Peerless Fist Might

Zhou Ji cupped his hands. "This time, only one young Daoist accompanied Uncle Shui on the trip. He looked to be around thirty, but his presence was exceedingly formidable. Later, I learned that this Daoist was called Zhang Yunhe."

Xie An slowly walked over to the seat of honor in the reception hall and sat down. "He was likely an official disciple of Returning Dragon Abbey's outer sect. What happened afterward?"

Zhou Ji's face was somewhat pale. "Like Li Yunfeng before him, Daoist Zhang Yunhe brought ritual implements and magical artifacts to perform rites at the entrance of Li Family Village. The entire process was no different. Except for one strange occurrence."

Xie An raised a brow. "Oh?"

Zhou Ji continued, "From afar, I saw two old Daoists in yellow robes beneath that old locust tree, performing the rites alongside Zhang Yunhe!"

Xie An's pupils abruptly contracted.

When Li Yunfeng had gone to the entrance of Li Family Village, there had only been one old Daoist performing rites alongside him.

Why was there an extra one this time?

"Who was the extra Daoist?"

Zhou Ji's voice was slightly hoarse. "The extra one was none other than Li Yunfeng... I personally buried Li Yunfeng back then. After burying him, I even stomped the soil down firm and carried over a large boulder to weigh it down."

Xie An felt a numb, itchy sensation crawl up his spine. "What happened next?"

Zhou Ji lowered his voice. "After Daoist Zhang Yunhe finished the rites and returned to the carriage... Uncle Shui struck him dead with a single palm. It was the same as before."

The hand holding Xie An's tea bowl stiffened at once.

The reason Uncle Shui had acted... was naturally because Zhang Yunhe had also been dead long ago.

Even an official outer-sect disciple of Returning Dragon Abbey was no good?

That made no sense!

His father and Uncle Shui were both old hands of the martial world. They would not spend money and effort hiring someone if they knew his Daoist arts were insufficient.

That left only one possibility—the affair at Li Family Village was too bizarre, beyond what his father and Uncle Shui had estimated.

At that thought, Xie An felt terrible all over.

"Young Master, there is something even stranger," Zhou Ji said then.

Xie An slowly set down his tea bowl. "Speak."

Zhou Ji said, "After Uncle Shui's carriage left, I sneaked out from the woods and deliberately went to inspect the place where Li Yunfeng's body had been buried. Young Master, guess what I found..."

Xie An was in no mood for it. "Do not keep me in suspense. Just say it."

Zhou Ji took a deep breath. "Li Yunfeng's corpse... had vanished without a trace."

Xie An sat upright in shock. "Could someone have dug up his body and sent it back to Li Family Village?"

Zhou Ji shook his head, his face turning even paler. "It had not rained in the past half month. I cleared away the snow around the burial site and examined the footprints. There was only one kind of footprint... It looked as though Li Yunfeng had crawled out of the pit himself, then walked back to Li Family Village..."

Xie An felt a chill run down his back.

Li Yunfeng had been struck by Uncle Shui's Dark Force, his internal organs shattered to pieces. There was absolutely no chance he could have survived.

There had to be some power beyond all reason that had made Li Yunfeng return to Li Family Village on his own...

This was far too uncanny!

Uncle Shui had acted twice, yet not only had he failed to suppress the situation at Li Family Village, the matter instead seemed to be spiraling toward a loss of control.

Xie An suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.

Then, as if recalling something, Xie An asked, "You did not go near Li Family Village, did you?"

Zhou Ji shook his head. "No."

Xie An activated Spirit Sight and Qi-Gazing, examining Zhou Ji's qi. Though it was somewhat disordered, it was indeed all rising.

He was alive.

Only then did Xie An let out a breath of relief. "Continue keeping a close watch on Li Family Village. Do not get too close, but report to me immediately if anything happens. Right, how is your father recovering from his injuries?"

Zhou Ji clasped his hands and bowed. "Thank you for your concern, Eldest Young Master. Physician Li's medical skills are superb, and he prescribed all kinds of miraculous medicines for mending bones. My father can already get out of bed with crutches."

