The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 17 The Secret of the Jade Pendant

Luo Sheng's expression softened somewhat, and he asked, "What are you planning to do next?"

“Of course I will investigate to the end. I suspect someone bought that precious jade from Hengtai Pawnshop, and I will go door to door with them!” The Yin-Yang Scholar raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll handle this. If I can’t take care of them, I’ll hand them over to you. If you really let me kill them all, I won’t be able to keep my job as the head of the squad anymore, and the whole county will be shaken.” Luo Sheng said, taking out a document from his pocket. “There are a few people on this list that I can’t take care of. Go and check them out. Remember, if you can avoid killing them, then do so.”

The Yin-Yang Scholar took the document, opened it, and glanced at it. He saw dozens of names on it, most of which had been crossed out, leaving only four or five. The name Li Tai was among them, while Han Qing's name had a clear slash across it.

"Since Chief Luo is being so cooperative, I will do my best to fulfill the request your Luo family has made of me," the Yin-Yang Scholar said with a smile as he closed the document.

"Once you've accomplished your task, take your men and leave Baiyun County as soon as possible. My Luo family cannot tolerate someone as arrogant as you." Luo Sheng said with a look of disgust.

The Yin-Yang Scholar simply stared at him with a cold smile on his face.

...

Hu Hu Hu.

The cold wind howled.

As dusk fell, Li Tai walked home with a hairpin tucked into his pocket.

He made a good haul today, even though Yingzi kept scolding him for wasting money.

But he vividly remembered the happy smile on Yingzi's face when he bought that precious jade last time.

"Women are just hypocritical."

Li Tai pushed open the door and entered, suddenly smelling a strong stench of blood.

"not good!"

He rushed into the room, only to be devastated to find Yingzi's body lying on the ground, her heart pierced through, and the jade pendant at her waist gone.

"Eiko!"

"No!"

“Damn beast! Who is it? Who is it!” Li Tai fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face.

Just then, he heard footsteps on the roof. Li Tai immediately rushed out of the courtyard and saw a dark figure leap down from the house and onto the street outside.

"Where to go?"

Li Tai ran out and suddenly saw a large group of people rush out from all around, surrounding the dark figure.

The man resisted, but Luo Sheng, the leader, suddenly struck and severed his wrist with a single blow. The other constables rushed forward and, amidst the man's agonizing screams, bound him tightly.

Upon seeing the dark figure, Li Tai's eyes turned bloodshot, his killing intent surging: "You killed Yingzi, you beast, I'll kill you!"

He strode forward, but Luo Sheng suddenly stepped forward and blocked him, knocking him back with a palm strike.

"You scoundrel! This villain is dealt with by our yamen, how could it be your turn? Besides, I reminded you to give me the jade that day, but you refused. Now that you've caused such a disaster, it's your own fault! If I hadn't arrived in time, you wouldn't have been able to catch this villain!" Luo Sheng rebuked coldly.

Li Tai knelt on the ground, crying out, "Yingzi, it's all my fault!"

"let's go!"

Luo Sheng waved his hand, escorting the dark figure away with his many constables.

...

Three days later.

yamen.

Han Qing was practicing martial arts as usual, practicing the Nine Yang True Skill again and again, while behind him, Luo Ying was also practicing hard, not daring to stop for a moment.

During practice, he kept his eyes glued to Han Qing, repeatedly comparing their levels of proficiency, and became increasingly flustered.

"Han Qing is already at the same level as me, but as long as he doesn't break through to the minor completion level in the next month, I don't need to worry about failing the assessment," Luo Ying thought to herself, though she was still a little flustered.

Just then, Yang Wu walked into the courtyard and went straight to Han Qing.

"Come with me. Haven't you been wanting to kill someone for the past month? It's not that I won't give it to you, it's just that there isn't a suitable person. Now that I have one, come with me."

