The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 44 Robbery and Killing
At this moment, Zhang Cuilian stepped into the room carrying a bowl of pork bone soup.

"Qing'er, it's time to eat! Wear this on your body. I went to the temple to get it for you. Aunt Wu next door said it's very effective and can keep you healthy and wealthy." Zhang Cuilian said, taking out a palm-sized purple brocade pouch from her bosom.

Han Qing took it; inside was a section of banyan tree branch wrapped with a red ribbon.

He had never believed in ghosts or gods, but he also understood that there was no need to argue with the elderly; it was best to just go along with them. So he carefully accepted the purple brocade pouch.

"Let's eat first!" Han Cheng urged.

"Okay." Han Qing nodded slightly.

Before long, he finished the whole bowl of bone broth.

Just as he was about to get up and go back to his room, he suddenly heard Han Cheng coughing again.

"Father, have you caught a cold?" he asked, turning his head.

"It's been cold outside these past few days, and I caught a chill without realizing it. I should be fine in a few days," Han Cheng said.

Han Qing pondered for a moment, then went back to his room, retrieved a set of acupuncture tools, and came to Han Cheng's side.

"Han Qing, what are you doing?" Han Cheng asked, puzzled.

"I'll help you get rid of the cold!" Han Qing said, holding a silver needle in his hand and neatly inserting it into an acupoint called Qiuhui.

Han Cheng was initially somewhat resistant, but seeing Han Qing's skillful technique, his eyes lit up, and he stopped resisting, trusting that Han Qing wouldn't harm him.

So Han Qing began to insert the needles with increasingly fluid movements, each needle being inserted decisively and without hesitation, and each acupoint being precisely targeted.

After the twenty-one needles were inserted, Han Cheng suddenly felt much lighter and less inclined to cough.

"Han Qing, your acupuncture skills are truly remarkable. Where did you learn them? Our Han family doesn't have this kind of ability," Han Cheng exclaimed in surprise.

"I learned it from the government office," Han Qing replied casually.

"My son is indeed a genius; he's faster than me at both martial arts and medicine," Han Cheng exclaimed.

Han Qing waited silently for a while, then put away the silver needles and other tools, turned around and went back to his room.

He opened the Jade Void Manual and read it from beginning to end, over and over again, pondering it repeatedly in his mind.

To input the data into the panel, he had to memorize the entire book from beginning to end, which was no easy task.

By the time he finished reading it that evening, he had memorized most of the Jade Void Skill.

"I'll be able to memorize the entire book in two days at most," Han Qingxin said.

Silent all night.

The next morning, he set off for the government office.

At this hour, a layer of cold mist hung over the streets, and there was no one in sight; every household had its doors tightly shut.

In Han Qing's memory, the streets were never this deserted at this time before.

He then thought that it was because the security situation in Baiyun County had deteriorated again recently. A group of refugees had come from outside the city, and the Yin-Yang Sect was causing trouble inside the city. Naturally, the people were terrified and dared not go out on the streets.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, frowned, turned around and glanced around, his gaze sweeping over a dark corner not far away.

With a clang, the sword was drawn, its blade reflecting a cold light in the moonlight, tilted and pointing into the distance.

He was cautious by nature. He suddenly noticed footsteps behind him, so he deliberately took a detour. He didn't expect that the person behind him would still follow closely. He immediately realized that they were coming for him.

"As expected of the most talented martial artist in the history of Baiyun County, I didn't expect him to discover the problem so quickly."

A high-pitched male voice drifted from the corner, followed by three figures, each with a black mask covering their face, some fat and some thin, exuding a murderous aura.

"The Yin-Yang Sect?" Han Qing uttered a sentence.

Aside from the Yin-Yang Sect, he couldn't imagine anyone would ambush and kill him.

Sonorous!

The three men drew their swords, their eyes fierce. The one in the middle said menacingly, "Come with us! I advise you not to resist, otherwise, I'll break your limbs first and make you wish you were dead!"
"If you cooperate properly, you'll suffer less!" "It seems the Yin-Yang Scholar has become desperate after failing to find the jade pendant!" Han Qing muttered to himself, his gaze coldly fixed on the three of them, his blade pointing diagonally.

He has never been one for empty talk; he has shown his intentions through his actions. If you want war, then let's fight to the bitter end. Why should we be afraid?

"How dare you! Make your move!"

The three men stepped forward, forming a triangular formation as they approached Han Qing.

Han Qing's body tensed, his heart surging with killing intent. He felt no fear whatsoever.

However, this battle was three against one, and he dared not underestimate it in the slightest.

Just then, a loud shout came from behind.

"You wicked villains of the Yin-Yang Path! I, Li Tai, will never let you live under the same sky!"

The three of them paused, and Han Qing also looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a burly man in the distance, dragging a long sword with the tip ploughing the ground, rushing towards them at top speed.

The person who arrived was Li Tai. Even from this distance, Han Qing could feel the anger and hatred in his heart.

Yingzi was indeed very important to him.

At this moment, Li Tai roared like a mad tiger, his imposing aura immediately attracting the attention of the other three.

Han Qing also keenly seized this opportunity, for being distracted in a life-or-death struggle is a grave taboo.

With a thought, he secretly used the Ceasefire Sutra. Under the cover of night, no one noticed that wisps of malevolent energy appeared around him, gathering on the long sword, turning the blade pitch black and transforming it into a malevolent blade.

"die!"

With a low shout, Han Qing used the advanced lightness skill, the Wild Goose Technique, to increase his speed dramatically, his figure as swift as a swallow.

With a swift movement, he lunged at the man in the center, bringing his sword down with a heavy slash.

The man was startled, his face showing fear, and he hurriedly drew his knife to parry.

With a clang, the knife in the man's hand was severed in two, splitting him in two, and his body was also cut open, with various red and white substances gushing out and scattering all over the ground.

In a single exchange, the strongest of the three warriors was killed.

Han Qing was also shocked. He hadn't expected the Fiend Blade to be so powerful. It could cut through iron like mud and had even broken the opponent's knife in two.

His knife was nothing special; it was just an ordinary standard longsword from the yamen's storeroom. Without the enhancement of a sharp blade, it could never be so sharp.

This man seemed to be the leader of the trio; with his death, the other two immediately lost their backbone.

"Oh no! The intelligence is wrong!"

"escape!"

The two turned and ran. Although the members of the Yin-Yang Sect had been brainwashed and were not afraid of death, they would not stay put when they knew they were going to die.

Han Qing was caught off guard and unable to spare any attention. Fortunately, Li Tai was there. The two of them split up to pursue the two men, one heading east and the other west.

Han Qing possessed a mastery of lightness skill, making him extremely fast when running. He was as light as a swallow and as swift as the wind.

In just a few breaths, he caught up with his target from behind and swung his knife.

The man turned around to try to block, but Han Qing swung his knife with incredible speed. A flash of cold light and a series of knife shadows followed as the blade swept across the man's neck, and a round head fell to the ground.

This person's movements were incredibly slow; his head hit the ground before his arms were even raised to his chest.

Han Qing killed the man and, without pausing, immediately chased after the direction in which Li Tai had disappeared.

This man was a good person, loyal and righteous. He respected such people from the bottom of his heart. Moreover, no matter what the other party's purpose was, he had just helped him out of a predicament. Naturally, he had to go after him to check on him, in case anything happened to Li Tai.

However, his worries were obviously unnecessary. After running a few steps, a burly figure appeared from around the corner ahead, holding a knife in his right hand with drops of blood dripping from the tip, and a corpse in his left hand, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

(End of this chapter)