Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Faced with so many arrows, Qin Lie felt his scalp tingle.

It is not very harmful, but extremely insulting.

He wished he could break Ye Ci's leg with a single blow.

"You little brat! If I catch you, you won't know how tough I am until I give you thirty lashes."

Having said that, he deflected the arrow, his ears twitched slightly, and he chased after them again.

Qin Lie moved as fast as lightning.

Ye Ci darted through two narrow alleys, using the terrain to her advantage, and turned into a small courtyard, where she pressed herself against the mottled earthen wall.

However, the footsteps behind them suddenly stopped.

There's no escaping it!

"come out."

A cold, authoritative voice rang out.

Ye Ci raised her eyes slightly and saw Qin Lie standing with his hands behind his back on the wall, his figure upright.

This is the third interception, and the most recent one.

Boom!

Qin Lie jumped off the wall, took two steps forward, and his boots crunched softly over the gravel on the ground.

"You set fire to the Black Tiger Gang's stronghold, so there must be no survivors. As a witness, you must come with me. The Black Tiger Gang profits from cultivating Ganoderma lucidum, which is crucial to whether I can gain leverage over my superiors. Physical evidence has been destroyed, but the witness must not escape..."

Ye Ci lowered his head, his thoughts unreadable.

"Do you know you were wrong?"

Before he finished speaking, Qin Lie had already moved. He thought to himself that this little brat was probably up to something.

Subdue him quickly.

After thinking it over, he pushed off the ground with his feet and rushed forward like a gust of wind.

Ye Ci pushed off the ground with both feet and raised his left hand at the same time.

"Heh heh, your hidden weapons are rather laughable..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Lie's pupils shrank, and a cloud of white powder exploded, rushing straight to his face.

"Lime powder?! Ah... puff... puff puff puff..."

The powder got into his eyes and nasal cavity, and a burning pain instantly came. Qin Lie, who had his mouth open, was forced to spit out a mouthful of lime.

His mouth was full of it.

The lime burned in my mouth, and tears streamed down my face.

In his panic, he caught a glimpse of an old bucket in the corner of the yard, half-filled with murky well water.

Qin Lie disregarded his dignity, rushed forward, grabbed the bucket with both hands, and poured the entire bucket of water directly onto his face.

"Splash—"

Cold water splashed on my cheeks, but the lime powder stuck in the corners of my eyes and wouldn't wash off, burning my eyes so much I could barely see.

"Damn it!"

He wiped his face, picked up the bucket, and threw it into the well.

He quickly filled another bucket with water.

If anyone were to see the Commandant drawing water in someone’s courtyard in the dead of night, the whole city would probably be stunned.

The water was brought up.

He ripped off his cloak, stuffed it into the bucket, and used it as a rag to wipe his face, intending to chase after them again.

Just then, he looked up sharply and vaguely sensed someone attacking from the side.

"How dare you! You dare attack me first!"

This time, he decided not to hold back. His strength exploded, and he threw a punch with great force. There was a loud bang, the sound of the quiver shattering.

"Ah... pfft pfft pfft..."

As the quiver exploded, he flailed his arms wildly.

He stood there, completely bewildered!

Damn!

A tub of lime!

The whole yard was covered in dust.

His whole body was already soaked in well water.

Under the bright moonlight, powder floated in the air and fell on Qin Lie like snowflakes.

Qin Lie stood in the courtyard like a plaster statue.

Not moving at all.

If anyone were present, they would have felt his anger was almost tangible, having reached its peak.

In the blink of an eye, this round between the two sides actually lasted only a brief moment.

"call--"

Another dark, shadowy object came flying in.

This time Qin Lie was smarter. He raised his elbow and gently blocked it, causing the thing to stumble and land with a miserable howl.

Then, the thing got up and barked angrily at Qin Lie:

"Woof...woof woof woof..."

Then, several barks came from not far away, sounding like dogs cursing.

under the moonlight.

In the small courtyard.

"Who is it?" a voice came from inside the house.

"..."

The world seemed to quiet down all at once. Qin Lie stood there, as if he were in a wilderness, holding his wet cloak upside down, stunned.

Then I heard another fierce bark from a dog.

He leaped onto the wall and looked around.

"Woof...woof woof woof..."

This time, Qin Lie felt as if all the dogs in the city had been set on fire, with barking coming from every street and alley, making his ears ring.

Qin Lie blinked hard, but his eyes still stung, and all he could hear was the chaotic barking of dogs.

But the alley was deserted.

A few breaths later.

The night breeze was blowing and felt cool.

