Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: Windfall, Overnight Riches

However, his decision to act was not impulsive.

In fact, even before he made his move, he had Tian Xiaohu spend an entire day gathering clear information about Wang Qiyao's background.

A distant collateral of the Wang family, he had practiced martial arts but lacked innate talent and had insufficient Qi-blood.

His family had been in decline since his grandfather's generation.

When he was very young, he had managed to secure a job at the Song family's restaurant through his family's only remaining connections, and now, after twenty years, he had become the manager of Wanfeng Building.

He was stingy and ungenerous, bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

He wasn't very influential in the county town either, though he did have some connections with local gangs.

As for backing from above, at best he was supported by the Shopkeeper of Wanfeng Building, who had no real ties to the Song family.

Lately, he had been collecting mountain delicacies in hopes of connecting with the Song family to further his career.

There were six or seven managers at Wanfeng Building, each overseeing different matters.

One more of him made no difference, one less of him the same.

In the eyes of important figures, he was just a slightly capable beast of burden.

Given such circumstances, he couldn't really be blamed.

Although insignificant in the eyes of influential figures, to these hunters, Wang Qiyao was a big-shot, his word could determine their life or death.

If he couldn't obtain the so-called mountain delicacies by spring, there was no telling what kind of trouble Wang Qiyao might stir up in his efforts to climb higher.

The King of Hell is easy to meet, but a little ghost is troublesome.

It was better to eliminate the problem once and for all.

When he went to ambush his home, Shen Qing also took the opportunity to dispatch his servant and his wife and children along the way.

"There's no other way, killing Wang Qiyao there was only one chance.

If they were alive, I wouldn't have been able to act.

Even if they don't recognize me, but what if they do.

I have killed the pillar of their family, they would definitely try to track me down for revenge, and that would be another problem.

It's better to eliminate any future threats.

After all, killing one is murder, killing an entire family is still murder, there's no essential difference.

Besides, with Wang Qiyao's background, if he were to die, his family's fate wouldn't be much better anyway; they would be better off dead."

Shen Qing muttered to himself as he sprinted.

The neighborhood where the Wang family lived was a maze of alleyways, making it easy for Shen Qing to escape.

Finding a deserted spot, Shen Qing quickly changed out of the cloth wrapped around his face and servant's clothes, throwing them into a dried well.

Afterward, before the curfew officially began, he hastened his pace and made a quick round through the town to cover his tracks before returning to the inn.

In the guestroom of the inn,

Shen Qing pulled out a fire stick and lit the wick of a candle.

The dim candlelight slowly flickered and rose in the guestroom.

Shen Qing put away the fire stick and took out the package he had pilfered from Wang Qiyao's house, placing it on the table.

Upon opening it, it contained silver bracelets, gold notes, jewelry, silver, and other valuables.

He estimated that it was almost forty taels of silver.

To know, in Hongshan Village, an ordinary hunter would earn about fifty wen in a day.

These forty taels were a substantial amount of money for Shen Qing.

Adding what he had snagged from Old Ba Zi that morning, it amounted to a total of sixty taels.

He had truly become rich overnight.

"I never thought that the first windfall of my life would come this way,"

Shen Qing felt quite emotional.

Earlier today, when I went to Wang Qiyao's house, it was mainly to commit murder, and time was quite tight.

Therefore, the items he had gathered were only a part of Wang Qiyao's family wealth.

There were still some leftovers he didn't have time to gather, and he could only give up on them.

Actually, Shen Qing was a bit perplexed.

Initially, he had simply wanted to get rich through hunting labor, and he didn't understand why it had turned into the current situation.

"Sigh..."

Shen Qing took a deep sigh, packed up everything, and lay down on the bed to sleep with a blanket over his head.

Having been tossed around all day, his body and spirit were both very tired.

He soon fell into a deep sleep, slept through until dawn, and felt very solid.

Usually an early riser, he woke up to find it was already broad daylight.

Shen Qing comfortably stretched and tidied up a bit before walking out of the guest room.

Tian Xiaohu and Shen Xiaohu had been waiting in the hall for a long time.

The two of them subtly had started to see Shen Qing as their leader and both looked over together.

Shen Xiaohu stood up and asked, "Brother Qingzi, what's our plan for today?"

"Today, we'll stay at Linfeng Hall until the afternoon Shen Hour, and then we'll leave," Shen Qing finished speaking and turned to Tian Xiaohu, "When we go to train in martial arts, it'll be tough for you to wander around the town alone. Wait for us afterward."

Shen Qing had already given quite a lot of money to Tian Xiaohu, who wasn't in a rush to return to the mountains to hunt, so he easily agreed.

The group left the inn, checked out, and headed towards Linfeng Hall.

Considering the bloodstains on his body, before entering Linfeng Hall, Shen Qing went alone to a tailor shop and had a new suit made to fit him.

As the old saying goes, a Buddha depends on gold attire, a person depends on clothing.

After changing into a new set of clothes, along with Shen Qing's already pleasant appearance, it made him look like a transformed person.

Both handsome and spirited.

Today, with Ouyang Tiezhu not in the inner courtyard, Shen Qing practiced his movement techniques alone with the Wooden Dummy, quietly enhancing his skill in the cultivation technique.

...

After Shen Qing and his brother went to Linfeng Hall to train in martial arts, Tian Xiaohu, somewhat bored, roamed around the town.

Eventually, he found himself near Pinghe Square.

At that moment, he saw many government officers coming and going in Pinghe Square, and faintly heard the crying of many women.

Curious, Tian Xiaohu approached and was immediately stunned.

Was this not the Wang Qiyao house he had investigated yesterday? Why were so many government officers gathered here, even the Guardian Martial Department had come?

Tian Xiaohu asked a nearby old lady, "Old lady, what's happening here?"

A nervous neighbor lady said, "Didn't you know? The manager of the Wanfeng Building's family was victim to a feud yesterday, the whole family of five was killed, annihilated."

Tian Xiaohu felt his mind explode like a volcano, suddenly bursting.

His throat felt dry, unable to speak.

The neighbor lady rambled on, "Now that his family's all dead and no close relatives remain, his clan cousins are popping up, hypocritically crying for half a day."

"I saw the shopkeeper from Wanfeng Building came to take a look, said nothing, and just left. I don't know how they will handle it afterward."

"Now with such an incident in the neighborhood, everyone is very scared..."

As for what was said afterward, Tian Xiaohu didn't hear a word, a chill running from the base of his spine to the top of his head.

Seeing those government officers, Tian Xiaohu couldn't help but shrink his neck, feeling a bit guilty and wanting to leave immediately.

But just as he took a step, he suddenly stopped, staring at the government officers in front of him, deep in thought.

Maybe I can find out more, tell him to prepare in advance...

I plan to follow him in the future; maybe I can make something of myself too.