"PHEW."
Zheng Jun breathed evenly. With his chest rising and falling, he tried his best to steady his breathing.
Looking at the burly man gushing blood before him, Zheng Jun remained extremely calm. He even stepped forward to search the corpse. Although Zheng Jun didn't expect the man to carry all his belongings on him, he figured anything he could find was a bonus. Zheng Jun searched the corpse quite carefully. But no matter how careful he was, he only found a few pieces of silver and some rough paper covered in Ghost Talisman-like scribbles. Aside from that, there was only the large saber the man had been using earlier.
Zheng Jun took a soft breath. Ignoring the bloody corpse, he bent down and picked up the Wide-Backed Saber. Zheng Jun's broken blade was a standard-issue weapon of the Great Zhou Court—a Ceremonial Saber. Though both the Wide-Backed Saber and the Ceremonial Saber were called sabers, the difference between them was like night and day. At the very least, Zheng Jun's Cloak and Dagger technique was completely incompatible with this Wide-Backed Saber; they were two entirely different weapon concepts.
After gathering his spoils, Zheng Jun stared at the corpse with a grave expression. Anyone who often killed knew this well: killing a man was easy, but disposing of the body was hard. Although Zheng Jun had killed this burly man surnamed Liang, handling the corpse was a massive problem. However, he wondered, "Why do I need to dispose of the body?" Zheng Jun frowned slightly, his expression rather flat.
It wasn't as if he had gone out to murder someone; this scoundrel had ambushed him first! With this man's Martial Arts prowess, the County Government Office might even frame him as the Demon Skill rogue to appease the panicked citizens of Ping County and close the case!
At this thought, Zheng Jun nodded, and then two other people came to mind.
"Zhao Da, Zhao Er..." Zheng Jun muttered these two names softly. His face was calm, but his voice was brimming with murderous intent.
Saying no more, Zheng Jun put away his broken saber and looked at the stack of rough paper. "What is this Ghost Talisman scribble?" But the moment he stared at the Ghost Talisman-like scribbles, lines of small ink-wash text suddenly materialized before his eyes.
[Advanceable Martial Arts: Wave-Treading Saber.]
[Current Progress: Not Initiated.]
[Do you wish to advance 'Wave-Treading Saber (Minor Achievement)'? By borrowing the Fruit of the Future, you must practice it a thousand times before it truly becomes yours!]
Wave-Treading Saber? The Wave-Treading Saber! A flash of astonishment crossed Zheng Jun's eyes. He thought, "The thing recorded on this rough paper is actually the Wave-Treading Saber?!" This was the Wave-Treading Saber practiced by the great thief Lou Wei! Lou Wei relied on two signature moves in his life: the Wave-Treading Saber and the Wave-Treading Step. Zheng Jun never in his wildest dreams expected this to be the Wave-Treading Saber!
If the Great Tao Martial Book hadn't activated, Zheng Jun would have thought it was some random draft. He wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of it! But it made sense. Who would carry a standard Secret Martial Arts Manual on them? A rough draft like this, which only the owner could understand, was perfect for carrying around and studying on the go. Even if it were lost, there was no fear of the Cultivation Technique leaking out. Unfortunately for them, before the Great Tao Martial Book, no matter how abstractly a Cultivation Technique was drawn, it could be swiftly advanced. At this thought, Zheng Jun did not hesitate at all and silently chanted the word "confirm" in his heart.
"PHEW."
Zheng Jun closed his eyes and rested his mind as everything the Great Tao Martial Book had on the Wave-Treading Saber rapidly surged into his head. When he opened his eyes again, he had already reached Minor Achievement in the Wave-Treading Saber!
Zheng Jun glanced around, casually covered the burly man with some thatch to bury him, and then grabbed the Wide-Backed Saber, heading out under the cover of night. Having obtained this Saber Technique, Zheng Jun was brimming with confidence. He wouldn't let his revenge wait overnight!
The moonlight stretched Zheng Jun's thin shadow. A dark, moonless night was perfect for murder, and high winds were perfect for arson! Earlier, Zheng Jun had been wondering how to frame someone else after killing the Zhao Family brothers. Now, he no longer needed to worry about that. Because the killer would be using the Wave-Treading Thief Lou Wei's famous ultimate skill, the Wave-Treading Saber!
He thought, "I thought Zhao Da was an honorable man, but to think he would stoop to this backstabbing treachery! In a world like this, expecting such filthy scum to stop their evil deeds on their own is simply too naive..." Zheng Jun's gaze was icy as he pondered. Unknowingly, he had already crossed several alleys. After avoiding the night watchmen and patrolling constables several times, he arrived at the Zhao Residence.
