Chapter 48 Sinister

"I misjudged you; you are a master indeed," the burly man in black said with a grim smile.

"When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured. We have no grudge or enmity between us; why not stop here and go our separate ways?" Chen Mu put away his smile and said calmly.

The burly man frowned slightly, casting a sidelong glance toward the nearby Lesser East Mountain.

Just now, Lu Jin had fought desperately to fire a signal arrow.

He suspected this was a secret communication signal between Lu Jin and Qingfeng Temple.

"I cannot linger here for too long!"

Thinking of this, the burly man took two steps forward. "If you report this to the yamen afterwards and bite back at me, wouldn't that leave endless trouble?"

Sensing the other's hesitation, Chen Mu immediately intensified his persuasion. "We don't know each other at all; how could we harbor a groundless enmity?"

"Even if someone comes looking to me about you later on, the only information I can give is the direction you left in."

Chen Mu stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Once you cross the bridge, you have countless paths to choose from. The information I provide might even serve as a misdirection."

The burly man was instantly tempted, sliding his left-handed saber back into the scabbard at his waist. Gripping his saber solely with his right hand, he stepped sideways and pointed at Chen Mu. "A gentleman's word!"

Chen Mu let out a long sigh of relief. Having beaten Chief Constable Lu half to death and captured him, the burly man possessed formidable strength. It was best not to fight if it could be avoided.

He immediately stepped forward, raised his right hand, and swore an oath to the heavens. "A swift horse needs no whip!"

"Ha, good!" The burly man was overjoyed.

A smile appeared on Chen Mu's face as he cupped his hands in a salute. "May we never meet again!"

"Then let us part ways here?" the burly man smiled.

"Part ways," Chen Mu echoed with a smile.

"Then let's go." The burly man made a show of turning around.

"After you!" Chen Mu wore a humble expression.

"Alright, I'll go first then." The burly man smiled amiably.

*Self-Sacrificing Slash!*

He suddenly lunged forward, his left hand, hidden behind his back, violently whipping outward.

His arm was like a whip, and the short saber was the whip-tip.

Tremendous force was applied to the hilt, accelerated by the scabbard.

*Swoosh!*

The short saber seemed to teleport, crossing a distance of four meters out of nowhere, and abruptly materialized on Chen Mu's right side.

*Clang!*

A short sword appeared, intercepting the trajectory of the short saber.

The tip of the sword precisely struck the edge of the blade.

*Sword in the Sleeve!*

"Ha, I knew it! I harbor no intent to harm others, yet others harbor intent to harm me!" The burly man stared fixedly at Chen Mu.

"You're in cahoots with Lu Jin, aren't you?" The burly man wore an expression of sudden realization.

"You misunderstand—"

"Indeed! This world is treacherous, and there isn't a single good person!" the burly man roared, his face filled with grief and indignation!

"The world grants me only malice, so I shall repay it with a sharp blade!" the burly man roared frantically. "To kill lives is to protect life! To sever karma is not to kill men! Ah, ah, ah..."

*Demon-Sealing Slash!*

Rolling waves of blade light formed a net, fiercely enveloping Chen Mu.

"You villain! Shatter! Shatter into pieces! Hahahaha..."

Chen Mu: "..."

*Puff!*

A burst of bright red mist appeared out of thin air, rushing fiercely toward the burly man's face.

The burly man's eyes, nostrils, and mouth were instantly assaulted by the red mist.

Caught off guard, his web of blade light almost collapsed entirely.

Yet the burly man managed to strongly resist the urge to rub his eyes. Exerting even more force with both arms, his blade light grew three points fiercer!

The muscles in his legs pumped blood, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

Disregarding his vanished vision, he leaped into the air with his eyes closed and fiercely charged at Chen Mu.

Yet the moment he was airborne, a heavy wave of drowsiness suddenly struck him.

The web of blade light stalled for a split second.

*Whoosh!*

As if rehearsed countless times, an iron lotus seed arrived right on schedule, like a nimble swallow, piercing straight through a flaw in the web of blade light.

Swathed in a swirling current of air, it burrowed into the burly man's right eye and pierced straight through to his brain.

*Thud!*

Chen Mu stood in the center of the arched bridge, standing indifferently.

Expressionless, he watched the burly man's head tilt backward, watched his body flip over, and watched him crash onto his back, falling completely silent.

Glancing briefly at the head of the bridge to confirm that Lu Jin remained unconscious, Chen Mu turned around and vanished silently from the spot.

He had no intention of killing Lu Jin, but he wouldn't save him either.

