After entering the house, Chen Xiao's eyes swept from side to side, as if checking whether anyone was inside.
"I just don't know how Chen Qing died.
That day, I happened to catch some game. I sold it, and the money was just enough for me to start learning martial arts."
Li Yuan shook his head. He certainly wasn't going to admit that he had killed her.
Chen Xiao's breathing was steady, and his muscles were smoothly defined. He was on par with Third Senior Brother.
If they fought head-on, Li Yuan would be no match for him.
"Tell me what you did that day. I'll make my own judgment." Chen Xiao's expression turned cold.
"That day..." Li Yuan told Chen Xiao the truth, except for the part about the murder.
Seven parts truth and three parts lies made for the hardest lies to see through.
Chen Xiao said nothing, only sitting there in silence.
After a while, Li Yuan's expression grew worse and worse, and he began to lose patience.
"If Chen Qing was killed by a small stone hitting the back of her head, who could have attacked her with enough force besides someone who practiced martial arts?
I didn't sign up at the Martial Arts Hall until the next day. How could I possibly have that much strength?"
Then Chen Xiao suddenly stood up and reached for Li Yuan's shoulder.
Li Yuan was startled. He raised his right hand and slapped Chen Xiao's hand away.
"Oh, Ox Skin Realm?" Chen Xiao's eyes widened in surprise.
As for Chen Xiao himself, he was unharmed, of course. He was already in the Stone Skin Realm.
"You reached Ox Skin after only one month at the Martial Arts Hall?"
Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes and asked doubtfully.
"Good talent, good luck."
Li Yuan felt a little relieved. Chen Xiao had probably only recently broken through into the Stone Skin Realm; the pressure he gave off wasn't nearly as intense as Third Senior Brother's.
If they fought head-on, Li Yuan might not win, but he could still run.
After discovering Li Yuan was in the Ox Skin Realm, Chen Xiao's manner grew much more courteous.
No matter where you were, strength was the easiest thing to speak with.
Before confirming that Li Yuan had killed Chen Qing, he didn't want to casually offend a martial artist who had tempered his skin.
Maybe he really had been overthinking it?
Thinking this, he cupped his hands toward Li Yuan. "I only came to ask a few questions today. If you have any leads on the killer, give them to me, and I'll repay you handsomely!"
"Don't worry, Brother Chen. If I find any leads, I'll help you catch the killer. After all, we're from the same village."
Li Yuan shook his head and sighed.
"Good. That puts my mind at ease." Chen Xiao gave Li Yuan a searching look, then turned and left.
Outside, Chen Xiao walked along the road, his brow furrowed.
He had questioned everyone in the village, and Chen Qing didn't know anyone in the county town. Could it really have been a robbery gone wrong?
He felt there was something off, but couldn't quite grasp the hint of inspiration.
As he was thinking, a soft smack rang out. A small stone struck his lower leg, not with much force.
But it brought Chen Xiao back to his senses.
"Who?" Chen Xiao whipped around and looked toward where the stone had come from.
Several children, not yet grown, stood at a distance in a panic. They held crude slingshots, and one of them still had his arm raised in a firing pose, clearly frozen with fright.
"S-sorry, big brother! We didn't mean to! The... the slingshot went wide..."
One of the older children came to his senses and hurried over to apologize, his little face pale.
From Chen Xiao's clothes, they could tell he was someone from the Inner City. Only people there could afford to dress like that.
A slingshot?
Chen Xiao looked at the toy made from a forked branch and elastic, then at the small stone on the ground. A bolt of lightning seemed to flash through his mind!
A slingshot!
Chen Qing had earned her silver by selling a mink.
And Li Yuan had happened to scrape together enough money to sign up that very day?
If..., then it all made sense.
Meanwhile, after seeing Chen Xiao off,
inside the house, Li Yuan felt no less threatened by his departure. If anything, the sense of danger only grew stronger.
"Will he believe me? Will he really just let it go?" Li Yuan wondered.
No. He didn't believe it.
He had spent a month investigating before coming to Li Yuan's door. He wouldn't just give up so easily.
He might have come alone this time because he was wary of the Martial Arts Hall behind Li Yuan, and because he had no proof.
