Time to Be on Your Way

"Who have I offended?" "Is this aimed at me!? Or the Tiger Head Gang!?" Staring at the figure that had suddenly appeared in the room, Liu'er's mind raced as he turned over all the possibilities. In nearly the space of a single breath, his two ruffian lackeys had fallen one after another. This made Liu'er suck in a sharp breath. His two lackeys had not yet entered the martial path, but they were seasoned in fighting, ruthless in their strikes, and a cut above ordinary men. Yet in an instant they had lost all ability to fight! The newcomer's strength was terrifying! "Run!" Liu'er's first instinct was to flee. Though he had entered the martial path, limited by his talent and resources, he had not yet reached the qi and blood first layer, perfected, even to this day. Against ordinary people he held a great advantage, but against a true expert of the martial path, his meager skill was not worth mentioning. While his two lackeys tied up the attacker, Liu'er darted forward and lunged toward the nearest window. With his physique, a full-force lunge would be enough to break through it. Hupao Lane was a street that served as a station for the Tiger Head Gang. Quite a few petty ruffian leaders like him lived in the area. As long as he could get out, shout at the top of his lungs, and hold out for a while, help would come at once. By then, even if the attacker's cultivation had already reached the qi and blood second layer, he could still do nothing to Liu'er! With a single sweeping kick, Chen Ping'an had just knocked a ruffian off his feet. Seeing that Liu'er was about to charge out the window, his hand shot to his waist, and a Flying Locust Stone dropped into his palm. With a hidden motion of his hand, he flung the Flying Locust Stone out with tremendous force. Whoosh! Just as Liu'er was mid-lunge, he suddenly felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, at the base of his skull. The powerful impact made everything go black before his eyes. His once unstoppable motion began to distort. Bang! The window shattered, and Liu'er made it out through it. He should have rolled and quickly risen to his feet. But the blow to the back of his head threw off his movements, and he crashed straight to the ground. "No!" Liu'er was seized with terror. He struggled to rise, but he had barely gotten halfway up when a foot came down hard on his back. Bang! The tremendous force slammed Liu'er's body into the ground. The powerful impact made his chest feel as if it were about to burst apart. In that instant, his back burned as though a thousand-jin hammer had struck him. "Spare me, good sir! Spare me!" The instinct to survive made Liu'er plead for mercy again and again. But his pleading had no effect at all. The noise from the broken window might draw attention from around. Delay could bring complications, so Chen Ping'an was extremely decisive and stomped down hard once more—this time on the vertebrae of Liu'er's neck. Crunch! The immense force snapped the vertebrae of Liu'er's neck in an instant. Just as his scream was about to burst out, Chen Ping'an's foot moved in and clamped his mouth firmly shut. Liu'er's eyes were bloodshot and wide, straining desperately to see Chen Ping'an's face clearly. "Mmmph~" He wanted to say something, but nothing came out; he could only let out a series of muffled whimpers. Chen Ping'an raised his foot in a sudden move, wanting to finish Liu'er off. But just as his foot lifted, he seemed to think of something and set it down gently. He bent down and grabbed Liu'er by the hair. "Mmmph~" Liu'er's eyes were filled with despair. In these few short breaths, the other man's ruthlessness and decisiveness had exceeded his imagination. It wasn't just experience—it was the man's terrifying strength! To do this to that extent, the man had to be at least a martial expert on the level of Little Tiger! Liu'er couldn't understand why such a figure would move against him. Could he be from another gang!? The Wild Wolf Gang!? Were they about to make a move against the Tiger Head Gang? How would they dare? The intense pain nearly made Liu'er's head explode, but his strong unwillingness kept his mind racing. Just as he was thinking frantically, the hooded man before him pulled off his hood. Beneath it was revealed a delicate, fair face, with a faint scholarly air between the brows. In that instant, Liu'er's pupils contracted sharply, as if frozen. The next moment, his face was filled with shock, and he began to whimper frantically. "Mmmph~" "If you'd bullied just me, you might have kept your life today. But you bullied Nannan... sorry..." With one hand gripping Liu'er's hair, Chen Ping'an slapped him hard across the face with the other. "Then you can just die!" "Mmmph~" Liu'er's face was almost crazed. But no matter how he struggled, he couldn't control his body. "Sixth Master, it's time for you to be on your way!" Chen Ping'an clamped both hands around Liu'er's neck. Crunch! Thud! Liu'er's body dropped limply to the ground. Watching Liu'er die before him, Chen Ping'an found that his state of mind was far better than the last time. There was no fear or discomfort at all. Sure enough, when it came to killing, the first time was awkward and the second time was routine! He bent down to search the body and pulled a black cloth pouch from Liu'er's clothes—the very one Liu'er had snatched from Chen Er Ya during the day. After doing this, thinking that the two inside still had a breath left in them, Chen Ping'an put his hood back on, rushed into the house, and finished them off with a stomp each. Chen Ping'an didn't forget to loot the bodies either. He patted both men down, then quickly searched the house, and did come away with some silver. Walking out of the courtyard, Chen Ping'an looked at Liu'er's corpse in the yard. He happened to spot a millstone that looked like it was used for building strength. He thought for a moment, then hoisted the millstone—roughly half a man's height—up, stepped forward, and smashed it down hard onto the corpse. To be safe, it was better to destroy the marks on the corpse! After doing all this, Chen Ping'an messed around a bit more, wiped the blood from his shoes, and quietly leapt out of the yard. His luck was good. Although the broken window had made some noise earlier, it hadn't drawn anyone's attention. Or rather, perhaps some people nearby had noticed, but didn't dare come out to check, fearing trouble would come knocking. After leaving Liu'er's house, Chen Ping'an didn't go straight home. Instead, he took a roundabout route to the great pagoda tree east of his home. Not far from the great pagoda tree was a pile of scattered rocks. Just in case, Chen Ping'an had no intention of bringing home anything he'd taken from Liu'er's house tonight, including the black pouch. So he planned to hide these things beneath the rock pile. The rocks in the pile were quite large—an ordinary child couldn't move them, and adults wouldn't come to shift them either. Stashing things here was, in the short term, undoubtedly safe. Chen Ping'an moved the pile of rocks aside; with his strength, it was effortless. After clearing the stones, Chen Ping'an dug a small pit, placed tonight's takings inside, covered it with earth, then piled the rocks back on top. After finishing all this, Chen Ping'an checked around and confirmed that no one was nearby. Then he simply left. When you do dangerous business, you must be careful in everything!