What the burly man had said was actually not far from the truth.

The world is treacherous!

Kindness does not always yield a good reward.

He had no desire to get entangled in trouble.

Besides, this stone bridge was the only mandatory path leading to Qingshan County.

Someone would eventually find Lu Jin.

Whether he lived or died depended on his own luck.

...

Half a quarter of an hour later, on the stone bridge.

Cheng Yi crouched down to inspect Lu Jin's injuries.

"He's not dead yet." Cheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head. "Though he's crippled."

After a flurry of pressing and probing, Lu Jin slowly regained consciousness.

Seeing Cheng Yi, a glimmer of hope instantly flashed in his eyes, and he said in a thread-thin voice, "Save me..."

Cheng Yi looked toward Feng Ren.

Lu Jin laborlessly shifted his gaze, his pupils involuntarily contracting.

Cheng Yi said calmly, "If Master were still around, and you weren't certain you could manipulate the two of us as master and disciple, how could you have helped us kill people to harvest their internal organs?"

"Feed him two Five-Qi Pills," Feng Ren glanced at Lu Jin and said indifferently.

Lu Jin's face was instantly filled with gratitude.

The Five-Qi Pills could be considered miraculous medicine.

They could stimulate vital energy and accelerate cultivation.

They could enhance life potential and quicken the healing of injuries.

These master and disciple still need me!

Right, that scholar!

They need to find five people with special destinies to refine pills. That scholar is my bargaining chip!

Lu Jin's heart relaxed.

"He took five Five-Qi Pills in succession earlier, and his life potential is nearly exhausted. If he takes two more, it might drain him completely. Even if his injuries heal, he won't live for more than a few days." Cheng Yi frowned slightly.

Lu Jin froze completely.

Drained of life potential, sucked dry, not living for more than a few days...

Weren't the Five-Qi Pills precious medicines to replenish life potential?!

Lu Jin stared in absolute horror at Feng Ren and his disciple.

"Waste utilization." Feng Ren glanced sideways at Lu Jin. "Force out all his life potential, harvest his five internal organs, and sacrifice them to refine the Heartless Bell."

"Understood," Cheng Yi realized.

Lu Jin instantly felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

...

"Master, will we be exposed?" Cheng Yi looked at the burly man's corpse and said worriedly.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Feng Ren pondered.

"Then..." Cheng Yi grew somewhat anxious.

"It's not a major issue." Feng Ren thought for a moment and said, "Lu Jin doesn't know much anyway."

"Right! Even if someone investigates, their focus will be on the murder and pill refinement." Cheng Yi instantly calmed down.

"Still, we cannot let our guard down," Feng Ren said gravely. "Tomorrow, notify Li Qing and have him urge the laborers to speed up the construction of the altar."

"Alright," Cheng Yi nodded.

Feng Ren flicked the toe of his shoe, kicking the burly man's corpse like a cloth doll into the Bailang River.

He glanced at Lu Jin, who was lying on the ground, twisting and writhing his body in an attempt to escape.

Feng Ren said coldly, "Take him and return to the temple."

"Yes." Cheng Yi stepped forward, grabbed Lu Jin's belt, and hoisted him up.

"Five people... the fifth person..." Lu Jin said in a thread-thin voice, using every ounce of his strength.

Cheng Yi halted his steps and looked at Feng Ren. "Master, we've found four human cauldrons; we're still missing the final one."

"Pay him no mind; I have a backup candidate," Feng Ren said without turning his head.

Lu Jin instantly plunged into despair.

...

The setting sun cast its glow as Chen Mu sat in a bamboo chair.

A black earthenware pot sat upon a red-clay brazier before him.

Tongues of fire licked the bottom of the pot, and bubbling white steam drifted from the rim of the lid.

Chen Mu stared at the glowing red hearth, adjusting the intensity of the fire from time to time.

"My heart has grown cold as well."

Just over a year ago, he had been a timid corporate slave harboring kind intentions.

Though he would never achieve great accomplishments, he wouldn't cause any major harm either.

Now, he could easily end a human life without the slightest ripple in his heart.

Thinking of the burly man, Chen Mu sighed.

"Why can't we live in peace? Why can't one simply be a good person?"

"You always force me to resort to killing."

"It is precisely these wicked people who make my heart grow harder, colder, and increasingly disgusted with this world."

Chen Mu picked up the earthenware pot lid and added the sliced, de-boned fish meat.

An enticing aroma went straight to his nostrils.

"Mhm... fragrant!"