Chapter 4

Even if the Martial World Gate had instantly taught Chen Mo the Heaven and Earth Society's Chen Jinan's martial arts, the increase in his internal strength within a year would only boost his explosive power by a dozen or so pounds. The Jade-Breaking Hand, under this level of internal strength, was not much different from his military boxing, and in some cases, it was even inferior to such simple martial arts.

Chen Jinan did not teach Chen Mo the strongest Blood-Condensing Divine Claw. Chen Mo was not particularly concerned about this; if the ultimate skills were taught so easily, they would not be considered Chen Jinan's ultimate skills.

Chen Mo was still in deep thought when Chen Jinan, after glancing at the desolate path, continued to speak:

"Xiao Mo, this time when we enter the capital, I plan to have you stay at the Green Wood Hall to learn about the operations within the society. If you were not unfamiliar with martial arts, I would have prepared for you to take over the position of Commander Yin in the future."

Chen Mo came out of his deep thoughts. Although his intelligence had not improved much, and he was not someone who mingled in the political arena, he understood much of what Chen Jinan said. The Heaven and Earth Society, although an organization for the anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming, also took care of its own people.

Chen Mo had been Chen Jinan's book boy for many years and was like family to him. The Green Wood Hall was the largest and strongest branch of the Heaven and Earth Society, and Chen Jinan would not entrust it to anyone else.

Realizing this, Chen Mo began to strategize. Seizing the Forty-Two Chapters and killing Wei Xiaobao could be done together, but killing Emperor Kangxi, who always stayed in the palace, was extremely difficult; otherwise, the Martial World Gate would not have offered fifty points of martial arts value as a reward.

To complete all the tasks within a few years, leveraging the power of the Heaven and Earth Society was a shortcut. Chen Mo looked at the somewhat troubled Chen Jinan and said in a solemn voice:

"Grand Master, the matter of the Green Wood Hall will have its own outcome. But what about these Tartar assassins? If they knew you were entering the capital, the Tartars would not have sent just these few low-level assassins. Yet they blocked our path and attacked with the intent to kill. Could they have mistaken Grand Master for someone else?"

Chen Jinan's eyes lit up, and he nodded:

"Indeed, that must be it. Both of us are dressed as scholars, and these assassins mistook me for someone who does not know martial arts. The person they are trying to kill must be a weak scholar. But what kind of scholar would make the Qing court send assassins to kill him?"

When Chen Mo accepted the identity of the book boy, he also accepted his memories. Although he only knew basic farming skills, he did all the heavy work. In this era, don't think that great heroes don't use others; Chen Jinan, as the Grand Master of the Heaven and Earth Society, was also someone who gave orders.

Chen Mo quickly searched the three assassins dressed in tight-fitting clothes. After a moment, he walked to Chen Jinan with three money pouches and three identity tokens and said:

"Grand Master, these three men carried silver and identity tokens, indicating they were not afraid of their identities being exposed. Iron Executioners, what kind of Tartar soldiers are these?"

"鳌拜的亲兵，看来这又是那个敖少保派兵截杀什么人了。”Chen Jinan took an identity token and stared at the words on it, speaking in a solemn voice.

Chen Mo opened the three money pouches and found that the assassins were not particularly wealthy, with only a dozen or so silver pieces and a few dozen copper coins in total. He put the loot into his own money pouch, dragged the three bodies to the side of the forest, and then ran out to Chen Jinan with a smile:

"Grand Master, the timing of their interception matches our journey. This is a shortcut to Tongzhou. Could it be that the person they are trying to kill hasn't arrived yet, and we just happened to encounter them?"

Chen Jinan, who had established the Heaven and Earth Society after the Tartars entered the pass and commanded thousands of people, was definitely much smarter than Chen Mo. However, Chen Mo, with his familiarity with "The Deer and the Cauldron" and some innate knowledge of the Tartars' entry, was faster in predicting events.

If the Tartars were trying to kill Chen Jinan, they would send a group of experts to ambush him. These three assassins could only kill ordinary martial artists and would be no match for someone with a bit of skill, let alone the Grand Master of the Heaven and Earth Society.

Chen Jinan's eyes flashed with insight, and his ears twitched. He pulled Chen Mo into the roadside bushes. Seeing Chen Mo about to speak, he put a finger to his lips and gestured for silence. Chen Mo followed his gaze to the path they had come from.

"Clippety-clop, clippety-clop..."

The sound of hooves gradually approached. Chen Mo saw a donkey carrying a scholar in his thirties. The scholar had an ordinary appearance and a mustache. He carried a small bundle on his back and looked melancholy. He kept drinking from a leather water bag, but the strong smell of alcohol proved that it was not water.

Chen Mo and Chen Jinan exchanged a glance, and both had the same thought: the Tartar assassins were not after Chen Jinan. The book boy Chen Mo had died in vain, and the current Chen Mo had taken his place.

As the donkey passed, Chen Jinan whispered to Chen Mo:

"Xiao Mo, let's follow him. The person the Tartars want to kill, we cannot let him die."

Chen Mo, to be honest, had no particular feelings for the Tartars or the Ming. Chen Jinan's mind was filled with feudal ideology, and if not for needing the Heaven and Earth Society to complete his own plans, he would not have wanted to act with Chen Jinan.

Now that Chen Jinan was going to save someone, Chen Mo could only obediently follow behind him. They followed the donkey at a distance, and after less than ten miles, they saw the scholar enter a teahouse. Just as they were about to follow, the scholar burst out of the teahouse, shouting:

"Help, help..."

Behind the scholar, four men dressed like the previous assassins, wielding long knives, chased after him. Chen Jinan did not speak, but with a quick step, he rushed forward and used his Jade-Breaking Hand to push away the two long knives that were about to strike the scholar.

Chen Jinan blocked the two men, but the other two circled around him and shouted:

"Government business, all bystanders leave."

The scholar stumbled forward, and the direction he chose was precisely where Chen Mo was. Originally, Chen Mo had only intended to watch, but when he saw the two knife-wielding assassins charging forward, he suddenly found the courage to grab the scholar and push him into the roadside bushes.

The scholar hid in the bushes, and the two assassins immediately assumed Chen Mo was an accomplice. One of them lunged forward with his knife, aiming for Chen Mo's chest.

Chen Mo, though only nineteen, was not a good student. He had been involved in many fights before, though he had never killed anyone, he had seen a few killings. After the incident with the Martial World Gate, he had become much more ruthless.

Seeing the assassin's knife thrust, he could tell that these men were far inferior to the ghost assassins and the middle-aged man he had seen when he obtained the ink jade. With his newly learned internal strength and Jade-Breaking Hand, he sidestepped, grabbed the assassin's arm with his left hand, and pulled out the small iron knife from his waist, slashing it across the assassin's neck in a practiced motion.

In an instant, a streak of blood appeared on the assassin's neck.