Chapter 3: Iron Arm Fist

The old physician looked at Qin Jiang, then at the sky, which was already growing dim.

"Oh~ it's getting to be night again. That's the one bad thing about practicing the Five Animal Frolics to the third layer: if you don't deliberately control it at night, your body will automatically lower its consumption, leading to some sluggishness."

After finishing, he turned to look at Qin Jiang. "Actually, there's nothing much to pay attention to when going to Daheishan."

"If spirits appear, there will generally be fog. You just need to find a locust tree, sit under it, and wait for the fog to disappear."

After thinking, he added, "Spirits generally don't actively harm people, except for fox spirits. If you see one, rub garlic juice on your face. They don't like eating garlic; it might give you a chance."

Qin Jiang's expression was a bit strange upon hearing this. Garlic juice... so, how exactly did you know all this? "Alright, if there's nothing else, go back and rest. After mastering the first layer of the Five Animal Frolics, your energy will be more vigorous. You must exercise restraint, even if you're using your hands." The old physician warned.

Qin Jiang's face stiffened. "I understand."

Daheishan, under the old locust tree.

Three figures stood before the tombstone, the firelight illuminating the ten-meter radius of the black dense forest.

Leading them was a young master in brocade clothes, holding a landscape folding fan.

Behind him were two figures, one tall and thin, the other short and fat, dressed very plainly, even bordering on slovenly.

The short, fat man was holding a dagger, peeling an apple, while the tall, thin man held a torch, motionless.

The brocade-clad young master listened to the "crunch, crunch" sound of peeling and couldn't help but turn his head, his face filled with anger. "Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Can't you eat it without peeling it, damn it?!"

The short, fat man was stunned. He raised his eyelids to look at the young master, froze for a few seconds, and his gaze shifted back and forth between the apple in his hand and the young master.

He raised his hand and offered the apple to the young master. "It's delicious."

*Hiss—! * The young master looked at the apple, still marked with black fingerprints, and pursed his lips, his forehead wrinkling. "Eat! I told you to eat!"

He slapped the apple away and pointed a finger at the short, fat man's head. "Didn't I tell you to finish him off?! Where is the person?! Tell me, where is the person?!"

The short, fat man looked at the slapped-away apple and then at the now-empty mound. "Clearly, he ran away."

The young master, upon hearing this, hunched his body, put his hands on his hips, tucked his fan into his belt, and couldn't help but pace back and forth.

"I know he ran away, damn it! I'm asking you why he ran! Didn't you finish him off?! Didn't I tell you to finish him off! Finish him off!"

This mission was assigned directly from above; he had to ensure no information leaked out!

Although it was just some unlucky nobody, he still had to ensure he was silenced!

The short, fat man scratched his head with the dagger. "Didn't I finish him off?"

He looked at the tall, thin man beside him. The tall, thin man felt the gaze and tilted his head to look at him. "You did, I saw it."

As he spoke, he even used his hand to gesture a stabbing motion.

"Right? I said I'm a professional, how could I not finish him off?" The short, fat man looked at the young master.

The young master impatiently pointed at the mound. "Fine, fine, fine. I don't care how you did it. Find him, then kill him! Kill everyone who came into contact with him! Understand?"

The short, fat man raised his head slightly. "Understood!"

The young master suppressed his anger and placed his hands on the short, fat man's shoulders. "This time, don't just stab him—cut his head off and bring it to me, okay?"

"No problem. Whatever you say. Don't worry, this time it'll be absolutely fine!" The short, fat man guaranteed.

The young master forced a smile. "Good, I'll wait for your good news."

Just as he was about to turn and leave, the short, fat man suddenly slapped his own forehead, startling him.

Before he could say anything, the short, fat man spoke, "I know! That kid's heart must be on the right side! I said it, how could I have missed?"

As he spoke, he gestured to his right chest with both hands.

The tall, thin man beside him nodded in agreement. "Mm, a rare specimen."

The young master closed his eyes and pressed his right hand against half his face.

So, it was my own brain that was sick to have chosen these two idiots out of so many people.

He shouldn't have believed in any bullshit "eight generations of single transmission"!

