BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rang out in unison as powerful, fierce force burst from Wen Qingkong's ten fingertips. The sharp sound of tearing wind swept toward Lei Bin's cheeks.
Splat!
Blood sprayed.
Lei Bin stared in disbelief as a gash split open on his cheek, blood streaming down.
The force carried by the claw shadows alone was as sharp as a blade, slicing open both his cheeks.
What a formidable Vigorous Eagle Claw Skill!
Knowing Lei Bin could not hold on, King Runner rushed over and thrust out his sword. Nine sword shadows flashed through the air, striking at nine vital acupoints along Wen Qingkong's back.
It was said that Hengshan Sect's leader, Mo Da, could bring down nine geese with a single sword stroke, a testament to the speed of his sword.
Now, judging by it, King Runner was likely not much inferior to Sect Leader Mo Da.
Ignoring the sword light behind him, Wen Qingkong drove the Vigorous Eagle Claw Skill to its limit and savagely attacked Lei Bin.
Clang!
Nine swords, yet only one sound.
That was because King Runner's nine thrusts had landed at precisely the same instant.
Wen Qingkong's body shuddered forward. Although King Runner's nine swords did not pierce his skin, they carried tremendous force and knocked him one step ahead.
Without regard for anything else, he let out a furious roar. His twin claws tore through the air, short spikes flew skyward, and Lei Bin screamed as the clothes on his chest shredded apart. Five claw marks on each side crossed into an X.
The wounds were deep enough to expose bone, and blood gushed out.
Wen Qingkong kicked out with his right foot while throwing himself backward, swinging both fists behind him at King Runner.
Crack!
Wracked by agonizing pain, Lei Bin had no way to dodge. Wen Qingkong's toe shattered his jawbone, and Lei Bin fell backward, face turned toward the sky, dead.
At the same time, King Runner's sword coiled like a snake around Wen Qingkong's incoming fists. He then stepped backward, a tremendous force yanking Wen Qingkong along.
Wen Qingkong's expression changed slightly. He immediately used the Thousand-Jin Drop, fully unleashing the strength of his hardened body as he smashed toward the ground even faster.
Wen Qingkong's reaction was beyond King Runner's expectations.
In such circumstances, ordinary people would instinctively try to steady themselves. Yet Wen Qingkong instead used the Thousand-Jin Drop to accelerate his descent, catching King Runner completely off guard.
King Runner was experienced in battle. He knew that if he were dragged down, Wen Qingkong would seize the initiative.
In anger, the snake-like flexible sword released Wen Qingkong's fists in an instant. King Runner leaped backward, and after a few rises and falls, vanished into the night.
As King Runner withdrew, the remaining Blackstone assassins also retreated one after another.
Wen Qingkong carried Lei Bin, Lian Sheng, and Ye Zhanqing, who had been hacked into more than ten pieces, together.
Zeng Jing watched with a complicated expression as Wen Qingkong placed Lei Bin on the cold table in the Corpse Seamstress Workshop of the front courtyard.
That complicated look gradually turned into disbelief.
"You're going to stitch them up?"
"The dead come first. They came whole, so they should leave whole."
"I make my living from the dead. I'm not an assassin."
As Wen Qingkong spoke, he looked up at Zeng Jing.
"Bring me a basin of water."
Zeng Jing froze for a moment. Though she found it utterly strange, she fetched a basin of water and placed it beside Wen Qingkong.
Wen Qingkong tore open Lei Bin's clothes and washed his wounds.
Looking at the shattered jaw and the ten intersecting claw wounds across his chest, so deep that even his internal organs were exposed—
He could not help regretting it. Why did I have to make trouble for myself? Wasn't this just making things harder for myself?
"You can go back now."
"What are you staying here for?"
Hearing Wen Qingkong's indifferent words, Zeng Jing's emotions became even more complicated.
What kind of person was this young man, to possess such a "peaceful" state of mind?
