Soon, two men in black had climbed onto the wall.
"Senior Brother Kang, this is the place."
One of them lowered his voice.
Kang Zhiwen frowned and grunted. "Damn it, what stinks so badly?"
"Perhaps it's the smell of some kind of medicinal meal."
"So the owner of this courtyard is taking medicine and practicing martial arts? Hu Teng, Hu Teng, your cousin sure knows how to pick a fight!"
So this man was Hu Teng... Shen Han mused.
Hu Teng was the older cousin of Hu Jiao, the local ruffian. I never expected him to come looking for me after I killed those two lackeys of his—and he'd even brought a partner.
It looked like they were both disciples of the Black Wind Stronghold.
I wonder how strong they are. Can I take them?
Hu Teng spoke again. "Senior Brother Kang, I found Ding San and Mao Si's bodies in a dry well in the city.
They'd been stuffed into a red sack.
My investigation revealed that someone had seen the person living in this little courtyard use that sack."
So that was how they'd found me... Shen Han thought.
"How many people live in the courtyard?" Kang Zhiwen asked.
Hu Teng hurriedly replied, "Just two, a man and a woman. The woman is delicate and frail. The killer has to be the man."
Kang Zhiwen sneered. "Man or woman, they're both asleep now. We can just kill them!"
Hu Teng agreed. "Exactly. But..."
Kang Zhiwen turned his head, his expression fierce. "But what? Junior Brother Hu, why are you stumbling over your words?"
"I think the killer might be pretty strong."
"Why?"
As he spoke, Kang Zhiwen glanced toward the two rooms.
Hu Teng hurriedly said, "Senior Brother Kang, I examined Ding San and Mao Si's bodies carefully. Both their necks had been snapped, and it looked like they hadn't been able to fight back."
"Oh?"
"My cousin Hu Jiao aside—he's just a fat lump with no real skills—Ding San and Mao Si were both experts on the verge of the Skin Refining Realm. Yet the killer dispatched them with ease..."
"Heh, what's there to fear?" Kang Zhiwen laughed. "How strong could someone living in a dump like this be?
"At most, he's only at the Skin Refining Realm.
"Junior Brother Hu, we've both broken through the Skin Refining Realm, and I've been in the realm for two whole years. The two of us can surely kill him together."
"Senior Brother Kang is right!"
"By the way, enough of this nonsense. Have you prepared the reward I asked for?" Kang Zhiwen suddenly asked.
Hu Teng patted his chest. "Don't worry, Senior Brother Kang. I've got the Angry Dragon Divine Fist manual right here. When I went with Master to visit the Iron Fist Martial Hall, I stole it for you."
"Good. Once this is done, the manual is mine. You can copy it later."
"Thank you, Senior Brother Kang."
"Come on, let's go butcher that pair of dogs!"
As he spoke, Kang Zhiwen leaped down from the wall.
Hu Teng followed.
He crouched low and dropped lightly to the ground.
Boom!
Just then, a heavy punch came hurtling in from behind him.
Hu Teng was completely caught off guard. In the blink of an eye, the fist slammed into the back of his neck.
Crack!
His spine snapped!
"Aaagh..."
Hu Teng screamed in agony. His body toppled to the ground like a kite with its strings cut, writhing helplessly, unable to get back up.
It had all happened too fast.
Kang Zhiwen turned around to find Hu Teng crippled and a black shadow standing two zhang away.
"Who are you?" Kang Zhiwen asked in a low voice.
The black shadow was none other than Shen Han.
"Brother, I'm the man you're looking for. Weren't you planning to kill me?"
"You killed Hu Jiao, Ding San, and Mao Si?"
"That's right!"
"Good, very good. There's a road to heaven, but you refuse to take it; there's no door to hell, but you barge right in. Boy, this time next year will be the anniversary of your death."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kang Zhiwen roared and lunged, driving his fist hard toward Shen Han.
Shen Han didn't dare take him lightly. He unleashed the perfected Basic Fist Technique and met him head-on.
Bang!
Their fists collided.
The force of two Skin Refining Realm fighters meeting head-on was earth-shattering, kicking up a burst of air. Even the night birds in the trees shrieked in fright.
"Not bad!"
Kang Zhiwen stumbled back two steps, his fist aching faintly.
Shen Han also staggered back against a tree trunk.
Kang Zhiwen really was no pushover. His strength was on par with mine. No wonder he'd been in the Skin Refining Realm for two years. If my clone hadn't taken Qi Condensing Powder tonight, I'd be dead... Shen Han's hand went numb. He gasped for breath and quickly circulated his energy to recover.
"Die!"
Kang Zhiwen gave him no chance to catch his breath and threw another punch.
I can't take that head-on!
Shen Han dodged at the last possible moment.
Thud!
Kang Zhiwen's iron fist slammed into the tree trunk, leaving a three-foot-deep dent.
I'll have to outwit him... Shen Han's thoughts raced. He grabbed the medicine stove by the well and hurled it at Kang Zhiwen.
"That all you've got?"
Kang Zhiwen lashed out with a flying kick.
Crack!
The stove shattered into pieces.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, Shen Han charged forward. Seizing that fleeting opening, he flung what he had in his hand straight at Kang Zhiwen's face.
It was stove ash!
In an instant, stove ash filled the air around Kang Zhiwen.
"You bastard!"
A good deal of the ash flew into his eyes.
Now was his chance!
Shen Han immediately sprang into action, redirecting his meridians and gathering all his strength into his right fist. He hammered it toward Kang Zhiwen.
Though Kang Zhiwen could barely see, he still raised his fist to strike back.
Thump!
Their fists collided again.
But caught off guard, Kang Zhiwen's punch was nowhere near as powerful as Shen Han's.
"Pfft..."
After staggering back several steps, Kang Zhiwen spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Wait!"
Kang Zhiwen braced himself against the courtyard wall and managed to steady himself. "Boy, you and I have no grudge. Let's end this here!"
Shen Han was in bad shape too.
A stabbing pain spread from his chest to his throat, a clear sign that he'd suffered internal injuries.
"Fine, but Hu Teng stays."
Shen Han steadied himself and replied coldly.
Kang Zhiwen didn't hesitate. "No problem. You can do whatever you want with Hu Teng."
Hu Teng, barely alive, was instantly terrified.
He was almost crippled. He'd thought Senior Brother Kang could kill Shen Han, but the two had fought to a standstill—and now Senior Brother Kang was abandoning him.
"Senior Bro—"
"Shut your damn mouth!"
"Senior Brother Kang, don't leave me... Ah! Senior Brother Kang, watch out!"
What?
Kang Zhiwen faltered.
That kid had somehow closed the distance. An iron fist came crashing down from above, straight toward his head.
"Hey, you—"
Kang Zhiwen tried to raise his fist to block it, but he was too late.
Thwack!
The fist smashed into his head.
His facial bones shattered, and he staggered, barely upright.
"Run, run..."
Badly injured, Kang Zhiwen had no thought of fighting back. He only wanted to scramble up the courtyard wall and escape while he still could.
How could Shen Han let him get away?
He endured the agony in his chest and didn't hesitate for a moment. Reaching out with both hands, he seized Kang Zhiwen's head.
"Don't kill—"
Before he could finish, there came a crack. His neck snapped.
Kang Zhiwen's life ended there.
"Phew..."
Shen Han had nearly exhausted every last bit of energy in his body.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, his legs giving way. He quickly leaned against the tree trunk and regulated his breathing.
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