Lin Shan suddenly thought, his enhanced Innate Skill "Eternal Spring Skill" had a derived secret technique, Broken palm!
The secret technique required Eternal Spring Skill True Qi, it wasn't difficult itself, he had learned it long ago, but had never experimented with it.
Wasn't this an opportunity right before his eyes?
As the three were in a chaotic fight, fallen leaves swirled in the forest. Although the short fatty was ambushed by Master Pu and suffered severe chest injuries, relying on his abundant True Qi and exquisite internal energy palm techniques, he forced the two to retreat step by step!
Lin Shan seized the opportunity, circling behind the short fatty while giving Master Pu a look. Master Pu, being old and experienced, although he didn't know what special move this kid had, could somewhat guess that he needed his help to cover him.
Immediately, he hid his left hand behind him, shouted loudly, "Watch out!", and simultaneously fiercely chopped with the broadsword in his right hand.
His left hand lifted!
The short fatty thought this old schemer was going to scatter lime again, so he quickly dodged and closed his eyes. Lin Shan seized the chance and slashed with his saber. The short fatty was quite formidable; with his eyes closed, he listened to the sound to determine the position, countered the move, and struck the side of the saber with his palm.
Unexpectedly, while he was parrying the saber, Lin Shan moved forward, his left palm surging with green light, and directly struck him under his right armpit.
"Bang!"
"Ah! You tricked me!"
The short fatty roared and opened his eyes. Master Pu's left hand was empty; there was no lime at all!
At the same time, a sharp pain spread under his armpit. After exchanging a few more blows with the two, he instantly felt something was wrong.
After five breaths, his right arm gradually felt numb;
After ten breaths, his entire arm began to wither, shrinking by a full circle!
After fifteen breaths, he even lost feeling in it, and the skin and bones almost withered into a bamboo pole!
"What kind of vicious palm technique is this?"
The short fatty's heart turned half cold. Originally, he could exchange blows with both palms, but with one hand crippled, he was immediately struggling.
Master Pu had a keen eye and gradually figured out the trick. Seeing that his opponent's right arm was failing, he naturally fiercely attacked his right arm.
Under the Siege of the old and young schemers, the short fatty ultimately couldn't dodge in time, and his right arm was severed at the shoulder!
"Ugh!"
With a cry of pain, the short fatty knew the tide had turned. If he stayed and fought, he would lose his life, so he hurriedly ran back towards the original path in the valley. Lin Shan and the other feared he would go back for reinforcements and quickly pursued him with their sabers.
Half an hour later, the short fatty finally fell to the ground, having suffered several saber wounds, and was thoroughly dead.
...
Lin Shan plopped down against a tree, took the water skin Master Pu threw him, and drank greedily. Killing a Viscera Refining expert with Master Pu had exhausted all his strength, and now he just wanted to lie down and rest properly.
At the same time, he was amazed by the power of Broken palm. As expected of a secret technique derived from an Innate Skill, it was truly overbearing!
Master Pu, who was beside him, was picking through the corpses with a greedy look, making Lin Shan secretly sigh at the old man's vigor.
"Haha, not bad. These two had a total of a hundred taels of silver on them. We've made a fortune this time!"
Master Pu didn't keep it all to himself either. He wrapped up the retrieved items and threw them in front of Lin Shan, letting him count them as well.
When money was mentioned, Lin Shan was no longer sleepy. He quickly sat up and started rummaging through it.
There were indeed about a hundred taels of silver, some medicinal plasters, dry food, and two hexagonal brown tokens.
"It's a pity, the short fatty's internal energy palm technique wasn't found."
Lin Shan hadn't fully recovered from the previous battle. Thinking about how the short fatty, despite his eye injury and severe chest wound, could still suppress the two of them, he naturally coveted his palm technique.
"What are you thinking about? Have you ever seen anyone go out to kill someone and bring their martial arts secrets with them?" Master Pu, with his rich Jianghu experience, was naturally not surprised.
"What are these tokens for?"
Lin Shan picked up one of the hexagonal tokens. It might have been worn for a long time, as he could vaguely make out the number Soldier 25 on it, but he couldn't tell the material.
Suddenly, the enhancement panel, which hadn't moved for a long time, popped up.
[Identity Token]
Ancient rhyme: 1 point
Absorb?
...
Lin Shan instantly jumped up in excitement! Master Pu looked at him in surprise from the side.
"What's wrong?"
Then, seeing the token in his hand, a look of realization appeared on his face, and he shook his head, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, we killed someone from this organization. There won't be any subsequent trouble. If it were another power, we two might have to flee for our lives."
"Do you know the origin of this token?" Lin Shan knew he had lost his composure just now, so he quickly adjusted his tone and flattered him: "Tell me about it, let this Junior broaden his horizons."
"This is a Nightingale Token."
