Kaiyuan Tower

Xu Qing was still somewhat shaken as he looked at the corpse ghoul on the ground. He shook the blood from his hands, fell silent for a moment, then swiftly vaulted out of the house through the back door.

The corpse ghoul had appeared so abruptly, and it had even attacked residents within the town. Xu Qing did not actually know how serious the matter was.

However.

Xu Qing did not want to expose himself.

Just as he had said before.

Xu Qing was merely a beggar of unknown origin. Yet less than six days after entering the town, he had been able to blast a corpse ghoul to death with nothing but his fists.

One could well imagine.

If others learned of this, they would surely think Xu Qing possessed some treasure and begin coveting him. They might even make a move against him.

"I'll leave the corpse ghoul's body in the house for now. Even if the constables are useless, they should still be able to trace the corpse ghoul's scent here. I'd better return later."

Xu Qing pondered. "I don't have any good way to destroy the evidence. Even if I burned the corpse, setting a fire to burn a body this late at night would make far too much of a disturbance."

Actually.

Xu Qing understood one thing very clearly.

If the constables truly wanted to investigate, he probably would not be able to hide it for long. But he would conceal it for as long as he could. The longer he hid it, the stronger he could become.

By then.

As long as Xu Qing was powerful enough, he would fear nothing.

"Where should I go?"

After hurrying along for some distance, Xu Qing saw the nearby Spring Breeze Pavilion, filled with warblers and swallows, like a paradise on earth.

An outer-city brothel.

"This will do."

Xu Qing spoke.

"Sir, please come in."

At the entrance.

As soon as Xu Qing arrived, a heavily perfumed woman came over with a beaming smile. Taking his arm, she led him into Spring Breeze Pavilion.

After all.

In his previous life, Xu Qing had at least been a wealthy man of some standing in the city. He had naturally seen plenty of women, so the powder-and-rouge beauties of Spring Breeze Pavilion simply could not stir his interest.

Still.

Xu Qing had not come here for pleasure.

If he had to name one.

Xu Qing had been in Qingbei Town for over three months, and the only person who had caught his eye even slightly was the Jiang family's eldest daughter, Jiang Feiying. She truly possessed the bearing of a refined young lady, which was somewhat alluring.

Elsewhere.

About half an incense stick's time later.

Two saber-bearing constables arrived at Xu Qing's residence. They pushed open the door and saw the headless corpse ghoul on the floor. Its head had been smashed apart, with red and white matter scattered everywhere.

"This..."

One of the saber-bearing constables looked astonished. "Who did this? To smash a corpse ghoul's head apart, they must at least be an expert who has reached Great Accomplishment of Bright Force."

"I don't know either!"

The other saber-bearing constable shook his head. "Where is the owner of this house? There's no one here. Could the owner have done it?"

"Forget it, don't worry about that for now. This corpse ghoul being killed is a good thing for the two of us. We can take this headless corpse ghoul back and report in."

"Right, right, right."

The two saber-bearing constables nodded.

Without hesitation.

They took out a corpse bag, packed the headless corpse ghoul inside, gathered up the chunks of flesh, and left Xu Qing's residence.

Two hours later.

Xu Qing returned to his residence on light feet. From afar, he took a look and confirmed that there was indeed no one around the house, and the corpse ghoul's headless body was gone as well.

"Phew..."

Xu Qing let out a breath of relief.

After that.

Once Xu Qing returned to his residence, he quickly fried and ate the Tai Sui Spirit Meat from his robes. Warm currents surged through him, restoring all his energy and strength.

However.

It was already late, and he needed to rest early. He had no time to continue practicing his fist techniques.

"I've already learned the first volume of Azure Hawk Force from the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, as well as the Eagle Claw Skill. There's no longer much point in continuing to go to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School."

Xu Qing thought to himself. "Besides, if I go to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, I can't freely practice Eight Extremities Fist without restraint. Starting tomorrow, I won't need to go there anymore. I can simply stay at my residence and practice Eight Extremities Fist."

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

Morning.

Bang! Bang!

"Open the door!"

Xu Qing had just woken up when loud knocking sounded outside. Someone was barking a stern order, their voice booming.

"Who is it?"

Xu Qing got up and left the bedroom, then pushed open the front door. His pupils contracted slightly. Three saber-bearing constables stood at the entrance.

Among them.

The middle-aged man who had been knocking was Xu Weiran, one of the yamen's three constable captains. The two men standing behind him were the saber-bearing constables who had collected the corpse last night.

"Th-this..."

Xu Qing put on a humble expression. "To think the honored constables would visit. Please, come inside, come inside..."

"No need."

Constable Captain Xu Weiran shook his head, sizing Xu Qing up a few times before sternly demanding, "I'm asking you: where were you last night?"

"This..."

Xu Qing became somewhat awkward.

"Speak!"

Xu Weiran barked. "If you don't, I can only take you back to the yamen for questioning."

"Spring Breeze Pavilion."

