Three-Day Death Limit, A-Ning the Girl

"Chen! In broad daylight, you actually dared to murder someone in the street? Have you gone mad?!"

"What are you babbling about? Surround him! Kill this brat!"

Chen Mu was still immersed in the realization of breaking through the Hundred Blood threshold when those ruffians began clamoring one after another.

Yet after shouting for quite a while, not one of them truly dared step forward. Their courage had long since shattered.

Chen Mu knew he had established enough authority today. He immediately swept his cold gaze over them and shouted:

"Shut up, all of you."

His voice was deep and powerful, making even the frosty wind seem to stall.

Everyone jolted in alarm and instinctively fell silent.

Without even looking at Huang Silang's mangled corpse, Chen Mu looked down upon the crowd and spoke each word clearly:

"Those who don't want to die, go back and deliver a message."

"Over the past six months, the meat money you owed me on credit comes to ten taels of silver altogether. Tell Ma San to settle it all at once."

"I'll give him only three days. Now, get the hell out!"

As the saying went, when Hundred Blood was full, ghosts and gods alike retreated.

After breaking through, his qi and blood were nearly ten times that of an ordinary man. Common evil spirits found it difficult to approach him.

At this moment, with furious eyes and a blade in hand, carrying the ferocious might of one who had just killed, the word "get out" from his mouth was like thunder crashing beside their ears, shaking their souls.

Those ruffians were all the sort who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Their faces turned deathly pale, and they staggered several steps back. Beyond their terror was utter disbelief.

This brat actually dared to be so lawless? Killing someone was one thing, but he even dared extort money from Lord Ma San? Had he lost his mind?

But at the sight of the mangled flesh scattered across the ground, no one dared make another sound. They turned and fled at full speed.

"Butcher Chen! You've got guts! Once Lord Ma hears of this, he definitely won't let you off!"

"Just wait for death! Let's go!"

After tossing out a few distant threats, the group fled in twos and threes in panic, clearly rushing off to report what had happened.

Chen Mu's gaze narrowed slightly, but he was not overly worried.

Ma San had always been notorious for his suspicious nature and mercurial temper.

With the bluff of that "three-day death limit," Chen Mu was certain Ma San would not rashly come seeking revenge. Instead, he would first send people to investigate Chen Mu's background.

That preparation time was enough.

Chen Mu calmly crouched down, slipped a hand into Huang Silang's robes, and pulled out a bloodstained money pouch.

It was bulging full, and when he weighed it slightly, it was not light.

Chen Mu estimated there were seven or eight taels of broken silver inside.

It seemed this fellow had skimmed quite a bit from the money he extorted while throwing his weight around the marketplace. He had certainly lined his own pockets well.

But now, it all benefited Chen Mu.

"Not bad. That saves me another portion of my apprenticeship fee."

Without standing on ceremony, he put away the money, entered the courtyard to find a torn burlap sack, stuffed Huang Silang's corpse into it, and directly tossed it into the stinking ditch behind the alley.

Public order in the city had long since collapsed, and the area around Rubble Ward, where Chen Mu lived, was even more chaotic beyond measure.

Forget a corpse—even a living person who had fallen unconscious would definitely vanish by the next day if they dared lie outside overnight.

Those starving refugees and wild dogs did not care whether you were human or beast. In their eyes, there was only prime fresh meat.

The moment Chen Mu left after disposing of the corpse, several starving people crawled out from the dark corners of the streets and alleys. Their hair hung loose and disheveled, and their eyes gleamed green.

His gaze stirred faintly, but his expression remained calm as he turned and walked away.

During this half year of surviving through chaotic times, Chen Mu had already witnessed scenes even more devoid of human decency. It was difficult for his heart to raise much of a ripple anymore.

Before long, Chen Mu returned to the courtyard, drew two buckets of water from the bluestone well, and washed the bloodstains from before the gate.

After one night of wind and snow, every trace would be washed clean.

Still, the commotion just now had been rather great, and many neighbors nearby had noticed it.

If constables came to question him, Huang Silang's manner of death could not be concealed.

So he still needed to become a martial arts school disciple as soon as possible.

Once he shed his lowly registration, the authorities would no longer investigate too deeply whether a ruffian had died by his hand.

But he still needed to warn A-Ning about these matters.

With that thought, Chen Mu calmed his emotions, washed the blood from his body, then shut the doors tightly, secured the wooden bolt, and entered the inner courtyard.

The small courtyard was enclosed by low rammed-earth walls and had only a simple partition.

The front held the livestock shed and slaughterhouse, along with a side room.

The inner courtyard was where people lived. The main house stood to the north, while the west side held a woodshed and kitchen. On the east side grew an old jujube tree with a crooked trunk.

These were all the inheritance left by the original owner of this body—the ancestral livelihood of a butcher's family.

It was much better than being a refugee, but only by a limited margin. There was practically no surplus wealth.

Fortunately, he had another way to make money.

Through half a year of frugal living, he had saved up some family funds. The one hundred taels of patterned silver needed for apprenticeship were enough.

Stepping over the bluestone slabs, passing the old jujube tree, Chen Mu arrived at the main house and pushed open the door.

A brazier burned directly before him, and warmth rushed over his face.

"Husband? Is that you?"

A frail female voice came from within.

Chen Mu immediately answered, "It's me. Don't move."

As he spoke, he stepped forward, lifted the hanging bamboo curtain, and entered the inner room.

By the western window stood a low heated bed. A pale-faced woman lay beneath a worn cotton quilt.

Her black hair was loosely gathered into a bun. Her face wore no makeup, yet her brows and eyes had the elegant structure of a classic beauty, with bright eyes and white teeth.

Unfortunately, the illness coloring her snow-white skin diminished some of its translucence and soft radiance.

