Ambush 2

With one companion dead and the other incapacitated, the last burly man, built like a wild ox, was a mix of terror and shock. His eyes instantly bloodshot, a frenzy of violence born from fear and despair.

He let out a bestial roar, charging recklessly, raising his fist the size of a sand pot. With all his brute strength, he swung wildly at Cui Hao! The wind howled, his momentum terrifying.

Facing an attack fueled by pure brute force, intending a mutual kill, Cui Hao's gaze was calm. He advanced instead of retreating.

He planted his feet, uniting his waist and hips. His right fist shot out like a cannonball. No fancy moves, just the most basic "Mountain Collapse"!

"BANG--!!!"

The two fists collided violently in mid-air, emitting a dull thud like beating leather!

A surge of immense power flowed through his fist. Cui Hao swayed slightly, sliding back half a step to absorb the impact, his feet leaving shallow craters in the ground.

The burly man opposite him staggered back a step as well, but the rage on his face instantly turned to disbelief and horror. His wide eyes were filled with terror.

"You... you're a Mortal Martial Grandmaster!!" he shrieked, his voice contorted by fear.

With that single punch, he felt as if he'd struck an anvil. The power from the 'fat sheep's' fist was incredibly solid, the recoil leaving his entire arm numb and aching. This was far beyond what someone at Minor Accomplishment could possess!

Cui Hao's expression was blank, but his heart stirred.

The +20 Constitution from his stat panel, combined with other buffs, gave him actual strength far exceeding his peers. He usually held back, but this full-power clash revealed his true capabilities.

Good... dead men tell no tales.

Giving the opponent no chance to breathe or think, he "advanced" like lightning, his body moving like a ghost to close in on the robber.

In his shock, the burly man swung again, but Cui Hao was faster. His left hand clamped down like an iron vise on the man's right wrist joint, while his right hand lightning-fast locked the elbow joint—this was the "Locking the Dragon" technique from the Broken Fist grappling variations!

"Break!"

Cui Hao grunted, his core strength exploding. His arm muscles bulged as he twisted his waist and hips, cooperating with precise force, like snapping a thick stalk of sugarcane—

"Crack!"

The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed clearly.

"Ah--!!!"

The burly man let out a heart-wrenching scream, far more piercing than the shorter, stouter man's. His entire right arm was unnaturally twisted, the bone clearly broken and tendons torn.

Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself. Cui Hao moved agilely, like a shadow, circling behind the burly man who had hunched over from the intense pain.

His right fist clenched, channeling his blood and qi. A straightforward punch, devoid of any flourish but imbued with his full body's strength, landed squarely on the upper back, near the spine!

"Thump! Crack!" A dull thud accompanied a fainter bone-cracking sound.

This punch not only shattered internal organs but directly broke his crucial spinal bone!

The burly man's scream abruptly ceased, like a rooster whose throat had been choked. His eyes widened to their limit, his massive body suddenly seeming to lose its soul, becoming limp and powerless.

"Thud—!"

His knees buckled, and he fell straight to the ground, face-first onto the cold, hard earth with a dull impact.

His body twitched twice, then fell silent.

Only his hollow, vacant eyes retained the terror and confusion of his final moments, like a dying wild dog taking its last breath in despair.

The night wind blew, and Cui Hao panted slightly, regulating the slightly agitated blood and qi within him from the intense battle.

An indescribable feeling washed over him—not ecstatic joy or bloodlust, but a sense of controlling power, a strange calm after a life-and-death struggle.

It was as if, despite the vastness of the world, between life and death, only strength and intellect could be relied upon.

"G-great lord! Spare me! Spare me!!"

Just then, the shorter, stouter man, his right arm crippled and lying on the ground, struggled. He used his usable left hand to prop up his upper body and began banging his head on the ground towards Cui Hao, his voice trembling violently from fear and pain.

"You... you are a Mortal Martial Grandmaster! This lowly one had eyes but failed to see your greatness! I beg you to show mercy and spare my life! I am already crippled and pose no threat to you! I have money, I'll give it all to you! All of it!"

Cui Hao's tone was chillingly strange. "You engage in this business of murder and robbery. Before you act, don't you investigate, don't you inquire about your target's cultivation and strength?"

The shorter, stouter man, as if grasping a sliver of hope, replied hastily, his words tumbling out rapidly. "We did! We did inquire! When we were drinking at 'Yuexiang Tower', we heard from someone surnamed Cui, a disciple of the Qingsong Martial School! He said you were a poor hunter from Willow Tree Village, who recently struck it lucky with some game and should have some silver on you, but you were stingy and miserly... at most... at most you were at Mortal Martial Entry-level. Or perhaps just broke through... that's why we... we dared to make a move, my lord!"

