Chapter 9: First Encounter with a Martial Artist
【Romance Points +1】
【Romance Points +1】
Moonlight flowed like water, the night desolate. From the depths of the mountains behind Da He Village, the roar of a tiger, capable of splitting clouds and shattering stones, faintly echoed.
Zhou Chen held Qin Hong Yu’s soft body, their bodies pressed tightly together, but his entire mind was focused on something outside.
Qin Hong Yu bit her red lips, suppressing any sound, but her breathing became increasingly rapid. Outside, Qin Lao Han’s voice gradually faded away.
After a long while, there was still no movement outside. Qin Hong Yu couldn’t help but whisper, “Did it… Did it leave?”
Zhou Chen shook his head. His Great Achievement level Tracking skill had sharpened his senses, and he could still feel a chilling presence outside that hadn’t left.
Qin Hong Yu’s body trembled, her delicate frame tense, her eyes filled with even greater terror. Yet, she dared not make a sound.
Time ticked by, one drop at a time.
Zhou Chen suddenly raised an eyebrow. He sensed the chilling aura outside slowly moving away, but he didn’t hear any footsteps.
“It’s gone!”
Zhou Chen made his judgment, but he didn’t go out, nor did he intend to.
He only had one life.
Prudence and caution were never wrong.
Playing it safe was the way to live a long life.
Of course.
Playing it safe wasn’t being cowardly or weak, nor was it for the sake of playing it safe.
When the situation allowed, he needed to be decisive and take action.
For example, he used to be timid. After Cao Lao Tou’s death, others bullied him, using the pretext of Cao Lao Tou’s burial to eat up all the food stored in his house.
Qin Lao Han even tried to renege on his debt.
At times like these, he couldn’t appear weak, or others would only bully him even more.
Even if he went into the mountains to hunt a pheasant with little meat, others would s*atch it away from him.
Because he was easy to bully.
Taking advantage of the weak and fearing the strong was the nature of humans, or rather, of all living beings.
Of course.
If the enemy was beyond his capabilities, he should play it safe, wait until he was stronger in the future, and then eliminate them completely.
Night turned to day, and the night passed silently.
A fiery red sun slowly rose from the horizon, tearing apart the curtain of darkness, sweeping away evil spirits and demons. The world shook, and the sky became clear.
Qin Hong Yu, who had been tormented all night, had red eyes, with traces of dried tears at the corners. Her lips were slightly swollen.
Feeling the warm sunlight streaming in through the window, she felt a little relieved and said in a trembling voice:
“Brother Chen, that thing is gone, right?”
“It must be gone!”
Zhou Chen smiled, and his calm confidence calmed Qin Hong Yu’s uneasy heart.
“Brother Chen, why do you think that monster pretended to be my father? Could something have happened to my father?”
Qin Hong Yu was worried.
Although Qin Lao Han wasn’t very good to her, he was still her father.
“We’ll know when we go check on your father later!”
Zhou Chen was also curious to know what that thing was.
Moreover, that thing shouldn’t have only appeared at his house, right?
Other people in the village might have encountered it too.
“Okay.”
Qin Hong Yu nodded vigorously and struggled to get up. Although her legs were trembling, having not rested all night, she still got up to help Zhou Chen dress and wash.
Qin Hong Yu went to the kitchen to cook. Zhou Chen looked at the little fox and pulled it into his arms for a good rub.
【Romance Points +1】
Zhou Chen looked at his personal panel.
【Wind and Moon Mirror】
【Master: Zhou Chen】
【Cultivation Method: None】
【Realm: None】
【Supernatural Ability: Thunderclap Wish-Fulfilling Hand】
【Skills: Archery （Minor Achievement 0/80）, Tracking （Great Achievement 15/180）, Trap （Proficient 2/20）, Throwing （Proficient 18/20）, Fishing （Entry Level 6/10）…】
【Romance Points: 25】
“Currently, Archery doesn’t provide much of a boost to me. Minor Achievement level Archery is enough. Adding to Tracking will be more effective, allowing me to better detect danger…”
Zhou Chen allocated all twenty-five Romance Points to Tracking. His Tracking skill improved slightly, but the change wasn’t significant.
“Tracking is still one hundred and forty Romance Points away from Complete Mastery, which is about five days…”
Zhou Chen gathered his thoughts, put down the little fox, and cautiously went outside to check.
