第26章 放火

"Now, I ask, you answer."

A low, guttural sound emanated from the guard's throat.

"Who is your Flag Master? What great undertaking is he planning?"

Zhao Dezhu was being throttled to the point of suffocation, but he was no ordinary man.

In this critical moment, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, spat a mouthful of vital essence into his palm, and backhanded the guard across the crown of his head.

With a dull thud,

The guard's head tilted at a grotesque angle, and his entire body went limp like a marionette with its strings cut, collapsing to the floor.

The other guard's body simultaneously lost its control and crashed to the ground.

Zhao Dezhu slumped on the floor, gasping for air. A trail of blood hung from the corner of his mouth, and his face was deathly pale.

It was clear that the strike had exhausted his vital energy; he was at the end of his rope.

Just then, the door was gently pushed open from the outside.

Shen Chu stood in the doorway. Moonlight spilled in from behind him, casting a long shadow across the floor.

He looked at the gasping, dying Zhao Dezhu, a harmless smile on his face, and spoke slowly: "Steward Zhao, can we have a proper chat now?"

Shen Chu's appearance caused Zhao Dezhu's pupils to constrict, his face etched with disbelief.

He leaned against the wall, wheezing as he asked: "Who... who are you really? Why do you know the secret arts of the Sacred Sect? What exactly are you trying to do?"

Shen Chu shook his head, his tone flat yet tinged with helplessness: "It's not what I want to do. From beginning to end, I only wanted to forge blades and live a peaceful life. It is you people who have come to provoke me time and time again."

Hearing this, Zhao Dezhu's eyes darted around. He forced a smile that looked worse than crying and softened his tone:

"Shen Chu, since you also know the secret arts of the Sacred Sect, we are practically family. Anyone who practices this is a disciple of the Sacred Sect. Since we are fellow disciples, why kill each other? Why not turn enemies into friends? Whatever you need in the future, I, Zhao Dezhu, will certainly do my utmost to help, no questions asked!"

Shen Chu did not believe a word of his nonsense. He merely looked at him coldly and asked again: "What exactly are you people trying to do?"

Seeing that Shen Chu was unmoved, Zhao Dezhu sighed.

He beckoned weakly to Shen Chu: "Fine, since you insist on knowing, I will tell you. Come a little closer; this is a long story, and I truly don't have the strength to speak loudly."

Shen Chu hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward and leaned in slightly.

The moment he was within three feet, the previously listless look in Zhao Dezhu's eyes turned vicious!

He suddenly pulled a pitch-black, short-barreled hidden weapon from his robes and slammed the trigger toward Shen Chu's chest!

Chi, chi, chi!

Several cold glints shot out, all of them striking Shen Chu!

Shen Chu's body jolted violently, then he fell straight backward, hitting the floor with a bang and lying motionless.

Seeing this, Zhao Dezhu was stunned for a second, then threw his head back and laughed heartily.

His laughter was punctuated by violent coughing that made his whole body tremble, yet he could not suppress his triumph:

"Fool! What a fool! If I had known you were so easy to deal with, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths!"

He leaned against the wall, struggling to stand: "Cough... cough... let's see you fight me now..."

"It's too good for you to just die like this! I should have broken your limbs first. When the Flag Master succeeds, I would have made you wish for death..."

Before he could finish his cursing, he saw the Shen Chu on the floor suddenly move.

The smile on Zhao Dezhu's face froze.

Shen Chu sat up slowly, reached out to unbutton his outer robe, and revealed a dark, heavy suit of iron armor worn close to his body.

Several short needles were embedded in the surface of the armor; they had pierced the fabric but hadn't even touched his skin.

Shen Chu took off the iron armor, frowning as he complained: "Tsk, this thing is still a bit heavy to wear, and it's not very convenient to move in. But at least it's truly effective for protection."

He tossed the armor aside, stretched his shoulders, which were sore from the weight, and looked down at Zhao Dezhu.

His gaze no longer held any of its previous patience.

The blood drained from Zhao Dezhu's face in an instant.

He opened his mouth to speak,

But Shen Chu didn't waste any more breath. He stepped forward, clenched his right fist, and condensed his energy into his knuckles!

Stone-Shattering Fist!

The punch landed squarely on Zhao Dezhu's heart.

A dull sound of cracking bone echoed as Zhao Dezhu's chest slightly caved in.

His body arched violently, his eyes bulged, and a stream of dark red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth before he slowly collapsed backward.

Bang!

Dead with one blow!

Shen Chu retracted his fist and looked down at the corpses of Zhao Dezhu and the two guards.

He felt a twinge of regret.

He should have forced out all of this guy's secrets and taken all his money before torturing him to death!

He was still too impulsive; he had to be more steady next time.

At this moment, the [Incense Offering to All Living Beings] skill activated automatically once more.

Zhao Dezhu's corpse transformed into wisps of cyan incense smoke, curling upward and drifting into Shen Chu's body.

He slowly opened his eyes and clenched his fist, feeling a sense of power in his knuckles that was more solid than before.

Shen Chu focused his mind and pulled up his status panel.

[Stone-Shattering Fist: Minor Success (15/100)]

[Incense Offering to All Living Beings: Absorption Progress 3/100 (Can be used to break through technique thresholds)]

Although the numerical change wasn't earth-shattering, this tangible growth gave Shen Chu a sense of security.

After the killing, he didn't rush to leave but searched the room.

Zhao Dezhu had indeed been skimming off the top of the procurements and accounts. Shen Chu found a heavy money bag in a hidden compartment under the bed.

Opening it, he saw over a hundred taels of white silver, along with several small-denomination banknotes—at least three or four hundred taels in total.

Shen Chu weighed the bag and sighed: "Truly, murder and arson lead to golden belts..."

He bent down to pick up the iron armor and put it back on, then glanced at the spot where Zhao Dezhu had vanished.

There were still two guard corpses left in the room.

These two hadn't practiced any arts, or Shen Chu would have absorbed them too.

But how should he dispose of these bodies?

As he thought about it, he suddenly chuckled.

There were two corpses in Zhao Dezhu's room—what did that have to do with him, Shen Chu?

With that thought, his mind felt clear.

Since he had already killed the man, he couldn't skip the arson part.

He scanned the room, splashed the lamp oil from the oil lamp onto the bed and furniture, lit a fire starter, walked to the door, looked back once, and tossed the fire starter into the room.