"Have you made up your mind?"
Alex's right hand, strong like a tiger's paw, gripped Qin San's sweat-soaked head, forcing him to meet his cold gaze.
"I-I'll talk!"
Qin San, who had initially wanted to curse, swallowed his words when he saw those icy eyes. Nearly breaking down, he pleaded, "I'll agree to all your conditions, but you must promise not to kill me."
"Alright."
Alex nodded, moving behind Qin San and fiddling with something. Qin San noticed the ticking sound had lessened, indicating Alex was bandaging his wound.
"I can give you what you want now, but you must swear an oath, a deadly oath!"
Alex returned to face Qin San, quickly laying out his conditions, fearing Alex wouldn't let him speak.
"Fine!"
Alex stared deeply at him. "I, Teng Qinghu, swear that today..." His vow was simple: he promised not to kill Qin San today and to let him go.
"Can I speak now?"
Alex's voice rang out again.
"Alright!"
Qin San eagerly began, "I'll tell you everything you want to know. The Li family's eldest daughter has been making great strides, with several plans that even the old master praised..."
He detailed the plans and mentioned that all his secrets, including the Flying Star Sword manual, were hidden in a secret compartment behind his study's bookshelf.
"I've said everything, now let me go!"
Qin San, exhausted and thirsty, struggled to speak. What worried him more was his still bleeding right hand. Although the ticking sound had lessened, it reminded him he was still bleeding.
Alex ignored him and walked into the study, examining the bookshelf before pushing a hidden compartment. He retrieved a book and several letters from it.
"Ding!"
A notification sounded.
"Obtained martial art 'Flying Star Sword'. Learning it increases personal strategy by 0.005%."
[Flying Star Sword]
Type: Internal and external cultivation (unranked)
Quality: D-level technique (two-star technique)
Note: Skill uncertified, usable only in this world, cannot be taken back to the main space.
Certification required: 200 points, one black iron medal
"Ding!"
Another notification followed, "System notification: database entry 'Flying Star Sword' successful."
"An unranked technique, no wonder!"
Alex quickly lost interest after skimming through it. The technique had seven levels, but the creator hadn't completed the seventh, so only six were available.
Reaching the sixth level granted immense strength, enough to be close to first-rate experts. However, the gap between second-rate and first-rate was vast, not just in strength.
This was Qin San's sect's legacy, a decent internal energy technique that could reliably cultivate someone to a second-rate level. Most so-called internal energy experts in the martial world only practiced rudimentary techniques to achieve internal energy, with unranked techniques being common.
"Now that you have what you wanted, let me go!"
Qin San's voice grew weaker, but Alex, engrossed in examining the letters and books, ignored him. He meticulously flipped through each one at a rapid pace.
"Whoosh~"
Alex exhaled deeply, deaf to Qin San's increasingly desperate cries. He took out a piece of paper and a brush, intending to forge a letter.
"Ding!"
A notification sounded. Alex's face showed a hint of pain; he had just spent ten points of luck to learn a rather useless skill, 'Qin San's Handwriting'. By closely observing Qin San's writing habits, he had mastered the ability to imitate his handwriting.
The All-Heaven Reincarnation System, though referred to as a system, functioned more like an infinite memory, highly portable supercomputer. Tasks like organizing databases and memorizing insights were a breeze. If only it weren't so stingy with money.
After a moment of contemplation, Alex began forging a letter. He planned to fabricate a confession from Qin San, stating that he had conspired to kidnap the Li family's eldest daughter for ransom and then save her to become a hero.
The letter described how the plan fell apart today, with the advance payment of fifteen thousand taels lost and the hired bandits demanding repayment. Unable to pay and facing threats, Qin San supposedly decided to commit suicide out of guilt.
Alex's plan wasn't flawless, but once the letter reached the old master, the secrets in Qin San's study would eventually be exposed.
With so much incriminating evidence, the old master would inevitably investigate, rendering Qin San's innocence irrelevant. The guards would have to fend for themselves, and Qin San's death would go unquestioned.
"Let me go, let me go, I'm losing too much blood. You'll break your oath if I die..."
Qin San's weak, hoarse cries grew slower. He felt dizzy, his face pale, and his body weakening...
His vision blurred, and as his eyelids grew heavier, he finally stopped breathing.
"Is he dead?"
Alex stopped writing, looking at Qin San's lifeless body. Shaking his head, he sighed, "Fear can be truly terrifying at times."
He retrieved a copper basin filled with chicken blood, carefully handled a pig bladder tied to Qin San's wrist, and emptied its contents. Sighing again, he reflected, "It seems I'm still not used to this."
Alex, suppressing his nausea, cleaned up the scene and tossed Qin San's body onto the bed.
