Indoors.
Fan Xingwei's eyes widened as he stared at the scene in shock.
"Dead?"
"Brother Zhang... wasn't even a match for him?"
His mind went blank. He frantically rubbed his eyes.
But what had happened outside was all real. He An, a newcomer, had actually killed Zhang Yongda, a Muscle Condensing Realm expert.
"This... I must be dreaming!"
Fan Xingwei slapped himself twice, only to find his face stinging.
This wasn't a dream!
"Do I really have to die today?" Fan Xingwei muttered miserably.
He looked away and slumped to the ground, his gaze vacant.
"Heaven wants me dead!" He closed his eyes in despair.
Elsewhere.
After finishing off Zhang Yongda, He An's eyes were icy, but he felt a deep sense of relief.
He didn't stay stunned for long. Crouching down, he started searching Zhang Yongda's body.
This wasn't necrophilia.
He was just looting a corpse.
Of the phrase "kill and plunder," the important part wasn't the killing.
It was the plundering!
But after searching him from head to toe, He An's expression fell.
Apart from some loose silver, Zhang Yongda had nothing on him.
Was that right?
He An kicked Zhang Yongda's corpse twice in indignation.
"Broke-ass!"
If he hadn't wanted to avoid the effort of bending down,
he would have given Zhang Yongda a couple of hard slaps, too.
Still, on the principle that something was better than nothing, He An pocketed the silver.
Just then,
his injuries flared up again.
It hurt!
He An grimaced in pain.
He hadn't even noticed while fighting.
The attacks he'd taken while pretending to be weak against Zhang Yongda had
actually left him with such serious injuries!
"You bastard. Even dead, you won't let me rest."
He kicked Zhang Yongda's corpse once more, then staggered toward the house.
With a bang,
the broken door flew open under a kick.
Fan Xingwei's eyes snapped open. After all the shocks that day, his heart could hardly take any more.
Unlike the first time,
he dropped to his knees in a flash.
"Brother, I'm blind. I didn't see a thing."
"Let me go. I'll do anything!"
"Anything?"
He An looked at him strangely.
Seeing He An staring at him, Fan Xingwei felt a chill run through him.
He silently tugged at his clothes and squeezed his buttocks tighter.
He gritted his teeth.
"Anything!"
He An's mouth twitched.
Was this guy sick in the head?
Even if he were desperate, he wouldn't be interested in a man.
Suppressing the urge to beat him to death, He An plopped down on the ground.
"Relax. I'm not a crazed killer, and I won't hurt you."
"I was injured just now, so I can't dispose of the body myself."
"Before Brother Sun and the others return, bury the body and make sure no one finds it. Do that, and I'll give you a chance to live."
"Otherwise..."
He An gave a cold laugh. The meaning was obvious.
"I'll do it right away."
Seeing that he might still live, Fan Xingwei nodded repeatedly and rushed out of the house in a panic. He dragged Zhang Yongda's corpse to the nearby woods and started digging, puffing and panting.
Seeing this, He An let out a long breath.
But soon, his expression grew serious again.
Zhang Yongda was dead, but that wasn't enough. At the very least, Zhang Yongda wasn't the one who most deserved to die.
The one who deserved to die most was Meng Cao.
But Meng Cao was an Entering the Ranks expert, and a Clerk in the Town Martial Division.
With his current strength, trying to go after Meng Cao was pure fantasy.
Even if he ambushed him, he wouldn't be a match.
What gave him some comfort was that, with his talent, entering the ranks wouldn't be difficult.
Six months at the earliest, a year at the latest.
As long as nothing went wrong along the way,
he believed he could definitely enter the ranks.
By then, even the Meng Family wouldn't dare to keep acting so recklessly.
As for Meng Cao,
He An sneered and muttered, "The day I enter the ranks will be the day you die."
A short while later,
the broken-down house fell quiet.
He An narrowed his eyes, lost in thought as he considered what had happened that day.
"The Salvation Cult?"
"They clearly escaped, so why didn't they leave Fangcheng? Why make a commotion in the city and hide out in this dilapidated house?"
"Could it be... they were waiting for someone?"
The events of earlier began to replay in He An's mind, and he started scanning his surroundings.
No one had lived in this broken-down house for a long time.
It was desolate inside.
If those bandits hadn't stayed there, the dust would probably have piled up three layers deep.
Even now, from a distance, everything still looked thick with dust.
Suddenly,
He An noticed something odd.
From where he stood, he could see through the half-open doorway.
Two or three planks in the corner were unusually clean, as if someone had swept them.
That alone might not have meant anything, but there were also a few scattered footprints around them.
"Something's here!"
He An immediately came to his senses.
After watching over the Criminal Prison for so long,
he'd gotten to know those people a little.
He knew very well that before these bandits were thrown in jail,
whenever they had the chance, they would hide their belongings somewhere.
Silver, Martial Arts, or other valuables.
Mo Caihe had been a lesson in what could happen.
There was no doubt the Salvation Cult's men were no exception.
Knowing they'd most likely be caught, they wouldn't keep anything valuable on them. They'd hide it somewhere out of sight.
If they managed to escape, they could wait for the heat to die down
and then retrieve their belongings!
That way, even if they were caught, they wouldn't lose anything.
With the things they'd hidden, they might even be able to secure better treatment for themselves.
With that in mind,
He An forced himself to stand and slowly walked over to the planks.
Thump, thump.
He knocked on them, and a hollow sound rang out.
"There's a secret compartment!"
He An was excited. He looked around and saw no one else. Fan Xingwei was outside, digging a hole to bury the body.
Then,
he hurriedly opened the compartment.
A Jade Bottle came into view.
Beside it was a banknote worth one hundred taels.
He An didn't examine them closely. He tucked them away and hurried back to where he'd been sitting.
Before leaving,
he made sure to put everything back as it had been, until not a trace of anything unusual remained.
Sitting on the ground, He An struggled to keep the excitement from showing at the corners of his mouth.
He looked outside, and when he saw no one returning, he carefully took out the Jade Bottle.
Looking through the sides of the bottle,
he saw several round objects inside.
"Medicinal Pills?"
He An was tremendously excited.
He'd read in books that Medicinal Pills were made from various Spirit Herbs and Spirit Medicines.
Each pill contained powerful medicinal energy.
For Martial Artists,
Medicinal Pills were an excellent way to improve their strength.
Medicinal Pills were expensive, and extremely scarce.
Even his Eldest Brother, a Muscle Condensing Realm Martial Artist, had never taken a Medicinal Pill—not even the lowest-grade ones.
Most people
could only improve their strength through their own cultivation.
But now, he'd actually obtained Medicinal Pills—and several of them.
He An's breathing quickened.
"I've struck it rich!"
The stopper popped open.
A powerful medicinal scent immediately filled He An's nose.
"They really are Medicinal Pills."
"With such a strong scent, these pills must be high-grade."
At that moment, He An had only one thought.
Hide them.
He had to hide them.
He couldn't let anyone find out.
Before you continue