Chapter 13
A City-wide Celebration! Martial Arts Schools’ Invitation!
In the forest of Ghost Slope Mountain, several wolves advanced in the dark, their sharp eyes emitting a dazzling silver light.
They stared at the rabbit that had just emerged and quietly approached.
“Pa! Pa! Pa!” One of the wolves was lightly patted on the back a few times. It immediately jumped up in fright and turned around to look.
The fur on his body instantly stood up when he saw a person standing beside him. He could even see a few specks of dust on this human’s face.
“Awoooo!”
Several wolves howled without hesitation and ran into the distance without looking back.
“The breath control technique is indeed useful.” Qin Huai walked out of the darkness into the moonlight, his face full of relief.
He was testing the breath control technique in the forest. He had walked around the wolves several times, but they didn’t notice him.
…
Luo Mansion.
Bai You and the others, who were covered in dirt, sat in the lobby, drinking water. At the side, the anxious faces of Luo Ya and her father, Luo Fei, could be seen.
“Uncle Bai, where’s Senior Brother?” Luo Ya paced back and forth.
However, the few warrior uncles just drank water like crazy.
“Kaah~” Bai You slammed the water bottle down. “I lost him.”
“You lost him?!” Luo Fei was surprised. Bai You and the others were the pillars of Luo Mansion, and they had been in the first refinement realm for many years. Even the leaders of the gang might not be a match for Bai You, so how could he have lost them?
“He was still fine when we left the city. My brothers and I chased him all the way, but we didn’t see anything unusual. But as soon as he entered the mountain, this kid disappeared.” Bai You was vexed. Losing track of a fifteen-year-old brat, he was also embarrassed. But as he thought about it, a look of fear suddenly appeared on his face.
This naturally didn’t escape Luo Fei’s eyes. “Is it related to the mountain fire?”
He looked out the window. In the silent night, a raging fire shot up into the sky from the deep mountains dozens of miles away, disturbing many people.
“The location of the fire is Ghost Slope Mountain. We rushed there and searched, and we found a large number of charred corpses,” Bai You said in a low voice.
“Could it be that he really massacred the Blackhawk Gang?” Luo Fei was shocked.
“It’s definitely him!” Bai You was certain. A scene flashed through his mind as he recalled, “When I went up the mountain, I saw a figure in the fire. His entire body was covered in blood, and his eyes were filled with a baleful aura. He was extremely terrifying. Now that I think about it carefully, he was exactly the same as the portrait of Qin Huai.” Bai You’s eyes flashed with a faint fear.
“Then where is he? He should be back by now!” Luo Ya asked.
Qin Huai slaughtered the entire Blackhawk Gang by himself, so he’s probably injured quite badly. Bai You guessed that Qin Huai’s condition was not very good. However, he couldn’t say it out loud when he saw the concern on Luo Ya’s face.
In the hall, everyone was silent. He had slaughtered the Blackhawk Gang alone. What a great achievement!
Outside the hall, the servants who were eavesdropping by the wall dispersed.
…
Outside Pingnan City.
It was already the next morning when Qin Huai returned. After a night of killing, he was physically and mentally exhausted. In addition, there was no place for him in the city, so he spent the night in the cave outside.
It was almost noon when he woke up. He followed the group of refugees and moved forward leisurely.
Qin Huai suddenly frowned. In front of the city gate, there was a group of well-dressed martial artists with solemn faces.
“Who’s the big shot today?”
A gentle breeze blew past, and a piece of rough paper was quickly pulled down from the air by Qin Huai.
It was actually his own face.
“If I have news of this person, can I receive a hundred taels of silver?” Qin Huai subconsciously wanted to cover his face, but he realized that it looked like a missing person notice.
It was probably Junior Sister Luo Ya’s doing. The only person Qin Huai could think of was her.
“Qin Huai? You’re Qin Huai?”
“I’ve caught Qin Huai!” Someone suddenly grabbed Qin Huai’s sleeve and shouted.
Qin Huai was shocked and attacked instinctively. A burly man, who was a head taller than Qin Huai, was suddenly pulled up by him and suspended in mid-air.
There were more than a dozen people around, and they were either stunned or swarmed over. They squeezed onto Qin Huai, directly sealing off his chance to exert his strength.
‘This is bad! I was too careless!’ Qin Huai was shocked, and before he could react, he was thrown into the air by the crowd. He was even mumbling to himself.
“Oh, our hero!”
“Hero Qin!”
