What I Seek Is Only an Unburdened Mind

Those who ate meat were brave and fierce.

For martial arts practitioners who had yet to formally step onto the Martial Dao, meat was a cultivation resource!

Only by eating meat could one strengthen Blood Qi the fastest.

Jiang Shu had felt this when he first entered the Horse Stance. After attaining Qi and Blood Sensing, he craved meat constantly. More than a dozen large meat buns every morning merely filled his stomach.

Fortunately, he was on Xuanxing.

Had he been in Pingling County, with how scarce meat was in the Outer City, he might at most have entered the Horse Stance by now!

Even with the Proficiency Panel, he was like this—let alone everyone else in the Outer City!

It could be said that in Pingling County's Outer City, aside from gang leaders, who had wealthy households supporting them from above and could draw upon their entire gangs to support their martial training—

Other martial artists could only go to the Inner City and serve as retainers for wealthy households to obtain more meat!

Thus, in the entire Green Snake Gang, the only person Jiang Shu needed to watch out for was the gang leader.

The hall masters and senior heads beneath him might also be practitioners of the Whole Body Qi and Blood Great Circulation and Qi and Blood Circulation, but most were nothing but names. Their surging Blood Qi had likely long since been worn away amid wine and women.

As for the ordinary gang members, they might not even match the laborers working the docks.

One after another, they strutted about on the strength of their gang membership, acting like tyrants, yet their steps were unsteady and their fists powerless.

How many punches from him could trash like this withstand?

With his face covered by cloth, Jiang Shu imagined himself as a hungry tiger leaving its den, each step nurturing his momentum.

In his previous life, he had died at thirty, leaving him with a deep obsession for eternal life.

But he knew even better that eternal life was only the goal. Without means of slaughter, an immortal him would be nothing more than a plump, tender lamb.

Turtles lived long lives.

But among the turtles in the marketplace, how many truly lived long?

Only when great power belonged to oneself, and one's methods relied on no external objects, could one seek true immortality!

Green Grass Lane.

It was where the three gangs of Pingling County's Outer City met, a place famed for stealing souls away.

Before he even drew near, the wanton moans drifting out of the little houses from time to time burrowed into Jiang Shu's ears like mosquitoes.

The sounds were like water poured into oil, directly stirring up his Blood Qi.

Jiang Shu frowned. He truly had not expected this body of his to react so strongly.

Of course. Qi and Blood Sensing was ultimately only sensing.

Practitioners at this realm had flourishing Blood Qi and were especially fond of wine and women. If their will was weak and they lingered in such places, at best their Martial Dao would make no further progress; at worst, their Blood Qi would decline, and all their strength would fall to that of an ordinary person.

Only upon reaching the Qi and Blood Circulation Realm, circulating the Blood Qi throughout one's body, could one barely resist the fires of desire within.

So long as one was not entangled by wine and women, one could circulate Blood Qi and adjust one's condition.

After taking two deep breaths, Jiang Shu suddenly looked toward the entrance of the lane.

Several women in shabby padded jackets stood at the entrance, their faces thick with makeup as they leaned against doorways and beckoned. Their skin was rough and somewhat dark, and their seemingly curvaceous figures bore sagging that could not be concealed.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, commoners married young and had children young as well. Even the youngest women receiving customers in Green Grass Lane were already in their twenties.

Who knew how many sons they had?

As for those aging courtesans, their grandchildren were likely already gathered in heaps.

Sure enough, once he saw their faces, even the most seductive voices instantly became dull and tasteless.

Jiang Shu, an extreme face connoisseur, snorted coldly and stepped into Green Grass Lane.

Third from last, at the deepest end of the lane. Zhao Tai really knew how to pick a spot.

At the hour of the Rooster, Green Grass Lane was at its busiest.

There were not many courtesans outside the doors in the lane. Instead, gang members crowded in from other alleys, carrying wine jugs, their belches giving off a thick stench of alcohol.

