I Cheated While Cultivating - Chapter 76: Another Use
“Hehl”
Zhou Heng let out a cold laugh, not even interested in responding.
He completely ignored them.
He walked up to the coffin, leaped onto it with a single bound, and sat down.
Completely pressing down on Chen Song inside.
“I won’t kill you,” Zhou Heng said indifferently, looking at Chen Feihong. “However, you’ll have to leave behind some money to buy your lives.”
Earlier, when he had taken care of Xuan Yang’s remaining soul’s will, he’d used up all the gold he had with him; he was now penniless and had to get some money.
Besides, the two of them had other uses.
Moreover, killing someone on the streets in the prefectural city, even if it was a martial vendetta, was undeniably a provocation against the authority of the Da Qi Imperial Court, and not a wise move at all.
However, Zhou Heng had no problem asking for life-buying money.
He couldn’t kill them within the city, but that wouldn’t stop him from killing them once they left the city.
Moments ago, Zhou Heng faced two opponents alone and ended the fight in an instant, already showcasing his prowess at this level.
Yet, to have such a young and skilled master brazenly ask for money was surprising and confusing for Chen Feihong.
The people of Longxing Martial Arts Hall knew Zhou Heng’s character well and were already accustomed to it, but those across the street felt somewhat bewildered.
So this is a ranked warrior?
Love it, love it.
Chen Feihong took a deep breath, his eyes coldly fixed on Zhou Heng as he said in a deep voice, “How much do you want?”
“Up to you,” Zhou Heng said with a smile.
“Two thousand taels.” Chen Feihong took two silver notes from his pocket and said, “I don’t carry much money with me, this is all I have.”
“Throw it here,” Zhou Heng, sitting on the lid of Chen Song’s coffin, beckoned to Chen Feihong with his fingers.
“Hmph!” With a surge of his inner qi, Chen Feihong made the two silver notes stiffen and, with a flick of his wrist, threw them towards Zhou Heng.
“Good.” Zhou Heng caught the notes, flipped off the coffin, gave it a kick with his foot, and sent Chen Song’s coffin flying towards Chen Feihong. “The two thousand taels is your life-buying money. For your brother’s life, you’ll owe me.”,”
“You!?” Chen Feihong caught the coffin, about to rescue Chen Song, but on hearing this, he trembled with rage, “Shameless!”
“You reap what you sow,” Zhou Heng said with his hands behind his back, turned away from the two, and snorted coldly. “Lurking at my doorstep all day, hurting my mentor and friends, I’m already being merciful by not killing you on the spot. Now, get lost!”
For Zhou Heng, Longxing Martial Arts Hall was his “home” in the martial world, the starting point of his martial path; Chen Song coming here to cause trouble was tantamount to a provocation at his doorstep.
Chen Feihong was left speechless by the retort, unsure of how to counter. He quickly left with Chen Song, lest Zhou Heng suddenly change his mind or ambush them once they were out of the city.
These were all real possibilities.
With Chen Feihong and Chen Song gone, and the onlookers from across the street dispersed, Zhou Heng returned to the Longxing Martial Arts Hall.
“Trainer Lin, are you okay?”
Zhou Heng checked Lin Cang’s injuries and found that they weren’t very severe, just painful, with no lasting consequences.
Chen Song hadn’t struck with full force.
However, this didn’t exonerate him, and Zhou Heng’s loathing for him wouldn’t lessen in the slightest.
“I’m fine,” LinCang shook his head, looking at Zhou Heng with a gratified smile. “Good lad, so formidable! Who would have thought two years ago that you would become this powerful.”
Over the past two years, he had personally witnessed Zhou Heng’s growth step by step.
From Zhou Heng’s rudimentary understanding of martial arts to mastering a Ninth Grade technique to perfection and then to truly stepping onto the Ninth Rank and ascending the ranked warrior list, Lin Gang had watched it all. Now reflecting on it, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
A genius indeed!
