Master and Disciple

Flying Darts.

He didn't understand martial arts.

The dead were Wang Long and his whole gang...

That left Elder Wu no choice but to suspect that the killer... was very likely his newly accepted "nominal disciple."

But without seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't be sure.

With a few thoughts on his mind, he soon arrived outside the courtyard in Ram Horn Alley.

Knock, knock, knock...

Qin Fang was fast asleep when he heard the heavy knocking.

He had only managed to doze off at daybreak, but after such a violent night, he couldn't possibly have relaxed completely. The moment the door sounded, he was jolted awake.

His eyes opened, bloodshot with fatigue. He sat up in alarm, then gradually came to his senses.

The courtyard gate sounded again. He came around. At this hour...

Could it be his master?

Qin Fang pressed his lips together and glanced at himself, but finally took a deep breath and forced himself out of bed, enduring the pain in his right leg.

He limped to the door and peered through the crack. Sure enough, it was his master...

Qin Fang took a deep breath and opened the door.

His master's scrutinizing gaze met him head-on.

"Master."

Qin Fang bowed.

Elder Wu's eyes immediately fell on his leg and left hand.

His expression darkened at once.

But he said nothing. Instead, he glanced around before entering the courtyard and closing the gate behind him.

"Come inside. We need to talk."

His master frowned as he walked into the room.

Then he saw the mess strewn across the floor and froze in place.

Qin Fang limped after him into the room.

"How did this happen?" Elder Wu turned and asked in a low voice.

Qin Fang lowered his head and answered respectfully, "Yesterday..."

He recounted everything that had happened, from beginning to end.

He didn't hide a thing.

Qin Fang knew full well he couldn't keep this from his master.

Eight people were dead. Before long, word would be flying everywhere... After all, how big could a county town in ancient times be?

And as a physician at Spring Return Hall, his master was bound to have his own channels for gathering news.

His master was also the only person who knew he'd had a feud with Wang Long and the others. The moment he heard they'd been killed, his first suspicion would likely fall on Qin Fang.

On top of that, he'd used Flying Darts to kill them... darts his master had given him.

And... the only place where he could safely stay right now was one his master had given him.

...In a situation like this, how could he hide anything?

Fortunately, Qin Fang had never planned to hide it.

So he told his master everything that had happened the day before.

Elder Wu listened beside him, his expression shifting again and again.

He didn't respond until Qin Fang had finished.

He simply looked at Qin Fang, his expression complicated.

...His gaze held both shock and solemnity.

He was shocked that his disciple was even calmer and more decisive than he'd imagined.

With nothing but a hand full of darts, he'd managed to pick off Wang Long and the others one by one. The last three targets had even been killed in Lan Gui Fang, in front of a crowd... and after killing them, Qin Fang had still managed to get away unscathed.

Just hearing it made his heart pound with fear.

In those circumstances, another person would almost certainly have been caught by Lan Gui Fang.

But his disciple had somehow carved a sliver of life out of a death trap... His resilience and composure were truly astonishing.

And what troubled him was...

Qin Fang was far too bloodthirsty.

He killed people at the slightest disagreement.

And he'd killed eight in one go.

Aside from Wang Long and his men...

As far as Elder Wu was concerned, Scar-Head Li and Wang Long's mistress had both been "innocent."

Yet in the end, Qin Fang had shown them no mercy and killed them too.

Rationally speaking, both of them had indeed needed to die.

Otherwise, Qin Fang's identity might have been exposed.

But emotionally...

Elder Wu found it difficult to accept.

...After all, who could accept that their disciple might be a "cold-hearted, ruthless killer"?

It wasn't as though he belonged to some demonic sect...

He remained silent for a long time before finally asking in a low voice, "Why didn't you come to me?"

Qin Fang kept his head bowed and answered respectfully, "Master, you've already done more than enough for me. This trouble was of my own making, so I should handle it myself. How could I trouble you?"

Hearing this, Elder Wu didn't know what to say.

He fell silent, then glanced again at the wreckage on the floor... He could imagine the position Qin Fang had been in at the time.

...He knew a thing or two about the tricks those ruffians like Wang Long used.

After a long while, Elder Wu let out a quiet sigh. "You need to rein in your bloodthirstiness from now on... If you can, try to handle problems in gentler ways."

At his words, Qin Fang looked up at his master. Then he said dejectedly, "Master, I understand. Honestly, if I had a choice, I wouldn't want to kill anyone either."

Who knew that just a few months ago, he hadn't even dared to kill a chicken?

His journey with the refugees...

It had changed him too much.

Elder Wu fell silent, then finally sighed. "Come here. Let me look at your injuries."

Qin Fang froze, then felt a warmth rise in his heart. He didn't refuse and walked over.

Elder Wu first examined his finger... Qin Fang's left index finger was swollen to nearly twice the size of his middle finger. It was blue and purple, and looked extremely gruesome.

Elder Wu frowned and gently squeezed it with his fingers to check the bone.

The sudden pain made Qin Fang suck in a sharp breath.

Elder Wu paused, then snorted. "Now you know it hurts? Yesterday, when you climbed over the wall to kill Wang Long, you didn't seem to be in any pain!"

Qin Fang froze, looking a little embarrassed.

But he quickly recovered and blinked. "Master, how did you know I climbed over the wall?"

He'd told his master what happened, but hadn't explained the specific details of the "killing."

For example, regarding Wang Long, he'd only said that he'd "entered Wang Long's courtyard and shot him dead."

He hadn't mentioned "climbing over the wall, coming across Wang Long doing that with his mistress, crouching by the wall for a while, and striking just as Wang Long was reaching the end of his pleasure..." and so on.

So naturally, he was surprised that his master knew such details.

Elder Wu rolled his eyes at him, but after a brief silence, he let out a quiet sigh and said, "Your senior brother was the coroner assigned to this case... I heard about Wang Long and the others' deaths from him."

Senior brother?

Qin Fang stared at him in astonishment and blinked.

"I'll introduce you two when there's a chance... but not anytime soon. First, let's treat your injuries."

Elder Wu was also at a loss.

His eldest disciple was the constable in charge of the case.

...And his youngest disciple was the killer!

This...

He sighed helplessly and said no more, continuing to examine Qin Fang's finger.

After finishing the examination, he couldn't help taking another look at Qin Fang...

With his medical skills, he could naturally tell how the injury had been caused.

The finger had first been bent backward and broken.

But it wasn't crooked or misshapen now, which meant someone had set it afterward.

...And who had set it?

The answer was obvious.

...That kid was truly ruthless!

He was ruthless to his enemies.

And he was willing to inflict pain on himself, too!

Elder Wu thought to himself.

"Take off your pants."

Elder Wu suddenly spoke.

"Mm... Huh?"

"Shouldn't I look at the injury on your leg?"

"Oh..."

Qin Fang obediently took off his pants...