SNT Chapter 7: Assassination

Two days later, the night was as dark as ink, thick and impenetrable.

In the depths of Mute Bay, a shabby little boat gently swayed, with a few dim yellow lights leaking from the boat canopy.

Qian Biao sat cross-legged on the boat deck, with a greasy torn cloth spread before him, on which lay several scattered pieces of silver, a string of copper coins, and several rings and bracelets of varying quality.

Two henchmen, Ma Wu and Crippled Old Seven, crouched nearby, greed flickering in their eyes.

"Boss Biao, did you squeeze out all of the Wei family's coffin money?" Ma Wu rubbed his hands together, his voice kept very low.

Qian Biao picked up a piece of silver and weighed it, his mouth corners twisting into a fierce smile, "No matter how hard that old thing's bones are, they can't be harder than the chisel in our hands. There are still a few families, tomorrow we'll go 'light their lamps' again, let them wake up."

Crippled Old Seven took a gulp of inferior liquor and said in a low voice, "Boss Biao, the situation is tense. Those mad dogs from the Tiger Gang have been biting fiercely at the docks these past two days, even over at the canal entrance... I heard many brothers are packing their belongings."

Qian Biao's facial muscles twitched, his eyes sinister, "I've long expected this! So we need to make one final haul, then... run!"

Ma Wu's eyes lit up, "Boss Biao is wise! Then... the rotten meat?"

"Sell it all!"

Qian Biao said decisively, "Don't care if it stinks, as long as it can be exchanged for copper coins! Especially the Chen family, that orphan and widow. That little Chen brat dares to make excuses, we gave them a warning before! If they still don't buy it, then don't blame me for not showing mercy..."

He grabbed the four corners of the torn cloth, carelessly wrapped up the valuables inside, and stuffed them into his chest.

"Go! Back! Before dawn tomorrow, everything must be exchanged for hard currency!"

He stood up, and the boat swayed violently.

The three men extinguished the weak lamp in the boat canopy, jumped off the small boat, and then scattered in different directions.

Qian Biao walked toward his 'home'.

The grudges accumulated over these years were enough to get him hanged ten times over, so he had always followed the principle of having multiple hideouts like a cunning rabbit.

The night grew deeper, and all of Mute Bay was deathly silent.

Only his own footsteps echoed in the empty alleyways, sounding particularly jarring.

Qian Biao unconsciously quickened his pace.

Just as he buried his head and rushed into the depths of a narrow alley that could barely accommodate one person, suddenly, he heard a "creak" behind him, like a shoe sole crushing a dry branch.

Qian Biao's hair stood on end, and he whirled around, but it was too late.

A thick hemp rope soaked in tung oil had already coiled around his neck like a venomous snake.

"Urgh—!"

Qian Biao's eyeballs bulged, and his survival instincts made his hands frantically claw at the death rope around his neck. His fingernails scraped harsh sounds against the rough hemp rope, leaving bloody white marks.

From the darkness came the "creak, creak" sound of tightening, the hemp rope digging deep into flesh, and his throat bones groaned under the unbearable load.

He struggled futilely, his feet kicking wildly, his body desperately ramming backward, but the noose around his neck only tightened more.

Each futile attempt to breathe only brought back the burning sensation of suffocation, his lungs feeling ready to explode.

In the shadows, Chen Qing's eyes blazed with cold light.

He had waited in ambush for three days and finally found his opportunity.

At this moment he gripped the hemp rope tightly, his palms rubbed red by the rope.

"Aiiya—!"

Qian Biao let out a strange cry, his body being dragged and staggering backward, trying to use his body weight to resist.

Chen Qing suddenly spun around, his back pressing hard against the cold, hard brick wall.

Using the support point provided by the wall, he pushed hard with both feet, and his core abdominal strength exploded instantly.

The entangled figures of the two men were cast by moonlight onto the mottled wall, twisted and distorted like wild beasts fighting to the death, one seeking survival in desperation, the other claiming life in deadly silence.

Due to extreme oxygen deprivation, Qian Biao's face changed from flushed red to bluish purple.

Bulging veins throbbed frantically at his forehead and temples, like countless dying earthworms burrowing under his skin.

