Chapter 68: Entrusting the Wife and Offering the Child: External Technique of Qi and Blood

"Beast, a beast that hasn't shed its wild nature."

Ignoring the rules and striking with such cruelty—if that isn't a beast, what is?

The disciples of Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall were filled with shock and rage.

Wu Yanyi was an Inner Courtyard Disciple; although he was the weakest in strength, he was still a fellow apprentice who had bowed to the master to learn boxing, yet he had met such an end.

Holding back is one thing, but once a life is lost, the nature of the matter changes.

The martial arts hall could not allow a student to be beaten to death on its own grounds; otherwise, anyone could come and trample on them later, and they might as well throw away their signboard.

Everyone's gaze turned toward Wang Jianxiong, waiting for him to speak.

"Mao Laoliu, I've had a death on my side; what do you have to say?"

Wang Jianxiong's face was as sunken as water, showing no signs of anger.

Mao Laoliu spoke up hurriedly, "Death and injury are inevitable in martial arts duels. Mao Lang has only recently begun learning boxing and doesn't know how to pull his strength yet. It was an accidental killing, an unintentional act."

He explained, his head covered in sweat, "Wang Laohu, it really wasn't intentional to make you lose face."

"You saw it too; this child cannot control his bloodlust, and I am also trying to find ways to teach him."

Wang Jianxiong tapped his fingers lightly on the back of his chair, looked back at Wu Yanyi on the ground, and shook his head.

His peripheral vision swept to the nearest person, Zhou You, and he lifted his chin, "Zhou You, take Wu Yanyi back to his room and prepare."

Prepare for what? Naturally, for his funeral.

Zhou You looked around; he had the lowest seniority, so it was only right for him to do this dirty work.

He bent down to pick up Wu Yanyi, trying his best to lift him upward to prevent the mangled internal organs from spilling out of the abdominal cavity.

With only half a body left, he felt very light in his arms, and Wu Yanyi let out a groan.

"Take me back to my room; I cannot die outside."

To have no roof over one's head and breathe one's last in broad daylight is known locally as a "violent death," which is considered a sinister and inauspicious way to pass.

Zhou You carried Wu Yanyi back to his room, only to find that the bleeding from the wound had stopped.

As a Qi and Blood Disciple, Wu Yanyi still had a few tricks up his sleeve, using his Qi and Blood to compress the wound and stop the bleeding.

However, the severe injuries—damaged internal organs and a mangled lower body—could not be healed no matter what.

His life was slipping away, bit by bit...

"Senior Brother Wu, do you have any other instructions?"

Wu Yanyi sighed softly, "Go out and see, is anyone else coming?"

There was no one; inside and outside the room, there were only the two of them.

The Inner Courtyard Disciples of the martial arts hall were all currently accompanying Wang Jianxiong.

Wang Jianxiong was still negotiating with Mao Laoliu, demanding more benefits from the other party.

"No one is coming, truly no one. Master, how cold and indifferent you are?"

"Even if I, Wu Yanyi, am not talented, I am still a disciple who has kowtowed to you. Do you really look down on me that much?"

Wu Yanyi pointed to the drawer by the bedside, "Take out the ebony box inside for me."

The ebony box was opened. Inside were 10 gold bars and a stack of documents and contracts.

"Junior Brother Zhou, I am going to die; help me handle some of my affairs."

"The martial arts hall will be responsible for my funeral arrangements, so you don't need to worry about that, but there is no one to look after my wife and child after I die."

"These 10 gold bars are my savings; 1 bar is 10 taels, totaling 100 taels."

Wu Yanyi's face was pale, a deathly gray hue showing beneath his translucent skin, and the stench of rotting organs wafted from the severed opening of his abdomen.

He coughed twice, "I broke through the Qi and Blood barrier using an External Technique; I am an anomaly among the Inner Courtyard Disciples."

"Because of that, my foundation was damaged, and I have spent years taking medicine and tonics, so I haven't saved much wealth."

Zhou You thought to himself that Qi and Blood Disciples were truly extravagant; even without saving much, he still had 100 taels of gold.

These 10 gold bars were enough to exchange for over 1,000 taels of silver; it was the largest sum of wealth Zhou You had ever seen.

