Chapter 32

"Who are you, how did you do it?..."

The Bone Messenger lay on the ground with his eyes wide open, his vision becoming increasingly blurry. The three venomous snakes he had raised for decades had suddenly betrayed him. He could not die in peace without understanding this.

"Haha, do you think I would tell you?"

Yang Ji said coldly.

Just as the three venomous snakes were the Bone Messenger's trump card, Xiao Ji was also Yang Ji's secret. Yang Ji dared to use the ruthless and cruel cult followers for practice because he relied on Xiao Ji, a pet that could rival a martial artist at the Martial Path realm.

For such hidden means, the fewer people who knew, the better. Even if they were dead, Yang Ji would not easily reveal it.

"Heh, good, good, good!..."

The Bone Messenger said three "goods" and then stopped asking, a strange smile appearing on his dark face.

"Such a person as you has emerged in the small Pingchuan County, even daring to kill people from our Heavenly Yin Cult. Hehe, a young calf is not afraid of tigers, you don't even know what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into, do you?... Don't be too smug, it won't be long before not only you, but everyone here will die... all of you will die... all of you!..."

The Bone Messenger's voice grew weaker and weaker, and after a moment, he finally died, lying still with that strange smile still on his face.

"Everyone will die... what does this guy mean?"

Yang Ji frowned, looking at the dead body of the Bone Messenger, his expression serious. From the words he said before dying, it was clear that he had a specific meaning.

However, for the current Yang Ji, no matter what, it had little to do with him. With his current strength, those matters were too far away and too impractical. If the sky fell, there would be taller people to hold it up, and it wouldn't be his turn to worry about such things.

"Heavenly Yin Cult... is this the name of the cult he joined?"

A thought flashed through Yang Ji's mind, but he quickly came to his senses. Compared to pondering these things, his current situation was the most important.

"Indeed, the world is dangerous. If it weren't for Xiao Ji's help, I might have really fallen for his trick just now. Experience... is still lacking. In the future, I need to be more careful."

Yang Ji thought to himself.

Recalling the situation just now, Yang Ji couldn't help but feel a bit scared. Although he had seen through the Bone Messenger's tactics and had the martial arts to counter him, his perspective, experience, and knowledge were far inferior.

Although he had good talent and worked hard, he had lived in Pingchuan County since birth. These things that come later in life cannot be made up for by effort alone.

"More than half a month ago, when I left the clan, I encountered those cult followers disguised as beggars, and now I've met them again on the mountain... these cults are really becoming more and more pervasive. If I killed their people and it leaks out, it could be a big deal. I'd better quickly dispose of his body."

Many thoughts flashed through Yang Ji's mind, and he quickly made up his mind.

The Bone Messenger's body had to be buried, but before that, there were other things to handle. Yang Ji searched and indeed found a gray pouch on the Bone Messenger's body.

"This is... so many silver notes!"

Yang Ji opened it and was immediately surprised. The pouch contained no copper coins or silver beans, but rather stacks of silver notes. There were ten, twenty, and fifty taels, in varying amounts, all small denominations, but each one made Yang Ji's heart race.

"Five hundred taels... this guy actually has more than five hundred taels of silver notes!!"

Yang Ji roughly counted, and his heart pounded, feeling a dry mouth and throat.

Although he knew the cult follower might have some gains, he didn't expect so much.

"Five hundred taels of silver notes... how could he have so much! Yes, yes... this guy committed heinous crimes, digging up graves everywhere, and he must have needed to hide his identity. This money must have been given to him by the Heavenly Yin Cult as activity funds."

Yang Ji immediately understood, recalling the two "beggars" he had seen that day.

The Great Han Dynasty had always been cracking down on these cult followers, and digging up graves would also cause public outrage if discovered. These people clearly needed to hide their identities to avoid drawing attention.

Yang Ji searched the pouch and indeed found several official "household registers" and "travel permits," all with the identity of "traders."

"Traders" buy and sell goods, traveling far and wide, and their presence in any place would not arouse suspicion. Five hundred taels of silver might be a "huge sum" to Yang Ji, but for a traveling "trader," it was only a moderate amount.

"Five hundred taels of silver..."

Yang Ji's face flushed. He had never had so much silver on him. The most he had ever had was the ten taels he received from Zhou Kuang.

Now it was fifty times that!

Five hundred taels of silver, if used just for food and drink, would be enough for him and the old steward to live on for decades. However, for Yang Ji, these silver notes clearly had other uses.

"My original plan was to take the civil service examination. After passing the 'child scholar' exam, I would rely on the government's support and the title of child scholar to free myself from the clan's constraints and oppression. Then, without any worries, I would focus on practicing martial arts and try to become famous in the imperial martial arts examination. But now that's not necessary."

