On the ground, the corpse lay with eyes wide open, pupils dilated.
Qin An lifted his foot and kicked the corpse aside, casting a glance at the book in his hand, a glimmer flickering in his eyes.
Apart from a few taels of silver and a saber, Zhao Jinsheng only carried this book on him.
Anything Zhao Jinsheng carried with him couldn't be simple.
Qin An pondered for a moment and opened the book in his hand.
On the cover were the words "Cold Source Heart Skill," especially the word "Heart Method," reminded Qin An of what Chen Chun said about heart methods.
Opening it, lines of text came into view.
After reading a few words, Qin An was immediately captivated by the content of the book, concentrating under the oil lamp's light.
After finishing the entire book, Qin An's proficiency in scholarly learning somewhat increased.
But that wasn't important; it was the content of the book that mattered.
Just as Qin An thought, the book was indeed a heart method.
The so-called Cold Source Heart Skill, when cultivated, the qi condensed would carry a chill.
The chill could slow down opponents and even freeze wounds on enemies.
As it described in the book, this was a heart method of the Qi Concealment Realm.
Excitement appeared in Qin An's eyes.
Just like getting a pillow when drowsy, Zhao Jinsheng turned out to be a good person.
What he lacked now was a heart method.
Although Chen Chun had said that, whether a method or a technique, they are extremely precious.
Rashly cultivating someone else's heart method and getting discovered might lead to retaliation.
At worst, it would lead to the abolishment of cultivation techniques; at worst, it would cost one's life.
But did Qin An have a choice?
He didn't have a choice.
In a chaotic era, with no background, a golden opportunity by his side was like having food delivered to your mouth.
Not taking advantage of it would be a shame.
Qin An immediately sat cross-legged, running the qi in his body according to the Cold Source Heart Skill's route.
The Cold Source Heart Skill states that cultivation cannot be accomplished overnight.
The most crucial part of cultivating the Cold Source Heart Skill is to form cold qi.
Once it's formed, one can be considered to have started.
Upon reaching completion, the cold qi could envelop weapons and destroy the internal body of opponents.
After the time of one incense stick, Qin An opened his eyes, revealing a trace of helplessness.
"Could it be that I have no cultivation talent?"
The Cold Source Heart Skill explains that if within the time of one incense stick, one can increase their internal qi by one strand, then that person is suitable for cultivation.
If nothing changes during that time, then the person lacks talent for cultivation.
Qin An was sure that the qi in his body hadn't increased, hadn't even moved.
This strand of qi was what he obtained after entering the martial arts sect, and now, after practicing for half a day and getting nothing, Qin An realized he had no such talent.
Without talent, it was like having a treasure mountain but being unable to enter.
Qin An felt helpless, but then disguised this trace of helplessness.
After thinking a bit, Qin An found a brazier and burned the Cold Source Heart Skill.
He remembered all the contents, keeping the heart method could only lead to trouble.
Everything must be kept stable.
As for not having talent, Qin An thought it didn't matter.
His reliance wasn't on the heart method, it was merely an embellishment.
The most important thing was the Golden Finger.
"First, practice the scholar job to level three, then talk about gaining talent."
Qin An made up his mind, his gaze lingering on the corpse.
Then, Qin An dragged the corpse like dragging a dead pig, all the way to the backyard.
The houses here weren't new, rather on the verge of collapsing, everyone would build backyards.
What was called a backyard was actually a small courtyard for storing miscellaneous items.
With a shovel in hand, Qin An soon dug a pit and buried Zhao Jinsheng's corpse.
Zhao Jinsheng's identity was uncommon, backed by the River Saber Sect, which even the authorities had to honor.
Having killed Zhao Jinsheng today, Qin An didn't want trouble and needed to erase the traces.
After burying, Qin An handled the bloodstains in the house, then hung back the bell, and lay down to sleep.
He needed to keep up his strength for reading at the bookstore tomorrow.
As for having killed someone...
In chaotic times, who doesn't die?
Even if they look, they won't find it here, and even if they do, it's a problem for later.
...
The next day.
Qin An ate and returned to the bookstore.
The owner of Qingfeng Bookstore wasn't surprised.
Many came to the bookstore, even powerful people hoping to find a bargain.
Little did they know how valuable cultivation techniques are, not something you just stumble upon for a deal.
With the owner's lack of attention, Qin An felt more at ease.
He found a spot, picked up a book, and started reading.
With the profession bonus, Qin An read quickly, and having read the Cold Source Heart Skill last night, his proficiency improved slightly.
Today, before even reaching the afternoon, his proficiency reached completeness.
[Scholar lv.1 (100/100): Your reading speed slightly increases]
[Promotion Requirement: Read three normal books]
After reaching completeness, new conditions appeared: meeting them would allow an upgrade.
The condition from level one to level two was reasonable; Qin An didn't find it exaggerated.
The time was still early, so Qin An picked up another book and continued reading.
When afternoon came, Qin An finally put down the book.
[Scholar lv.2 (0/200): Your reading speed slightly increases]
At level two, after reading three books, Qin An smoothly reached level two.
From level one to level two took two days, level two to level three would take four days.
Today, he had read almost enough; although Qin An wanted to quickly gain the scholar talent, now wasn't the right time.
As he left, Qin An headed towards home.
...
At the entrance to the house.
Mr. Zheng led the constables and came to Qin An's home.
"Does the butcher named Qin An live here?"
The constable stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Sir, we have confirmed that Qin An lives here, but he isn't home today for some unknown reason."
Mr. Zheng frowned and asked, "Not dead?"
The constable nodded and said, "It's said someone recently saw him in the street, he is indeed alive."
Mr. Zheng tapped the hilt of his saber, feeling a bit strange.
He had been ordered to come, with the money intended for Qin An's family, but now he learned Qin An was alive.
The pig demon had a mate; considering the nature of demons, with Qin An tainted by the pig demon's aura, should have been a revenge target.
Why hasn't he died?
Mr. Zheng couldn't figure it out but continued waiting there.
With Mr. Wang personally assigning the task, as an arrest officer of Ding County, Mr. Zheng couldn't take it lightly.
Furthermore, he wanted to see what was really going on with Qin An.
Soon, a silhouette appeared on the street.
Seeing Qin An's appearance, Mr. Zheng went ahead and asked, "Qin An, have you encountered anything strange recently?"
Qin An had seen Mr. Zheng from afar and shook his head, saying, "I haven't encountered anything strange, Mr. Zheng, what do you want?"
After thinking it over, he decided to come over.
Given the unclear situation, with officers looking for him, he had to deal with it somehow.
Mr. Zheng raised an eyebrow and said, "It's nothing serious, just that there's been a demon outbreak recently. I'm ordered to investigate. Open the door, let me take a look around."