Chapter 206: A Bizarre Scene

"As the saying goes, rely on the mountains to eat from the mountains, rely on the water to eat from the water! The Quan Family leans on Wild Boar Mountain, this natural treasure house of medicinal herbs. For the past year or two, they have been providing herbs to the Ximen Family, becoming one of the Ximen Family's stable sources of supply. If it weren't for Tang Wanhong being in a rush for money, this pig that is the Quan Family could actually have been raised fatter before slaughtering!"

Shen Chen said with flickering eyes, reaching out to cover the large chest on the floor in the middle of the Secret Chamber.

In truth, he was also clear that next year was the year for performance reviews, and his elder brother had a deep-seated addiction to officialdom and was single-mindedly focused on promotion. This meant he inevitably had to pull strings everywhere, and since their family was of humble origins, such bloody work could only be done by him, the younger brother!

The moment Shen Chen covered the chest, the few people beside him all let out a long breath. With such immense wealth before their eyes, how could they not be greedy? It was just that they were cowed by Shen Chen's harshness and ferocity, so no one dared to show it.

Shen Chen naturally knew that the group of people he had recruited were not good-natured sorts. Therefore, he used them, but also guarded against them!

"Hu Hong, Zhou Zhong, you two carry the chest up!" Shen Chen turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the two, and said in a deep voice.

Immediately, the two sturdy figures walked over, supported the bottom with both hands, sank their waists and gathered their breath, infused their Internal Breath, and suddenly lifted the large chest!

Shen Chen's gloomy gaze swept across this small Secret Chamber, and with a wave of his hand, he said, "Go!"

The group followed along the stone steps, walking out of the Secret Chamber.

The interior of the Secret Chamber had already been searched once. Although there were a few more chests, they were just account books and silk or cotton cloth, which in Shen Chen's eyes were of no value at all, not even enough to cover the fraction of that chest of gold and jewelry.

The group went up the steps, with Shen Chen standing behind Hu Hong and Zhou Zhong who were carrying the chest, walking in the middle of the line.

Lingering at the very back of the group was a thin man. Seeing that everyone had exited the Secret Chamber, he stood on the few stone steps at the exit, suddenly bent down, and pinched up a small ingot of gold that had been pressed under the sole of his shoe.

He had actually been rolling that ingot of gold with his foot the whole time he was walking.

But just as he grabbed the gold ingot, his eyes lit up, and he prepared to tuck it into his sleeve.

Almost simultaneously, a flying knife flashed in from outside the Secret Chamber entrance, catching the daylight! The flying knife was silent, and at a strange angle, it struck him right between the eyebrows!

Duan Rong was hiding behind the Rockery, his Divine Sense enveloping the area, his Internal Breath infused; with one blade, he blasted a bloody hole in the man's forehead. Gurgling fresh blood gushed out, and within that fresh blood was mixed wisps of milky-white brain matter...

The gold that the thin man had just touched, before he could even clench it, fell to the ground with a clatter and bounced down along the stone steps...

The thin man's face was covered in blood, his eyes hollow, his body swayed, and he fell backward, tumbling down the stone steps...

The thin man was the last person in the group, and he had suddenly made a noise...

The crisp sound of the gold hitting the ground and the dull thud of the body hitting the ground rang out almost at the same time...

The group turned their heads in unison, looking at the entrance of the Secret Chamber on the ground behind them, even Hu Hong and Zhou Zhong, who were carrying the chest horizontally, turned their heads to look there!

"In the Secret Chamber! Something happened?"

Just as the group turned their heads at the sound, Duan Rong suddenly lunged out from behind the Rockery, executing his Small Success Realm Cloud Snake Step, his figure instantly becoming as fast as a ghost!

And a Plum Blossom Afterimage bloomed at his side the moment Duan Rong rushed out from behind the Rockery...

With the perfect moment for a hidden kill and such precise timing, his first killing blow was naturally reserved for the Great Success Realm Shen Chen!

As soon as Shen Chen turned his head, his gaze narrowed, and he looked toward the entrance of the Secret Chamber. His first thought was that there was a problem in the Secret Chamber.

But just as this thought arose, his heart skipped a beat, and the hairs all over his body suddenly stood on end!

