Chapter 318: I'll learn!

"I, I am called Bei Shouzhen... I, I am a true-transmission disciple of the Kongming Sect, a disciple of Elder Yunfeng, third in seniority, and the two who died were my senior brothers..."

Bei Shouzhen endured the churning in his stomach, trying hard not to think about his left hand and right leg, which had become bare white bones, and the metallic taste filling his mouth, and said through gritted teeth.

"What was said outside the ruined temple last night about senior elders from the sect rushing over was actually my senior brother bluffing. After we ambushed and injured Shu Qingyi that day, we actually didn't know which direction he had fled in."

"So we pursued in separate directions, and only I and my two senior brothers pursued to this place."

Gao Anyu frowned, looked into the other man's eyes, and said coldly.

"And then?"

Bei Shouzhen hesitated for a moment, and Gao Anyu's long sword was already raised, scaring him pale, and he hurriedly continued.

"We had been following Shu Qingyi for a long time, and we ambushed him for more than half a month to catch him. Before we struck, we even squatted in the latrine for a day and a night. Seeing the duck in our hands fly away, both my senior brothers were unable to let it go."

"We initially planned to find the sect first, bring the sect elders, and then come back to find you all... to reason with you."

Li Miao, who was to the side, sneered.

"But when we were descending the mountain, we happened to run into a woodcutter going up."

"We didn't pay any attention, just brushed past him. But at that moment, I... I took a look at him and discovered that his appearance was five or six parts similar to Shu Qingyi, whom we had just lost!"

"I said, 'Iron shoes are worn out in the search, but it takes no effort to find it.'"

He said while recalling.

"Actually, at first, I just found it funny for a moment, so I let my two senior brothers take a look, just as a self-deprecating joke."

"But unexpectedly, when my senior brother saw the woodcutter's face and heard what I said, he fell silent, and his feet stopped. My second senior brother also stopped."

"The woodcutter saw them surrounding him and was a bit panicked, his feet slipping. The mountain path was already steep, and it had just rained heavily, making it extremely slippery, so he fell to the ground and slid down the mountain path for several yards."

"My senior brother pulled him up, and my second senior brother helped him stand."

"He said thank you."

"He said, 'Many thanks, two heroes.'"

"Then, then the Senior Brother asked him with a smile how he intended to thank him, and with what he would thank him."

"He was stunned, and I was stunned, and then I saw my second senior brother draw his sword. Before I could even make a sound, his head fell off."

"After that, it was returning to the Guangxin Prefecture city, collecting the reward money, and arriving at this place..."

Bei Shouzhen stopped his account.

Li Miao and Zheng Yi showed no reaction, and their expressions didn't change at all. Gao Anyu reached out to cover his mouth, yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

Only Cao Hanyan's face flushed red, his true energy agitated uncontrollably, and his hand gripped the hilt of his blade so tightly that it made a creaking sound.

He spoke in a hoarse voice.

"You, you seem to have distanced yourself quite cleanly... According to your meaning, this was your first time down the mountain, so you didn't know what they had done before; this time, it was also them coercing you, and you didn't make a move from beginning to end."

"Is that right?"

Bei Shouzhen nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, my lord, I have spoken not a single word of falsehood!"

"I was just coerced... I am innocent!"

"Bullshit!"

Cao Hanyan shouted sharply, his face actually flushing red for the first time, and he cursed.

There was no need to mention Gao Anyu and Zheng Yi; even Li Miao was surprised enough to put down his teacup, raising his eyebrows as he looked at this always steady, good-natured man.

Cao Hanyan's anger could not be contained. His long blade was drawn with a *clang*, and he slashed down directly.

A sound of metal shattering rang out, a bundle suddenly exploded, and the reward money collected by the three Kongming Sect members flew everywhere.

"You say you didn't participate, you say you're innocent!?"

"Then this money, this money exchanged for the heads of innocent commoners, do you spend it or not!"

"What was the meaning of the tea you just poured for those two beasts!"

"You are worthy of saying you are clean!?"

Cao Hanyan stepped forward, grabbed Bei Shouzhen by the collar, his eyes wide with rage, staring straight into his eyes.

"Did you ever look at that head, damn you? When you exchanged that head for money, did you look at that person carefully!"

"His face was full of cracks, his ears were full of frostbite, and there were wild animal scratches on his neck! You were at most at the Yin hour when you went down the mountain, and he had already gone up!"

"Ordinary woodcutters go up the mountain in groups at the Mao hour, but he came so early just to cut wood early, return to the city early to sell it, and earn a few more coins!"

"Look at his teeth; he was only in his twenties, but his face had already become that of a forty-year-old!"

"At his age, he might still have an old mother, a wife, and children at home! The livelihood of the whole family was on his shoulders, and he had to go up the mountain alone in the night, risking being scratched by wild animals, just to earn a few more coins!"

With a *thud*, Cao Hanyan slammed Bei Shouzhen onto the table.

"Just to earn a few more coins, he ran into you beasts! You cut off his head and happily went to exchange it for money! And you still talk about 'sudden enlightenment'!"

"You say you are clean!"

"Before he died, he was still calling you 'heroes'!"

Cao Hanyan's eyes were already red.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Miao.

"Great, no, Uncle, when you were teaching Brother Gao just now, you said this method of skinning and tearing flesh was only the first set."

"What is the procedure for the second set, can you teach me?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows, picked up a chopstick from the table, walked to the table, and tapped Bei Shouzhen four times—under the armpit, on the side of the neck, on the collarbone, and on the pelvis.

"Find a few chopsticks and drill them in. True energy is poured in along the chopsticks; the more subtle the true energy, the better the effect, and then continue to insert chopsticks... I thought you didn't want to learn."

Cao Hanyan, with red eyes, shook his head slowly.

"Before, I truly didn't want to learn."

"Before, I would have thought that killing was just a matter of a head falling, and that overly ruthless methods were not the work of the righteous path... I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought that the Jianghu was like the stories Brother Yin told."

"You are right, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is also right. Some people should not die quickly... If punishing evil is not ruthless enough, it is equivalent to suppressing good; the more painful the wicked are, the more the good can rest in peace in the afterlife!"

"Can you wait for me for a moment, and also Aunt Zheng, please wait a moment."

"Brother Gao."

Cao Hanyan raised his head and said to Gao Anyu.

"You come. You and I, let's study this method together!"

Gao Anyu widened his eyes in surprise, walked over quickly, and said with a smile: "Brother Cao!"

"You understand now too! You and I are becoming more and more compatible!"

Cao Hanyan nodded silently, picked up the chopstick Li Miao had left on the table, gritted his teeth, and stabbed it fiercely into the terrified Bei Shouzhen!

Suppressed screams spread along the official road.

A group of Jianghu people were riding horses on their way, and the old man leading them frowned, reining in his horse to intercept a passerby who was coming toward them with a panicked expression.

"Young man, wait a moment. May I ask what happened ahead? Why are you so panicked, and whose blood is on the corner of your clothes?"

The passerby had just been resting at a tea stall when he suddenly saw a head fall to the ground, and he was fleeing in a panic along the official road, his soul still shaken. Seeing that the other party was wearing a long sword at his waist and had the demeanor of a Jianghu person, he was even more terrified and unable to speak.

The old man dismounted and bowed with his hands cupped.

"Young man, do not be afraid. This old man is an elder of the Kongming Sect, following the trail of disciples from within the sect. I just happened to pass by here; I am not a villain from the Jianghu."

"My Kongming Sect is a famous and righteous sect. If you have encountered any injustice, young man, feel free to speak!"

"Punishing evil and promoting good is the duty of my Kongming Sect!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 319 =====