Yang Ji thought to himself, many ideas flashing through his mind.

"With these five hundred taels of silver notes and my Ninth Stage Breathing strength, in the remaining four months, if used well, I might be able to break through to the Martial Path realm and take a chance in the July martial arts examination!"

To stand out in the "martial arts examination," one must at least have the cultivation of the Martial Path realm; otherwise, participating would be pointless. In Pingchuan County, there had never been a "martial child scholar" below the Martial Path realm.

However, Yang Ji thought more deeply. According to the rules of the Great Han Dynasty, scholars over twenty years old automatically lose the right to take the imperial examinations.

If he failed this time, Yang Ji would have to wait until he was nineteen to try again. Even if he succeeded then, it would be as good as giving up.

A "nineteen-year-old" "old child scholar" would be considered mediocre by the government, with little value to cultivate. Even if he succeeded, his achievements would be limited!

"No matter what, I must succeed."

Yang Ji thought to himself. For himself and his father, this time it must succeed, no failure allowed.

In less than four months, even with the most effort and the most precious herbs to strengthen his body, it would be very difficult to break through to the Martial Path realm under normal circumstances. However, it was not entirely hopeless.

"Herb Pill..."

A thought flashed through Yang Ji's mind.

The "Herb Pill" itself was not a miraculous elixir and did not have the effect of enhancing power.

It was made by extracting the essence from over a hundred herbs and was secretly formulated. Its greatest function was to save time for martial artists in their practice.

Often, hundreds of pounds of precious herbs could only produce a few pills, making it extremely expensive, even beyond the reach of many direct-line descendants of clans.

In fact, with enough patience, daily herbal baths could achieve the same effect in a month, without the need to take the "Herb Pill."

Yang Ji had not originally had this idea, but with time pressing, to break through to the Martial Path realm in the remaining months and make a name in the martial arts examination, this was the only way.

"Although it will cost a lot of silver, there's no time to worry about that."

Yang Ji thought to himself.

He searched the pouch again, but apart from the five hundred taels of silver notes and the "travel permits," there were no other gains.

"Seems his rank is still too low, having five hundred taels of silver notes is already quite good."

Yang Ji thought to himself.

The Bone Messenger had only the Breathing realm cultivation, just one level higher than Yang Ji. It was clear that his position in the cult was not high.

Yang Ji was not greedy; having five hundred taels of silver notes was already quite good.

"Hmm? What's this?"

While searching, Yang Ji's gaze fell on a dark green flame on the Bone Messenger's right wrist, very vivid.

The pattern was covered by the sleeve, and it would be hard to notice if not deliberately looked for.

"Could it be their cult's symbol?"

A thought flashed through Yang Ji's mind, recalling the "Heavenly Yin Cult" mentioned by the Bone Messenger.

"If it really is their cult's symbol, I'll have to be more careful in the future."

Yang Ji thought to himself.

If it were before, Yang Ji might not have cared. But now that he had killed their people, it was a serious matter. Cult members were ruthless and extreme, and if this matter was exposed, it would likely end in a life-or-death struggle, even if he wasn't afraid, it would be extremely troublesome.

Yang Ji mentally noted the dark green flame pattern and prepared to drag the Bone Messenger's body to a secluded place in the mountains to bury it.

However, just as he turned, Yang Ji was suddenly startled.

"Who's there!"

Yang Ji shouted, shocked to see a shadow in the distance behind him. The person stood motionless in the tree shade, and it was unclear how long they had been watching.

Yang Ji had the Ninth Stage Breathing cultivation, but he had not sensed anything for so long.

"Hehe, Yang Ji, you have quite the nerve. You even dared to kill someone from the Heavenly Yin Cult."

The person laughed coldly, making no effort to hide, and slowly walked out from the tree shade.

The night was quiet, and the slow footsteps on the dry leaves were very grating.

Yang Ji's body tensed, feeling the blood rush to his face. This person had witnessed his entire battle with the cult follower and had not made a sound the whole time.

The footsteps approached, step by step...

When the person slowly stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight, Yang Ji finally saw a face, gaunt and cold, exuding a chilling aura.

"Steward Zhou!"

Yang Ji's pupils constricted, drawing a sharp breath.

The person was from the Yang clan and was the personal steward of the First Lady. This steward was low-key and taciturn. Yang Ji had seen him once in the Discipline Hall but had not noticed him at all.

This person was like the "shadow" of the First Lady. Yang Ji only knew that his surname was "Zhou," and the Yang clan disciples called him "Steward Zhou" or "Great Steward Zhou," but he knew nothing else.

"Boy, come out!"

Steward Zhou's gaze did not linger on Yang Ji but looked around, as if searching for something.