A Floating Corpse in the River, Liu Qi's Violent Death

Something had happened to Liu Qingcang?

Chen Mu's heart sank.

He was a top expert at Great Completion of Meridian Opening, with no equal in all of Everlasting Prosperity Town!

The thirty-six streams of true qi throughout his body formed their own cycle, his Blood Essence flowing without end.

He could even gather qi into a protective aura. Ordinary blades and weapons shattered at a touch, while a flick of his finger could send a qi arrow through heavy armor from ten zhang away!

A person like that would be no different from a meat grinder on the battlefield.

Who could possibly hurt him?!

The instant Qin Tieya heard the terrible news, a vast aura burst from his body, whipping his robes into a wild flutter.

"What are you panicking for? Stand properly and speak!"

He suddenly roared, shaking Liu Meng into a stagger. Then he grabbed him with one hand, pinned him down, and demanded:

"Speak! What happened to Master? Where is he?"

Liu Meng's tongue was tied in knots. He panted twice before blurting out in panic:

"It... it was news from the docks!"

"This morning, someone found a floating corpse in the river. Its face was swollen, its skin blue and purple."

"It looked exactly like those people the Water Ghost killed before! The yamen sent over a token and told us to identify the body..."

"A token!"

Qin Tieya's fingers nearly sank into Liu Meng's shoulder.

Liu Meng's face twisted with pain, but he did not dare cry out. Trembling, he pulled a token from his robes and handed it over.

"It... it's Master's Azure Dragon Token... It was found on the floating corpse..."

Chen Mu's pupils contracted.

It was almost identical to Qin Tieya's, cast from bronze and bearing a ferocious beast's face.

The only difference was that a single character, "Liu," had been engraved in one corner.

The instant Qin Tieya received the token, he froze where he stood as though struck by lightning.

"Impossible! It really is Master's token..."

He suddenly clenched his fingers, his fist cracking loudly, utterly unable to believe it.

Chen Mu was alarmed as well. Seeing Qin Tieya's bloodshot eyes and dazed expression, he immediately shouted:

"Senior Brother! Don't delay! We must inspect the scene first!"

Startled by the shout, Qin Tieya snapped out of his shock. He grabbed the token and barked at Liu Meng:

"What are you standing around for? Gather the men! Come with me to the docks to inspect the body!"

Liu Meng did not dare delay and scrambled out in a panic.

Chen Mu followed Qin Tieya as he shot out the door.

If something had truly happened to Liu Qingcang, the heavens over Azure Dragon Martial Academy would collapse.

As a newly admitted nominal disciple, Chen Mu would probably not even have a roof to shelter him from wind and rain.

Before long, everyone arrived at the front courtyard, where Qin Tieya had people gather the academy's disciples.

He had calmed down by then. He knew full well that the floating corpse in the river could not possibly be his master.

A mere Water Ghost could not even get close to him, much less injure his master. That was simply absurd.

Qin Tieya guessed that the corpse might be one of the junior brothers who had left the city with his master, someone who had carried his master's token and met with disaster on the road.

Now, they only had to wait for the yamen coroner to confirm the corpse's identity.

Seeing Qin Tieya's demeanor, Chen Mu vaguely guessed the chain of events as well and waited patiently with him.

Soon, a dark mass of people gathered in the square. At a rough count, there were nearly a hundred.

Chen Mu had already learned from Liu Meng that Azure Dragon Martial Academy's disciples were divided into three types.

There were fewer than ten formal disciples recognized by Liu Qingcang.

They had all taken assignments outside, patrolling the countryside and hunting demons and exterminating evil. Only Qin Tieya and another senior brother named Liu Qi remained to guard the academy.

The largest group consisted of servant disciples. They were still in the stage of tempering their Blood Essence and usually handled all kinds of chores.

Only after entering the Body Tempering Realm could they be accepted as nominal disciples.

Nominal disciples could be assigned rooms of their own. They also had to work for the academy, mostly serving as its public face and guards, or accompanying others to hunt demons outside.

At that moment, Chen Mu and Liu Meng stood at the front. Around them were roughly twenty nominal disciples in the Body Tempering Realm.

Qin Tieya stood before everyone with a grave expression. After sweeping his gaze over them, he waved away the servant disciples.

Only then did he address the remaining nominal disciples and briefly explain what had happened.

The disciples' expressions changed drastically at once. They immediately broke into heated discussion, guessing who the dead man was.

"Enough. Shut your mouths."

