Departure

As the talent notification sounded, a wealth of brand-new knowledge was clearly etched into the depths of Feng Chen's consciousness.

Every move diagram, force-exertion key point, stance technique, and mental method of the entire Great King Fist had been precisely recorded by the template. He did not need to memorize them himself and could call them up in his mind whenever he wished.

A smile appeared on Feng Chen's face.

This Great King Fist was not bad. Its moves were more varied than Tiger Fist, its fist techniques more complete. Its power in use should be decent.

Now that the Giant Strength Art had reached Perfection and his realm had stabilized at the Body Tempering Second Layer, he had just enough spare energy to practice this fist technique.

If he cultivated the Great King Fist to Perfection too, would his strength become even greater?

At present, he was at the Body Tempering Second Layer. The Giant Strength Art was at Perfection, the Five Tigers Gate-Breaking Saber was at Perfection—his basic skills were all lined up in a row at Perfection.

With one more Perfection-level fist martial skill, he would be fully rounded in both fists and weapons. His advantage against Martial Artists of the same realm would only grow greater.

Feng Chen quietly calculated in his heart, but he did not immediately begin cultivating.

It was already deep into the night. Moon shadows slanted westward, and everything outside the courtyard was still. Even the insect cries had grown sparse.

It was time to rest.

He put the two secret manuals and the silver back into his Spatial Ring, blew out the oil lamp, returned to the room, and gently lay down beside Lin Qing'er.

Lin Qing'er drowsily turned over, buried her face back into the hollow of his shoulder, and mumbled something indistinctly.

Feng Chen closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.

After one night had passed, dawn had only just broken, and a faint layer of golden morning light had appeared over the distant mountain ridge when the sound of gongs and drums rose from the village.

Urgent and loud, the gongs and drums blended together, traveling through the morning mist and spreading across all of Green Mountain Village.

Feng Chen was awakened by the noise and rolled over to sit up.

Beside him, Lin Qing'er also rubbed her eyes awake. Sleep still lingered on her face as she looked toward the window in confusion.

After washing up simply, the two pushed open the courtyard gate and went to the small road leading into the village, where they looked into the distance.

Many people in the village were dressed in white mourning clothes, walking in groups toward the ancestral hall.

A white canopy seemed to have been raised in the open ground beside the ancestral hall. Figures could faintly be seen moving tables and chairs and arranging incense and candles. The entire scene looked like a grand funeral was being held.

Feng Chen was somewhat surprised.

Liu Teng had already been killed by him last night, and the two Wang brothers had been dealt with as well.

Who was still holding a funeral for Liu Dagang?

The scale was more than ten times greater than Aunt Li's funeral yesterday, and there were several times as many people dressed in mourning clothes.

Lin Qing'er was equally puzzled. She stood on tiptoe and peered toward the village for a while before turning back. "Husband, shall we go take a look?"

Feng Chen nodded. "Sure. Let's go have a look."

He had been meaning to figure out what was going on.

The two entered the village together.

Only after entering did they discover that the situation was even more exaggerated than it had looked from afar.

It was not just the Liu Clan members who wore mourning clothes. Many ordinary villagers had also been forced into white cloth garments and were lining up as they headed toward Liu Dagang's house.

Uneasy silence filled every face. No one dared speak loudly; they merely lowered their heads and followed the crowd.

Feng Chen mingled among them, made some casual conversation, and after asking around, quickly understood.

It turned out that the Liu Clan members feared being held accountable by the Wang Clan Martial Hall. Before dawn, they had all scrambled awake and spent the night sewing together the bodies of Liu Teng, Wang Tianping, and Wang Tianfan. They dressed them in burial clothes and placed them inside coffins.

The coffins had been forcibly requisitioned from households throughout the village. Several had originally been burial coffins prepared by elderly villagers for themselves, yet Liu Ma had led people to carry them away by force.

Then, with the most solemn funeral rites, they arranged the three coffins side by side before the ancestral hall, hung white mourning banners, lit eternal lamps, and beat gongs and drums as they waited there.

Waited for whom?

