Chapter 5: Approaching

Pfft—!

Blood sprayed, splashing onto Qin Jiang.

Qin Jiang moved the sickle in his hand with some surprise; the rough blade rubbed against the bone, making a somewhat sharp sound.

It pierced through in one go?

Strength overcomes technique; I'm actually quite strong.

Liu Dahang stared blankly, moving his eyeballs to look at the sickle handle protruding from under his chin, his gaze filled with confusion as he looked at Qin Jiang.

Moonlight shone in from the window, illuminating the lower half of the other party's face. A smile hung on the corner of his mouth, and the few drops of blood splashed on his face made him shudder.

The confusion faded, his pupils constricted to pinpoints, replaced by deep fear.

He covered his neck with both hands, seemingly wanting to block the gushing blood, but his body felt waves of weakness.

"You! *Gurgle~ gurgle~* You! *Hiss~ hiss~~*"

The blood in his throat was squeezed dry by the air exhaled from his chest, making a leaking, hissing sound.

He reached out, wanting to grab Qin Jiang's clothes and ask him why he did this.

But his arm only lifted slightly before falling powerlessly. His body fell unwillingly, hitting the ground heavily, his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at Qin Jiang.

Qin Jiang stared quietly at Liu Dahang, casually wiped the blood droplets splashed on his face, pulled out the sickle, and then fiercely stabbed it into Liu Dahang's temple.

Liu Dahang's body twitched and immediately went stiff, but his eyes stared straight at Qin Jiang.

He pulled out the sickle again, confirmed Liu Dahang was dead, and casually picked up a rag to wipe the red and white blood off the blade.

He squatted down, reached out his index finger to stain it with some of the blood from Liu Dahang's neck, and gently stroked Liu Dahang's lips with his fingertip, leaving a smear of crimson.

"Drinking too much cold water is bad for the body; this one is warm."

After saying that, he gently closed Liu Dahang's eyes.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

A knock on the door suddenly sounded. Qin Jiang raised an eyebrow and directly pulled the quilt over Liu Dahang's corpse.

"Who is it?"

"Little Jiang, it's me. Open the door."

A middle-aged aunt's voice entered the room. Before Qin Jiang could stand up, a middle-aged aunt poked her head in from the window.

"Hm? What's going on?" the aunt asked suspiciously, looking at the quilt scattered on the ground.

"Oh, Zhang Shen, I was sleeping and rolled off," Qin Jiang stood up quickly and walked to the door to open it.

Zhang Shen withdrew her head from the window, holding a bowl in her hand, from which a meaty fragrance wafted.

"Be careful when sleeping. Here, this is meat porridge distributed by Li Yuanwai during the dharma assembly. It's very fragrant."

After saying that, she sniffed, and her eyebrows wrinkled slightly. "What's that smell?"

She poked her head into the room, but in the darkness, she could only see some blurred furniture.

Qin Jiang slightly blocked her line of sight. "Oh, my sister is coming back in a few days, so I killed a pigeon to prepare for it, so it's convenient to eat."

He looked at the blood on his body. "Not very skilled, got it all over me. I'll have to wash up later."

Zhang Shen nodded in understanding. "So Xiao Hong is coming back. Alright, you go ahead."

As she spoke, she pushed the meat porridge in her hand toward Qin Jiang.

"After you finish the porridge, just bring the bowl to me tomorrow."

"Eh, thank you, Zhang Shen."

"Pfft, why be so polite? I've always treated you and Xiao Hong like my own children. Eat quickly, don't let it get cold."

After Zhang Shen left, Qin Jiang looked at the alley; several households had already returned.

He put the meat porridge on the table, walked to the bed, and looked at the bloodstains on the ground.

After hesitating for a moment, he brought a hoe in from the courtyard, temporarily giving up the idea of disposing of the body.

He lifted the quilt, fumbled for a while, and searched out a few pieces of broken silver and some copper coins from Liu Dahang's body.

After thinking, he took a copper coin from his own purse and placed it in Liu Dahang's hand.

*'I said I'd give it to you.'*

He looked at the room, found an empty spot, dug a small pit about a foot deep, then dragged Liu Dahang's corpse over, throwing the head beside the small pit so the blood flowed into it.

Afterward, he went to the water vat in the courtyard to fetch water; he had to clean up the bloodstains first, otherwise, it would be hard to handle once it became sticky.

After about half a quarter-hour, he finished cleaning all this up, then continued digging along the position of the small pit until he dug a deep pit more than a person long. He intended to throw Liu Dahang's corpse in immediately; anyway, it would only be there for a few days, it wouldn't stink.

