Slaying Cao Lin Again, Soul-Illuminating Jade Seal

For a moment, the small courtyard fell into a deathly silence.

No one had expected this ugly man to be a man of his word, actually lopping off the head of Du Chong with a single strike!

Who was Du Chong?

He was the dignified Young Master of the Black Dragon Gang and the only son of Gang Leader Du, a man of immense influence in Three Rivers County. Yet, he had been executed on the spot, dying here in the backwater of Stone Ox Town.

"You... Young Master..."

The remaining martial artists of the Black Dragon Gang were all struck dumb, trembling like cicadas in late autumn.

After receiving intelligence from Qin Wu tonight, they had rushed to Stone Ox Town under the leadership of Du Chong specifically to capture Cao Lin of the Green Garment Gang. Everything had been going smoothly, and victory had been all but assured.

Who could have known that an ugly man would emerge halfway through?

He had not only ruined their grand plan but had acted with such ruthless precision that their leader, Du Chong, had been decapitated.

How could they not be terrified?

"Get lost!"

Shen Han kicked out, sending Du Chong's head flying into the weeds in the corner of the wall as if it were nothing more than a rotten stone.

The fact that the Young Master of the Black Dragon Gang had met such an end left everyone present chilled to the bone.

"This hero, would you be willing to come up the mountain with me?"

Cao Lin endured his pain, steadied his footing, and asked cautiously.

He had thought it through: if this ugly man could be recruited for the Green Garment Gang, the gang's strength would increase significantly. As for the matter of Du Chong being killed, the man was already dead, so there was no need to dwell on it.

"Why would Young Master Cao say such a thing?"

Shen Han asked indifferently.

"Hero, you saved my life from Du Chong, and my father will surely reward you handsomely," Cao Lin said. "Furthermore, since you killed Du Chong, the Black Dragon Gang will certainly seek brutal revenge against you. Our Green Garment Gang can offer you protection."

As he spoke, Cao Lin's face was full of humility.

If he had known that the ugly man before him was actually the physician Shen Han whom he had invited, he would likely have been petrified on the spot.

"Do you think I need protection?"

To everyone's surprise, Shen Han let out a cold laugh.

Cao Lin hurriedly offered a fawning smile: "That is true, but our Green Garment Gang also admires heroes. If we join forces, Three Rivers County will be ours!"

The martial artists of the Black Dragon Gang exchanged glances.

If that were to happen, the strength of the Green Garment Gang would see a qualitative leap. With the shift in power, the Black Dragon Gang's slight advantage would vanish into thin air.

"Young Master Cao, you are overthinking things."

Shen Han walked toward Cao Lin.

Cao Lin quickly said: "Then... Hero, you can state your conditions, and our Green Garment Gang will certainly satisfy them!"

Shen Han raised the Heavy Iron Curved Blade: "My conditions?"

"Yes, Hero, just name them."

"Very well, my condition is—to kill you!"

As soon as the words fell, the curved blade descended in a straight line, its thousand-catty force cleaving through everything as if there were no resistance at all.

Splat!

Cao Lin felt a sharp pain in his head.

Immediately after, before the eyes of the crowd, his entire body was split like a wooden stake struck by an axe, dividing into two halves and collapsing to either side.

In an instant, viscera and blood splattered across the courtyard.

A scene of carnage.

"Ugh..."

The four martial artists of the Green Garment Gang were stunned into stupidity.

They could not understand why this ugly man, having saved Cao Lin, would turn around and execute him.

Shen Han certainly had his reasons for killing Cao Lin. This man had ordered Guan Shu to poison him and Feng Hao just to silence them; he deserved to die, and there was no reason to spare him!

"Run, run..."

Soon, one martial artist snapped out of his stupor.

He immediately discarded his weapon and vaulted over the wall.

This ugly man was simply not human; staying here would only lead to one outcome: death!

Once he fled, the remaining martial artists scattered in a panic.

Seeing this, the martial artists of the Black Dragon Gang didn't even bother with Du Chong's corpse, deciding instantly to flee in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, both groups had vanished, leaving the courtyard quiet, save for the three corpses left behind.

