Chen Tie could take another alley they had not searched. Once Shen Yan finished searching his alley and turned the corner, he would pass the house where Xue Gui's corpse lay.
Sure enough, before long, Shen Yan's voice rang out.
"Junior Brother Chen!"
"Senior Brother!"
When Chen Tie and Shen Yan entered the collapsed house, a dagger had been added to Xue Gui's corpse, which had been lying on the ground. Only its hilt remained exposed.
Shen Yan was examining him carefully against the portrait on the bounty notice.
"I found bloodstains outside leading into the house. When I came in and saw Xue Gui lying on the floor, I tossed a dagger at him. I didn't expect him to have been dead already."
Xu Da's eyes immediately lit up. "Haha, leave it to Senior Brother! The mission's done just like that!"
"Yes, exactly. All the credit goes to Senior Brother!"
Chen Tie casually chimed in.
Shen Yan scratched his head. "Actually, I didn't do anything. It was all luck."
"Luck is part of strength too."
As Xu Da spoke, he searched Xue Gui's corpse. After rummaging around for quite some time, he found only fifteen taels of silver.
Chen Tie saw a huge palm print on Xue Gui's back, a mangled mess of blood and flesh.
"That's Divine Constable Ouyang's Heart-Shattering Palm!" Xu Da exclaimed.
Chen Tie put on a puzzled expression.
Shen Yan continued with an explanation. "Divine Constable Ouyang is a Bone-Breaking Realm martial artist. His signature art is the Heart-Shattering Palm. He can shatter your heart through your skin and flesh with a single strike. It's unbelievable that this man managed to escape after taking one."
Chen Tie's expression remained unchanged, but a vague suspicion stirred within him.
The three soon notified the Liu Family. Steward Liu quickly arrived at the scene and confirmed that the man on the ground was Xue Gui.
"Indeed, this is Xue Gui. Here are the thousand taels of silver promised in the bounty."
Steward Liu readily produced a thousand taels in banknotes and ordered the servants to take the corpse away.
"We have matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave."
Shen Yan accepted the banknotes and immediately said goodbye.
Once they rounded the corner into another alley, Shen Yan immediately took out the banknotes and gave each of them three, each worth a hundred taels. Then he took some loose silver from his person.
"I don't have enough loose silver on me. I'll make up the difference tomorrow."
Chen Tie and Xu Da exchanged a glance.
"Senior Brother, all the credit this time is yours. Junior Brother Chen and I merely tagged along for a bite of meat."
"Second Senior Brother is right. We'll just take three hundred taels each. You take four hundred, Senior Brother, and treat us to a meal."
"All right. We'll go to a restaurant in the inner city tonight."
Across the Flowing Stream River lay the inner city. At night, its lights shone in stark contrast to the darkness of the outer city.
Every inch of land in the inner city was worth its weight in gold. Only great Lineages or those with sufficient strength or wealth could live there. The City Guard was also stationed in the inner city, so gangs had vanished without a trace.
The streets were clean and broad, and most pedestrians were finely dressed. Martial artists, rarely seen in the outer city, could be found everywhere here.
Inside a restaurant near the river, three dishes and a soup had already been set on a table.
At the sight, Shen Yan could not help sighing. "Only a river separates them. The inner city is still drunk on gold and paper splendor, a picture of prosperity, while people outside the city can starve to death."
Chen Tie fell silent.
If he had not embarked on the martial path, he would probably still be struggling bitterly in the outer city. Perhaps one day, he would drop dead in the street.
Only by working hard to improve his strength could he gain the means to survive.
Chen Tie's gaze swept across the opposite bank. "Once I earn some more silver, I'll buy a house in the inner city and bring my little sister over."
In any era, safety always came first.
Just then, a commotion rose from the street outside, and heavy hoofbeats drew closer.
"Don't block the road! Out of my way!"
"Are those dog eyes of yours blind? Get lost!"
The street vendors and pedestrians hurried out of the way.
