Chapter Twenty-Two: Erasure

Bang!

The forehead of the man in black instantly warped, not even allowing him to scream. In the next moment, Qin Yi appeared behind another man in black.

Bang!

Another one down!

“Let’s fight him!” Chen Chengquan gritted his teeth. If they kept running like this, they’d never outrun him; they’d just be picked off one by one. Better to risk everything and make a stand!

Immediately, seven or eight men in black turned and surrounded Qin Yi.

Unfortunately for them, most were only at the first or second stage; in Qin Yi’s eyes, their speed was painfully slow! They couldn’t even hope to encircle and kill him.

One by one, his opponents fell to the ground. Chen Chengquan, his limbs broken, now wore the look of utter despair.

Qin Yi picked up Chen Chengquan and vanished into the night.

A quarter of an hour later, inside an empty house.

“Speak. Who are you, and why do you want to kill me?” Qin Yi’s face was grim.

“Cough... Kill me if you must. I won’t talk! Because even if I speak, you’ll kill me anyway. I’d rather let you itch for answers you’ll never get! Hahaha...” Chen Chengquan’s resolve was steeled for death.

“Do you know how to strip pig bones? I remember when I was young, my father used to clean those pig bones so thoroughly. Meat was expensive then, bones were cheap, so he’d strip them clean!” Qin Yi picked up the knife he’d taken from one of the men in black and, as he spoke, tore a strip of cloth and stuffed it into Chen Chengquan’s mouth.

Five minutes later.

Chen Chengquan was drenched in cold sweat, his face ashen, his body trembling uncontrollably with pain.

“Will you talk, or not?” Qin Yi realized he was being cold-blooded.

Chen Chengquan nodded frantically, like a chick pecking at rice.

“Very good. Remember, I’ll give you only one chance—if you lie, I’ll strip you to the bone!”

He removed the cloth from the man’s mouth.

“I—I’ll talk, I’ll talk, just give me a quick death!”

“That’s easily done.”

“We—we’re agents planted in Jinyuan County by the Holy Envoy. We came to kill you because your second grain convoy delivered supplies to the rebels...” Chen Chengquan, his face twisted in grief, spilled everything.

After listening, Qin Yi’s expression shifted between light and dark.

He’d thought no one knew he’d killed those rebel squads. But, with careful deduction, someone had still narrowed it down to a suspicious group. Under pressure, he was exposed!

“It seems I’ll have to be even more cautious in the future. Others aren’t fools!” Qin Yi mused silently.

“Who is this Holy Envoy you mentioned?” Qin Yi pressed.

“I don’t know his real name, only his surname—Zhou. And he’s one of the leaders of the Crimson Sect.”

“Crimson Sect?” Qin Yi frowned. He’d never heard of such a sect! In fact, he knew little of the martial factions in Dayong.

“Why does the Crimson Sect help the rebels?”

“Actually, the uprisings in the three counties all bear the Crimson Sect’s mark,” said Chen Chengquan.

“I see...” Qin Yi nodded. Whether Crimson Sect or Green Sect, their revolts were their own business, as long as they didn’t bring trouble to him.

“And who was the man in grey?”

Sixth-stage cultivation—surely of high rank in the Crimson Sect!

“He’s the Holy Envoy’s servant.”

“What? Servant! A servant with sixth-stage cultivation!” Qin Yi was shocked. If that was so, how powerful must this Zhou, the leader, be?

Eighth stage? Ninth stage?

No, he thought. He must erase every trace of tonight’s events. If word leaked and the enemy found him, it would spell disaster!

“How many accomplices do you have? Tell me everything, don’t even think of hiding anything!” Qin Yi said, stuffing the cloth back into the man’s mouth.

Another round of pain.

Ten minutes later.

He removed the cloth again.

Chen Chengquan was nearly broken by the torment.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk. Tonight I mobilized most of the agents. There are five left. Their names are...”

After five minutes, Qin Yi memorized the names and addresses, then, true to his word, granted Chen Chengquan a swift death.

“It must be dealt with now, before trouble multiplies!”

...

The next morning, Qin Yi returned home reeking of alcohol.

Chen Jie and the others hurriedly approached him.

“Brother Qin, where did you go last night? I thought you’d disappeared! You know, something big happened here!” Chen Jie exclaimed.

“What happened?” Qin Yi asked.

“Last night, a group of men in black tried to assassinate our second grain convoy. Those monks and the Iron Wolf Gang are all dead. Luckily, we brothers survived. We heard a commotion, went out to look, and saw more than ten men in black chasing after someone—we don’t know who! It was terrifying,” Chen Jie recalled.

“I suspect someone interrupted those men in black, and they went after him instead! Otherwise, we’d all be dead!”

“By the way, where were you last night?”

“I couldn’t resist last night, so I sneaked off to the brothel in the west of the city for some entertainment. Drank too much, only just got back!” Qin Yi replied sheepishly.

After dealing with the five men, he really had spent the night in the brothel. He certainly couldn’t have returned to the dormitory—it would’ve been far too bloody.

“What? You went drinking and didn’t invite me?” Chen Jie whispered angrily.

“Next time, I promise!”

“That’s settled then. You need to report to the county office about your whereabouts. They found your room empty during their investigation last night,” Chen Jie added.

“All right.”

Qin Yi headed straight for the magistrate’s office.

“Seems no one saw me fighting outside last night!”

He’d quickly dispatched three men in black, exchanged blows with the man in grey, then fled. According to Chen Jie, the monks and Iron Wolf Gang members had all died, leaving only Chen Jie and his fellows. By the time they got up to investigate, Qin Yi was long gone, and only saw the men in black chasing someone. They had no idea what had transpired.

At the county office, the constables, upon learning Qin Yi had spent the night at the brothel, merely asked a few token questions and let him go.

After all, in their eyes, a mere junior priest not even at the first stage posed no suspicion.

Moreover, the incident was already attributed to rebel assassins, so suspicion never fell on Qin Yi.

That evening, in a room.

Chen Jie and the brothers gathered to eat dog meat hotpot.

Qin Yi didn’t keep to himself, but joined in.

It must be said—after three rounds of dog meat, even immortals would stumble!

Delicious!