However, when his hand grabbed the corpse's clothes, he suddenly stopped, then looked at his own tattered hempen clothes. After a pause of a few seconds, he silently stripped off the black cloth clothes from Liu Dahang's body.

They could be altered to wear, but they had to be washed first.

Before long, Qin Jiang buried the naked corpse and pressed the dirt flat with effort.

He took some lime powder from outside and sprinkled it on, then swept it a few times with a broom, and almost no traces could be seen.

He clapped his hands and nodded. Let it be for now; he would dispose of it when he had the chance.

After doing all this, he picked up the meat porridge on the table and tasted it lightly, his eyes lighting up.

Cured meat? It's flavorful! Inheriting the original owner's memories, his body was also involuntarily affected. He had been eating dry rice for half a month and was almost sick of it; his mouth was bland as could be.

However, when he carefully tasted the cured meat, he spat it out fiercely.

"Pfft!"

His eyes became cold and sharp. Good, good, good, a good Li Yuanwai, he really is amazing! I said, how could anyone dare to hold some bullshit dharma assembly in this day and age? It turns out it's this kind of goods! That dharma assembly, it seems, isn't anything good either!

He walked outside, casually poured the meat porridge into the sewer, and then glanced at the pigeon whose wings had been broken.

After thinking for a moment, he took the pigeon and went inside.

"What a shitty place, how come so many people are dying? Doesn't the government care? Or are they all dead? I don't know why they don't use fire to burn them; what if a plague breaks out?"

Outside Black Mountain City, two figures, one tall and one short, looked at the mountain of corpses piled up outside the city. Several dirty figures were rummaging through the pile.

"It's alright, Yuan Prefecture is close to Huai Kingdom, and the war is constant, so this is normal, right?" the tall, thin figure said stutteringly.

"Tsk, good, that way it won't be so troublesome to find." The short, fat figure scraped his chin with the dagger.

"Eh~ do you still remember what that guy looked like?" the tall, thin figure asked.

The short, fat figure disdainfully licked the dagger, then remembered he had just used it to scrape his face, and hurriedly spat.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft, we're no good at fighting, but what's hard about finding someone? That kid is sallow and thin, definitely not a rich person. Let's start looking from the slums."

The tall, thin figure looked up slightly, feigning sudden realization. "Oh~ you're so smart!"

"Hmph, of course! This skill of mine is passed down from eight generations of ancestors!"

Early the next morning, Qin Jiang sat in front of the door, gnawing on a roasted pigeon, wearing the black cloth clothes that had been altered to fit.

The fresh air of the morning opened his appetite, and in two or three bites, he ate the roasted pigeon, meat and bones alike.

He shouldered the herb basket and locked the door.

If possible, he wanted to gather more herbs today, and once he had enough silver, he would apprentice to learn Iron Arm Fist.

With his current strength, he could venture slightly deeper into the inner circle; he should be able to find some valuable herbs.

He went out, walked out of the alley, and after thinking, walked toward City South. That dharma assembly seemed to be held for half a month.

He had to go over and take a look. From that bowl of meat porridge, he knew Li Yuanwai wasn't a good person. In case something went wrong, he would be prepared.

After walking for ten minutes, passing through a dozen rows of buildings, he arrived at a somewhat wide avenue.

Just as he walked into the avenue, he felt an oppressive aura.

Looking around, the street corner where he was located was in the middle of the avenue, and both sides were crowded with large groups of people, all kneeling and bowing toward his right.

Looking at the tattered clothes they wore, he knew they were all people who couldn't even get enough to eat, very likely refugees who had just fled here.

From time to time, they would raise their arms high and let them fall heavily, their expressions carrying an indescribable fanaticism, almost bordering on madness.

Qin Jiang looked to the right. On the small buildings on both sides of the avenue stood some people in yellow cloth clothes, old and young, constantly scattering yellow paper scraps, looking at the crowd below with disdain and greed.

On a certain balcony high up, a person wearing a square cap and black brocade clothes, his body like a ball of meat.

This guy was Li Yuanwai of City South, Li Songzheng.

It was said that he had many industries in the Inner City, but it was unknown why he had always lived in City South.

At this moment, he was sitting comfortably on a rocking chair, eyes slightly closed, sipping tea.

Withdrawing his gaze, his vision passed over the kneeling crowd to a huge dharma platform, which was being carried forward by a dozen strong men in yellow and red vests. The kneeling crowd also retreated backward bit by bit.