EFB Chapter 24 concludes.
Chapter 24 concludes.
Liang Cheng staggered to Da Tou's side, checked his breathing, and found that he was already dead. He remained silent for a moment, then returned to the bodies of Zhang Kui and the others and began to search the corpses.
Zhang Kui had a key, a thousand taels of silver notes, and a piece of brown paper in his arms, which Liang Cheng felt was somewhat familiar.
He quickly remembered that when he killed Liu Biao, he also got a piece of parchment with the same texture. This one still looked like scribbles on it and he couldn't understand it at all, so he could only keep it close to his body.
As for the two masked men, they didn't have much money, only a total of two hundred taels, but each of them had a bronze plaque with "Military Equipment" on the front and the numbers "Jia San" and "Jia Qi" on the back.
The Armory Hall, under the City Lord's Mansion!
Liang Cheng frowned. Chen Bainian's goods were clearly intended for the City Lord's Mansion. Now that the Martial Arts Hall had appeared, it was likely a power struggle among the higher-ups.
He knew he couldn't let anyone know they had died at his hands. With that thought, he put the token back in and took only the money from their bodies.
After touching the corpse, he searched near the cave and found a neat pile of iron ingots, which were the cold iron ingots that Chen's Trading Company had lost.
However, this is not the most important thing, because in an extremely hidden corner of a puddle, there was a fine iron box full of tiny holes, with only a keyhole on the outside, which was perfectly sealed.
Liang Cheng thought of the key he had just taken from Zhang Kui, took it out, inserted it, and it fit perfectly. With a gentle turn, the box opened with a soft click.
Inside was a two-foot-long silver-headed shark, its scales still gleaming.
Two feet!
Thinking of the one-foot-long silver shark he had previously consumed, which was already worth five hundred taels and had extraordinary effects, this two-foot-long one was at least twenty years old, and its value would be several times higher.
Without hesitation, Liang Cheng grabbed the silver-headed shark, tore off a piece of fish meat and swallowed it raw. A warm current instantly surged into his dantian, and his whole body became hot.
Liang Cheng set up the Hunyuan stance to guide the medicinal power. The warm current washed over the wound like a hot spring, causing numbness and itching at the broken bone, and the internal injuries and blood stasis gradually dissipated.
An hour later, the injury was 70% stable, and the remaining medicinal power settled in the blood and qi, which could be slowly refined in the future.
He stretched his muscles and bones. Although he wasn't fully recovered, he was mostly fine. If it weren't for the bloodstains on his body, you wouldn't have been able to tell that he had been in a fight.
He then quickly cleaned up the scene, tied the bodies of Zhang Kui and the others to stones and sank them into the sea, before picking up Da Tou's body and striding away.
On a small hill at the entrance of the village, there is an old locust tree.
Liang Cheng remembers that when they were children, they often played here. Da Tou would climb trees to raid bird nests, Er Gou would keep watch, and San Ya would collect bird eggs under the trees.
He dug a deep pit under the locust tree and put Big Head in it.
"You said you wouldn't harm your childhood friend," Liang Cheng said, filling the hole with soil. "I believe you."
Then he erected a blank wooden plaque and performed a complete set of "Raging Bull Strength" in front of the grave, with howling winds and thunderous roars.
"Big Head, I hope you can learn martial arts well in your next life. I will take good care of your parents," he said, before turning and leaving.
The next day, Chen Bainian personally led the search team, and Liang Cheng "coincidentally" accompanied them and led the way. They unintentionally discovered traces of an abandoned shipyard in the wasteland.
"Master! We've found him!" the guard exclaimed.
Chen Bainian immediately rushed into the dock and, seeing the room full of cold iron ingots, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "God bless the Chen family!"
"Today is a joyous occasion; each person will be rewarded with three taels of silver!"
"Thank you, boss!"
Overjoyed, Chen Bainian turned to Liang Cheng and bowed deeply: "Guest Liang, thank you for your hard work this time. I will remember it."
