Deng Zhuo was dead.
Like the others, a single knife thrust to the neck had pierced his carotid artery, vagus nerve, and vocal cords. He died peacefully, though the blood splattered across the floor was an unsightly mess.
Zhao Xuanqi had no sadistic tendencies, so even for a man like Deng Zhuo, he had been merciful, ending his life with a single strike.
After it was all done, Zhao Xuanqi breathed a soft sigh of relief. He felt a tearing soreness in the muscles of his legs, arms, and back. His leg muscles, in particular, felt as if they had nearly snapped. The technique he had just used relied heavily on control of his Body Technique and Power Generation, placing the most severe strain on his legs—a strain that far exceeded this body's limits.
Zhao Qi's body was, after all, too weak. It couldn't handle the powerful techniques of the Hundred Beasts Fist.
But it was all over now.
Zhao Xuanqi crouched down and began to expertly search Deng Zhuo's body. In less than two minutes, he had gone through all five corpses at the scene.
'Less than ten silver coins in total?'
Zhao Xuanqi stared at the scattered silver coins, copper coins, and copper plates on the table, lost in thought.
According to his memories, the currency of the Divine Land was issued jointly by Yuan Tianhao—Military Commander of the Beidou Army, the strongest of the eight great Warlords—and the other Warlords. It was a decimal, silver-standard system, using silver coins and copper coins as the primary currency, supplemented by copper plates.
One silver coin was equal to ten copper coins, which was equal to one hundred copper plates.
For an ordinary family of three, two silver coins were enough to cover a month's worth of regular food expenses. Of course, "regular food expenses" didn't mean they could afford meat with every meal. Meat was expensive these days; one silver coin could only buy six jin of pork.
Ten silver coins was already a small fortune for many families, but for people like Deng Zhuo who operated in the criminal underworld, it was still a bit low.
Zhao Xuanqi thought for a moment, then remembered the ring of keys he'd found on Deng Zhuo. He began a quick search of the warehouse. At the bottom of a large, heavy, locked wooden chest, he found a weighty Black Wooden Box. He used one of the keys to open it and, sure enough, found two stacks of silver coins inside. Beneath the coins were several paper contracts.
They weren't silver banknotes, but a stack of indenture contracts. There was no telling how many people Deng Zhuo and his men had ruined.
Zhao Xuanqi had no interest in the indenture contracts and tossed them aside. He did, however, give the silver coins a rough count—there had to be at least fifty.
'The Hengsheng Warehouse is just a minor outpost for the Sanshui Gang. Fifty silver coins is probably all the cash they had stored here.'
Zhao Xuanqi nodded, satisfied.
Besides getting revenge and eliminating a threat, this was the second purpose of his trip. After all, he and his sister were so poor they could barely afford to eat. He, in particular, needed a great deal of money to buy food and Medicinal Materials. Deng Zhuo, this "fat sheep," had walked right into his sights. It would have been a waste not to fleece him.
He didn't consider himself a good person, nor would he spout platitudes like "robbing the rich to feed the poor" or "carrying out heaven's will." Robbing was robbing, plain and simple, and nothing to be ashamed of. At least when he chose his targets, he still abided by his own code and had his limits.
Many people, however, had long since abandoned all limits for the sake of money.
After wrapping the valuables in a cloth, Zhao Xuanqi got up and left the Hengsheng Warehouse immediately, wanting to avoid any unexpected complications from lingering too long.
In a nearby forest, he found the change of clothes he had stashed earlier. He went to the riverbank to wash off the lingering bloodstains, then changed into the clean clothes. He dug a hole and buried his bloodied attire, the iron scissors, and the rest of the incriminating evidence. With the silver coins in hand, Zhao Xuanqi returned to the city district. He walked the streets nonchalantly, showing no sign that he had just killed ten men.
In truth, he wasn't worried about being discovered. Although his grudge with Deng Zhuo was common knowledge, no one would ever imagine that the perpetrator of such a shocking massacre was a mere fledgling like him, who had only just passed the initial test.
No one would suspect him. That was why he had acted so decisively.
...
...
The events at the warehouse did not remain hidden for long.
About an hour after Zhao Xuanqi left, someone came to the warehouse on business and discovered the gruesome scene inside. Word of the incident immediately reached the ears of the Sanshui Gang's Big Master.
THUMP THUMP THUMP!!
A series of footsteps echoed from outside the Hengsheng Warehouse.
More than twenty members of the Sanshui Gang hurried toward the Hengsheng Warehouse, surrounding a middle-aged man of average build with a round face, who was dressed in a long, black silk gown.
The middle-aged man in the lead had a grim expression; this was none other than the Big Master of the Sanshui Gang, Qian Rong.
Upon receiving the news, he had rushed to the Hengsheng Warehouse with his men at once.
As he entered the warehouse courtyard, he gave a slight wave of his hand. A dozen of his followers immediately fanned out, searching the courtyard for the guards' bodies. Meanwhile, he and seven or eight of his personal bodyguards strode quickly into the warehouse itself.
Upon entering the warehouse, they too were taken aback by the scene before them.
Five bodies lay on the ground in a neat row. The entire scene showed surprisingly few signs of a struggle, which meant the five men had died at nearly the same time.
Qian Rong's face was grim. He shot a look at a tall young man beside him. The youth immediately stepped forward to examine the scene.
After he had surveyed the situation inside the warehouse, the men from outside came in and whispered a few words in the young man's ear.
"Big Master, five dead outside, five dead inside, including Chen Ting. All of them were stabbed in the neck and killed in a single blow. The method was ruthless. Judging by the technique, it was the work of a single person. Chen Ting was an experienced fighter. He was holding his long saber when he died, but he was still killed with one strike. If it were me... while I could also kill all ten of them, I couldn't have done it so silently and cleanly. Whoever did this is an absolute master."
"Also, I found lime powder and iron needles at the scene. This means the killer is not only highly skilled but also completely unscrupulous—they'll stop at nothing. That's the most dangerous kind of person to deal with, likely a desperate fugitive with blood on their hands. I don't think this was for revenge, though. The money on Deng Zhuo and his men was taken, along with the silver stored in the warehouse. This was most likely a robbery."
Having completed his investigation, the young man returned to Qian Rong's side and reported in a low voice.
'A desperate fugitive? To think there's someone that dangerous in the Upper River District...'
"Are you sure?"
Qian Rong narrowed his eyes. A desperate fugitive would be one thing. He was worried someone was targeting the Sanshui Gang—that would be a much more serious problem.
"I'm about seventy percent certain. But we should investigate who Deng Zhuo has offended recently and see if anyone fits the description," the young man said.
Qian Rong immediately ordered his men to start investigating. Unsurprisingly, Zhao Qi's name came up, but he was instantly dismissed as a suspect.
A fledgling who had just passed the test and hadn't even learned any fighting techniques couldn't possibly have done something like this.
The Sanshui Gang's investigation continued. Whether it would eventually lead back to Zhao Qi was anyone's guess.
But for Zhao Xuanqi, this brief period of safety was all he needed.
...
...
'Where on earth did Qi go? Why isn't he back yet?'
Zhao Qin waited in the room, growing sleepy. She covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned, her eyelids drooping heavily.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"Sis, I'm back."
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Zhao Qi's voice came from outside.
Zhao Qin snapped back to her senses and quickly stood up to open the door. Zhao Xuanqi stood in the doorway, holding two exquisite mahogany food containers. The logo of the Drunken Immortal Tower was clearly visible on them. With a cheerful laugh, he said, "I wonder how the pastries from this Drunken Immortal Tower compare to the ones from Shangde Residence back home?"