Chen Qing's killing intent was set, blue veins bulging on his hands as he gripped the rope tightly.

Dozens of breaths later, though it felt like a century to Qian Biao.

His struggling strength grew weaker and weaker, his wildly kicking feet gradually drooped, and his hands clawing at the rope also hung limply.

But Chen Qing didn't loosen his grip in the slightest, instead applying even more force.

His arms trembled violently from sustained exertion, his teeth nearly grinding to pieces.

"Crack! Crack!"

Hair-raising bone-breaking sounds came from Qian Biao's neck.

Only then did Chen Qing's taut nerves suddenly relax, as if all strength had been drained from him, and he slowly loosened his already numb and stiff hands.

"Thud!"

Qian Biao's corpse heavily hit the ground.

Chen Qing leaned against the wall, gasping heavily, sweat mixed with unknown stains sliding down from his forehead.

He wiped his face and looked down at his burning palms, where blood blisters had long since burst, leaving them a bloody mess.

"Whew—!"

Chen Qing exhaled, concentrated force in his right foot and stomped down, aiming at Qian Biao's twisted neck vital point, stepping down hard.

"Crack!"

The neck bone shattered on impact, completely cutting off all life.

More importantly, this stomp also crushed the strangulation marks left by the rope into a bloody mess, making their original form indistinguishable.

Finishing blow, must be thorough.

Without any pause, he exerted force with his foot, like a cold grinding wheel, and swiftly and heavily stomped several more times on Qian Biao's finger bones, chest bones, and lower vital areas.

After confirming all traces had been erased or obscured, Chen Qing finally stopped his actions.

He quickly bent down and gathered up Qian Biao's valuables and the hemp rope.

His movements were clean and efficient, without any sloppiness.

After finishing all this, his figure flashed and he quickly disappeared into the depths of the alley, leaving only a heavy smell of blood permeating the air.

...

Mute Bay, a street somewhere.

Under the moonlight, Chen Qing looked at his trembling hands, which still retained the rough texture of the hemp rope.

He had thought he would feel fear, would vomit, but his heart held only ice-like calm...

When it came to killing, there was only zero times and countless times.

He had to adapt to the ways of this world.

Chen Qing took out the bundle he had searched from Qian Biao's body, opened it for a look, and his eyes immediately brightened.

Inside were four or five taels of broken silver and a jade bracelet...

"Qian Biao just died, these valuables can't be disposed of right now. I'll have to wait for the heat to die down, then it can perfectly supplement the household expenses."

Chen Qing took a deep breath, his heart ice-cold.

You are what you eat... eating bitterness won't make you a superior person, eating people will.

...

The next morning, at the Mute Bay boat district.

"Did you hear? Master Qian was done in!"

"How arrogant he was last month collecting 'Dragon King's incense'!"

"Shh... the Golden River Gang is frantically searching for the killer... they say they'll dismember the murderer."

...

The neighbors and local residents of Mute Bay were all discussing, and when news of Qian Biao's death spread, countless people secretly applauded.

Zhou's courtyard, morning lesson.

The disciples formed a circle, their gazes focused on Zhou Liang in the center.

"Through-arm boxing is not flowery fists and embroidered legs."

Zhou Liang's voice was not loud, "It emphasizes 'extending long to strike far, cold snap crisp and fast', its purpose is not in 'performance' but in 'killing'!"

His gaze was like lightning, sweeping over all disciples, "Boxing techniques and fighting methods have their foundation in stance work qi and blood, tendons and bones as weapons, force as the sharp edge. Today I won't speak of fancy routines, only how to take lives when facing enemies!"

At these words, Chen Qing immediately held his breath.

He knew that today the master was going to demonstrate real kung fu.

"Sun Shun!" Zhou Liang shouted.

"Disciple present!" Sun Shun immediately stepped forward, assuming a defensive stance with a grave expression.

"Watch carefully!"

Before Zhou Liang finished speaking, his entire aura suddenly changed, like a fierce ape ready to pounce.

Zhou Liang's body remained motionless, but his right arm suddenly shot out like it had no bones, so fast it left only a shadow. His five fingers came together like a bird's beak, not a straight punch but carrying a cunning arc, striking like lightning toward the 'Yifeng acupoint' below Sun Shun's ear.