"It's just a matter of time, nothing more than my duty," Liang Cheng said.
"Let's keep things separate. If it weren't for you here, the Sea Serpent Gang wouldn't be so easy to deal with. Fortunately, the goods were recovered."
Overjoyed, Chen Bai immediately gathered his men, loaded the cold iron ingots onto the ship, and set off for the city lord's mansion as soon as possible.
The matter temporarily subsided, and the Sea Serpent Gang remained silent. No one knew that Zhang Kui had died at Liang Cheng's hands. At this time, Liang Cheng found Er Gou.
At the dockside tavern, Er Gou was drinking alone, seemingly troubled. Then, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as Liang Cheng walked up to him.
Er Gou's face turned deathly pale: "Brother Cheng...?"
"Let's talk outside."
The two walked into a quiet alley.
"Brother Cheng, I..."
"Why?" Liang Cheng asked.
Er Gou knelt down with a thud: "Brother Cheng, I was wrong. I'll never do it again. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just that you've been investigating, and I wanted to make you back down..."
Liang Cheng suddenly interrupted him, "Da Tou is dead, right in front of me."
Er Gou glared at Liang Cheng, then suddenly burst into a bitter laugh: "Dead... good, dead is good! Brother Cheng, do you know what I hate the most?"
I hate that even that good-for-nothing Big Head could turn his life around, but I hate you even more. You were just a dockworker like us, so how did you become someone important in just one year?
His voice was hoarse: "I carry goods from dawn till dusk every day, my back is almost broken, yet I can't even get into the martial arts gym. What kind of world is this?!"
"Zhang Kui said that you and Chen Bainian have offended a powerful figure. What you are doing will only implicate the entire village. I am saving everyone."
Before he finished speaking, he drew a short knife from his sleeve and stabbed it directly into Liang Cheng's heart.
"clang!"
The blade was bent, but Liang Cheng was unharmed.
Er Gou looked at the dulled blade, then at his trembling hands, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes went out: "So, this is what a martial arts master is like."
He slashed his own neck with his backhand, blood splattering everywhere. He fell to the ground, staring at the sky, gradually losing consciousness, and his breath died.
Liang Cheng's expression was complicated. After cleaning up the traces, he held the corpse up and buried it next to Da Tou. Regardless of their grudges, he let them settle it underground.
……
Noodle shop.
Ning San Niang was delighted to see Liang Cheng.
"Is the matter finished?"
These past few days, Liang Cheng has been passing by his home without going in. Ning San Niang doesn't know what important matter it is, but her son is grown up, and she doesn't want to disturb his career.
"Yes, I miss my mother's noodles."
"Then sit down, Mom will make you some noodles."
Soon, the noodles were served. Liang Cheng ate the noodles heartily, while Ning San Niang sat beside him, looking very pleased.
……
Big Head's House.
Chen Laosi had just returned from selling fish when he saw a letter and ten taels of silver. The writing on the letter was awkward and he couldn't read. He hid the silver and went out to find the village head to read the letter.
Just as they stepped outside, they ran into Er Gou's father. It turned out that his family had also left a letter, along with some silver, but the two of them tacitly avoided mentioning the silver.
After reading the letter, Muramasa laughed and said, "You two boys have made something of yourselves. You've been chosen by a big merchant to go out and gain experience. He's even given you an advance on your wages, so don't worry."
"I see."
The two men breathed a sigh of relief, especially Chen Laosi. He had always felt uneasy about Datou joining the Sea Serpent Gang, but now that he was on the right path and doing legitimate business, it was a good thing.
They weren't worried about their son getting into trouble. Ten taels of silver couldn't be faked. Who would spend so much money to cheat two old folks like them?
The two returned home with peace of mind, chatting happily on the way. They were delighted to learn that their son was more successful than them, and in their joy, they decided to have a drink together.
In the shadows not far away, Liang Cheng watched their backs in silence for a long time before finally turning around and disappearing into the night, leaving quietly.
The matter is now settled, it's time to go back to the martial arts school.