Chương 93: Chen Zihao

Inside the inn. Hearing Song Que ask about last night's events, Yun Xi and the others put on heavy expressions and sighed:"A major incident occurred last night. The Chen Family, a prominent and noble family for centuries, was exterminated."

"Do you know the reason why?" Having witnessed everything, Song Que was merely curious about the public explanation.

"The official statement is that the Chen Family colluded with the Blood Demon Cult, practicing the Star-Sucking Great Art, which specializes in draining human essence. It was supposedly a direct descendant of the Chen Family who ran to the Pacification Office to report them! But obviously, the matter isn't that simple."

"Hehe, this old man also went over to investigate yesterday. The Chen Family Patriarch fought single-handedly against Du Ruhui, Chief Constable Huang Ze, and the Liu Family Patriarch! Pushed to a dead end, he actually managed to break through to the First Tier! That power... tsk tsk!"

"The East Gate, which is over ten zhang high, was brought down by a single punch from him! The True Qi within that strike was pure and condensed! It was undoubtedly the authentic orthodox martial art, the Five Qi Toward the Origin Formula! Everything else is pure nonsense! This was just a trap laid by those three factions!"

"And everyone else in the Commandery Capital just accepts this? Does the Governor not care about this matter?" This was what puzzled Song Que the most! The battle yesterday was so intense he could feel it from far away! There was no way the others didn't know! If someone had come to the Chen Family's aid last night, things might have turned out differently.

"I heard the Governor had business outside the city last night. The other factions likely reached some sort of agreement with those three; regardless, no one went to help. On the contrary, the Governor is apparently furious this morning! But what's done is done, and they provided 'sufficient evidence'. The matter will likely not be resolved any other way." Yun Xi's explanation caused Song Que to shake his head in exasperation:"When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold!

A bunch of short-sighted fools only looking at what's right in front of them! When it's their turn to be targeted, they'll finally see the truth!"

"Young Master Song has sharp insight! But not everyone thinks like that. They believe that as long as they don't actively cause trouble, trouble won't find them! Little do they know, the ambitions of others are vast!" Song Que curled his lips. The matter didn't concern him, and he wasn't going to waste his mental energy worrying about these people.

"I wonder what the Chen Family's public reputation was like? And did anyone from the Chen Family manage to escape last night?"

"The Chen Family... well, besides being a bit arrogant, they didn't really have any bad habits, nor did they ever do anything devoid of conscience. I heard the Chen Family Patriarch carved a bloody path last night to help his son, Chen Zihao, escape! He has probably fled to Yangnan Prefecture by now."

"This Young Master Chen is a passionate and generous person, and his cultivation talent is not bad at all. At just over twenty, he is already a Second-Tier martial artist! Who knows if he'll ever have the chance to seek revenge in the future."

"Who knows what the future holds? Thank you, Miss Yun, for clarifying things for me. It's getting late, and I must prepare to hit the road." Song Que smiled and shook his head. Whether the guy even survives is still unknown!

"Xiong Ba, bring the carriage out! This Wu Zhui is yours, Wu Yun belongs to me!"

"Hehe! Thank you, Young Master!" Facing something as massive and dark as the Black Dragon Horse, Xiong Ba was already grinning from ear to ear! Given Song Que's permission, he hurriedly stepped forward, wanting to mount it for a ride. But fine steeds have tempers of their own, and they are incredibly picky about their riders! Seeing this bear cub trying to jump on its back, how could it be happy?! It snorted angrily, reared up, and raised its hooves to kick! Fortunately, Xiong Ba's strength was not lacking!

His 'over 1 Bear Force' was no joke! He nimbly dodged the horse's hooves, his hands like iron tongs clamping down firmly on its head, as easily as playing with a kitten! Wu Zhui struggled for a long time but couldn't break free. Finally, it submitted to its fate, seemingly accepting this new master, and affectionately rubbed its head against him. Seeing the horse's fierce temperament, Song Que's eyes lit up. Laughing loudly, he stepped forward and grabbed Wu Yun.

With a simple flip of his hand, he smoothly subdued it without any difficulty! You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Standing to the side, Elder Kong's eyes also grew bright! He had initially wondered why Qing Zhu had insisted on gifting the pair of Black Dragon Horses—their value was no less than a thousand pieces of gold! Now, seeing Xiong Ba casually subdue the beast with a flip of his hand, everything became clear!

He exchanged a glance with Yun Xi, both seeing the excitement in each other's eyes! They thought they had only won a single prize, but unexpectedly, there was another pleasant surprise! A perfect 'buy one, get one free' deal! Both the master and servant were extraordinary! They had truly picked up a treasure this time!

"I will be on my way now! Let us meet again!" Song Que laughed from horseback and cupped his hands to the group.

"Young Master Song, remember you still owe me a meal!" Yun Xi smiled radiantly and winked.

