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

Chapter 74: Chapter 73 Turbulent Undercurrents

Kong Tiantu clasped his hands over his eyes, which were bleeding profusely, as he uncontrollably leaned backward; the pain almost rendered him unable to stand.

He immediately realized these people had come for the Blood Bird's Nest; they wanted to rob him of his Blood Bird's Nest.

A deep hatred erupted from within him, surging uncontrollably.

Standing outside the door, Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping exchanged a look, knowing they had succeeded.

Ouyang Tie Niu lifted his foot and violently kicked the dilapidated wooden door.

With a loud "bang," the door collapsed under the force of Ouyang Tie Niu's kick,

The two of them rushed in without hesitation amidst a cloud of dust.

"It's you!"

Kong Tiantu recognized the two as Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping.

"Kong Tiantu, we've been waiting for you!"

Ouyang Tie Niu, wielding a knife he had pilfered from Zhao Ba, swung it viciously at Kong Tiantu.

Kong Tiantu, true to his farmer's roots, managed to react despite having lost an eye.

In a moment of desperation, he rolled to the side, narrowly evading the vicious slash.

"Get him together; kill him."

A fierce look flashed across Ouyang Tie Niu's face as he pounced towards Kong Yutian, with Yang Zhao Ping following immediately at his side.

The few pieces of furniture left in the room, none too sturdy to begin with, completely collapsed amid the chaotic struggle, turning into scrap wood.

Kong Tiantu, outnumbered and outmatched, especially against those wielding blades,

Was quickly overcome. In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to a bloody mess and collapsed to the ground with a grunt, dying with his eyes wide open.

Blood flowed from his body, dripping down his arms, coating the grey wooden box he clutched in his arms with a layer of red, like a coat of paint.

Kong Tiantu had held on to the wooden box tightly; Yang Zhao Ping also had to expend a fair amount of effort to pry it from his grasp.

He excitedly opened the wooden box and saw the transparent Blood Bird's Nest inside.

Yang Zhao Ping closed the box and exchanged a knowing look with Ouyang Tie Niu, communicating silently with their eyes.

"Let's go!"

However, as they turned to leave and had not yet dashed out of the alley, they saw a man in a grey robe walking towards them, blocking their way.

Ouyang Tie Niu, impatient and annoyed, said, "Good dogs don't stand in the way; move aside."

"I am not a dog; I have a name, a surname, I am a man."

Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping, having just committed murder and eager to flee, were seething with murderous aura and savagely said, "I don't care what your surname is, get out of my way, or don't blame me for being rude!"

"Very well then. With the heavens above and the Huang Tian Sect below, since you two are in such a hurry, I won't delay you any further."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the man in the grey robe's hands, hidden in his sleeves, shot out like a dragon emerging from the sea, striking Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping in their chests with a couple of thuds.

Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping's bodies shook, a surge of power piercing through their skin, penetrating their flesh, and causing their bones to instantly crumble.

The two of them slammed against the wall like kites with cut strings, coughing up blood.

"A Skin Forging master..."

Ouyang Tie Niu looked at the man in the grey robe, his eyes filled with disbelief.

At this moment, his body felt as if it had fallen apart; his heart and lungs were pierced by his fractured ribs, breathing out more than in.

Under the watchful eyes of Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping, the man in the grey robe slowly walked forward and took the Blood Bird's Nest from Yang Zhao Ping's embrace.

The grey-robed man opened the box, looked inside, and, reasonably satisfied, said, "Not bad, the quality isn't too poor."

He closed the wooden box and bowed slightly, "Thank you for your efforts."

With that, the grey-robed man left the alley, striding boldly away as Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping watched in despair.

Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping lay in a pool of blood, their complexions pale as paper.

They could feel the life force ebbing from their bodies, just like Kong Tiantu.

All their years of effort, and their ambition to stand out, had vanished in that instant.

With his last bit of strength, Ouyang Tie Niu let out a low, indignant groan and, like Yang Zhao Ping, kicked his legs out and died, breathless.

...

Linfeng Hall.

