Instant Kill

They stepped forward with rapid, heavy strides, their blades whistling through the air.

However, in the eyes of Lin Qing, the movements of these two men were riddled with openings, their speed as sluggish as a crawling tortoise.

There was not a trace of blood-energy cultivation in their bodies; they relied solely on a raw, savage ferocity.

"Seeking death."

Lin Qing let out a cold snort, neither dodging nor retreating, and charged straight toward the pair.

Just as the steel blades were about to strike his body, he shifted his footwork, his figure swaying slightly like the wind.

He evaded the blades slashing from left and right by a mere hair's breadth.

At the same time, he spread his arms, his hands darting out as fast as lightning.

He clamped down fiercely onto the wrists of the two men holding the blades!

"Crack! Crack!"

Two crisp sounds of bone fracturing rang out almost simultaneously!

"Ah—!"

The two bandits let out pig-like shrieks as their wrists were crushed by Lin Qing's raw strength, their steel blades clattering to the ground.

Lin Qing showed no mercy, delivering two consecutive punches that struck their throats like heavy iron hammers!

"Urgh!"

The wailing stopped abruptly.

The two bandits' eyes bulged, their hands clutching their throats as blood-flecked foam spilled from their mouths.

Their bodies went limp and collapsed, twitching for a moment before falling silent.

The mountain forest returned to stillness once more.

Only the scent of blood permeating the air and the woman's stifled sobs served as proof of the brutal slaughter that had just occurred.

The woman was already stunned, curled up on the ground and clutching her child tightly.

She looked at Lin Qing as if gazing upon a god of death descended from the heavens.

She had witnessed with her own eyes how those three vicious, murderous thugs who had killed her husband—

—had proven so utterly fragile under the hands of this seemingly ordinary man, meeting their end in the blink of an eye.

Lin Qing ignored the woman's gaze and quickly walked over to the three corpses, leaning down to search them.

He pulled a money pouch from the bald man's chest and weighed it; there were about twenty or thirty taels of scattered silver inside.

He scavenged another dozen taels from the other two.

Without hesitation, he tucked the blood-stained silver into his own robes.

This was his spoils of war, and the resources he would need for his future cultivation.

Only after finishing this did he turn toward the shaken woman.

Seeing Lin Qing look her way, the woman snapped back to reality, struggling to kneel on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly: "Thank you, hero! Thank you for saving our lives!"

"I beg you, hero, please see this through to the end and escort us to the Qingping City magistrate's office. My elder brother, Wang Ping, is the Head Constable there; he will surely reward you handsomely."

"This is all the property I have left. I beg for your mercy!"

As she spoke, she hurriedly pulled a somewhat shriveled but finely stitched money pouch from her bosom, trembling as she held it out to Lin Qing with both hands.

Her eyes were filled with desperate pleading.

"Wang Ping?" Lin Qing's heart stirred.

That Head Constable who acted with impartiality, who had spoken up to stop the confrontation between him and Pan Yun, and who had shown a hint of lamentation over the death of Fan Kui.

He was actually this woman's elder brother?

He glanced at the money pouch the woman was offering.

That was likely her last bit of travel money.

Lin Qing shook his head and did not take it. His voice remained hoarse, yet it had softened slightly: "Keep the silver."

Seeing him refuse, the woman assumed he was unwilling to escort them further and grew frantic. Tears gushed out once more, and she sobbed uncontrollably: "Hero, I beg you. In this desolate wilderness, if we encounter more evildoers, my child and I will surely die. Please, have mercy..."

Lin Qing looked at the child in her arms, whose face was deathly pale and who was gripping his mother's clothes tightly, and sighed inwardly.

In the end, he could not bring himself to turn a blind eye or stand by idly.

"I will take you there."

He interrupted the woman's pleas, his tone calm.

"Put the silver away."

The woman froze, then an expression of incredulous joy washed over her face. She hurriedly moved to kowtow again: "Thank you, hero! Thank you! Even if I have to be a beast of burden in my next life, I will repay you!"

"That is unnecessary."

