"Deserters from Tiannan Prefecture? I heard rebel factions were causing trouble there. Those Reformist Party freaks with strange hair and strange clothes were everywhere, goading the common people into rebellion. Wasn't it all 'warlords' running rampant over there? These people escaped from that place?"
"Black Crow Army? Hiss... Don't tell me they're the Great Liang border army that has guarded Tiannan Prefecture's frontier wall for generations!? Even they deserted?"
"The Vice Lieutenant knows them. That means these people's heads are truly worth a fortune!"
"You've drunk yourself stupid. You don't even read Guan Province's notices? A bounty order came down from Guan Province before: Black Crow Army soldiers were worth one hundred taels of silver per head, battalion commanders eight hundred taels per head, deputy Military Commanders three thousand taels per head, and Military Commanders six thousand taels per head..."
"These people don't have 'deserter' written on their faces. So many people fled from Tiannan Prefecture; who knows which ones are deserters? The Military Commanders and company commanders on the wanted list do have names, but you need to have the life to claim them!"
"Tiannan Prefecture has collapsed across the board. Who will guard the great wall? What if the Gray Mist drifts over?"
"Relax, it won't collapse. Even if it does, there'll be tall people to hold up the wind and rain. If the sky falls, what does it have to do with us?"
"I wonder whether we can get a share of the spoils today..."
The firelight outlined by the torches stirred both suspicion and greed in the hearts of the Capital Office Envoys present.
There were so many corpses piled on the ground.
The heads had to be worth several hundred taels, at least.
"Deserters from Tiannan Prefecture?"
Zhou Hongzhi was somewhat shocked.
The Black Crow Army was one of Great Liang's border armies.
The Black Crow Army had long been stationed along the frontier wall, defending against the Gray Mist, the monsters that drifted over with it, and invasions by foreign races at the border, such as Python-men, Shark-men, and the Wood-Heart Tribe.
Someone in his clan served as a commandant in Guan Province.
Whenever that relative returned to Black Cloud County at the end of the year, Zhou Hongzhi heard some matters concerning the army from him.
Though the Black Crow Army could not be considered elite, they were ruthless and vicious, with brutal methods. They often slaughtered civilians to claim military merit and ambushed merchant caravans!
However, the Great Liang court needed to rely on the Black Crow Army to hold the frontier. Coupled with the many Calamities erupting throughout the country, it had not dealt with the Black Crow Army for the time being.
Yet he had never expected Black Crow Army deserters to die here!!
Who was so ruthless as to dare kill men from the Black Crow Army?
"Stay alert!"
Yang Chengwu barked low. He strode to the pile of corpses, where the yamen runners had extinguished the fire, and pulled out bodies to inspect their wounds and causes of death.
When he clearly saw the marks where those mangled bodies had been violently blasted apart,
he could not help clicking his tongue. "Damn it, who killed people in such a bloody fashion? This person is far too ruthless, isn't he? Nearly all of them had their bodies crippled by overwhelming force. There are very few martial arts experts in Black Cloud County known for sheer strength."
"Could it be the Black Whale Gang? The Black Whale Gang's core martial art is the Giant Whale Ten Thousand Waves Heaven-Surging Art, which emphasizes explosive attacks of crushing force and always crushes ten techniques with one strength. But the Black Whale Gang isn't stupid. Why would they clash with these deserters?"
"In Black Cloud County, those famed specifically for tremendous strength and savagery include Peng Qianyue's Iron Bull Art, Fu Shan's Tiger-Subduing Fist, Qiu Qiu's Toad Thousand-Catty Art, and Li Heshan's Baji Fist."
"Mm... There are more traces of Baji Fist. Li's Fist Academy's Baji Fist? Li Heshan is a Force Refining expert, but that shouldn't be possible. That bastard was sent by the county magistrate a few days ago to capture a notorious bandit, and he should still be deep in the mountains and old forests. Then could it be his eldest disciple, Shang An?"
"Shang An is only thirty, yet he has already nurtured two layers of Blood Membrane. Though he has always kept a low profile these past years, it would certainly not be difficult for him to kill Black Crow Army deserters."
"How strange. The traces indicate more than one martial art. Who could fuse so many martial arts into one body?"
"This person must be quite old. There is no shortcut when it comes to practicing martial arts."
Yang Chengwu frowned as he examined the corpses.
Some of the wounds also left him horrified.
When he saw the severed neck of Ning Da's body, which had been scalded into cooked flesh by intense heat, his pupils contracted!
Skin like wood and stone, blood thick as lead and mercury—this man was an Origin Blood expert!
The man's flesh was far tougher than his own, and his blood was scorching and viscous, remaining unchanged after death. Though it was impossible to tell how many layers of Blood Membrane he had condensed, it was certainly more than Yang Chengwu!!
At the very least, he was a martial arts expert who had condensed over ten layers of Blood Membrane!
Even such an expert had died?