Two mounted men in black armor were roughly driving the pedestrians and vendors off the street.
Light faintly flashed in their eyes, and their temples bulged high. Even through their armor, astonishing fluctuations of Qi and blood could be felt.
Clearly, these two were responsible for clearing the way.
Behind them, a man in red armor rode a tall, fine horse, its hooves striking the flagstones with dull thuds.
Clad in red military armor, the rider sat steadily in the saddle. Qi and blood swirled and trembled around him like a lurking beast, an invisible pressure spreading outward. Even the surrounding wind seemed to slow a little.
Merely sitting on horseback, he exerted a heavy pressure. The long saber on his back radiated an invisible might without even being drawn.
Watching the man who had just passed, Chen Tie asked, "Who is that?"
Xu Da lowered his voice. "That's Deng Feng, the son of the City Guard commander. He's only twenty-five, but he's already a Flesh Refining martial artist. His blood saber technique has reached a realm of divine mastery. Among those at his level, he rarely meets his match."
"Joining the City Guard would be a very good path too. In the inner city, the greatest power has always been the City Guard."
A trace of yearning colored Shen Yan's voice!
Before they knew it, their meal together had drawn to a close.
Chen Tie returned home, played with his little sister for a while, then coaxed her to sleep.
At his desk, he took out the secret manual he had obtained that day, the Resounding Viscera Blood Scripture, and slowly leafed through it.
Before long, he finished reading. The entire manual contained only three levels.
The first level strengthened Qi and blood. In fact, when first beginning to practice, one could only vibrate areas such as the heart and lungs. This could make one's breathing longer and steadier and improve endurance, making chest tightness and exhaustion less likely during prolonged combat.
At the second level, the vibrations of Qi and blood could reach the five viscera. A faint, low rumbling sounded inside the body during seated meditation, and resistance to impacts increased greatly. Ordinary shocks would have difficulty injuring the internal organs.
At the third level, the oscillations of Qi and blood could directly link the meridians and internal organs, greatly improving the efficiency of Qi and blood circulation. When injured, the blood supply to the internal organs would remain stable, making shock from severe injuries less likely.
The method of practice was fairly simple. Generally, it involved sitting in meditation and regulating one's breathing, controlling its rhythm and guiding Qi and blood slowly back and forth, gradually establishing the oscillation frequency.
If circumstances permitted, medicine could be used alongside it to soothe the continuously vibrating internal organs and prevent strain and similar problems.
However, daily practice could not exceed two hours. Excessive oscillation could easily injure the organs and leave hidden injuries.
After reading through the entire manual several times and confirming that he understood everything, Chen Tie sat cross-legged.
Following the circulation route recorded in the instructions, he slowly adjusted his Qi and blood. Keeping to a fixed breathing rhythm, he guided them slowly back and forth. Soon, the Qi and blood in his body began to tremble, vibrating along his heart and lungs.
At first, his chest felt a little tight and his breath short. Soon, however, Chen Tie felt a faint sense of openness in his chest, and his Qi and blood began flowing slightly faster than usual.
Four hours later, Chen Tie stopped his seated practice and gently exhaled a breath of turbid air, feeling refreshed and clearheaded.
[Resounding Viscera Blood Scripture, first level (1/100)]
Chen Tie had a suspicion. Xue Gui had probably practiced this cultivation technique too, which was why he had been able to withstand a Bone Forging Realm martial artist's Heart-Shattering Palm and flee, though he had ultimately been unable to escape death.
But this also indirectly showed that the cultivation technique had a significant effect on improving Qi and blood as well as one's resistance.
Just then, Chen Tie suddenly heard a noise from the roof.
A sharp light flashed in his eyes. He sprang up and punched toward the roof.
With a boom, the tremendous force blasted a large hole through the roof, and Chen Tie leaped onto it.
Not far away, a black-clad figure was sprinting desperately across the rooftops.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Chen Tie gave a low shout, pushed off with his feet, and chased after the black-clad figure.