Qin Huai only came to a realization when he heard the overwhelming shouts. It was unknown how these people had found out that he had exterminated the Blackhawk Gang. They were celebrating and cheering for themselves.
He had actually been transported into the city by these enthusiastic citizens. Firecrackers were set off in the city, and many large families were wearing red clothes and smiling as they opened their doors to serve porridge.
The poor man, who had no time to care, also had a happy expression on his face.
One of the butchers slammed his knife on the chopping board, his saliva flying everywhere. “If the Blackhawk Gang dares to put up a bounty for me, I’ll dare to charge up the mountain alone! This is called blood!”
“Then what’s an outstanding person?! It’s a fifteen-year-old who went to Ghost Slope Mountain alone to slaughter the Blackhawk Gang! This is called a hero!”
“Compared to Qin Huai, those proud sons of heaven from the eight major martial arts centers are not even worth mentioning.”
“Don’t think that Qin Huai’s current strength and state are inferior to those so-called proud sons of heaven. He’ll be a waste of time in ten years. You’ll notice it after five years.”
“Qin Huai is definitely better than the eight major martial arts centers!”
“It’s not because of talent, it’s just because of Qin Huai’s courage.”
“Good! Well said!” The commoners squatted at the entrance of the meat shop, and thunderous applause sounded.
“The Blackhawk Gang’s poison is truly remarkable.” Qin Huai couldn’t help sighing when he saw such a grand scene.
Qin Huai was only put down after an unknown amount of time. In front of him were the martial artists who had been standing in front of the city gate.
Now that they were close, Qin Huai took a closer look at their clothes.
Those people were roughly divided into two groups. One group was wearing short brown clothes with the word ‘Tyrant’ embroidered in gold on the chest. It was similar to the style that Qin Huai had worn in the apothecary.
The few martial artists had bulging muscles and were tall and strong. The pressure that could be seen with the naked eye made it so that no one dared to approach within three to five meters of him.
“We are the martial artists of the Tyrant Fist Dojo. The dojo master knows that you slaughtered the Blackhawk Gang alone and is very much in awe of your bravery. He has specially asked us to wait for you to join the dojo!”
Whoosh!
The crowd burst into an uproar.
“I didn’t hear wrong, did I? The people from the eight martial arts centers are actually waiting here to recruit Qin Huai?”
“My goodness, my impression of the eight big martial arts schools is that they are all high and mighty. People will always go to their doors to beg them to take in disciples.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a martial arts school come to visit me personally.”
The other was dressed in a plain robe with no embroidered words on the chest. The few martial artists were not as strong and imposing as the people from the Tyrant Fist Dojo. He was just like an ordinary person.
“I’m a disciple of the Changshan Dojo. I’m here for the same reason as you guys from the Tyrant Fist Dojo.” The person had a calm expression and a smile on his face.
Hiss~
The surrounding people gasped again.
“Amazing, truly amazing.”
“Two martial arts centers are fighting for one person?! I’ve really learned a lot today.”
Among the jubilant crowd, there were also people who were not so happy. One of them was the shopkeeper of the Liu family’s apothecary, Liu Changyue, who had been Qin Huai’s master just yesterday.
Looking at the young man who was being held in such high regard, he felt bitter.
“Oh, isn’t this shopkeeper Liu?! You’re really amazing. A small apothecary actually managed to cultivate a flood dragon like Qin Huai!” Someone noticed Liu Changyue and quickly complimented him, but his tone was a little sharp.
“It’s a pity that this flood dragon was personally driven out by shopkeeper Liu~”
“Don’t talk nonsense! That was shopkeeper Liu’s last resort in order not to delay Qin Huai’s future!”
“Having a disciple that two big martial arts centers are fighting over is enough for shopkeeper Liu to brag about for a few years.”
“It’s said that doctors are benevolent. I’ve seen shopkeeper Liu’s actions, so I’m impressed!”
Strange voices rose and fell around them.
Liu Changyue couldn’t say a word as he listened to everyone’s ridicule. His face was flushed red, and his legs were shaking.
How could he not regret it? Little did he know that Qin Huai had only used a year to cultivate his Qi-nurturing technique to the second refinement realm, which he had thought was impossible.
“If Huai’er didn’t leave and married Xiao Mei, our Liu family apothecary would have a second refinement martial artist,” Liu Changyue fantasized. His business would grow even bigger. Other than the eight great martial arts centers, there would be very few people who could restrict him.
But now, everything could only be a fantasy.