They were waiting for people from the Wang Clan Martial Hall.

They wanted to use this display to show the Wang Family: the murderer was not from our village, we knew nothing of this, and we have done everything we could to properly lay the two young masters' bodies to rest. Please be magnanimous and do not implicate the innocent.

The other villagers of Green Mountain Village were also shocked when they heard about it.

They had only known that Liu Dagang was dead. They had never expected that Liu Teng would die a few days later as well, taking two disciples of the Wang Clan Martial Hall down with him.

The atmosphere throughout the village changed in an instant.

"What sin did the Liu Household commit to be cut down one after another?"

"The old one died, then the young one died too. This time, even people from the martial hall in town have been dragged into it. Green Mountain Village has been peaceful for so many years—why have so many terrible incidents suddenly happened?"

"Who could say otherwise?"

"The Liu Household must have been too arrogant in the village and offended someone they should never have offended."

"Think about it. How many wicked deeds did Liu Dagang commit when he was village chief? And what sort of goods were his two sons, Tiger Liu and Liu Teng?"

"Now look what happened—their enemies have come knocking. It is only a pity that they implicated those two young masters of the Wang Family. They were from the martial hall in town. I am afraid this will not end easily."

"I only fear that we ordinary folk will be implicated too."

"If that expert only has a grudge against the Liu Household, then it would be fine. He can kill those who deserve killing and leave. But he must not be some bloodthirsty demon king. If he is, then we will truly suffer."

The crowd's discussions buzzed endlessly, and no one looked at ease.

Aunt Li's death, Liu Dagang's death, and now the deaths of Liu Teng and the Wang Clan Martial Hall disciples—several lives had been lost in just a few days. Even the dullest person could sense it.

An indescribable gloom hung in the air of Green Mountain Village.

Feng Chen stood among the crowd for a while, listening to all the information he needed. Then he quietly pulled Lin Qing'er away and returned home along the path they had come by.

After closing and bolting the courtyard gate, he turned to look at Lin Qing'er and said seriously, "Qing'er, I have a suggestion. Let's go live in Green Mountain Town. What do you think?"

After learning this news, he had already realized the situation at hand.

The bodies of Wang Tianping and Wang Tianfan were now lying in the coffins at Liu Dagang's house, but the Wang Clan Martial Hall would sooner or later send people here.

By then, experts from the Wang Clan Martial Hall would investigate Green Mountain Village and question every household. His Body Tempering Second Layer cultivation would be impossible to hide.

The only way was to leave Green Mountain Village before the people from the Wang Clan Martial Hall arrived.

Whether they went to town or elsewhere, they could not remain in this small village that was about to be turned upside down.

Moreover, this small village no longer had enough resources to allow him to grow quickly.

Only by going somewhere larger could he become stronger faster. Then he could find a way to uproot the hidden threats of the Wang Clan Martial Hall!

When facing threats, Feng Chen had never considered sitting still and waiting for death. Instead, he wanted to strike first, pull them out early, and cut the grass by the roots!

Lin Qing'er did not hesitate in the slightest after hearing him.

She did not ask why they were suddenly going to town, nor did she worry about how they would live once they got there. She simply looked up at Feng Chen and nodded firmly. "Husband, wherever you go, I'll go."

Seeing how earnestly serious she was, enough to make one's heart ache, Feng Chen smiled. "Alright. Then let's pack up and leave now."

"Okay, Husband."

Lin Qing'er answered crisply, turned around, and quickly returned to the room to pack.

She neatly folded the few changes of clothes they owned, gathered the bottles and jars of oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar from the stove together, then took down and wrapped up the few pieces of salted meat still hanging from the kitchen beam.

The two did not own much. Back when they had been so poor they could barely keep the pot boiling, they had possessed only a few things. Later, Feng Chen had gradually bought some items back from town, and together they had accumulated something of a household. It did not take much time to pack it all.

Once everything was packed, two heavy bundles sat in the main room.

"Husband, you carry one, and I'll carry one." As Lin Qing'er spoke, she reached for the larger bundle.