Chapter 58

Wei He stood inside the house, peeking out through the window crack, and immediately recognized that it was another piece of exotic beast meat.

In the past few days, Jiang Su had already delivered twenty pounds of different exotic beast meats to him.

This guy had far better connections and resources than he did; the antler deer meat was not the only exotic beast meat she could obtain.

Despite the patchwork effort, she managed to gather so many good things.

Wei He originally had some prejudices against this woman, but seeing her go to such lengths to make amends, his anger gradually subsided.

He moved away from the window, reached out to pull at his collar, and took a look.

The breakthrough bead on his chest was still just a little short.

Sighing, he picked up a dried radish, slowly tearing and chewing it.

‘But the breakthrough is just a few days away... The exotic beast meat is much more than initially expected, so I can maximize the effect of my digestive ability, eating continuously as soon as I finish digesting.’

He now ate six times a day, continuously consuming exotic beast meat.

After eating for a while, he suddenly heard Wei Ying scream from outside.

With a thud, the door opened, and Wei He dashed out, seeing a figure falling from the wall, landing outside.

Immediately, there were sounds of someone staggering away.

Wei He clearly saw that the sharp stones on the wall still had a lot of bloodstains.

These walls were lined with sharpened stones he had bought and embedded at the top.

It was to prevent thieves.

Now it seemed to be effective.

At this moment, the breakthrough bead in Wei He's chest flashed slightly after absorbing a surge of qi and blood, advancing a bit more.

However, Wei He did not notice this and hurriedly ran over to the frightened Wei Ying who had fallen to the ground.

"Are you okay, Sister?" He quickly helped her up.

"No... I'm fine, but just now, it was just a child... His stomach was cut open, and he bled a lot!" Wei Ying said loudly.

"A child?" Wei He frowned.

"Let's go see him, okay? The child is very young, only about half my height, and very thin. Now his stomach is cut open, I'm afraid..." Wei Ying said, unable to bear it.

"You wait in the yard." Wei He nodded, turned, and opened the door, leaving the yard.

Outside the yard, he looked at the pool of blood on the ground. Following the blood trail for a while, there was no sign of anyone.

But with such a blood loss, if the person was really just a child half his height, it was unlikely he would survive in this environment.

Wei He shook his head, estimating that the kid probably wouldn't make it.

If he had found him, it would have been better, but now that he hadn't, it was almost certain he was dead.

Because to protect his home, he had deliberately soaked all the sharp stones on the wall in toxic water.

The more toxic powder, the drier it was, the more potent. It was a good find he had taken from a mountain bandit.

Back in the yard, Wei He explained the situation. Even if Wei Ying felt sorry, there was nothing to be done if the person couldn't be found.

This was the world they lived in, where people died every day.

Now, half of the outer city's districts were almost deserted, with a large population outflow, leaving to avoid disease and hunger.

Many people, with their families, were just chasing after a faint hope.

Wei He returned to his bedroom, originally planning to continue his seclusion, but seeing his second sister's pitiful expression after being frightened, he decided against it.

Being busy outside all day with no one to talk to could indeed make one sick over time.

He didn't need absolute silence to accumulate qi and blood.

So, he began practicing the Return Mountain Fist in the yard.

During breaks, he practiced the Flying Dragon Technique, which mostly involved legwork.

However, he often felt, perhaps it was just his imagination, that someone was constantly watching his home from outside the yard.

Just outside the Wei family's small courtyard, less than a hundred meters away.

A few short, half-grown teenagers were staring at the small courtyard with vicious eyes.

"Little Five is dead, Big Brother," one of the teenagers said calmly.

"Dead is dead. He was careless. I told him to put the drug, not to make noise. He almost ruined our plan. Fortunately, we are young, so people don't guard against us much. Otherwise, this job would have been a failure," the teenager called Big Brother said coldly.

His name was Wang Ziyang, originally named Wang Ziyang, but he found it too weak and changed it to Yang.

In the outer city's dozen or so districts, he was one of the few child leaders, willing to use any means to survive and eat.

At first, he might have felt some remorse, especially when poisoning good people who pitied him, but after doing it many times, he became numb.

As long as he could survive and eat, anything was fine.

This time, he had taken a job from a big figure, to secretly drug and kidnap the pretty woman in the Wei family's courtyard.

These big figures liked such things, and he had cooperated several times.

After all, they could take advantage of being children, as people didn't guard against them much.

But he didn't expect that this time... the family's wall was actually coated with poison!

Little Five's stomach was just cut open, but he died soon after returning...

Wang Ziyang's heart grew even more ruthless, staring at the Wei family's courtyard, his mind filled with various vicious plans.

The reward from that big figure was substantial. If he could get it all... he might never have to go hungry again.

