Chapter 271: Letters Arrive Announcing a Bounty

"Snap!"

A faint sound of contact.

Zhou You flicked his finger against a broken half of a millstone in the courtyard; white mist enveloped it, covering the stone's surface in the blink of an eye.

A grayish-white color flashed, and suddenly, a dense sound of cracking erupted.

The crisp sound was incessant; the thick, heavy millstone was frozen and shattered on the spot into a pile of rubble, with the coarsest particles being only the size of a finger.

Under such rapid freezing, even stone could not withstand it, let alone a body of flesh and blood.

He retracted his fingertip, a glimmer of cold light flickered a few times before extinguishing, and the chill receded from his body.

The power of the Ice Marrow Finger far exceeded his expectations; he had originally thought the result of hitting a target would just be a layer of ice forming on the surface, turning it into a big lump of ice on the spot.

In actual application, its destructive and ruinous power was far beyond what he had imagined.

All things in the world contain moisture; once they encounter extreme freezing, they expand outward, even forming ice needles and ice thorns.

The consequence was that any target struck by the Ice Marrow Finger, whether animal or plant, would be riddled with holes from ice thorns inside its body.

Even wood and solid stone would be frozen and shattered into a pile of powder on the spot.

Zhou You estimated that if Qi Fengxiao took one finger from him, even if he didn't die, he would lose half his life.

This finger technique was highly targeted, compact and sharp; it was a decisive finishing move for martial artists during combat.

With the Ice Marrow Finger, his second persona, Yan Ping, could no longer be called a blank-slate martial artist.

"No matter how powerful a fist technique or martial skill is, if one cannot control its power, it is just half-full; it is beneficial and harmless to use it in battle."

Zhou You harbored some apprehension toward the Ice Marrow Finger and decided to start practicing by freezing animals without harming their lives.

According to the contents of the Five Blessings Palm and Fist Record, as one's realm improves, the temperature of the Ice Marrow Finger can be adjusted.

In the days that followed, even in the sweltering summer, the household had a steady supply of ice, stored in their own cellar to be used for chilling wine, keeping food fresh, and so on.

When his father ate dinner at night, he would drink a sip of the ice-cold, steaming fruit wine, feeling so satisfied he would slap his thigh.

Zhou You even thought that opening an ice-making business in the future wouldn't be bad, though this thought was just a joke.

"Hmm?"

One day, a letter was delivered to the house from Fucheng, addressed specifically to Zhou You.

Zhou You, full of curiosity, glanced at the envelope; the sender was Li Hao, and he tore it open to read the contents.

"There's such a thing?"

The content of the letter was very simple: he had been placed under a bounty, a formal bounty by the Thousand Faces Hall in Fucheng, with a reward of one thousand taels.

The incident happened 3 days ago.

After Li Hao moved to Fucheng, he and his mother stayed with his uncle's family; that family was very warm, without the slightest barrier or estrangement, treating them as their own kin.

Li Hao quickly hit it off with his uncle's children, becoming 'Brother Hao' in their mouths.

That day, he took his younger cousin out for a stroll and, without realizing it, arrived at the Thousand Faces Hall.

"Brother Hao, everyone who enters and leaves the Thousand Faces Hall is an expert; you are a Qi and Blood martial artist, so you are qualified to go in."

The cousin felt quite regretful, "It's a pity that Father established family rules strictly forbidding us from setting foot in places like the Thousand Faces Hall."

"Your uncle is doing it for your own good; the Thousand Faces Hall takes bounties to kill people. Whether it's the person being hunted or the person collecting the reward to kill, they are all bloodthirsty and murderous villains; one shouldn't provoke them lightly."

After Li Hao arrived in Fucheng, with his uncle's help, he quickly broke through the Qi and Blood barrier and was now at Qi and Blood Stage 1.

He knew well that living under someone else's roof was not a long-term plan, so he secretly looked for ways to make a living; the Thousand Faces Hall was one of his plans. Of course, in front of his cousin, he naturally wouldn't speak of his inner intentions, only persuading him verbally.

