Swift and Clean

"Has that kid been targeted?" "It's that fellow in the bamboo hat! The kid's done for!" "He's entered the martial path—qi and blood first layer. That kid doesn't have an ounce of bulk on him; now that Bamboo Hat has eyes on him, he's probably a goner." "Still too young and lacks experience. The kid thinks just because he's wearing a hood, no one can see who he is. But he never considered that with his slight build, he looks like an utterly harmless little lamb at first glance. He didn't even think to pad his frame with cotton or scrap cloth when heading out. Serves him right!" "Indeed, out and about, one has to be careful in everything. If anyone's to blame, it's the kid himself for flashing wealth without the strength to back it up." "..." ... *He's caught up!* After turning a few corners, Chen Ping'an felt the person behind him picking up speed. This was still a relatively secluded spot. Clearly, the pursuer intended to rob him right here. As for whether the man would kill him in the end or spare his life, that would depend entirely on his mood. *Come on, then.* A cold glint flickered across Chen Ping'an's eyes. Pretending he had just realized he was being followed, he panicked and quickened his pace. "Want to run? Think you can get away?!" The bamboo-hatted man behind Chen Ping'an accelerated as well. He stopped pretending and showed his hand openly. Brimming with qi and blood, he moved with remarkable speed. In mere breaths, he caught up to Chen Ping'an. Seeing the flustered, wretched figure fleeing before him, he reached forward with a fierce grab, aiming to seize full control of the kid. Having entered the martial path at qi and blood first layer, his raw physical strength surpassed that of any ordinary adult, let alone the scrawny kid ahead of him. The moment the bamboo-hatted man clamped his hand onto the boy's shoulder, he threw all the power of his arm into subduing him. Only... The other's figure wasn't affected in the slightest. *What's going on?* Confusion flashed across the bamboo-hatted man's face, followed instantly by alarm. In that split second, Chen Ping'an's other hand shot up and clamped down onto the back of his hand. A surging torrent of force hit him; with a bend of Chen Ping'an's waist, the bamboo-hatted man went airborne and was violently slammed into the ground. *Damn it! I misjudged him!* For an ordinary person, such a violent throw would have made their vision swim with stars, leaving them unable to rise for quite some time. However, having entered the martial path, with tough skin and muscle and brimming qi and blood, the bamboo-hatted man was no ordinary man. The slam left him feeling only sore and bruised. In this moment, he realized he had kicked an iron plate. Yet his reflexes were exceptionally sharp; snapping his waist, he sprang up with an Iron Bridge maneuver. *This kid was playing the pig to eat the tiger!* Judging by that immense force just now, this boy was very likely at qi and blood second layer—or perhaps even qi and blood second layer, perfected! *I can't fight him!* *Run!* Yet before the bamboo-hatted man could fully regain his footing, a foot came stomping viciously down toward his skull. "Damn it!" Sheer terror seized the bamboo-hatted man's heart. At the critical juncture, he forced his head to jerk sideways. *Bang!* The foot crushed straight through his bamboo hat and smashed into the ground right beside his ear, kicking up a plume of dust. It was terrifying to imagine what kind of devastating damage that stomp would have wrought had it landed cleanly. Just as the bamboo-hatted man thought he had escaped disaster, that same foot whipped around with unimaginable speed, kicking violently toward his forehead. "No!" The bamboo-hatted man panicked, snapping his arms up in a desperate bid to shield his forehead. Only... Agonizing pain tore through his skull, and he plunged instantly into unconsciousness. Having landed the strike, Chen Ping'an did not let his guard down in the slightest. Aiming for vulnerable spots, he followed up with several more heavy kicks until the man was utterly motionless. Only then did he step forward to search the corpse. The bamboo hat on the man's head was already battered and torn, revealing the blood-splattered face of an ordinary middle-aged man. His head was warped and contorted from the relentless barrage of brutal kicks. Looking at the mangled, bloody mess of the man's head, Chen Ping'an finally felt a wave of nausea, his stomach churning. This place was not safe to linger! Reason told Chen Ping'an that he needed to clean up any loose ends quickly and leave. Enduring the discomfort, he fished out a black cloth pouch and a dagger from the bamboo-hatted man. The clash had ended so quickly that the man had not even had the chance to draw his dagger. After checking thoroughly and confirming there was nothing else to be gained, Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then retrieved a stone from nearby and smashed it heavily down onto the man's head. Though fights were common in Nanquan Lane, instances of actual killings were rare. While the head injuries might not necessarily give anything away, Chen Ping'an decided to conceal those traces just to be safe. Fortunately, as long as it wasn't the murder of an important figure or a tragic case of a slaughtered household, the Nanquan Lane Suppression Office wouldn't even bother investigating homicides near the black market unless someone reported it. And even if someone did report it, they would mostly just close the case hastily. The current era could hardly be called peaceful. Great Qian had been founded eight thousand years ago and had long since passed its golden age. Instances of martial practitioners breaking the law were a common occurrence. It was only because they lived within the commandery city that the chaos was not so glaringly felt. Wiping the blood from his shoes on the bamboo-hatted man's clothes, Chen Ping'an quickly left the area. He wiped off the blood out of concern that it might leave behind clues. "These shoes—I'll burn them the moment I get back!" "If I had trained in some leg technique, that kick earlier might have blown his head open. What a pity that relying purely on strength can only accomplish this much! Iron Shirt has defense to spare, but its lethality is severely lacking! Against a formidable rival of equal strength, I'd have no choice but to engage in a grueling brawl where every blow lands on flesh. "Fortunately, this bamboo-hatted man's martial cultivation was inferior to mine. With my sudden explosion of power catching him off guard, I managed to finish him smoothly. It might look like I completely crushed him, but if he had been on guard and armed with a sharp weapon, killing him wouldn't have been so easy even with my superior realm!" Chen Ping'an was crystal clear about his current shortcomings. Having only practiced Iron Shirt, his striking power was far from sufficient. In an actual fight, he was essentially taking the brute's route of thick skin and tough meat. If an opponent were more agile, they could tangle with him for quite a while even if their martial realm was lower than his. "Fortunately, I traded for a copy of the Flying Locust Throwing Technique! It should make up for my shortcomings a bit." The Flying Locust Throwing Technique, also known as Flying Locust Stones, sounded rather grand and impressive. In reality, it was just an ordinary lower-grade technique, falling under the category of hidden weapon arts. Calling it a hidden weapon art was actually giving it too much credit. Flying Locust Stones! Flying Locust Stones! Put in plain language, it was just stones. The Flying Locust Throwing Technique was simply a method explaining how to hit people with stones. With his meager purse, he could only find a transcribed technique like this. After all, even a handwritten transcription of Iron Shirt could sell for six taels of silver. Having this technique was better than nothing. In the end, he couldn't just let his martial cultivation grind to a halt. Exercising caution the entire way, Chen Ping'an returned smoothly to his small courtyard.