With his Tracking skill, he didn’t find any traces of strangers. There was an arrow stuck in the big tree by the door ━ the arrow he had shot last night. There was no blood on the arrow.
After a careful investigation, Zhou Chen didn’t find any valuable clues.
Zhou Chen wasn’t surprised.
The other party was no ordinary being.
This made Zhou Chen’s desire for martial arts or immortal techniques even more urgent.
“Staying at home allows me to gain Romance Points faster, but I can’t make money. Without money, I can’t do anything, let alone practice martial arts or cultivate immortality!”
Zhou Chen decided to go hunting today.
It was the only way he could make money at the moment.
With his Tracking and Archery skills, as well as his t*ump card, the Thunderclap Wish-Fulfilling Hand, he was confident in hunting wild boars, black bears, and other ferocious beasts.
“Brother Chen, food’s ready!”
“Coming!”
Zhou Chen put down the little fox. He had gained another Romance Point during this time.
After eating, he fed the little fox.
Zhou Chen and Qin Hong Yu went to Qin Lao Han’s house.
They found no one home. It seemed Qin Lao Han hadn’t been home for at least a few days.
“Could something have happened to my father?”
Qin Hong Yu’s eyes reddened, her worry deepening.
“Let’s go to Widow Chen’s house and see!”
Zhou Chen took Qin Hong Yu to Widow Chen’s house and found that she hadn’t been home for a few days either. Some leftover food had gone moldy and smelly.
“Could my father have run away with Widow Chen?”
Qin Hong Yu’s mind went wild, trying to deceive herself.
Zhou Chen knew that Qin Lao Han and Widow Chen had most likely met with misfortune.
Widow Chen’s family wasn’t well-off, barely able to eat their fill. If nothing had happened, there would definitely be no leftover food.
These leftovers were obviously saved by Widow Chen for her next meal, but unfortunately, something happened before she could eat them.
Zhou Chen and Qin Hong Yu inquired about the two in the village.
Hong Jie said, “I saw Widow Chen secretly meeting with Zhang Da Gen two nights ago. Could it be related to him?”
Zhou Chen, Qin Hong Yu, and Hong Jie went to Zhang Da Gen’s house and found that he was missing too.
“Could it be that Zhang Da Gen and Widow Chen conspired to harm Qin Lao Han and then ran away?”
Hong Jie guessed.
“That shouldn’t be right. There’s still some rice and food in Zhang Da Gen’s house. If they were running away, they would definitely take these with them!”
In these times, food was more important than anything else. Even if they were fleeing after killing someone, Zhang Da Gen would definitely take this limited amount of food.
Soon.
The other villagers discovered that not only Qin Lao Han, Widow Chen, and Zhang Da Gen were missing, but also several other old bachelors who lived alone!
This news caused an uproar in the village.
The disappearance of six or seven people at once was a major event, even in this era.
No one could guarantee that they wouldn’t be next.
Zhou Chen didn’t mention the incident of Qin Lao Han knocking on his door last night. He only subtly hinted at it, and it seemed that others hadn’t encountered anything similar.
It was also possible that those who had encountered it had all been killed, and the remaining ones naturally hadn’t.
Village Head Qin Jiang He took Zhou Chen to the county government office to report the case.
After all, Qin Lao Han was Zhou Chen’s father-in-law.
Zhou Chen had no choice; hunting was out of the question today.
At the entrance of the county government office, there were two imposing and majestic stone lions, solemn and dignified.
Zhou Chen didn’t try to stand out, following behind Qin Jiang He like an attendant.
They didn’t see the County Magistrate. The one who received them was the Assistant Magistrate, and the case was then assigned to County Captain Zhang Long.
Zhang Long had a sturdy build and sharp eyes. His hands were particularly large, as if containing boundless strength.
Zhou Chen, with his Great Achievement level Tracking skill, felt an extremely dangerous aura emanating from Zhang Long, as if he were facing a prehistoric beast.
“He must be a martial artist, but I don’t know what realm he’s in.”
Zhou Chen thought to himself.
He was considered a top-notch individual among ordinary people, and even those with natural strength rarely gave him this feeling of danger.
Zhang Long was clearly not an ordinary person!
Then, Zhang Long, along with three strong and sturdy constables with long sabers at their waists, set off with Zhou Chen and Qin Jiang He back to Da He Village.
On the way.
Zhang Long asked Qin Jiang He, “Have there been any other unusual occurrences in your village recently?”
