In Dachen Village.
Many plumes of smoke rose from the courtyard of Guo Xiangshen's house in the dead of night, as one large pot after another was set up. Pigs were slaughtered and sheep butchered. Large pots of flatbreads steamed, thoroughly cooked. The table was filled with peanuts, walnuts, and the like.
"Damn it, go, hurry up! Call over those Long-term Workers and tenants from the village who can't get enough to eat. We can't let these bastards eat everything," Guo Xiangshen ordered, grinding his teeth at his Long-term Workers.
Watching people who had nothing to do with him feast on his family's stored grain, it was better to also call the able-bodied from the village. At least then the villagers might remember his generosity. If they ate their fill and didn't leave, perhaps he could still hope for some protection from his fellow villagers.
「At Rest Spring.」
"Wang Niu, have you been peeing this long? Did a snake bite your 'thing'?" Du Xiaodao, broadly built from drinking liquor and eating meat, turned his head, furrowed his brow, and shouted toward the nearby woods, "If you don't come out, I'll eat all the meat myself! There won't be any liquor left either."
Still, no one answered. Suddenly, Du Xiaodao stood up, his eyebrows knitted tightly. He sensed something was off, instinctively reaching behind his waist to pull out a dagger. He threw all the meat and liquor onto the ground.
"Wang Niu! Make a sound!" His brows furrowed tightly, he cautiously moved toward the area where Wang Niu had been relieving himself, dagger in hand.
The woods were dark. As soon as he stepped into them, his nose caught a strange, slightly fishy smell. He hadn't even had time to react.
WHOOSH!
A terrifying surge of air exploded behind him with a booming sound.
Ambush!
The hair on Du Xiaodao's scalp stood on end as he instinctively rolled forward and then turned, sweeping his dagger behind him! However, even as his series of movements flowed like water, sharp and swift, the dagger swept through empty air!
[Those with Du Xiaodao would endanger the Diagram Master...]
Du Xiaodao? It seems that was his name, Chen Ku thought. He took a quick step back and then flung a handful of dirt!
"AH!"
Sand in my eyes!
Instinctively, Du Xiaodao raised his hands to cover his eyes, intending to rub them, while roaring, "A sneak attack and throwing dirt... Despicable and shameless! What kind of thing are you..."
Before he could finish, his vision blurry, he saw a figure closing in at an incredible speed. A kick flew at him, faster than belief!
Chen Ku executed "Yellow Dog Peeing," a silent strike delivering over a thousand pounds of force, directly at the chest and heart of the mysterious man named Du Xiaodao.
BANG!
The kick shattered his heart and ribs. Du Xiaodao's body was sent flying four or five meters, his eyes wide and full of sand and mud, his heart destroyed...
Before dying, he felt the force of that kick. Over a thousand pounds of force. Strength Training Great Perfection! How could... How could there be such an expert in this measly little village?
But in his blurred vision, he could barely see anything. As he hovered on the brink of death, he saw a figure pick up a pickaxe not far away, walk toward him, and continue to strike forcefully down.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Chen Ku swung several times, using the pickaxe to repeatedly strike the man—whose name was all he knew—on the head, ensuring he could not be revived.
WHEW! WHEW!
"Damn, that was too dangerous!" Looking at the two people he had completely finished off, Chen Ku couldn't help but curse. It was unexpected that the ambush had been detected, and that the other man had Weapons. Fortunately, I had a backup plan, clutching some dirt, which caught them completely off guard. Otherwise, it would have been truly dangerous!
Crouching down and looking at the other's mangled corpse, he felt quite disgusted. But more than that, he felt a lingering fear and a new sense of determination. From the brief confrontation just now, this man's strength and speed were inferior to mine, probably around the level of Five or Six Section Brocade. But I still wasn't able to successfully ambush him in one go... What a failure. I must continue to strive and ensure a fatal blow next time.
