Birds of a Feather

"Have you heard? Someone took over the Iron Palm Gang, forced them to rename themselves the Peacekeeping Gang, made them turn over a new leaf, and now they're chasing people all over the city to apologize. They even changed their clothes."

"I saw it. They're putting up notices all over the city too, saying they'll preserve peace, wipe out the scum of the martial world, and that we can bring any grievances to them. It all sounds better than a song, but I don't believe it."

"Neither do I. Didn't Zhang Er's eldest daughter get snatched away by the Iron Palm Gang a few days ago? They sent her back just now, along with a huge sum of money. They knelt at Zhang Er's door and begged his forgiveness, slapping their own faces until they were swollen. Zhang Er was so frightened that he kowtowed back at them and refused to let his daughter into the house..."

"I wouldn't dare either. Who knows when the Peacekeeping Gang might turn back into the Iron Palm Gang? When that happens, we'll be the ones suffering again."

"Sigh, all these martial sects are birds of a feather. They rely on their fists being big enough to bully whoever they want. When have they ever cared about ordinary people like us? What a damned world..."

"This time might really be different. Let me tell you a secret, but don't spread it around. My third son does odd jobs for the Iron Palm Gang. They say the one who took over the Iron Palm Gang this time wasn't human."

"Not human? What, was it a ghost?"

"More terrifying than a ghost. It was a Heavenly Demon."

"A Heavenly Demon?"

"That's right. I heard that last night, the Iron Palm Gang's leader got stabbed more than a dozen times in the neck by the Heavenly Demon and didn't suffer a scratch. The Peacekeeping Gang was what the Heavenly Demon whipped up in a single night..."

"If humans are already this terrifying, wouldn't we be even worse off with a Heavenly Demon?"

"You're wrong again. Heavenly Demons aren't like us humans. My third son said they seem to have some kind of restriction—they have to develop according to their attributes, or they'll grow weak. The Heavenly Demon who took over the Iron Palm Gang has the attribute of preservation. He announced before everyone that he would preserve justice, fairness, and righteousness..."

"Isn't that what the Peacekeeping Gang's notices say?"

"Does that mean Heavenly Demons are actually better than humans?"

"Not necessarily. Apparently there are many kinds of Heavenly Demons, some good and some bad. My third son couldn't explain the details, but I think the Heavenly Demon who took over the Iron Palm Gang is a good person."

"Brothers, you're still standing around chatting? Hurry to the Iron Palm Gang! The Heavenly Demon is holding a sword to the gang leader's neck and judging cases in public. It's quite the spectacle..."

There was no wall that could keep out the wind.

Especially not with Dug being so high-profile, practically desperate to announce his whereabouts to the entire world. That very day, he and the Iron Palm Gang, now transformed into the Peacekeeping Gang, became the hottest topic in Luyang City.

All kinds of rumors flew through the air. In less than an hour, everyone in the city knew what he had done at the Iron Palm Gang.

The timid commoners still hesitated, but those who had been oppressed by the Iron Palm Gang and truly had nowhere left to turn saw the notices, threw caution to the wind, and went straight to the Iron Palm Gang to cry injustice.

Dug had never expected protecting the people's interests to work so quickly. When he put up notices and forced the Iron Palm Gang members to apologize throughout Luyang City, he had only intended to establish credibility step by step, dismantle the Iron Palm Gang's foundations, and ultimately build the Peacekeeping Gang's prestige.

But he had not expected the Iron Palm Gang to have committed so many evils over the years that people would disregard their own lives, unwilling even to verify whether it was real before coming to seek justice that very day...

Thinking about it, it made sense. Even a small family like the Feng Family treated sparring partners as less than human, casually deciding whether they lived or died. Not to mention these ordinary people, who were worth even less than sparring partners.

What a goddamned world!

Still, this was perfect. If the authorities would not handle it, he would. If people came to air their grievances, he was more than happy to play the role of an upright magistrate and seek justice for them.

There was no better way to build reputation than a public trial.

And so.

A strange sight appeared outside Luyang City.

The former gang leader, Qiu Yuanlang, sat expressionlessly beneath the blazing sun, his body wrapped in bandages. Beside him, a young man held a longsword to his neck while sitting behind a table, receiving every person who came to air a grievance with a broad smile.

At the sides, the Iron Palm Gang's incense masters and hall masters wore Peacekeeping Gang uniforms and held short staffs, their faces dark as they stood in attendance as constables.

If that were all, it would still have been within the public's range of acceptance.

After all, Dug had only just seized the Iron Palm Gang. Without a hostage in hand, how could he make the Iron Palm Gang obey? And without a sword at the gang leader's neck, how would the oppressed commoners dare step forward to air their grievances?