She glanced toward the side room in the rear courtyard, where Li Lan stood at the door with little Shuang'er.
Zeng Jing remained silent, took a deep breath, and left Wen Qingkong's home.
"Get some sleep early."
"Nothing happened. We were just dragged into this for no reason."
Wen Qingkong called out to Li Lan.
Looking at Lei Bin and Lian Sheng, as well as the pile of body parts on the ground, he knew this was the most difficult stitching job he had encountered since entering the trade. He likely would not be sleeping tonight.
Li Lan gave a quiet hum and took little Shuang'er away to sleep.
Her husband was kindhearted. Even enemies who had come to attack him would be stitched up and left with whole corpses. Yet Zeng Jing had dragged him into such a disaster!
She would never associate with Zeng Jing again.
Wen Qingkong did not know what Li Lan was thinking. After cleaning Lei Bin, he lit Three Incense Sticks in the incense burner as usual.
After observing for a while, he saw that all three had died by his hand. Their resentment was deep, and it was hard to say whether something strange might happen.
After waiting around ten breaths, the Three Incense Sticks continued to burn normally. Wen Qingkong said to Little Nine and the other Harbinger Birds flying over, "Keep watch for me. If anything changes, tell me at once."
Then, he began stitching with complete concentration.
First came the shattered jaw, then the ten intersecting wounds on the chest.
Afterimages lingered in the air as dense stitches gradually covered Lei Bin's wounds.
After a long while, Wen Qingkong stopped stitching and stretched.
His bones cracked loudly.
Stitching required him to bend over, and maintaining that posture for so long was difficult even for Wen Qingkong, whose hardened external martial arts were exceptionally formidable.
Corpse Seamstress, Life's Flashback, Witness the Mortal World, Obtain a Supreme Treasure The host has stitched one corpse. Life's Flashback appears.
Lei Bin had been born to a loving couple. His family owned thirty mu of fertile farmland. His father worked diligently, while his mother kept the household in perfect order.
Lei Bin's childhood had been happy until he was eight years old.
What he loved most was watching his mother make noodles.
His mother's noodles were delicious, and his father could eat three huge bowls at a time.
After every meal, he would pat his father's big belly, listen for sounds, and see whether it might burst.
At such times, his mother and father would laugh happily.
Lei Bin often helped his mother dry the noodles. He would open his eyes wide and carefully memorize every step of noodle-making, thinking that one day he would personally make a bowl for his father and mother.
Unfortunately, he never got to make that bowl of noodles.
When he was eight, the local landlord took a fancy to their family's thirty mu of fertile land and sent people to buy it.
Those thirty mu were the foundation of their livelihood, what their family depended on to survive. How could Lei Bin's father possibly sell them?
Besides, the price those men offered was absurdly low. After selling, it would not even be enough to buy ten mu of poor farmland.
When Lei Bin's father refused, the landlord personally came to his home to negotiate with him.
Lei Bin's father still refused, and the landlord flew into a rage from humiliation.
The next day, Yamen Runners came to their home and arrested Lei Bin's father, claiming that he had stolen a jade pendant from the landlord the previous day, worth three hundred taels of silver!
Three hundred taels of silver!
The combined ages of Lei Bin's family of three had not seen that much silver.
Lei Bin's father cried that he had been wronged. He knew the landlord had framed him.
Yet no one could help him.
Lei Bin's father was subjected to every kind of torture in the county yamen's prison.
Lei Bin only remembered that when he followed his mother to see his father again, he scarcely dared believe that man was his father.
His mother broke down. After visiting his father, she gave the thirty mu of fertile land to the landlord, begging only that he spare Lei Bin's father.
Yet by then, the landlord was no longer satisfied with thirty mu of fertile land.
That night, Lei Bin's mother did not return.
Not until dawn the next morning did Lei Bin's mother come back. His father was released from prison as well, but he could no longer walk.
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