The brothers Zhao Da and Zhao Er had already split their household. Although the two lived in the same neighborhood, they were separated by a hundred meters. The nearer house was Zhao Er's home. Zhao Er was weak and hadn't undergone Blood Refining and Body Tempering. He would slash him down first, then go after Zhao Da!
Zheng Jun arrived outside the courtyard of the Zhao Residence. He could vaguely hear the clinking of glasses inside. Though the sound wasn't very clear, Zheng Jun could tell there was more than one person in the yard.
"There's someone else," he thought. The sudden presence of another person made Zheng Jun's heart skip a beat, but soon, he stopped worrying. The other person showed no signs of surging Qi and Blood; he was most likely one of Zhao Er's shady cronies. He would just kill him too and be done with it! Immediately, Zheng Jun lifted his qi, vaulted over the courtyard wall with ease, and entered the yard.
***
"That bastard Zheng is really a piece of work! He got me thoroughly chewed out by Gang Leader Zhang and that Mu Feng!" At the wine table, the younger brother of the Qingshui Gang Leader's wife was drunk. With his clothes unbuttoned and one foot propped on a chair, he bellowed in outrage, "Gang Leader Zhang is ridiculous! He's just a lowly yamen lackey. If we kill him, we kill him. What's there to be afraid of? He doesn't have the air of a Jianghu hero at all!"
Hearing this, Zhao Er felt a little disgusted and a hostile glint flashed in his eyes. However, he still poured the youth a cup of wine and said with a smile, "Don't mind him. That guy is on his last legs; he won't be kicking for much longer."
"Second Brother Zhao... Second Brother Zhao is right." The youth let out a wine burp. Completely uninhibited and somewhat delirious, he slurred, "Let's ignore him for now. I'll get someone to kill him sooner or later! What... what do you think about that woman?"
"Don't be so impatient, Qin. That little girl's loan shark money isn't due for another three months! Before we sell her to the brothel, I'll definitely let you have the first taste and pop her cherry!" Zhao Er added, "Zhou Pu's wife might look plain, but she's still pretty decent... Just relax, Qin. Once Zheng Jun and Zhou Pu are dead, I'll figure out a way to get her for you. Just don't forget to put in a good word for me with Gang Leader Zhang."
"I'll talk to Gang Leader Zhang myself!" The youth surnamed Qin let out another wine burp, his face flushed red. "You said wait until Zheng Jun and Zhou... Zhou whoever are dead? Eh, what do you mean, what do they have... Never mind, never mind. Let's not think about this. Drink up, Second Brother Zhao!"
Although the youth felt a bit confused, he didn't dwell on it and continued drinking. Outside the house, however, Zheng Jun's face was calm. So it was Zhang Qingyu's wife's younger brother. Perfect. He would eliminate them both together to save himself from getting stabbed in the back later! With this thought in mind, Zheng Jun didn't hesitate. He raised his foot and delivered a vicious kick!
BANG! The wooden door was kicked straight down. Amidst the flickering candlelight in the room, both Zhao Er and the youth surnamed Qin were horrified, simultaneously looking toward the door.
"Zheng Jun?!" Zhao Er was utterly bewildered. Seeing Zheng Jun kick the door open and march in, his mind went blank. "You're not dead?!"
As he spoke, he noticed the Wide-Backed Saber in Zheng Jun's hand. The large saber looked somewhat familiar to Zhao Er. It seemed to be the exact same saber used by Liang Fan, Lou Wei's head disciple who had inherited the true teachings of the Wave-Treading Saber! How could this saber be in Zheng Jun's hands? Could Liang Fan be dead?! Zhao Er's mind raced furiously, but before he could even react, Zheng Jun was already charging forward with the saber, chopping toward Zhao Er!
This chop came down with tremendous, heavy momentum. It felt as though it could cleave through waves and sever the sea, carrying the immense weight of a thousand pounds! The slash scared the living daylights out of Zhao Er. He hastily screamed, "Zheng San, Grandpa Zheng! This has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me! It was Zhao Jun who did it! Go kill him, please don't kill me! Don't kill me!" The stench of urine was already spreading from beneath him.
Zheng Jun turned a deaf ear. He directly slashed down with a single strike, cutting through flesh and bone, and shaving off Zhao Er's head! After slashing Zhao Er, Zheng Jun turned his gaze to the terrified youth surnamed Qin, who was now sprayed all over with Zhao Er's boiling blood. Without a shred of hesitation, he stepped forward and delivered another slash! It was just a matter of convenience!