Daqian Martial Saint

”Brother!”

Inside the carriage, Chen Erya’s voice was tinged with panic.

Clearly, she had seen the recent fight from inside the carriage.

”It’s alright.”

Chen Ping’an walked over and comforted the little girl.

”Just a worthless little thief. Nothing to worry about!”

”Okay.”

Chen Erya nodded.

She knew what to do at a time like this to keep her brother from worrying.

Beside them, Peony covered her mouth. Though her face was filled with fear, she forced herself to stay calm and held Chen Erya’s hand.

”Miss, with the Young Master here, we’ll be fine.”

After confirming the two girls weren’t too frightened and were generally okay, Chen Ping’an began to deal with Ding Tong’s body.

He searched him from top to bottom and found a good number of silver notes and some broken silver. However, he didn’t find any Martial Arts Secret Manuals.

’As expected, not everyone runs around carrying a Martial Arts Secret Manual on them.’

A situation like this was perfectly normal.

On the inside of Ding Tong’s calf, however, Chen Ping’an discovered a dagger. The hilt was inlaid with a Ruby. He drew the dagger; its cold glint revealed it was no ordinary item.

”This dagger’s not bad!”

Chen Ping’an remarked with satisfaction before putting it away.

This time, besides the silver taels, he’d at least gotten a weapon out of it! That was some consolation.

In Chen Ping’an’s judgment, this dagger was most likely a Fine Blade.

Compared to a great saber or a Longsword of the same quality, a dagger was generally less valuable. But no matter how low its value, it was still a Fine Blade.

It could be traded for one or two regular fine blades, easy.

They were on a main road, after all. Even though it was late, there was no guarantee a traveler wouldn’t pass by. So, after looting the body, Chen Ping’an moved it far away. Ding Tong’s horse was still there, so he led it into a nearby grove of trees and tied it up.

After doing all this, he took out a flint and expertly began to destroy the corpse to eliminate all traces.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of the matter coming to light, but he still had to conceal which Martial Art had killed Ding Tong.

Speaking of which, his Great Vajra Palm had only reached the Minor Success Realm. The reason he could kill Ding Tong so devastatingly was ultimately due to his overwhelming advantage in Realm.

If they were fighting in the Same Realm, even with his astonishing combat experience, he couldn’t have achieved such a result with just the Small Success Level Great Vajra Palm.

After confirming the body had been reduced to charred remains, Chen Ping’an extinguished the fire, returned to the main road, and drove the carriage straight ahead.

”You weren’t scared just now, were you?”

Chen Ping’an asked the two of them as he held the reins.

”A little bit,”

Chen Erya said in a small voice.

Chen Ping’an’s heart ached. To be honest, he wanted to protect Chen Erya completely, to shield her from every hardship of this world.

But in reality, he couldn’t.

Although his strength was now decent enough for self-preservation, he couldn’t stop the endless stream of people who wanted to provoke him.

And when it came to Chen Erya, he couldn’t guarantee her safety one hundred percent of the time.

As Chen Ping’an was still lost in thought, Chen Erya’s voice rang out again.

”More than being scared, I was worried about you, Brother.”

Hearing this, Chen Ping’an’s heart melted.

”Nannan, I’m sorry for making you worry.”

”Brother, didn’t we agree you wouldn’t call me Nannan outside? I’m a big girl now~”

”Right, right, you are a big girl. But there are no outsiders here right now!”

”Brother!”

”Hahahaha...”

The carriage sped along, and before it felt like much time had passed, they arrived at an inn.

Lanterns hung at the inn’s entrance, where a servant stood just inside. Seeing the carriage approach, the servant quickly hurried out to greet them.

”Honored guests, please come in! We have the finest rooms, and hot water for you to wash your feet...”

The servant introduced enthusiastically.

Chen Ping’an leaped down from the carriage.

”Two of your best rooms. Also, I want the best feed for my horse. Take good care of it!”

”Right away!”

The servant smiled warmly.

