Commotion (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Snake-Person?"

Zhou Yun's expression shifted violently. He hoisted the Black Iron Great Spear at his side and thrust it fiercely toward the Snake-Person disguised as a street vendor.

The surrounding martial artists all changed color, quickly closing in on the Snake-Person's position.

At almost the same moment, a cold sneer appeared on the Snake-Person's face. A serpentine hand instantly pierced through its own chest, and dark red blood gushed out.

"It committed suicide?"

Li Kui frowned. Aside from Zhou Yun, he was the first to rush over when the incident occurred.

The government had searched this street thoroughly before, and there were no traces of a large-scale Snake-Person presence. But now that these Snake-People were capable of disguising themselves as vendors, it was clear they had infiltrated deeply.

They were even willing to take their own lives the moment their identities were exposed.

"Officer Li, I will leave this matter to your government to handle."

Zhou Yun's long spear had been about to pierce the creature's chest, but the Snake-Person had beaten him to it.

One had to know that slaying a Snake-Person counted toward one's merit record...

However, compared to the fact that Snake-People had already infiltrated Black Stone County, this was merely a trivial matter.

"That goes without saying. We will issue burial expenses for this brother according to the mission specifications... You are a disciple of the Outer Courtyard of the Sky Sea Martial Arts Hall, correct?"

Li Kui glanced at Zhou Chuan, who stood with hollow, vacant eyes and a trembling body, and said, "He is a Six-Aperture martial artist. According to the government's special burial allowance for this period, he is entitled to six taels of silver. You can pass this on to his family on our behalf."

After speaking, Li Kui produced a money pouch and tossed it into Zhou Chuan's hands.

"Yes, yes..."

Zhou Chuan answered blankly, only regaining his senses after feeling the cold silver in his palm.

Six taels of silver—enough for him to buy the Taboo Medicine to attempt the Gate-Knocking for Bright Force... with some to spare.

As for actually giving this money to Li Futian's family? How could that be!

Li Futian died at the hands of a Snake-Person, not at the hands of him, Zhou Chuan. If they wanted burial money, they could go ask those Snake-People for it!

Thinking of this, Zhou Chuan's mood calmed down, and he even felt a faint sense of excitement.

Soon, he would be attempting the Gate-Knocking for Bright Force; this was something a hundred Li Futians couldn't compare to!

The other martial artists didn't say much, though the atmosphere inevitably became much more silent and tense.

After all, they had only expected a minor patrol mission; they never imagined they would coincidentally encounter a disguised Snake-Person. This was something that had rarely occurred in the history of Black Stone County.

Even these old veterans had never heard of such a thing, and now that it had happened right beside them, it sent a chill down their spines.

They couldn't help but wonder: if they had been the ones to approach that stall, would they—as Bright Force martial artists or those who hadn't even reached the Gate-Knocking stage—have been able to withstand the Snake-Person's attack?

It was almost impossible.

It could only be said that, aside from Zhou Yun, the others felt fortunate to have walked away from the gates of death.

The two-hour patrol mission passed quickly, and no more Snake-People were encountered. It seemed the only one hidden in Black Stone County was the one that had just died.

"Everyone, this mission concludes here."

Li Kui distributed the silver to everyone according to their strength and added a word of caution: "Today's incident is of great importance. I must report it to the Black Stone County government immediately... You are all martial artists who participated in this mission and should know what this implies. Please do not incite unnecessary panic."

Everyone nodded silently; no one was foolish enough to spread unfavorable news during such a critical time.

Unless they spoke in private circles, they knew that if the Transformation Force grandmaster from the government were to investigate, they would be nothing more than ants to be crushed with a single palm.

"Officer Zhou, this is your compensation for this mission."

Li Kui handed Zhou Yun a piece of silver, though it felt heavier than a single tael. He remarked, "The government values Dark Force martial artists highly. I hope you will participate in more major government missions in the future..."

"That is a certainty."

After Zhou Yun took the silver, he had already decided that he must check the almanac before going out next time.

He had heard that the Snake-Person Race feared sunlight and disliked going out during the day... He never expected that the moment he stepped out onto the street, he would run into one disguised as a vendor.

If others knew, they would probably think he was some kind of "trouble-magnet" and stay far away from him.

No, after I return, I must ask Bai Qingzhi more about the Snake-People... No, this is no longer about what the Snake-People dislike. More importantly, this infiltration of Black Stone County by the Snake-People is unprecedented.

Zhou Yun pondered for a moment, his determination to head to Xiang City growing firmer.

There were only a few days left until the Three Halls Martial Tournament, and he estimated that Master Liang would have news soon.

He just didn't know if the Three Halls Martial Tournament would be postponed due to the Snake-Person infiltration of Black Stone County. All of this would depend on the discussions and notifications from the three halls.

Of course, if the government were to pay a high price to recruit them, postponing the tournament wouldn't be a big deal.

After all, who would turn their back on silver? Even Transformation Force grandmasters like Master Liang wouldn't.

Not to mention how much vital energy was consumed daily after breaking through to the Transformation Force realm, the government subsidies for the three halls had been completely cut off.

Otherwise, in the past, the three halls would never have worked so hard to take on government missions; they would have preferred to sever ties with the government entirely.

The relationship between the government and the martial halls had always been one of mutual independence. Unless there was an imperial decree, the martial halls were, to a certain extent, free from government control.

This included the private ownership of land, the cultivation of medicinal herbs... and even the raising of cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks to supplement the vital energy of their martial artists.

But in exchange, the martial halls were required to maintain the safety of the local area; otherwise, the imperial court would inevitably revoke all such related powers.

"It is best to stay away from places of trouble..."

Zhou Yun had no desire to get involved in any war between the human race and the monster-people. Although Black Stone County was not small in scale, if the Snake-Person Race truly went all out to raze this place, a bloody battle would be inevitable.

The main city—heading to the main city was the best path forward for small martial artists like him.

For the flames of war to reach the main city, all six surrounding counties would have to fall first; otherwise, the main city would not suffer even the slightest disturbance.

"Time to return to the martial arts hall."

Zhou Yun did not linger here any longer and hurried back to the hall as quickly as he could.

There was nothing else to do but complete his training for the day.

Now that he had successfully achieved Gate-Knocking in Dark Force, he could attempt the second rotation of the Thunder Meteor Spear Art.

Although he had not yet found a use for the first rotation, it could serve as a trump card, and naturally, the more powerful a trump card was, the better.

Not long after, Zhou Yun returned to the courtyard by carriage.

He pushed open the door and saw Bai Qingzhi still sleeping on the floor, her mouth wide open.

Oh right, it seemed he had forgotten to remove the gag... well, she was a snake anyway, so keeping her mouth open shouldn't be an issue, right?

After tidying up, Zhou Yun ran out to the courtyard to practice his spear.

It was not until nightfall that someone came looking for him.

"Junior Brother Zhou, it's me."

Shen Qingxue knocked on the door, her voice carrying a hint of urgency.