"I'm dead... Master is dead!!"
The short-haired young man stared blankly, his body trembling like a leaf. He had never imagined that his master, a Bone Refining Realm expert, would die so easily.
And he had died at the hands of the Tendon Refining Realm martial artist who had fought him just moments ago!
"How is this possible? How is this possible..."
The short-haired young man muttered to himself, unable to accept the truth.
But he had witnessed his master clash with Liu Chu with his own eyes. He had seen his master fall behind and get suppressed, his arm severed, and finally his head taken by a single sword stroke!
Those facts left him no choice but to believe!
"No, it's impossible!"
"This isn't real. It absolutely can't be. How could Master die so easily—"
Though the truth lay before him, the short-haired young man still refused to believe it.
Or rather, he couldn't accept it!
He couldn't accept his own death!!
"I'll kill you—"
The short-haired young man's eyes were bloodshot. In his desperation, he summoned the last of his strength and charged at Liu Chu.
Liu Chu answered with a single slash!
A dazzling blade light suddenly bloomed.
A living, burning life abruptly withered!
With a swift, clean motion, he returned his blade to its sheath.
Liu Chu said calmly, "Collect the bodies!"
Only then did Han Qi and the other Black Dragon Gang disciples come forward. They began gathering the spoils and clearing away the bodies, preparing to bury them.
"The leader's fight with that man just now was so intense. Was he really a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist?" one of the gang members asked quietly as they collected the bodies.
"He really didn't seem like one. After all, the leader killed the Wild Wolf Gang's leader in six strikes, and that man seemed to have been a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist."
"Could the man the leader killed have been a Bone Refining Realm expert?"
"Hiss, killing a Bone Refining Realm expert? That can't be possible..."
"Who knows? The leader is no ordinary person. He only needed six strikes to kill a Tendon Refining Realm expert. Maybe he really could kill a Bone Refining Realm expert!"
"It's possible. After all, the leader fought that man for thirty or forty moves. Could a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist last that long against him..."
"That makes sense. Perhaps that really was a Bone Refining Realm expert!"
The gang members exchanged a few quiet words, their hearts filled with doubt. They felt that the expert their leader had killed was very likely a Bone Refining Realm expert!!
A Bone Refining Realm expert!
And their leader had killed him so easily!
Their awe of their leader grew even deeper. They were practically ready to bow down at his feet.
"Leader, these are the valuables we found on them. Please take a look!"
Han Qi presented the spoils. "I counted six hundred taels in banknotes, along with two bottles of pills. I'm not sure what they are."
"Six hundred taels in banknotes... That makes up the two hundred taels short for the Treasure Fish, with four hundred taels left over to cultivate the Yanglian Technique!"
Liu Chu put away the banknotes, then picked up the two porcelain bottles. When he opened them, he found two kinds of pills inside, one red and one black.
However, the bottles didn't say what the pills were or what they did.
"These should be the poison that Senior Brother Lin Bei was struck with..."
Liu Chu guessed silently.
He didn't waste time trying to identify the pills. Instead, he simply instructed Han Qi to take care of the bodies.
Then he went alone to the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall.
Inside the hall, Yang Wenhuai was still worrying over how to treat Lin Bei.
He sat by the bed, watching Lin Bei, who remained unconscious and occasionally furrowed his brow. Looking exhausted, Yang Wenhuai said, "Over the past few days, I've practically brought every doctor in Zhaojiang City here, but none of them could cure the poison in Lin Bei's body. Do I really have to ask the Qianjin Divine Doctor for help?"
His expression was troubled. Thinking of the exorbitant price that divine doctor charged, he couldn't help frowning.
Just then, a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Oh, it's Liu Chu. Did you come to ask me something, my disciple?"
Yang Wenhuai opened the door. Seeing Liu Chu, he asked tiredly.
"Master, I found two bottles of pills on Gu Hualong. They might be able to cure the poison in Senior Brother Lin Bei's body."
Liu Chu took out the two bottles of pills.
"Hmm? Pills?"
Yang Wenhuai took the porcelain bottles, bewildered. But the next moment, he frowned as he realized what was important, his eyes widening. "You mean you found two bottles of pills on my traitorous junior brother?!"
Liu Chu nodded.
"No, my junior brother wouldn't have given you the pills... Could it be!"
