"Did the County Magistrate really die?" Zhao Chunzi popped a golden, crispy fried meatball into his mouth, savoring it with relish as he spoke with a hint of regret.
"I've lived in the city all my life, but I've never even seen the County Magistrate. I wonder what he looked like."
For ordinary folk at the bottom of the city like him, the County Magistrate's sudden death didn't feel all that real.
After all, the County Magistrate was a lofty figure who had long resided in the Inner City. They'd mostly heard of him without ever seeing him. The news surprised them, but it didn't make them feel as if the sky had fallen.
Li Gou'er felt the same way. His eyes shifted as he said, "Brother Zhao, this is good news for you. The authorities probably won't have time to pursue what happened last night now."
"Mm..." Zhao An's gaze fell on the several broad blades before him.
He had seized them from the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters.
The Big Ring Blade he'd used before had been chipped and cracked, and it would be difficult to repair. So he had no choice but to pick another blade from the spoils.
In the end, he chose a blade shaped somewhat like a Wild Goose Blade. It was of ordinary quality—not a particularly fine weapon—but it was heavier and struck with greater force, making it more comfortable for Zhao An to wield. That was all.
As for Zhou Hu's Great Gold Blade and Chen Song's Official Blade, both were far too conspicuous. He had no intention of using them.
"The County Magistrate's death is bound to throw the whole city into turmoil. If he was assassinated, there'll definitely be a citywide manhunt. Hide all the valuables in the house. Don't let those soldiers use the excuse to walk off with them," Zhao An instructed.
"Right you are, Brother Zhao. Chunzi and I will get to it!" Li Gou'er slapped his forehead and agreed, then hurriedly dragged the still-eating Zhao Chunzi off to move things.
They weren't as dirt poor as they used to be.
There was quite a lot in the house. Aside from the silver, they had all kinds of things they'd hauled back from the Python Gang and Tiger Head Gang headquarters. Some they would keep; others they'd sell for silver once the commotion died down.
These were all their possessions. They couldn't let the soldiers find them during the search.
And things unfolded just as Zhao An had predicted. The county town's gates were shut tight, and that very day, soldiers, yamen runners, and constables poured out to scour the city for the assassins, leaving everyone on edge.
Even the County Examination, which was supposed to take place, had to be postponed because the County Magistrate had died.
Another red Karma Fruit appeared, floating in the Soul Pool. Zhao An picked it up and absorbed it, and the fruits of three years of diligent study filled his mind.
He had Zhao Chunzi fetch paper and grind the ink, then took up his brush and swiftly wrote out an entire treatise on military strategy.
His handwriting was neat, and there were hardly any mistakes in the content. He was very satisfied.
"Brother Zhao, you've become a great scholar! Your handwriting is beautiful!" Zhao Chunzi exclaimed in amazement from the side.
He couldn't understand the writing on the page. All he knew was that Zhao An could write out so many characters in one go, and that was an incredible skill.
"So studying can teach you to write essays this quickly..." Zhao Chunzi muttered.
"That's because our Brother Zhao is impressive. Those bookworms have to study hard for ten years before they can write an essay," Li Gou'er said with a click of his tongue.
In his eyes, his big brother was a genius.
He hadn't known how to do it before only because he hadn't learned. If he put his mind to it, he could master anything at the first try.
Earlier, when Zhao An had said he wanted to take the Martial Examination, Li Gou'er had thought it was wishful thinking. Now he realized that maybe his big brother really could become a great general whose name would be remembered for all time!
"Open up! Open the door!"
Suddenly, rough pounding sounded outside.
Li Gou'er didn't dare dawdle and opened the door.
Sure enough, the soldiers searching the city had arrived.
"Officer, what can I do for you?" Li Gou'er asked with a fawning smile.
"Have you seen anyone suspicious today?" one soldier asked, while the others barged into the rooms without another word.
"No, no. We've kept our doors shut and haven't seen anyone all day." As Li Gou'er spoke, he gestured for Zhao Chunzi to fetch some tea.
"Officer, you've had a hard day. What happened?"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't."
"Sure thing."
The soldiers searched the place, but found no criminals and nothing of value. They couldn't even find a single steamed bun. With dark faces, they all left.
But just as they reached the street, a few burly men came bounding over the rooftops, charging at them with blades and axes in hand.
"Assassins! The assassins are here!" One soldier had barely shouted when an arrow flew in and pinned him through the head, killing him on the spot.
The bustling street instantly descended into chaos. The few criminals swept through with little effort, and most of the officers fell.
"How dare you, you villains!" Several armed men on horseback came after them from behind. The two sides tore down the street like a gust of wind, fighting until they vanished from sight, leaving the street strewn with wreckage.
"Good grief, that was terrifying..." Li Gou'er peeked out from behind the door, his head half exposed, still shaken.
The fight between those ferocious men had been brutal.
The officer who had been talking to him just moments ago was now a corpse, cold as ice, lying in the street nearby.
Zhao An's expression was grim too.
Judging from the clash just now, both sides were martial artists, and all of them were extraordinarily powerful!
It stood to reason. The men who could break into the County Magistrate's residence and kill him were hardly going to be weak.
After all, the County Magistrate's residence must have been heavily guarded, with many retainers and Martial Masters.
"Looks like the one who killed the County Magistrate wasn't alone. It was a whole group." Zhao An shook his head and told Li Gou'er to close the door. He had no intention of getting involved.
No one could say how far this turmoil would go. For now, he would rather focus on improving his own strength and watch how things unfolded.
[The five-year period of servitude for Soul Slave Chen Xu has ended. Extract Karma Fruit?]
[The five-year period of servitude for Soul Slave Sun Yuan has ended. Extract Karma Fruit?]
He collected two more Soul Slave Karma Fruits. Both Soul Slaves had been assigned the same task: to focus solely on practicing Silver Snake Hand. They had also started at the same time.
Five days had yielded ten years of diligent practice!
Combining their results brought together some overlapping insights, as well as other parts that complemented and interwove with each other.
Just as he had hoped, this brought his Silver Snake Hand to the second realm!
Silver Snake Hand had only three realms. The second was also the level that Xu Donglai, former leader of the Python Gang, had once reached.
After eating a large platter of meat and drinking down more than ten pounds' worth of soup brewed with Red Blood Root, Zhao An began practicing his palm technique.
His palms turned and flowed like silver snakes winding their way forward. He struck with the speed of lightning, delivering several palms in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Zhao An's form shifted, and his palm movements changed. His strikes linked together in snapping, hooking motions, even more devious and slippery than before, each move carrying the intent of the palm technique.
A claw darted from its hole. Smack!
His Internal Breath surged through his body and burst from his palm. The force of the blow cracked through the air like a firecracker.
If that palm landed squarely, even the toughest body wouldn't withstand it!
Zhao An withdrew his hand and nodded with satisfaction.
Silver Snake Hand might have only three realms, but each one held a wealth of subtleties to comprehend.
Now that he had reached the second realm, his mastery of the technique was already quite impressive. He could bring out much of the power the palm art was meant to have.
In actual combat, combining the blade with his palm could even catch an opponent off guard.
At the same time, his Internal Breath had advanced again, reaching a full two hundred strands!
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