She was A-Ning.

The moment she saw Chen Mu enter, she sat up at once and asked anxiously:

"Husband, what happened outside just now? I think I heard people smashing things?"

"Don't worry. It's all settled."

Chen Mu pressed down her agitation. "Why did you get up? Lie back down. Listen to me first."

He did not explain much. He took her hand and tucked it back beneath the quilt, then changed the subject and told her of his plan to go to the east side of the city to learn boxing.

A-Ning was first surprised upon hearing this. Then her delicate brows furrowed as she said with some concern:

"Husband, you want to learn martial arts? Is there enough money at home? I still have a few pieces of personal jewelry beneath the bed..."

Chen Mu laughed when he heard that, pretending to be angry. "When have I ever spent your money?"

"Enough. I'm telling you this so you can rest easy. Tomorrow, I'll go to the east side of the city to take a master. You don't need to worry about these trivial matters. I'll handle everything properly."

A smile appeared on A-Ning's face as well. Used to Chen Mu's forceful manner, she immediately answered softly:

"Alright. I'll listen to Husband's arrangements in everything."

Chen Mu did not offer much further comfort. He only said, "I'll go brew some medicine. Tomorrow morning, I'll have Tiger Boy help watch the house. Whatever noise you hear, don't be afraid. Just wait peacefully for me to return."

"Mhm..."

A-Ning shrank back beneath the quilt, leaving only her two hands gripping its edge as she nodded gently.

Chen Mu smoothed the stray hair by her ears before finally rising and leaving, tightly shutting the door and windows behind him.

A-Ning's cold illness was growing increasingly severe. Now, she could only get out of bed and move around at noon when the weather was clear.

The root of this illness went back to their first meeting two months ago.

Winter had just begun then, and a heavy snow like goose feathers had fallen.

Chen Mu had gone hunting outside the city, hoping to store up some good meat before the heavy snow sealed the mountains. Instead, he encountered bandits from the north, was struck by an arrow, and tumbled down a snowy slope, nearly burying his life in the wilderness.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the back of a frail woman in gray cloth robes dragging him through the snowstorm. She had struggled step by step out of the desolate mountains, then run to find a passing merchant caravan for help. Only then had Chen Mu managed to reclaim his life.

But because she had exhausted her strength and suffered hypothermia in the snow, she developed a fever that would not subside, leaving behind an illness that had lasted for months. Even after careful recuperation until now, she had not recovered.

Chen Mu had asked about her origins, but she kept her lips tightly sealed. She only said her nickname was A-Ning, that she had fled famine in the north, and that she wanted to find somewhere to settle down.

The lie was far too clumsy. Just from the few gold and jade ornaments she kept hidden on her person, she could not possibly have been a famine refugee from the north.

But Chen Mu did not pry further.

He was alone in this world. During the days he spent caring for A-Ning, the two gradually developed an understanding. They had privately settled their relationship, though they had yet to perform the wedding rites.

That was because butchers born into lowly registration were not permitted to hold grand wedding feasts.

All Chen Mu wanted now was to escape his lowly registration, then marry A-Ning into his home in proper splendor.

However, Chen Mu had not yet told A-Ning these things. He intended to give her a surprise.

Lost in thought, Chen Mu had already reached the kitchen.

He personally fanned the fire and brewed the medicine. He also brought back the meat porridge simmered over a low flame, patiently feeding both to A-Ning.

After all this delay, the sky outside had already darkened.

Heavy gray clouds gathered in the evening sky, and another snowfall drifted down.

"I'll sleep outside. If anything happens tonight, shake the bell. I'll hear it."

When night deepened, Chen Mu coaxed A-Ning to sleep but did not share her bed. He rose, wrapped himself in a straw rain cape, and returned to the outer courtyard.

A-Ning was obedient to Chen Mu in every way, but unfortunately, her body was too weak to endure any roughness now.

Yet Chen Mu's qi and blood were vigorous and yang in nature, so he deliberately kept apart from her to avoid acting on impulse and harming her body.

Now alone in the front courtyard, Chen Mu took down a hoe from the livestock shed, walked to the bluestone well, found the right spot, and dug a hole.

Then he crouched and used his hands to scrape aside the black mud mixed with melted snow, pulling out a tightly oilcloth-wrapped bag.

It clanked loudly from within and was quite heavy.

Chen Mu smiled in satisfaction, carried the bag to the side room, lit a lamp, and tipped it over onto the table.

Chunks of snowflake silver immediately rolled out in a clattering stream, white enough to dazzle the eyes.

A rough count showed there were far more than a hundred taels. There was also an exquisite little porcelain bottle, marked with the words "Blood-Qi Pill."

Chen Mu added the silver he had earned today to the pile, picked out the porcelain bottle, then glanced out the window and estimated that it should be midnight.

"About time. I wonder what today's settlement will bring?"

The Slaughter Register had another function:

Every day, slaughtering livestock, cultivating, and earning silver all generated feedback. At midnight, it settled the day's evaluation and granted rewards.

The moment these thoughts surfaced in his mind, Chen Mu heard the night watchman's wooden clapper outside.

Midnight had arrived. The old and new had changed places.

The light and shadow before Chen Mu's eyes suddenly twisted, and several lines of blood-colored seal script appeared:

[Slaughter Register · Today's Settlement]

[Slaughtered two beasts, executed one evildoer. Broke through the Hundred Blood threshold and gained a small windfall.]

[Evaluation: Grade D Upper · Mid-tier]

[Reward: Ten taels of patterned silver, one Blood-Qi Pill, two hundred-year mountain ginseng roots.]

In an instant, several more silver ingots appeared amid the gleaming pile on the table, accompanied by a round pill dropping into Chen Mu's palm.