"Snap!" A crisp sound, not a heavy strike but a precise point attack.

Although Sun Shun was prepared, his body still instinctively shuddered violently, his head involuntarily whipping to the side and back, leaving his defenses wide open.

"This move 'Thunder Striking Window' is also called 'Striking Acupoints and Hitting Jaw'"

Zhou Liang withdrew his hand and said coldly, "Light strikes to this acupoint cause dizziness, heavy strikes cause death. The length of through-arm lies in catching opponents off guard, attacking what they must defend, breaking their balance with one strike, seizing their consciousness."

On the other side, as Sun Shun had just steadied himself, Zhou Liang's left hand had already silently extended like a venomous snake's tongue, his arm seeming to extend by a section out of thin air. His five fingers formed claws, carrying the sharp whistle of tearing air, striking directly at Sun Shun's throat.

This claw was extremely vicious, the penetrating power contained in the fingertips seemingly able to pierce through leather.

Chen Qing knew this move was called White Ape Severing Throat, locking throat and crushing armor.

Sun Shun was greatly alarmed, hastily crossing his arms to block and protect his throat.

"Hiss!"

Zhou Liang's claw didn't clash head-on, but slid in along the inside of Sun Shun's blocking forearm like a venomous snake, fingertips like hooks, precisely aiming for the 'Tiantu acupoint' below Sun Shun's Adam's apple.

The claw wind was fierce, and Sun Shun's neck skin instantly broke out in goosebumps, feeling as if his throat bone had already been locked by cold iron hooks.

Zhou Liang's fingertips stopped steadily the moment they touched skin, but that bone-piercing killing intent still made Sun Shun's forehead instantly break out in cold sweat.

"The throat is a death zone! The cunning of through-arm lies in avoiding strength to strike weakness, seeking gaps to enter. The power of finger claws can crush throat and break bones in an instant!"

Zhou Liang withdrew his stance, his breathing stable, as if those two lethally sharp moves just now were merely casual gestures.

The training ground fell into dead silence.

The disciples' faces turned pale, even their breathing became cautious.

In their daily boxing practice, they emphasized proper techniques and complete force application. When had they ever seen their master so nakedly display the lethal killing intent contained in boxing techniques?

Those precise vital point strikes, cunning throat locks, each move aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the human body, pursuing not victory or defeat, but instant destruction.

Zhou Liang looked around, "Did you see clearly? This is the fighting method of through-arm boxing. Practicing martial arts means practicing the skills to kill enemies and preserve life. Stance work tempers tendons, bones, qi and blood, fighting techniques practice ruthless hearts and accurate hands. When fighting with others, it's not platform competition, between life and death in an instant, there's no room for hesitation or fancy moves."

"Remember!"

Zhou Liang declared loudly, "Boxing routines are to help you remember the 'rules' of force conversion and coordination of body and footwork. But when facing enemies, these 'rules' must all be forgotten, keeping only one thing in mind, how to use the fastest, most ruthless, most effective method to strike down and destroy your opponent, attack their vital points, break their foundation, this is 'killing technique'."

"Practice martial arts without practicing foundation, and you'll be empty when old; practice foundation without understanding principles, and you'll die when you fight."

Chen Qing felt a chill rise from his spine straight to the top of his head, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

Those few moves just now were brutal, direct, and efficient to the extreme.

It wasn't performance, that was the naked law of survival.

Real combat, attack when unprepared, strike vital points, don't be constrained by form, only seek to defeat the enemy with one strike.

Zhou Liang concluded, "If you want to live, you must practice this ruthlessness and accuracy. Now all of you go practice."

"Yes!"

All disciples responded in unison.

Sun Shun stepped forward, saying, "Junior Brother Chen, let's exchange a few moves."

"Good!"

Chen Qing took a deep breath, suppressing his churning emotions, and assumed his stance.

Under Sun Shun's guidance and practice feeding, Chen Qing began truly practicing the fighting methods of through-arm boxing.

Starting from the first move "Thunder Striking Window," sweat quickly soaked through his back.

[NEXT CHAPTER]