Shen Han did not pursue them.

First, there were over a dozen of these people; although their cultivation was mostly at the Skin Refining stage, they had fled in all directions, making it unrealistic to catch and kill them all.

Second, once he removed his Human Skin Mask, they would have no way of recognizing him in the future.

Third, Feng Hao was still waiting in the cave for medicinal herbs to save his life, and there was no time to waste on these small fries.

"Let's see what these two young gang leaders have on them..."

Shen Han would not pass up the chance to loot the bodies.

He crouched down and began to search, his movements extremely practiced.

"They really are pampered, aren't they? Dignified young gang leaders, and they don't even carry silver when they go out?"

Shen Han was a bit speechless.

Because there were no money pouches on the corpses of Du Chong and Cao Lin, he only managed to find two taels of silver on the bald martial artist from the Black Dragon Gang—better than nothing.

"Huh?"

Just then, inside the lining of Cao Lin's clothes, Shen Han discovered two white porcelain bottles.

"Could it be..."

He immediately recalled, aren't these the Returning Cloud Pill?

He opened the two bottles to check, and sure enough, the dark green pills inside were indeed the forbidden palace drug, the Returning Cloud Pill!

One bottle contained four pills, the other five, totaling nine pills.

"Cao Lin, your death is not as light as a feather."

Shen Han tucked the two bottles of Returning Cloud Pill into the Bronze Mirror and went back to search Du Chong's corpse once more.

Finally, in the sole of Du Chong's shoe, Shen Han found a small seal base.

The seal base was made of jade, square-shaped, about the size of an infant's fist, and dark green in color.

"Wait, this seal base..."

Shen Han's heart stirred, and he immediately took out the silk cloth from the Bronze Mirror to compare them carefully.

Whoosh!

Incredible; this seal base was exactly the same as the Soul-Illuminating Jade Seal depicted in the four drawings.

Does this mean I have already collected two of them?

The Dark Iron Brick and the Soul-Illuminating Jade Seal—of the four items drawn on the silk cloth, he now had two, leaving only the Cold Frost Wood Mirror and the Heavenly Seal-Opening Bead yet to be found.

"Du Chong, your death is as heavy as Mount Tai!"

Shen Han was overjoyed. "Not bad, not bad at all. You two young gang leaders have no flaws other than not carrying silver.

Time to go buy the medicinal herbs next door!"

Thump, thump, thump!

Shen Han shouldered his medicine chest, walked out of the courtyard, and knocked on the door of the neighboring herb shop.

In truth, the shopkeeper had not been asleep at all.

He had seen most of what happened in the small courtyard through the cracks in the door.

"Hero, you... you..."

The herb shopkeeper was terrified.

Shen Han smiled. "Shopkeeper, don't be afraid. I may look a bit ugly, but I am a good person. I need eight types of herbs..."

"Oh, right away, right away."

The herb shopkeeper hurried to prepare the medicinal ingredients.

Fortunately, the herbs Shen Han requested were all common, and before long, the shopkeeper had them wrapped up.

"Here is the silver."

Shen Han placed the two taels of silver he had looted from the bald martial artist onto the counter.

"Hero, this is too much..."

"Please, shopkeeper, give me a decoction pot as well. Consider the remaining silver a fee for the late-night disturbance."

"Alright, just a moment."

The herb shopkeeper did as he was told.

Once everything was prepared, Shen Han did not hesitate; he took the decoction pot and the herbs, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye.

Watching his retreating figure, the herb shopkeeper finally let out a sigh of relief.

Who was this ugly man?

He had killed three people next door in a row, and no one had dared to resist!

Moreover, the ones he killed were no ordinary characters; one was Cao Lin, the young leader of the Green Garment Gang, and the other was Du Chong, the young leader of the Black Dragon Gang.

There was no doubt that those two gangs would not let this matter rest.

It seemed the martial arts world of Three Rivers County would no longer be peaceful; a terrifying storm was about to arrive...