The two stood at the entrance of the Thousand Faces Hall, watching the martial artists entering and leaving, all of whom possessed an extraordinary air.

The cousin had grown up in Fucheng and was far more knowledgeable than Li Hao, recognizing many famous experts and pointing them out to him one by one. "Haha, I'm here again."

A burly old man strode into the Thousand Faces Hall, "Any new people posted recently?"

Seeing the old man, the cousin introduced him in a low voice, "Mid-level martial artist Zhang Huaimin, a Gate Guest who was persuaded to leave by a noble family. He recently made a fortune, is wealthy and generous, and is making friends everywhere."

Li Hao took a few extra looks at the old man; a mid-level martial artist and a former noble family Gate Guest—both identities were no small matter.

A martial artist like Zhang Huaimin undoubtedly stood at the top tier of the countless martial practitioners in Fucheng.

His strength was even a few notches higher than his former master, Wang Jianxiong.

"I heard the source of his wealth comes from his sworn brother, Du Yan Lu Zhigang."

Hearing the name Du Yan Lu Zhigang, Li Hao was slightly surprised; it was an old acquaintance.

After Du Yan became famous for killing a flower-picking thief, he disappeared in Gongliang City; only after he moved to Fucheng did he learn that the other party had actually done a few big things in Fucheng as well and was considered somewhat famous.

Du Yan Lu Zhigang, plus a sworn brother who was a mid-level martial artist—ordinary martial artists simply couldn't afford to provoke him!

The Qi and Blood martial artists and low-level martial artists around who were at the Thousand Faces Hall on business were all very polite.

"Master Zhang, the list for this morning hasn't come out yet; are you here to check again?"

Zhang Huaimin nodded, "It's for my sworn brother. I heard a few creditors want to get him and pooled money to put a bounty on him at the Thousand Faces Hall. I want to see it as soon as possible to notify him."

Others heard this and smiled sheepishly, not finding it convenient to respond.

Du Yan Lu Zhigang's Poison Palm left no one alive; he was ruthless and bloodthirsty, and he had poisoned more than one martial artist to death.

His creditors were too numerous to count; if it weren't for the protection of his sworn elder brother, Zhang Huaimin, he would have been dug out long ago.

As a few people chatted, the Thousand Faces Hall's list was updated!

The crowd that had been scattered around suddenly swarmed under the list to see if there were any new names.

As everyone knew, bounties also had a cost-performance ratio; the lower the strength and the higher the reward, the higher the cost-performance ratio.

Under normal circumstances, these were hot commodities and would be snatched up immediately.

Zhang Huaimin squinted his eyes as he scanned the list and, finding no sign of Lu Zhigang's name, nodded with satisfaction.

Those creditors were sensible enough not to truly put a bounty on his brother, Zhang Huaimin.

Suddenly, he saw a new name added to the list: from Gongliang City, Winged Tiger Zhou You, with a reward of ten thousand taels. Seeing this unfamiliar name, he felt a moment of trance, always feeling it was somewhat familiar.

Afterward, he shook his head; it was just an illusion, as he certainly didn't know a junior at the late stage of Qi and Blood.

"What?"

On the other side, Li Hao saw Zhou You's full name appear on the bounty list and was immediately shocked.

Fearing he had misread it, he hurriedly asked his sworn brother, "Read that bounty to me once."

"Gongliang City, 'Winged Tiger' Zhou You, bounty ten thousand taels."

Nickname plus real name, ruling out the possibility of someone with the same name; there was no mistake, it was his sparring partner Zhou You.

A monstrous wave surged in Li Hao's heart; once a bounty from the Thousand Faces Hall was issued, many martial artists who lived off bounties would move at the news.

Ten thousand taels was no small sum; from this day forward, Zhou You would never have a moment of peace and would have to guard against assassination attempts at all times.

"Zhou You, who on earth did you offend?"

Li Hao did not yet know that Zhou You had offended the second young master of the Qi Family, one of the two great noble families of Gongliang City.

Knowing the situation was grave, he immediately turned and found a letter-writing stall, hastily wrote a letter, and sent it off to Gongliang City under the cover of night.

(End of chapter)