"Little Four, you've been watching this courtyard every day, right? Does the woman never go out?" he asked.

"These days, it's strange. The woman never goes out. They get water from a small path behind the house, and there's a wall there, so they don't dare to go. It's too obvious..." Little Four replied.

"Is that so? No rush, she will eventually go out to buy vegetables, oil... We just need to wait," Wang Ziyang said fiercely.

"Brother Yang, I think we should give up... I heard that this courtyard also belongs to a big figure... If we provoke them..." the shortest little girl couldn't help but speak up.

"What if we do? I, Wang Ziyang, want to do big things, make big money! If we can't even do this small thing, how can we do big things in the future..." Thud.

A fist-sized stone flew from nearby, hitting Wang Ziyang's forehead hard.

He fell to the ground, struggling a few times, blood dripping from his hair, and fainted.

The other children screamed and ran.

But the alley exit they were running to was also blocked by several strong men.

Both entrances and exits were sealed. These men had the same mark on their bodies.

"Really, you have the gall to spy on Wei the Steward's home. Do you think we, the Unity Gang, are just for show?" A bald strong man kicked a teenager, sending him flying.

"Brother Yang is dead, let's fight them!" The other teenagers and girls pulled out various weapons from their pockets, some sharpened stones, some rusty scissors, and some crude iron pieces.

"Drag these brats away and beat them." The bald strong man waved his hand, and the gang members rushed forward, punching, kicking, and beating the weak teenagers to the ground.

Wei He appeared at the alley entrance, looking at the group of half-grown teenagers, expressionless.

This was the world they lived in, where even young people could be vicious.

Did he really think his home was completely unguarded?

Did he think the small gangs and organizations he was affiliated with were just for show?

With a little benefit, he could find people to protect his home.

Even when Wei Ying went out to buy vegetables and oil, he had these small gang members watch over her.

Finding a few people from different small gangs, in this era, as long as there was food and money, there were plenty of men willing to fight for a full meal and benefits.

These people knew all the tricks and had nothing to do, making them more useful than professional guards.

"Sir Wei, I saw that kid climbing the wall and knocked him down with a stone. Now these brats dare to plot against your family, they are crazy. Don't worry, I'll deal with them one by one afterward."

Wei He nodded, not asking how they would be dealt with, and didn't bother to ask.

As long as they weren't related to him, he didn't care about the rest.

The bald man had the teenagers dragged away and bowed to Wei He again.

"Sir Wei, it was my good fortune that you helped me before the New Year. Rest assured, I will keep a close eye on this place and ensure nothing goes wrong!"

"Good." Wei He nodded and said no more.

"Sir Wei, don't pity these brats. They have killed more than ten people by taking advantage of others' kindness. They are notorious in the surrounding districts. The leader, Wang Ziyang, has destroyed many families, killing the men and selling the women to brothels. Their hearts are blacker than ours!" The bald man added a few more words. Under his control, these brats wouldn't be coming out again.

Wei He just nodded and said nothing.

He waved his hand and turned to walk back to his courtyard.

The bald man and his group bowed and saw him off.

Creak.

The courtyard gate slowly opened.

Wei He stepped in and returned to his room, as usual, checking the skin on his chest.

The circular bead pattern was now completely black.

The final piece of the puzzle, which he had waited for months, was finally complete.

Wei He took a deep breath, feeling excited.

He immediately closed the door, closed his eyes, and recalled the content of the Five Ridge Palm.

At the same time, he focused his mind on the breakthrough bead on his chest, feeling the presence of a balloon-like condensed object. He formed a mental needle and stabbed it fiercely.

Puff.

Instantly, a large surge of energy flowed out from the breakthrough bead, spreading throughout his body.

But most of the surge flowed into his hands and arms.

A moment later.

Bang.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

Wei He's figure flashed, and in an instant, he disappeared through the courtyard gate.

......

......

......

Xiao Ran had just left the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, just outside the outer city, and was still drunk, savoring the soft, fragrant touch in his hands.

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong and looked up sharply.

A black shadow shot toward him, striking him with a palm.

"Who are you!?" Xiao Ran resisted, his qi and blood surging, aiming to punch the black shadow to death.

Bang!

Palm met fist.

Xiao Ran's arm broke in several places, and he was sent flying. Before he could fly far, the black shadow struck him again in the chest.

Puff!

His ribs caved in, and he was thrown back, crashing into the earthen wall behind him.

The wall shook and caved in, forming a human-shaped pit.

Xiao Ran's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the black shadow. He tried to speak, but the light in his eyes quickly faded.

His head tilted, and he was dead.

The black shadow approached, casually searched Xiao Ran's body, and then turned and disappeared around the corner.