Chapter 13 Acquiring the Stone-Throwing Skill, That Damn Old Swine Dog

Moments later, Lin Xuankong moved the bodies of Ma Xiong and the others into the depths of the forest and meticulously cleaned up the birdcages and other traces of evidence by the roadside.

Deep in the forest, there was indeed a freshly dug pit.

Unfortunately, the pit was somewhat small and insufficient for the task. Originally, it was intended for one person; trying to fit six people in it was impossible!

So, he had no choice but to use the shovel belonging to Han Si, the Black Tiger Gang member, to enlarge the pit a bit.

After burying the six bodies, Lin Xuankong stood by the dirt mound and gathered the items he had found on them.

There were over sixty silver taels in total, mostly from Ma Xiong.

There were also four Hundred-refined Steel Sabers, each worth about eight or nine silver taels, totaling over thirty taels.

What intrigued Lin Xuankong the most was a manual titled "Stone-Throwing Skill" found on Hu Lin. It wasn't a Martial Dao Technique, but rather a training guide for projecting Flying Locust Stones. The Stone-Throwing Skill! During the earlier battle, Hu Lin's stone-throwing technique left a deep impression on me!

He was certain that if Hu Lin's elder brother had also known how to use Flying Locust Stones and hadn't been killed early on, the two brothers using the Stone-Throwing Skill together would have definitely put him at a disadvantage.

After all, the gap between Mid-grade and Early Stage of a cultivation layer isn't insurmountable. No matter how strong the Spiritual Crane Finger is, it can't withstand two experts in concealed weapons! Now that this exquisite Stone-Throwing Skill is in my hands, I can properly cultivate it!

Looking at these gains, Lin Xuankong felt somewhat emotional. After being ambushed and then counter-killing his attackers, the silver and treasures he obtained could probably equal more than ten years of selling flatcakes—wealth indeed comes with risk.

At least, I won't have to worry about the cost of Nine Revolutions Qi Replenishing Soup for the short term!

After leaving the forest, Lin Xuankong first visited the Li Mansion, declined the offer of being the flatcake master, and then quickly headed towards Wutong Village.

To save his life, or perhaps to die more comfortably, Ma Xiong had revealed a lot. The first revelation was Zhang Wu's arrangement. This was consistent with my suspicions; Zhang Wu has always coveted my Young Lady's beauty and strength!

But what made Lin Xuankong feel disgusted was that Wang Po had also received favors from Zhang Wu to specifically get close to the Young Lady. That old hag's methods are even more revolting than Ma Xiong's! That old wretch, bringing food boxes and candied dates, speaking kindly to people's faces while plotting murder behind their backs!

Moreover, Ma Xiong had told him a piece of news he wasn't sure was true or false: after Wang Po came over that day and saw Little Hu heading to the Lin Family, she, fearing that the meddlesome Little Hu would ruin her plans, had specifically sent someone to deal with him.

This is also why I directly refused the job at the Li Mansion and returned to Wutong Village to check on the situation! Little Hu and I have a good relationship, and he's warned me several times. If not for Little Hu's warnings, I would probably have been surrounded and killed by Ma Xiong and his men a few days ago! Back then, I hadn't even mastered the Spiritual Crane Finger; facing several Black Tiger Gang experts, I would have had no chance of survival!

Upon returning to Wutong Village, Lin Xuankong knocked on the door of Little Hu's house but received no response.

Glancing around and seeing no one nearby, Lin Xuankong leaped into Little Hu's courtyard.

He looked at the somewhat cluttered courtyard and had an ominous feeling.

He quickly walked to the wooden building, opened the door, and saw a dish of salted vegetables on the Li Family's outer table, along with two half-eaten flatcakes and two bowls of unfinished porridge.

Lin Xuankong took a closer look, his brows furrowing tightly. The two bowls of porridge have long since gone cold, the corn flour settled at the bottom. They've clearly been here for a long time, he observed.

"Little Hu!" Lin Xuankong called out loudly, but the wooden building was silent; there was no response.

He quickened his pace, searching the Li Family's wooden building thoroughly, up and down, but he couldn't find the father and son.