But with the addition of a deranged young man clutching a severed hand and grinning foolishly, the whole scene became rather strange.

Still.

For the commoners so oppressed by the Iron Palm Gang that they barely had a way to survive, none of that mattered anymore. If they did not seize this chance to repay their hatred and grievances while the Iron Palm Gang was under someone else's control, when would they ever get another chance?

At that moment, Dug was their lifeline.

Even if the Heavenly Demon were suppressed afterward and the Iron Palm Gang made a comeback, they would at least have vented the hatred in their hearts.

"Lord Heavenly Demon, this lowly man accuses Liu Heigou of the Iron Palm Gang. A year ago, he took a liking to my daughter, Xiulian, and brought Iron Palm Gang members to forcibly marry her for three copper coins. I refused, so Liu Heigou broke one of my legs and abducted Xiulian by force. When I went to report it to the authorities, they beat me instead. My poor Xiulian was tortured by that beast for three whole days. In the end, she could not endure it and threw herself into a well. My poor daughter, she was only sixteen! I beg Lord Heavenly Demon to deliver justice for me..."

An old man with a weathered face knelt on the ground, trembling as he told Dug of his grievance.

Whether he had been preserving the Feng Family, backstabbing the Feng Family, or preserving justice, Dug had always approached it all with the mindset of playing a game...

After all, he needed to use preservation to increase his strength.

But when the elderly man kneeling before him, dragging one broken leg and thin as a skeleton, wailed about his injustice with a death-defying resolve, something in Dug's heart was suddenly stirred.

Even though he knew the Simulation Arena was fake, he could not suppress the fury in his heart.

This was too much!

What Feng Family? What Iron Palm Gang?

Not a single one of them was any good. In this damned world, it was people like him who should be preserving it...

At that moment, he suddenly felt that what he was doing had meaning. It was no longer merely about competing for first place in the Simulation Arena.

Dug glanced at Qiu Yuanlang and sneered. "Gang Leader Qiu, what a fine Iron Palm Gang you had!"

Qiu Yuanlang had been forced into a public execution and was already filled with resentment, but his expression now turned awkward. "Seventh Master, those were all things done by the people below me. I didn't know. If I had known, I would never have kept him around to tarnish the Iron Palm Gang's reputation..."

"Reputation?" Dug snorted. "Liu Cheng, bring Liu Heigou here."

Liu Cheng sighed helplessly, stepped forward, and asked, "Whose subordinate is Liu Heigou?"

One of the incense masters serving as a constable stepped out and said awkwardly, "He is this lowly one's subordinate."

Liu Cheng asked, "Did you know about what he did?"

The incense master shook his head awkwardly, just about to speak.

Suddenly, the Peacekeeping Gang members behind them erupted into commotion. One man shoved others aside and sprinted toward the edge of the crowd.

Liu Cheng glanced in that direction, then leaped several times and arrived behind the man. He seized his neck, dragged him back, and threw him heavily to the ground.

Liu Heigou's face was deathly pale. He kowtowed to Dug frantically. "Lord Heavenly Demon, spare my life! Lord Heavenly Demon, spare my life! This lowly one will never dare again. Please give this lowly one another chance. I am willing to sincerely join the Peacekeeping Gang and serve Lord Heavenly Demon with my life..."

"If the Peacekeeping Gang accepts even someone like you, how can it speak of preserving justice?" Dug snorted. "Hall Master Liu, kill him. Keeping trash like this alive only pollutes the air. Don't let him die too easily..."

Liu Heigou's reaction made evidence unnecessary. Besides, Dug's hearing and sight were sharp. The whispered conversations of the onlookers had already made the truth perfectly clear to him.

"Seventh Brother, leave him to me!" Wang San, who had barely spoken until then, suddenly stepped forward. "It's time I added to my collection..."

Since the battle ended last night, his attributes had barely increased at all.

After all, Feng Qi had been the one showing off most of the time, leaving Wang San no chance to perform.

But when he stood beside Dug in public, clutching the severed hand, while the people around him pointed at him and discussed him in hushed tones, his attributes soared. In just a short while, his personal ranking had risen another five places.

How could Wang San possibly let such a good opportunity to improve his attributes slip away? If he did not take advantage of Feng Qi making a name for himself, when would he? Besides, he had figured it out. Feng Qi's Keyword was preservation. Making such a huge spectacle was like walking a tightrope—once it collapsed, he would be doomed beyond redemption. But Wang San was different. A Yandere was a Yandere. Even if the Peacekeeping Gang collapsed in the future, it would not change the world's impression of him. His strength would only rise, never collapse.

So what if Feng Qi was impressive now?

Perhaps he would be the one to turn the tide someday.

After all.

Yandere's Fear was not unusable against Feng Qi...