I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 51 - 50: One Family Mourns, a Hundred Households Rejoice

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: One Family Mourns, a Hundred Households Rejoice

The cold mist had yet to scatter, and the early winter morning air was bone-chillingly cold.

In the small courtyard, Zhao Hu was busy arranging bamboo strips, his movements a bit slow. Each breath he exhaled condensed into a plume of white mist.

Chu Fan was still lying on his plank bed, wrapped tightly in an old quilt, fast asleep.

He had practiced his fists for too long the previous night, leaving his muscles and bones sore and weary. He was still lost in a deep, dark slumber, completely unaware that day had broken.

Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks shattered the silence.

"KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!"

They came one after another, persistent and unceasing.

Chu Fan was jolted awake.

He heard a somewhat familiar voice from outside the courtyard. "Brother Zhao Hu, are you up? Something terrible has happened!"

Zhao Hu put down the bamboo strips, got up, and opened the gate. It was his neighbors, Zhang Laoliu and Zhu A-si.

Both men looked alarmed, yet they couldn’t conceal a sliver of excitement.

Zhang Laoliu stepped into the courtyard and lowered his voice. "Huang Shouliang’s butler and that Hospital Guard Instructor, Master Wang, were murdered last night!"

"What?" Zhao Hu’s heart leaped. A surge of irrepressible joy washed over him, only to be immediately suppressed by the ensuing horror.

He subconsciously glanced at Chu Fan’s tightly shut door.

Chu Fan had returned after being missing for half a month, and that very night, Liu Da and his gang had died violently, their bodies left in a gruesome state. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

A few days ago, when Chu Fan came back from the Seven Stars Gang, the Huang Family servants occupying his house and the two ruffians who had threatened him were found beaten to death on the banks of the Cyan Yang River.

And now, just after Chu Fan returned last night, the Huang Family’s butler and Hospital Guard Instructor had also lost their lives...

’But how is that possible?’

’Killing a butler with no Martial Arts is one thing...’

’But that Master Wang was a practitioner hired by the Huang Family for a hefty sum!’

’His skills were said to be in no way inferior to the Huang Family’s young master, Huang Yu!’

’Chu Fan was just a handyman at the Seven Stars Gang for a little over twenty days. Even if he learned some Martial Arts, how much progress could he have made?’

’Liu Da and the others trained at a Martial Arts Hall for half a year and were only slightly stronger than the average person. How could they compare to a real practitioner like him?’

Zhao Hu, his heart filled with suspicion and uncertainty, tentatively asked Zhang Laoliu, "The Huang Family... what’s the situation over there now?"

Zhang Laoliu clicked his tongue, a strange expression on his face. "It’s very strange! The people from the Government Office showed up, but the Huang Family actually said the butler and the Hospital Guard Instructor had a conflict and killed each other in a fight!"

"Isn’t that the biggest joke you’ve ever heard?" Zhu A-si couldn’t help but interject. "That butler was as thin as a bamboo pole, a strong gust of wind could blow him away. How could he possibly have the ability to take down the Hospital Guard Instructor with him?"

"And the Government Office believed them?" Zhao Hu was stunned.

"Matters of the martial world are settled within the martial world, you know," Zhang Laoliu said in a hushed voice. "The men from the Government Office took a bribe from the Huang Family, so of course they just went along with it, wrapped things up quickly, and left."

"That’s unbelievable..." Zhao Hu’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

’The Huang Family’s butler and head guard were murdered. Shouldn’t they have bribed the officers to catch the killer as soon as possible?’

’Are they hiding something they don’t want people to know, something they’re afraid the Government Office’s involvement will expose?’

’Or could it be that they know how strong the enemy is, and they don’t dare to provoke them, so they’ve chosen to let the matter rest to keep the peace?’

"The way I see it..."

Zhu A-si leaned in closer, his voice dropping even lower. "It might have been one of Huang Yu’s enemies!"

"That Huang Yu runs the Fishery for the Blood Saber Sect. His men dominate the market and bully everyone. So many fishermen hate his guts!"

"Besides, the guy’s methods are brutal. I heard he killed a lot of Seven Stars Gang disciples during their conflicts. The people from the Seven Stars Gang won’t be happy until he’s dead!"

"I also heard that Huang Yu was injured a few days ago!"

"Injured?" Zhao Hu paused, then asked subconsciously, "Who injured him?"

"Who knows!" Zhu A-si shook his head. "For all we know, the person who killed the butler and head guard was originally after Huang Yu."

"But that Huang Yu is a cunning one. He’s been hiding out in the Blood Saber Sect’s headquarters ever since he got hurt, and that’s how he escaped this time."

Zhao Hu’s mouth twitched. His gaze drifted involuntarily back to Chu Fan’s door, the suspicion in his heart growing like a weed.

Zhang Laoliu noticed his expression and patted his arm. "Don’t overthink it, brother. This is actually a good thing—"

"The Huang Family was forcing you and the neighbors to sell your houses a while back. Now that this has happened, they’ll probably lie low for a while."