"Hurry up and investigate! This batch of goods is no small matter! There must be no mistakes! If there's a problem, you'll all die! All of you will die!!"

Black Mountain City, City North. Qin Jiang walked through several streets, following the route in his memories. Before long, he passed a small alley and looked into the alley entrance; there was only a small courtyard, about forty meters away from the alley entrance.

The courtyard gate was open, and a torch was stuck in the doorframe, illuminating the dim path.

A strong man stood beside the gate, arms crossed over his chest, his bulging muscles pushing against his black cloth clothes.

His expression was cold and hard, carrying an indifference that warned strangers to stay away.

Between the courtyard gate and the path entrance, several thugs in grey cloth clothes leaned against the alley wall, chatting idly.

"Did you hear? Another batch of refugees came from the north. Should we go over and take a look tonight?"

"Why? Did you contact the big shots in the Inner City?"

"Pfft, if you get the goods, there are plenty of people who want them! I just don't know if there are any good ones. I still like the feisty ones; this group of unruly people is too boring."

"You like feisty? Aren't you afraid of being crippled?"

"Heh! You don't take me for a man either? Could I really be crippled by a woman?"

"Ah, right, right, right. Let's do this: let's go over and take a look when it gets darker."

"Fine, no problem. If we pick one, it's their good fortune, and we can be considered as saving a life, right?"

Qin Jiang looked up slightly toward the courtyard. Because it was already dark, he could only vaguely see human shadows standing in the courtyard, seemingly striking something.

He tightened his collar, clutched the copper coins traded for herbs in his palm, and walked away quickly.

This was the purpose of him gathering herbs to trade for money.

In Black Mountain City, there were actually quite a few people like him who practiced the Five Animal Frolics or a style or two of scattered martial arts.

In this chaotic world, as long as one was a person, they would learn some means of self-protection if they had the chance.

But people like them couldn't really be considered true martial artists.

In the entire Black Mountain City, especially the Outer City, there weren't many true martial artists, and those who could teach martial arts like the owner of that courtyard were even rarer.

Iron Arm Fist—the name sounded very ordinary, and in reality, it was indeed quite ordinary; it couldn't be considered a profound martial art at all.

But this was one of the only two places in City North that taught martial arts for money.

As for the other, it taught Soft Thread Palm, which didn't suit him.

The registration fee for learning martial arts was twenty taels of silver, or twenty thousand copper coins, which could be said to be very expensive. Ordinary families in Black Mountain City couldn't save that much in a year or two.

After all, not everyone was like him, able to identify herbs and having the guts to go to Daheishan.

Leaving the Iron Arm Fist courtyard, he walked for a while longer and arrived at a dilapidated small path. This was already near the edge of City North, considered a slum.

On both sides of the road were low earthen houses, and the courtyard walls were simple fences stuck into the ground; one didn't even need to look up to see inside the courtyards.

He walked to the end of the path to an earthen courtyard, pushed open the wooden gate, and walked in. On one side, chives were planted, and on the other, pigeons he had caught were being raised.

There was no need to worry about anyone stealing them; the gate wasn't locked anyway, and people would just push it open to take things.

He walked to the door, took out his key, opened the door, and pushed it open. A musty smell rushed toward him, and the damp aura made his body feel like it was covered in a layer of glue.

He went to the bed, pulled out a wooden box from underneath, and opened it. Inside were many sundries, and about a hundred copper coins were placed in the corner.

This was to confuse any potential thieves.

He put down the herb basket, took off the sickle, used the blade to pry open a gap on the edge of the box, and took out the copper coins from his bosom, stuffing them in one by one. After stuffing about a hundred or so, it was full.

The gap in this box could hold about two thousand coins, or two taels of silver.

This was also to confuse thieves.

He stood up, looked around, sealed the only window, and after closing the door, lit the candle that only had half a section left in the room.

He crawled under the bed and stuck the sickle blade about two inches into the dirt.

He pried with effort and lifted a stone slab. Beneath the slab was a pit about a foot long and wide, scattered with a few pieces of broken silver and piles of copper coins—at least four or five thousand coins.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 4 =====