66 Heightened Perception
“Get lost!”
“Don’t dirty my clothes!”
Beside Shi Quannian, a few guards saw an old farmer falling over. They immediately shouted and kicked him.
However, at this moment, the old farmer turned his body into an unbelievable posture. He opened his arms wide and struck out with his palms, sending the two guards flying.
The two guards spurted out blood at the same time, and a large hole appeared in their chests. They were not going to live.
Shi Quannian had just gone through a life-and-death battle and was currently exhausted. He was also slightly dazed. He had never expected that someone would dare attack him in Great Cloud City.
Shi Quannian only reacted after the two guards had died. Just as he was about to activate his blood Qi to attack, the old farmer had already closed in. He unsheathed the long saber in his arms and swung it upwards from the bottom at an exquisite angle!
A terrifying blood mist erupted from the old farmer’s body and curled around the blade.
“The Blood-Burning Saber Technique?”
Shi Quannian’s face paled, and he was in a dilemma.
The trajectory of the blade seemed ordinary, but it sealed off all of Shi Quannian’s escape routes, as if it had predicted them. Even the rhythm of his blood Qi circulation was blocked by the other party.
Shi Quannian did not even have time to think about what kind of enemy he had provoked. He only had time to raise his arms in an attempt to block.
The sound of metal clashing rang out, causing the guards to see stars. Shi Quannian’s sleeves were torn apart, revealing two metal arm guards that blocked the blade.
However, his arms were badly mangled by the force of the vibration, and his bones were exposed.
“Run!”
Shi Quannian was sent flying, blood flowing from his mouth. He turned around and wanted to escape.
His blood Qi had almost been exhausted from the battle with Young Master Liang. In addition, he had suffered a serious injury. He could not withstand another battle with a second-class martial artist.
The old farmer’s attack had completely scared Shi Quannian out of his wits.
It was not just because of the terrifying power of the Blood-Burning Saber Technique, but also because of his opponent’s godly calculation and judgment. It made Shi Quannian feel like he was fighting with a Grandmaster who had been immersed in martial arts for hundreds of years.
“Even if I was at my peak, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to defeat this person.” This was the only thought in Shi Quannian’s mind. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not figure out how a second-class martial artist could have such a deep understanding of martial arts.
However, Shi Quannian had been severely injured. How could he be faster than a second-class martial artist who was completely unharmed?
The old farmer’s eyes were calm. He caught up to Shi Quannian in a single step and used the same technique again without any hesitation. He stabbed Shi Quannian’s heart from the back and nailed him to the brick street.
Shi Quannian’s four limbs were struggling helplessly, but a soft voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
“Zhang Shan says hi.”
Shi Quannian, who was already at the end of his life, suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked up to try to find the old farmer. However, he had long disappeared at the end of the street and mixed into the crowd.
Shi Quannian’s eyes widened in anger, but his consciousness quickly fell into darkness.
The guards of the Shi family were already pale as they looked helplessly at Shi Quannian who was pinned to the ground.
* * *
Jiang Ming jumped into the river to wash away the blood and sneakily changed back into Yu Asheng’s clothes. After the whole process was completed, an ordinary-looking young man reappeared in the town.
“Yu Asheng, you just came back? The table you fixed for me is really strong. I put some tender corn cobs in your yard. Cook them. They’ll be delicious.”
“Okay, thank you, Master Zhao.”
“Yu Asheng! Have you eaten? Come to Auntie’s house for dinner!”
“No, no, thank you, Aunt Wang.”
The ordinary-looking teenager, Yu Asheng, smiled gently along the way and greeted the neighbors as he returned to his small courtyard.
He chopped the firewood and threw it into the stove, then boiled a pot of strong tea. Only then did Jiang Ming let out a long breath and sit comfortably under the eaves. After looking at the curling smoke from the kitchen chimneys and the rolling clouds in the Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest for a while, he closed his eyes and took a nap.
“This state of heightened perception is really scary. If it wasn’t triggered, that blade definitely wouldn’t have had such a good effect.”
Jiang Ming reminisced about the battle just now. Shi Quannian was a second-class martial artist at his peak, just like Guan Feng. Even if he was injured, he could not be killed so easily.
His attack had been executed at the exact moment when Shi Quannian was distracted. The timing, trajectory, and power were all perfect.
He had only managed to break both of Shi Quannian’s arms with one strike of his saber, causing him to be severely injured.
“It’s a pity that it only lasted for an instant!”
Jiang Ming sighed. After drinking the Spirit-Clearing Soup for so long, he had increased the probability of triggering heightened perception a lot, but it was only once a day at most, and the time was only for a short moment.
And now that he was Yu Asheng, he could no longer brazenly make ten bowls a day.
“But even if it’s only for a moment, it’s enough for a life-and-death battle!” Jiang Ming muttered to himself, feeling that he was a little too greedy.
Other martial artists might not even be able to trigger it once in their entire lives. He could trigger it once a day, but he was still not satisfied.
“Shi Quannian’s death will probably cause a storm, but what does it have to do with me, the carpenter, Yu Asheng?”
Jiang Ming rested for a moment, got up, poured a big cup of strong tea, and began to work.
“I’ll collect the Shi family’s interest here. When the time is right, we’ll settle the accounts!”
Jiang Ming was not afraid of waiting.
He could wait for the Green Mountain Army to collapse and the Shi family to fall, and he could even wait until he became a first-class martial artist and personally kill the Shi family.
The Cloudy Dream Mountain Forest was getting more and more lively, but all of this had nothing to do with Jiang Ming. He lived in seclusion and made furniture at home. Occasionally, he would go out with tools and repair old tables and chairs for the neighbors.
* * *
After half a month, Jiang Ming came to Old Jiang’s bar again. He politely ordered some food and wine and ate alone in the corner.
Just as Jiang Ming expected, the topic of discussion in the bar was still related to the fire cloud grass and the King of Medicine.
“We’ve found more than ten fire cloud grass in a day, but there’s still no trace of that King of Medicine.”
“The number of people who died is just as many. If we can’t find the King of Medicine in the end, I’m afraid we’ll die…”
“Speaking of the dead, I have to mention the Shi family.” One of them suddenly winked at him, causing the others to burst into laughter.
“A second-class martial artist was nailed on the street. The Shi family is going crazy.”
“But some people suspect that it was done by those people from the capital. Do you think it’s true?”
“Anyway, I heard that before the Shi family’s martial artist died, he had a fight with the capital’s Liang family, and many people died.”
“If that’s the case, it’s really possible.”
Jiang Ming chewed on his food in silence. Of course, he would not blame the Liang family in the capital so easily, but now Peace Town was in a mess. It was impossible for the Shi family to find the real murderer.