Chapter 23 A Complete Family

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Chen Youguang turned around, his eyes suddenly widening.

A flash of cold light glinted in his eyes.

Thunk!

A sharp arrowhead instantly tore through his chest clothing, piercing the skin.

Flesh was brutally ripped apart, blood gushing out and sprinkling through the air, like a wilting flower.

The momentum of the arrow was not yet spent; it embedded deeply into his chest, and the forceful impact caused him to stagger and crash into the wall.

Chen Youguang looked down at his chest, hurriedly pressing his hand against it, with bright red blood continuously seeping out through his fingers.

The next moment, excruciating pain coursed through his body, almost rendering him unable to stand.

Yet, it was just a single arrow and was not enough to claim his life.

This old hunter, who had survived through the mountains for years, quickly calmed down in the face of adversity.

He struggled to muster all his strength, dashing into the courtyard, intending to use the courtyard wall as cover for a breather.

Perhaps seeing through his plan, Tian Xiaohu increased his speed, reaching Chen Family's gate before Shen Qing.

With the inertia of his whole body, he crashed open the gate of the Chen Family.

Inside the gate, Chen Youguang had already lost too much blood, his strength significantly drained.

He stumbled and was knocked to the ground.

With a ruthless glint in his eyes, Tian Xiaohu pulled out a rope, wrapped it around Chen Youguang's neck, lifted him up, and hung him from the lintel.

Despair and struggle filled Chen Youguang's face, his legs kicking helplessly in the air.

He clutched the rough rope tightly with his hands, his fingertips turning white from exertion, making a faint whimpering sound, barely uttering the words "help."

But, no one came to his aid.

Soon, Chen Youguang's facial expression twisted, his lips pressed tight, veins bulging on his forehead, his face turning red and purple.

However, Tian Xiaohu firmly gripped the rope, showing no sign of loosening.

Gradually, Chen Youguang's body lost its strength, ultimately hanging lifelessly in the air.

Blood from his chest trickled along his cotton clothes, down his pants, dripping drop by drop from his heels.

"Ah!"

The previous patriarch of the Chen Family, Chen Kaijun, saw this and was terrified, scrambling away in a panic.

After a few steps, he saw a pair of patched, animal skin shoes.

Chen Kaijun slowly raised his head, only to see a young man, dark-skinned and handsome, with a bow drawn, arrow aimed directly at him.

His face showed fear, about to speak.

With a dull thud,

Shen Qing released his fingers.

The arrow zipped through the air like lightning, piercing through Chen Kaijun's skull.

Chen Kaijun's eyes quickly lost their luster, and his body slumped to the ground.

Without expression, Shen Qing stepped over Chen Kaijun's corpse and walked toward the Chen family's gate.

Behind him, Tian Family members and numerous villagers who had gathered stopped in their tracks.

Witnessing Chen Youguang, who once held sway in Hongshan Village, hanging dead at his own gate, left no one unmoved.

They had not expected Shen Qing and Tian Xiaohu to act so decisively, with almost no hesitation or deliberation.

At this moment, Shen Er arrived at the Chen family estate, accompanied by Shen Xiaohu and Shen Xiaoshan.

Seeing the three corpses ahead, his face changed drastically, coming to an abrupt halt.

"Father, what exactly do you want us to do?"

Unaware, Shen Xiaohu bumped into Shen Er's back and stopped.

He and his brother Shen Xiaoshan curiously circled past Shen Er, looking ahead.

Upon seeing the ground covered in crimson blood and three Chen family corpses, the brothers simultaneously turned pale with fright.

"Grandfather, what… what happened… Why is Brother Qingzi there…" Seeing killing for the first time, Shen Xiaohu suddenly became tongue-tied, unable to speak clearly.

However, Shen Er was equally stunned, unable to respond.

In front of the Chen family gate, Tian Xiaohu tied the other end of the rope and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on Chen Youguang's hanging corpse.

He cursed with immense satisfaction: "I never thought you old bastard would meet your end today, hahaha…"

Over the years, as outsiders, the Tian family had struggled in Hongshan Village.

One major reason was the suppression and exclusion led by Chen Youguang and the Chen family.

After Tian Chuan from the Tian family was beaten to death, there was nowhere to seek justice.

If it weren't for Shen Qing stepping forward today, Tian Xiaohu would likely have been in great danger.

Thus, when he killed Chen Youguang, he felt no psychological burden.

After cursing, Tian Xiaohu looked at Shen Qing.

In his eyes, the once gentle youth, now after eliminating the Chen family, looked calm, with no visible emotional fluctuations.

Although he was three years older than Shen Qing, even imagining himself in Shen Qing's shoes, he couldn't have acted this way.

His heart grew more impressed.

Shen Qing turned around to look.

Having just killed, his entire aura was incredibly fierce.

In his eyes was a latent ferocity, like a hungry tiger descending the mountains, cold in this bone-chilling winter.

Anyone caught in his gaze instinctively took a step back.

"Shen Family's Qingzi, why is he so fierce?"

"Never noticed before; he slaughtered as if hunting, it was ruthless."

"…"

With days of probing, Shen Qing knew the cost of martial training in the county was far more than he'd imagined.

More than an average family could afford.

Beyond the entry-level silver, there were bribes and master fees, decoctions and a host of supplementary costs.

Casually adding it up, hundreds of taels of silver could be spent just to make a sound.

The saying an educated poor man, a martial rich man, was undeniably true.

So, when Chen Youguang intended to monopolize Hongshan Village's mountain goods channel, Shen Qing had a thought.

For paving Chen Yuan's martial path, Chen Youguang likely had stable channels in the county.

If he could seize this channel, with stable income, his martial training would be much better supported.

Just then, Chen Yuan came to him, providing an opportunity.

He used this to provoke the other party, successfully trapping this group of "mountain drivers."

A whole family, neatly dealt with.

But it still wasn't enough.

The Chen family in Hongshan Village had over ten households, four of which were closely tied to Chen Youguang and liked to band together.

Now, having killed the entire Chen Youguang household, to some extent, he had infringed upon their interests.

Some of these families might even have connections in the county.

According to the Great Zhou law, murder required retribution.

If processed legally, he would certainly pay a steep price, if not with his life.

He did not have the channels like the Chen family.

If left unsolved, it would pose a future threat.

Killing Chen Youguang's family was justified, but dealing with the rest of the Chen family now would be troublesome.

The Tian family surely wouldn't get involved anymore.

However, with the stage set like this, Shen Qing wasn't about to miss this rare opportunity and aimed to push further.

He rushed into the Chen household, rummaging through.

Soon, he found a chest of money.

Opening it, amidst a pile of copper coins, were about twenty silver ingots.

Delighted, Shen Qing took the largest ingots, tucking them into his coat.

He then carried the box outside the gate, holding it high.

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