Karmic Sin

Two portions of Venison Medicinal Meal went down his stomach, costing a full tael of silver.

In the past, how would Chen Cheng have dared to be so extravagant?

It was all thanks to last night's haul.

Wu Dong and Liu San's money pouches, together with Scar Bear's wooden box, held more than thirty-three taels of silver in total.

With this windfall to support him, Chen Cheng could eat Venison Medicinal Meal every day to make up for the deficit in his body caused by excessive training, thereby extending his training time as much as possible.

Combined with Blood-Boosting Powder's increased efficiency in strengthening Blood Qi, the two-pronged approach would greatly shorten the time needed to condense his second strand of Blood Qi.

He had calculated it long ago. Without medicinal meals and powders, relying on bitter endurance alone would take at least another month. Now, half a month would be enough.

This meant that within half a month, he would possess the strength to deal with Zhao Chuan, rather than waiting until Zhao Hai returned a month later before making his move.

The sooner any hidden danger was uprooted, the better.

And with last night's gains, Chen Cheng had firmly seized the initiative in his own hands.

He liked taking the initiative.

Day after day passed.

Chen Cheng lived a three-point routine between the Outer Hall, the warehouse, and the Patrol Office.

During that time, he spent nearly every moment honing his martial arts. Only when secretly tailing Zhao Chuan did his tightly wound body receive a brief respite.

Xiao Yi had ultimately fallen out completely with Qian Baolu. Chen Cheng had not been present when it happened, and only learned after returning to the Martial Hall that Qian Baolu had been beaten and injured, then taken leave to return home, with no date set for his return.

What surprised Chen Cheng was that only one person had stepped forward to help Qian Baolu at the time—Lin Fengxiao.

The next day, Chen Cheng ran into Fatty Fang, who had come to the Outer Hall to collect Blood-Boosting Powder. After not seeing him for a long time, the fellow's face gleamed with even more oil, and his waist seemed to have grown another circle wider.

During their idle chat, Chen Cheng learned about the recent situation in the Lower Academy.

Qiao Qiao had failed her first attempt at breaking through Blood Condensation. Fortunately, Blood Refining Powder had supported her, so her foundation had not been harmed, nor had she fallen into the usual period of weakness following a failed breakthrough. After resting for a while, she could try again.

Shi Lei, on the other hand, had made considerable progress and had reached the final threshold. He was merely waiting for this month's Lower Academy Minor Competition. Once he obtained Blood Refining Powder, he would stake everything on one attempt.

Because Fatty Fang had enemies in the Middle Academy, the two did not speak for long.

As for the ten taels of silver Chen Cheng owed him, Fatty Fang did not mention it at all, though Chen Cheng silently kept it in mind.

One afternoon.

The Chen Family Old Residence seemed soaked in icy water, its dead silence churning with suffocating oppression.

"You wretch! You cursed wretch!"

At last, Old Chen's roar shattered the silence.

His face was deathly pale, his entire body trembling. He raised the cane in his hand high, about to swing it down at Chen Hao, who knelt in the center of the courtyard.

"Father! You can't! You mustn't!"

Chen Yong and his wife, Madam Wang, threw themselves at him from either side and held the old man fast.

"Father, Mother, don't stop him! Let Grandpa hit me!"

Chen Hao, kneeling on the ground, stiffened his neck. His voice was cold and harsh, carrying the brute stubbornness of someone who had thrown all caution to the wind.

"I've already done it! Even if you beat me to death, there's no turning back!"

"You... I..."

Held between Chen Yong and his wife, the old man could neither strike nor curse. His breath caught in his throat, choking him until his aged face turned blue-green, as though he might be angered to death at any moment.

"Father, please calm down."

Madam Wang hurriedly tried to soothe him.

"A-Hao failed his breakthrough some time ago, and his aunt and Third Uncle both refused to give any more money, even unto death... The child was anxious and had nowhere left to turn, so he stole the deed to sell it..."

"This is the ancestral home... the ancestral home!!!"

Old Chen's face went from deathly white to the ashen gray of a dying man. That hoarse cry seemed to drain away the last of his strength, and his whole body collapsed limply.

