Silver Snake Hand

"Are you certain his name is Zhao An?!" Zhao Ke confirmed repeatedly.

"It is absolutely certain. Among the Python Gang members who escaped, many saw it with their own eyes. Yesterday, this Zhao An single-handedly slaughtered the Python Gang from the inside out!"

The constable relayed the results of the investigation in full.

"To think it wasn't the work of Zhou Hu..." Gao Baoding muttered.

"And who exactly is this Zhao An, to possess such strength?"

Lu Yixiu looked at Zhao Ke and said in a deep voice, "Brother Zhao, aren't you going to explain? If I recall correctly, this Zhao An is your own younger brother."

"..." Zhao Ke remained silent.

Seeing the other three head constables looking at him, he finally shook his head and said, "Zhao An is indeed my brother, but with his meager strength, it is impossible for him to have killed Xu Donglai, let alone wipe out the Python Gang single-handedly. This sounds utterly absurd!"

Zhao Ke was so ashamed of Zhao An's incompetence that he was embarrassed to even acknowledge him.

Fearing that Zhao An would cause trouble and affect his official career, he had simply kicked him out of the house and stopped caring about him.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen his own brother in quite a while.

He never imagined that the next time he heard news about Zhao An, it would be so outrageous.

He couldn't even imagine the scene of Zhao An charging into the Python Gang, killing his way in and out, and being invincible.

"He isn't even considered a Martial Master, so how could you say he managed to do this?" Seeing the strange expressions on his three colleagues, Zhao Ke explained helplessly.

"Then how do you explain what the Python Gang members said?" Lu Yixiu asked, half-doubting.

Zhao Ke was momentarily speechless.

It was possible for one person to lie, but when a whole group gave consistent and firm testimony, it was hard not to be convinced.

Gao Baoding suddenly said in a stern voice, "Brother Zhao, could it be that you used secret methods to seize the Python Gang's wealth and are now staging this play on the surface?"

"Brother Zhao, that would be quite unkind. The four of us all had a share in the Python Gang's money, and now you want to swallow it all yourself?" Chen Song felt a jolt of energy and couldn't help but snort coldly.

After all, the fact that Zhao An and Zhao Ke were brothers made it difficult for them not to be suspicious.

Zhao Ke felt stifled and defended himself repeatedly, only managing to shift the conflict onto the Tiger Head Gang.

However, what these men said served as a reminder to Zhao Ke.

If this matter really had anything to do with Zhao An, then Zhao An might be in possession of a significant amount of the Python Gang's wealth!

There might even be hundreds of taels of silver!

No, I must go find that idiot! Zhao Ke thought to himself.

"Silver Snake Hand, a ninth-grade palm technique, originating from the Silver Snake Sect of Qinghu..."

Inside the clinic, at a desk in the back room, Meng Wanyi leaned in close, pointing at the lines of text in the manual as she explained them to Zhao An.

The two were sitting close together, and since Meng Wanyi wasn't wearing a head covering—having simply tied her hair up with a hairpin—a few strands of dark hair brushed against Zhao An's face, carrying a faint, fresh floral scent.

As Zhao An watched, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the girl's fair face.

Soon, Zhao An noticed that Meng Wanyi's voice grew weaker and weaker, and two blushes gradually bloomed on her cheeks.

"Zhao An, stop looking at me." Meng Wanyi couldn't help but say, feigning seriousness.

"Doctor Meng, you aren't using ordinary soap, are you? It smells quite nice." Zhao An asked.

"I made it myself..." Meng Wanyi realized then that they were sitting much too close, and she immediately moved a small step to the side.

But upon second thought, she felt inexplicably annoyed—why should she be the one to retreat?

So, she leaned back in and said to Zhao An with dissatisfaction, "You move over a bit."

Zhao An smiled lightly; he didn't argue with her and consciously shifted his position.

His gaze returned to the manual. Compared to the Golden Scale Mountain Piling Art from before, this martial arts manual from the Silver Snake Sect was clearly much more standard.

With plenty of written descriptions and proper illustrations of the moves, it was very complete and clear, without so many riddles that required him to ponder and study.

"A ninth-grade palm technique, then." Zhao An had guessed correctly.

This was the very palm technique used by Xu Donglai and the man in black, He Song.

