Chapter 28: Gains, Cutting The Grass At The Root
Fang Shu stayed in the Du Gu Guan, cultivating practice until noon, cultivating practice until evening, without the slightest sign of fatigue.
Over the next two days, compared to usual, he showed no abnormality whatsoever, as if he had completely cast the matter of slaughtering Cheng Guanzi out of his mind.
Until this day.
Li Hou Er excitedly sought him out: “Fang Ge Er, let me tell you something! Good news!”
Hearing this, Fang Shu felt a ripple in his heart, and he smiled as he asked:
“What is it? Did Uncle Li draw an Opportunity Talisman?”
“Hey, no way.” Li Hou Er was beaming with joy:
“It was Cheng Guanzi from the Paper Workshop, he’s dead. Slaughtered like a dog.”
Seeing the shock and curiosity on Fang Shu’s face, Li Hou Er showed a satisfied expression, and then spoke even more enthusiastically:
“To be precise, that guy was more like a pig, stabbed to death by the water channel. Good grief, blood flowed all over the ground, on the walls and doors. I just went back to see, and it still hasn’t been cleaned up.”
Fang Shu spoke up:
“Good riddance! Which hero killed him?”
Li Hou Er showed an indifferent expression on his face, spreading his hands:
“Don’t know. No one is investigating, except for his nephew, who cares who killed him.”
These words truly piqued Fang Shu’s curiosity, and he asked calmly:
“I heard that guy Cheng Guanzi had quite a background, no one came to handle it?”
Li Hou Er showed a thoughtful expression and said:
“Someone did handle it. But the Black Tiger Dojo sent people over, saw that although Cheng Guanzi’s corpse was rotting, his bones were intact without any missing parts, so they directly took away Cheng Guanzi’s corpse and didn’t bother further.
Later I heard that the killer only took Cheng Guanzi’s life, didn’t dig out his tiger bone, didn’t covet the Black Tiger Hall’s secret skill, which was giving face to the Black Tiger Hall.
Therefore, the Black Tiger Hall will most likely also give face to the killer, too lazy to bother, at most just help look after Cheng Guanzi’s nephew.”
Li Hou Er clicked his tongue:
“My dad said, after all, a guy surnamed Cheng is just a lowly minion, dead is dead, people die in the marketplace every year.
It’s just that this time he died inside the marketplace, so it had a bit of impact.
But Cheng Guanzi that guy’s evil deeds were numerous, and the killer was experienced, the Paper Workshop neighbors don’t even know how tall or big the killer was, or what magic he used.
How could the Black Tiger Hall and the marketplace waste too much manpower and resources on investigating the case, at most just put up a bounty.”
Li Hou Er was still excitedly muttering:
“Usually thought Cheng Guanzi that guy was so blustery and impressive, turns out he was just a paper tiger.
Ha, died just like a dog!”
Li Hou Er invited Fang Shu:
“Come on, let’s go drink, celebrate, been displeased with that guy for a long time. Too bad my dad didn’t tell me proactively, I only found out when I went back to the Paper Workshop.”
On Fang Shu’s face, an appropriately moved expression appeared.
But he glanced at the cultivation practice hall, especially that youth arduously cultivating day and night in the hall.
So he shook his head and politely declined: “Let’s eat together in the dining hall in the evening, I still need to cultivate practice.”
Seeing this, Li Hou Er also extinguished his thoughts of drinking and slacking off, he stayed in the cultivation practice hall too, cultivating practice half-heartedly.
But this guy kept talking nonstop:
“Cheng Guanzi’s nephew seems about our age. I heard because of Cheng Guanzi’s death, that guy actually got some importance in the Black Tiger Hall. Right now he’s swearing oaths to cultivate practice diligently, vowing to avenge Cheng Guanzi.”
Li Hou Er muttered irritably:
“When that guy came back to the marketplace, he looked at us Paper Workshop neighbors with fierce, menacing eyes, treating us all as enemies.
Even said things like, ‘It’s because no one in the Paper Workshop opened their doors, no one came out to save, that my uncle died’, ‘You’re all accomplices’ and so on.
Many people are saying, when this guy grows up, he’ll definitely be a scourge too.”
Fang Shu, who was cultivating practice, heard this, his cultivation practice movements remained standard, he smiled in agreement, showing no difference.
But in his heart, it had just stirred, strands of killing intent immediately surged up again.
Not long after.
