Chapter 23: A Complete Family

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Chen Youguang turned back, his eyes suddenly widening.

A flash of cold light passed through his eyes.

Splat!

The sharp arrowhead instantly tore through the fabric of his chest, piercing the skin.

Blood and flesh were torn apart violently, fresh blood gushed out, sprinkling in the air like a blooming, withered flower.

The arrow's momentum was not yet spent, deeply embedding into his chest, and the strong force pushed him, staggering, into the wall.

Chen Youguang looked down at his chest in panic, hastily covering it with his hand, the crimson blood seeping continuously through his fingers.

In the next moment, intense pain spread throughout his body, making it nearly impossible for him to stand.

But a single arrow was not enough to take his life.

The old hunter, having crawled and rolled in the mountains for years, quickly calmed down thanks to his strong will to survive.

He struggled to muster all his strength, rushing into the yard, hoping to use the courtyard wall as a shield for some breathing space.

As if seeing through his intent, Tian Xiaohu accelerated fiercely, reaching the Chen Family's gate ahead of Shen Qing.

Using his entire body's inertia, he crashed open the courtyard gate of the Chen Family.

Behind the door, Chen Youguang, already bleeding and weak, staggered and fell to the ground.

Tian Xiaohu's eyes were fierce, and he pulled out a rope from his body, wrapped it around Chen Youguang's neck, lifted him up, and then hung him on the lintel.

Chen Youguang's face was full of despair and struggle, his legs kicking frantically in the air.

His hands gripped the rough rope tightly, his fingertips turning white from the exertion, faintly uttering "Help."

But no one came to rescue him.

Quickly, Chen Youguang's face contorted, his lips pressed tightly, veins bulging on his forehead, his face turning red and purple.

But Tian Xiaohu held the rope tightly, showing no sign of letting go.

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

Blood from his chest dripped along his cotton clothes, pants, to his heels, falling drop by drop.

"Ah!"

Chen Kaijun, the previous patriarch of the Chen Family, was so frightened by the scene that he crawled and rolled, trying to flee.

After just a few steps, he saw a pair of worn shoes made of animal skin.

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

His face turned in horror, just about to speak.

With a muffled thud.

Shen Qing released his fingers.

The arrow shot like lightning, piercing through Chen Kaijun's skull.

Chen Kaijun's eyes quickly lost their shine, his body slumping to the ground.

Shen Qing stepped expressionlessly over Chen Kaijun's body and walked towards the Chen Family's gate.

Behind him, the Tian Family member and many villagers who had gathered to watch stopped in their tracks.

Seeing Chen Youguang, who had been a powerful figure in Hongshan Village, hanging dead on his doorstep, all were moved.

No one had expected Shen Qing and Tian Xiaohu to act so swiftly, with almost no hesitation or delay.

At this time, Shen the Second arrived at the Chen Family with Shen Xiaohu and Shen Xiaoshan.

He saw the three corpses ahead, his face changed dramatically, and he suddenly stopped.

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

Shen Xiaohu, not paying attention, bumped into Shen the Second's back and stopped.

Curiously, he and his brother Shen Xiaoshan circled around Shen the Second to look ahead.

Seeing the ground full of red blood and the three Chen family corpses, the brothers turned pale with fright.

"Grandpa, this... what happened… Why is Brother Qingzi over there…" The first time witnessing a murder, Shen Xiaohu stammered, his tongue tied.

However, Shen the Second was equally shocked and did not respond.

At the Chen Family's gate, Tian Xiaohu tied the other end of the rope to the lintel and spat viciously at Chen Youguang's corpse.

He cursed gleefully, "Didn't expect you, old bastard, to have your day, hahaha…"

Over the years, the Tian Family, as outsiders, had a tough time in Hongshan Village.

An important reason was the suppression and exclusion by the Chen Family, led by Chen Youguang.

Tian Family member Tian Chuan was killed without a place to seek justice.

If not for Shen Qing stepping up today, Tian Xiaohu would likely have faced a grim fate too.

So, when killing Chen Youguang, he felt no psychological burden.

After cursing, Tian Xiaohu looked at Shen Qing.

In his eyes, this once docile young man, after killing the Chen Family, now appeared calm, without a ripple on his face.

Though three years older than Shen Qing, he admitted to himself that if it were him, he could never reach such a state.

His admiration for Shen Qing grew from the heart.

Shen Qing looked back.

After the kill, an intense aura emanated from him.

In his eyes were traces of ferocity, like a hungry tiger coming down the mountain, chilling to the bone in the winter cold.

Anyone who met his eyes involuntarily took a step back.

"Why is Shen Family Qingzi so fierce?"

"Never saw it before, he kills like hunting, too ruthless."

"…"

Having probed around for days, Shen Qing had realized the cost of learning martial arts in the county was far more than he imagined.

It was not something an ordinary family could afford.

Apart from the entry-level silver, there were bribes, master's fees, medicine fees, and a large amount of supplement costs.

Easily, hundreds of taels of silver could be spent without making a sound.

The saying "poor literati, rich martial artists" was true without a doubt.

So, when he saw Chen Youguang trying to monopolize the Hongshan Village's mountain goods channel, he had a thought.

Chen Youguang likely had a stable channel in the county for Chen Yuan's martial arts.

If he seized the channel and had a steady income, his martial arts practice would receive better support.

Chen Yuan gave him the opportunity when he intersected with him.

He used this to provoke the opponent, successfully wiping out the "mountain drivers."

An entire family, all neat and tidy.

But it was not enough.

The Chen Family in Hongshan Village had more than ten households, with four closely tied to Chen Youguang, forming a clique.

Now, having killed Chen Youguang's whole family, he had, in a sense, encroached on their interests.

There was no certainty that some of them weren't in contact with people in the county.

According to the laws of the Great Zhou, a life for a life.

If handled according to the law, he'd hardly survive intact.

Unlike the Chen Family, he had no connections.

If left unchecked, it would be a future threat.

While killing Chen Youguang's entire family was justified, cleansing the remaining Chen Family households posed a problem.

The Tian Family wouldn't strike with him again.

However, since the stage was set to this extent, Shen Qing would not let this rare opportunity slip and intended to push further.

He plunged into the Chen Family looking around.

Soon, he found a box of money.

Opening it, Shen Qing saw a pile of copper coins, about twenty or so silver ingots hidden in it.

Excitedly, Shen Qing took the largest silver ingots and put them in his pocket.

Then, he took the box outside the gate, raising it high.

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