Xie An nodded. "That is good. Tomorrow, I will have Physician Li go to the countryside again to examine your father."

Zhou Ji lowered his head in a deep bow.

Xie An raised a hand in a token gesture. "Get up and speak. Think carefully again—are there any other important details?"

Zhou Ji suddenly recalled something. "Right. When I left Li Family Village this morning, I saw a youth going to collect the body of the dead Zhang Yunhe."

"After returning to the city, I asked around and learned that the Daoist who had left the city with Uncle Shui this morning was named Zhang Yunhe. He had a younger brother named Zhang Yunfan. Both were peerless martial arts prodigies, chosen by Returning Dragon Abbey's outer sect to become disciples of the abbey."

"The one who collected Zhang Yunhe's body this morning was his younger brother, Zhang Yunfan."

Zhang Yunfan?

Xu Wenjie had previously said that Zhang Yunfan would attend the poetry gathering at the end of the month...

And now his brother had died in Li Family Village.

Xie An rubbed his temples.

But he was not overly worried. With the Xie Household's influence in Qingwu County's outer city, even if Zhang Yunfan learned the truth, he would not dare act recklessly.

The most pressing matter was still dealing with the aftermath at Li Family Village.

If they mishandled it, that Grain-Collecting Ghost might truly follow the vine to the melon and come collect taxes from the landlord's household.

But Xie An also knew that he was still in a period of growth. He would have to see how Uncle Shui and his father handled matters next.

What he needed to do was raise his martial cultivation as quickly as possible. Only upon reaching Dark Force would he possess even a sliver of strength to protect himself.

Putting away his chaotic thoughts, Xie An rose to his feet. "You did well this time. Let us set these matters aside for now. Come, exchange a few moves with me."

"Yes."

Zhou Ji cupped his hands and followed Xie An into the courtyard, where they took their positions.

Xie An stepped forward, his gaze darkening. "Zhou Ji, I have already reached Muscle-Tendon Tempering and opened one hundred and sixty great tendons. I can be considered a Second Barrier Full Muscle-Tendon Tempering martial artist..."

Before Xie An could finish, Zhou Ji cupped his hands. "Young Master is truly a once-in-a-century martial arts genius. Congratulations, Young Master."

Xie An said, "That is not the point. The point is... I hope you will not hold back at all. Because I will use every ounce of my strength next."

Though Zhou Ji was astonished by the speed of Xie An's martial progress, he did not take a Full Muscle-Tendon Tempering martial artist to heart.

After all, he was nearly about to break through the Four Barriers into Organ Tempering.

Zhou Ji smiled. "Young Master, simply come at me with all you have."

Crack.

Xie An kicked off the ground and shot toward Zhou Ji.

It was the Crane Form of the Five True Forms. He trod the air in emptiness and skimmed across the ground, without a hint of rigid technique—truly like a black crane gliding over rippling emerald waters.

Martial arts of artistic conception!

Zhou Ji had already witnessed Xie An's Black Crane Form, but this time he could clearly feel that Xie An's artistic-conception martial arts had risen by an entire level. His heart went cold, and he hurriedly twisted aside to evade.

Yet he could not evade.

Xie An swiftly closed to within three feet of him.

Then Xie An raised his hand and brought down a crushing punch.

Five Mountains Collapse!

Mount Dai initiated, Sea of Clouds stacked twice, Heavenly Pillar stacked thrice, Yin-Yang stacked four times, and finally Mountain Shatter descended. Five layers of fist force fused as one, crashing down like Mount Tai bearing down overhead.

Not good!

Zhou Ji's face changed drastically. He silently cried out in alarm and immediately raised his arms to resist with ninety percent of his strength.

Boom!

Zhou Ji felt the might of the incoming fist erupt layer upon layer, surging at him like five great mountains. Even the strength of Half-Step Organ Tempering could not withstand it. He staggered back more than ten steps before his back slammed hard into a pomelo tree trunk, and he spat out blood with a "wah."