Chapter 0032: The Martial Way (Middle)

Chen Zheng smelled the strong scent of blood in the air, and his expression changed. He remembered scenes from a movie, where after Ho Yuanjia killed Qin Ye, a massacre occurred in the Ho family.

Because it had been so long, Chen Zheng had almost forgotten about this. Today, he had been too deep in thought, pondering his own issues, and had completely lost track of this upcoming disaster.

Now, smelling the blood, he quickly realized that something bad had happened and rushed inside immediately.

Having spent more than six years with the Ho family, Chen Zheng was very familiar with their layout. He hurried toward the backroom, where Mrs. Ho and the Ho family women lived.

Though Chen Zheng hadn't intentionally formed close relations with them, as Ho Yuanjia's senior disciple, he had interacted with them a few times. They were after all Ho Yuanjia's family, and since Ho Yuanjia was his teacher, they could be considered his family too. Chen Zheng, who had no parents since childhood, valued family ties.

Along the way, he found several servants' bodies, all bearing cuts from a large blade, the wounds deep and brutal, with almost all of them killed instantly.

"Ah..." Chen Zheng heard a scream.

"That's Mrs. Ho's voice!" Chen Zheng rushed to Ho Yuanjia's room. By the time he arrived, Mrs. Ho had already fallen to the ground. After checking her pulse, he confirmed she was dead.

Looking around, Chen Zheng suddenly shouted, "Not good, Cui'er!"

Ho Cui'er, who was five years old now, would usually sleep with her parents in an ordinary family. However, as a martial arts family, Ho's strict upbringing had made her sleep alone since she was three.

At this moment, Chen Zheng, still not realizing this, rushed to her room and saw a figure raising a knife.

"Stop!" Chen Zheng shouted, but it was too late. He saw blood splatter onto the paper of the window.

"You!" Chen Zheng, at the door, gritted his teeth when he saw a large knife plunged into Cui'er's tiny body. It was already too late.

"Ah!" Chen Zheng let out a furious roar, kicking the wooden door frame apart. A piece of it flew toward the attacker.

"Bang!" The attacker, holding the knife, split the wood in midair. By the candlelight, Chen Zheng could clearly see the face of the attacker: it was Qin Lang.

"It's you!"

"Hmph, of course, it's me. How does it feel? Painful, right? Ha ha ha ha..." Qin Lang laughed maniacally, his hair disheveled and his clothes soaked in blood. He looked almost like a madman.

"You deserve to die!" Chen Zheng glared at Qin Lang, forcing out the words with all his might. He had never been this angry, not even when he was ambushed before.

"Nothing matters to me unless it affects me directly; even if it's as important as Mount Tai, I wouldn't care. But if it's related to me, not even the smallest thing can be overlooked."

This is a phrase from historical research, meaning that researchers must value even the tiniest pieces of evidence related to their studies, even more than the grandest, unrelated materials. While this applies to research, isn't it similar to life in general?

Although Chen Zheng had previously been enraged by the indiscriminate killing of innocents by the Boxers, his anger back then was mostly because their actions violated his moral values, not because of a personal connection. He wasn't a saint, and those people didn't affect him directly.

However, today, Chen Zheng's anger was different; it was not just because Qin Lang killed someone, but because he killed Ho Cui'er, a direct family member of Ho Yuanjia, and thus, a close family to Chen Zheng himself. This was personal.

At that moment, all of Chen Zheng's confusion vanished. He felt mentally sharp and more focused. But now, anger consumed him, and he no longer cared about anything else. His sole goal was to kill this man and avenge Ho Cui'er and the others.

Chen Zheng charged at Qin Lang in fury.

"Looking for death!" 

Compared to Chen Zheng's overwhelming anger, Qin Lang's rage had already subsided somewhat. But seeing Chen Zheng, he still harbored murderous intent, planning to eliminate everyone close to Ho Yuanjia.

Chen Zheng, as Ho Yuanjia's first disciple, was naturally on Qin Lang's hit list. As a martial artist, Qin Lang understood how much effort a master put into their disciples, and he wanted to see all of Ho Yuanjia's hard work go to waste.

So, Qin Lang struck with his knife. Though Chen Zheng was furious, he wasn't reckless. He knew better than to strike the blade with his fist.

Instead, Chen Zheng slapped the knife aside, redirecting it, and kicked out in anger.

But Qin Lang was also a skilled fighter. After the knife was deflected, he switched hands and struck again with his blade, this time aiming at Chen Zheng's leg. This was Qin Lang's signature move, the "Hand-switching Knife," an extraordinary technique that allowed him to switch hands mid-strike, a skill that had helped Qin Ye dominate the region.

Chen Zheng, though surprised, reacted swiftly, lowering his center of gravity, supporting himself with his hands, and flipping backward to dodge the strike. However, this unexpected move still caused a shallow cut on his right leg.

Seizing the opportunity, Qin Lang pressed the attack, forcing Chen Zheng to retreat and dodge, as he had no weapon and could only rely on evasion.

Chen Zheng soon found himself cornered, his back against the wall. Seeing this, Qin Lang smiled and struck harder.

Chen Zheng slammed his hand on the wall, causing cracks to spread across it. He grabbed some of the debris and threw it.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."