"Grandpa!"

Seeing this, Chen Hao not only failed to step forward and support him, but instead sprang to his feet.

"The thirty taels I got from pawning the old residence can buy one portion of the finest Blood Refining Powder. This time, I'll definitely succeed!"

His back was ramrod straight, and there was not the slightest trace of regret in his eyes.

"I promise you, once I make something of myself, I'll take you away to enjoy a good life! We won't live in Anle Ward or Annan Ward—I'll take you straight into the Inner City!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over his parents and his collapsed grandfather, his tone suddenly turning cold.

"But before that, no one had better stand in my way!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.

Old Chen lay limp on the ground, his eyes vacant. His mouth opened and closed, yet he could not utter a single clear syllable. All that remained were intermittent, rasping breaths.

"Father, calm down. If you get so angry that something happens to you, we won't have the money to hire a doctor!"

Madam Wang's words of comfort were neither warm nor cold, sounding more like a warning.

After saying that, she lowered her eyes and began calculating every last fraction in her heart.

The old residence would be taken away tomorrow morning, yet Chen Hao had not left her even a single coin.

Fortunately, she had secretly saved up a little private money before.

It would barely be enough to rent two shacks in places like the filthy Bitter Locust Village or Kuhe Village in the slums. Whether they chewed chaff or gnawed grass, they could at least hold on until Chen Hao became a martial artist.

By then... life should get better, right?

That was what she thought, yet her nails unconsciously dug into her palm.

Bitter Locust Village.

Chen Cheng returned home carrying a packet of cooked meat that still steamed with heat.

During this period, Madam Li had stopped taking outside laundry work. Her food had also improved greatly from before, and the vigor in her body had visibly recovered. Her withered, thin cheeks had finally filled out somewhat, and a lively gleam had returned to her eyes.

"Why'd you buy meat again?"

Madam Li wore a smile rarely seen in the past, though her words carried heartache.

"There's still quite a bit left from the silver you gave Mother last time... Mother lacks nothing. Keep your money properly and nourish yourself more—that's what matters. Mother thinks you... seem to have gotten thinner again."

"This is called being lean and tough."

Chen Cheng smiled, then turned serious.

"Mother, let's eat first. After we finish, we'll pack up and move."

"Move?"

Madam Li froze, her eyes filled with astonishment.

Chen Cheng lowered his voice. "A friend passed me some news... Something huge is about to happen in Black Wolf Gang territory. We can't stay here any longer."

"How could that be?" Madam Li's brows knitted tightly.

Chen Cheng shook his head. "Don't ask too much, and don't spread it around. In any case, the news is absolutely reliable."

During this time, he had persisted in tailing Zhao Chuan. Not only had he thoroughly learned the man's habits, but from the scattered snippets Zhao Chuan exchanged with his colleagues after work, he had pieced together crucial intelligence.

His scheme that night, disguising himself as a Cloth-Wrapped Puppet, had indeed worked.

The deaths of the two constables, Wu Dong and Liu San, had truly been pinned by the upper ranks of the Patrol Office on Red Moon Nunnery.

Although the coroner's examination had found that the wounds on the two men were similar yet not identical to those caused by the Cloth-Wrapped Ghost.

There were already people in the South Outer City Patrol Headquarters dissatisfied with Red Moon Nunnery, and they had taken the opportunity to make an issue of it.

Furthermore, ever since Zhou Long was injured, many gangs below had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Black Wolf Gang due to the Cloth-Wrapped Puppet's intervention. Their resentment had long since gathered into public fury.

Now, both the underworld and the authorities were stirring restlessly.

The peace of this period was, in truth, the final calm before the storm.

They were only waiting for a single official document from an Inner City grandee to classify Red Moon Nunnery completely among demons, monsters, and heretical cults.

Then the various forces that had held themselves back openly and secretly for so long would become like mad wolves and starving dogs that had caught the scent of blood, lunging forward without regard for anything and tearing the Black Wolf Gang and Red Moon Nunnery to pieces.