Merit Plus One

Late at night.

Faint sounds came from the room next door. Zhou Ming opened his eyes and gently pushed the window open a crack.

By the faint moonlight,

Zhou Ming saw three figures dressed in black, carrying a sack. In the blink of an eye, they entered a nearby courtyard.

Then he saw Er Zhuang furtively looking around before heading toward that courtyard.

Zhou Ming's eyes shifted.

Something interesting is happening.

He did not rush out. Instead, he observed Er Zhuang's every move from the guest room.

Er Zhuang took three looks back for every step forward, hunched over as he prowled around outside the courtyard for quite a while. From time to time, he pressed an ear against the wall, seemingly listening for something.

After a moment, Er Zhuang looked behind himself, then carefully climbed over the courtyard wall. Using the bare branches inside, he successfully entered the yard.

After landing, Er Zhuang lay flat on the ground and slowly crawled forward. Once he reached a side room, he skillfully pried out several blue bricks from the base of the wall.

A faint glimmer of light seeped through the gap.

With his work complete, Er Zhuang lay there, occasionally wiggling his butt.

Seeing this, Zhou Ming grew even more curious.

He slowly pushed open the window, propped it up, and leaped out in an instant like a swimming dragon.

Landing on a tree trunk, Zhou Ming slightly stirred his blood qi and channeled his power into his ears.

A faint, indistinct moaning reached his ears.

Though he had been single since birth, he was far from unfamiliar with that sound.

Remembering the figures carrying the sack earlier,

Zhou Ming frowned slightly.

If it were ordinary lovemaking, he would have treated it as a show. But it seemed this was no show after all.

Still, he had to confirm the situation first.

Zhou Ming jumped down from the tree. When he landed, he stirred up only a trace of dust and made no sound at all.

He silently approached Er Zhuang from behind and reached out.

Er Zhuang, who was watching with great excitement, suddenly saw darkness before his eyes and instantly lost consciousness.

Zhou Ming grabbed Er Zhuang by the waistband, lifted him, and set him aside.

Then he lay down in Er Zhuang's previous spot.

He looked inside.

There was actually an underground chamber inside.

A bed stood in the middle, covered with thick bedding. Upon it lay a woman who was barely conscious, her cheeks flushed red. Several whip marks stained her pale skin, each seeping with fresh blood.

Seeing the torn fabric of her clothes, Zhou Ming confirmed that the pale figure on the bed was the woman at the inn who had worn a veil over her face during the day.

Three naked figures stood beside the bed, one of them holding a leather whip.

Though he could only see their profiles, Zhou Ming had already recognized them.

They were the three men who had shared a table with the man in green during the day.

Zhou Ming pursed his lips.

Damn it.

Sure enough, dogs that bite do not bark.

Zhou Ming had seen it clearly during the day. When the man in green had been killed in an instant, the three had merely glanced at the corpse, their eyes as indifferent as if they were looking at livestock awaiting slaughter.

Who would have thought it was all an act?

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and prepared to leave.

He had originally assumed this was some rapist abducting and abusing decent women.

He had not expected it to be revenge.

He had no intention of involving himself in that sort of thing.

Just as Zhou Ming was about to rise, voices drifted up from below.

"Third Brother, this girl is yours. Fourth Brother is dead and never got to enjoy her, so enjoy her in his place."

"Hehehe, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, I prepared a surprise for you two in the other secret room."

"Oh? Could it be Widow Wang's untouched daughter? Did you abduct her too?"

Third Brother laughed loudly. "Not just her daughter. I brought Widow Wang along as well. What a pity. They were originally meant for Fourth Brother."

Listening to the conversation below, Zhou Ming's gaze turned icy.

He immediately rose and entered the room.

He had thought he would need to spend some effort finding the entrance to the secret chamber. Unexpectedly, it was right in the center of the main hall.

He sighed slightly.

Were they bold because they were skilled, or bold because they were skilled?

They were doing evil and had not even bothered to shut the door.

Zhou Ming walked down the stairs. With a turn of his right hand, a dark red spear appeared in his grasp.

At the bottom of the stairs, he glanced at the fork in the passage and turned toward the direction of the light.

As Zhou Ming descended the stairs and reached the corner, he saw two shadows cast onto the wall by candlelight.

Then two figures appeared before him, one after the other.

The first to emerge was the eldest of the three.

The man had just stepped around the corner when his pupils suddenly contracted. A figure stood on the stairs ahead.

His second brother abruptly bumped into his back. Staggering to a stop, he laughed and cursed, "Eldest Brother, did you use too much strength just now? Are your legs weak?"

Before his eldest brother could react,

A cold voice rang out.

"Good evening."

At the same time, the spear in Zhou Ming's hand instantly pierced through both men.

The eldest brother lowered his head and looked at his pierced chest. He felt utterly weak and desperately tried to mobilize the blood qi within him.

Yet the blood qi he could usually control at will now felt like sand slipping through his fingers.

Fourth Brother looked at the dark red spear shaft piercing through his shoulder armor. Enduring the agony, he fiercely slapped the eldest brother's back.

Bang!

A muffled impact sounded.

The eldest brother's body slid along the spear shaft and slammed toward Zhou Ming.

The dark red spear in Zhou Ming's hand trembled.

The bodies pierced by the spear instantly exploded into pieces.

At the same time, a figure burst from the rain of blood. A crimson saber slashed viciously down at Zhou Ming's left shoulder.

Clang!

Second Brother's Blood Qi Manifestation saber struck Zhou Ming's shoulder with a crisp ring.

Zhou Ming was completely unharmed, a flowing luster covering his entire body.

"Jade Skin! No, Eighth-Rank Perfect Jade Bone."

Second Brother stared at the saber resting on Zhou Ming's shoulder and could not help crying out. He immediately dispersed his Blood Qi Manifestation and leaped backward.

Zhou Ming looked at the saber fading from his shoulder.

His heart lurched.

Damn it.

I should have used the AK.

All that strength for nothing. Good thing I withstood it.

Second Brother looked at the figure on the stairs, whose body shimmered with a pearly white glow.

His heart trembled uncontrollably.

Run. He could only run.

That was the only thought in his mind.

An Eighth-Rank Perfect Foundation Martial Artist was not someone he and Third Brother could handle, even together.

Second Brother's eyes narrowed. He stomped violently on the stone steps with his right foot, shooting toward the top of the stairs like an arrow released from a bow.

Zhou Ming watched his every movement closely.

In an instant, their bodies crossed.

Standing on the stairs, Zhou Ming formed a claw with his left hand and precisely gripped Second Brother's neck.

Without the slightest hesitation, his five fingers tightened fiercely.

A mass of flesh and blood exploded in his hand.

Second Brother's charging body did not stop. Its momentum carried it onward, and three breaths later, it collapsed onto the stairs, devoid of life.

Zhou Ming stood where he was, smelling the pungent stench of blood.

It was not that he had never killed before, but this kind of close-quarters battle, personally ending a life with his own hands,

Deeply stirred him.

A moment later, he raised his left hand and looked at the flesh and blood clinging to his Jade Skin. "Mm, rape, abduction, and plunder. A good kill. Merit plus one."

Carrying his spear, Zhou Ming continued down the stairs, somewhat puzzled.

Such a huge commotion had broken out. Why had Third Brother not reacted at all?

As he went farther down, his small doubt was answered.

Slap! Slap!

"Ah!"

"Feels good, feels so good! Little bitch, scream louder."

It turned out the commotion down here was even louder.