Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Zhao Si slowed his pace slightly and moved closer. "Boss, are you letting that old man go like that?"

He lowered his voice, gently swaying the chain in his hand, the iron rings clinking together with a soft clatter.

"Of all the people who went up the mountain that day, he was the only one who came back alive."

Yang Shuqing didn't stop walking. The yellow soil on the village road was dried by the soles of his boots. The setting sun shone on the corner of his black robe, making even the official skin look sinister.

"Let them go?"

He sneered, a cruel glint in his eyes, and said:

"When did I say I let it go?"

Hearing this, Zhao Si shut his mouth. Sure enough, this was his boss's personality. Ma Liu walked on the other side, his eyelids lowered, his hand always on the hilt of his knife.

Yang Shuqing rubbed the hilt of his waist knife with his thumb, which had been polished to a shine by years of handling.

This is his habit of thinking things through, and also a small gesture when his murderous intent arises.

"Look at that old man's yard, it's so poor it's a mess. Broken walls, broken chairs, even the teacups are chipped."

Yang Shuqing's eyes burned with suppressed anger. "But before Wang Yue went up the mountain, my brother wrote to me saying that the old man had some purple wood, worth a lot of silver."

"Where's the purplewood?"

Zhao Si frowned. "I didn't see it."

"Yes, I didn't see it."

Yang Shuqing's tone was even lower. "Wang Yue? He's nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. He was at the first level of Qi and Blood, and he had three constables under his command. Even the fiercest snake wouldn't swallow every last bone."

Ma Liu understood and whispered, "Does the boss mean we should go up the mountain and check first?"

Yang Shuqing nodded. "If we touch that old man now, dozens of households in the village will be watching closely. I just got promoted for my meritorious service, and a bunch of people in the county government are keeping an eye on me. It wouldn't look good if word got out that I killed a half-dead old man in front of the villagers."

He paused, his voice strained out through his teeth.

"Tonight, after the village falls asleep, take him up the mountain. There are no eyes or mouths on the mountain."

"If he's willing to confess, I might spare his life."

"If you're stubborn..."

The second half was left unsaid.

Zhao Si and Ma Liu both knew that the mountains were full of pits, wild animals, and unlucky people who had broken their necks.

Ma Liu hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer and asked, "Boss, did you manage to get that task the county magistrate asked you to do?"

Mentioning this matter, a hint of smugness surged from the anger in Yang Shuqing's chest.

He patted a spot he had hidden close to his body.

"It's done."

"The captain praised me personally, and I've been promoted to deputy chief constable. Once things are cleared up here, I'll be the captain's man when we return to the county."

Zhao Si's eyes lit up.

"Congratulations, boss!"

Ma Liu quickly added, "Boss, when you rise to great heights, don't forget your brothers."

Yang Shuqing glanced at the two men and said with a smile, "Do a good job, and you'll get plenty of money, women, and official positions."

The three of them walked and talked, their voices kept very low.

If an ordinary person is ten or so steps away, they can at most hear a few muffled breaths.

But Yi Yang is no ordinary person.

In the Yi family's courtyard, Yi Yang was still leaning against the rattan chair, a broken fan draped over his chest.

He fanned himself gently, the breeze was thin and couldn't dispel the heat, but it could cover the steady breathing in his mouth.

Qi and blood triple, the realm of Yi Jin Jing.

After his meridians were integrated, his hearing improved to a new level.

Separated by half a village road and two courtyard walls, Yang Shuqing's whispered words penetrated his ears, one by one.

"Let's go up the mountain tonight."

Yi Yang's eyelids drooped slightly, his face still looked old and frail, but his eyes were cold and deep.

"Then I'll see you off."

He recited it in his mind and gently closed the tattered fan.

It was evening.

Yang Shuqing went to the village head Yang Shuyu's house and said a few words, only telling others that he was going up the mountain to investigate clues and look for Wang Yue's remains.

Yang Shuyu bowed and nodded, not daring to utter a single word of dissent.

The three men, carrying knives and ropes, entered the mountains via an old road behind the village.

The villagers watched from a distance, none of them daring to follow. Some peeked through the crack in the door for a moment, then closed it tightly again.

As night falls on Qingmu Mountain, the forest becomes damp, the grass leaves become wet, and they rustle underfoot.