"Ding!"
A notification sounded, "Reincarnator 111 has completed the Slaughter Task, killing a second-rate expert. Slaughter points: 35, Black Iron Medal: 1. Total slaughter points: 56."
"Ding!"
Another notification followed, "System reminder: 35 luck points have been credited. Current balance: 56 luck points."
"A Black Iron Medal for killing a second-rate expert? Are they encouraging us to become murderers?"
Alex smirked bitterly. Second-rate experts were not easy targets; they could hold significant positions in elite military units. This kill had been a meticulously planned ambush. In a fair fight, Alex stood no chance against Qin San.
Moreover, Alex knew this medal-earning method wouldn't last forever. Eventually, there would be no more easy targets.
Staring at Qin San's corpse, Alex closed his eyes and whispered, "In the end, it was your fear that killed you, not me."
Alex wasn't lying. Qin San's death resulted from his extreme fear.
An American psychologist, Martin Seligman, once conducted an experiment proving that extreme fear of the unknown could be lethal. In a prison, an inmate was told he was about to be executed. His wrist was superficially cut, and the sound of dripping simulated blood loss. The inmate fainted and exhibited symptoms of severe blood loss.
Qin San's extensive knowledge and past experiences worsened his condition. He didn't survive the experiment's outcome, dying on the spot.
Interestingly, the system credited Alex with the luck points, confirming that both the main god and the system recognized the kill as his.
"Junior brother! Are you asleep?"
A sudden shout startled Alex. He hadn't heard any footsteps before the voice, indicating this person was someone he couldn't match.
"It's Qin Da!"
Alex broke into a cold sweat, staying silent.
"Junior brother!"
Qin Da continued, "I know you're upset, feeling humiliated in front of the others. But remember, we've come a long way together...
"The master trusts us. As long as we don't overdo it, he won't mind us taking a little extra. But today, you really crossed the line..."
Qin Da's admonishment made Alex's expression change. He quietly put away the forged letter and closed Qin San's secret compartment. After a moment of hesitation, he crept to the window, opened it, and slipped outside.
"Hmm~"
Qin Da felt something was off. His brother had a terrible temper and wouldn't stay quiet this long. Moreover, there was a faint smell of blood.
"Not good~"
Qin Da's expression changed, and he rushed to Qin San's door, kicking it open.
"Bang!"
The door, bolted from inside, was kicked open as Alex landed silently and slipped away from the building.
"Junior brother!"
A mournful cry echoed, followed by a loud shout,
"Intruder!"
The entire Li mansion sprang to life. Guards and servants, awakened by the commotion, scrambled around. Even the old master was disturbed.
"Damn it!"
Alex cursed. Qin Da's sudden arrival had complicated matters. Although Qin San's body was on the bed, it was clear he hadn't committed suicide.
Plans had gone awry, and Alex's eyes flashed with determination. He oriented himself and headed towards a brightly lit courtyard.
"Xiaocui, what's all the noise outside?"
Li Qingyu, the eldest daughter of the Li family, raised her head from her books, annoyed by the disturbance. She called out to her maid.
"Miss!"
The maid's voice came from outside, "It seems there's an intruder in the mansion. They're searching for him now!"
"An intruder!"
Li Qingyu's face changed comically, "Oh my gosh! Could someone be after me? Impossible! I've kept a low profile since I arrived. Could it be my father's rival..."
Her mind raced with dramatic scenarios straight out of television dramas.
"Ouch! Who..."
Before she could finish, a sharp pain in the back of her head made her turn around, ready to scold someone.
"Uh~ this~"
Li Qingyu froze upon seeing a tall, broad-shouldered figure wearing a menacing tiger mask. Could this really be the intruder? She had only been imagining it, but now it seemed real.
"Hel~mmm..."
Her scream was muffled by a large hand covering her mouth. She tried to use her internal energy to struggle, but her lack of experience made it easy for the intruder to restrain her.
Before she could change tactics, a sweet scent filled her nose, making her movements sluggish. She felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck, losing control of her body as she slumped to the ground.
"Hmm~"
Instead of hitting the floor, she felt herself being lifted into the intruder's strong arms. The masked man sat her down at her desk.
"Whoosh~"
Alex sighed in relief. This inexperienced young woman had been surprisingly strong, almost reaching the level of a second-rate warrior.
In the original story, Li Qingyu was an inner disciple of the Guiyuan Sect, sent home by her father. Though only briefly mentioned, she had at least third-rate warrior skills.
Sect disciples and rogue martial artists were worlds apart. Li Qingyu's true strength was not much lower than Alex's.
Had he not caught her off guard, the outcome might have been different.