I can increase my power through breathing.

Chapter 21 A man cannot get rich without unexpected wealth, and a horse cannot get fat without night grazing.

The county government office has three halls.

The first is the main hall, also known as the public hall, which is the place for litigation and trial.

The second hall was a place for meetings, office work, and receiving guests.

The last three halls were the main residences of the county magistrate and his family.

Upon hearing that the murderer Zhou Qing had appeared, Magistrate Lin Yue couldn't sleep at all and waited for news with his advisors in the second hall.

"This Zhou Qing is really audacious. He killed an Eagle Wolf Guard and entered the top 100 on the wanted list, yet he still dares to return to Black Stone County to commit murder."

Lin Yue said coldly.

"My lord, there is no need to worry. With Lord Lin Feng, the deputy commander of the Eagle Wolf Guard, personally taking action this time, the culprit Zhou Qing will not be able to escape."

The county magistrate's advisor spoke up.

“With the Red Wolf Deputy Commander making a move, Zhou Qing definitely won’t be able to escape.” Lin Yue said with a gloomy face, “But I’m afraid that after Zhou Qing is captured, he will speak recklessly. The Eagle Wolf Guard has the power to monitor all officials. If they seriously investigate and trace the truth, then I will not have an easy time either.”

"My lord, there is no need to worry. It is the responsibility of the Eagle Guard to monitor all officials, while the Wolf Guard is only responsible for apprehending criminals," the advisor said. "If you are really worried, you can prepare a generous gift and send it to Lord Lin Feng's residence. If Lord Lin is lenient and conceals part of the truth, you will naturally be fine."

"A generous gift!" Lin Yue nodded, then said, "Wait a moment!"

Soon.

Lin Yue returned to his study in the inner courtyard.

He took out a small iron box containing silver notes from a hidden compartment.

Bang!
Just then, the study door was smashed open, and a golden figure rushed in like a ferocious beast, scattering broken wood everywhere.

"who!"

Lin Yue was shocked.

He sensed movement behind him, turned around, and struck out with his palm.

The palm strike was powerful and fierce, with great force and weight.

This is a second-rate martial art, the Great Monument Opening Palm.

Lin Yue was a second-rate martial artist, but when he fully activated the Great Opening Palm, an incredibly powerful internal force palm print shot out from his palm.

However, the golden figure neither dodged nor evaded. The palm print of internal force struck the opponent, but apart from tearing the opponent's clothes, it did not cause any damage to the golden figure.

The golden figure, like a golden lightning bolt, instantly rushed in front of Lin Yue and punched him in the chest.

Lin Yue felt a tremendous force come from him, and he was instantly sent flying backward and crashed into the wall of the study. The force pushed him into the wall and embedded him in it. Fragments of his internal organs mixed with blood gushed out of his mouth, and his face turned deathly pale. He could barely breathe.

The golden figure stood with its fist clenched, its eyes cold, as if it had done something insignificant.

Lin Yue struggled to lift his head, his vision blurred, his consciousness hazy, blood trickling from his mouth as he managed to utter a faint, mosquito-like sound: "Who...who are you?"

The golden figure did not answer, but slowly walked towards Lin Yue, placed both hands on the latter's head, and then gently twisted it.

Click!

The sound of bones cracking rang out, and Lin Yue's head instantly rotated 180 degrees, his nostrils pointing upwards.

After killing the corrupt official Lin Yue, Zhou Qing squatted down and picked up all the silver notes scattered on the ground.

"What a corrupt official! He has plundered so much of the people's hard-earned money."

Zhou Qing hadn't counted them carefully, but the thickness of the silver notes in his hand was much greater than the silver notes obtained by the Zhou family, and many of them were in the form of one thousand taels.

A preliminary estimate is around 100,000 taels.

Three years as a clean magistrate, 100,000 silver coins.

This is not just a rumor.

Not to mention, Lin Yue is a big corrupt official. He has so many silver notes alone. If you add up the rest of his gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, paintings, deeds, shops, land, etc., it will be more than 100,000 taels of silver notes.

Sudden wealth. For Zhou Qing, it was truly overnight riches.

It's true that a man can't get rich without windfall gains, and a horse can't get fat without night grass. If you try to earn money honestly, who knows when you'll ever earn 100,000 taels of silver.

"who!"

"Where did this thief come from, daring to trespass into the county government office!"

Just then, the constables who were stationed at the county government office heard a commotion coming from the inner residence of the county magistrate and rushed over immediately.

"Your Excellency... Your Excellency the County Magistrate!"

When the constables arrived, they saw Lin Yue embedded in the wall.

They were stunned, completely unable to believe what they were seeing.

Lin Yue, their county magistrate, was embedded in the wall in an extremely bizarre posture, his head twisted at an unbelievable angle, his nostrils pointing upwards, and his cervical vertebrae broken.

"This...this, this, this..."

Upon seeing this, the constables were filled with terror.

Although Lin Yue was an old man over sixty years old, he also practiced martial arts and had even reached the fourth level of the Acquired Realm, making him a second-rate martial artist.

But now, it has been smashed into the wall in an extremely brutal way.

Such methods are simply appalling.

How to avoid shocking and frightening them.

At this moment, Zhou Qing put away the silver notes and slowly walked out of the study.

"You...you are Zhou Qing!"

One of the constables recognized Zhou Qing, his voice trembling slightly.

"What? The murderer, Zhou Qing!"

"He wasn't at the Zhou residence. The three officers of the Eagle Wolf Guard had already gone there. Why would he be here, and why did he kill the county magistrate?"

"Could it be that the Eagle Wolf Guard leaders did not encounter Zhou Qing, or that even the three Eagle Wolf Guard leaders met with misfortune?"

"You must be joking. Among the three Eagle Wolf Guards, there is a deputy commander of the Crimson Wolf Guard, who is a first-class martial artist. No matter how strong Zhou Qing is, he cannot be a match for a first-class martial artist."

"In either case, with our strength, we simply cannot deal with Zhou Qing."

"..."

Upon learning that the person before them was Zhou Qing, a wanted criminal by the imperial court, the constables were so frightened that they involuntarily retreated. They couldn't understand why Zhou Qing would appear here and how he had managed to evade the three officers of the Eagle Wolf Guard.

"You...you actually killed the county magistrate!"

One of the constables pointed at Zhou Qing with a look of terror on his face, his voice trembling.

Zhou Qing remained expressionless and said calmly, "He deserves to die!"

These three simple words convey an endless chill.

The constables present couldn't help but shudder.

Their gazes toward Zhou Qing were filled with nothing but terror. This Zhou Qing was indeed as lawless as the rumors said.

Whether it was the imperial guards or the county magistrate, they killed without hesitation, showing audacity beyond belief.

People in the martial arts world gave Zhou Qing the nickname "Quick-Knife Madman," and it was indeed a fitting name. Compared to Zhou Qing, some of the criminals on the wanted list were nothing.

"You, take me to the armory!"

Zhou Qing pointed to one of the constables.

After killing Magistrate Lin Yue, he did not leave immediately, naturally because he wanted to obtain the martial arts manuals in the county government's armory.

(End of this chapter)