Shen Chen was, after all, a Martial Artist who had achieved the Great Success Realm of the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer. The Plum Blossom Willow Leaf Blade shot by Duan Rong was still a few inches from the back of his head, yet he felt that biting intent to kill.

His body suddenly leaned forward, and at the same time, the flying knife grazed past the scalp at the back of his head!

The flying knife passed silently, and a lock of severed hair drifted messily in the sunlight!

Shen Chen felt a chill all over his body. He tilted his head slightly and saw Duan Rong beside the Rockery. The afternoon sun shone from behind Duan Rong, shrouding his whole body in a halo of light. Shen Chen could only see Duan Rong's rapidly flickering figure, but could not clearly see his shadowed face.

He only saw one flying knife after another flying out from that dark shadow!

Shooting toward the crowd!

The moment Shen Chen's body leaned forward, Duan Rong knew that the flying knife had failed to kill Shen Chen.

The moment the crowd turned their heads at the sound, the first knife he shot was the most hidden one!

Once Shen Chen dodged this knife, the subsequent flying knives could not possibly hurt him! After all, he was an expert of the Great Success Realm of the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer!

Since the flying knife could not kill Shen Chen, Duan Rong decided to first deal with these obstructive mosquitoes and flies!

Among these people, all were at the Inner Breath Realm First Layer and Second Layer; before Duan Rong's Plum Blossom Willow Leaf Blade, they were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered!

One plum blossom after another bloomed!

One flying knife after another was shot out!

Duan Rong's figure flickered left and right, the angles of the flying knives were strange, and they claimed lives in silence!

Those dozen or so heads that had turned back in unison—with a flash of daylight, a large bloody hole appeared in the back of every one of their heads.

Hu Hong and Zhou Zhong, who were carrying the chest, felt a sudden chill at the back of their heads. The next moment, they saw that the backs of the heads of the several people in front of them had all exploded with bloody holes, and thick blood mixed with brain matter flowed out!

Shen Chen stood still after turning around, and then he saw the strange scene before him: under the afternoon sun, ten heads were facing the same place in unison, and the backs of their heads were all gurgling with blood...

And only then did the large chest hit the ground with a bang...

And as the large chest fell, those ten figures with bleeding heads fell forward in unison, like wheat blown down by the wind.

Shen Chen only glanced at this side before his eyelids twitched, and he looked at Duan Rong.

He had already seen Duan Rong's realm; although it was the Inner Breath Realm Third Layer, he possessed Lightness Skill and was adept at using hidden weapons. He did not know of such a person in Xiangu County.

Could it be someone passing through?

Shen Chen opened his mouth and said, "Brother, if you are here for wealth, we can split this chest of things in half."

He had never cared for the lives of the brothers under his command, and furthermore, he was not confident he could easily kill the person before him.

The afternoon sun shone on Duan Rong's face from the side, and as he looked at Shen Chen, a look of intense hatred appeared in his eyes.

Duan Rong looked at Shen Chen and said coldly, "I have a use for your life!"

The muscles on Shen Chen's face twitched, and he said, "A Martial Artist of the Small Success Realm, I don't know where you get such arrogance?"

As Shen Chen spoke, he held his Sword and attacked Duan Rong!

The disdain and hatred in Duan Rong's eyes, along with that sentence "I have a use for your life," clearly stung Shen Chen.

Shen Chen was, after all, a Great Success Martial Artist who had achieved the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer, so Duan Rong did not dare to be careless. He flickered his figure, held his Ox-Tail Saber, executed the Cloud Snake Step, and used the Thunder Smoke Saber to tangle with him.

His figure drifted left and right, and the Blade Shadow was like clouds and mist!

Because his Internal Breath was weak, Duan Rong's blade techniques were all feints; his weapon dared not touch Shen Chen's sword edge at all.

Shen Chen did not dare to advance rashly at first, but after testing him a few times, he quickly discovered that Duan Rong's blade techniques were all flashy but unsubstantial feints.

Shen Chen sneered in his heart, his Sword moves becoming fierce, yet Duan Rong retreated step by step, relying on the Cloud Snake Step at the Small Success Realm to barely dodge a killing blow from Shen Chen!

Shen Chen wanted to attack again, but just at this moment, his vision suddenly blurred!

(End of chapter)