I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 63 - 62: The More, the Merrier

Seeing this, the lean man quickly added, "Incense Master, I found a Huang Family servant named Changgen. When the Huang Family was massacred, he was hiding in a residence Huang Yu had taken over, and that’s how he escaped."

"Oh?" A glint flashed in Tang Xiao’s eyes. His tone softened slightly, but it still carried an oppressive weight. "Why didn’t you bring him in sooner?"

"I was worried he’d spout nonsense, so I questioned him outside first. But he’s tight-lipped; he insisted on seeing you before he would tell the truth." As he spoke, the lean man shouted to the men outside, "Bring him in!"

The door opened again, and a man in a tattered, padded cotton jacket was shoved inside.

This was the man the lean man had called Changgen.

His hair was a mess and his face was smeared with dirt. The moment he entered the hall, he dropped to his knees with a THUMP, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

Cold sweat streamed down his cheeks, soaking the front of his jacket.

Changgen stammered, "I... I am Changgen. Greetings, Master Tang..."

The lean man stepped forward, kicked Changgen, and barked, "The Incense Master has questions for you. Spit it out! Why was your young master keeping an eye on the Moon Worship Sect? What was he plotting?"

Changgen shuddered. His eyes darted away as he stammered, "I... I don’t know the details... I only overheard the young master say a few things to the steward..."

After he said this, a crafty glint flashed in his eyes, but he fell silent.

Tang Xiao stared at Changgen, the corner of his mouth suddenly curling into a smile. He pulled five gold bars from his robes and slammed them onto the table.

The heavy bars gleamed, and Changgen’s eyes immediately locked onto them.

"Tell me, and these are all yours."

Tang Xiao’s voice was softer now, but it was laced with an undeniable threat. "If you hide a single thing... you know the methods of the Blood Saber Sect."

Changgen stared at the gold bars and swallowed hard.

But his eyes shifted, and he remained silent.

Tang Xiao’s expression didn’t change. He pulled out two silver notes and tossed them beside the gold bars. "Here’s another two hundred taels... Talk, and it’s all yours. Stay silent, and the backyard of this Unity Hall could use another body to fill a hole."

His tone was casual, but it sent a chill through Changgen’s entire body.

He gritted his teeth and said in a trembling voice, "To answer your question, Incense Master... a while ago, my young master happened to overhear two Moon Worship Cultists talking. They said they came to Cyan Yang Ancient City to search for a ’key’—"

"A key?" Tang Xiao went rigid, his fingers clenching the scabbard at his waist. "What kind of key? Where is it?"

"I don’t know..." Changgen frantically waved his hands. "My young master only said the key was extraordinary. He said if he could get his hands on it, he could leave the Blood Saber Sect, free as a dragon in the sea or a tiger on a mountain!"

"That’s why he bought all those properties—to keep an eye on the Moon Worship Sect’s movements while ordering us to search everywhere for antiques and old artifacts. He said the key was most likely hidden among them..."

"And then what?" Master Tang pressed, his voice growing more urgent.

"Later... later, a few servants were tailing members of the Moon Worship Sect. They were discovered and killed on the spot." Changgen’s voice dwindled to a whisper. "The young master was afraid you’d find out, so he didn’t dare ask for help from the brothers in the Blood Saber Sect. He forced us to keep watching them..."

"...until a few days ago, when disaster struck the Huang Family."

Tang Xiao was silent for a moment, his fingers drumming against the gold bars.

He looked up at Changgen, the smile still on his face. "Very good. You’ve been honest."

He pushed the gold bars and silver notes toward Changgen. "Take them and get out."

"Remember, if a third person learns of what was said today, I’ll make sure your body is never found in one piece."

Overjoyed, Changgen scrambled to stuff the gold and silver notes into his jacket, kowtowing several times. "Thank you, Incense Master! Thank you, Incense Master! I swear I’ll keep my mouth shut!"

Having said that, he added, "Incense Master, besides me, a few other Huang Family servants know about this..."

"I spoke with them before I came here today."