Yang Shuqing walked at the front.

Zhao Si held up the chains, and Ma Liu held up the tinderbox. The yellow light flickered between the tree trunks, casting long, crooked shadows of the three men.

We arrived at the open space halfway up the mountain; this was the battlefield where we had surrounded and killed the giant snake.

The decaying leaves covered most of the marks, but the deep trenches carved by the snake's body remained. The shrubs were broken and messy, and the dark brown bloodstains sank into the mud. They had been gnawed by insects and ants, leaving only mottled marks.

Zhao Si used his short knife to push aside the withered leaves and picked out several pieces of bone. The bone surface was white, and there were teeth marks on the edges.

"Boss, it's a human being."

Yang Shuqing squatted down and took a look. "Yang Dongxi and the others, Zhou Liang didn't clean up the bodies properly."

Ma Liu cursed, "This mountain is really unlucky."

Yang Shuqing ignored him. He bent down and circled around the open space, his gaze gradually pressing down on him.

Years of experience in handling cases have given him an almost instinctive sensitivity to traces.

Suddenly, he stopped by the bushes on the west side.

The bushes there were smashed, the branches were bent, and there was a drag mark that extended to the side and back for about two zhang (about 6.6 meters), at the end of which was the root of a crooked tree.

Yang Shuqing walked over, squatted down, and touched the dark marks on the tree roots.

Rub the dried, hardened blood crust between your fingertips and it will crumble into powder.

"Blood." He sniffed it and confirmed, "Human blood."

Zhao Si approached, carrying the chain.

"Boss, is this the spot the old man said he rolled down and hit?"

"Um."

Yang Shuqing's eyes showed even deeper suspicion. "He didn't lie about everything."

Ma Liudao: "Should we go back and get them now?"

Just as Yang Shuqing was about to speak, a soft sound suddenly fell from above the woods.

It's very light.

It was as light as a withered leaf turning over, but Yang Shuqing, who had been working on the knife for many years, felt his back tighten on the spot.

"Who?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a dark figure darted out from behind the tree.

The old wood-chopping knife traced a gray-white arc in the night.

Zhao Si only had time to look up.

The last thing he saw was an inconspicuous wood-chopping knife.

Old and worn, shabby, but extremely sharp.

But when the knife fell, the wind was split in two, and the force of the knife pressed down on his chest, making it hard to even shout.

puff!

The machete slashed diagonally down from the shoulder and neck.

Zhao Si's body collapsed on one side, the chains clattered to the ground, blood sprayed onto the withered leaves, steam rose, and the stench of blood instantly filled the open space.

Ma Liu reacted even faster, drawing his sword and retreating.

"Boss!"

He had barely taken half a step back when Yi Yang's position had already shifted.

Nine Peaks Blade, a perilous peak.

The blade pressed down from the front, but when it was half a foot away, it suddenly bypassed Ma Liu's blade and moved sideways along his waistline.

Ma Liu's pupils constricted.

In his eyes, the machete was clearly meant to slit the chest, but in the blink of an eye it reached the waist and abdomen, which seemed strangely impossible for a human hand to wield.

scoff!

The fabric ripped, the skin ripped, and the joints ripped too.

Ma Liu was cut in half at the waist, his upper body fell to the ground, his hand still tightly gripping the hilt of the knife, blood bubbles spitting from his mouth, without leaving a single complete sentence.

His two men vanished in the blink of an eye.

Yang Shuqing drew his sword.

The sword was drawn, making a clanging sound that was particularly jarring in the mountains and forests.

His eyes were red-rimmed, a mixture of anger and horror.

"That thing hiding its true nature!"

Yi Yang's face was covered with a black cloth, his gray clothes were close to his body, and his machete was dripping with blood.

He didn't answer; talking nonsense is the worst thing you can do.

Yang Shuqing stomped his foot and swung his waist knife.

He was at the peak of the Body Refining Realm, and could transform his tendons with a single kick. His swordsmanship followed the style of a county official: ruthless, steady, fast, and always aimed at vital points.

when!

The machete and the waist knife collided, and sparks flew onto the withered leaves.

Yang Shuqing's arm went numb, and his heart sank.

That's not the right amount of force.

It's not about Qi and Blood, nor is it about ordinary muscle training.