Commandant Qin, dragging his dark cloak backwards, slowly walked out of the alley, each step extremely forceful, as if he wanted to crush the bluestone slabs.

The water dripped down the hem of his clothes.

His skin, which is usually dark, appeared snow-white under the moonlight.

"Hmm?"

In the darkness, those eyes remained fixed, only narrowing into a beautiful arc at this moment.

……

The fire in the west of the city has been extinguished, and the Commandant is directing everyone to clear the rubble.

The air was filled with the smells of burning and blood.

One by one, the corpses were carried out, charred and curled up, their faces unrecognizable, and the stench was so strong it made one's chest feel heavy.

The Commandant Cheng stared at the shattered water vats, lost in thought and remained silent.

The evidence is gone.

Other members may not know the inside story, and even if they do... it's just their testimony.

Commandant Qin was already in a precarious position, having repeatedly tried to find evidence of his superiors' violations, only to be thwarted time and again. Now, having finally found an opportunity, the evidence was burned in a fire.

Fortunately, it was a nighttime operation, so Song Qing's whereabouts are currently unknown...

As the Commandant was secretly weighing the gains and losses, he heard the rapid sound of horses' hooves behind him.

It turned out that Commandant Qin had returned.

The Commandant quickly stepped forward and asked, "Sir, who is the person who attacked us?"

Qin Lie acted as if he hadn't heard, and dismounted.

The Commandant then asked, "What is that person's cultivation level?"

"Ming Jin"

Qin Lie said calmly.

"Ming Jin?!"

The Commandant's pupils contracted sharply, and he asked with some doubt, "According to my analysis, this is a secret stronghold. There are no gang members here. The Black Tiger Gang members left behind should all be at the Ming Jin level."

The soldiers clearing the rubble all stopped, their faces filled with disbelief. Some muttered under their breath:

"One Ming Jin (internal strength) expert can kill thirty-two Ming Jin experts..."

Qin Lie froze, gasping, "Thirty-two? Wasn't it seventeen?"

He suspected he had misheard.

The Commandant added, "The previous investigation was secret, so the number was inaccurate. Although they were burned beyond recognition, it's still possible to distinguish between human pigs and gang members. There are definitely thirty-two. Anyone who can be here is no ordinary gang member, so they should all be at the Ming Jin level. The person who made the move must have been quite strong. It's said that the fierce fight ended in less than half an hour."

He was unsure of the exact strength of these thirty-two people, but speculated that they should be thirty-two with visible strength. As for those with hidden strength, the Commandant Cheng analyzed that the Black Tiger Gang might not have that kind of strength.

In fact, his analysis was very accurate.

Commandant Qin frowned, his shock deepening.

"Let alone thirty-two Ming Jin, even if you put thirty-two pigs in there, a butcher might not be able to kill them as cleanly."

The Commandant asked tentatively, "Sir, is it truly Ming Jin?"

"Um?"

Qin Lie slowly glanced sideways, feeling that the old man was questioning his judgment.

Faced with such a gaze, the Commandant was somewhat puzzled. He carefully examined Commandant Qin and asked in confusion:

"Sir, you went to chase after someone, why did you come back in different clothes?"

"hiss……"

Qin Lie thought the old man was usually alright, but today he was particularly annoying.

"You even took a shower?"

The captain suddenly realized that the man must have been captured, so the captain was in a good mood and even smeared perfume powder on his neck.

Adults don't usually do these things.

He seems genuinely happy.

"Sir, is the person who made the move really a young man? What is his background? Please stop keeping us in suspense!"

Qin Lie remained silent; he hadn't even seen the other person's face clearly...

A gentle breeze blew, and the cool moonlight poured down on Qin Lie's face like mercury.

He looked up, his cheeks feeling cooler.

After a moment, feeling a swelling in the corner of his eye, he rubbed it and said calmly, "This boy is only at the Ming Jin level, but he was able to kill more than thirty Ming Jin level cultivators... I naturally cherish talent and will let him go."

Upon hearing this, the Commandant was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said, "Sir, this person is crucial evidence, how could you..."

"Shut up!"

Qin Lie slowly turned his head and said, word by word, "How could you possibly fathom my plans..."

"Planning?!"

The Commandant was stunned for a long while, then after a moment of thought, his eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together excitedly:

"My lord, could you please teach me how to plan this in detail... and how did he answer? I'd like to hear his reply so I can offer some further advice."

answer?

He didn't say anything, and threw a dog at me.

Seeing the Commandant's enthusiasm, Qin Lie suddenly had a strong urge to offer the old man a handful of lime, but he restrained himself and said calmly:

"The matter was accomplished in secrecy and must not be told to a third party."