His determination grew as he reviewed the lessons learned. Throwing dirt is a pretty handy move, available anytime and anywhere. But could it be improved? Maybe use lime or chili powder? Or even just throw a pack of Poison during a fight? If the initial attack doesn't kill him, the Poison surely will.
As an Herbalist, Chen Ku thought, I should try to add this trick to my arsenal in the future.
Having completely killed two men, Chen Ku squatted down and started what might have become a customary search of the bodies. Crucially, he had overheard the two men talking. One of them actually had a silver note worth One Hundred Taels. It wasn't on Wang Niu, who was dead, so it had to be on this one.
Sure enough, as he searched, he found a note made of a material vastly different from hemp paper. It was folded up. Unfolding it, it was about the size of a tissue. Under the moonlight, he saw it clearly: it bore the mark of the 'Qiu Dragon Ticket Number' from the county town.
The Qiu Dragon Ticket Number is a major bank throughout Qiu Dragon Mansion, with branches in all the major county towns. It really is One Hundred Taels!
Chen Ku's heart pounded. Lately, between digging up herbs and the windfall from Huang Ba, the most I've ever had was Over Sixty Taels of Silver. But after expenses, this paper in my hand is now worth One Hundred Taels!
And in the man's bosom, there were also over Ten Taels of Small Change of Silver.
Another windfall!
Chen Ku pocketed this haul of over one hundred taels.
Suddenly, a message appeared: [Diagram Master satisfies one of the conditions for the second transformation's cultivation]
The awakening condition for the Second Transformation Diagram? It's appeared? Chen Ku immediately looked.
[Second Transformation Diagram]
[Awakening Conditions: One Hundred Taels of Silver, an entry-level to Force Transformation Martial Arts, a Ferocious Beast-Level Evil Qi]
Chen Ku was slightly startled. Entry-level to Force Transformation Martial Arts? I understand that. After Strength Training comes Force Transforming. Ferocious Beast-Level Evil Qi? What's the difference from Wild Beast Level? Does it refer to those with larger bodies and greater strength, like lions, tigers, or bears?
His heart trembled slightly. If it really is that kind of ferocious beast... Such beasts... In my previous life, I saw on science shows that an ordinary tiger's paw strike has a force of approximately one thousand kilograms!
HISS!
The conditions for the second Transformation are a bit harsh. Unless I can successfully cultivate Force Transforming next, it seems utterly impossible to handle a tiger or a lion, let alone acquire their Evil Qi. But what I can't understand is…
"Oh, True Lord in the unknown, I don't know if it's you, but it's not easy for this humble one to make money. Why must it always involve money?" Chen Ku grimaced at the Transformation Diagram. Finally, resignedly, he pressed the One Hundred Tael silver note to his forehead. "Fine, consider it Incense money offered to you."
As a result, a new line of text appeared: [Please exchange an equivalent item for 'Silver'.]
Seeing this inscription, Chen Ku frowned slightly. It was... rejected? Could it be that it doesn't need money, but rather a specific valuable metal? Copper Coins? Silver Taels? Will it need gold in the future, or something even more precious than gold? Diamonds? That's just absurd... I can't figure it out. And, of course, no one answered. Since it wasn't accepted, I'll keep it for now.
He looked back at the two corpses and the bloodstains on the ground. Since he had his pickaxe with him, he buried the bloodstains. He dragged the bodies away from the original site, then, five or six li away on a deep mountainside, he dug a very deep pit. A fresh kill, freshly buried, so to speak.
After finishing everything, he looked at the deep dark clouds and, using the experience of a rural person, concluded something. It's going to rain tomorrow. If it weren't going to rain, I would have just dumped them in the river. Since it is, burying them is perfect. Tomorrow's rain will erase any trace.
Thus, Chen Ku silently carried the pickaxe back to the village.
Meanwhile, the village itself was also in chaos. After the refugees had eaten their fill and regained their strength, they not only didn't leave but, empowered by their numbers, they even demanded more food as travel provisions.
The villagers then realized they were dealing with a gang of absolute starving devils, veritable living bandits!