Li Hou Er accompanied for a bit of cultivation practice, seeing Fang Shu seemed to have entered a cultivation practice state, feeling bored, he went off to chat with disciples from other dojos.
In the corner.
Fang Shu with his back against the wall suddenly opened his eyes wide, his gaze turning cold.
The killing intent he had just suppressed was now surging uncontrollably, roiling.
While pushing blood and cultivating practice, Fang Shu silently recited in his heart:
“The thief’s nephew should also be killed, otherwise the future trouble cannot be eliminated.”
Borrowing this surge of killing intent, the bug face secret script on his body also became hideous and terrifying again, in excellent condition.
And Fang Shu’s thoughts in his heart also churned.
Speaking of it, Cheng Guanzi’s entire body of bones was indeed a precious material.
Especially since this guy had broken through to become a First Tribulation Essence Refining Immortal, and from the Black Tiger Hall, his bones would surely be imprinted with the Black Tiger Hall’s secret script.
If Fang Shu dismantled and collected them, he could use them as immortal cultivator materials, or sell them to others for comprehending the secret script on the bones.
The value of his entire body of bones should not be inferior to his entire body of Precious Blood, at least equivalent to the value of a First Tribulation Magic Tool!
And the reason Fang Shu didn’t take the bones was not because he didn’t understand this, nor because he scrupled against such “human talent”.
He deliberately gave them up.
First, bones are inconvenient to carry, easy to leave traces, and can only be sold outside the marketplace, with risks.
Second, as Li Hou Er just said, by not touching the Black Tiger Hall’s secret script, it greatly reduced the possibility of the Black Tiger Hall getting involved.
Now it seems, as Fang Shu expected, the Black Tiger Hall just collected Cheng Guanzi’s bones and that was it, not wanting the secret skill to leak out, and had no motivation at all to pursue the real culprit.
Originally, with that, Cheng Guanzi’s matter would have ended there.
But now it seems, this matter still had one small gap—namely Cheng Guanzi’s nephew.
Fang Shu pondered in his heart.
But no matter, this small gap could just be filled.
As he pondered, the thought of cutting the grass at the root took firm hold in Fang Shu’s mind.
He didn’t want to leave future trouble for himself and Second Uncle out of a moment’s pity!
………………
Although killing intent arose again, Fang Shu did not act rashly.
Just like last time, he began to quietly wait for the opportunity.
During this waiting period.
After repeatedly confirming that nothing on Cheng Guanzi’s body could lead to tracking, Fang Shu took them out in batches from the pawn shop.
The goods on this guy consisted of three parts: first, nearly a thousand in scattered talisman money, second, a Gold Chain.
Fang Shu had some hearsay about the Gold Chain.
It was both used by marketplace strongmen to show off as facade and status, and convenient for strongmen to cash in when fleeing.
Because the Gold Chain was coated in gold on the outside, and inside cut from spirit stones.
Spirit stones are precious, and gold is dense in texture, both a material for refining tools and able to seal spiritual energy, the combination is excellent, both easy to sell, can be used directly as money.
The Gold Chain on Cheng Guanzi weighed a full two taels seven qian, when cut open, inside was indeed spirit stones!
Such a windfall immediately gave Fang Shu new tuition fee, enough to continue three months of cultivation time in the Du Gu Guan.
As for the third part, it was a Black Ticket.
Out of caution, Fang Shu had not yet used the Black Ticket, he just inquired and found it was not an anonymous talisman money voucher, but a storage voucher from a certain pawn shop.
No need to think much, the value contained in this item was likely even greater than the first two, making Fang Shu quite expectant.
And as he was calculating.
When to retrieve the Black Ticket, and then take Cheng Xiao Guanzi’s life, suddenly unexpected news came.
This day.
Li Hou Er excitedly came looking again:
“Fang Ge Er, Fang Ge Er, that Cheng Xiao Guanzi also died!”
Fang Shu was stunned.
Only hearing Li Hou Er enthusiastically say:
“Hahaha, that guy drowned in the ditch at night.
No one saw how he died, but all say he got drunk and fell in himself.
Who knows, maybe his uncle missed him and took him along.”
This news truly stunned Fang Shu.
He never expected Cheng Xiao Guanzi to die so suddenly.
After Li Hou Er left, Fang Shu slowly exhaled, and the killing intent in his heart also dissipated.
But as the killing intent dissipated, a trace of vigilance also appeared in his heart.
Fang Shu suddenly thought of Second Uncle’s words—
Mouth opens and divine energy scatters, tongue moves and trouble arises.
