Right after, he picked up the sword, paused for a moment, aimed at the candle, then executed a horizontal slash, with the sword tip passing less than one or two millimeters from the candle in a flash.

The sword's speed wasn't fast, hardly causing any air shockwaves.

Yet the candle was already split in half, cut into two pieces.

He picked up the burning top half of the candle, discovering the cut surface was smooth and flat as a mirror, as if it had been cut by an extremely fine laser.

Chen Shouyi felt deeply intrigued, then proceeded to experiment with paper, chopsticks, and a metal spoon.

The first two items could be cut through, but the latter couldn't.

After a slash, only a faint mark was left on the surface, unable to continue, and after repeated trials, he felt his mental power was consumed greatly, with his scalp faintly swelling, finding it hard to concentrate.

Chen Shouyi rubbed his forehead and helplessly stopped, pondering:

"This force is clearly a form of mental power, unsure whether it is willpower or perception, or both."

He now had 12 points of willpower and perception increased by 0.1 today, reaching 11.2.

Chen Shouyi thought for a while, but couldn't come up with a clue, so he resigned to stop.

...

"Dad, Mom, I'm going out for a walk, will be back in the evening." The next morning, after breakfast, Chen Shouyi stood up and said.

"Be careful, don't get into trouble." Mrs. Chen knew what he was up to but didn't stop him, only expressing concern.

"Got it!"

"Mom, I want to go too!" At this moment, Chen Xingyue also spoke up.

"What are you going for? These days, you should stay home properly."

Chen Shouyi, carrying a briefcase with Shell Lady inside, walked down the stairs.

He found someone practicing sword early in the morning in the courtyard, and couldn't help but pause.

It was a girl about Chen Xingyue's age, holding a wooden sword, repeatedly practicing the lunge stab, her ponytail bouncing with energy.

Seemingly sensing a gaze, she glanced at Chen Shouyi, letting out a cold snort.

Chen Shouyi smiled and gestured, then walked out of the courtyard.

Passing by the newsstand, he casually bought a newspaper.

"Major murder on the Dongping section of National Highway 312, a car with four people, all brutally killed."

"Police found pistols, knives, and swords at the scene, with arrow holes in the car, initially deduced to be a gang clash... It is reported that police are conducting a full investigation, citizens with information are encouraged to inform the local police station promptly."

Without the internet, the timeliness of news is greatly delayed, only appearing in local newspapers a day after the highway murder occurred the previous evening.

Chen Shouyi calmly finished reading, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the nearby trash bin.

Without surveillance and eyewitnesses, the chance of cracking such a blind case is really low.

...

He entered a nearby convenience store, bought a baseball cap and sunglasses, made a simple disguise, and headed to the place where he first parked.

Soon, he arrived at the small road, the car was gone, but the burn marks were still visible around.

He acted as if passing by, continued walking toward the front, and soon arrived at a farmhouse by the roadside a kilometer away that was still operating.

Inside was quiet and empty, with few guests.

He glanced around at the surroundings as he walked.

Quickly a young man in a floral shirt approached: "Boss, what do you want to play?"

"Is there fishing here?"

"Yes, of course, thirty yuan for half a day, fifty yuan for a whole day, thirty for rental of the fishing rod, bait is free, the price of caught fish is extra!" The young man's lips skillfully rattled off a string.

In ten minutes, Chen Shouyi was sitting on the opposite edge of the fish pond with a fishing rod, starting to fish.

The current situation clearly affected business here, with few people fishing, besides him, only four others. Two middle-aged men and two elderly men.

He glanced and felt they were all ordinary people, so didn't pay further attention.

Martial arts practitioners often reveal traces in their gestures unless intentionally concealing like Chen Shouyi.

He leaned back in the recliner, leisurely holding the fishing rod, yet always vaguely focused on the movements on the opposite road.

People came and went on the road, but no suspicious figure was found.

Lunch was settled here, and until evening, he languidly went home with the sole grass carp he caught.

"Oh, you went shopping for groceries?" Mrs. Chen asked.

"Caught it at the farmhouse."

"You can fish?"

"What's so hard about that, I learned in no time."

...

For two consecutive days, Chen Shouyi went fishing at the farmhouse, gradually becoming acquainted with the young man who seemed to be the owner's son.

"That's not how you fish, you're just feeding the bait to the fish this way."

"Jiang Ziya fishing, willing fish take the bait, fishing is all about mood!" Chen Shouyi nonchalantly replied.

"Whatever makes you happy." The young man let him brag, replied with a smile.

"I heard a car burned down here a few days ago?" Chen Shouyi casually asked.

"Who wouldn't say, the whole car was burned into a shell, heard someone started the fire, wonder who did it, too wicked, all of us here were questioned by the police several times." The young man excitedly said upon mentioning this incident.

"Has the car owner been found?" Chen Shouyi asked calmly.

"I suppose they've been found, two days ago someone asked me about it, I directed him to the police station."

Chen Shouyi's heart sank.

They traced it here?

Actually, he didn't need to think about it, a martial artist being gutted and throat slit is quite a shocking event.

This entirely suggests another martial artist participated in the incident.

This is undoubtedly a thorn in the throat, a prick in the back for cultists who can only operate underground without exposing themselves, posing a risk of toppling the organization. If they can't eliminate, they need to at least know who the other party is and whether they can recruit them.

The power of a martial artist not only lies in their personal combat prowess, but like martial artist apprentices having militia status, most martial artists hold public positions, either honorary or actual leadership.

No matter which, it grants enormous social influence, even reaching higher levels, unmatched by mere martial artist apprentices.

It can be said now cultists activated all their strength to find this mysteriously emergent martial artist.

...

The young man chatted with Chen Shouyi a bit more before attending to other matters.

Chen Shouyi restrained his agitation and continued fishing for another hour before packing up to leave.

"Done fishing today?" The young man asked.

"Got things to do this afternoon, can't always be so idle." Chen Shouyi said.

...

Carrying a palm-sized carp he caught, Chen Shouyi returned to the rented house and again saw the girl.

She was sitting on a stool wearing a plaid dress of red and gray, exposing her slender white legs, at the well edge with the landlord shelling soybeans.

Noticing Chen Shouyi's gaze, she quickly crossed her legs and pulled the dress forward.

"Back again, caught another fish today?" The landlord recognized Chen Shouyi, politely said.

"Exactly, got lucky, this fish bit the hook and refused to let go, so I reeled it in, I'll go upstairs." Chen Shouyi smiled.

He hadn't seen the landlord's husband these days, unsure if they divorced or if he was working abroad?

The landlord smiled, when Chen Shouyi left, she withdrew her gaze: "The young man is quite mature, his sister seems about your age."

"I've seen his sister recently, seems quite proud, doesn't socialize much." The daughter said, pouting. "Her brother isn't good either, his eyes were lewd, staring at me for a while yesterday morning."

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