Chapter 51: Seizing Treasure In The Chaos
The two rolled to the ground, first using fists and palms, then headbutts, and finally, Ah Hua, like a starving wolf, bit through Zhuang Kun’s neck with his teeth, tearing off a large chunk of flesh and blood.
The crowd watched this scene in some silence.
Yue Ting frowned darkly, wanting to intervene, but was locked by Zhou Qing’s qi, unable to move.
Moments later.
“Dad…”
Ah Hua lay on his back facing the sky, face covered in blood, chewing loudly, suddenly laughing,
“So, this meat is sweet… No wonder we’re so miserable.”
And beside Ah Hua.
Half of Zhuang Kun’s neck was gone, his eyes dull and lifeless, blood gushing from his mouth, hands clawing weakly, as if trying to find his beloved Golden Head Overlord.
But in the end, he merely convulsed twice like a pale maggot or grub, then went still.
Ah Hua turned his head, looking toward the group of water carriers.
He didn’t see Chen Shun’an, but he knew Chen Shun’an was watching him.
Ah Hua murmured: “Master Chen, I’m waiting for you down below.”
Men die for wealth, birds for food; he murdered his colleague for a position.
In Ah Hua’s view, if Chen Shun’an wanted to advance further one day…
He wouldn’t fare much better.
The Sacred Dynasty was corrupt and stagnant, one position per pit—that was a terrifying will permeating from top to bottom through the court and every trade’s livelihood, inescapable in every aspect, with few able to rise.
So if given another chance…
“That night, I should have taken the risk and killed him at the bottom of the well. Perhaps then, none of this would have happened…”
Ah Hua’s eyes flashed with ferocity, gripping the Li Tan Banner tightly, its sharp tip stabbing straight toward his chest.
Clang!
A fast arrow pierced the air like a meteor tearing through the night sky, precisely striking the Li Tan Banner.
Sparks flew, and the Li Tan Banner flew from his hand.
Huo Yue stood on the rooftop of a shop across the street, drawing several blunt-tipped arrows.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
Arrows flew like a waterfall, in an instant hitting Ah Hua’s major acupoints all over his body, instantly sealing his acupoints and meridians, blocking the flow of his strength.
Want to commit suicide?
Not that simple.
Lowering his bow and arrows, Huo Yue looked toward the crowd illuminated by firelight, figures flickering, his eyes showing puzzlement.
Just now, it seemed some hidden weapon had narrowly struck Ah Hua’s calf, stopping him.
For some reason, this scene gave Huo Yue an extremely familiar feeling.
As if he had seen it somewhere before.
……
Crunch~ Crunch~
In the deep night amid dense trees and chirping insects, there were occasional faint chills that weren’t wind.
Strands of fishy smell wafted over; the doors of homes near Wanlong Pounding House were tightly shut, lights extinguished and windows closed, even the dogs about to bark were muffled by their owners and dragged inside.
The surrounding streets had become like deserted ghost realms, without a single sound.
Only the incessant chirping of insects, noisy and chaotic.
In the distance, anxious footsteps approached, accompanied by the clashing of weapons and swords.
It was the Pounding House gang members, finally reacting and coming to reinforce.
Looking at the Wanlong Pounding House before them, reduced to ruins.
Amid the broken walls and rubble, faint glints of gold, flashes of silver, and items hanging from roof beams woven with copper coins like ‘prosperity strings’ and Gold Ingots could be seen…
The group of water carriers had strange expressions.
“Oh no, I left my stuff in Wanlong Pounding House, gotta go find it!”
At this voice, Chen Shun’an’s gaze showed surprise.
This time, it really wasn’t him.
It was that cripple Cheng Bin who practiced Startled Sparrow Skill!
Cheng Bin’s face was agitated, beansized sweat beads rolling down his twitching cheeks, a sickly excitement far beyond others on his face!
It was as if seeing Wanlong Pounding House in ruins fulfilled some long-held wish!
“Wanlong Pounding House has finally collapsed!”
Cheng Bin’s right leg, plagued by phantom pain for years, suddenly didn’t hurt anymore.
Back then, this leg of his had been injured by bow and crossbow during a clash with Wanlong Pounding House!
Cheng Bin stepped forward and immediately lunged for the nearest pile of silver.
Instantly, the scene descended into total chaos!
In a dizzying blur, figures leaped and darted, surging onto the Pounding House Ruins, rummaging everywhere.
“Courting death!”
Yue Ting’s face was frosty, his eyes surging with towering killing intent, but before his umbrella handle could move, a sly, yin wind aura remotely locked onto his glabella.
