When the Heart Is Restless, It Is Time to Kill!

The night air was chill as water. Across the square of Miaoshou Garden lay corpse after corpse—at a rough count, dozens in all! A dense reek of blood hung in the air. Many apprentices, apothecaries, physicians, and martial artists of the guard team stood in the square, gazing silently at the dead upon the ground. The entire square seemed swallowed in a deathly stillness. Lu Changsheng stood among the crowd, his gaze falling upon a mutilated corpse on the ground—Old Wen! Among the dozens of bodies, one belonged to Old Wen. Old Wen's chest had caved in, unmistakably crushed by an immense palm strike that had shattered his internal organs. Power like that could only belong to a Refining Organs martial artist at the very least. One of Old Wen's arms had also been severed and was nowhere to be found, lost who knew where. His face still bore an expression of panic, terror, and agony. Lu Changsheng said nothing, but his eyes grew colder and colder. Though Old Wen was not Lu Changsheng's master in name, he had in truth imparted almost all his knowledge without reservation. They were not master and apprentice, yet closer than master and apprentice. Yet now Old Wen was dead, and he had died such a gruesome death. "Family Head, the traitor has been caught." Just then, two martial artists from the guard team brought a bruised and battered man onto the square under escort. Countless eyes instantly turned to fix on the bruised man. Zheng Renxin's gaze narrowed slightly, his voice chilling as ice as he slowly spoke, "It's you, Zheng Yihai! You are a son of the Zheng clan, a martial artist of the guard team, provided for by Miaoshou Garden. Why did you collude with bandits and butcher your own kin?" With a thud, Zheng Yihai dropped to his knees, begging desperately, "Spare me, Family Head, have mercy! It was a moment of foolishness! "I... I owed a lot of silver from gambling, and then those bandits came knocking on my door. "They promised me that if I only gave them information about the Refining Organs martial artists in Miaoshou Garden, they would give me the silver to pay off my debts. "I figured bandits wouldn't dare do anything to Miaoshou Garden anyway, and it was just passing along some information, nothing difficult, so I agreed. "But I truly had no idea those bandits would be so bold, that they'd actually dare slaughter their way into Miaoshou Garden! "Family Head, spare me, spare my life..." Zheng Yihai had clearly been beaten severely; his teeth were knocked out, and he was slurring his words. Even so, everyone understood what he said. A traitor! This Zheng Yihai was the traitor! It was precisely because Zheng Yihai had leaked information regarding Miaoshou Garden's Refining Organs martial artists that the bandits saw an opening and stormed inside. Zheng Renxin's eyes were bloodshot. Glaring at Zheng Yihai, he gritted his teeth and enunciated each word: "Spare your life? You caused the deaths of so many people, and you still expect to live?" The next moment, Zheng Renxin drew his blade in a ferocious slash. Slash! Zheng Yihai's head tumbled to the ground, blood spraying across the stone paving. Spattered with blood, Zheng Renxin did not care in the slightest. With an ashen face, he said coldly, "It was bad enough that those bandits looted our Miaoshou Garden pharmacy last time. Not only did they not flee, they even dared to storm into Miaoshou Garden! What outrageous insolence! Do they truly think our Nanyang Zheng clan has no one left?" At this point, a guard team martial artist said in a deep voice, "Family Head, those bandits ransacked Miaoshou Garden's silver vault. With so much silver, there's no way they could move it all in a short time. Furthermore, our men have been watching all the city gates, and no suspicious persons have left. Those bandits must still be inside the city." "Then search for them! Even if you have to dig three feet into the earth, find that pack of bandits! "When the time comes, I will personally lead the guard team to slay them with my own hands!" Zheng Renxin seethed with murderous intent. The Nanyang Zheng clan possessed illustrious renown. When had anyone ever dared slaughter their way into Miaoshou Garden? Who would have thought that a gang of bandits would actually bathe Miaoshou Garden in blood? If this vengeance went unavenged, how could the Nanyang Zheng clan maintain its standing in Nanyang Prefecture? This time, Zheng Renxin was resolved: he would wipe out that band of bandits no matter what! Eventually, the crowd in the square dispersed, and Lu Changsheng returned to his courtyard. He brought up his attribute panel. Host: Lu Changsheng Comprehension: 211 (considerable potential) Barbarian Bull Tempering Bone Technique: Third layer Lu Changsheng's Barbarian Bull Tempering Bone Technique had already reached the third layer. He had even begun attempting his fourth bone tempering. Once completed, Lu Changsheng's Barbarian Bull Tempering Bone Technique would reach perfection. Judging by the timing, it would be either today or tomorrow. Thus, as usual, Lu Changsheng mobilized his qi and blood to temper his bones. Once, twice, three times... Lu Changsheng's qi and blood were immensely robust, capable of tempering his bones time and time again. In the past, Lu Changsheng could temper them dozens of times; with how vast his qi and