Settling the Score

Liu Ergou's medicinal wine was something he'd spent a hefty sum on from an apothecary in the inner city. He'd originally planned to test its effects here in the pleasure district today, even hiring two girls for the occasion.

He wanted to see how well the medicinal wine worked so he could show off his prowess later at the city's brothels.

Walking down the street, it was practically deserted except for them.

The crescent moon in the sky cast a pale glow.

The only sounds on the empty street were their own heavy breaths and the occasional dog bark from afar.

"I'm telling you guys, nobody stops me when I see Fifth Brother…"

Liu Ergou muttered incoherently, but after waiting a while, there was no response from behind him.

He didn't sense anything unusual either, continuing to mumble to himself.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew, and the chill of the late night made him involuntarily shiver.

He tightened his clothes, and some of his drunkenness faded. It was then that he realized something was wrong.

He turned his head, and the space behind him was completely empty. His companions were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did they go??"

He widened his eyes, only to see a pair of feet exposed in the moonlight at the corner of the alley.

Seeing this, he relaxed, assuming his companions had gotten drunk and passed out.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

He frowned, turned, and walked over, intending to kick them awake.

Outside the alley's shadow, the exposed legs twitched occasionally.

From the black-stitched shoes, he recognized the legs belonged to Third Brother.

"Third Brother, you damn— get up, you bastard…"

He cursed, but still no response. He didn't think much of it, assuming Third Brother was just sleeping. But as he got closer, he felt something slippery on the ground.

A gust of cold wind swept by, carrying a faint, metallic scent.

It was the smell of blood.

He lowered his head in confusion. All he saw was a large pool of dark red bloodstains on the ground illuminated by the moonlight.

"This… something's happened!"

His drunkenness vanished instantly. That thought flashed through his mind.

Before he could react, a powerful gust of wind came rushing towards his face with incredible speed. However, as a Body Tempering realm martial artist, his reaction was much faster than that of an ordinary person.

Although he couldn't dodge, he raised his hands to shield his face.

As a Body Tempering martial artist, he was confident that if he could block this attack, he would have a chance to catch his breath. Whether he fled or fought would be up to him. Besides, this was Tooth Gang territory; if he shouted, Tooth Gang members would quickly come to his aid.

Then, whoever dared to ambush him would have nowhere to run.

However, with a bang, it was followed by the sickening sound of bone-shattering.

Liu Ergou felt as if he'd been hit by a speeding carriage.

Both his arms instantly shattered, hanging limply, while he himself staggered back several steps before falling heavily onto the ground.

"Ah!!"

The intense pain caused him to let out a sharp scream. But before the scream could fully escape, a fist-sized rock, soaked in blood, smashed into his face.

One blow caved in his cheek, and his head slammed hard onto the unyielding flagstones.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Soon, a second… and a third blow. The dark red rock fell again and again, finally stopping after more than ten impacts.

Then, the figure holding the stone turned and fled, but quickly returned. They rummaged through Liu Ergou's body before hastily departing.

Squeak… squeak…

At the same time, the squeaking of a weasel alerted two figures in black clothing in a distant alley.

"What's going on!?"

The tall, black-clothed man asked with a frown.

"Something's wrong, something might have happened!?"

The female, black-clothed person also frowned, looking at the weasel circling around and said in a low voice.

"Let's go check it out."

Upon hearing this, the two black-clothed individuals quickly emerged from the alley and headed towards the pleasure district.

They weren't far from the pleasure district to begin with and soon arrived at the main street.

They saw a figure in grey just disappearing at the end of the long street.

And on the street not far away, a bloody, mangled human shape lay quietly on the ground.

The weasel zipped out from the woman and headed towards the figure lying on the ground.

Upon seeing this, the expressions of the two men in black changed.

"Not good."

Their hearts jolted, and the two men rushed over. Seeing the weasel circling the figure, their faces immediately turned grim.

"It's Liu Ergou!"

The woman spoke.

At this moment, the figure on the ground had been beaten beyond recognition, making it impossible to discern any of his original features. His clothes were already stained red with blood.

However, judging by the weasel's actions, the person lying on the ground was indeed their target, Liu Ergou.

The person was in such a state that he was undoubtedly dead.

"Damn it! To dare ruin our good deed, don't let me catch you, or I'll chop you up, old man!"

The tall man in black's gaze fell upon the end of the long street. He was now certain that the person who had acted was the man in grey who had disappeared at the end of the street earlier.

Perhaps it was bad luck, but just as the man in black was raging, a patron returning home late from the pleasure district happened to come out.

Seeing the scene in the alley, he immediately let out a shout.

"Murder! Someone's been murdered!! Quick, help!"

As the shout echoed through the silent night.

Because this was the Tooth Gang's territory, and the pleasure district was a property the Tooth Gang valued highly, there were quite a few Tooth Gang members nearby.

Hearing the cry, many of them immediately rushed out.

"Not good, let's go!"

At this moment, the tall man in black could no longer care about anything else. He quickly called out and sped towards a small alley.

"Where is it? Where are they, don't let them get away!!"

Since there were only two men in black standing on the long street, the Tooth Gang members who had rushed out immediately spotted them. Without hesitation, they shouted and pursued them.

The two men were skilled and moved quickly, far beyond the capabilities of these ordinary Tooth Gang members. However, what they didn't expect was that just as they climbed over the wall, sounds of something cutting through the air erupted.

It turned out to be a volley of crossbow bolts shooting towards them.

Caught off guard and unable to dodge, the tall man in black was hit in the shoulder by an arrow.

"Damn it, these bastards have crossbows, let's go!!"

Ignoring the intense pain in his shoulder, the two men in black hurriedly leaped off the wall, finally escaping the pursuing Tooth Gang members.

Meanwhile, Lin Sheng had no idea that so many events had unfolded after he left. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have had any intention of going back to watch the spectacle.

He weaved through the city's alleys, arriving at a stinking ditch. He fiercely threw the blood-stained stone in his hand into it before hurrying back home.