Reckoning and Steamed Buns

Gu Fengchen removed the Storage Rings from Mu She and Mu Li's hands. After briefly inspecting them, he was somewhat disappointed.

Aside from Gold Coins, there were only a few pills, none of them particularly valuable. They were not even as good as the pills Elder Gu Yuan had given him.

Of course, Gu Fengchen had not killed these people to seize their treasures. They had clearly come with Killing Intent and malice—was he supposed to just bow his head and take it?

Rubbing his chin, Gu Fengchen pondered. At this late hour, Mu She had probably guessed why they had come. Judging by the strength of these guards, they were most likely Mu She's trusted men, and he probably had not told anyone else.

Forget it. To be safe, he should wipe out the entire Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

More than anything, Gu Fengchen did not want anyone to know what had happened tonight.

He was someone who feared trouble.

Still, slaughtering the entire Wolf Head Mercenary Group would go somewhat against his principles.

"Kill everyone from Mu She's branch. That should solve the problem. Besides them, there is one more person who must die!"

The Wolf Head Mercenary Group completely fell apart. Their upper-ranking elites had all died overnight.

No one knew who had killed them.

The lit sandalwood incense sent wisps of smoke drifting upward, filling the room with a pleasant fragrance.

The antique furnishings carried a unique gentleness.

The Four Treasures of the Study were neatly arranged on the table.

Mr. Yao, dressed in white and grinding ink, was startled awake by a muffled rumble of thunder outside.

He looked out the window. Rain poured down outside, and the weather was dreadful.

Just as Mr. Yao gathered his thoughts, a rhythmic knock suddenly sounded from outside.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking echoed through the rainy night. Mr. Yao's heart rose and fell with it, as though those knuckles were not striking the door, but pounding against his heart.

A faint unease crept into his mind.

"Mr. Yao?" A familiar voice called out. It was one of his trusted subordinates.

Mr. Yao let out a heavy breath and walked to the door. Just as he was about to open it, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Mr. Yao seemed to think of something, and the hand resting on the door abruptly pulled back.

He had managed affairs here for so long; he was surely no ordinary man. He immediately guessed at several possibilities!

But at that moment, he felt a pair of icy hands climb around his neck and gently close around it.

"Y-you... Brother Gu... why... why must you do this?"

When Yao Chen met those eyes that seemed to hold stars within them, he felt no sense of wonder. Instead, it was as if venomous snakes had crawled into his veins, chilling all the blood in his body.

"When you reincarnate in your next life, stop trying to scheme against everyone. Some people are not meant for you to scheme against." Gu Fengchen exerted a little force and snapped Yao Chen's neck.

By the time the reckoning was complete, it was already the latter half of the night, yet Gu Fengchen did not feel sleepy in the slightest.

After settling Xiao Yi Xian down, he returned to his own room.

He was not worried that anyone would suspect him. After all, anyone capable of wiping out an entire mercenary group would surely make people think of the other two of the three great mercenary groups—the Serpent Nest Mercenary Group and the Blood Battle Mercenary Group. No one would suspect him.

As for why he was so excited, it was naturally because of that Flying Dou Skill scroll.

Although he already knew what it looked like, the thought that he could actually fly still excited him somewhat.

However, Gu Fengchen suppressed the urge to cultivate the Flying Dou Skill immediately. He had just gone through a battle, and the Dou Qi in his body was depleted. What mattered most now was cultivating step by step and stabilizing his Dou Qi!

As Gu Fengchen slowly calmed his mind, he began adjusting his breathing according to the principles of Fire Burning Myriad Laws.

His breathing gradually steadied. With every inhale and exhale, it formed a perfect cycle, and the surrounding energy began gathering into Gu Fengchen's body.

After being refined by the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame, it was stored within the Qi vortex in his lower abdomen.

After becoming a Dou Shi, the concentration of Dou Qi contained within Gu Fengchen's Qi vortex was more than ten times greater than it had been at the Dou Zhe stage.

After cultivating for an entire night, Gu Fengchen looked at the rising morning sun outside and stretched lazily.

Then he went to take a bath.

At this moment, a commotion had already begun outside.

The Wolf Head Mercenary Group had been wiped out, and Mr. Yao of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, along with several of his trusted men, had died. For a time, the entire Myriad Medicine Pavilion was left leaderless.

Gu Fengchen had no interest in any of this. After "running around" with Xiao Yi Xian all night, he was already starving.

His only wish was to hurry up and get something to eat.

The moon was like a silver plate, and stars filled the sky.

A silver moon hung high in the pitch-black night sky. Its faint light draped the earth in a veil of silver, making everything seem especially mysterious.

News of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's destruction and Mr. Yao's death quickly spread throughout Qingshan Town. The town, deep in the night, sank into darkness and silence.

The next morning, when he pushed open the door, bright sunlight and drifting white clouds greeted him outside.

Cicadas chirped merrily in the trees.

The small courtyard where Gu Fengchen lived seemed untouched by the disturbances of the outside world. Everything was tranquil and peaceful.

The fragrance of osmanthus drifted through the air.

Walking along the country path, Gu Fengchen found this world far more beautiful than his previous life's, untouched as it was by industrial pollution.

Many fertile fields were planted with rice. When the wind blew, waves of rice swayed across them, carrying the fragrance of grain that made one feel refreshed and at ease.

Gu Fengchen arrived at a steamed bun stall on the main street and said to the owner with a smile, "Boss, give me twenty steamed buns."

The owner froze for a moment, then said with a strange grin, "With that little body of yours, you want to eat twenty? I'd say you can eat five at most."

"Enough nonsense. Give me twenty first!" Gu Fengchen slapped Gold Coins onto the table.

Though Gu Fengchen was not particularly wealthy now, he could still eat as many steamed buns as he wanted.

The owner accepted the money without another word and directly picked twenty meat buns from the steamer for Gu Fengchen.

Gu Fengchen immediately began wolfing them down.

The bun seller secretly observed this customer. It was his habit to watch and guess at every customer's background, intentions, and personality.

He was a member of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group. Although rumors outside claimed that the destruction of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had something to do with them and the Serpent Nest Mercenary Group, only they themselves knew that it had nothing to do with them.

Mu Li had had a conflict with a young man during the day—the very youth standing before him.

Therefore, Mu Li's death was very likely connected to this youth.

Though he sold steamed buns, he was also an informant for the Blood Battle Mercenary Group.

His gaze was sharp, and there were few people he could not see through. Yet he always felt that this youth possessed a special aura.

Gu Fengchen ate quickly. Those fist-sized buns were each finished in just two or three bites.

Watching bun after bun disappear into his stomach, the owner was dumbfounded. He seemed to have forgotten to continue observing him.

After eating and drinking his fill, Gu Fengchen slowly let out a burp.

Carrying a basket of steamed buns, he prepared to return to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. He had packed these for Xiao Yi Xian.

But just as Gu Fengchen was about to reach the entrance of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, he discovered dozens of sturdy men gathered there.

The Myriad Medicine Pavilion's doors were tightly shut.

Gu Fengchen knew where these people came from after just one glance.

The Serpent Nest Mercenary Group.

They must have heard that Yao Chen and several of his trusted men had died, leaving the Myriad Medicine Pavilion without an owner. Were they here to loot the place amid the chaos?

No, it looked more like they intended to take over the magpie's nest!

At that moment, an old woman who had come to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion for treatment was about to knock on the door when one of the mercenaries roughly shoved her aside. She fell against the doorstep, knocking out two teeth, and collapsed onto the ground with a pained expression.

A tattooed man at the front spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the old woman's forehead and sneered, "Can't you see what we're doing? Watch where you're going next time!"