The moon shone bright, and few stars were visible.
As he pondered, Chen Mo had already stepped onto the path north of town.
He skirted several patrols from the Hansha Gang and Black Tiger Hall, heading toward the mountain shrine.
Not long after, he spotted the shrine's outline. A graceful figure stood leaning by the entrance, anxiously waiting.
He quickened his pace.
When he reached the entrance, Wu Zhiai smiled with relief and looked him up and down. Seeing no wounds on him, she finally relaxed.
"How are things outside?" Wu Zhiai asked.
"The Hansha Gang and Black Tiger Hall are patrolling. I killed four men, one of them Luo Hou."
Hearing Chen Mo's casual tone, Wu Zhiai was startled, but quickly composed herself.
Four martial artists, killed just like that. On any other day, it would have been a major event. Yet the young man before her spoke without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Chen Mo had surprised her too many times already.
Chen Mo ate the simple meal Wu Zhiai had prepared, then began practicing martial arts.
Five days passed in a flash.
Over those five days, Chen Mo searched for Cicada Slough, honed Mountain and Water Cultivation, practiced martial arts, and went into town to kill. He had almost no time to rest.
He killed ten people in five days.
By the final two days, the Hansha Gang and Black Tiger Hall were on high alert. If Chen Mo hadn't known Black River Town so well, he would nearly have been discovered.
By then, the two gangs had fewer than half their original Ming Jin fighters combined, and only two of their five Dark Jin experts remained.
His practice of the Lihuo Profound Technique had advanced at a remarkable pace. At first, he could only gather