Chapter 45: Chapter 44 Aftermath

The slum was densely packed and crisscrossed.In the uneven alleyways, Shen Qing quickly stepped through the mud and water.

When he occasionally encountered other strangers, he silently kept his head down, not letting anyone see his face clearly.

Once he left the slum area, Shen Qing started to run with large strides, and when he reached the suburban woods outside the city, he leaped and plunged into the jungle.

He was already at the Great Perfection of Qi and Blood, and with the breakthrough in his hunting skills, he had mastered the ability of Poison Shadow.

The combination of the two made Shen Qing almost like a fish in water in the jungle.

He hopped and swooped, moving through the forest as quickly as a fleeting shadow, agilely navigating the trees.

In less than the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, he had already returned to the bush he left earlier.

Shen Qing hurriedly changed into the cotton clothing he had taken off earlier, covering up the bloodstains from the fight, and then, with the relaxed expression of someone who had just lightened his load, he walked towards the cart by the roadside.

At this time, Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu were leaning against the cart, vigilantly scanning the passersby around them.

"I'm ready, let's go," Shen Qing called out as he walked by and quickly sat on the cart, grabbing the reins.

Shen Xiaohu and Tian Xiaohu said nothing and got on the cart in succession.

"Giddy up!"

Shen Qing cracked the whip.

Clatter, clatter...

The old horse plodded forward, and the cart's wheels slowly turned.

On the cart, Tian Xiaohu couldn't help but take several more glances at Shen Qing.

In just the time it took to drink a pot of tea, he noticed that Shen Qing had returned with many fewer arrows than he had taken.

More importantly, if he remembered correctly, Shen Qing didn't take any toilet paper when he went to relieve himself.

And the place he went to relieve himself was a bush which was full of thorny branches, commonly known as cat's thorns—it's impossible to wipe oneself clean with them.

He must not have gone to relieve himself, Tian Xiaohu was quite certain.

As for what exactly he did, seeing that Shen Qing didn't mention it, Tian Xiaohu also tactfully didn't ask.

One horse, one cart, three men were traveling on the thoroughfare outside of Taiping City, neither fast nor slow.

This was already the second time Shen Qing entered the city, so he was well-acquainted with the route.

A few moments later, the three men had already entered the slum area and arrived at the Seven Turns Alley they passed before.

At this time, Shen Xiaohu couldn't help but become nervous.

"Brother Qingzi, people ambushed us here last time, are we still going this way?"

Shen Qing showed no intention of slowing down the cart and said while looking straight ahead, "I asked the bookworms, this path is the closest to enter the city from our direction, if we don't go here, we would have to take a long detour, which isn't worth it."

"Moreover, the people living here are all sly as ghosts; they won't leave you so many options." Shen Qing abruptly whipped the horse, urging the lazy animal, "Relax, there's nothing to worry about, giddy up!"

Shen Xiaohu, holding a bow and arrows, face dripping with cold sweat, scanned the surroundings with a fierce look, jittery the entire way.

To his surprise, on the way, no one came up to talk to them; not even the group of beggar kids who had surrounded them during their last visit were to be seen.

Very strange indeed.

After some time, they crossed Seven Turns Alley and suddenly heard a clamor ahead; a large crowd was gathered in a nearby alley.

Shen Xiaohu stretched his neck curiously and asked, "What's happening up front?"

Shen Qing glanced over and said casually, "Don't know."

As they passed by, several bodies were being carried out.

"Holy mother, a lot of people are dead," exclaimed Shen Xiaohu.

Shen Qing looked back and recognized that this was the alley where he had just killed Old Ba Zi.

He hadn't expected his deed to be discovered so quickly, attracting so many onlookers.

He secretly felt fortunate for his decisive departure; any later and it really would have been difficult to escape. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The cart passed two county officers with closely cropped hair.

They were looking at the bodies being carried out and chatting leisurely, one sentence at a time.

After leaving Seven Turns Alley, the road ahead was still not very spacious, with people on both sides; the cart was passing close by them.

The officers' conversation fell into the ears of Shen Qing and the others.

"Didn't expect Wang Mazi to be so ruthless. Not long ago he was challenged by Old Ba, and today he just directly took action and killed Old Ba. Old Ba had barely gotten into Boss' good graces and established a foothold here before getting killed without enjoying much fortune."

"Isn't that the truth. He died rather miserably too; nearly every part of his body was ruined. He was almost turned into a porcupine, bleeding all over like a colander. The helplessness and screams when he died could be heard for miles."

