Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies
Chapter 74 - 73 Turbulent Undercurrents

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Kong Tiantu covered his bleeding eyes with both hands, his body involuntarily leaning backward. The pain almost made it impossible for him to stand.

He immediately realized that these people were here for the Blood Bird's Nest and wanted to steal his Blood Bird's Nest.

A deep hatred surged continuously from his heart.

Standing outside the door, Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping exchanged a glance, knowing they had succeeded.

Ouyang Tie Niu raised his foot and fiercely kicked the dilapidated wooden door.

With a loud "bang," the wooden door collapsed under Ouyang Tie Niu's foot.

Without hesitation, the two rushed in through the dust.

"It's you!"

Kong Tiantu recognized Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping.

"Kong Tiantu, we finally caught you!"

Ouyang Tie Niu, holding the knife snatched from Zhao Ba, swung it directly at Kong Tiantu.

Kong Tiantu, being somewhat skilled in farming techniques, managed to react despite losing an eye.

In a hurry, he rolled to the side, avoiding the fierce blow.

"Get him together, kill him."

A look of ferocity flashed across Ouyang Tie Niu's face as he pounced on Kong Yutian, with Yang Zhao Ping following closely after hearing the call.

The few pieces of furniture left in the room were not very sturdy in the first place and collapsed completely into rotten wood amidst their struggle.

Kong Tiantu's two fists were no match for four hands, let alone with weapons involved.

After several rounds, he was overwhelmed, turning into a bloody figure within moments, groaning as he fell to the ground, dying with his eyes open.

Blood flowed from his body, dripping down along his arm, staining the gray wooden box in his arms as if with a layer of red paint.

Kong Tiantu held the wooden box very tightly, and it took Yang Zhao Ping quite an effort to finally take it out.

Excitedly, he opened the wooden box and saw the crystal-clear Blood Bird's Nest inside.

Yang Zhao Ping closed the wooden box, exchanged a look with Ouyang Tie Niu, and made a silent agreement.

"Let's go!"

However, as they were about to turn around and leave the alley, they saw a man in a gray robe walking towards them, blocking their way.

Ouyang Tie Niu said irritably, "Good dogs don't block the road. Get out of the way."

"I'm no dog. I have a name; I'm human."

Having just committed murder and anxious to leave, Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping, their bodies exuding murderous intent, said viciously, "I don't care what your name is, just move, or don't blame us for being rude!"

"Alright then. With Heaven below and Yellow Heaven above, since you two are in a hurry to leave, I won't take up your time."

With that, the man in the gray robe shot out his hand from his sleeve like a dragon emerging from the sea, striking Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping's chests twice.

A shudder went through Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping. A force penetrated their skin, passed through their flesh, and made their hard bones instantly collapse.

The two, like kites with broken strings, slammed into the wall hard, spitting blood from their mouths.

"A skin-forging master..."

Ouyang Tie Niu looked at the gray-robed man, eyes filled with disbelief.

At this moment, his whole body felt disjointed, with his heart and lungs pierced by his broken ribs, breathing more out than in.

Under the gaze of Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping, the gray-robed man casually walked forward and took the Blood Bird's Nest from Yang Zhao Ping's arms.

The gray-robed man opened the box, glanced at it, and said with some satisfaction, "Not bad, the quality isn't too poor."

He closed the wooden box, bowed slightly, and said, "Thank you for the trouble."

With that, the gray-robed man swaggered out of the alley under the despairing eyes of Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping.

Ouyang Tie Niu and Yang Zhao Ping lay in pools of blood, faces pale as sheets.

They realized that their strength was ebbing away, just like Kong Tiantu.

All their years of effort and ambitions to rise to the top had turned into nothing at this moment.

Using his last bit of energy, Ouyang Tie Niu let out an aggrieved growl and finally, like Yang Zhao Ping, kicked his legs and died.

...

Linfeng Hall.