Master Pu didn't let him ask for nothing; he slowly and deliberately recounted.
"Twenty years ago, when I was wandering the Jianghu, I met an assassin. Later, due to some experiences, I became a close friend with him. He once showed me his token; except for the number, everything else was similar."
"This assassin organization is called Nightingale. I don't know the structure of its members, but what I do know is that when an assassin member accepts a mission and is counter-killed by the target, the organization will not seek revenge for him."
At the same time, Master Pu said with a strange expression, "This organization also has a principle: they recognize the token, not the person!"
"'Recognize the token, not the person'? What does that mean?" This was the first time Lin Shan had heard Master Pu talk about such Jianghu rumors.
"It means that as long as you hold this token in your hand, you automatically become a member of Nightingale. If the original owner dies, he dies, and you will automatically take his place."
After saying that, Master Pu also advised him,
"I suggest you throw it away. Tokens can sense each other at close range. And within Nightingale, there are countless assassins, none of whom are good people. Members will occasionally kill each other. You've just entered the Jianghu, so it's best not to get involved in this mess."
Lin Shan's eyes were opened after hearing this, but in front of Master Pu, it wasn't good to expose the existence of his enhancement ability. He strongly resisted the urge to absorb the Ancient rhyme on the token and instead picked up the other token.
To his disappointment, there was no prompt indicating that "Ancient rhyme" could be absorbed this time.
Compared to the previous token, this one was much newer, with not many scratches, and the number "Soldier 21" was clearly visible on it.
"Perhaps this token is a new one made by Nightingale during their expansion, while the previous one has been circulated for many years." Lin Shan secretly guessed.
But in any case, the Nightingale Token was a major clue to obtaining Ancient rhyme. It seemed that in the future, the older an item was, the greater the chance of getting "Ancient rhyme."
Master Pu's words of advice were automatically filtered out by him. Just the possibility of it being related to Ancient rhyme meant he would never give up exploring!
...
The two rested for a long time in the forest sea and didn't see any more pursuers.
"This time, the escort agency suffered heavy losses. Chief Wang, the only first-rate expert in the escort, even fell and died. This old body of mine should retire from the Jianghu and go back to enjoy the blessings of my children and grandchildren!" Master Pu stroked his stubble, his face full of emotion.
You probably think this because you've split the silver and feel you have enough for retirement.
Lin Shan didn't expose the old man. This time, after counter-killing the Nightingale assassin, the two of them each split fifty taels.
After all, Lin Shan's palm strike played a crucial role at the last moment. Master Pu naturally knew the rules of the Jianghu and wisely didn't ask about the privacy of his palm technique.
"What are you planning to do next? Will you come back to Clear River County with me?"
Lin Shan frowned slightly and began to analyze how Clear River County would react after the government escort goods were robbed.
The officials would definitely hold them accountable, but he didn't know how severe it would be. After all, no one knew what was being transported in this batch of goods. Perhaps the old employer, the Lin Family, could help block it, or perhaps they would just be made scapegoats.
These were all unknowns.
Even if the officials didn't pursue it, with the death of Chief Wang, the top fighter of the escort agency here, and over a hundred skilled men either dead or injured, the Lin Family would definitely recruit strong men to reorganize Lin's Escort Agency. At that time, Lin Shan would inevitably have to be a laborer again.
After experiencing this brush with death, he suddenly understood some things and became extremely eager to travel and gain experience. What future could he possibly have by staying in Clear River County?
His own aptitude and talent were just ordinary. The only thing he could rely on was the "Enhancement panel," but he needed to obtain a large amount of Ancient rhyme points to make good use of it. Therefore, going out to search for "Ancient rhyme" was the top priority!
Moreover, he had no relatives to tie him down, and he was just an unknown small figure in the Lin Family. Even if he disappeared, no one would care about him, let alone the fact that he had already come of age and left the Lin Mansion.
"No, I plan to travel around Zangke County."
Seeing Lin Shan put the two tokens into his embrace, Master Pu, who vaguely guessed his thoughts, didn't act coy. The Jianghu was so vast, who didn't yearn for it when he was young?
Moreover, possessing a strange and overbearing palm technique, this kid was also cautious and meticulous in character. Master Pu wasn't worried about him at all.
"Then we shall meet again. Perhaps in my lifetime, I will hear of your name shaking the Jianghu!"
Master Pu laughed heartily, puffed on his pipe, turned around, and disappeared into the vast forest sea with light steps.
...
"This is the kind of unrestrained spirit people of the Jianghu should have! But at his age, can he still be considered a person of the Jianghu?"
Lin Shan watched Master Pu disappear down the path they came from, then picked up his bag and strode in the opposite direction. It was time to venture out into the world.
On this journey, the sea is vast for fish to leap, and the sky is high for birds to fly freely.