Chapter 3: The Abandoned Temple

Chen Fei searched the bodies of the two men, finding only a few copper coins. Fine drizzles of rain began to fall from the sky. He glanced around, orienting himself, and ran towards the southeast.

As night fell, in an abandoned temple, the aroma of roasting meat filled the air, and occasional voices could be heard in conversation.

Legend had it that a deity once appeared on Pingyin Mountain, capable of incredible feats. A temple was subsequently built on the mountain, but it turned out to be ineffective. Within just a few years, it fell into complete disuse and became a temporary resting place for people passing through Pingyin Mountain.

Chen Fei carefully turned the rabbit meat roasting on the tree branch. Luckily, he had managed to catch a rabbit. The other men from the clinic were chatting and occasionally glancing at the rabbit meat with eager eyes.

The clinic's food did not include fish or meat, and if the attendants wanted to eat meat, they had to buy it themselves. However, with their meager wages, they couldn't afford meat more than once a month.

"Knock knock knock!"

A knocking sound echoed, and one of the attendants went to open the door. A chill breeze entered, and Chen Fei subconsciously looked at the entrance before quickly withdrawing his gaze.

"Great, there's rabbit meat! I'm starving." Qi Chun's eyes brightened upon seeing the roasted rabbit.

"Is it just you? I thought the others were with you." The attendant who opened the door looked outside and couldn't help but be puzzled.

"I don't know." Qi Chun shook his head, sat on the ground, and stared at the almost-cooked rabbit.

"Sizzle!"

The firewood still contained some moisture, and a faint crackling sound could be heard.

Feeling that it was too quiet, Qi Chun spoke up, "Guess what happened to me today? After hearing it, you'll definitely praise me!"

"What happened? Tell us." The other attendants became interested.

"Don't rush, I also have something to say." Chen Fei suddenly spoke, "Do you guys know how I caught this rabbit today?"

Everyone turned to look at Chen Fei, and the aroma of the meat filled their noses, making them even more eager.

Chen Fei stood up, looked at them, and said, "Rabbits are agile creatures, and at the slightest disturbance, they will run away immediately. So when you spot a rabbit, don't make any noise, approach slowly, and then do it like this…"

"Chi!"

A bright light flashed in the abandoned temple, and Qi Chun stared blankly at Chen Fei. The next moment, his head rolled off to the ground.

"Ah!"

The other attendants screamed in astonishment, looking at Chen Fei in disbelief. He had killed someone right in front of them.

The key was that they had no idea why Chen Fei killed Qi Chun; that was the most terrifying part.

Chen Fei remained silent, staring at the place where Qi Chun's neck should be, but there was nothing there, just a strange void.

"Everyone, run!"

Chen Fei yelled, and before leaving, he picked up the money bag from Qi Chun's waist with his wooden knife. Without looking back, he rushed out of the abandoned temple.

"Kekeke!"

A gloomy laugh echoed in the abandoned temple, awakening the other attendants from their stupor. They stared at the headless corpse that was still standing up, and fearfully ran out of the temple.

Chen Fei's face turned solemn. He hadn't expected to encounter something so eerie on Pingyin Mountain. Fortunately, he had broken through to the skin refining realm during the day, giving him some sensitivity to this peculiar aura.

If he had stayed in the temple, who knows what would have happened later.

For now, his priority was to return to Pingyin County as soon as possible. There were rarely any strange occurrences in the county, and rumors said it was because there was a treasure at the county yamen suppressing them.

Chen Fei didn't know if this was true, but at the moment, he just wanted to get back quickly to be safer.

"Chen Fei, my neck hurts. Your blow hurt so much!"

A faint voice sounded from behind Chen Fei, and his expression changed. Wasn't it said that after practicing martial arts, one's strong blood could counteract these strange things? How did it catch up so quickly? Could it be that the other attendants were all dead?

Chen Fei ran with all his might. After breaking through to the skin refining realm, his physical strength and speed had greatly increased. If the pursuer behind him was an ordinary person, he would have been left far behind by now. However, no matter how Chen Fei ran, the cold aura continued to pull at him from behind.

"Jishan Boxing Hall said that a martial artist's strong blood can counteract these strange things. I have the realm now, but I know little about the use of my blood."

Chen Fei looked at the panel where Jishan Boxing was listed, and he also turned over the money bag from Qi Chun. Surprisingly, there was more than two taels of silver inside, which was beyond Chen Fei's expectation.

"Panel, simplify Jishan Boxing!"

"Simplifying Jishan Boxing... Simplification successful... Jishan Boxing → Waving Hands!"

Waving Hands?

Chen Fei hadn't figured out what Waving Hands meant when the insights of Jishan Boxing suddenly appeared in his mind, pouring in at an extremely fast speed.

Chen Fei instinctively looked at the panel.

[Martial Art: Jishan Boxing (23/100)]

In the blink of an eye, the number 23 changed to 24 and continued to rise. Chen Fei looked at his two arms; now, while running wildly, weren't his arms waving?

Chen Fei couldn't help but exclaim, this simplification was on par with the breathing technique.

"Chen Fei, do you know what happened to my head?"

Qi Chun's voice sounded directly behind Chen Fei's ear, as if it was sticking to his back, and Chen Fei even felt the expelled air from his words.

Chen Fei's expression changed, and he threw a punch backward. The mysteries of Jishan Boxing circulated in his mind, and the temperature of Chen Fei's fist quickly rose.

"Bang!"

With a muffled sound, Qi Chun screamed as the place where he was hit turned black.

"This is interesting!"

Chen Fei's eyes lit up, and he didn't run away. Instead, he held the wooden knife and rushed back towards Qi Chun.

After reaching the skin refining realm with Jishan Boxing, Chen Fei had a rough understanding of how to use his blood. Now he infused it into the wooden knife and, after a few slashes, Qi Chun's limbs were severed.

"Why are you so strong!"

Qi Chun's voice was full of despair, but Chen Fei remained unmoved, continuously wielding his knife.

"Don't kill me; if you kill me, you won't survive either!"

Chen Fei's movements hesitated slightly. Qi Chun was probably just a small fry; there might be something huge

"Stop, and I'll tell you how to survive!"

Qi Chun shouted loudly, but Chen Fei's knife greeted him.

At first, Qi Chun could still scream, but as his flesh melted away, he couldn't utter a word. At some point, his body had turned into a mass of ashes.

"So, this is how you deal with the eerie beings!"

Chen Fei muttered to himself, realizing that the sudden appearance of a thin black line on his wrist. He didn't have time to think about this strange phenomenon and continued running towards Pingyin County.

Half an hour later, Chen Fei finally saw the city walls of Pingyin County.

(End of Chapter 3)