Xu Qing said, "I was at Spring Breeze Pavilion last night."

"Pfft..."

The other two saber-bearing constables laughed.

"Hmph!"

Xu Weiran snorted coldly. "Do you know that something major happened in your house last night? When you returned, didn't you feel that something was wrong?"

"Yes, sir!"

Xu Qing immediately said, "When I returned, quite a few things in the house had been tossed around, and I even saw some bloodstains on the ground."

"I'm just an ordinary commoner. I don't know anything. At first, I thought thieves had broken in. Sir, you must investigate this thoroughly."

"Enough, I understand."

Xu Weiran waved a hand and reminded him, "Try not to go out at night unless you have something to do."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Xu Qing nodded rapidly.

Then.

Xu Weiran and the others left.

"Take care, sirs."

Xu Qing bowed his head deeply.

After Xu Qing watched Xu Weiran and the others walk far away, he closed the door and returned to his room. He pondered for a moment. "For now, nothing seems to be wrong."

"Constable Captain, do you think this person was the one who killed the corpse ghoul?"

One of the saber-bearing constables asked.

"I don't know."

Xu Weiran shook his head. "Among Force Realm martial artists, unless they truly exchange blows, no one knows the other party's exact strength. And even if they do fight, if the other party deliberately conceals it, there's no way to truly determine it."

"However..."

Xu Weiran pondered for a while. "We should still investigate this man's background."

"Also..."

Xu Weiran continued, "If corpse ghouls can appear so brazenly in the outer city, then if one had not accidentally been dealt with by an expert at Great Accomplishment of Bright Force last night, there would probably have been a murder case today."

"Send people to strengthen the patrols at night."

"Yes."

"Understood."

The other two saber-bearing constables quickly nodded.

The scene shifted.

A restaurant in the outer city.

This restaurant was called Kaiyuan Tower.

The top floor of Kaiyuan Tower.

One of its luxurious private rooms.

Inside the room.

A young man stood respectfully without moving. Before him was a large bed concealed by bed curtains.

At that moment.

On the bed, a pair of mandarin ducks tumbled and a phoenix overturned.

"Ah!!!"

Suddenly.

As a high-pitched cry rose and fell, a hand pushed aside the bed curtain. The hand was pale as jade, its fingers slender—beauty like jade.

Looking closely.

Through the gap in the lifted bed curtain, one could see a dried corpse lying on the bed.

"My lady."

The young man lowered his head, not daring to raise it at all. "A corpse ghoul died last night, but we still don't know who did it."

"Hee hee..."

A soft giggle rang out, as pleasant as a lark's song yet carrying a bewitching charm that seemed capable of making one sink into oblivion.

"It was only a corpse ghoul. If it died, then it died."

The woman whose true face remained hidden said, "But you—won't you truly experience the utmost bliss of the mortal world with me? I guarantee you'll fall in love with this feeling."

"How would I dare offend you, my lady?"

A faint sheen of cold sweat appeared on the young man's forehead.

"Let the yamen investigate. The yamen is more professional at this sort of thing. Once they find out, refine that busybody into a corpse ghoul."

The hidden woman said.

"Understood."

The young man nodded and quickly left the room.

"Soon."

Buzz! Buzz!

The next instant.

Waves of pink mist spread out. "It will be refined very soon."

Xu Qing's residence.

"Eight Extremities Fist!"

Boom! Boom!

Xu Qing was completely immersed in practicing Eight Extremities Fist. Because he had eaten a pound of Tai Sui Spirit Meat last night and slept well through the night, his strength and energy were now exceptionally abundant.

Within one hour.

Xu Qing could practice Eight Extremities Fist five times.

...

Experience +1

...

Experience +1

...

Elsewhere.

Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.

"Huh?"

Zhang He showed a trace of surprise. He looked toward the entrance several times but never saw Xu Qing. "Why didn't Xu Qing come today?"

After all.

Over the past few days, Zhang He had found Xu Qing's martial talent fairly good. Coupled with his willingness to spend money, there had been a strong chance that he would become a formal disciple of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.

However.

Zhang He had not expected that Xu Qing would stop coming after only the fourth day.

"Even if he has talent and is willing to spend money, if he doesn't work hard, he'll never achieve anything!"

Zhang He sighed.

Obviously.

Zhang He was disappointed in Xu Qing.

In fact.

Quite a few other outer courtyard students had also been watching Xu Qing these past few days. Over the last three days, Instructor Zhang He had been especially attentive in teaching Xu Qing, stirring jealousy in many of the students.

But on the fourth day, Xu Qing did not show up at the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School to train.

Before they knew it.

Those students began to feel a sense of gloating.

"I thought he was something special, able to practice martial arts without tempering his body first. Turns out he was only this much—he couldn't even hold on until the fourth day."

"Exactly."

"So he was just another piece of trash."

"Looks like Instructor Zhang He's efforts over the past few days were all for nothing."

"..."

The students murmured among themselves in low voices.