Chapter 68 - 69: Each Employing Their Own Means, Wind Chasing Step Perfected

Chapter 68: Chapter 69: Each Employing Their Own Means, Wind Chasing Step Perfected

WHOOSH. DING!

A light breeze swept across the ground, swaying the bell hanging by the window and producing a crisp ring. The man in black, who was in the middle of treating his wounds, immediately stopped. Rising to his feet with a vigilant expression, he moved to the corner and strained his ears to listen to the commotion outside. This bell was connected to a trap he had specifically set outside; if an enemy approached, it would ring. Now that it was chiming, his immediate thought was that someone was out there.

His heart pounded. Within minutes, his thoughts raced wildly. He thought, "My courtyard has no neighbors around, and usually, no one comes to bother me. If someone is truly here, they must come with ill intentions!"

He wondered, "Who could it be? How do they know I live in this courtyard? Could it be someone from the Government Office? No, I’ve only been in White Stone City for a short time and haven’t even started committing crimes yet. It’s impossible for the Government Office to know. Or... could it be him?"

As the man in black pondered, a familiar figure flashed through his mind—Su Chen. But on second thought, he felt it was impossible. With his footwork, shaking off Su Chen was a breeze. How could the other party have followed him all the way to his residence?

After waiting for a while, the man in black still didn’t hear any sounds from outside, only the whistling of the breeze. This allowed him to relax slightly, guessing that he might just be jumping at shadows, acting like a bundle of nerves.

"Huh? What’s that smell? Oh no, who poisoned me?!" he muttered.

Suddenly, a faint scent rushed from his nose to his brain, making his mind go fuzzy. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. He collapsed to the ground. A figure slowly appeared from the window, looking down at the fallen man in black.

An unknown amount of time later, the man in black opened his bleary eyes. The first thing that caught his sight was a man dressed similarly in black.

"Where am I?" he mumbled. Then, fully realizing his situation, he demanded, "Who are you?" Startled, he tried to spring up, only to find that his hands were firmly bound.

"It’s good that you’re awake," Su Chen said indifferently. "I came looking for you because of the manual you have."

"What manual?"

"The Body Technique manual you practice."

"You’re talking about the Wind Chasing Step?!" The Flying Thief froze for a moment.

Su Chen nodded. This time, he didn’t mind wasting a few words on him. "That’s right."

"Who exactly are you?" the Flying Thief asked in a deep voice, ignoring his confirmation. Seeing Su Chen rummaging through his room, he sneered, "Stop looking. My manual isn’t in this room at all."

Hearing this, Su Chen stopped in his tracks, a mysterious smile forming on his face. "Then what is this?" He pulled a manual from his chest and slammed it onto the table with a loud THUMP.

The Flying Thief’s pupils instantly shrank. "Impossible! How could you have found..." he exclaimed. As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the eerie smirk on Su Chen’s face and realized what was going on. Flying into a humiliated rage, he roared, "You’re playing me!"

Su Chen didn’t answer him. Instead, he walked over to the bed and examined it closely. Just a moment ago, when he had revealed the fake manual, the thief had glanced exactly in this direction.

"Hahaha, you won’t find it!" After rummaging around for a while, Su Chen still couldn’t find anything. Seeing this, the Flying Thief couldn’t help but smile.

CRACK.

The very next moment, however, his smile froze. Su Chen struck out with his palm, effortlessly punching a dent into the wall. As the dirt crumbled, the corner of a wrapped parcel was exposed.

"You..." The Flying Thief stood dumbfounded, at a loss for words. Immediately after, a surge of anger rushed to his head. This guy had played him again!

"There really is a manual!" Su Chen opened the parcel and saw the book inside. After flipping through it for a few seconds, he rejoiced inwardly. His main purpose for coming here was to capture and kill the Flying Thief; searching for the manual was just a sudden whim. He hadn’t held out much hope originally. To think that just by tricking the Flying Thief a couple of times, he would actually find the hidden manual.

"You’re despicable!" the Flying Thief cursed angrily, seeing Su Chen claim his treasured manual for himself.

Su Chen looked back at him, and that single glance made the Flying Thief shudder.

"W-what do you want to do?" The Flying Thief panicked. Su Chen walked toward him step by step without saying a word. The silence filled the thief with overwhelming terror. "W-wait a minute, d-don’t kill me..." Seeing the icy glint in Su Chen’s eyes, the Flying Thief said in a trembling voice, "The—the manual you have is incomplete!"

Just as he hoped, the Flying Thief saw Su Chen’s footsteps pause slightly. His face lit up with joy, and he hastily continued, "That manual only contains the most superficial skills. If you want to cultivate it to a profound level, you absolutely need the Qi Blood Transporting Method. And I am the only one who has that method—I’ve already memorized it in my head.

"Once you kill me, you will never get the method! As long as you let me go, I will tell it to you. I promise!"

Su Chen remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do you have money?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Where is it?"

"Buried in the dirt right beneath the chamber pot. There’s a parcel."

Enduring the stench, Su Chen moved the chamber pot aside and used a wooden stick to dig up the dirt. Sure enough, he found a small box. Opening it to take a look, Su Chen turned back to the Flying Thief. "This little bit of money isn’t enough."

"Ah, how about I go to a wealthy household and steal some more for you? However much you want is fine!" the Flying Thief said, pursing his lips.

"There’s no need!" Su Chen shook his head and pocketed the money. He then walked up to the Flying Thief, looking down at him from above. "Stop struggling. That rope isn’t so easily untied. Besides..."

"Besides what?" the Flying Thief blurted out instinctively. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

But all he saw was a pitch-black palm strike hurtling toward him. It slammed squarely onto the top of his skull with a crisp CRACK—the sound of his cranial bones shattering.

"You... you broke your promise." The Flying Thief stared at Su Chen, his face full of bitter resentment.

Only after the Flying Thief breathed his last did Su Chen mutter softly, "Idiot. I never promised to let you go." With that said, he delivered another palm strike, hitting the man on the head once more. Seeing absolutely no reaction, he finally stood up.

However, Su Chen didn’t leave right away. Instead, he sat at the table and began to flip through the manual titled *Wind Chasing Step*. As expected, this was likely a Body Technique meant for long-distance travel, providing a boost to speed. He estimated that the Flying Thief had been practicing this very Cultivation Technique. However, it was strictly limited to speed. Among those of the same level, its enhancement to combat prowess didn’t seem particularly strong. After all, this guy was considered the most underwhelming Power Training Martial Artist he had ever met.

After reading the manual from beginning to end and practicing it once, a new line of text finally appeared on his panel:

[Martial Arts: ... Wind Chasing Step (Initiate 1%)]

[Easy Mode: ... Wind Chasing Step 0 times (1 tael of silver/time)]

Seeing this, Su Chen commanded silently, "Top up."