Flesh Lingzhi!

"You... you really knew how to hide your strength!"

But what humiliated Du Ruming most was that Zhou Chen could clearly have crushed him head-on with his immense strength and fist techniques, yet he had insisted on using such underhanded means—ambush first, deception after. He had no martial honor at all!

"Pfft!"

At that thought, Du Ruming could not help coughing up another mouthful of blood!

How could there be such a person?

Meanwhile, Zhou Chen flexed his wrist in satisfaction.

His easy victory in that lightning-flash moment had still relied on his own principle: "scheme, strike, run."

Once he had successfully set someone up, he pressed the advantage. Sure enough, taking down Du Ruming had required no effort at all. This was real combat. As for some open and honorable duel between gentlemen, no matter the process, as long as the one who died was the other side, that was enough.

Looking at Du Ruming, Zhou Chen added, "You were far weaker than I imagined!"

"Pfft!"

Du Ruming spat out another mouthful of blood. This brat wanted to kill him and stab him in the heart besides!

Chen He lay on the ground, staring blankly at everything unfolding before him.

So this was Zhou Chen's true strength?

He had subdued his enemy in a single move, cleanly finishing Du Ruming, who had been at First Grade Minor Accomplishment for over a decade. His attacks were ruthless and decisive, without the slightest room for his opponent to catch his breath.

He finally understood what Zhou Chen had meant earlier. The ones who had been smugly clever all along had been them.

At that moment, Du Ruming, lying on the ground, revealed a cold smile. Though outwardly fierce and inwardly weak, he threatened, "Zhou Chen, I don't believe you dare kill me. Do you know who stands behind me? The Shen Clan's eldest young master, Shen Ao! To tell you the truth, a Flesh Lingzhi has grown in the storeroom! It's a supreme medicinal treasure that helps Martial Warriors temper their skin and flesh! One plant costs nearly a thousand taels of silver, and it's the great gift I planned to offer him! It'll mature in the next few days. If I die and he misses this great medicine, he definitely won't let you off!"

"What did you say? A Flesh Lingzhi has grown in the storeroom?"

Zhou Chen's spirits rose. Since becoming a Martial Warrior, he had read quite a few books at the martial arts school, so he naturally knew what this so-called Flesh Lingzhi was.

Ordinary medicinal herbs mutated under the influence of Black Mist, producing unexpected effects. The Flesh Lingzhi was a rare medicinal treasure that grew only where herbs gathered. Its cap had no gills, but instead bore a slightly closed baby's face, hence its name.

This medicine not only contained potent medicinal power, but was also a supreme supplementary medicine for tempering skin and flesh. Often, it could not be bought even with money. He had been worrying about the lack of a suitable great medicine for breaking through to Golden Skin. Now, one had been delivered right to his door.

"Good! Wonderful! Hahaha! I never expected such an unexpected delight. Sure enough, good people are rewarded!"

Zhou Chen could not help letting out a hearty laugh. Then he looked at Du Ruming, and his gaze turned cold.

He had originally intended to spare Du Ruming's life and bring him back to the Lian Household to account for what he had done, but now there was no need!

He was determined to obtain this herb, so word of this could not get out.

Bringing back a corpse would work just as well.

As long as the Lian Household was not foolish, they would not make him take the blame for this whole tangled mess.

With that thought, Zhou Chen no longer hesitated and strode toward Du Ruming.

Terror finally welled up in Du Ruming's eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but Zhou Chen's hand had already fallen upon his neck. With a crack, he briskly snapped it.

Chen He, beside them, shuddered all over at the sight. Then, meeting Zhou Chen's icy gaze, his lips trembling, he said, "Lord Zhou... I do not ask you to spare my life. I only ask that, for the sake of us once being fellow disciples, you say... that I was killed by Du Ruming while protecting the medicinal herbs. Leave me a good name... My parents have always been proud of me. My younger brother still wants to enter the martial arts school and train like me... He has always treated me as his example. If I die this way, the Lian Household will still provide some compensation, enough for my younger brother to fight for a future..."

"The Flesh Lingzhi is hidden in the northwest corner of the storeroom. I covered it with cloth. If my lord does not want word of this to spread, you must also kill Old Li. At present, apart from him, the unconscious Zhao Yong, and the Shen Clan's people, no one else knows about the Flesh Lingzhi."

As he said this, even he felt embarrassed. He gave a bitter laugh. "I know I'm shameless... but I've truly been poor for too long."

After speaking those last four words, he suddenly raised his hand and viciously chopped it against his own throat. With a crack, his Adam's apple shattered.

His eyes stared straight at Zhou Chen. His mouth opened and closed, and with his breath as thin as a thread, he forced out his final words: "Please... my lord..."

Before his voice faded, he breathed his last.