By the end of his explanation, the shorter man's voice was choked with tears, filled with regret.

Cui Hao's eyes turned cold. Surname Cui, Qingsong Martial School—his cousin Cui Huo!

"My lord! Let me go! I'm truly crippled! I'll give you all my money!" The shorter, stouter man, seeing Cui Hao's silence, thought he saw hope. Tears streamed down his face as he begged for mercy, his injured left hand trembling as he reached into his clothes, seemingly about to pull out money.

Cui Hao moved! His right foot lashed out like a whip, lightning-fast, striking the shorter man precisely and viciously on the jaw!

"Crack! Splat!"

The sickening sound of bone shattering, mixed with the crunch of teeth.

The shorter, stouter man's body was kicked flying nearly five feet into the air, his neck at a grotesque angle. He then fell heavily to the ground like a sack of rags, twitched twice, and was completely still.

His left hand remained outstretched, reaching into his clothes.

Not taking any chances, Cui Hao followed through smoothly, delivering a kick to the shorter man's chest, crushing his heart.

Only then did he begin a quick search. He found a cold, hard metal object shaped like a large brush, with fine holes at the tip, clearly some kind of mechanical hidden weapon.

As expected, one can't guard against everything. Good thing I acted first and killed him.

Kicked the other two corpses, looted them, and then needed to dispose of the bodies.

There was no river nearby to sink them in.

Second Mountain was too far away.

After a moment's thought, Cui Hao drew the blood-stained short knife and quickly disfigured the faces of the three corpses, making them unrecognizable.

Finally, he dragged the bodies into the deeper withered grass by the roadside and roughly concealed them.

Having finished all this, he took a wide detour, Stealthing from the other side of Willow Tree Village, like a civet cat, and silently returned to outside his own courtyard wall.

Knock! Knock!

"Sister Yun, it's me, open the door."

"Brother Hao!" Hearing the familiar light knock, Su Yun, who had been anxiously waiting, immediately and nimbly opened the courtyard gate.

Seeing Cui Hao return safely as usual, she put down her worried heart and said softly, "You must be starving, right? The food has been kept warm, you can eat right away."

"I'm alright," Cui Hao puffed out his chest, deliberately putting on a bit of a "manly" air, "This master needs to take a bath first to wash away the bad luck."

"Alright, take a bath first," Su Yun was almost completely compliant with him, knowing that men worked hard outside, "I'll go get you some clean clothes."

Saying that, she turned to go to the main hall.

"Wait," Cui Hao called her to a halt, a mischievous smile on his lips, and lowered his voice, "You... change into that red one."

Su Yun's face instantly flushed, as if dyed by the sunset. She glared at him, annoyed, but it lacked any force, instead making her appear even more charming.

She quickly walked to the west room to change into that rather bold red undergarment, known only between husband and wife.

While she was doing that, Cui Hao acted swiftly. He first went to the outhouse and carefully hid the short knife he had collected and the bronze dart in a hidden compartment under a loose stone slab.

Finally, he went to the kitchen. Under the dim oil lamp, he poured out the contents of the three money pouches to count them.

--A total of six hundred and thirty-seven copper coins, and about one tael and eight qian of silver.

Not a fortune, but still a considerable haul.

At the same time, he noticed his status panel.

The progress values for [Realm: Mortal Martial Minor Accomplishment] and [Broken Fist Stance Cultivation Method] had both surged by 60 points!

Jumping from 220 straight to 280!

To level up, one really had to kill people!

He quickly took off his outer clothes, pants, and shoes, which were stained with dirt and a faint smell of blood, and threw them into the large wooden basin for washing. He scooped up the icy well water to soak them first, to remove the smell.

By the time Su Yun, dawdling and with a flushed face, came out after changing into the alluring red undergarment, Cui Hao was already bare-chested, quickly rinsing himself with hot water in the kitchen.

"Ah!" Su Yun hadn't expected him to be undressed, and let out a small gasp, quickly turning her face away, her earlobes turning completely red.

"We're an old married couple, why are you shy," Cui Hao said casually, handing her the soap, "Come here, scrub my back for me."

Su Yun shot him a playful glare, her expression so alluring that Cui Hao's heart fluttered.

Taking the soap and cloth, Su Yun walked behind the man and began to gently and carefully scrub his back.

The warm water and his wife's gentle ministrations made Cui Hao feel relaxed in body and mind. The tension and stress from the recent battle gradually faded.

Halfway through scrubbing, Su Yun's movements slowed. She sniffed lightly, unable to suppress her worry, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Hao... when you came in just now, there was a faint smell of blood on you, it's gone now."

