Chapter 15: Reckless Beyond Measure

Warehouse. Gu Changqing’s entire body seethed with blood and vital energy, like a raging furnace—just standing near him, one could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Within, the sound of surging rivers roared, with waves crashing endlessly, loud enough to be heard clearly from several meters away. Anyone unaware might have thought they were hearing the flow of a great river.

Gu Changqing pressed his feet into the ground; his sneakers instantly burst apart, leaving only the uppers clinging to his feet. When he stepped away, two deep footprints remained on the floor, his toes clearly imprinted.

He exhaled a long breath; the dust on the ground two meters away was swept up by the force of his wind.

Nearby, the corpses of two oxen lay sprawled. One was an ordinary yellow cow, while the other was the muscular Qian Ox. Yet the Qian Ox had lost its former vigor, now only a shriveled hide stretched over its bones.

As the veins receded beneath Gu Changqing’s skin, he flexed his arms and legs, each movement brimming with raw strength. He had never felt so invigorated in his life. Only his clothes and pants were now too tight; a slight exertion caused them to tear, and with a casual tug, he stripped them off and tossed them aside.

“My blood and vital energy have reached their current limit. The next step is marrow cleansing and blood transformation.”

Normally, practice involved refining the body through martial arts, using the resonance of bone and flesh to cleanse the marrow, supplemented by rare medicinal herbs. If one possessed heavenly treasures, not only could the mortal body be shed, but talent and potential would be enhanced.

But the “Flesh and Blood Refining Spirit Manual” was a ruthless demonic art, benefiting oneself at others’ expense, and demanded little in terms of innate talent. Naturally, there was a shortcut for marrow cleansing and blood transformation: the construction of a blood pool.

The only requirement—human blood.

If the blood of cultivators was available, the effect was best. Ordinary human blood would suffice, but the minimum was the blood of five hundred people—two to two and a half thousand liters—to fulfill the lowest requirement.

The more, the better. With the blood of three thousand people—fifteen thousand liters—the effect would increase by an entire tier.

A location immediately came to Gu Changqing’s mind: the blood bank.

At the very least, the blood in a blood bank was clean.

An average adult had about four to five liters of blood; five hundred people provided two to two and a half thousand liters. Fifteen thousand liters would raise the effect by a major tier.

“I’ll need a large enough blood bank,” Gu Changqing pondered. Storing blood was troublesome; it would be simpler to target a major facility and take everything at once. Buying it was not only difficult, but unnecessary.

He walked over to the remaining livestock, plunged his jade blade in, and in moments drained the rest of the animals and poultry of their flesh and blood. The improvement was negligible now—a blessing in disguise. He couldn’t consume any more.

The corpses he tossed aside indifferently; with their flesh and blood nearly gone, they would not rot.

He gathered the remaining two bottles of blue liquid, then left to drive toward the southern district.

“Help me look into the Sea Gang…where does their boss usually appear?” Gu Changqing asked over the phone as he drove.

The man he called was, of course, Zeng Shiqian. Of the four great bonds of brotherhood, sharing loot was the strongest—far more reliable than classmates.

“Alright, send me the information. We’ll talk about the rest when I’m back at the bureau tomorrow,” Gu Changqing said before hanging up.

He returned home to store the box, then sat on the sofa to check Zeng Shiqian’s message.

Jin Manfu, leader of the Sea Gang, forty-five years old, one meter seventy tall, weighing over two hundred pounds.

Involved in four murder cases, one missing persons case, two rape cases, and multiple extortion schemes.

He’d been prosecuted numerous times, but witnesses either died unexpectedly or vanished, resulting in him being acquitted every time.

One rape victim was abducted and abused days before her court appearance, forced to ingest massive amounts of drugs. When found, she was insane and remains in a psychiatric hospital.

“There are people as despicable as this?” Gu Changqing clicked his tongue in disgust.

What a bastard!

Reading further, he saw another note: this man was a skilled fighter, famous in his youth for his martial arts, and renowned among An Harbor’s gangs.

Gu Changqing smirked with derision. No matter how good your kung fu is, how does it compare to a gun? Or to me?

