I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

The autumn nights were chilly, but Xie An, though dressed in thin clothes, did not feel cold. Instead, he felt a subtle warm current circulating along his spine.

This must be the effect of achieving 90/100 in the first level of the Sunflower Manual's Qi Refining Technique.

In my previous life, this would have been called internal energy.

Xie An did not know what his name was in this world.

Although this internal energy was still very weak, its enhancement to strength and speed was already quite obvious, which further emboldened Xie An.

No, to be precise, this internal energy wasn't small, but Xie An could only use a small portion of it. He didn't know if it was because he lacked the martial arts skill level to utilize his internal energy...

If that's really the case, when I reach a certain level of martial arts mastery and unleash the full power of the Sunflower Manual... I might just be able to ascend to the heavens in one step.

After passing through two deserted alleys, Xie An saw the Juyi Gambling House, still lit up in the distance.

People are coming and going at the entrance; it's not the time to make a move yet.

Xie An simply hid under an ancient locust tree a hundred meters away, his bright eyes like those of a lone wolf on the hunt, staring intently at the gambling den's entrance.

After waiting for more than two hours, Scarface Liu finally swaggered out of the gambling den, accompanied by two burly men with bushy beards.

Xie An followed at a distance.

He intended to find a secluded place to carry out his plan, but unexpectedly, Scarface Liu went directly to the Water Lantern Wharf.

The Water Lantern Wharf, located next to the canal, is the most bustling freight hub in the entire Wuqiao Town. Even late at night, you can see horsemen hauling goods and porters carrying cargo everywhere.

Several pleasure boats, adorned with large red lanterns, were moored at the dock, with prostitutes standing at the bows soliciting customers. From inside the boats came the sounds of dice games, laughter, and the coquettish complaints of the prostitutes, all mingling together on the water, creating an atmosphere of decadent luxury.

Scarface Liu, familiar with the place, boarded a pleasure boat and took a prostitute into the cabin.

Xie An had no choice but to continue his covert operations.

They waited until midnight, and finally Scarface Liu reappeared.

Scarface Liu staggered off the boat, his face flushed from drinking. Two of his men supported him on either side as they walked towards the Dragon King Gang's headquarters outside the town.

The bald man supporting Scarface Liu on the left muttered, "Boss, is that old Taoist priest from the Yin Sect really that powerful? How much silver did the second-in-command spend to hire him?"

"I heard it costs five hundred taels of silver," Scarface Liu said in a low voice. "They say it can communicate with the spirit world, summon ghosts, and exorcise evil spirits."

The bald man said, "Is there really such a legendary figure in the martial world? Second Master is a martial artist at the Five Visceral Realm; one of him could take on more than a dozen of us. Why do we need to ask this old Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits?"

Scarface Liu frowned. "I heard that the leader was recently afflicted by the Money Gang's evil magic, and his health has been deteriorating. That's why the second leader is using the pretext of inviting a Taoist priest from the Yin Sect to perform a water and land ritual for his deceased brothers to heal the leader and exorcise the evil spirits. This matter cannot be told to outsiders, or our Dragon King Gang will be in trouble."

"Is the boss under some kind of evil spell? Boss, don't scare me like that."

"Why would I scare you? But I just heard it from someone else. I don't know the truth. Never mind, let's not talk about these unlucky things. We should go back and hand over the incense money we collected today."

The three of them walked out of the dock and through a forest path as they talked.

There were no pedestrians on the forest path, only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Scarface Liu and his two companions walked slowly, still muttering curses as they were intoxicated.

"This prostitute is no good... I'm not comfortable with her..."

"Boss, get a better one next time..."

As the three walked, they suddenly saw a person standing on the road ahead.

Scarface Liu looked up, squinted for a few seconds to make out his features, then suddenly grinned, "Oh ho! Isn't this the young master of Moxiang Bookstore?"

Supported by two of his men, he staggered up and reached out to put his arm around Xie An's shoulder.

"What a coincidence to run into you today? What, here to beg for a reduction in interest? Let me tell you, there's no room for negotiation. You're doing this for the Second Boss; you're incredibly lucky..."

Before he could finish speaking, Scarface Liu froze.

His hand was still in mid-air, and he still had a smile on his face, but that smile suddenly froze.

He felt a cut in his throat.

It's thin, like a red thread.

Then the red line split open... and blood spurted out.

"you……"

Scarface Liu wanted to shout, but no sound came out; he wanted to cover his face, but he couldn't lift his hand.

He stared wide-eyed at Xie An, his eyes filled with disbelief—how could this skinny, weak commoner be so...?

He recalled Xie An's expressionless, lifeless gaze as he signed the contract that afternoon. Back then, he thought the coward had resigned himself to his fate, but now he realized—he was looking at a dead man. His body lurched backward, crashing to the ground with a thud.

Blood was everywhere.

The two men behind him froze for a moment, before Xie An could react, and lunged forward—

Swipe!

The dagger, swift as a flash of light and carrying a sharp silver gleam, instantly sliced ​​across the necks of the two men.

puff!puff!

Two lines of blood suddenly burst open, and fresh blood spurted out.

