Solving It

Hearing this familiar voice, the bald man's steps faltered, his body trembling.

But before he could turn his head, he felt his neck seized by a powerful hand, dragging him back.

After a low, muffled whimper, the courtyard fell silent once more.

Lin Sheng walked out of the courtyard and locked the gate behind him.

Looking closely, his hands were trembling slightly.

"I killed someone..."

Locking the gate, he stared at his own hands and murmured.

Whether in his past life or this one, this was his first time killing someone.

To be honest, it didn't feel good. Though he didn't experience the nausea, discomfort, or outright vomiting like in movies from his past life, he still felt unsettled.

When the bald man begged for mercy, he knew the best course was not to let him go.

But as a model youth from a law-abiding society, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He needed a reason, a justification to ease his conscience.

"See that? If you don't hurt others, you or your loved ones will be the ones hurt..."

Lin Sheng seemed to come to a realization.

"So, anyone who threatens you must be killed..."

Soon, his hands stopped trembling, his eyes regained their calm, and he swiftly disappeared into the alley.

Crock Street, north side, Flower Willow Alley.

Places of ill repute find soil to grow anywhere, and Crock Street was no exception.

In the slums, there were always those who couldn't survive and had to choose this path.

Even late at night, lanterns still hung in Flower Willow Alley.

Occasionally, someone could be seen staggering out, drunk.

Not far from Flower Willow Alley, in a small lane, two figures cloaked in black lurked in the shadows.

"It's confirmed. That Liu Ergou is in Flower Willow Alley. I smeared him with Fish Fat Grass juice. Within ten li, Little Yellow can track him. This is his only way home. We just wait here, and when he comes out, we strike."

The two black-clad figures were one tall and one thin. The shorter one spoke, her frame slender but with curves—clearly a woman.

As she spoke, a small head poked out from her shoulder—a weasel, its bean-sized eyes glinting with a lively light.

"Good. Liu Ergou may be a waste, but he's Liu Yuanshan's own brother. That Liu Yuanshan is ruthless and vicious, but he values this useless brother greatly."

The taller black-clad figure stared toward Flower Willow Alley and said in a rough voice.

"If we capture this waste, we can definitely restrain Liu Yuanshan. It'll be a huge advantage for our comeback."

The woman nodded, took the weasel off her shoulder, and held it in her arms, stroking it gently.

"But this Tooth Gang has unusual backing. They might be connected to the Chen Family..."

"Hmph, so what if they're connected to the Chen Family? Once the gang leader recovers from his injuries, and with Liu Yuanshan backing us, we'll take away the Fist Gang's years of accumulated wealth. If it comes to it, we'll just move somewhere else and start over..."

"That works."

With that, they fell silent, waiting in the darkness.

"Damn it, that bastard Fifth Brother still hasn't come back. Ruining my good time. When he gets back, I'll teach him a lesson..."

In a room in Flower Willow Alley.

Liu Ergou cursed, reeking of alcohol. He had a woman on each arm, his face flushed red with anger.

Besides him, the thugs from earlier were also there, each holding a woman, drinking and groping, their faces twisted with lecherous grins.

"Who knows what's up with Fifth Brother today. He's been gone so long. Did he get drunk and pass out on the way?"

One thug grinned and spoke.

"Yeah, that bastard's really killing the mood. Ruining Brother Dog's fun. When he gets back, we'll give him a beating."

Another thug chimed in. They were already holding the women, barely able to contain themselves, but since Liu Ergou hadn't given the go-ahead, they didn't dare act.

They all knew about their boss's hidden ailment, so even though they were burning with desire, they didn't dare do anything too outrageous. Provoking him would mean trouble for them. They could only suppress their urges and drown them in drink.

In their hearts, they had already cursed Fifth Brother countless times.

Seeing Liu Ergou's expression darken further, someone quickly changed the subject.

"Brother Dog has sharp eyes. Today we found such a fat sheep. Almost missed it."

"Yeah, yeah. Who would've thought that kid had a martial arts manual on him? Even if it's a third-rate technique, it could sell for a few hundred taels of silver on the black market!"

Others chimed in with flattery.

Hearing their praise, Liu Ergou's face showed some smugness. He squeezed the two women beside him hard, drawing pained yelps, while he burst into laughter.

"Hmph, you don't need to tell me that. I didn't expect that kid to have a martial arts manual either. But don't get too excited. Either that kid stumbled onto it by sheer luck, or he's from some faction in the city. If it's luck, then we've hit the jackpot. If it's from a faction, it might just be a fragment, which would cut the value way down."

"Brother Dog, you mean that kid might be from a big faction in the city?"

The other men were startled, surprise showing on their faces. But thinking it over, it was indeed possible.

Seeing the change in expression on a few faces, Liu Ergou grinned instead.

"Scared? Cowards! So what if he's from one of the big powers in the city? He's just an outer member at best. As long as we keep our hands clean, who's gonna know? Don't forget, Crock Street is our Tooth Gang's turf now. Once my elder brother and the big boss finish off those Fist Gang stragglers, it'll be the Axe Gang's turn. Making someone disappear here isn't that hard for me, Liu Ergou."

"The Axe Gang! Brother Dog, I heard the Axe Gang's different from the Fist Gang. They've got backing from some big power in the city."

"So what? The Axe Gang has backers—doesn't the Tooth Gang have them too? It's exactly their backers I'm after. What do you know?"

Saying this, Liu Ergou seemed to realize he'd said a bit too much and quickly changed the subject.

Time trickled by, and after more than half an hour.

Liu Ergou, who still hadn't seen the bald man Fifth Brother show up, finally lost interest.

Having had a few too many drinks, the alcohol was hitting him now, making him both drowsy and sluggish.

"Damn bastard Fifth Brother, wait till tomorrow... tomorrow I'll... I'll... I'll fucking beat you to death, or I'll take your name..."

He stood up and shoved aside the two women beside him, who kept yawning.

Glancing around the table, the others were pretty much all dead drunk.

"Let's go, bunch of trash."

He cursed, and the few thugs staggered to their feet.

They weren't martial artists, just ordinary people. Even though they hadn't drunk as much as Liu Ergou, they were still completely wasted.

The group swayed out of Flower Willow Alley, with Liu Ergou leading the way. Even now, his mind was still on how he'd deal with Fifth Brother, that bastard who'd ruined his good time, once he got back.