Martial Hall Steward, Slain with a Single Punch

"My speed has improved again..."

On the way back to the east side of the city, Shen Han muttered to himself.

The running speed brought about by his Flesh Refining Realm cultivation made his Black Shadow feel as if he had wind beneath his feet, weaving through the main streets and narrow alleys.

The Hour of the Boar.

"The weather is dry, watch out for fire!"

A Night Watchman carrying a bronze gong flashed out from the alley ahead, walking straight toward him.

Seeing this, Shen Han had no choice but to immediately slow his pace.

He did not want to expose his strength.

The Night Watchman drew near, swept his eyes over him, then turned into a side path and left.

A moment later.

The Night Watchman put away his gong, sprinted across several street intersections, and stood before a middle-aged fat man.

"Steward Liu, I have a discovery!"

The Night Watchman said respectfully, his expression quite sycophantic.

"Did you find clues regarding the murder of the Qiankun Two Rats?"

The fat man's eyes were sharp.

The Night Watchman hurriedly said, "Not exactly... but, I think I just saw that brick that emits a purple light."

"What did you say!"

The fat man's expression changed instantly.

The Night Watchman dared not delay, saying, "It was a middle-aged man, incredibly ugly. He was carrying a bundle that was faintly glowing with purple light, and the corners of the bundle were shaped exactly like a brick."

The fat man shouted, "Well done! Where is he?"

"He is heading east along Vermilion Bird Alley."

The Night Watchman reported hurriedly.

"Heaven is truly helping me!" the fat man said. "You have performed a great service this time; there will be plenty of rewards for you! Return to the Iron Fist Martial Hall immediately and inform the head disciple of this. I am going to seize that brick right now!"

"Yes, Steward Liu!"

The Night Watchman scurried away.

A cruel sneer appeared on the fat man's lips: "Who would have thought that investigating the death of the Qiankun Two Rats would lead to such an unexpected windfall!"

Shen Han was completely unaware of all this.

He had returned to the gate of his small courtyard and opened it with a "click."

"Stop right there!"

Just then, a cold snort came from behind him.

The voice was extremely hostile.

Shen Han turned around to see a large fat man baring his teeth, slowly approaching him.

"You must have mistaken me for someone else, sir."

Shen Han said indifferently; he had never seen this person before.

"Heh, ugly freak, I am very interested in the brick in your bundle. Put the bundle down, and I might grant you a whole corpse!"

As he spoke, the fat man had already stopped ten feet away from Shen Han.

His eyes were full of playfulness and mockery, as if taking down this ugly man was a trivial matter.

"Are you from the Iron Fist Martial Hall?"

Hearing him mention the brick, Shen Han understood immediately.

Lu Qiling's tragic death and the departure of Yun Yi were both caused by the Iron Fist Martial Hall, and the fuse was this black brick in his bundle.

"Heh heh, good guess. Since you won't live past tomorrow anyway, I don't mind telling you the truth. I don't change my name or surname: I am Liu Yuan, a steward of the Iron Fist Martial Hall."

"Steward Liu, a pleasure."

Shen Han stared coldly at Liu Yuan, feeling helpless inside.

When he went out tonight, he hadn't brought the Bronze Mirror while changing clothes, so the black brick had to be kept in the bundle, which led to it being noticed. Furthermore, his Heavy Iron Curved Blade was inside the Bronze Mirror, making it impossible to use right now.

Liu Yuan puffed out his belly: "What, you're unwilling?"

"That's not it, it's just that I don't quite understand what use you have for a brick after going to such great lengths to find it."

"Heh, enough idle chatter. Are you going to give it to me or not?"

"I'm sorry, Steward Liu, but I intended to use this brick to prop up the leg of my bed."

Shen Han casually shook the bundle in his hand.

Liu Yuan's expression turned instantly furious: "It seems you ugly brute really want to die without a complete corpse!"

As the words fell, he threw a punch toward Shen Han.

Shen Han did not dare to be negligent.