Qin Tieya glared furiously and stopped their clamor, saying coldly:

"Liu Meng, pick a few men and come with me to the docks to identify the corpse."

"The rest of you, pack your things and prepare horses and feed. When I return, we will leave the city to meet Master on his way back."

Everyone immediately obeyed and dispersed.

At a time like this, no one paid attention to Chen Mu, the unfamiliar face. He mingled beside Liu Meng and followed the group heading for the docks.

Qin Tieya mounted a horse and rode ahead.

Chen Mu and the other Body Tempering Realm disciples could only travel on foot. It took them half a quarter-hour to reach the western docks.

The place had already been cordoned off by constables from the Patrol Office. Dockworkers crowded around the perimeter, pointing and whispering.

Chen Mu spotted members of the Red Whale Gang among the crowd at a glance.

Red scarves were tied around their waists. Though they carried no weapons openly, each one looked fierce and savage, with surging Blood Essence. Among the dock laborers, they stood out like cranes among chickens.

Fortunately, those people seemingly had no portrait of Chen Mu, and no one noticed him among the academy disciples.

"Captain Zhang! Where is Senior Brother Qin?"

Liu Meng stepped forward to speak with the yamen constables. Hearing him, Captain Zhang came out with a hand on his saber and cupped his fists.

"Martial Master Qin has already gone to the riverbank to identify the corpse. Please follow me, everyone. Sigh..."

With a sigh, he waved for his subordinates to lift the blockade and led Chen Mu's group inside.

No one wasted time. They quickly crossed the dockyard and arrived at a shallow bank by the river.

Zhao Dong's men were there as well. Soldiers ringed the riverbank, and the man leading them was a familiar face.

Wu Yue—the military officer who had accepted Chen Mu's bribe that night.

He was a company commander under Zhao Dong, commanding the city patrols. He also held a post in the yamen and was the true head of the Patrol Office.

When he saw Chen Mu among the crowd, he was slightly surprised, but did not give it much thought.

"Martial Master Qin, have you identified the floating corpse?"

Wu Yue called toward the front.

Qin Tieya was crouched by the river with the coroner, examining the corpse.

When Chen Mu looked over, his brows lifted slightly and nausea churned in his stomach.

The corpse was swollen all over and mottled blue-purple, soaked until it resembled a water balloon.

Its exposed skin had puffed up high, pale to the point of near transparency, revealing branching blue-purple veins beneath.

Most horrifying of all was the corpse's face.

The skin on his face had been flayed clean off, leaving his features bloody and raw.

His eyeballs had been gouged out, and half his tongue had been cut away. It was a miserable sight, utterly impossible to identify.

Even after examining it for a while, Qin Tieya could not determine who it was.

The only certainty was that the deceased was male, and the clothes on his body were indeed Azure Dragon Martial Academy training robes.

Just as Chen Mu and the others approached, Qin Tieya stood up and spoke with a grave expression:

"No matter which junior brother he is, he is still one of our academy's people."

"I must trouble you to inform Commander Zhao and allow us to take the corpse back for burial."

Wu Yue naturally had no objection. He immediately waved away the soldiers and said to Qin Tieya:

"Rest assured. I can make this decision myself. Once the coroner finishes filling out the corpse report, Martial Master Qin may take him away."

Ordinary martial artists avoided matters tainted by yin ghosts and evil spirits like the plague. Though Zhao Dong was not weak, he had always ignored such matters.

Qin Tieya had long grown used to these soldiers' inaction and expected nothing from them.

Soon, the coroner finished his examination and came over with the completed corpse report.

"My lords, this humble one has carefully examined the body against the household registry. Please review it."

The old coroner handed over the corpse report with both hands. Qin Tieya merely glanced at it, and his expression changed.

"Impossible. How could it be Seventh Junior Brother?"

Chen Mu stood right behind Qin Tieya and saw the writing on the corpse report.

Deceased: suspected to be Liu Qi, twenty-one years old, seven chi two cun tall.

There was an old scar on his left arm and traces of an old fracture on the shinbone of his right leg, both matching the household registry characteristics exactly.

The time of death was approximately yesterday at the hour of the Ox. Cause of death: drowning. However, the flesh of the face had been stripped away before death, with no signs of blade cuts, seemingly caused by some sinister and bizarre method.

"How could this be? It really is Seventh Senior Brother?"

Liu Meng swallowed hard, unable to believe it.

Liu Qi was Liu Qingcang's adopted son and had long cultivated true qi. He had gone out of the city this time to hunt demons—how could he have met such a violent death here?!