After returning from the restaurant, Shen Qing immediately devoted himself to rigorous training, practicing some combat techniques he learned from Li Linfeng.

Without any shortcuts, he practiced each move and stance extremely diligently.

Time passed bit by bit, and soon it was almost evening.

Shen Qing glanced at the sky, thinking, "It's almost time. I need to go and return early."

He went to the outer court to say goodbye to Shen Xiaohu, telling him to return to the inn early, while he went alone towards the city outskirts.

Shen Qing planned to check out the Blood Bird's Nest that Ouyang Tie Niu mentioned.

Approaching evening, both the Inner City and Outer City had fewer people, and there were only a few pedestrians.

Shen Qing walked with his head down among the people, looking inconspicuous.

The location Ouyang Tie Niu mentioned wasn't difficult to recognize, and after asking around a bit, Shen Qing arrived in front of a broken shanty.

Standing not far from the door, Shen Qing saw that the wooden door had been smashed open, immediately sensing something was wrong.

He quickly entered, finding the place in complete disarray with traces of a fight and blood all over the floor.

A stripped body lay silently on the ground.

He had been hacked to death.

After dying, his clothes were stripped off completely.

At this point, Shen Qing knew he was too late.

Someone had come to take the Blood Bird's Nest before him.

Yet Shen Qing didn't seem too disappointed or anxious, thinking, "Ouyang Tie Niu and the others are more familiar with these Outer City affairs. I could ask them if I have time tomorrow."

The house was almost see-through at a glance due to its dilapidated condition.

Plus, the nearby residents had already looted the place, so there was nothing more worth searching for.

Shen Qing didn't stay at the entrance for long and turned around to leave through another exit.

However, after taking just a few steps, he froze.

Another stark-naked corpse lay right in front of him.

This was... Yang Zhao Ping!

He was actually dead!

Shen Qing bent down to look closely and found that Yang Zhao Ping's chest had caved in. He had been killed instantly, and the attacker was at least a master in skin-forging.

Taking another look at the position where Kong Tiantu lay, Shen Qing could roughly guess that they had all been silenced over the Blood Bird's Nest affair.

People who were alive and kicking in the afternoon were now just cold corpses by evening, leaving Shen Qing with a sigh and an unexpected sense of shared sorrow.

He remembered that Yang Zhao Ping and Ouyang Tie Niu often hung out together, calling each other brothers.

The Blood Bird's Nest affair was also proposed by Ouyang Tie Niu. Now that Yang Zhao Ping was dead, Ouyang Tie Niu probably met a grim fate too.

The sky gradually darkened, with sunset painting the sky half-yellow.

Shen Qing carefully recalled that, so far, he hadn't been involved in the Blood Bird's Nest affair, as he just came to take a look and shouldn't have left any trace for others to notice.

He breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his chest, and walked past Yang Zhao Ping's body, leaving the alley.

As he walked, suddenly Shen Qing heard footsteps approaching this way from nearby.

Many people.

Shen Qing quickly moved, hiding in a dark corner for concealment, and turned sideways to look forward out of curiosity.

Not far away, two groups of ordinary civilians with yellow cloth strips wrapped around their arms were following a burly man, each holding a stick of incense, walking unhurriedly.

As they walked, they mouthed words, and their faces were very devout.

"Heaven below, Yellow Heaven above, Pure Land of Bliss, Taiping in sight."

From beginning to end, these people's mouths constantly muttered this phrase, with a rhythm that was so compelling that Shen Qing even had the urge to recite it with them.

Shen Qing hurriedly closed his mouth tightly.

He recognized it.

The yellow cloth strip, the phrasing.

They were people from the Huang Tian Sect!

Why were members of the Huang Tian Sect appearing in Taiping County, preaching in the Outer City?

Weren't they in Jinzhou?

Rustling...

These people passed by one by one at Shen Qing's alley entrance.

When Shen Qing saw the person leading them, his eyes widened suddenly.

He knew that person—it was Manager Cai from Wanfeng Building!

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