This is what a genius looks like!
“Now, your ranking on the People’s List has risen again.” Yu He, holding his swollen face, laughed, “Ninth Rank climbing up to the eightieth position, that’s unprecedented, heh, hiss… it hurts!”
As he spoke, he started hopping on one foot, his face bearing the wounds inflicted by Chen Song.
“If it hurts, then talk less.” Zhou Heng smiled and said, “Your face looks pretty bad too. Next time I encounter that Chen Song, I’ll make his face look just like that.”
“Alright, hiss!” Yu He winced in pain as he cheered in agreement.
The surrounding apprentices and trainers couldn’t help laughing at this scene, and the atmosphere immediately became much livelier.
“Master Lin, Yu He, and everyone, focus on healing for now. I have some things to attend to, so I need to make a trip to see the lord of Huangtong Mansion.” Seeing that everyone’s mood had lightened, Zhou Heng got up to take his leave. After Zhou Heng left.
The crowd watched his retreating figure, feeling a sense of admiration.
A golden scale is not common in the pool; once met with a storm, it will transform into a dragon.
The prefectural city yamen.
Meng Xing looked at Zhou Heng approaching and smiled, “I thought Young Master Zhou would be harsher, but I didn’t expect you to let them go just for some money.”
“If I had made them invalids, they would be no use to me.” Zhou Heng chuckled and said, “I still count on them to stir the waters in Yuyang County.”
“Oh?” Meng Xing was initially startled, then realized and said, “Do you think they might head to Yuyang County in search of the rumored treasure that could elevate someone to Sixth Rank?”
“Wasn’t it Headhunter Meng who said they might have come for this reason?” Zhou Heng smiled and said, “At first, they might have been slightly interested, but they might not have really decided to go.
“Now, after this defeat, their desire to increase their strength must be more urgent, and they are likely to go. Even if they don’t, I won’t lose out.”
The rumored treasure in Yuyang County City is suspected to be related to Xuan Yang, a ghost who has lived for thousands of years. The rumor of this treasure might not be without basis either, and could be related to Xuan Yang as well.
If Chen Song and Chen Feihong really go to investigate, they might even reveal some information.
Why not take advantage of that?
“Young Master Zhou has a keen mind that lets nothing slip by,” Meng Xing paid a compliment, as they had by now arrived in front of the study, “Please, young master, the lord has been waiting for a while to discuss matters regarding Wang Tong and Yuyang County.”
“Hmm.” Zhou Heng nodded slightly and pushed the door open to enter.
Night fell.
In a suite at an inn in the North District of Huangtong Mansion City.
Chen Feihong was treating Chen Song’s wounds.
“Sister, are we just going to let this go?” Chen Song said indignantly, his face full of resentment, “I must find an opportunity to kill that Zhou Heng. He relied solely on his weapons to overpower us and had the audacity to be so arrogant. I must kill him!”
“His pair of gloves are sharp weapons, and most likely are not ordinary ones at that. We are no match for him.” Chen Feihong considered for a moment, then said with a grave voice:
“Zhou Heng is taking the entrance examination for Pure Yang Palace. Once he passes, he will be a disciple of Pure Yang Palace, and we won’t be able to kill him. So, we must grow our strength as quickly as possible.”
“Sister, what do you mean?” Chen Song, having a sudden realization, thought of the rumor Chen Feihong had mentioned before.
“Half a year ago, there were rumors that in Huangtong Mansion’s Yuyang County there was a treasure capable of elevating someone to Sixth Rank. We might as well give it a try,” Chen Feihong said seriously:
“If the rumors are true and we can get a share of it, even if we can’t reach Sixth Rank, we should still be able to reach Seventh Rank. By then, even if Zhou Heng has his weapons, he will not be our match!”
“Exactly!” Chen Song, excited by the prospect, said, “Tomorrow morning, we will set off for Yuyang County.”