Cui Hao's body stiffened slightly. Then he reached out, his water-stained hand gently pinching her smooth cheek, and said in a tone of gentle but undeniable authority, "Men's business, women shouldn't ask too much. Just relax."

Su Yun lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "...I was just worried about you."

"I know," Cui Hao softened his tone, "Practice Lime powder, and practice more when you have time, until you can sprinkle it without looking. It can save your life at a critical moment."

"Okay, I'll remember," Su Yun replied obediently, her hand movements becoming even gentler as she scrubbed his back.

After bathing and changing into clean underclothes, he felt refreshed.

The delicious food filled his stomach, replenishing his depleted energy.

After the meal, Su Yun boiled water to wash the soaked clothes, while Cui Hao lay on the bed, eyes closed, reviewing the encounter from earlier.

Those three, judging by their coordination and the ruthlessness of their attacks, were by no means novices. They should all have been skilled Mortal Martial Minor Accomplishment practitioners with rich combat experience.

The reasons he could win were twofold.

First, the all-around attribute bonuses brought by his golden finger had given him strength, speed, and resilience beyond his peers. This was his foundation.

Second, the Broken Fist Stance Cultivation Method taught at the martial arts school was indeed practical, especially the footwork in the stance, which played a decisive role in evasion, maneuvering, and finding opportunities to attack.

The next morning, as dawn was breaking, Cui Hao headed into the city with Lin Da as usual.

When leaving the village, they had to pass near the battlefield from last night. Cui Hao kept his eyes straight ahead, his steps steady, ensuring he did not look, listen, or associate.

It was as if it were just an ordinary stretch of road.

Lin Da was heavy-hearted, muttering all the way about his fear of the two-month deadline and his worry about whether he could break through to the Mortal Martial Realm. Naturally, he didn't notice the abnormality by the roadside.

In the morning, he went to the martial arts school for his usual training, honing complex techniques.

At noon, he left the martial arts school and headed straight for Xuanhu Hall, located next to the City Guard's mansion.

This was one of the largest pharmacies in the city, with guaranteed reputation and quality of medicinal ingredients.

"Two packets of Qi and Blood Powder," Cui Hao said to the shop assistant behind the counter.

"Certainly, honored guest. Three taels of silver." The shop assistant nimbly took out two small packets carefully wrapped in oil paper, marked with the Xuanhu Hall insignia.

Cui Hao handed over the remaining three taels from the twenty taels of silver he had obtained from Zhou Menglong.

In exchange, he received these two packets of medicine, crucial for cultivating the Mortal Martial Realm.

Just then, a familiar and annoying voice sounded behind him, "Cui Hao?"

The person who arrived was his uncle, Cui Hu.

Cui Hu's gaze first fell on Cui Hao's noticeably stronger physique, a flicker of surprise flashing across his eyes, before he fixed his gaze on the oil paper packet still in Cui Hao's hand.

"What you're holding... is Qi and Blood Powder?" Cui Hu's voice suddenly rose, filled with accusation and a strange sense of righteousness. " Cui Hao! What do you mean by this? You only barely entered the Mortal Martial Realm right at the two-month deadline, with mediocre talent and limited future! Using this Qi and Blood Powder is pure waste!"

Cui Hao sneered. This fellow was utterly shameless.

Cui Hu couldn't hide the greed in his eyes. "Listen to your uncle's advice and give me this Qi and Blood Powder. Your cousin, Cui Huo, is a key prospect being nurtured at Qingsong Martial School and is only one step away from achieving great success in the Mortal Martial Realm!"

"He's exactly at a time when resources are needed! Give this Qi and Blood Powder to him to help him break through sooner and get into the Martial Xiucai! This is a major event that will bring glory to our Cui family! It's a tremendous good thing for you and for our entire family! You need to consider the bigger picture!"

Due to grudges from the previous generation, their branch of the family had long been estranged from the main family, almost to the point of not interacting at all.

The only reason Cui Hu could shamelessly utter these "righteous" words today was one reason: the main family, for Cui Huo, was already deeply in debt, unable to borrow any more, and had gone mad, wanting to take even this small advantage.

Too lazy to waste more words on such a person, Cui Hao shifted his feet, executing a subtle footwork technique. Like a nimble fish, he easily sidestepped Cui Hu, who was blocking his path, and strode away without looking back.

Cui Hu was stunned by this understated yet incredibly swift movement. By the time he reacted, Cui Hao had already moved several yards away.

Enraged, his face turned green. He stomped his feet and cursed a few times on the spot, but was helpless.

Before the year, the old man had personally visited, not only getting no money but being politely but firmly rejected. After that, the two families completely stopped interacting.

He had intended to use his elder status to pressure the boy when they met by chance today, but he hadn't expected the brat's wings to have hardened, completely ignoring him.