Zhou Qing smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth, eyes full of deep affection, silently watching Yue Ting.
Yue Ting didn’t dare move.
Actually, the loser leaves the spoils—that was the unspoken rule between the water station and the pounding house.
It was just that something like today, demolishing the entire Wanlong Pounding House, was a first.
So at first, the crowd hesitated a bit.
But once someone took the lead, everyone moved with practiced ease, turning into locusts, inch by inch devouring the Pounding House Ruins.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
In just two or three breaths, figures darted toward where Ah Hua was.
That treasure producing wailing ghosts and yin wind had many eyeing it covetously!
But they were fast, and someone was faster!
Before these people could react, a plain, hunched figure had already rushed out.
Moving like a roaming dragon, elusive, with a casual reach, he snatched the Li Tan Banner from beside Ah Hua.
“Chen Shun’an?”
“Old Chen?”
“This lightness skill… oh, he’s that son-in-law who practices Meat Flying Immortal?”
The crowd halted.
“Offended, everyone.”
Chen Shun’an cupped his hands and smiled.
Sun Xiao looked at Chen Shun’an who had appeared out of nowhere, a helpless expression on his face, then turned to rummage elsewhere.
You weren’t around during the charge.
But when dividing the treasures, you’re the fastest!
The remaining water carriers from other areas glanced at Chen Shun’an—some curious, some cold, some mocking—but didn’t vie with him, and hurried off to hunt treasures.
He tucked the Li Tan Banner into his pocket.
Bang bang bang…
Chen Shun’an didn’t stop moving, his legs whipping like lashes, surging with thick strength, flipping over the collapsed gray wall before him.
Suddenly,
Chen Shun’an faintly heard rustling insect chirps coming from a broken jar nearby.
The nearest water carrier to the broken jar also noticed the movement here and hurried over.
Chen Shun’an’s eyes lit up, he dashed forward like a ghost, hand rising and falling, right before this man’s eyes suddenly thrusting out, piercing the jar wall, yet effortlessly lifting out the insect hiding at the bottom.
A big-bellied grasshopper, with variegated yellow and black colors, two inches long, appeared before the two.
This grasshopper was extremely clever; once caught, it immediately stopped chirping and flipped over with a plop, playing dead.
“Golden Head Overlord? Good bug, good bug!”
Chen Shun’an had long known Zhuang Kun had this king among bugs; in weight, size, and biting power, it was top quality, and said to have considerable spirituality.
The other man stopped, eyeing Chen Shun’an’s fingers warily.
That finger technique just now—striking like a rushing hammer, landing like a falling feather—required decades of hard training.
“This Old Man Chen is hiding deep…”
The man silently sighed and withdrew.
Time passes quickly with talk, slowly without.
The group of water carriers rummaged for treasures, front to back no more than a dozen breaths.
Reinforcing Pounding House gang members had already arrived one after another.
Seeing this, Shopkeeper Li gave a sharp whistle, and the crowd stopped, faces full of reluctance, retreating behind Zhou Qing.
Chen Shun’an, with the Li Tan Banner, Golden Head Overlord, a few taels of broken silver, a decent snuff bottle, some sundries, and a notebook like a diary, silently returned to the group.
The two factions faced off across the space.
The Pounding House gang members opposite, their heads flickering in the firelight like big watermelons floating on the surface, round and plump.
For some reason, Chen Shun’an’s soles itched.
He glanced again at Zhou Qing and Yue Ting.
“Wonder what a first-rate expert’s head feels like underfoot…”
Though he thought this inwardly, Chen Shun’an decisively retreated a few steps, standing beside Shopkeeper Li.
Shopkeeper Li eyed him sideways, staring silently at Chen Shun’an without speaking.
……
Two four-man sedans stopped under Kui Xing Tower.
Over a dozen burly men, arms as thick as prison posts, stood distinctly beside the two sedans, gazing warily and hostilely at the opposite side.
Atop Kui Xing Tower, Zhao Guangxi and Landlord Zheng stood by the railing, expressions varied.
Zhao Guangxi rolled the iron ball in his hand, eyes narrowed, looking at Wanlong Pounding House reduced to ruins, almost unable to hold back his laughter.
Landlord Zheng’s face was ashen, his thumb’s jade thumb ring nearly crushed in his grip.
Especially seeing that waste Zhuang Kun die at the hands of an obscure hothead regarded as a traitor by the water station, he was furious beyond measure, flames nearly spurting from his nostrils.
“Zhao Guangxi, you’re going too far! Under the emperor’s feet, in Wuqing County, you dare smash my Wanlong Pounding House?!”