"Here are also the property deeds for two shops, which collect 300 taels in rent every year."

Zhou You thought, are you showing off your wealth to me?

He had to admit that the channels for Qi and Blood Disciples to accumulate wealth were much easier than for ordinary people.

Wu Yanyi did not come from a high background either; he was a child of a Commoner in the city, and only began to prosper after joining the martial arts hall.

The two shops collecting rent were a steady source of income regardless of the weather, and combined with other occasional earnings, he lived a very comfortable life.

As he said, medical expenses and medicine were the biggest costs, and he still had to support his family, yet he had still managed to save 100 taels of gold.

"These property deeds and gold bars can only be kept while I am alive; once I die, they will be a source of disaster."

Wu Yanyi pushed the gold bars directly toward Zhou You, "Junior Brother Zhou, I have to trouble you with one thing."

He acted without hesitation, giving all 10 gold bars to Zhou You.

"Needless to say, the property deeds will definitely be taken over by the martial arts hall after I die, as a tribute to the Master."

"The Big Senior Brother will take over the shops, and since he is busy with affairs, there is no need to trouble him with my private matters."

"No one cares about liquid assets, but my wife is weak and my child is young; holding onto such heavy wealth will only invite disaster, so I can only entrust it to you, Junior Brother Zhou."

Zhou You did not want to agree; although gold was good, he did not want to get involved in the martial arts hall's disputes.

As a Qi and Blood Disciple, the fact that no one was by his side before he died showed that the so-called camaraderie was just empty talk.

"Junior Brother Zhou, I am dying, and no one cares about me; I can only ask you for help."

"Please find a way to send my wife and child back to her maiden home; the property deeds go to the martial arts hall, and the gold goes to you."

Wu Yanyi's expression was earnest, "You and I have a connection; you must help me with this."

The implication was that not a single cent would be left for his wife and child.

This Senior Brother saw things clearly: without his martial protection, wealth would only become the root of trouble.

Therefore, he arranged for his wife and children to return to her maiden home, leaving behind the troubles of Gongliang City.

At the thought of him saying that his property would be swallowed up by the martial arts school after his death, Zhou You felt very heavy-hearted.

It is said that when a fierce tiger gives birth to offspring, it will pick the weakest one and throw it out of the den, leaving it to be hunted and eaten by wild beasts.

This cruelty is to ensure that the strong offspring obtain enough food to grow up healthy and robust.

Wu Yanyi, as an abandoned Inner Courtyard Disciple, is his fate not the same as that of a sickly tiger cub?

Zhou You's heart was heavier than ten gold bars at this moment, and he swore he would never end up with the same fate.

"Senior Brother Wu, my father works at a trading firm; he can entrust the caravan to take your family back to your hometown on their way, so you don't need to worry about that."

Wu Yanyi nodded upon hearing this, "Not bad, the caravan guards are thorough and safe, and there is strength in numbers; you are very thoughtful."

He narrowed his eyes, his cheeks turned bright red, and his body temperature rose sharply; these were signs of a high fever.

After settling the matters that weighed on his mind, his body completely collapsed, and he burned with a delirious fever.

"Master, I am dying, why won't you look at me even once!"

"Hatred, I hate that I shouldn't have taken a shortcut back then, ruining my whole life."

"Junior Brother Zhou, you are hoping for me to die early, aren't you? You also don't want to stay by my side, a jinxed dying man, and want to go accompany Master to curry favor with the old man, is that it or not?"

"It's useless, in the old man's eyes, there are only the strongest and most outstanding Disciples."

"You are currently at the Jinli Level; when you encounter the barrier of the Blood-Qi Pass in the future, it is hard to guarantee you won't make the same choice as I did."

"I am going to die, but the External Technique to break through the Blood-Qi Pass must not be lost; come over here and listen carefully."

Cursing, nagging, begging, complaining—after all the noise, it returned to silence.

Zhou You stood before the cooling corpse, his eyes showing neither sorrow nor joy.

The life of an Inner Courtyard Disciple had just come to an end before him; in the end, life was unexpectedly this lonely.

Before Wu Yanyi died, he told him the secret method for using external force to break through the Blood-Qi Pass.

Whether this act was out of kindness or malice, since the person was already dead, the answer could no longer be asked.