Zhu A-si added, "The area around the Huang Family estate is swarming with people now. Brother Zhao Hu, you’d better not go anywhere near there for a while. Be careful not to get into trouble!"

Zhao Hu was taken aback. "What people?"

"Master Huang is terrified of dying, so he’s called in a lot of men to guard the estate," Zhang Laoliu said. "I hear some of them are even from the Blood Saber Sect, and every one of them looks like a devil."

"With the Huang Family estate at the center, the whole area has been turned into a veritable Heaven and Earth Net..."

"I bet it’d be hard for even a fly to get in!"

The men exchanged glances, a sliver of satisfaction rising in their hearts.

The Huang Family had committed so many evil deeds. Their current misfortune was a cause for one family to mourn, but for a hundred others to rejoice.

They didn’t know that on the other side of a thin door, Chu Fan had been awake for some time and had heard their entire conversation clearly.

After Zhang Laoliu and Zhu A-si took their leave, Chu Fan’s door creaked open with a "CRREEEAK".

He walked out slowly, his expression calm, as if he had just woken up.

Seeing him, Zhao Hu hesitated, then said, "Fan, you’re awake? You heard what they were saying, didn’t you? I think you should go back to the Seven Stars Gang soon. It’s not very safe around here right now..."

"I know," Chu Fan said with a nod and a smile, not saying much more.

He turned, left the courtyard, and started walking in the direction of the Huang Family estate.

Before long, he was near the Huang residence.

Looking from a distance, he saw that, sure enough, many unfamiliar, armed men were loitering outside the high walls in groups of three and five, their auras menacing.

A cold smile touched the corners of Chu Fan’s lips.

’That old bastard Huang Shouliang has really become a bird startled by the twang of a bowstring after last night.’

’As for Huang Yu, he’s certainly cautious—hiding in the Blood Saber Sect’s headquarters ever since he was injured, not even coming back after his butler and head guard were killed.’

’Perhaps he thinks the Moon Worship Sect was behind this?’

’What kind of method can I devise to lure that bastard Huang Yu out of the Blood Saber Sect?’

’Should I just chop up Huang Shouliang?’

’That won’t work for the next few days.’

’The Huang Family’s defenses are too tight right now. Forcing my way in would be a huge hassle.’

Chu Fan’s brow furrowed slightly.

To this day, he had still never met Huang Yu.

But in his mind, Huang Yu had already died a thousand times over.

...

Chu Fan suppressed the surging killing intent in his heart and returned to the Seven Stars Gang, heading straight for the dining hall.

He had just sat down at a table next to Li Qingxue with a bowl of congee and a steamed bun when Zhao Tianxing darted before him like a phantom.

"My meat, did you eat it?"

Zhao Tianxing glared at Chu Fan, his face dark.

Chu Fan wore an innocent expression. "What meat? I dunno what you’re talking about!"

"Stop playing dumb!" Zhao Tianxing said angrily. "You ate my meat and didn’t even leave a single drop of the broth. How could you do something like that!"

"I was training like crazy with the Twelve Forms Fist yesterday afternoon and was completely exhausted, so..." Chu Fan grinned. "How about I compensate you with a roasted chicken?"

Zhao Tianxing scoffed. "A piece of ’Earth Vein Bull’ meat? How can a single roasted chicken compare to that?"

Chu Fan held up his fingers. "Three."

"...Fine!" Zhao Tianxing rolled his eyes.

Chu Fan then said, "In that case, how about I trade you three roasted chickens for a piece of your ’Earth Vein Bull’ meat tomorrow, too?"

"Ah!" Zhao Tianxing nearly jumped out of his skin. "I can’t believe you can say something so shameless with such a straight face!"

Sitting nearby, Li Qingxue remained silent.

After their squabble, Zhao Tianxing took a piece of white parchment from his robes and handed it to Chu Fan.

Listed on it were all the medicinal ingredients from the prescription given by Master Cao, with a price marked next to each one.

"I visited all the pharmacies yesterday, comparing prices and writing them down..." Zhao Tianxing said. "I never thought you’d be at home stealing and eating my ’Earth Vein Bull’ meat. It’s truly heartbreaking!"

Chu Fan pretended not to hear him and looked at the bottom of the parchment. He couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air.

A single set of ingredients cost fifteen taels of silver!

Fifteen taels of silver for just one medicinal bath!

Everyone knows the saying "Poor in Literature, Rich in Martial Arts," but to think it was this expensive just to break through to Blood Refining!

A Blood Refining Pill costs five or six mace of silver. Two a day for a month would only be a little over thirty taels...

But these ingredients for a medicinal bath? Fifteen taels for a single soak!

’Fortunately, I’ve had a recent windfall.’

’The two killings brought in over a hundred taels in total. That should be enough for a while.’

’When I go back tomorrow, I’ll buy three sets of ingredients first.’

Chu Fan blinked, thinking to himself, ’Butler, Master Wang... perhaps I should have been a little gentler...’