From beginning to end, Zhou Chen watched everything before him with indifference. Then he slowly exhaled and swiftly gathered the two corpses together. To be safe, he picked up the long saber from Du Ruming's hand and slashed Chen He's neck open, making it impossible to tell that he had taken his own life.

"For the sake of the information you gave me, I'll help you out."

He also snapped the neck of the man named Zhao Yong, whom he had knocked unconscious earlier.

Then Zhou Chen glanced at the incense burner before his Divine Statue, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.

"So I was right! The growth of this Blood Incense really is connected to my killing people!"

After he had killed Du Ruming just now, the incense stick had grown by an inch. After killing Zhao Yong, the increase had not been obvious.

"The higher the cultivation of the people I kill, the more the Blood Incense grows. Why is this statue starting to look a little like me?"

Zhou Chen looked at the statue in his mind, feeling that its facial features were vaguely beginning to shift, becoming more and more like his own.

But he had no time to ponder the changes in the Blood Incense and the statue. First, he carried his saber to Old Li's room and cleanly dealt with him in a single strike.

This way, no one would know about the Flesh Lingzhi.

As for the Shen Clan.

The Shen Clan had been doing shady, sinister business to begin with. If anything went wrong, they would be too busy clearing themselves of responsibility. Why would they come to demand anything? As for Shen Ao, he had disliked Zhou Chen ever since Zhou Chen entered the school. One more grievance made no difference.

Being able to snatch away this young master Shen's opportunity instead gave him an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

After searching the bodies, Zhou Chen found that Chen He had very little money on him. Du Ruming, however, had over ten taels of silver, though there was nothing else valuable.

That Zhao Yong was pitifully poor as well.

Then Zhou Chen went to search Du Ruming's residence, but only found a few more taels of silver. It seemed that bastard had thrown all his money into the pleasure quarters.

Still, over ten taels of silver was not bad. The main prize was that Flesh Lingzhi!

He lit a firestarter, pushed open the storeroom's heavy wooden door, and followed the shelves all the way to the northwest corner.

Sure enough, countless blood-red fungal threads stretched out from the gaps of a crate full of medicinal herbs, dense as a spiderweb.

At the center of those fungal threads grew a fist-sized lingzhi. Its entire body was flesh-colored, and embedded in its cap was a baby's face with its eyes slightly closed. Its features could vaguely be made out, as if it were asleep.

It had matured today, at precisely the right moment.

Following the method recorded in the books, Zhou Chen first lightly singed its cap with the firestarter.

The Flesh Lingzhi actually let out a faint infant's cry. Its fungal threads rapidly shrank and curled up, while two tiny legs suddenly grew beneath its cap. With a patter, it fell from the medicine crate and tried to flee into the darkness.

Zhou Chen had been prepared. A pair of iron chopsticks shot out steadily and caught the Flesh Lingzhi squarely. The thing immediately wilted, its two little legs hanging limp, without the strength to move again.

The Flesh Lingzhi possessed spirit and feared flames, so it would run away. But it also feared iron; it only needed to be stored inside an iron box.

Zhou Chen carefully placed it into the iron box he carried with him. Once the lid closed, there was no further movement inside. He tucked the box close against his body, drew a deep breath, then straightened and pushed open the storeroom door. Afterward, he directly struck the bronze gong three times—the signal for the highest alert—and summoned everyone over.

A few minutes later, more than ten people stood outside, all staring in horror at the corpses of Du Ruming and the other two lying on the ground.

Zhou Chen's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear. "Du Ruming colluded with Zhao Yong to secretly sell the warehouse's medicinal herbs. Chen He, while on patrol, discovered them and was murdered on the spot. I rushed over after hearing the news and repeatedly tried to persuade Du Ruming, but his treasonous intent had been set in stone. I could only execute him on the spot."

He swept his gaze across the crowd and continued, "Take the bodies away. Tonight, inventory all the medicinal herbs and account books in the storeroom, then send someone to report to the Lian Household tomorrow. Also, count the personnel and see who else is absent."

Those words were like a thunderclap thrown into the crowd.

"What? Lord Du was actually stealing medicinal herbs!"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart! No wonder he visited the pleasure quarters so diligently every day!"

"Damn him! The Lian Household treated him well!"

The crowd erupted into uproar. Some were shocked, some furious, while several who had been close to Chen He showed regret and grief in their eyes.

The head guard secretly glanced at Zhou Chen, and a trace more fear appeared in his gaze.

Who could have imagined that this young man, normally quiet and taciturn, who only knew how to bury his head in martial training, was the true ruthless figure? Not only had he cleanly killed the traitorous Du Ruming, but after the incident, he had also calmly stabilized the situation and arranged the aftermath in perfect order.

It seemed Lord Zhou's strength and experience were far from as simple as they appeared on the surface.