Before they could even scream, they both collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and remained motionless.

Over the past three days, Xie An has practiced slitting throats with a dagger at home no less than ten thousand times.

All for tonight... a single, decisive strike!

Although it was his first time killing someone, Xie An's hands were steady, and he did not show much emotional fluctuation.

Xie An stood between the three corpses, holding the throat-sealing dagger in his hand, its blade still dripping blood.

"No need to prepare the incense money for next month."

He looked down at Scarface Liu's distorted face, then at the half-exposed oil paper package in his arms.

I picked up the oil paper package and opened it to take a look.

Inside was a large bag of copper coins and some loose silver.

There were a full eight taels of silver. There was also a thick stack of usurious loan contracts.

After searching for a while, Xie An found the contract he had signed and sealed.

He stuffed all the contracts and money into his pocket.

Seeing that no one was around, Xie An tied the three corpses with stones and threw them into the deserted canal.

There are rumors that water monkeys and piranhas live in the canal, and that corpses laid in the river will be eaten clean in no time.

No remains were found.

Having completed all this, Xie An straightened up and hurried towards the Ink Fragrance Bookstore.

"According to Scarface Liu, the leader of the Dragon King Gang has been cursed by the Money Gang... The second leader, Chasing Wind Quick Sword, under the guise of a water and land ritual, invited a Taoist priest from the Yin Sect to exorcise the evil spirit from the leader."

"Could it be that besides martial arts gangs, there are also demons and monsters in this world?"

"If that's the case, then we can't delay practicing martial arts any longer."

When they returned to the bookstore, it was past midnight. The living room was lit by a dim oil lamp, but Xie Yu was huddled next to it, his eyes occasionally glancing outside.

Upon seeing Xie An return, Xie Yu immediately rushed over, "Brother, where have you been so late at night?"

Xie An shrugged. "Can't sleep, going out for a walk."

Xie Yu assumed her brother had gone out to borrow money, so she fetched hot water for Xie An to wash his feet and stammered, "Brother, I've made up my mind. Tomorrow I'll go find Madam Jin on the pleasure boat and sign a contract of servitude. After paying off the loan sharks, I'll take the contract and try to pass the imperial examinations so things won't be so difficult in the future..."

As she spoke, Xie Yu's tears fell.

Xie An said, "Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Xie Yu replied, "Although I am young, I know that with the compounding interest of usurious loans, it will be difficult to recover in one's entire life."

After considering it for a moment, Xie An took out a stack of contracts from his bosom and handed them to Xie Yu.

Xie Yu took the contract and saw that the first page was the same contract Xie An had signed that afternoon. He was immediately shocked: "Brother, how did you bring the contract back?"

Xie An then took out an oiled paper package, which, when unfolded, revealed a large handful of copper coins and loose silver.

Xie Yu recognized the red string on his own copper coin string and immediately looked up at Xie An in disbelief.

Xie An's calm eyes showed no emotion. "I just killed Scarface Liu and his two companions. He bullied my sister and me, and even tried to take advantage of her. How could I let him live?"

Xie Yu burst into tears and threw herself into Xie An's arms, crying, "Brother."

Xie An said, "Keep this to yourself. Take these contracts and oil paper packages and burn them in the brazier."

"I know." Xie Yu wiped away her tears, moved the stove over, and threw the oil paper package and a stack of contracts into the stove, burning them completely.

The firelight shone on her face as she watched the contracts curl, blacken, and turn to ash, and suddenly she felt that the sky wasn't so dark anymore.

"It's all because Xiaoyu is incompetent that she dragged my brother down with her. She made him take such a risk for me."

Xie An comforted her, saying, "We're family, so let's not be formal. Mother passed away early, and Father is gone too. In this world, it's just the two of us siblings left to depend on each other. If I don't protect you, who will? Also, there are some things I need to tell you."

Xie Yu sobbed as she said, "Brother, whatever you say, Xiao Yu will listen to you."

Xie An said, "Although I handled tonight's matter discreetly, there's no guarantee that nothing bad might happen. In this chaotic world, human life is as worthless as grass. You and I are not only siblings who depend on each other for survival, but also siblings whose lives, honors, and disgrace are intertwined. If you make something of yourself someday, we will naturally rise to prominence together. If something happens to me, it will be our fate as siblings, and we must accept it."

Xie Yu wiped away her tears, "With such a good brother, even if I die, it would be worth it."

Xie Anxiao said, "Don't say such unlucky things. Tomorrow, go to the martial arts school and ask someone if your brother wants to learn martial arts, but he's already seventeen. Ask about the specific requirements and tuition fees."

According to Xie An's understanding over the past few days, Yong Sheng Martial Arts School mostly recruits teenagers in their early teens, with a maximum age of fifteen. Apprentices over sixteen are extremely rare.

It would be much more convenient to let Xie Yu go and find out first.

Tonight, Xie An heard from Scarface Liu that the leader of the Dragon King Gang had been bewitched... Xie An felt that the world was probably more dangerous than he had previously estimated.

The practice of martial arts cannot be delayed any longer.

Of course, it was also because I had some money on hand...