"Tell me, if the women of Green Grass Lane have so much vigor, why does Hall Master Zheng still like Tu Er Ye?"

"Who the hell knows? Good thing I'm built like a bear. Otherwise, if Hall Master Zheng took a fancy to me, what would I do?"

"What's wrong with him taking a fancy to a big black fellow like you? If you get close to Hall Master Zheng, you wouldn't trade that for even a minor head position!"

Jiang Shu slightly held his breath, his pace unhurried. As he walked, he kept watch over his surroundings.

Killing required strength, courage, and methods.

Leaving gracefully after killing, however, depended on one's preparations beforehand.

Deep within Green Grass Lane, the third-to-last house.

The door was left slightly ajar, and sounds drifted out through the gap.

Jiang Shu stood outside the door, his gaze cold. He listened to the moans within and the creaking bedframe. After a minute or two, the sounds gradually faded.

"Master, you're really incredible. This servant..."

Zhao Tai panted heavily, his laughter smug. "It's almost time, isn't it? One of my brothers will be coming later, so make sure you serve him well. He's still a virgin. Oh, right. I've run into something lately. Tell me, how can I make a virgin obediently listen and deliver himself to my door?"

"This servant doesn't care whether he's a virgin or not. This servant likes men like you, Master."

"Hahaha, this is important. Help me think it through, and there'll be benefits for you. Come, get on top. Think while you blow..."

A satisfied, soft hum sounded.

Outside the door, Jiang Shu narrowed his eyes. He abruptly kicked the door open and scattered the lime powder he had long prepared over the two lumps of flesh moving atop the bed.

"Zhao Tai, die!"

Jiang Shu shouted in a low voice!

"Who?"

Thinking it was one of his brothers arriving, Zhao Tai was utterly unprepared. Only when he heard his own name called did he sense something was wrong and immediately tried to turn around, forgetting that beneath him was a plump body with its head lowered.

In an instant, the massive pain from sharp teeth pierced straight into his heart.

The lime powder hanging in the air entered his eyes as he opened them, filling his eye sockets with an unbearable burning sensation.

Zhao Tai's heartbeat peaked in that instant. He had no idea whom he had offended, for someone to come kill him in a place like Green Grass Lane.

Normally, when several brothers gathered together, even if none of them were martial artists, there was strength in numbers. They could bully poor folk and refugees whenever they wished.

But at this very moment, he was alone.

Lime powder to the face, followed by a single word: die.

How could he not be terrified! Afraid! Trembling with fear!

"Ah!"

Because she had her head lowered, the plump courtesan had not gotten lime powder in her eyes. She screamed, blood staining her mouth, but immediately covered it with her hand and trembled on the bed.

"Too noisy."

Jiang Shu drew the Electric Baton from behind his back and flung it at the courtesan, striking her squarely in the head.

Bang.

"Spare my life, hero! Spare my life, sir! I... I'll give thirty taels of silver! I... I'll buy my life!" Hearing the scream, Zhao Tai spoke with his body trembling. He could not see who it was, nor did he know who it was. His legs had gone weak. He wanted to run, but could not rise at all.

He had not offended anyone. Even if he had, so much money should be enough to buy back his life, right?

Yet—

He could never have imagined that the person before him did not care about silver in the slightest. His momentum was deep and powerful, and without the slightest hesitation, he hurled a punch straight at Zhao Tai's forehead.

Whoosh!

The fist stirred the wind.

By now, Jiang Shu could already lift three hundred jin with one arm.

Borrowing the momentum of a rushing step, the force of this punch multiplied several times over.

He had been constantly building the momentum for this punch ever since he was in the courtyard of the Hungry Tiger Martial Hall.

He had thrown thousands upon thousands of punches.

All for the killing intent erupting from this punch now, sharp and awe-inspiring!

I, Jiang Shu, killed this time.

Not for wealth.

What I sought was only an unburdened mind!

Those who obstructed my thoughts—

Kill.

Kill.

Kill!