Steam-powered martial arts: My virginity cultivation technique has been broken.

For a moment, Ku Ning felt an indescribable sense of shame. He had been enslaved by this kind of scum for three years and had even lost an eye.

A dragon stranded in shallow water is mocked by shrimp; a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs.

Faced with Zhang Weiyuan's furious attack, which was unleashed with all his might, he neither dodged nor evaded, but instead delivered a whip kick straight at Zhang's steel leg. After a whooshing sound, there was the sound of steel shattering, followed by endless screams.

Ku Ning shattered Zhang Weiyuan's Dao heart in the simplest and most brutal way.

Zhang Weiyuan lay on the ground, his body riddled with shards of metal, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Ku Ning: "Impossible! How could you be so strong!"

Ku Ning stared at him indifferently, feeling no pleasure in revenge whatsoever. No one would be happy to crush an ant.

Seeing Ku Ning's expressionless face, Zhang Weiyuan felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation. Instead of begging for mercy, he inexplicably uttered a sarcastic remark: "So what if you're strong! You've still been my dog ​​for three years! Once a dog, always a dog!"

The best way to get revenge on someone who once looked down on you is to return the same contempt. Because the person who hurt you knows your pain better than anyone else.

Ku Ning's lips curled into a meaningful smile: "Are you describing yourself? No matter what you say, you've lost now. Just kill yourself."

His words were like a biting wind in the dead of winter, sending chills down Zhang Weiyuan's spine and bringing him back to his senses.

"No! I don't want to die."

Zhang Weiyuan crawled toward Ku Ning, shamelessly pleading, "Ah Ku. I've humiliated you, I've hurt you. But you've also cuckolded me. We're even. Let me go. I'm willing to give you everything I have. Gold and silver, jewelry, the escort agency, the fourth concubine—if you're still not satisfied, you can take the third and second concubines as well."

"You know, there's nothing I can do besides spitting all over them. They're still virgins."

Ku Ning clasped his hands together, his face filled with compassion: "Amitabha, Benefactor Zhang, you don't know this yet, do you? The second concubine has long been having an affair with the steward, and the third concubine is also having feelings for your disciples. Including this humble monk, this courtyard is full of filth and sinners."

Zhang Weiyuan was stunned, feeling like the biggest bastard in the world, and screamed like a madman, "Ah! I've been tricked, tricked so badly! You're all scumbags!"

"I give them money, guaranteeing them food and clothing, asking only for their chastity and fidelity as the price. Can't they even fulfill such a small request? People starve to death every day in this world; simply surviving is a luxury. What more could they ask for? Is the matter of men and women really that important!"

Ku Ning had no obligation to comfort him: "The time has come, you have made your choice." He knew that Zhang Weiyuan was unwilling to die, and his previous promises were just a seasoning in the process of playing with him.

"etc……"

Seeing Ku Ning's murderous intent, Zhang Weiyuan was about to say something when a burst of black true energy blasted his head apart.

Red and white things were splattered everywhere, but Ku Ning remained spotless and dignified.

That night, the night watchman passed by the security agency and saw the gate wide open. He went to check and found the courtyard full of corpses and rivers of blood.

The Weiyuan Escort Agency was brutally wiped out.

The Chengdonghe County government in Shannan is responsible for investigating this tragedy.

Shannan City was the capital of Taizhou, with a population of one million. The city was divided into two counties and one district: Donghe, Xiping, and Huangyungang. The two counties were governed by their respective magistrates, while Huangyungang District was directly under the jurisdiction of the prefectural government.

Locals often say, "Donghe is poor, Xiping is rich, and Huangyun walks on the golden road." Weiyuan Escort Agency is not large in scale and its strength is average. It is located under the jurisdiction of Donghe County.

After inspecting the scene, Wang An, the head constable of the Donghe County government, concluded: "The person who made the move must be a martial arts master."

Hao Ren, the apprentice he had just taken on a couple of days ago, looked speechless and muttered to himself, "Isn't this obvious? To wipe out an entire escort agency overnight, except for the head镖师 (chief escort), everyone was killed with a single, ruthless, and swift strike. Not a single intact corpse could be pieced together from the entire agency."