If Chen Xiao was determined to kill him, he wouldn't even need proof. He only had to suspect Li Yuan, and Li Yuan would end up just like Chen Qing.
The more Li Yuan thought about it, the more anxious he became. And the more anxious he felt, the more afraid he grew.
"No. I can't just sit here and wait to die!" Li Yuan's breathing grew ragged.
His eyes fell on the Bear Heart still boiling in the pot.
He decided on the spot to eat the Bear Heart, then kill Chen Xiao while his qi and blood were at their fullest.
Chen Xiao would come looking for him again sooner or later. If he brought others next time, Li Yuan would be the one beaten to death.
Once he'd made up his mind, a vicious glint flashed in Li Yuan's eyes. "Who cares? I'll kill him first!"
Chen Xiao had only just broken through into the Stone Skin Realm. It wasn't as if Li Yuan had no chance against him.
Li Yuan fished the two-pound Bear Heart, already cooked and rid of its gamey smell, out of the pot and immediately began tearing into it.
"Ugh!"
Even after it had been rid of its gamey smell, and despite his Consumption skill being at the Minor Completion stage, it was still so rank that his scalp went numb.
He didn't know how he'd managed to eat raw Bear Gallbladder back then.
Li Yuan gagged as he chewed, and before long, he had finished it.
His Consumption skill quickly digested it.
At once, Li Yuan felt scorching qi and blood surge through his entire body. His muscles began to swell and fill with blood.
He had eaten both Bear Gallbladder and Bear Heart in a single day, two highly nourishing foods. Fortunately, his skill helped him digest and absorb them.
In just a short while, Li Yuan's qi and blood had grown considerably stronger.
Killing intent surged in his eyes. He flung open the door and hurried after Chen Xiao, who had only just walked a short distance away.
Chen Xiao wanted to turn back and question Li Yuan further. He turned around, but had not gone far when he reached a corner.
Pff!
A cloud of quicklime flew toward his face.
Chen Xiao reacted quickly, raising a hand and closing his eyes as he stumbled back several steps. He was about to shout a challenge.
He had only just raised his hand to block the first handful of lime and hadn't even seen what was happening when Li Yuan's fist came flying at his face.
Chen Xiao instinctively opened his eyes to block the blow, and the lime instantly stung his eyes, burning like fire.
"You!" Chen Xiao covered his eyes, tears already streaming down his face.
Without a word, Li Yuan made another fake throwing motion.
Chen Xiao had learned his lesson. He hurriedly raised his hands to shield his head and face, but this time there was no lime at all!
"You have no honor!"
Li Yuan couldn't be bothered to waste words. He lifted his leg and kicked viciously between Chen Xiao's legs.
The most vulnerable part of a man couldn't take that kind of blow—not even if he had Iron Skin, let alone Stone Skin.
Li Yuan attacked high and low. In a low-level match, he was invincible.
In a fight to the death, the one who survived was the winner.
"Ugh!"
The pain bent Chen Xiao double. He curled up and crouched, both hands clamped tightly over himself.
Li Yuan seized the opening, pulled out his last handful of quicklime, and flung it straight into Chen Xiao's face.
Chen Xiao let out a scream. Now completely blind, he waved his hands wildly in the air.
Li Yuan circled behind him and smashed a fist into the back of his head.
With a sharp crack, Chen Xiao's neck twisted to one side. He fell face-first to the ground, twitched twice, and went still.
After confirming Chen Xiao was dead, Li Yuan quickly scanned the surroundings. Once he was sure no one was there,
he crouched down and swiftly searched Chen Xiao's clothes.
"That's not right. Why doesn't he have any martial arts manuals on him?"
He had been hoping to get a manual for free.
In the end, he only found some silver and a Martial Arts Hall token. He casually stuffed them into his pocket.
With that done, Li Yuan quickly left the scene.
He didn't return to his lodging. Instead, he headed straight for the Martial Arts Hall.
His palms were still sweating, but his mind was clear.
"I was only protecting myself."
Chen Xiao's death would be discovered sooner or later. Right now, the most important thing was to seize the time and grow stronger.
He felt the silver in his pocket. With this money, he could buy medicine and meat, and might be able to break through again in the near future.
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