Yang Chengwu hurriedly pulled Ning Da's body out separately, stripped him naked, and inspected the wounds across his body.
The moment he looked, he was startled out of his wits.
One move!
Killed in one move!!!
This Origin Blood martial artist had no excessive injuries.
Apart from a palm print on his chest,
there was only the mark on his neck where a martial arts expert had forcibly crushed it with powerful, majestic force!
"Hiss... This man's neck was clearly melted through in a single strike. He could not even put up the slightest resistance. That is simply impossible for the Origin Blood Realm. I fear only a Force Refining martial arts expert could accomplish it!"
"A Force Refining expert balances hardness and softness, condensing force qi capable of melting gold and stone. Only that could create such a wound."
"But as far as I know, there are no Force Refining experts in Black Cloud County whose force qi shows a tendency toward scorching."
"Could it have been martial artists who fled here as refugees?"
"Or perhaps some martial arts expert passing through Black Cloud County saw these Black Crow Army deserters, killed them, and then left?"
Yang Chengwu's expression was grave.
Looking at the neck melted by high heat, his scalp went numb!
He had only condensed three layers of Blood Membrane himself, so he naturally knew how formidable Origin Blood martial artists were.
As long as the Blood Membrane remained unbroken, Origin Blood would not die.
Each time one condensed another layer of Blood Membrane, the body grew heavier, the skin and flesh harder, and the Origin Blood within more vigorous.
A mid-Origin Blood Realm martial artist had condensed at least ten layers of Blood Membrane. Each layer added roughly five hundred catties of basic strength. Their flesh was hard as wood and stone, their Origin Blood thick as lead and mercury, and their physiques even more powerful. Yang Chengwu knew exactly how difficult they were to handle!
After all, he himself was a three-blood martial artist, and his basic strength already reached two thousand catties.
How could he not know how hard it was to deal with an Origin Blood martial artist who had condensed even one more layer of Blood Membrane than himself?
Much less an Origin Blood expert who had condensed ten layers of Blood Membrane?
Yet he had never imagined that such an existence would be killed with his neck crushed in a single move?
"They really are Black Crow Army men."
Yang Chengwu spotted a black crow tattoo on the inside of a corpse's upper left arm. Greed flashed across his face. "A battalion commander's head is worth eight hundred taels. Add in all these heads, and it should come to over a thousand taels!"
"We've struck it rich!!!"
Even though he was a Vice Lieutenant of the County Office,
besides holding positions with several local forces and drawing the County Office salary,
he usually amassed wealth as well.
Various businesses, tributes from gangs and the Boat Gang, and extortion from clerks.
Each month, he could only rake in six or seven hundred taels, or a thousand taels in a good month.
After all, if he squeezed too hard, things could easily become difficult to clean up.
It looked like a great deal of money, but he also had many people under him to support. He needed to buy exotic beast meat, great medicines, and other goods to nourish himself and maintain his bodily functions and martial progress.
Yet today, he could gain more than a thousand taels for doing nothing.
How could he not feel delighted?
Yang Chengwu hurriedly rummaged through the corpse pile, wild joy appearing on his face. "One worth eight hundred taels, eleven worth one hundred taels each! Hahahahaha, Heaven truly favors me!"
"Cut off the heads and gather up those military blades. Then return to the County Office. Tonight, I'll treat you all to wine at Liu's Tavern, hahahahaha!"
Yang Chengwu's face was full of greed and wild joy.
Zhou Hongzhi and the other Capital Office Envoys cursed inwardly.
Liu's Tavern was the quick-meal place beside the County Office. This bastard had made nearly two thousand taels, and he was treating them to roadside food?
"My lord."
Zhou Hongzhi said uneasily, "Anyone capable of killing so many Black Crow Army men cannot be some nobody. Are you truly going to falsely claim the reward money?"
"I have my own plans. You need not concern yourself with it."
Yang Chengwu did not care in the slightest.
A martial arts expert capable of killing a mid-Origin Blood Realm expert in one strike might not care for such a small reward.
After all, he had left immediately after killing them, clearly unwilling to show himself.
Which meant he did not want this money either.
As for the Black Crow Army...
What a joke. This was Black Cloud County, not Tiannan Prefecture!!
It was not these deserters' turn to act arrogantly here!
Those few must have merely been passing through. Could it be that Black Crow Army martial arts experts would come all the way to Black Cloud County?
Black Cloud County might be a large county with six or seven hundred thousand residents and many industries.
But in the end, it was still a small place.
How could it compare with prosperous lands?
Besides, they were wanted. Instead of fleeing for their lives, why would they come stay in a county town?
Soon, the group departed with the corpses. As Zhou Hongzhi looked at the mutilated bodies, the brutal scene from the street that afternoon surfaced in his mind.
Though he did not believe that youth could kill an Origin Blood martial artist,
he felt there were several points that matched.
And besides...
Vice Lieutenant Yang had swallowed this reward silver for himself. That person would absolutely not let the matter rest so easily!
Before you continue