Wang An noticed his apprentice's strange expression, tapped him on the head, and tested him, asking, "Hao Ren, tell me, why was the killer so ruthless?"

Without hesitation, Hao Ren replied, "They must have a deep-seated grudge. Zhang Weiyuan is a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) who inevitably offends people while traveling."

Wang An was not satisfied: "Is there anything else?"

Hao Ren couldn't answer and shook his head slightly.

Wang An admonished, "If you are not serious in your work, do not think things through thoroughly, and are not humble, you will suffer a great loss sooner or later."

Hao Ren countered, "What does Master think is going on?"

Wang An didn't answer immediately. Instead, he led Hao Ren on a tour of the Weiyuan Escort Agency, showing them every location where the murders had occurred. Then he asked, "What are your thoughts now?"

Hao Ren pondered in silence for a long time: "The murderer is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also very confident, making no attempt to conceal his movements. Furthermore, he is very familiar with the escort agency and its people."

He judged this by the footprints in the courtyard. When the murderer killed people, it was as if he was taking a stroll in a garden. He did not take a wrong turn, and the distance of each step was almost the same. He was not flustered at all.

Wang An, with an expression of appreciating his son's potential, began to offer his deduction: "He must have had a grudge against Zhang Weiyuan to have tortured and killed him. Although the others died tragically, they died quickly. The perpetrator's ruthless massacre of the entire family was likely a ploy to confuse the public and conceal his own identity."

"The murderer is most likely someone from within the security escort agency."

Hao Ren exclaimed excitedly, "Then we just need to find out who else in the escort agency is still alive to pinpoint the killer!"

Wang An smiled and patted his apprentice on the shoulder: "How will you investigate?"

Without hesitation, Hao Ren replied, "Of course, we should inquire with our neighbors and conduct a city-wide search."

Wang An shook his head, guiding the conversation meaningfully: "Finding a needle in a haystack? There's an even faster way. I've explained why the other party attacked so ruthlessly."

Hao Ren's face was as bitter as if he had eaten a bitter herb: "Master, you don't mean you want me to piece together the corpses and then figure out their identities one by one, do you?"

Wang An smiled slyly: "Good disciple, you've already learned to take on tasks and ease your master's burden so quickly. I'm very pleased. This is much easier than finding a needle in a haystack. I'll just have to work hard and go around asking around. You just focus on doing the puzzle."

Hao Ren glanced at the shards scattered all over the ground and felt nauseous.

Wang An didn't give him a chance to refuse. He arranged for a few people to stay and cooperate, and then left with the rest of the men: "Good apprentice, do your job well. You've just entered the government office, so you'll have to go through this."

He didn't take the case to heart. They were just constables in the county government, earning only a dozen silver dollars a month. Why bother digging into the background of a martial arts master? A decent result was enough to report to his superiors.

In this world, there aren't many good people among those who work as bodyguards. Who doesn't have a few lives on their hands?

Seven days later, the Donghe County government determined the nature of the Weiyuan Escort Agency case: Zhang Weiyuan's young apprentice conspired with his third concubine to commit the crime, drawing a portrait and conducting a city-wide manhunt, and also coordinating with surrounding prefectures and counties.

Ku Ning was dressed in a sheepskin coat, looking like a merchant from the north. His short hair was neat, and his well-groomed mustache made him appear exceptionally mature. No one could equate him with the lowly servants of the escort agency.

He passed by the yamen gate, glanced at the notices, and realized there were a few clever people in the county government. But he had anticipated their predictions; by substituting one thing for another, he successfully exonerated him and the fourth concubine.

The fourth concubine is probably already on a ship heading south to Jiangzhou, returning to her hometown. He also knows that the government office is just going through the motions; the reward for her arrest is pitifully small, and it will mostly just gather dust in the archives.

He entered the best inn in Donghe County.

Seven days ago, he sent a message to his old friend whom he could entrust with his life, saying that today was the day to meet.