"If I don’t make it back, they’ll spread the news all over Cyan Yang Ancient City..."

"Is that so?" Tang Xiao chuckled, the sound making Changgen flinch.

"You’re a clever one, aren’t you..." Tang Xiao smiled and waved a hand. "Go on, then."

With a sycophantic smile, Changgen scrambled to his feet.

The instant he turned, the lean man standing to the side struck!

With a flick of his wrist, a black iron chain shot out from his sleeve with a RATTLE. Its spiked head, like a venomous snake, lashed toward Changgen’s neck!

"Ngh!" Changgen’s pupils shrank. He opened his mouth to scream, but the chain had already cinched tight!

He clawed desperately at the chain, his fingernails digging into the iron links. His face turned crimson, his tongue slowly lolled out, and his eyes bulged with terror and disbelief!

The lean man, his back still to Changgen, tensed his arms...

A sharp CRACK echoed, the sound of a snapping neck bone piercing the silence of the hall.

Changgen’s body went limp and collapsed to the floor, his eyes wide in a death stare.

"That idiot. Daring to threaten the Incense Master—he was asking to die!"

The lean man expressionlessly crouched down, retrieved the gold bars and silver notes from Changgen’s jacket, and respectfully placed them on Master Tang’s desk.

Master Tang glanced at the corpse on the floor, then picked up his cold tea and took a sip.

His tone was as casual as if he were discussing a trivial matter. "Drag him out and bury him under the peach tree in the backyard. He’ll make good fertilizer."

"Send men to find the other surviving Huang Family servants. Kill them all. Leave no one alive."

"Yes, sir!" the lean man answered. He grabbed Changgen by the belt and dragged the corpse out like a dead dog.

A cold wind gusted into the hall, making the silver notes on the desk tremble and drawing a faint hum from the Long Sabers lining the walls.

Master Tang stared into the empty hall, his fingers stroking his scabbard.

The Moon Worship Sect’s "key," Huang Yu’s death, the extermination of the Huang Family...

’It seems the waters of Cyan Yang Ancient City are about to get choppy.’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

A vicious smile touched his lips.

...

The medicinal fragrance in Chu Fan’s room was overpowering, so thick it felt as if it could congeal.

In the center of the room stood a large cypress tub, half a man’s height.

The dark brown medicinal broth in the tub bubbled faintly. A few old ginseng tendrils and various nameless herbs floated on the surface. The rim was stained black from where it had been boiled—this was the formula Cao Feng had provided, and the ingredients had been simmered for a full six hours.

Chu Fan, bare from the waist up, studied the tub for a moment before stepping in and sitting down.

At first, he only felt a pleasant warmth enveloping his body. But just as he started to relax, a searing heat shot through him, as if a ball of raging fire were boring through his skin.

He gripped the rim of the tub so hard his knuckles turned white. "This medicinal power is intense!" he grunted.

He hadn’t even begun to circulate it with his Twelve Forms Fist, yet the medicinal power was already boring into his flesh through his pores on its own. It was several times more potent than the Blood Refining Pills!

The hot current slammed into his Dantian before spreading through his limbs and skeleton. It felt like fine needles scraping impurities from the very seams of his bones.

The pain made cold sweat bead on his forehead, but deep within his bones, he felt an indescribable sense of release and comfort!

His Qi and Blood surged wildly, and his sinews and bones felt like they were swelling.

He could even hear his own heartbeat, and it was twice as deep and powerful as usual.

And as this medicinal power washed over him, his speed of Blood Refining and condensing Qi Blood Power increased tenfold!

At this rate, it wouldn’t even be half a month before he could break through the Blood Refining realm and enter Bone Marrow Forging!

Chu Fan took a deep breath, letting the medicinal power scour his sinews and bones and temper his Qi and Blood. His thoughts, however, drifted to the Moon Worship Sect and the Blood Saber Sect.

’The bait has been out for seven or eight days...’

’Haven’t the waters of Cyan Yang Ancient City been stirred up yet?’

’It’s no fun to enjoy things alone. Best if everyone comes to look for that ’key’ together...’