Yi Yang pressed down with his second strike.

Thick peak.

The sword strikes were unpretentious, only heavy and horizontal, like an entire hillside collapsing, leaving no room for maneuver.

Yang Shuqing gritted his teeth and took the knife.

when!

The knife curved, splitting his hand and drawing blood down the hilt.

The third cut.

Yang Shuqing dared not take the blow head-on. He abandoned his knife, flipped backward, stepped onto a tree root, and circled around behind Yi Yang. His left hand slid a short dagger out of his sleeve and aimed straight for Yi Yang's lower back.

He had used this trick many times.

If a martial artist of the same realm is deceived by him, he will most likely suffer a loss.

But Yi Yang's steps were only half an inch off.

The short dagger grazed the hem of her clothes, without even touching her skin.

Yang Shuqing felt a chill run down his spine.

Yi Yang turned around and unleashed the full power of the first strike of the Nine Peaks Blade.

The thick peaks are overwhelming.

The wood-chopping knife fell with the immense power of the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Realm).

Click!

Yang Shuqing raised his arm to block, but the tendons and bones in his arm shattered on the spot, and his entire arm bent at an odd angle as the short dagger flew into the bushes.

Before his scream could even escape his throat, Yi Yang's knife had already changed.

The third cut, Ruifeng.

The blade tip is thrust forward swiftly and cleanly.

puff!

The machete pierced his chest, with half of it protruding from his back.

Yang Shuqing looked down at his chest.

Blood gushed out along the blade, warm and quickly soaking through the soapy clothes.

His pupils dilated as he stared intently at the gaunt, black-clad figure before him.

That figure.

That wood-chopping knife.

The kind of knife-holding habit that only old woodcutters have.

"Yi...Yi Yang?!"

His voice no longer held anger, only disbelief.

An old woodcutter who was deemed unfit for martial arts by the martial arts school.

An old man from the countryside who has spent his whole life chopping firewood.

It turned out to be the third level of Qi and Blood, the Yi Jin Realm.

Yang Shuqing looked at Yi Yang's old gray clothes, patched upon patched.

These cheapest and most humble things had just crushed his pride as the deputy chief constable to dust.

"Yang Er... Wang Yue... it's all you?"

His lips were pale.

The fire in his chest, burning with the desire to avenge his brother, was extinguished by fear, and not even a wisp of smoke could rise.

Yi Yang did not reply.

He drew his knife.

Yang Shuqing lay among the withered leaves, his eyes still open, staring at the dark canopy above him, only broken breaths escaping his throat.

Yi Yang squatted down to search him.

Zhao Si and Ma Liu didn't have much loose silver on them, only about ten taels in total.

Yang Shuqing was much thicker.

Broken silver, silver notes, the waist badge of the deputy chief constable of the county government, a commendation document from the Commandant's Office, and the ebony cinnabar box that he kept close to his body.

Yi Yang opened the box.

The box was lined with red velvet, and in the center was a round, copper-colored pill with a strong medicinal fragrance that filled the nostrils.

Yi Jin Ba Gu Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine formula).

Yi Yang has already entered the Yi Jin realm, and this pill can no longer help him break through.

But the medicine is still a good thing.

The fourth level of the Yi Wood Nourishing Life Technique, the Bone Forging Realm, is precisely where this resource is lacking.

He closed the elixir box and carefully put it away close to his body.

The total amount of silver was over forty taels, and the commendation document was also received.

After glancing at the waist tag a few times, Yi Yang decided not to bother with it.

Finally, he found a piece of parchment deep inside Yang Shuqing's arms.

The sheepskin was rolled very tightly, the edges were worn, and there was still a trace of vermilion at the seal.

Yi Yang put the parchment into his pocket, wiped away a few unwanted footprints on the ground, and dragged the three corpses into a deeper ditch.

A mountain breeze blew by, and withered leaves once again covered the bloodstains.

After finishing all this, Yi Yang carried his machete down the mountain.

In the darkness, his back was still slightly hunched, and his steps still resembled those of an old woodcutter.

Only the pill box and parchment in his arms, one cold and one hot, were pressed against his chest.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, Yi Yang paused and looked back at Qingmu Mountain.

"Yang Shuqing, thank you for this generous gift. Let's leave the matter of your brother offending me here."