Cloak Saber Technique

Zhao Feng quickly stepped forward, pulled out the arrows, picked up the steel saber, and repeated his old trick. He hacked the corpse several times, especially at the legs and throat where the arrows had struck, mangling the flesh and completely ruining the wounds. Then he grabbed the bundle from the man's back and swiftly vanished into the night.

Zhao Feng hid silently in a large tree, carefully watching the surroundings from above. It was just before dawn, and the sky had yet to brighten. Early-rising vendors, shop hands, and laborers had already begun their work, while cooking smoke rose from the riverbank.

"Three quarters of an hour." He estimated the time. He had watched from the tree for three quarters of an hour, and after confirming that no suspicious people were following him, he quietly climbed down. But rather than hurry home, he circled in the opposite direction to the filthy riverbank on the other side. He stripped off his night clothes, face covering, and even his shoes, tossing them all into the murky river before making another detour back to the row houses by the river.

He shut the door, braced it with the wooden bar, and carefully checked everything inside. Only after confirming there were no signs that anything had been touched did he finally relax.

In these chaotic times, before you became strong enough, you had to be cautious and careful.

Looking at the bundle in his hands, Zhao Feng drew a deep breath and slowly opened it, his hands trembling slightly. As its contents gradually came into view, his expression froze.

"Only this much?" Other than Feng Dahu's spare clothes, miscellaneous belongings, and roughly fifty taels of silver, there was nothing else?

"I don't believe it!" Zhao Feng took out the clothes and miscellaneous items one by one to inspect them. At last, he discovered dense stitching in the lining of a long robe. He tore it open and burst into laughter.

"Just as I thought! Just as I thought!" Hidden within the lining was a stack of banknotes—redeemable notes from Great Yan Bank.

Zhao Feng counted them. There were nearly four hundred taels in total! Together with the fifty-odd taels of loose silver, he had struck it rich. He had truly struck it rich this time.

It seemed Feng Dahu had long prepared to flee.

For ease of carrying, he had exchanged most of his gold and silver for redeemable banknotes. The denominations came in both large and small amounts, which saved Zhao Feng quite a bit of trouble.

Zhao Feng searched through the bundle again. There was also a bottle of pills containing eight red pellets.

"These are Vitality Pills!" He recognized them. The medicinal supplements used by rich young masters like Wei Yuan, Wang Yu, and Zhou Xue were these Vitality Pills. One pill cost around ten taels of silver, and its effects were far better than Vitality Powder.

Other than that, there was only a martial arts manual. Written on its cover were the words Cloak Saber Technique.

"Feng Dahu's saber technique and leg technique were both formidable."

Zhao Feng recalled Feng Dahu's desperate counterattack just before dying. Though his right leg had been hit by an arrow, he had relied solely on his left leg to drag the injured one along. Even so, his footwork had been swift as spinning wheels, while the saber technique he used with his single blade had been nearly watertight.

It was only because he had been wounded and lost too much blood that the power of both his leg technique and saber technique had greatly declined, allowing Zhao Feng to find an opening and kill him with a single arrow.

Still, both were undoubtedly excellent martial arts, Feng Dahu's hidden trump cards.

"Then there should be another manual for the leg technique." Zhao Feng searched carefully, but found only the saber manual and no martial arts manual for the leg technique. Even so, this was already a bountiful haul.

Looking at the banknotes, loose silver, saber manual, and pills, Zhao Feng knew this was probably Feng Dahu's entire fortune. Wild joy took root in his heart and gradually spread through his whole body, making him tremble uncontrollably.

As the saying went, murder and arson brought golden belts. Whether working as a guard, escorting cargo, or receiving patronage, none of it could compare to the gains from one successful job. At that moment, he could even understand those mountain bandits and river pirates.

He quickly suppressed those chaotic thoughts and told himself to stay calm and not get carried away. This matter had to stay buried inside him. No one could be allowed to learn of it. He had to be extremely careful.

With this money, he would not need to worry about precious medicines or nourishing himself with fierce beast meat for some time. Together with the pills, he could break through to the hidden force level even faster.

Naturally, he also had to practice the Cloak Saber Technique. The open space outside these row houses had no cover. Zhao Feng did not know whether this saber technique was common, but to be safe, he had to practice somewhere private.

"I need a courtyard, and it has to be a detached residence."

As he threw all of Feng Dahu's clothes and miscellaneous belongings into the stove to burn, Zhao Feng thought to himself.

It was not until morning that Feng Dahu's corpse was discovered among the ruins in the north of the city. It immediately caused an uproar throughout the outer city. After all, the Black Tiger Gang had once been a powerful martial underworld gang in the western part of the city. Rumors flew everywhere. Naturally, all suspicion pointed toward their recent sworn enemies, the Three Harmonies Gang. Without question, they must have done it.

Quite a few people secretly celebrated as well. Dog eat dog or not, at least one scourge had been removed from the outer city.

The county office sent constables to investigate, but they concluded that he had died an accidental violent death. This did not surprise anyone. The county magistrate had always turned a blind eye to gang vendettas.

Although discussion of Feng Dahu's death was heated, it lasted only a few days before no one mentioned him again. It was as though he had never existed.

"It's about time to look for a house." Once he saw that the storm had passed, Zhao Feng began to act.

In the riverside row house, he tucked the banknotes, martial arts manual, and pills into his clothes. Then he gathered and packed his few belongings before leaving the row house to terminate the lease. The rental period was nearly over anyway.

After ending the lease, he did not look for a house at the same broker's office. Instead, he went to another agency in the south of the city and found a lean, dry-looking broker.

Zhao Feng told him that he wanted a house with a courtyard.

"Sir, you've come at just the right time. Quite a few courtyards in the outer city have recently become available for sale or rent, and the prices are not high. Are you looking to buy or rent?" the skinny broker asked.

"I want to rent a detached residence, preferably close to Five-Peace Ward," Zhao Feng said.

Though he could probably afford a courtyard in the inner city now, he would wait until he had broken through to the hidden force level and gained sufficient status before finding an opportunity to purchase property there. For now, he had to keep a low profile.

"Near Five-Peace Ward? Then you're in luck. A detached residence just became vacant two days ago. Come with me." The broker hitched up a donkey cart and had Zhao Feng climb aboard. He took him across four streets to the border between Five-Peace Ward and Peaceful Ward, a relatively quiet area. Then he led him into an eastern alley called Willow Tree Alley. At the very end of the alley stood a courtyard. The broker pushed open the gate, and the two entered.

Zhao Feng first inspected the courtyard. It was not small, even a little larger than the courtyard where they practiced martial arts. There was more than enough room to practice archery, leg techniques, and saber techniques. Its privacy was also good. It stood at the very end of the alley, and there were no large trees outside from which anyone could look in. Instead, a large willow by the courtyard wall blocked the view from rooftops beyond the alley. In summer, it could also shield the yard from the scorching sun.

There was a well in the courtyard, making it convenient to draw water. One main hall could be used for eating and receiving guests, while the main room served as a resting room. Both the east and west side rooms were empty. A small annex beside the east side room functioned as both kitchen and wood storage. In one corner of the yard were some dried medicinal herbs and vegetables.

"The owner is a medicinal herb merchant who has just moved away. He'll be living in the prefectural city year-round from now on, so this house can be sold or rented. The rent is six hundred copper coins per month." As the skinny broker spoke, he watched Zhao Feng's expression.