A look of alarm and disbelief flashed in Yang Wenhuai's eyes. He stared at Liu Chu, a bold suspicion rising in his heart!
Liu Chu remained calm and said mildly, "Master, your blade wasn't ruthless enough, so I took care of the traitor for you. I hope you won't blame me."
"Th-this can't be possible!"
Yang Wenhuai didn't pay the slightest attention to the words "your blade wasn't ruthless enough," "took care of the traitor," or "won't blame me." What mattered to him was that Liu Chu's words confirmed his suspicion!
Liu Chu had actually killed Gu Hualong!!
How could this be possible!!
Gu Hualong was a Bone Refining Realm expert!!
Liu Chu was only at the Tendon Refining Realm. How could he kill a Bone Refining Realm expert!
Yang Wenhuai was stunned for a long moment before finally recovering. He asked in disbelief, "You... really killed him?"
"Would you like to handle his body yourself, Master? I can have someone bring it here later."
Liu Chu suddenly slapped his forehead, nearly forgetting that Yang Wenhuai and Gu Hualong had been fellow disciples. They shouldn't just dispose of the body carelessly.
Fortunately, a body wasn't so easy to get rid of. Even if they buried it in a pit, they could still dig it back up.
Hearing that Liu Chu would bring Gu Hualong's body over, Yang Wenhuai finally calmed down and accepted that Liu Chu wasn't joking.
"I never imagined that in just a few short months, you'd grow this strong—you can even kill a Bone Refining Realm expert!!"
Yang Wenhuai sighed in amazement.
He had once fought Gu Hualong for several moves while protecting Liu Chu, so he knew that Gu Hualong wasn't like Luo Qingyue, who possessed a high realm but lacked any real combat ability.
And an accomplished Bone Refining Realm expert like that had been killed by Liu Chu...
Even though Yang Wenhuai had recovered from the initial shock, he still struggled to calm himself!
"Master, you should check whether either of these two bottles of pills can save Senior Brother Lin Bei."
Liu Chu reminded him.
"Right, right! I almost forgot what matters!"
Yang Wenhuai hurriedly examined the pills. He couldn't tell what they did either, so in the end, he found a dog to test them on and figured out the difference.
One bottle contained poison, while the other contained the antidote.
After giving Lin Bei the antidote, Yang Wenhuai saw his complexion improve and his tightly furrowed brows relax. At last, he let out a long breath of relief.
Although Lin Bei still hadn't woken up, he was out of danger. It was only a matter of time before he regained consciousness.
"Liu Chu, we truly owe this to you. Otherwise, your Senior Brother Lin Bei might not have made it through this ordeal!"
Yang Wenhuai wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked exhausted, but a smile appeared on his face.
"It was nothing. I'm just glad I could help, Master."
Liu Chu smiled too.
Although Yang Wenhuai hadn't helped him much, he had at least been the one to guide him into the martial arts world. He had advised him in his cultivation, and after seeing Liu Chu reveal his strength, he had already planned to pass on the Jinding Technique once Liu Chu broke through to the Bone Refining Realm.
"Wait a moment!"
Seeing Liu Chu about to leave, Yang Wenhuai called out to him. Then he returned to the bedroom and took out a stack of banknotes.
"What's this..."
Liu Chu looked at Yang Wenhuai in surprise.
Yang Wenhuai explained with a smile, "Now that you're capable of killing Bone Refining Realm experts, and your Yanglian Technique is already perfected, I imagine you've decided to cultivate a new Yanglian Technique."
"Cultivating a second Yanglian Technique will take a considerable amount of resources. Take these two hundred taels of silver; they'll help with your cultivation."
Liu Chu heard him and instinctively tried to refuse.
But Yang Wenhuai was resolute. "I'm old. I no longer have a chance of breaking through to the Neizhuang Realm. I've earned plenty over the years running this martial arts hall, and I set this money aside for talented disciples like you to cultivate."
"Take it. All these years, I've carried the burden of my sect's destruction and never dared marry or have children. I have no wife or children, and there's nowhere else for this money to go."
Seeing his determination, Liu Chu stopped refusing.
After his battle with Gu Hualong, he had indeed felt that the advantage of his perfected technique was waning. He had already decided to cultivate a second Yanglian Technique!
And he needed silver right now.
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