"His men also went down on their bad luck, all dead, one arrow to the throat. Wang Mazi didn't plan to leave any room for them to survive."

"With this kind of disturbance, Boss probably won't let it lie; now there'll be excitement to watch."

"..."

The idle chat of the two government officers had fallen into Tian Xiaohu's ears, and he was immediately shocked to his core.

A bolt of lightning flashed through his mind, and an unbelievable suspicion surfaced.

He looked at Shen Qing with incredulity, opened his mouth to speak, found that there were countless words he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to begin.

Just now he hadn't gone to defecate; instead, he had gone to kill Old Ba Zi.

That's right, it must be so.

What kind of normal person goes to relieve himself while still carrying a bow and arrows? The reason there were fewer arrows on him was that he had used them.

Seeing Shen Qing's indifferent expression, Tian Xiaohu's words reached his throat, but being quite tactful, he swallowed hard and forced them back down.

At this moment, waves of doubt washed over him.

He couldn't understand how in just that short span of time, Shen Qing could have suddenly killed so many people?

He had heard from a friend that Old Ba Zi had already reached the Great Perfection of Qi and Blood, just a step away from becoming a martial master.

His notorious reputation in the region was well-known to everyone.

And yet, he had been killed so effortlessly?

Tian Xiaohu found it unbelievable.

He couldn't help but look at Shen Qing again, seriously reevaluating him.

Back in the village, he had always thought of Shen Qing as a mediocre hunter with no real talent.

Quiet, honest, and his hunting skills were lacking.

But the events that later unfolded in the village had made him reevaluate Shen Qing.

A ruthless man.

But now, he had a new understanding of Shen Qing's ruthlessness.

Just yesterday he had informed Shen Qing about Old Ba being injured; today, Shen Qing came to the county city, and after disappearing for a while, Old Ba Zi was dead.

What was more frightening was that from the beginning to the end, no one except him would suspect Shen Qing.

The tactic was too seasoned.

Old Ba Zi's death was undoubtedly a good thing for them; they wouldn't have to fear when entering the county city anymore.

If he had the capability, he would certainly have wanted to kill him himself, to remove this obstacle in their path.

But he definitely couldn't have done it as cleanly as Shen Qing had.

Shen Qing, he was bound to achieve great things in the future!

Tian Xiaohu decided to keep everything he had seen today and all the thoughts in his mind to himself, and not to mention them to anyone who asked.

"Brother Qingzi, did you hear that? Old Ba is dead, no one will come looking for trouble with us anymore," said Shen Xiaohu, bubbling with excitement.

Shen Qing let out a light chuckle and said, "Don't be too happy just yet; without Old Ba, who's to say there won't be an Old Ninth or Old Tenth that pops up? Wouldn't it be the same then?"

"This…" Shen Xiaohu was at a loss for words.

"Let's talk about the future when it comes."

Shen Qing turned their attention back, spurred his horse towards the city gate, and silently picked up the pace a little.

At this time, a middle-aged man dressed in a clean changshan walked past them, accompanied by three or four followers.

The middle-aged man had a robust physique, with arms that extended past his knees.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that both of his palms, especially near the pinky fingers, had thick calluses—a sign that he was a martial practitioner, not someone to be trifled with.

As the middle-aged man reached the mouth of the alley, the two officers put away the casual expression on their faces and, with a smile, said, "Boss has arrived."

The middle-aged man bowed slightly to the two officers and asked, "Have you two cleared up the matter?"

"Everything's clear; it was certainly done by Wang Mazi," one of the officers said calmly. "Many people heard it themselves, and we've verified it with each one."

"I see, you two have worked hard."

With that, the man known as Boss, took out two silver ingots from his bosom, and handed them to the officers, saying, "Here's a little something for tea, please also present my regards to your lord."

"Of course, come by the government office more when you're free, we'll have a small drink with Boss," they responded.

"Next time, definitely," he said.

"We'll take our leave now, Boss, please go ahead," they said.

Boss bowed politely and said, "Take care, I won't see you out."

Watching the officers leave, Boss's smiling face suddenly turned cold, and he said icily, "Take care of Wang Mazi, he broke the rules; we can't keep him around. Also, check to see if anyone has recently held a grudge against those two. We can't simply listen to others, we need to verify things ourselves."

"Yes, Boss," the two young men behind the middle-aged man nodded and hurried off.

"These people really are a headache, causing trouble at a time like this; they all deserve to die."