Chapter 21: Spoils of War

In just a few moments, a small figure leapt out from the depths of the forest, dragging along a gaunt, black-clad old man. When they landed, the ground shook with a booming crash, taking a while to settle back into stillness.

Qin Feng nearly lost his footing at the impact.

Dark lines appeared on his forehead in exasperation.

“Sigh, if you really treat your little sister as a child, you’re bound to suffer for it,” he thought. The sheer, overwhelming power she displayed was hundreds of times greater than that of a mountain bear.

“Brother, you sure had your fun, leaving this sickly one for me. I barely hit him and he was half dead already—no fun at all.” The girl, dressed in a tight-fitting blue outfit, pouted unhappily as she tossed the frail man toward Qin Feng, grumbling at him.

“Come on, that’s murder, not a game!” Qin Feng was at a loss for words.

“Did you search thoroughly? Are there any others besides these three?” He glanced around and extended his senses to the distance. Although nothing seemed amiss, he still asked cautiously.

“No more, Brother. I circled around twice and found only this sneaky fellow, hiding in a small cave, using his ten fingers to manipulate some invisible threads of arcane energy. Who knows what shady tricks he was up to!”

“Invisible threads of arcane energy?”

At this, Qin Feng’s expression darkened slightly as he pondered.

“It seems our enemies must be of the demonic path. Controlling the Rouge Skeletons with threads of arcane energy is clearly a technique of the Corpse Puppet Art. But which faction do they belong to? Could it be...?”

For a moment, Qin Feng thought he’d stumbled upon the answer, but he couldn’t be certain.

Before entering the woods, Qin Feng had already used his formidable perception to detect three people and lock onto their ambush positions. Only after confirming that he and Qin Yuyan could easily handle these three did he dare to venture in. Otherwise, he would never have foolishly walked into a trap.

If not for the “Tai’a Perception Tempering” technique, they’d have suffered a severe loss this time. Even if they didn’t lose outright, they’d have been badly wounded. Currently, his cultivation remained at the Mortal Astral stage. If he could break into the Human Astral stage and develop spiritual sense, things would be far simpler—he would perceive every blade of grass and tree in this grove as if they lay before his eyes.

The benefits of a powerful soul were endless; one could always anticipate the enemy’s moves. Qin Feng found himself ever more satisfied with his “Tai’a Perception Tempering” technique.

This time, it was clear the enemy hadn’t fully uncovered his true strength, which led to their defeat.

He had dealt with one of the three; the other two were half dead.

Of course, Qin Feng had no intention of letting them live. After all, they had come to assassinate him—why should he play the saint? But before they died, he intended to extract some information.

He grabbed the gaunt, black-clad elder who controlled the Rouge Skeletons and slapped him awake.

The old man spat blood, and, when he realized the situation, first looked shocked, then resigned.

Qin Feng understood that look. As an assassin, failure meant death—he’d accepted his fate. Qin Feng got straight to the point: “Are you assassins from Blood River Bridge? Was it Ye Wuyin of the Ye family who hired you?”

A trace of pride flashed across the old man’s face. He snorted coldly, “Hmph, no harm in telling you. We are indeed from Blood River Bridge! As for who paid us, I’ll never tell! Hahaha!” With that, smoke suddenly billowed from his body and, before Qin Feng could react, he self-immolated, leaving only a heap of ashes.

“Blood River Bridge!”

Qin Feng knew this organization well. In Luoyang Town, there wasn’t a single power unaware of Blood River Bridge’s existence.

This was a mysterious assassin guild, its strength rivaling—if not surpassing—any family in Luoyang Town. Yet it was highly disciplined: they only took jobs for money, dispatching assassins of corresponding skill based on the price. Succeed or fail, they acted only once, never breaking their code, and never interfering in the town’s family feuds—they only cared about the money.

Now that he’d confirmed Blood River Bridge’s involvement, there was no point questioning the other survivor.

With a flick of his wrist, Qin Feng incinerated the other man to ashes, then gathered up the three’s storage pouches to take inventory.

…

“One, two, three... ten pieces!”

Unbelievable—these three dared call themselves ‘Blood Hands’?

Altogether, they carried only ten low-grade arcane stones. On the market, a single mid-grade stone equaled one hundred low-grade stones. By that measure, Qin Feng’s five mid-grade stones were worth five hundred low-grade ones.

Such poverty made Qin Feng sneer inwardly.

Still, among Blood River Bridge’s assassins, these three weren’t doing too badly.

Let’s not forget—until recently, Qin Feng had only ever seen a low-grade arcane stone once and had never owned one. It was only after acquiring those dozen mid-grade stones that his standards began to rise.

The only other valuable item was the arcane sword that had attacked him from underground. The sword was sentient—without recognizing an owner, it couldn’t be used. Noticing the girl’s eyes lighting up as she stared at the sword, Qin Feng smiled and tossed it to her.

She received the sword with delight, admiring it joyfully.

There was also a copy of the “Corpse Puppet Art,” a rather ordinary demonic manual. Qin Feng flipped through it; though some of its bizarre techniques were intriguing, he had always been averse to the demonic path and tossed it straight into his storage ring.

“Ten low-grade arcane stones—how should I use them?”

Though he’d emerged victorious, the nighttime assassination left Qin Feng deeply unsettled.

Ye Wuyin, that scoundrel, still dared to plot against him in secret!

Qin Feng narrowed his eyes, tossing the arcane stones up and down in his hand while rapidly considering his options.

At present, Ye Wuyin was still recovering from his injuries and likely spent most of his time at home, rarely venturing out. If Qin Feng wanted to strike, it couldn’t be within the Ye family compound. With the Soul Awakening Day approaching, he simply didn’t have the time to keep constant watch over Ye Wuyin’s movements.

Gazing once more at the scattered remains of the Rouge Skeletons, a sudden idea struck Qin Feng.

“I’ve got it! Yan’er, you head back first. Be careful on your way—I have some matters to attend to.”

“Brother, let me go with you!” Qin Yuyan, still unsatisfied from the earlier skirmish, made a pleading face. It was true—the most exciting part had been handled by Qin Feng, while she’d only gotten a soft target. Of course she wanted more.

Qin Feng’s face hardened.

Immediately, Qin Yuyan stuck out her tongue, pulled a playful face at him, and, though unwilling, turned to leave. She knew her brother’s temper well—if he forbade her from going, then she simply would not be allowed...