There Is More Than One Way to Kill

After returning home, Xu Chunliang put away the brass knife, stripped naked, and stood in the courtyard, washing the smell of makeup and blood off himself with well water. Then he changed his clothes and went to bed.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he instinctively sensed danger.

He rolled over, gripped the brass knife, and called toward the door, "Who's there?"

"Heh heh..."

"You're quite alert. Now I'm even more convinced that idiot Zhou Dafu wasn't the one who killed my younger brother. With how alert he is, he doesn't have the brains to use someone else to do his killing.

"But you're strong, devious, and good at hiding. A born killer."

The door swung open, and an ordinary-looking man entered the room. In his left hand, he carried a black, spherical object that gave off a strong smell of blood.

Xu Chunliang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Who are you?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Liu Xin, the third older brother of Liu Jie, whom you killed. I'm the third young master of the Liu family."

"I'm not particularly interested in revenge, but Liu Jie was the only son of my father's favorite sixteenth concubine, and my father is the family head. So avenging him is necessary. Tell me, how do you want to die?"

"As thanks for killing Liu Jie, I can let you choose a way to die that you like. Of course, to appease that sixteenth concubine's anger, you can only choose a relatively painful death..."

"Death by a thousand cuts? Skinning? Or... being torn apart by ten thousand eerie creatures?"

"I know a human-meat chef in the imperial palace in the capital who specializes in a grand dish called the Blood Pool and Meat Forest. How about I send you into the Blood Pool and Meat Forest?"

Xu Chunliang smiled disdainfully and slashed with his knife!

Pfft!

A pain stabbed through Xu Chunliang's chest. He looked down to see a hand thrust through his back and out of his chest, easily piercing his torso and pulling out his heart and liver...

Xu Chunliang burst out laughing, then died.

Xu Chunliang entered the room and waited quietly on the bed. The instant Liu Xin entered, he spent 200 attribute points without hesitation to upgrade to Moon Glow Grade.

Cool energy emerged from his dantian and quickly circulated through his meridians. Xu Chunliang raised his knife and charged at Liu Xin.

That hand behind him could instantly break through the defenses of his Solar Halo Grade bones, which meant the enemy was at least in the Crimson Dawn Realm.

Crimson Dawn meant the sun, the red sun.

It meant the spiritual energy in a martial artist's dantian would be as mighty as a sun, beyond anything in the Sun Halo Realm.

So, to break out of this, he only needed one chance.

A chance to take down this third young master.

Pfft!

The hand appeared again and pierced Xu Chunliang's chest.

"Hahahahahaha..."

"Is this Crimson Dawn?"

"You're dead!"

Opening his eyes again, Xu Chunliang tried to savor the taste of [death], then slashed with all his strength.

He failed to complete the slash.

Xu Chunliang died again.

Liu Xin entered the room and was startled to see Xu Chunliang sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, you really are alert. You actually sensed me coming. I have to say, I admire your vigilance."

"But it can't be helped. You killed someone you shouldn't have, and I have to use your death to curry favor with that person, so you have to die. To show my admiration, I can let you choose how you die..."

"How do you want to die?"

Xu Chunliang didn't reach for the brass knife, because he knew an enemy capable of killing him in an instant was hiding in the darkness behind him.

So he planned to have a talk. Then trick them into dying...

There was more than one way to kill.

"I don't want to die, Third Young Master," Xu Chunliang said calmly.

Liu Xin chuckled and looked at Xu Chunliang curiously. "You're very calm, as if you don't believe you're going to die. Tell me, what trump card do you have?"

Xu Chunliang shook his head. "I don't have any trump cards. I know there's an expert behind me who's at least in the Crimson Dawn Realm. Any resistance would be useless, so I'd like to talk, Third Young Master."

Liu Xin and Liu Jiu, who was behind Xu Chunliang, were both stunned and shaken.

Liu Jiu was indeed in the Crimson Dawn Realm, but how did Xu Chunliang know? Could a mere Star Transformation Grade cultivator sense the presence of someone in the Crimson Dawn Realm?

That made no sense!

This kid really did have a great secret.

Liu Xin grew curious about Xu Chunliang. Finding the secret behind him might be more valuable than killing him.

Of course, finding his secret, taking it for himself, and then killing him would maximize the benefits.

With his family background, Liu Xin knew all about maximizing benefits.

Looking at Xu Chunliang's calm face, Liu Xin smiled. "Tell me how you knew Liu Jiu was there, and I'll spare your life."

"Really? You're not lying to me? Swear it!" A trace of excitement finally appeared on Xu Chunliang's calm face.

Liu Xin laughed inwardly, full of contempt.

People at the bottom were always so naive, so quick to believe the oaths of those above them. If oaths worked, what was the point of the state? What was the point of the military? What was the point of the Demon-Slaying Bureau?

Whenever anything came up, couldn't everyone just get together, talk it over, and swear an oath?

Oaths were made to be broken, and rules were made to be violated.

Rules were made for people at the bottom.

He, Liu Xin, the dignified third young master of the Liu family, had mastered the art of swearing an oath and then breaking it when convenient by the age of three.

Filled with contempt, Liu Xin grew much less wary of Xu Chunliang. He raised a finger toward the ceiling and said solemnly, "I, Liu Xin, swear that as long as Xu Chunliang tells me all his secrets, not only will I spare him, I will also obscure all suspicion that he killed Liu Jie and give him a large sum of money.

"If I break this oath, may ten thousand eerie creatures devour my heart, and may I never be reincarnated."

When he finished, he looked at Xu Chunliang. Another unmistakable flash of delight crossed Xu Chunliang's eyes, but then he shook his head again.

"No, you also have to promise that the Crimson Dawn Realm expert hiding in the darkness won't kill me, imprison me, or hurt me."

"Heh heh... You really are meticulous. I like you more and more."

Liu Xin raised his hand and swore another oath. When he finished, he saw that Xu Chunliang had completely relaxed.

Inwardly mocking Xu Chunliang's naivety, he maintained an elegant smile and asked, "Can you tell me now?"

Xu Chunliang nodded, looking very hesitant. After a moment, he took a deep breath and said, "You might not believe me..."

"During a mission, I entered the Ruin Realm..."

"It was a village that had been passed down for six generations, called Guo Family Village. That day, when I entered Guo Family Village to investigate a case, a group of men in black were kneeling and praying before a rusty steelyard scale. I was suddenly separated from everyone for no apparent reason and entered a dark space.

"There, I saw a rusty steelyard scale with a red sandalwood beam hanging in the sky. It was covered in corpses, hanging there quietly in the sky.

"Then I fainted. When I woke up, I had already left Guo Family Village, and there was a pouch of silver in my hand.

"Eighty-eight taels. I heard it was called Life Silver..."