Pick Up Your Hands

"Thud! Thud!"

Two hands fell to the ground, their fingers still twitching spasmodically.

Han Tieshan stood stunned for a long while before he felt the piercing pain.

He immediately let out a heart-rending scream, then dropped to his knees and rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

Shen Chu walked over and planted a foot on Han Tieshan's chest, pressing down slightly. "Talk. Who taught you this wicked art?"

Han Tieshan was drenched in sweat from the pain, but he still gritted his teeth and thrust out his chin. "Shen Chu! You'd better let me go! If our Flag Master finds out, he'll never spare you! You won't even know what killed you!"

At that, Shen Chu showed no fear. Instead, he let out a soft chuckle.

His gaze slowly lowered to Han Tieshan's right hand—the one that had been broken before but was now as good as new. He said calmly, "I remember the Second Young Master had someone break this hand of yours a while back. But now it's healed as if nothing ever happened. Looks like that Flag Master of yours fixed it for you."

Han Tieshan's expression changed at once.

Shen Chu continued, "You're putting up such a tough front now because you're counting on the Flag Master to back you. You think that even if both your hands are cut off, he can still reattach them."

He paused and shifted his gaze to the two severed hands still twitching faintly on the ground. His tone remained even, but it carried a bone-chilling menace.

"If I grind these two hands into a pulp, do you think your Flag Master will still be able to put them back together?"

Han Tieshan's pupils contracted sharply, and all the bluster drained from his face.

Looking into Shen Chu's utterly impassive eyes, he finally realized that Shen Chu truly wasn't afraid—and truly dared to do it.

At last, he broke and began to confess, haltingly.

It turned out that after he left the Li Family, someone had come to recruit him into an organization called the Red Lotus Sect.

At the time, he was still counting on the Second Young Master to help him return to the Li Family, so he had refused.

But later, after Shen Chu, Sun Ping, and Steward Li had ruined his plans, his two apprentices had stolen all his savings. When he went to the Second Young Master for help, his right hand was broken, too.

With nowhere else to turn, he had no choice but to join the sect. The Red Lotus Sect's Flag Master had been the one to heal his broken hand.

"Who is the Flag Master?" Shen Chu asked.

"I don't know... I really don't!"

Seeing Shen Chu's displeasure, Han Tieshan hurriedly shook his head.

"I only know that he calls himself the Flag Master and is one of the Red Lotus Sect's leaders. I know nothing else!"

"What does he want?"

"I don't know either... He only told me to get settled first and said he'd have a use for me later."

Shen Chu asked several more questions in a row, but Han Tieshan didn't know the answer to any of them.

Only when Shen Chu asked where the wicked art had come from did Han Tieshan quickly say, "The Flag Master taught it to me! He said I was full of resentment and suited to practicing it. He also gave me a manual. It's on me—you can take it!"

Shen Chu reached into Han Tieshan's clothes and rummaged around. Sure enough, he pulled out a thin booklet.

Five old-fashioned characters were written on the cover: Nether Ghost Control Technique.

Shen Chu read it by the moonlight, casually asking Han Tieshan questions about its cultivation methods as he turned the pages.

By now, Han Tieshan was scared out of his wits and answered every question obediently.

Shen Chu asked the same questions in different ways over and over. After confirming that Han Tieshan wasn't lying, he actually sat down cross-legged right in front of him and began cultivating according to the methods in the Nether Ghost Control Technique.

Han Tieshan stared in stunned disbelief, momentarily forgetting the pain in his severed wrists.

The Nether Ghost Control Technique wasn't a particularly profound art. Combined with the boost from the [Twice the Result with Half the Effort] skill, Shen Chu quickly got the hang of it.

After about the time it took an incense stick to burn, he felt a cold aura arise within his body. It existed independently of a Martial Artist's qi and blood, yet coexisted with them without interfering.

At the same time, a new line of text appeared before his eyes:

[Successfully became a Cultist, obtained initial skill: Incense Offering to All Living Beings lv1]

[Incense Offering to All Living Beings: By slaying demons, monsters, ghosts, and those who practice demonic and wicked arts, you can absorb their remaining vital essence. Once you have accumulated enough, it can be used to break through cultivation bottlenecks.]

Then another line of text appeared:

[Passive skill: Breath Concealment]

[Breath Concealment: Conceal your cultivation and aura, preventing others from sensing your aura or seeing your true realm.]

[Nether Ghost Control Technique: Beginner (1/100)]

Shen Chu slowly opened his eyes. A faint, shadowy glint passed through them, then faded into calm.

Seeing that Shen Chu had remained silent, Han Tieshan grew more and more uneasy. He ventured, "S-Shen... Brother Shen, I've told you everything, and you've taken the manual. Can you let me go now?"

Shen Chu glanced at him and said coolly, "I, Shen Chu, keep my grudges and gratitude separate. You used wicked arts to harm me, but you've already paid the price. Now get lost. Don't let me see you again. If we meet again, I won't go easy on you!"

Han Tieshan was overjoyed. In his heart, he cursed Shen Chu for a fool.

Once he found the Flag Master and got his hands healed, he'd make this brat wish he were dead!

But on the surface, he put on a show of gratitude and bowed repeatedly to Shen Chu. "Thank you, Brother Shen! Thank you, Brother Shen! I'll get lost right now! Right now!"

He turned and started for the door. When he reached it—

"Pick up your hands. Pick up your hands!"

Shen Chu's voice came from behind him, carrying a hint of helplessness.

Only then did Han Tieshan remember. He hurried back, knelt on the ground, and stuffed both severed hands into his clothes.

Then, clutching his severed hands, he fled the house in a wretched state and plunged into the night.

He sprinted down the alley, already plotting how to find the Flag Master and take revenge on Shen Chu.

He had just reached the corner at the mouth of the alley when he looked up and froze in place.

Beneath the moonlight,

Shen Chu stood at the mouth of the alley, watching him in silence.

Han Tieshan froze for a moment, then forced out a smile uglier than a cry. "B-Brother Shen... You're taking this road, too? What a coincidence, what a coincidence..."

Shen Chu sighed softly, his tone touched with regret. "I already told you that if we met again, I wouldn't go easy on you. Since you insisted on taking this road and crossing my path, I can't hold back anymore."

"That's not right, it was clearly you—"

Before Han Tieshan could finish speaking, a blade flashed before his eyes. The smile had not yet left his face when his view suddenly rose high into the air.

Then he saw a headless body still standing there, blood gushing from its neck like a fountain.

Huh?

That body looked so familiar.

Who was it?

Oh, right. That was my body...

Then Han Tieshan's consciousness sank into eternal darkness.

His head hit the ground and rolled twice, the obsequious smile still plastered across his face.

At the same time, the [Incense Offering to All Living Beings] skill within Shen Chu's body activated on its own!