Lin Qing waved his hand, his gaze sweeping toward the corpse of the man in the scholar's robes not far away.

"First, let your husband... be laid to rest."

Hearing this, the woman was overcome with grief, nodding through a cascade of tears.

Lin Qing found a spot with soft soil and used a steel blade he had scavenged from the bandits to dig a shallow pit.

He carefully placed the remains of the unfortunate man in the scholar's robe into the ground, covered him with earth, and moved a few stones over the site as a simple marker.

The woman held her child nearby, weeping bitterly as she performed her final duty to her husband.

Once finished, Lin Qing removed the simple mask he had kept over his face, revealing the slightly refined, true appearance he had fine-tuned using the Thousand Aspect Technique.

Since he was to meet Head Constable Wang, maintaining a disguise would be counterproductive.

Establishing this bond of goodwill with his true identity might prove more beneficial for the future.

He escorted the mother and son, remaining silent throughout the journey and carefully avoiding any potential eyes.

Finally, before sunset, they arrived at the Qingping City magistrate's office.

After the bailiff reported their arrival, Wang Ping, dressed in his official uniform, strode out with long, swift steps.

When he saw his disheveled sister and nephew outside, their faces streaked with tears, his expression shifted violently.

"Little Sister, An'er! What has happened to you?"

"Big Brother!"

Seeing her kin, the woman's long-suppressed sorrow erupted, and she threw herself into Wang Ping's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Between gasps, she recounted how their family had met with disaster, their attempt to seek refuge, the encounter with the Wild Mountain Bandits on the road, her husband's death while protecting them, and finally, how they were saved by Lin Qing.

As Wang Ping listened, his complexion shifted from shock to fury, then to a livid shade of green.

A terrifying Sha Qi rose from his body!

His fists clenched until they creaked, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Wild Mountain Bandits, a pack of beasts who deserve to be hacked into a thousand pieces!"

His face contorted with rage as he roared, "Men! Assemble the team! Follow me out of the city to exterminate these bandits!"

"Head Constable Wang, wait." Only then did Lin Qing speak up.

Wang Ping finally noticed Lin Qing, who stood to the side with a calm expression.

He felt a sense of familiarity at first, but upon closer inspection, he recognized the young proprietor of the Benevolent World Hall on Yongning Street.

"Lin Qing, was it you who saved my sister?"

Wang Ping was filled with suspicion.

In his memory, this young proprietor knew a few moves, but to single-handedly kill three fierce bandits—this strength seemed far greater than he had imagined.

"It was indeed This Humble One," Lin Qing said, offering a slight bow.

"I happened to be passing through the woods and encountered the situation. Those three bandits have been slain; their bodies lie in the forest to the northeast of the city."

"If Head Constable Wang goes now, you may be able to find them."

Wang Ping was even more shaken by these words.

He took a deep look at Lin Qing, his gaze filled with scrutiny and disbelief.

Yet, his sister's account and Lin Qing's composure did not seem like a fabrication.

Suppressing the urge to immediately verify the corpses, he took a deep breath and bowed solemnly to Lin Qing.

"Young Proprietor Lin, words cannot express my gratitude. You saved my sister and An'er, which is as good as saving half of my own life!"

"This debt, Wang will keep in his heart."

As he spoke, he took a money pouch from his robes and tried to press it into Lin Qing's hand. "Please, accept this small sum as a token of my thanks."

Lin Qing stepped aside to avoid it, his expression calm and his tone carrying a hint of chivalry. "Head Constable Wang is too kind. To see injustice and draw one's blade to help is simply a matter of duty."

"If I were after money, I would not have intervened in the first place. Please take this back; it would be better spent comforting your sister and nephew."

Seeing his firm attitude and clear eyes, which showed no sign of pretense, Wang Ping's favor toward him grew significantly, and he held the young man in even higher regard.

This youth possessed not only courage and strength but also a chivalrous heart, untainted by greed—a rarity at his age.

He was a completely different person from the rumors on Yongning Street, which painted him as a calculating man who had seized his family's property.