blood were now, that was no issue at all. With a concerted effort, he might even fully complete the fourth bone tempering tonight, bringing the Barbarian Bull Tempering Bone Technique to the realm of perfection. Yet Lu Changsheng suddenly stopped. In his mind rose the scene from the square just now—above all, Old Wen's corpse, with his eyes still wide open, unable to rest in peace! Memories churned and his emotions could not settle; naturally, Lu Changsheng could achieve little efficiency in his bone tempering and cultivation. "My mind is not calm!" Lu Changsheng muttered in a low voice. His mind was not calm because of Old Wen, and Old Wen had died horribly! "When the heart is restless, it is time to kill!" Lu Changsheng touched the dagger at his chest. Carrying a sharp blade naturally stirs the intent to kill. What was more, he was going to avenge Old Wen! At this moment, Lu Changsheng's qi and blood seemed to be boiling. Lu Changsheng donned night clothes, put on a bamboo conical hat, and masked his face with black cloth, wrapping himself tightly from head to toe. Whoosh. The next instant, Lu Changsheng dashed forward and vanished into the night. ... In the west of the city, outside a derelict temple, dozens of figures flickered faintly in the shadows. Clack, clack, clack. The night watchman's clapper sounded faintly from afar. "Dry weather and parched timber, beware of candle and flame!" It was already the third watch of the night, yet the figures outside the temple remained motionless. "Family Head, it's the third watch. There seems to be no movement inside..." a martial artist of the Miaoshou Garden guard team said cautiously. Zheng Renxin's eyes were dark and brooding, his expression exceedingly grim. He did not reply, only staring intently at the abandoned temple. Inside the derelict temple, there had been lamps lit earlier, but now they were all extinguished. "The bandits are hiding inside this temple?" Zheng Renxin asked again. "Yes, the bandits are inside. Furthermore, there are only thirty-some of them, while we have seventy or eighty skilled hands. The odds are in our favor..." Zheng Renxin weighed the situation. Perhaps having lived in wealth and comfort for too long, he hesitated to make the final call. After all, this battle was crucial. Nearly all the experts of Miaoshou Garden had been mobilized; if they failed, the consequences would be unthinkable. "Move!" Finally, Zheng Renxin made up his mind. This time, he had rallied four Refining Organs experts. Whereas during the day, when the bandits stormed Miaoshou Garden, they had only had two Refining Organs martial artists. No matter how you looked at it, Miaoshou Garden held the upper hand. At Zheng Renxin's order, dozens of dark figures crept toward the abandoned temple. Bang! The dilapidated gate of the temple was slammed open in an instant. Dozens of Miaoshou Garden's skilled fighters charged inside. Yet in the very next moment, countless crossbow bolts shot out from the pitch-black temple. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! Veiled by the night, these crossbow bolts were virtually impossible to guard against, instantly cutting down many of Miaoshou Garden's experts right inside the temple. "Crossbow bolts?" Zheng Renxin's eyes widened. Weren't crossbows only used by the imperial army? How could these bandits have them? Suddenly, a possibility crossed Zheng Renxin's mind. The gang of bandits that had once blocked the trade routes had been crushed by the imperial army, but some had escaped. Those bandits might well have scavenged crossbows and bolts from the imperial troops. "Hahaha! Since you've come, don't even think of leaving! Every last one of you stays!" A roaring shout suddenly echoed. Immediately after, numerous torches flared up inside the abandoned temple, illuminating it as bright as day. Zheng Renxin peered closely: a tall, burly man with eyes like bronze bells and a build like a bear stood quietly in the temple, resting a broadsword as large as a door plank across his shoulder. The qi and blood in his body blazed like fire, waves of heat rolling off him so intensely that everyone in the temple felt as though they had been thrust into a furnace. The man was bald, with a striking scar between his eyebrows. "Blade-Trailing Heavenly King, Li Ji! You didn't die?" "Impossible! When the imperial army surrounded and suppressed you last time, didn't they say the bandit leader was slain? How could you still be alive?" Remembering something, Zheng Renxin cried out in shock. "Heh heh! How could those imperial lapdogs kill this Heavenly King? They merely slaughtered commoners to claim the credit and lied about their victory! "Zheng Renxin, this Heavenly King only took a little silver from you, yet you don't know what's good for you and deliver yourself right to my door. "In that case, this Heavenly King will finish you off as well. Wiping out your Nanyang Zheng clan will serve nicely to restore my glorious name!" As it turned out, this Li Ji was none other than the leader of the bandits who had once severed the trade routes, known as the "Blade-Trailing Heavenly King." Rumor had it that he possessed immense, boundless strength and had even escaped with his life from a Divine Strength Realm powerhouse. With such a person present, how could Miaoshou Garden's four Refining Organs martial artists possibly be a match for him?