piratefiction Chapter 29 A City in Turmoil
Chapter 29 A City in Turmoil
"Is the magistrate really dead?" Zhao Chunzi put a golden, crispy fried meatball into his mouth, enjoying it while saying it with a hint of regret.
"To tell you the truth, I've grown up in the city and have never seen the magistrate before. I wonder what he looks like."
For ordinary people like him, from the lower rungs of the city, the sudden news of the magistrate's death didn't really feel like a reality.
After all, the county magistrate was high above and lived in the inner city for a long time. Most people only knew his name but never saw him. They would be surprised to hear the news, but they would not feel that the sky had fallen over the county.
Li Gou'er felt the same way, and with a quick glance, he said, "Brother Zhao, this is a good thing for you. Now the authorities probably won't have time to investigate what happened last night."
"Hmm..." Zhao An's gaze fell on the several large swords in front of him.
These knives were seized by him from the Tiger Head Gang's headquarters.
The large ring sword he had previously used had chipped and broken, making it difficult to repair. Therefore, he had to choose a new sword from the spoils of war.
In the end, he chose a knife that resembled a goose-wing blade in shape. It was of ordinary quality and not a particularly good knife. It just seemed heavier and more powerful when chopping, making it easier for Zhao Anchi to hold. That was all.
As for Zhou Hu's large golden knife and Chen Song's official knife, they were too conspicuous, and he had no intention of using them.
"With the magistrate dead, the whole city will surely be in an uproar. If he was really assassinated, a full-scale search is inevitable. Hide all the valuables in the house well, lest those soldiers take advantage of the situation to steal them," Zhao An instructed.
"Brother Zhao is right, Chunzi and I will go right away!" Li Gou'er slapped his forehead in agreement and hurriedly pulled Zhao Chunzi, who was still eating, to carry the things.
They are not as poor as they used to be.
There are quite a lot of things in this room. Putting aside the silver, there are also many items that were moved from the headquarters of the Python Gang and the Tiger Head Gang. Some of them will be kept, while others will be sold for silver once the storm has passed.
These are all valuables; they must not be discovered by the search officers.
As Zhao An had predicted, the county town gates were tightly shut, and all the officials, soldiers, clerks, and constables came out to search the entire town for the assassin's whereabouts, causing widespread panic.
Even the county-level imperial examinations, which were originally scheduled to take place, had to be postponed due to the death of the county magistrate.
In the Soul Pool, another red karmic fruit floated up and appeared. Zhao An picked it up and absorbed it, and the results of three years of hard study were added to his mind.
Zhao An asked Zhao Chunzi to fetch paper and grind ink, and quickly wrote down a military treatise in a flowing and elegant style.
He was very satisfied with the neat handwriting and the almost error-free content.
"Brother Zhao, you've become a great scholar! Your calligraphy is so beautiful!" Zhao Chunzi exclaimed in amazement.
He didn't recognize the contents of the paper; he only knew that Zhao An's ability to write so many words from memory in one breath was truly remarkable.
"So reading books can teach you to write articles so quickly..." Zhao Chunzi muttered.
"That's because our Brother Zhao is amazing. Look at those bookworms, they have to study hard for ten years if they want to write an article," Li Gou'er said with a click of his tongue.
In his eyes, his older brother was a genius.
Previously, it wasn't because they hadn't learned it; if they were truly dedicated, they could learn it in no time.
Previously, when Zhao An said he wanted to take the military examination, he thought it was a pipe dream. Now he realizes that maybe his older brother will really become a great general who will be remembered for all time!
"Open the door! Open the door!"
Just then, a loud, rough knocking came from outside the door.
Li Gou'er dared not delay and opened the door.
Sure enough, the officers and soldiers who were conducting the search arrived.
"Officer, what is it?" Li Gou'er asked with a fawning smile.
"Have you seen anyone suspicious today?" one of the soldiers asked, while the others rushed into the houses without saying a word.
"No, no, we kept the doors closed and didn't see anyone all day," Li Gou'er said, while asking Zhao Chunzi to fetch some tea.
"Officer, you've had a hard day. What happened?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."
"Okay."
The officials searched the area but found no thieves, nothing of value, not even a single steamed bun. They left with grim faces.
However, as soon as these officials stepped onto the street, they saw several burly men who could scale walls and leap across rooftops, wielding knives and axes, charging towards them.
"Thief! Thief here!" A soldier had barely uttered the words when an arrow flew and pierced his head, killing him instantly.
The once bustling streets were thrown into chaos. A few thieves simply swept past, and most of the officials fell to the ground.
"How dare you, you scoundrel!" Several mounted warriors caught up from behind, and the two sides fought like the wind until they disappeared without a trace, leaving only a mess on the street.
"Wow, that was scary..." Li Gou'er peeked out from the doorway, still shaken.
The fight between those tough guys was incredibly brutal.
The officer who was talking to him just a moment ago is now a cold corpse lying on the street not far away.
Zhao An's gaze also turned somewhat serious.
Judging from the fight just now, both groups are martial artists, and both are extremely strong!
It makes perfect sense; a powerful man who could break into the magistrate's mansion and kill the magistrate must be incredibly strong.
You must know that the magistrate's mansion must be heavily guarded, with many retainers and martial arts masters.
"It seems that it wasn't just one person who killed the magistrate, but a group of them." Zhao An shook his head and told Li Gou'er to close the door; he didn't intend to get involved.
It remains to be seen how far this turmoil will develop. For now, he prefers to focus on improving his own strength and wait and see.
[Soul Slave Chen Xu, your five-year period of enslavement has ended. Do you wish to collect your karmic rewards?]
[Sun Yuan, the Soul Slave, has completed his five-year period of enslavement. Shall we collect the karmic reward?]
They also obtained two more Soul Slave Karma Fruits. These two Soul Slaves had the same task: to specialize in training the Silver Serpent Hand, and they started training at the same time.
Five days of arduous practice, ten years of hardship!
The two results, when combined, contain overlapping insights and experiences, as well as complementary and intersecting elements.
He finally mastered the Silver Serpent Hand technique and reached the second level!
The Silver Serpent Hand only has three levels, and this second level is the same level that Xu Donglai, the former leader of the Python Gang, reached.
After eating a large plate of meat and drinking several kilograms of medicinal soup made from the red blood root, Zhao An began practicing his palm techniques.
His palms moved smoothly, like silver snakes winding, and his strikes were as swift as lightning, capable of delivering several blows in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Zhao An's figure shifted, and the way his palms moved changed again, with a series of grabs and grapples that were even more cunning and treacherous than before, each move accompanied by the intent of his palms.
The claw emerged from the hole, snap!
The internal energy was activated and released through the palm, producing a muffled sound like a firecracker in the air.
If this palm strike lands squarely, even the toughest body wouldn't be able to withstand it!
Zhao An withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
Although the Silver Serpent Hand only has three levels, the mysteries that can be comprehended at each level are truly numerous.
Having reached this second stage, his mastery of this martial art is already quite remarkable, and he can basically demonstrate the power that this palm technique should have.
In actual combat, the combination of sword and palm techniques can even produce unexpected results.
At the same time, his internal energy also improved once again, reaching a total of two hundred strands!