, he glanced toward the third floor and walked to a room beside the stairs. He had examined the scroll. It was strange, made of some unknown material, and he couldn't open it at all. It seemed unusual, and he didn't want Nangong Wan'er to know about it.

Qin Shuang hid the scroll and silver, took out the Tablet Splitting Hand manual, lit an oil lamp, and began to read.

Now that he had the Tablet Splitting Hand, he naturally had to master it.

With the Simplification System, the more martial arts he learned, the better. Other people might bite off more than they could chew, but that wasn't a problem for him.

The Tablet Splitting Hand was a hard palm technique.

Once cultivated to the highest level, the palm became as hard as iron, able to split steles and shatter rocks!

[Tablet Splitting Hand: (Not yet mastered; practice ten times a day to master it in one month)]

[Simplified promotion requirement: Strike a stone stele ten times]