The Sorrowmender

Chapter 36 – Malice arises

After a silent night of spring, the sound of a rooster crowing signaled the dawn.

It seemed as if nothing had happened, but today, Mister Forgetting Worries had taken a day off. A wooden sign was hung early at the entrance, inscribed with:

"Busy today, Mister is not at home. If you seek to be worry-free, please come back tomorrow."

"Mister is not here today, alas—"

"Perhaps it's because of yesterday's events that Mister was disturbed."

"Let's go, we'll have to come back tomorrow. After what happened, it's understandable for Mister to take a day off."

"Yes, yes, let's go back—"

This was the first time Xu Qingzhou's Pavilion of Forgetting Worries had "closed" since it opened, naturally causing quite a stir.

However, the incident of someone dying at the Pavilion of Forgetting Worries yesterday had spread throughout Frostsky City, and people could understand.

After all, someone died, so it's reasonable for Mister to take a day off.

Today, Xu Qingzhou did not go out but stayed home to catch up on sleep. After returning to Frostsky City last night, it was almost dawn, and he was exhausted from the night's events.

The patrons of Wang Family Restaurant were also left waiting today. For two consecutive days, they hadn't heard the continuation of the Three Kingdoms story, and they sighed and lamented repeatedly.

Their hearts were as anxious as if scratched by a little cat.

After breakfast, Little Wuyou greeted Xu Qingzhou and went off to school.

"Master, I'm off to the academy."

"Okay, take it slow, don't fall."

"Got it."

Meanwhile, on the road to Linfeng City, a convoy was slowly advancing, led by nearly a thousand armored guards.

Powerful individuals followed in secret—

Suddenly, a carrier pigeon landed on the eight-wheeled carriage.

"Lady, there's a message from the other side."

Mo Shengge took the note from the carrier pigeon and glanced at it, her eyes reflecting the waves.

"Mister Forgetting Worries, truly remarkable."

After bidding farewell to Xu Qingzhou last night, she had sent out a message, asking someone to find Lin Shuo's half-brother at the address Xu Qingzhou provided. Unexpectedly, she had indeed found him.

"Tell them to hurry up."

"Yes—"

She leaned against the carriage window, lost in thought, then picked up a pen and wrote the elegant characters "Mister Forgetting Worries" on a piece of plain paper. After hesitating for a long time, she added another character.

Kill.

She put down the pen, rolled up the paper, and placed it in a small bamboo tube. Taking out the carrier pigeon from the cage, she gently tied it on.

Opening the carriage window, she released the pigeon, which flapped its wings and flew into the clouds. She held the window curtain, her gaze distant.

Her eyes and brows were filled with deep sorrow.

She sighed softly, "Mister, oh Mister, don't blame me for being ruthless. It's just that as long as you're alive, I cannot sleep peacefully."

At this moment, Xu Qingzhou also awoke from his sleep, looking out the window to see that it was already past noon.

Just as he was about to get up and find some water to quench his thirst, the system chimed in.

"Ding! Mo Shengge has found the Lin family bloodline, worry-free achieved."

"Ding! You have successfully relieved Mo Shengge's worries, triggering a reward of 1500 Merit Points."

"Ding! You have successfully relieved Mo Shengge's worries, triggering a special reward: Profound-Rank Fist Technique - Mountain-Crushing Fist."

Xu Qingzhou raised an eyebrow, "This woman's actions are really quick."

But the rewards were decent, worthy of the green-level worry, 1500 Merit Points, minus 50 points for information, plus the pill to eliminate Ning Feng's worries, a net gain of 750 points.

He was one step closer to becoming a millionaire.

Without hesitation, he quickly took out the fist manual and began to read.

"My fist strikes can crush mountains—"

He clicked his tongue, his eyebrows dancing with delight, "Not bad, it's worth the trip. Although the rank of this fist technique isn't high, I like it, it's powerful enough."

With a thought, the fist manual's contents entered his mind, and he mastered the three forms of the Mountain-Crushing Fist effortlessly. Clenching his fist, he swung it in the air, feeling the power gather at his fist's edge.

The force shook the air, the wind rose, and the sound echoed.

In this world, martial arts are ranked: Mortal Rank, Yellow Rank, Profound Rank, Earth Rank, Heaven Rank.

Although the Profound Rank is far below his divine-level "One Leaf in Autumn," in this world, it's considered a family's treasured martial art.

After all, Earth Rank and Heaven Rank techniques are likely only possessed by nobility and royalty.

It's sufficient, and now that his sword has been given away, using fists is convenient.

He felt confident that he could punch a bull to death without any problem.

Just as he was feeling smug, his right eyelid twitched several times.

Xu Qingzhou's smile slightly froze, a sense of foreboding arose.

"Left eye for wealth, right eye for disaster, could something bad be about to happen?"

He muttered to himself, picked up the water from the table, and went to the window, pushing it open to look at the bustling street.

"Mo Shengge, Mo Shengge, I hope you really keep our agreement—"

He shook his head, took a sip, and immediately felt much more comfortable.

"Maybe I'm just overthinking."

Deep sleep in the cottage, waking up late in the evening.

Lin Shuang'er left, and Ning Feng probably left too.

"Why think so much, why not have a drink, haha—"

It's best to be carefree and unbothered by worldly affairs.

---------------

Linfeng City.

A corner of North City.

There was a desolate, chaotic area where nearly all the beggars of Linfeng City gathered.

They lived by begging, relying on each other, forming a community.

With clear divisions of labor, they managed to scrape by with three meals a day, though not warm, but enough.

In this desolate, chaotic place, there was a dilapidated temple, offering an unknown deity or Buddha, with no one knowing its name.

Because it was so rundown, weeds grew rampant, and even the homeless beggars were reluctant to enter.

Yet in this broken temple lay a person.

She looked young, about ten years old, wearing layers of tattered clothes in various colors, all covered in dirt.

Her long hair was a mix of gray and white, messy and tangled, as if stained with ash or mud, her face smeared with dust.

From a distance, she resembled a corpse lying there, long dead, yet strangely, flies dared not approach.

Suddenly, there was a faint commotion outside the courtyard.

The beggar lying on the ground, eyes closed, her eyelids twitched slightly, barely noticeable to the average person.

After about ten breaths, a black-clothed person entered, standing at the doorway, blocking the only light source in the temple.

It was near dusk, making it even darker.

"There's a mission," the newcomer said, uttering three words.

The little girl lying on the ground moved her dry lips, responding with three words.

"Who to kill?"

Though her voice carried a hint of childishness, it was filled with a sinister, violent aura.

The black-clothed person waved his right hand, and a piece of paper shot out like an arrow, striking the ragged beggar. Despite being just paper, it made a sound as it cut through the air.

The ragged beggar, without moving, suddenly raised her right hand, catching it firmly in mid-air, producing a dull "thud."

"The master says, be quick, set out now."

The ragged beggar got up, stretched, her body creaking like an old corpse, and walked barefoot towards the outside, speaking slowly.

"Tell her, this is the last time. After this kill, I'm done."