"Definitely! Please take care, everyone!" Calling out to Xiong Ba, Song Que took the lead on Wu Yun Treading Snow, followed by the carriage loaded with herbs. Taking advantage of the early hour, the two quickly set off.... Riding a fine steed was a completely different feeling! Riding over hills and uneven terrain felt like walking on flat ground! Song Que didn't feel the slightest bumpiness! The Black Dragon Horses carried them as lightly as air; with a single leap of their hooves, they covered several meters!

If he didn't have to look after the carriage behind him, Song Que truly wanted to spur his horse into a full gallop to experience the thrill of speed! After traveling over twenty miles, Eagle's Sorrow Ravine was already in sight. Song Que suddenly called for a stop. He gazed thoughtfully toward the forest on the right for a moment before turning to Xiong Ba and instructing:"Xiong Ba, go straight inside! Look carefully—there is an unconscious man lying in there. Bring him back here. Be careful!

If the other party is still conscious or tries to attack, just knock him out!"

"Understood, Young Master!" Working with Xiong Ba was reassuring; he only knew how to obey orders and never asked questions! Without pausing to wonder how Song Que knew, he quickly ran into the forest to search for the person. Song Que then jumped onto the carriage and stored the ginseng and over half of the other herbs into his Storage Space. If Yun Xi's group hadn't been seeing him off, he would have stored everything away for convenience long ago!

But this wasn't bad either; at least the carriage served a purpose now. After clearing some space inside, he took the Iron Arm Bow and Silver-Wing Bow from his Storage Space. Song Que sat leaning against the carriage, quietly waiting for Xiong Ba's return. It wasn't long before Xiong Ba returned from his search in the forest, carrying a man in his arms. The man's clothes were in tatters, and his face was terrifyingly pale.

Two streaks of dried blood remained at the corners of his mouth, and his breathing was so faint it was practically non-existent. If it weren't for his heart still beating weakly occasionally, anyone would believe he was already dead! Xiong Ba felt this face looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. Song Que didn't bother explaining that this was the person sitting at the next table when they were eating fish right after arriving in Lingjiang City!

This was none other than Young Master Chen—Chen Zihao! His anti-tracking skills were quite impressive! After breaking out of the East Gate, he meticulously created a false trail pointing toward Yangnan Prefecture, then executed a 'Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea' maneuver, taking winding backroads to return in the opposite direction toward Eagle's Sorrow Ravine, intending to hide inside! But despite all his calculations, he failed to account for the severity of his injuries!

Du Ruhui's palm strike contained multiple layers of An Jin, burrowing deep into his internal organs like maggots! If it weren't for his family's inherited Five Qi Toward the Origin Formula having the effect of strengthening the internal organs, he would have been dead long ago! But even so, this Young Master Chen was currently at death's door.

If Song Que hadn't continuously monitored him via 'Lightning' since last night, knowing he was lying unconscious here and bringing him back, he would have been a dead man within a few hours! At that point, if he was lucky, someone might collect his corpse; otherwise, there was a high probability he would become a meal for wild beasts! From dawn until now, 'Lightning' had already chased off two groups of unwelcome 'guests' for him!

Watching Xiong Ba place Chen Zihao onto the carriage, Song Que fell deep into thought. If it were just an ordinary feud, he wouldn't mind playing the good Samaritan. But the background of the other party's enemies was currently too massive for him! If he wasn't careful and was discovered, it would undoubtedly lead to a fatal disaster! Don't think that just because he had the Lingying Temple's protective amulet he could do whatever he wanted!

If a First-Tier martial artist secretly played him to death, he wouldn't even know how he died! As long as it wasn't done openly, who would bother investigating to the bitter end?!

"Young Master, he has things on him." At this moment, Xiong Ba pulled a cloth bundle from the man's robes and handed it to Song Que. Opening it curiously, he found two secret manuals inside! The Five Qi Toward the Origin Formula! The Five Elements World-Suppressing Fist! Even as the entire Chen Family was destroyed, they had risked their lives to bring these away, showing just how precious these two small booklets were! Grandee Song didn't stand on ceremony; he casually picked them up and began to read.

The cultivation method specialized in cultivating the internal organs! According to the introduction, a martial artist could use their own five internal organs to resonate with the Qi of the Five Elements in heaven and earth! By practicing this art, the heart would generate Fire-element Qi, the liver Wood, the spleen Earth, the lungs Metal, and the kidneys Water!

The five elements generated and restrained each other, transforming and circulating continuously, maintaining the absolute stability of the internal organs! When the cultivation reached perfection—when the 'Five Qi converge toward the Origin'—the martial artist would generate Five Elements True Qi, breaking through the Seventh Grade in one fell swoop and stepping into the coveted First-Tier realm!

It was precisely because Chen Zihao practiced this art that he was able to hold onto his last breath and hadn't yet crossed into the netherworld! As for the fist technique, it was the accompanying set, designed to be used in conjunction with the Five Elements True Qi to unleash maximum power! Song Que had already witnessed its might; it had left a profoundly deep impression! The East Gate was probably still not fully cleared of the rubble!

Weighing the secret manuals in his hand, Song Que thought for a moment before making his decision. Save him!