Remembering Ma Xiong's words, the vile deeds of that old hag Wang Po, and the fact that he hadn't seen Little Hu selling fruits on the street for the past two days, a surge of anger began to rise in Lin Xuankong's heart. He clenched his fists and walked out of the wooden building.

As he passed the outer room, Lin Xuankong suddenly paused, looking towards the rice vat in the corner. He thought he had just heard a faint RUSTLING sound coming from inside.

Could a rat have gotten into the rice vat?

Lin Xuankong continued walking out.

However, after stepping out of the wooden door, he turned back. What if... what if the Li father and son haven't lost their lives? In that case, their stored old rice being eaten by rats would be such a waste...

Approaching the rice vat, he reached out and lifted the lid. The sight that met his eyes made his expression change dramatically.

Li Dahu, whom he had seen just two or three days ago, lay twisted and curled up inside the large vat. His face was a ghastly pale blue, eyes wide open, and his expression contorted, clearly indicating he had suffered terrible pain before dying. A strong smell of blood mixed with a foul stench emanated from the vat.

What made Lin Xuankong's heart turn cold was that Li Dahu was not alone in the vat. Beneath Li Dahu's corpse lay Li Xiaohu, his body tightly bound with hemp ropes, pressed underneath. His mouth was gagged with a dirty cloth, and his vacant, fear-filled eyes stared out at Lin Xuankong!

...

For nearly two days and a night, Little Hu had been bound like this, thrown into the large vat, unable to move, with his own father's gradually decaying corpse pressing down on him... I can't imagine the fear, hatred, and helplessness this boy before me must have experienced during these two days and nights! Li Dahu's family has no relatives in Great Marsh Prefecture, and people rarely visit their home. If I hadn't come, what would have happened? Just because Little Hu kindly reminded me a few times, potentially ruining Wang Po's disgusting scheme to ensnare and bewitch the Young Lady, were Little Hu and Dahu, two living souls, to die so wretchedly in this narrow, cramped, horrifying rice vat? If it weren't for the Young Lady's teachings, if I hadn't advanced so quickly to Mid-grade, today I, too, would have ended up like Little Hu and his father—dead in fear, wretchedness, and utter obscurity! Commoners, truly treated like grass underfoot! Those damn high and mighty Martial Cultivators! That damn old pig-dog! That damn Black Tiger Gang!

...

Lin Xuankong fought desperately to restrain the boundless anger and impulsive urges raging in his heart. I know that no matter how much I want to eliminate Wang Po and Zhang Wu, no matter how much I yearn to wipe out the Black Tiger Gang, my current power is insufficient. I still need to grow stronger!

Suppressing his fury, Lin Xuankong used his internal Transcendent Qi Blood to carefully regulate the flow in Little Hu's arms and body.

Having been bound with hemp ropes for nearly two days and a night, Little Hu's arms, legs, and torso had sustained varying degrees of damage due to the lack of blood circulation. When he was first taken out of the rice vat, his hands and legs were almost completely numb.

As blood flow gradually returned, the intense numbness, itching, and pain that followed were surely unimaginable. After all, when an ordinary person's foot merely falls asleep for a short while, the returning sensation is highly uncomfortable; Little Hu was experiencing this all over his body!

Little Hu clenched his teeth, his breathing ragged, but he didn't utter a single cry of pain from start to finish. This boy possessed a fierce, wolf-like tenacity.

「After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn,」

With the nourishment and regulation of the Transcendent Qi Blood, Little Hu's arms and legs gradually recovered. The madness in his eyes slowly receded, hidden deep within, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

When Lin Xuankong stopped the treatment, Little Hu immediately rolled off the bed, threw himself to the ground, and kowtowed heavily several times. "Elder Lin, words cannot express my gratitude! From now on, Little Hu's life is yours!"

Lin Xuankong reached out and pulled Little Hu to his feet. Looking at the boy who had survived such a great ordeal, he wanted to offer some words of comfort.

But I know... at a time like this, any words of consolation are meaningless. Only blood can bring solace!