System: I Can Open Martial Arts Chests-Chapter 93 - 79: Yinfeng Stronghold? (2)
"To tell you the truth, people like you are nothing to Master San!" ๐ณ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐.๐ฐ๐ ๐ฆ
Chu Qing looked back at him:
"You aid the wicked, you deserve to die without pity."
He reached out for a chopstick, and with a flick of his wrist, there was a sharp sound, and the chopstick had pierced through the shopkeeperโs throat.
The waiter, initially expressionless, couldnโt help but change his face upon witnessing this scene.
Killing with a chopstick, even the most notorious villains couldnโt accomplish that.
When Chu Qingโs gaze fell on him, an inexplicable fear arose within him.
"Letโs go."
Chu Qingโs voice was calm, and the waiter hurriedly nodded, leading the way out front.
Just as they stepped out of the tavern, they saw the butcher, the noodle stall shopkeeper, and an elderly person holding a swaddling cloth, all looking in the direction of Zhaoโs Tavern.
Seeing them emerge, a strange color suddenly appeared on their numb faces.
The first to run towards them was the elderly person... She held the swaddling cloth, trembling and staggering with each step, until she reached the waiter:
"What do you intend to do?"
Chu Qing glanced at the old woman, then at the swaddling cloth in her arms.
It was very quiet inside the swaddling cloth, without a sound despite the commotion caused by the elderly person.
Because there was no child in the swaddling cloth, only a small white skeleton.
The waiter cracked a smile:
"Take him to find someone."
"Can he... can he make it?"
The old woman asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I donโt know."
The waiter shook his head:
"It doesnโt matter if he canโt... Iโve had enough of this life, Iโve lived enough..."
After he said this, he led Chu Qing and Gentle into the town.
The people behind them exchanged glances, some silently following, others remained where they were.
This stagnant town, with the arrival of Chu Qing and Gentle, began to ripple with life.
Chu Qing and Gentle followed behind the waiter, without a word.
Though curious, they decided to hold off their questions for now.
They would wait until reaching the destination to speak...
The town wasnโt large, and soon they arrived at a four-sided courtyard.
It seemed word had already spread, as there was a lineup of strong men standing in front of the door.
Judging by their looks, they belonged to the same group that took away Uncle Erniu earlier.
"Out of the way."
Chu Qing raised his gaze to them and softly spoke:
"I wonโt say it a second time."
The group of men looked at each other, neither speaking nor stepping aside.
They heard a voice coming from behind them:
"Young hero, please leave. This waiterโs nonsense is due to a bout of madness, donโt take his words to heart.
"There is nothing here."
"If thereโs nothing, why not let me in and see for myself?"
Chu Qing smiled faintly, raising his gaze.
"This place is forbidden in our town, outsiders are not allowed to set foot here. Even if youโre skilled in the Martial World, you shouldnโt break the rules here.
"Of course, if you insist on entering, we know weโre no match for you, but we ask that you kill us all, and step over our corpses to pass."
At this point, the voice paused, then continued calmly:
"However, if you do so, tales of you using martial arts to bully and slaughter innocent townsfolk will inevitably spread, which might harm your reputation."
Upon hearing this, Chu Qing laughed freely:
"Scholars use words to disrupt laws, heroes use martial arts to break rules.
"Rules are meant to be broken. If bound by these constraints, whatโs the use of learning all these martial arts?"
Having said this, he spoke no more, for indeed he said it only once.
With a single leap, he rushed forward.
The Mingyu Scripture filled his body, and with one stride, the men in front of him felt an immense pulling force coming from him, drawn irresistibly toward him.
After crashing into him, they were flung away by a tremendous force.
Bang bang bang!!!
Wherever he passed, chaos ensued. In a mere instant, he passed through the wall of men.
Grasping the throat of the man who had spoken just now, he lifted him up.
Only now did the strong men fall from mid-air.
Some spat blood wildly, some fainted instantly. In the end, Chu Qing had shown mercy, otherwise with just this collision, none of them would have survived.
Looking at the man in his hand, it was the very leader they met upon arriving here.
"Are you the mayor?"
Chu Qing kicked open the courtyard gate, dragging him by the neck as he stepped inside.
He glanced back at the waiter:
"Follow, lead the way."
The waiter, along with those who witnessed this, finally picked their jaws up from the ground.
They looked at Chu Qing as if they were looking at an Immortal.
The waiter quickly nodded, walking while tears flowed.
Chu Qing didnโt ask why he was crying, just followed him to the center of the courtyard.
There were still people blocking the way, but beyond their strength and build, they had nothing worth noting and could do nothing to halt Chu Qingโs steps.
"Itโs here."
The waiter pointed, showing a doorway in the courtyard that led to a tunnel going downward.
However, the dungeon in such a small town was naturally not comparable to Celestial Dance City.
There were no cells, just a large group of people wearing shackles lying limply on the floor. Except for moans, they couldnโt move.
At a glance, there were a dozen men and women of all ages.
At this point, Chu Qing finally looked towards the mayor:
"What more do you have to say?"
"...Young, young hero... Spare, spare me... spare me..."
Grasping Chu Qingโs wrist, he tried to pry it open... but lacked the strength.
Chu Qing threw him to the ground, and he coughed violently before falling to his knees with a thud:
"Young hero, spare me, young hero, spare me!!
"I had no choice...
"If I didnโt do this, all of us here would be doomed!!"
"Oh?"
Chu Qingโs gaze swept over him:
"Iโll listen to your excuses in a moment, what happened to them?"
"They got poisoned."
The mayor, this time not daring to hide anything, spoke:
"These people were passing through here and were poisoned by us, then locked in here.
"Every month... that... that..."
At this point, he seemed to have an internal struggle.
Finally, he gritted his teeth:
"Every month, Yinfeng Stronghold on Yinfeng Mountain sends people to take them away.
"If... if we canโt deliver people and silver, they will kill.
"We really have no choice, we really have no choice!"
Yinfeng Mountain, Yinfeng Stronghold...
Chu Qing pondered slightly, then asked:
"Whereโs the antidote?"
"We donโt have the antidote here, the antidote is at Yinfeng Stronghold..."
Before he finished, Chu Qing had already drawn his blade, sweeping it past his ear, sending one ear flying.
"Donโt play tricks with me! I asked you, where is the antidote?"
"Iโm telling the truth!"
The mayor kowtowed vehemently, soon his head was a bloody mess.
Chu Qing pondered slightly, then took out the gold hairpin from earlier, looking at Gentle:
"Can you identify the owner of this hairpin?"
Gentle took it, sniffed, brows furrowing, then moved among the people, sniffing again... Finally pointed at a man in his thirties with a sharp chin, saying:
"The scent on this hairpin matches his."
Chu Qing was taken aback:
"Are you sure?"
"No mistake."
Gentle affirmed:
"If itโs an old scent, I wouldnโt catch it... The recent scent, apart from that fat shopkeeper, only belongs to this man.
"Besides, thereโs another pungent smell, Iโm not sure where it comes from."
Chu Qingโs face darkened, approaching the crowd, and lifted the man up:
"Tell me, where did you get this hairpin?"
The man, poisoned and weak all over, having witnessed Chu Qingโs methods, didnโt dare hide anything and spoke weakly:
"I... I stole it..."
"..."
Hearing this, Chu Qing exhaled in relief.
Stolen... wasnโt the worst outcome.
Firstly, it meant his sister-in-law hadnโt truly met with misfortune, secondly, his brotherโs honor wasnโt tarnished.
Just as he was about to ask more, a sound of shouting and fighting suddenly came from outside the dungeon.