Huh, why is this fatty's punch so slow?

But he immediately realized that in the darkness, Liu Yuan's punch felt like slow motion, posing absolutely no threat.

That's it, it must be because my cultivation is higher than this fatty's that I have this perception.

Having figured out the key, Shen Han's entire body relaxed.

Seeing that he did not dodge or evade, Liu Yuan struck with even less mercy, aiming straight for Shen Han's face.

Slap!

Shen Han casually raised a hand and blocked Liu Yuan's heavy punch.

"Yo, you've got some skills!"

Missing his first strike, Liu Yuan attacked again.

"Too slow!"

Shen Han remained unhurried; this time, he opened his palm and firmly gripped Liu Yuan's fleshy fist.

"You... how!"

Liu Yuan was suddenly terrified.

With his fist clamped tight, he could neither push forward nor pull back.

In a flash, he felt as if his bones were about to be crushed.

"Is that it?"

Shen Han sneered.

The next moment, he released his grip and launched a kick toward Liu Yuan's chest.

Bang!

Liu Yuan could not avoid this sequence of movements at all; his bulky body flipped onto the ground like a piece of paper, and after spitting out a mouthful of blood, it took him a long time to crawl back up.

"Who exactly are you?"

Liu Yuan trembled all over, "I have been in the Skin Refining Realm for years, yet I can't even beat an ugly brute like you!"

As expected, he really is just in the Skin Refining Realm... Shen Han smiled lightly: "I am nameless. Steward Liu, now, can I live until tomorrow?"

Liu Yuan's face looked ghastly.

His chest was in excruciating pain; that kick from Shen Han had broken at least three of his ribs.

Shen Han laughed: "Tell me, what is the brick used for?"

As he spoke, he stepped closer to Liu Yuan.

"I... I don't know."

"Steward Liu, it seems you don't quite understand your own situation."

"Do you dare to kill me?"

Liu Yuan's expression turned miserable.

Shen Han said indifferently: "What a joke! I could kill the Qiankun Two Rats, so what if I kill you?"

"What! You were the one who killed the Qiankun Two Rats!"

Liu Yuan was so shocked he trembled.

At this very moment, he was plunged into deep regret. He had thought Shen Han was just an ordinary person who could be easily manipulated, but who would have guessed that the one who killed the Qiankun Two Rats was actually this person!

If he had known, he should have returned to the martial arts hall to report it first!

Liu Yuan clutched his chest: "Then... if I tell you, will you spare my life?"

"Do I look like someone who kills the innocent indiscriminately?"

"Fine, I will tell you... I once heard the head disciple of the martial arts hall, Peng Hanshan, mention that the brick can be used to increase cultivation speed."

"How does it increase it?"

"That, I am not clear on..."

"Is that so?"

Shen Han's eyes turned cold.

Liu Yuan was terrified: "Ugly... sir, I really don't know. Even Peng Hanshan has never seen that brick; he only heard that the brick emits a purple light."

"Very well, I will ask you again, how did you find me?"

"The Night Watchman is my subordinate."

So that was it... Shen Han finally understood; no wonder the Night Watchman had been looking at him so strangely earlier.

"Alright, time to hit the road."

"What do you mean?"

"I've asked everything I needed to. Steward Liu, you can go die now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Han suddenly lunged forward. His left fist struck from the side, rising and falling like a ghostly shadow, aiming straight for the crown of Liu Yuan's head.

Angry Dragon Divine Fist: Scooping the Moon from Water!

Squelch!

Liu Yuan's skull shattered into bone fragments.

He died on the spot.

Before he passed, a single thought flashed through his mind: Why would this ugly man know the martial arts of the Iron Fist Martial Hall?

"Only two taels of silver?"

Shen Han certainly felt no pity for Liu Yuan; when dealing with enemies, one must be ruthless, and this man deserved to die. Yet, after looting the corpse, he let out an angry laugh, "A dignified steward of a martial hall, and you don't carry any money when you go out?"