Chapter 17 Tie Qinghua

Three days had passed quietly.

In the County Government, it was still the boring routine of patrolling every day, and the higher-ups had already grown more and more hopeless about any clues regarding the remnants of the No-Life Sect.

Trying to track them down without any leads was like finding a needle in a haystack, with slim chances.

Chen Yuan spent three days refining three Tiger Bone Pills, one per day, and had successfully advanced in Blood Refining twice, with his strength surging further.

While cultivating, Chen Yuan also calculated that the first Blood Refining took him two Tiger Bone Pills, the second Blood Refining hadn't been completely successful, but he estimated that it would take at least two to three Tiger Bone Pills.

For the third time, it would likely require four to five Tiger Bone Pills, or even double the amount, to succeed.

This alarmed Chen Yuan; if it were true that the requirement doubled each time, wouldn't he need a hundred Tiger Bone Pills to reach the Perfection of Blood Refining?

A single Tiger Bone Pill costs at least ten taels of silver, a hundred would be a thousand taels!

To Chen Yuan at present, that number was astronomical, the equivalent of several decades' worth of his salary.

Of course, these were Chen Yuan's arbitrary speculations; in reality, it might not take that many. Otherwise, looking across the world, there wouldn't be so many Martial Artists.

Furthermore, the Cultivation Technique Chen Yuan practiced was different from the Body Refining Techniques, although he did not know how common Body Refining Techniques worked in Blood Refining, Chen Yuan reckoned that it definitely wouldn't be easy.

Otherwise, Ping'an County would not have so many Blood Refining Constables, with only a few Bone Refining Martial Artists.

From this, one could see the difficulty in reaching Bone Refining.

However, refining the body with common techniques would certainly be a lot easier.

The sky was filled with a continuous, fine drizzle, and the dim night was approaching.

Chen Yuan, in a black robe, arrived at a large mansion in South City.

This was the Song residence, or perhaps more aptly called the Tie residence, since Chen Yuan, after several days of meticulous investigation, also finally understood why Song Lao Liu harbored such intense murderous intentions.

It was entirely because the Song residence was essentially controlled by Tie Qinghua; Song Lao Liu's power wasn't as substantial as imagined, hence his plan to kill Tie Qinghua and monopolize the estate.

The Song residence was heavily guarded, including several Martial Artists at the Blood Refining Level, all hired by Tie Qinghua at great expense. As for Bone Refining Martial Artists, she didn't yet dare to employ them.

Who knew if in the end, they would turn against her?

Although there were many experts in the Song residence, Chen Yuan wasn't worried about being discovered, because Song Lao Liu had already made all the preparations and was just waiting for him to make his move.

Chen Yuan had memorized the entire layout of the patrols in the Song residence; any unavoidable guards would be diverted tonight through other means by Song Lao Liu.

In short, he was paving the back door wide open for Chen Yuan.

A proper back door.

After a quick look around, Chen Yuan held his breath, his face solemn as he slowly moved towards the direction indicated by Song Lao Liu. Along the way, Chen Yuan encountered protectors and maids, but was not discovered.

Soon, Chen Yuan passed through several gates and arrived at the courtyard where Tie Qinghua lived.

Tie Qinghua liked quietness and had long been sleeping in separate rooms from Song Lao Liu, which was one of the reasons he dared to hire Chen Yuan to kill Tie Qinghua in the Song residence.

Even if Tie Qinghua died, it would be very difficult for Tie Xuan to suspect him.

To avoid any accidents,

Song Lao Liu had informed Chen Yuan that he would poison Tie Qinghua's food today.

The poison was mild, difficult to detect, and its sole purpose was to cause her blood flow to be sluggish and unable to muster her full strength.

This would allow Chen Yuan to deliver a fatal blow!

To be honest, Chen Yuan couldn't help but marvel at Song Lao Liu's ruthlessness, capable of such decisive action despite years of marriage.

The room was brightly lit by candles, casting the silhouette of a beautiful figure.

Chen Yuan raised his hand and knocked on the window.

"Knock, knock..."

Inside the room, Tie Qinghua, in a plain Qing-colored robe, frowned as she looked at account books, deep in thought. Hearing the knock at the door, she said irritably,

"What is it?"

"Lady, the master sent me to retrieve an item," Chen Yuan said, his voice subdued.

"What item?"

Tie Qinghua was somewhat puzzled, asking as she opened the door.

"Creak!"

The moment the door opened, Tie Qinghua immediately saw Chen Yuan's indifferent eyes through the black cloth covering his face, followed by a cold voice:

"I've come for your life!"

"Whoosh!"

A flash of white light from a blade shone as Chen Yuan instantly utilized his Sword Drawing Skill!

Tie Qinghua's heart tightened, and without thinking, she quickly retreated, trying to dodge the blade. She also lifted her right leg, aiming a kick at Chen Yuan's chest, but as her Qi and blood surged, it suddenly stalled, preventing the flow. She could only watch helplessly as the blade's light shone brightly before her eyes.

"Rip!"

Chen Yuan's blade slashed across the front of Tie Qinghua's chest. However, he controlled his force well, merely shredding her clothes to reveal the white undergarment beneath.

Afterwards, Chen Yuan planted a palm on Tie Qinghua's chest, sending her flying back several meters to crash onto a nearby table.

The table shattered, and just as Tie Qinghua tried to get up, the long blade was already positioned before her neck. Chen Yuan chuckled softly, looking down at Tie Qinghua on the ground and asked,

"How about that?"

Tie Qinghua's appearance was not unattractive, quite average, possibly due to her long years of martial training, which made her frame appear somewhat larger.

Completely unlike the delicate beauty described in books, perhaps this was one of the reasons why Mr. Song had little interest in her. Of course, this was just Chen Yuan's speculation.

Feeling a chilling sensation on her neck, Tie Qinghua was shocked. She tried to calm her spirit and said,

"I don't know what offense Qinghua might have caused to offend you to the extent of breaking into my home to kill me?"

Chen Yuan chuckled lightly and shook his head:

"I just mentioned, the master sent me to retrieve an item, and that item..."

Chen Yuan paused momentarily then continued:

"...is your life!"

Tie Qinghua's eyes widened in disbelief,

"Was it Mr. Song who hired you?"

"Congratulations, you guessed correctly."

"Impossible, impossible, how could Mr. Song dare to kill me? Doesn't he know that if I die, my brother will certainly not spare him!"

Tie Qinghua clenched her teeth.

"Of course, he doesn't dare to kill you openly. That's why he hired me to do it. The reward is one hundred taels of silver. Does Lady Tie think this price is right?"

Chen Yuan gazed at Tie Qinghua.

"Why should I believe what you're saying?" Tie Qinghua suddenly said.

"With the blade at your neck, isn't that enough for Lady Tie to believe what Yuan says?"

"That's just your side of the story!"

"Does Lady Tie really think so? Mr. Song's residence is strictly guarded, with many martial artists patrolling. Could my finding you so easily just be luck?"

"The relationship between you and Mr. Song, perhaps I don't need to elaborate, as you've probably already believed it was Mr. Song who sent me."

"However, by talking so much, you're probably just waiting for reinforcements."

"Am I right, Lady Tie?"

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