This area was still within the sphere of influence of Weishui County City, and the inn was right on the main road, so he wasn’t worried about it being a crooked inn.

After settling Chen Erya and Peony in their room, Chen Ping’an went into the other one.

After waiting a short while, Chen Ping’an vaulted out the window and quickly left the inn. The entire process was silent, and no one noticed a thing.

Soon, Chen Ping’an was back on the section of road where he had been attacked. In the distant woods, the horse was still tied to a tree, snorting.

With Chen Ping’an’s current Martial Arts Realm, he wouldn’t be any slower than a fast horse if he ran at full speed. But considering the distance back to Weishui County City, he still chose to ride.

He vaulted onto the horse and galloped away!

...

Inside the ruined temple, Fang Rui grew more and more anxious as he waited.

”It’s been so long. Why isn’t Ding Tong back yet?”

Hearing Fang Rui’s question, Fang Shicheng bowed his head slightly and said, ”Young Master, something might have delayed Ding Tong.”

”What could have delayed him? Don’t tell me he let the guy get away?”

Fang Rui looked displeased.

Originally, he had wanted to go with Ding Tong to watch Chen Ping’an’s miserable state firsthand. But in the end, Fang Shicheng had persuaded him not to.

After all, according to the latest news, Chen Ping’an had already entered the Inner Qi Realm. Although he had only just entered and his Realm might not be stable, he was still a genuine Inner Qi Realm expert!

If Fang Rui went, things could go wrong, and he would become a liability.

After all, just like in those storybooks, there were plenty of examples of villains kidnapping the young master and threatening the guards to make their escape!

With Ding Tong there, such a possibility was unlikely. But it was a risk best not taken!

Although Fang Rui knew Fang Shicheng’s earlier reasoning made sense and had listened to his advice to wait for news in the temple, he was finally growing impatient now that the results were so late.

”Tower Holder Ding Tong has been famous for years and possesses an ultimate capturing technique. Even an ordinary master at the Second Stage of Inner Qi might not be able to escape his grasp. Chen Ping’an is just a junior who has barely entered the Inner Qi Realm. It’s absolutely impossible for Ding Tong to fail!

”That Chen Ping’an must be a cunning one. Perhaps Ding Tong couldn’t find him right away, which caused the delay!”

Fang Shicheng offered a plausible speculation.

Hearing Fang Shicheng’s explanation, the color on Fang Rui’s face eased slightly.

Just as the two were talking, the Guard who had been observing the situation from the temple entrance suddenly walked in.

”Young Master, there’s the sound of horse hooves in the distance!”

”Horse hooves?”

Fang Rui was overjoyed to hear this.

”It must be Ding Tong, coming back!”

Hearing the Guard’s report, Fang Shicheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

’Chen Ping’an, just you wait and see how I’m going to torture you! I’ll make you feel the suffering I endured in that prison!’

Fang Rui stood up, a cold sneer on his face as he waited for Ding Tong to return with Chen Ping’an.

He had already thought of all the ways he would torture Chen Ping’an. The whole reason he had Ding Tong capture him alive was for this very moment, so he could vent all his bitter anger!

CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP!

The sound of hooves drew closer, soon reaching the outside of the ruined temple. Just as Fang Rui expected the horse to stop, he heard the hoofbeats continue past without slowing, heading down the main road and into the distance.

”Hm?”

”It’s not Ding Tong?”

Fang Rui frowned. Through the temple’s window, he saw a fast horse galloping down the road. He could faintly make out a figure riding it.

”What’s going on?”

Fang Rui snorted coldly.

Beside him, Fang Shicheng’s heart trembled.

’What is happening!’

He was just as confused.

’Where did Ding Tong go?’

Just as Fang Shicheng was wondering how to respond, the sound of horse hooves came again from outside.

CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP! CLIP-CLOP!

”Young Master, he’s back! Ding Tong must have ridden past by mistake!”

Fang Shicheng said with a look of delight.