Shen Qing, after returning from the restaurant, immediately threw himself into arduous training, practicing the fighting techniques he had learned from Li Linfeng without any shortcuts.

Each movement, each technique, he practiced with utmost seriousness.

Time ticked away, and before long, it was nearly evening.

Shen Qing glanced at the sky and thought to himself, "It's about time, I better go early and return early."

He went to the Outer Court and greeted Shen Xiaohu, telling him to return to the inn early, before setting out alone towards the outskirts of the city.

Shen Qing intended to check out the Blood Bird's Nest that Ouyang Tie Niu had mentioned.

As evening approached, whether it was the Inner City or the Outer City, the number of people dwindled, with few pedestrians in sight.

Shen Qing walked with his head down among the crowd, inconspicuous.

The location described by Ouyang Tie Niu was not hard to recognize; Shen Qing asked around a bit and arrived in front of a dilapidated shack.

Standing not far from the entrance, Shen Qing looked at the wooden door that had been smashed open, and immediately had a bad feeling.

He hurriedly stepped inside and found that the room was in disarray, with signs of a struggle everywhere, and blood splattered all over the place.

A naked corpse lay silently on the ground.

He had been hacked to death.

After his death, his clothes were stripped clean.

By then, Shen Qing knew he was too late.

Someone had gotten to the Blood Bird's Nest before him.

Shen Qing didn't appear too disappointed or anxious, "Ouyang Tie Niu and the others are more familiar with these parts of the Outer City. If there's time tomorrow, I'll ask them."

The house was in ruins, almost completely transparent at a glance.

Furthermore, the nearby residents had already scavenged the place once, leaving nothing worth searching for.

Shen Qing didn't linger at the entrance; he turned around, planning to leave from another direction.

However, after only a couple of steps, he froze.

Another naked corpse lay right in front of him.

This was... Yang Zhao Ping!

He was actually dead!

Shen Qing bent down for a closer look and noticed that Yang Zhao Ping's chest had caved in, killed by a single blow; the perpetrator was at least an expert with the strength of Skin Forging.

Looking behind at Kong Tiantu's position, he connected the dots and roughly guessed that they were all silenced because of the Blood Bird's Nest affair.

People who had been alive and well in the afternoon were now just cold corpses.

The sight unexpectedly filled Shen Qing with a sense of lamentation, akin to a rabbit mourning for a deceased fox.

He remembered that Yang Zhao Ping and Ouyang Tie Niu often hung out together, as close as brothers.

The matter of the Blood Bird's Nest had also been brought up by Ouyang Tie Niu; now, with Yang Zhao Ping dead, he feared Ouyang Tie Niu's fate was more likely dire than not.

The sky gradually darkened, the evening glow filled the sky, and the setting sun dyed half of the heavens yellow.

Shen Qing carefully recalled that, up to this point, he had not been involved in the affair of the Blood Bird's Nest; he had merely come to take a brief look, which should mean no one would have a reason to target him.

He breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his chest, and walked normally past the body of Yang Zhao Ping, leaving the alley.

As he walked, Shen Qing suddenly heard a series of footsteps nearby moving toward him.

There was a large group.

Shen Qing quickly executed a movement technique and hid in a dark corner, curiously peering forward.

Two groups of ordinary civilians, each with yellow cloth bands around their arms, followed behind a robust man, each holding a stick of incense and walking unhurriedly.

As they walked, they murmured something under their breath, their faces showing extreme devotion.

"With blue skies below, Huang Tian above, the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, Taiping within sight."

From beginning to end, these people kept muttering this phrase, the tone alternating between yin and yang, rhythmic, making Shen Qing at the side almost feel the urge to chant along.

Shen Qing quickly closed his mouth tight; he recognized them.

The yellow cloth bands, the chants.

They were Huang Tian Sect's people!

What were people from Huang Tian Sect doing appearing in Taiping County, preaching in the Outer City?

Weren't they supposed to be in Jinzhou?

Rustle rustle...

These people passed one by one through the alley at Shen Qing's location.

When Shen Qing saw clearly who the leader was, his eyes widened in shock.

He knew that person; it was Manager Cai from Wanfeng Building!