Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a series of hurried footsteps sounded.

Eunuch Wei walked at the front, his flying fish robe gleaming coldly in the torchlight, while the jailer followed behind, sweating profusely.

"Where is he?" Eunuch Wei walked to the door of the torture chamber, his steps unwavering, his voice shrill and piercing.

"He's...he's tied up inside!" Xu Hao quickly pushed open the heavy wooden door, bowing and scraping to make way. "He was cursing just now, but he's quiet now. I guess he's tired."

Eunuch Wei snorted coldly and stepped into the torture chamber.

The torture chamber was dark and oppressive, filled with the smells of blood and burning.

Zhao Tietou remained tied to the wooden stake, his head drooping limply in front of his chest, his disheveled hair obscuring his face, motionless.

"Playing dead?" Eunuch Wei frowned slightly and gave a wink to the servant beside him.

Fanzi stepped forward, reached out and grabbed Zhao Tietou's hair, trying to lift his head.

The moment his hand touched the disheveled hair, the guard's expression changed drastically: "My lord, he's cold!"

"What?!" The jailer was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.

"It was fine just a moment ago, how did it get cold so quickly?"

With a flash, Eunuch Wei moved to the front of the corpse.

He ripped open Zhao Tietou's collar, his gaze fixed on the deceased's throat.

Five bluish-purple and black finger marks were clearly visible, deeply embedded in the flesh, and the throat bone had already been shattered.

"Ghost Hand..." Eunuch Wei squeezed out the two words through gritted teeth.

It is the signature move of Sun Niqiu, the third leader of the Salt Gang. It is extremely vicious and can shatter the throat of anyone who is hit.

"Sun Niqiu isn't dead?" Eunuch Wei whirled around, staring intently at Xu Hao, who was cowering in the doorway. "Who was here just now?"

Xu Hao was already paralyzed with fear, trembling all over. "No...nobody's here! I...I've been guarding the door the whole time, I haven't let a single fly in! How could this be..."

"waste!"

The death row was heavily guarded, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to sneak in.

Unless... this Sun Mudskipper has been hiding in the death row all along, or there is a traitor within the Surveillance Bureau!

"Excellent method, truly excellent method." Eunuch Wei laughed in extreme anger, his sharp, piercing laughter echoing in the empty torture chamber. "Killing him to silence him, they're afraid this red stick will reveal the real thing."

He turned to the jailer, his eyes sinister: "That damned bastard just said the deal would be in Rat Alley tonight?"

The jailer knelt down, trembling, "Yes...that's what they said. They said the Salt Gang was going to give the Canal Gang a large shipment, and...they even mentioned the Chen family..."

"The Chen family..." Eunuch Wei narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly stroking the hilt of the sword at his waist. "Chen Yuanzhi's body has vanished without a trace, and now the Salt Gang's top lieutenant has been wiped out just as he was about to utter a word... It seems that this so-called 'big shipment' could be..."

"Pass down the order!" Eunuch Wei whirled around, his crimson cloak whipping through the air in a bloody blur. "Summon all the captains in the city and seal off Rat Alley in the west! Don't let a single one escape!"

"Sir, this corpse..." the jailer pointed at Zhao Tietou.

"Get out!" Eunuch Wei didn't even glance at him before striding out.

The large group of people retreated like a receding tide, and the torture chamber returned to deathly silence.

Xu Hao got up from the ground and dusted himself off.

He carried the bucket of foul-smelling swill directly along the wall and quietly slipped to the back door of the prison.

As soon as he stepped out the back door and turned into a dead-end alley that no one usually walked down, Xu Hao straightened his back, and his previous timid demeanor instantly vanished.

He kicked the swill bucket into the ditch, and in a few quick movements, he ripped off his prison guard uniform, revealing the tight-fitting night clothes he had prepared underneath.

Xu Hao lightly touched the wall with his toes, and his whole body soared into the air like a large bird. He flipped over the courtyard wall, which was more than ten feet high, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the thick night of the city.

Rat Alley is located in the most remote corner of the western part of the city, a festering sore in the prefectural city.

This place is inhabited by the lowest of the low, the alleys are so narrow that only two people can walk side by side, the ground is covered with mud and unknown filth, and there is a musty smell in the air all year round.

"The terrain is complicated, with many forks in the road; it's truly a perfect place for filth and crime."

Xu Hao moved like a nimble black cat, his feet moving silently as he darted across the low, staggered eaves.

The information Zhao Tietou revealed to save his life was indeed true. Following the increasingly strong smell of fish from the river, Xu Hao quickly found the place.

A dye house that had been abandoned for many years, with several huge dye vats lying haphazardly in the yard, long since dried up and cracked.

Before Xu Hao even got close, a pungent smell of dye mixed with dampness hit him.

The location chosen by the Cao Gang was cleverly chosen; the strong odor could conceal many shady things.

Xu Hao held his breath and crouched on an old locust tree on the back wall of the dye house, peering down through the sparse branches and leaves.

There were no lights in the courtyard, only a few dim lamps covered with thick black cloths emitting a pale glow.

By the dim light, he could see two covered boats moored beside a hidden waterway leading directly to the moat in the backyard.

A dozen or so dark figures were carrying boxes out of the ship's cabin.

These people moved with extreme lightness, yet their footwork was steady and powerful, clearly indicating that they were all trained martial artists.

The box was sealed with a tape, and although the words were illegible, a faint smell of blood emanated from it, which Xu Wuzhe could detect even from a distance.

Blood crystals.

These blood crystals are extracted from the corpses of demonic beasts or high-level martial artists. They are filled with malevolent energy and are highly potent. They are contraband items that are strictly prohibited by the Great Heng, and catching one would be a capital offense that would result in the extermination of three generations of one's family.

Those canal gangsters are really audacious. Despite the mad dogs of the Surveillance Bureau biting indiscriminately, they still dare to trade goods here.

Xu Hao narrowed his eyes, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a copper whistle with a water ripple pattern.

Then, he pulled out a tattered strip of cloth the size of a palm.

This was torn from Chen Yuanzhi's blood-stained prison uniform, still bearing the musty smell unique to death row and the young master Chen's blood.

If this strip of cloth were here, along with this bronze whistle, Eunuch Wei would probably go crazy on the spot.

Just as Xu Hao was pondering where to put this thing in the most conspicuous place, the Listening Talisman placed against his chest suddenly became scalding hot.

Boom, boom, boom.

A very subtle yet perfectly synchronized vibration traveled up the ground and into Xu Hao's eardrums.

The sound was the muffled thud of dozens of official boots stepping on the bluestone slabs at the same time, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

The officers from the Observatory arrived even faster than Xu Hao had anticipated; they were now probably less than a hundred feet away from the dye shop.

Can't wait.

Xu Hao lay among the tree branches, watching the busy crowd below, and took out the "Ghost Face Mushroom" he had just obtained.

[Ghost-faced Mushroom: Nourished by the yin energy of a death cell. Consuming it raw can alter one's appearance and body, lasting for half an hour.]

Without hesitation, Xu Hao tilted his head back, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

A chill rose in my stomach and rushed down my esophagus to my face.