With a glance at the time, he drove straight to Jin Manfu’s villa.

The villa wasn’t remote, but it still took Gu Changqing over two hours to find it—he was unfamiliar with the city’s roads. Heading to the outskirts in the morning had been easy; within the city, he quickly got lost.

Jin Manfu’s villa covered a large area, surrounded by tall walls, with an iron gate at the front. Through the gate, the villa’s lights burned brightly.

Gu Changqing parked at the entrance, switched on his high beams, and honked several times before stepping out and approaching the gate.

“Who are you?” a black-clad bodyguard called out.

“Public Security Bureau. I have some questions for your boss,” Gu Changqing flashed his badge.

“An officer? Alone?” The guard was surprised—just a regular officer, at that.

Officers were low-ranking in the bureau, barely above patrolmen and deputy officers, not even at team leader level. Yet this man had come alone.

The guard spoke briefly into his radio, then turned to Gu Changqing. “The boss isn’t interested in meeting you!”

He added mockingly, “Want to see the boss? Bring your chief, or come back with a search warrant!”

“So arrogant?” Gu Changqing sneered, saying nothing more as he returned to his car.

Seeing him leave, the guard clicked his tongue and turned to go—only to hear the roar of an engine. Gu Changqing floored it, slamming the car through the gates.

The guard cursed in terror, scrambling away just in time.

Gu Changqing drove up to the villa steps before getting out.

Several burly bodyguards rushed out, surrounding him with curses:

“Kid, you got a death wish?”

“Think you can mess around here?”

“What, planning on attacking an officer?” Gu Changqing smiled at the group, then—without warning—kicked out.

The nearest man was sent flying, crashing into the others and rolling into the main hall.

The rest charged in.

Gu Changqing drew his pistol and pressed it to one man’s head, grinning savagely: “Assaulting an officer? You think you’re bulletproof?”

“Stop!” A bodyguard in white shouted from behind the door, waving his hand at the others. “Stand down.”

He shot them a meaningful glance.

Then, fixing Gu Changqing with a cold stare, he said, “The boss will see you.”

He was not particularly burly, his skin dark, but his eyes were cold and venomous, devoid of emotion—like a snake. Zeng Shiqian’s dossier had mentioned him: Liao Qing, nicknamed “Snake Qing,” Jin Manfu’s personal bodyguard, with plenty of blood on his hands, though nothing could ever be proved.

Seeing Snake Qing’s gaze linger on his gun, Gu Changqing casually tucked it into his waistband and followed him inside.

A turn past the entrance led to the living room, where a short, obese man lounged in a bathrobe, drink in hand.

Jin Manfu.

“Boss! He’s here!” Snake Qing announced, taking his place at Jin Manfu’s side.

Jin Manfu looked Gu Changqing up and down, grinning. “It’s been a long time since anyone’s shown this much nerve.”

“I’m curious—risking your life to see me, what do you want?”

“I’ll give you a chance to speak.”

As he spoke, the others blocked the exits.

If Gu Changqing failed to please Jin Manfu, he wouldn’t be leaving tonight. After all, this was Jin Manfu’s stronghold; to have a mere officer crash his car in and swagger out would ruin his reputation. As for killing an officer… elsewhere, they might hesitate, but here, this was Jin Manfu’s turf.

“I have a few questions. I think you might know the answers,” Gu Changqing said leisurely, sitting across from Jin Manfu with a smile. “You’ll tell me, won’t you?”

Jin Manfu looked momentarily startled, then burst into laughter. “You really don’t know what’s good for you!”

“You think waving that little gun scares anyone?”

“I haven’t seen someone this naïve in years!”

“Is that so?” Gu Changqing’s smile widened. Suddenly, he drew his gun and fired at Snake Qing standing beside Jin Manfu.

He moved so fast the eye could barely follow; the shot rang out.

Bang!

A bullet hole opened in Snake Qing’s forehead.

Jin Manfu’s laughter died instantly.

Then, Gu Changqing fired a shot directly into Jin Manfu’s kneecap.