Han Qing was overjoyed. For the past month, he had been consumed by murderous intent, but through repeated attempts, he finally discovered a pattern. Only reading books with profound truths like the Three Character Classic could dissipate his murderous intent; ordinary books wouldn't work.

Therefore, although no prisoners were executed for a month, the murderous intent was not so strong as to be uncontrollable.

As he pondered, he followed Yang Wu to the archway. This time, the axemen waiting by the side were Ma Er. As soon as Ma Er saw Han Qing coming over, he whistled and grinned.

"Hey, kid, it's been a while. Here, take this knife. I just got these new clothes, and I was worried about getting splattered with blood," Ma Er laughed.

Han Qing took the knife and waited patiently for a while. A man was brought over. He was a strong young man with prominent cheekbones. He had lost one hand, but his eyes were still fierce. He looked like a villain.

"The constables brought him here. They said he was a homeless vagrant and a follower of the Yin-Yang Sect. They didn't get any information out of him, but he broke into a private residence and committed murder. He deserves the death penalty. Let's execute him!" Yang Wu was very calm today, muttering a few words to Han Qing.

Han Qing raised his knife to strike, but the young man suddenly shouted.

"My homeland of Yin and Yang, my final resting place! I will not die, I will be resurrected..."

Han Qingxin said that the people of the Yin-Yang Sect were all lunatics, and of course, he wasn't a normal person either.

At that moment, his heart was filled with murderous intent, and he only wanted to cut off this man's head. So he did it, giving the madman no more time to shout.

With a flash of light, a head rolled to the ground, dripping with blood. Another ball of light appeared beside the Seven Killings Stele, and its rank was also climbing.

"Go ahead, but don't wander around outside these next few days. The madmen from the Yin-Yang Sect are frantically searching for a jade pendant. Anyone who bought a jade pendant from Hengtai Pawnshop could become their target, so you must be careful," Yang Wu instructed.

In his eyes, Han Qing was already a member of his team, so naturally he would take extra care of him. He didn't think anyone could outperform him in the assessment.

Han Qing nodded, feeling the killing intent in his heart being released freely, and felt extremely happy. He then handed the knife back to Ma Er.

"Alright, go back and continue practicing martial arts. Don't slack off," Yang Wu said sternly.

"Yes." Han Qing turned and left.

Ma Er leaned closer and gestured in the direction Han Qing had left: "Hey boss, what did this kid do to make you value him so much?"

"What, you're not convinced?" Yang Wu glared.

"Hey, I was just asking, how dare I disagree?" Ma Er chuckled sheepishly.

"Three months, and you've mastered the Nine Yang True Skill. Judge for yourself." Yang Wu said, then turned and left.

Ma Er stared wide-eyed, repeatedly pondering these words in his mind: "Tsk tsk, so he's a martial arts prodigy, no wonder."

...

As Han Qing walked back, a thought struck him, and he absorbed the ball of light.

In an instant, many fragmented images flashed through his mind, along with a series of murmured whispers.

"To hell with the government office! I'm going to join the Yin-Yang Sect, and one day I'll chop off all your corrupt officials' heads!"

...

"The homeland of Yin and Yang, a silent return home!"

...

"Send these thirteen girls and boys to the Luo residence. Remember, enter through the west gate and walk along Pingshun Street. The Luo family will be there to meet you."

...

"Boss, what's inside this jade pendant...?"

"A supreme method for refining the spirit!"

The scene then faded away, and in the final scene, he saw the Yin-Yang Scholar again and heard this crucial piece of information from him.

"Supreme Spirit Refining Technique!"

Han Qing took out the jade pendant from his pocket and thought to himself, if what the Yin Yang Scholar said is true, then it explains why these people are so crazy. But this jade pendant is ordinary and there is no refining spirit method in it. Or is there another jade pendant?
Please read along, don't leave the book unpublished, otherwise it won't get recommended and the author won't be able to list it.

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(End of this chapter)