28: Chapter 28 Kill

After killing the Masked Man, Lin Tian stood where he was, panting heavily.

The wound on his left arm was still bleeding, staining his clothes red. His heart hammered violently in his chest, thumping loudly, as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

He looked down at his own hands.

These hands had just killed a man.

A moment later, his breathing gradually steadied. He squatted down and began to search the Masked Man's corpse.

He first pulled off the face mask, revealing the face of an ordinary middle-aged man with rough skin, high cheekbones, and an age of about forty. He looked closely for a few moments, confirming he had never seen this person before.

He continued searching.

From the man's chest pocket, he pulled out seven taels of silver shards and several small packets wrapped in oil paper. There was also a waist medallion with a flame pattern engraved on it.

Liehuo Martial Arts Hall.

Lin Tian stared at the waist medallion for a few breaths before tucking it away.

He looked at the corpse again, grabbed the collar, and dragged it deep into the woods by the roadside, dumping it behind a bush. Wild dogs and beasts would take care of the traces.

After finishing all this, Lin Tian returned to the road, picked up his scattered bundle, and patted the dirt off it.

He stood there, looking in the direction of Lin Family Village.

After a moment of silence, he turned and walked toward Heishan City.

He wouldn't return to the village.

Going back now would only bring danger to his father, mother, and little sister. Since the other party dared to intercept him on the road, they might also be watching Lin Family Village.

He had to find out who wanted to kill him first.

Returning to Sifang Pavilion, Lin Tian found Manager Zhou and handed over the items he had bought along with the seven taels of silver:

"Manager Zhou, I must trouble you to have someone send these items back to Lin Family Village, along with a letter."

Seeing the blood on his sleeve, Manager Zhou's expression changed: "Young Master Lin, what happened to you..."

"I ran into some trouble." Lin Tian didn't elaborate. "Just make sure the items are delivered. I've written in the letter that I won't be returning for a few months."

Manager Zhou nodded without asking further questions and took the items to make arrangements.

Lin Tian returned to the backyard, closed the door, and let out a long sigh.

He sat on the edge of the bed and laid out the items he had searched from the Masked Man on the table.

Seven taels of silver, three packets of medicinal powder, and one waist medallion.

He didn't recognize the medicinal powder, but he recognized the waist medallion—Liehuo Martial Arts Hall.

Lin Tian stared at the flame pattern, his mind quickly flashing through the experiences of these past few days.

The black-clad man who caused trouble, Liuli Pavilion, Liehuo Martial Arts Hall...

He recalled what Manager Zhou had said: "Liuli Pavilion is an industry under Liehuo Martial Arts Hall."

That day he had beaten the troublemaker and ruined Liuli Pavilion's plan. The next day, someone had intercepted him on the road.

The timing matched.

But that wasn't the only possibility.

He had also offended Sun Hao and snatched the job from Sifang Pavilion. Sun Hao's father was an Elder of the martial arts hall, and the Sun family had some influence in Heishan City. If they held a grudge and sought revenge, it was also possible.

Lin Tian leaned against the bedpost and closed his eyes.

The Sun family? Liehuo Martial Arts Hall? Or someone else?

It was unclear.

But he knew one thing—he had to be careful when leaving the city in the future.

At least for these next few months, he would stay within Heishan City first. Fighting was strictly prohibited in the city; no matter what conflicts there were between the martial arts halls, they wouldn't dare to act openly. Staying at Sifang Pavilion should be safe.

The next day, Lin Tian opened the packets of medicinal powder.

He tried to distinguish them for a long time but only recognized one—it was powder for body strengthening soup, which could be drunk after being mixed with water.

He didn't recognize the other two packets.

Lin Tian took the medicinal powder to find Manager Zhou.

Manager Zhou took them, looked at them, smelled them, and smiled:

"This is hemostatic powder for external injuries. Sprinkled on the wound, it can stop bleeding and regenerate flesh. This one is for internal use, called Bone Knitting Soup; drink this if your bones are injured, and it can speed up healing."

He glanced at Lin Tian: "Is Young Master Lin injured?"

"Just a scratch." Lin Tian nodded and took the medicinal powder.

No wonder the Masked Man carried these things with him—people who frequently did such dirty work often got injured, so they naturally kept medicine on hand.

He asked again: "Manager Zhou, where in the city can one buy medicinal herbs for Cultivate?"

Manager Zhou said: "Our Sifang Pavilion sells them. What does Young Master Lin want?"

"Something to increase Qi and blood, something cheaper."

Manager Zhou thought for a moment: "There is Qi Increasing Soup; it can increase Qi and blood. The effect isn't as good as Lingzhi, but it's cheap. One portion is one tael of silver."

One tael of silver per portion.

Lin Tian touched the seven taels of silver in his pocket.

This was money obtained from his first time killing someone. He was silent for a moment, then took out the seven taels of silver:

"I'll take seven portions."

Seven portions of Qi Increasing Soup, wrapped in oil paper, were piled on the table.

Lin Tian picked up one portion, opened it, and the medicinal powder was grayish-brown with a pungent smell. He followed the method Manager Zhou described, mixed it with warm water, and drank it in one gulp.

The medicinal soup entered his stomach and quickly turned into a wave of warmth, spreading throughout his body. He could feel his Qi and blood slowly increasing. Although not as rapid as Lingzhi, it was indeed effective.

One portion of Qi Increasing Soup could roughly double the growth rate of his Qi and blood.

In other words, taking one portion meant one day of practice was equivalent to two days.

Good stuff.

Lin Tian looked at the remaining six portions and calculated in his heart.

His salary of eight taels of silver a month could only buy eight portions if he used it all on Qi Increasing Soup. Eight portions would last eight days; the remaining twenty-plus days would have to rely on slow, grinding effort.

If he could drink Qi Increasing Soup every day, a month would be worth two months—how fast would his Cultivate speed be?

Unfortunately, he had no money.

Lin Tian sighed and put away the remaining medicinal powder.

Poor scholars and rich martial artists—the ancients did not deceive me.

He looked at the seven taels of silver again—this was blood money. Using this money to buy medicine to Cultivate felt a bit awkward. But on second thought, the other party wanted to kill him, and he killed them in return; it was only right and proper. He would consider this money as compensation.

At worst, he would just kill more people who wanted to kill him in the future.

Lin Tian shook his head, suppressed this thought, and began to practice his fists.

In the following days, Lin Tian never left Sifang Pavilion again.

Every day, he woke up before dawn and practiced the Five Elements Stance. He practiced the Metal Element Fist in the morning, the Wood Element Fist in the afternoon, and continued practicing the Five Elements Stance at night. When he was tired, he would drink a portion of Qi Increasing Soup, let the medicinal power dissolve, and continue practicing.

[Five Elements Stance proficiency + 1]

[Metal Element Fist proficiency + 1]

[Wood Element Fist proficiency + 1]

The System's notification sound rang day after day.

Seven portions of Qi Increasing Soup were used up after seven days. Lin Tian went to collect his salary again, bought eight portions, and continued to Cultivate.

His strength was steadily improving.

What he didn't know was that at this moment, Liehuo Martial Arts Hall was in an uproar.

Liehuo Martial Arts Hall, Council Hall.

The Grand Elder sat in the main seat, his expression terrifyingly gloomy.

A man in gray stood below, bowing his head, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"What did you say?" The Grand Elder's voice was cold. "Consultant Liu is dead?"