After Meng Wanyi's explanation and translation, Zhao An handed this palm technique manual to a red-named Soul Slave from the Python Gang to cultivate.

Compared to the previous method of reverse-engineering the Fierce Tiger Blade Art from the unranked Black Tiger Blade Technique, now that he had a complete martial arts manual to give to a Soul Slave, the Soul Slave didn't need to waste time deducing the technique and could start practicing it directly.

Perhaps before long, Zhao An would be able to master both blade and palm, beginning to grow stronger in multiple dimensions!

Meanwhile, on the other side, when the news that the Python Gang had been wiped out overnight spread, the entire Tiger Head Gang was shaken.

It wasn't just the Tiger Head Gang; various large and small gangs hiding in the streets and alleys were also deeply frightened.

"It was Zhao An who did it..."

When this news was completely confirmed, in the main hall of the headquarters, those leaders and core members who usually looked down on Zhao An all remained silent.

Some had already begun to break out in a cold sweat, their hearts filled with unease.

Thinking back to how they had targeted Zhao An at every turn, they felt like slapping themselves a few times.

"There is no doubt that this boy has reached the realm of a Martial Master, and his abilities far exceed everyone's expectations!" Zhou Hu's expression was exceptionally grave at this moment; he no longer even dared to address Zhao An by his name.

Given Zhao An's current strength, it was impossible to treat him as just an ordinary minor leader in the Tiger Head Gang, someone who could be summoned or dismissed at will.

"When you spoke with him last time, didn't you notice anything unusual?" Zhou Hu looked toward Hao Wei, who had been silent the entire time, merely fanning himself incessantly.

"Gang Leader, since Zhao An hid his strength so deeply, how could a mere scholar like me possibly see through him..." Hao Wei said helplessly.

While he had indeed recognized Zhao An's potential early on and wanted to cooperate with him to grow stronger, he never imagined that the Zhao An of today would possess the strength to single-handedly slaughter the entire Python Gang.

Reflecting on the content of his conversation with Zhao An that day, he realized that Zhao An would likely not spare the Tiger Head Gang either!

He had never been truly loyal to Zhou Hu, and at this moment, he was already contemplating a way to escape.

As for Zhao An, the person at the center of it all, he was unaware of the storm he had stirred up, or that so many people were suspicious of him and filled with anxiety.

Perhaps because business at the clinic was slow today, Zhao An stayed until sunset before heading back.

In the small courtyard, Li Gou'er saw Zhao An return and immediately spoke up.

"Brother Zhao, someone from the Tiger Head Gang came by today and even brought twenty taels of silver for you."

"Did you take it?" Zhao An asked.

"No, without your word, how would I dare to accept it," Li Gou'er said with a sheepish grin.

Zhao An nodded; it was good that he hadn't taken it, otherwise, it might have affected the sharpness of his blade in the future.

"So, Brother Zhao, have we already left the Tiger Head Gang?" Li Gou'er asked cautiously.

"Yeah, there's no future there," Zhao An said as he walked toward the inner room.

"Oh right, Brother Zhao, that brother of yours came looking for you today," Li Gou'er added, suddenly remembering.

"Brother?" Zhao An thought carefully, and as memories surged, it seemed there was indeed such a person.

Years ago, during a famine, almost everyone in their village had died, and the parents of his predecessor had perished while fleeing, leaving only the two brothers to escape to Lianjiang City.

Later, his brother had somehow struck it lucky and became a yamen runner, and eventually, a head constable.

Because his predecessor had been a good-for-nothing, the two brothers had grown distant and rarely had any contact.

Since transmigrating, he had yet to meet this elder brother.

Judging from past memories, this brother didn't seem like a good person either.

Back then, the yamen had actually taken an interest in the strength of Zhao An, but this "good" older brother had swindled the position of runner for himself.

The promised support never materialized, and after becoming a head constable, he even kicked Zhao An out the door when he came to visit.

In the eyes of that older brother, so-called kinship was worthless compared to his own prospects.

Looking back at his predecessor's life, the actions of this "good" brother had played a significant role in pushing him to become a villain.

"What did he come for?" Zhao An asked.

"It should be about the Python Gang matter; he asked if you were the one who killed them, and also..." Li Gou'er said truthfully.

"And what else?"

"He also asked about the whereabouts of the Python Gang's silver."