Poisonous Spider

In the noisy breakfast restaurant, Su Xiao chewed half a youtiao while Ma Pangzi and a thin, dark-skinned man sat across from him.

The man looked as if he had just fled a famine in Africa. After hurriedly chewing his food, he gulped it down with a gulu and nearly choked, rolling his eyes.

He was Ma Pangzi's younger brother, nicknamed Blackskin. He never revealed his real name; only Ma Pangzi knew it.

Blackskin owned the shop selling flowers, birds, fish, and insects next to the jewelry store. Aside from firearms and other ranged weapons, he could get his hands on just about anything, such as bows and crossbows, controlled knives, and stun batons. As he put it, "How are you supposed to make money if you don't break the law?"

Blackskin was a smart man. Although he dealt in illegal goods, he never touched anything that could get his head chopped off.

"Su Xiao, you came back without even telling me."

Blackskin was thin and small, but his voice was full of vigor.

"I haven't been back long."

Su Xiao called over a waiter to pay the bill. The three of them did not leave immediately. Instead, they each lit a cigarette and chatted.

"Come on, why did you call me here in such a hurry?"

Blackskin took an ashtray from the neighboring table, where a young couple was sitting.

"How much do you know about that murder case in the city?"

"Not much. I only know that five people died, including some big shot. Also, the killer was a professional. My brother happened to perform a ritual for the victims' families, and the wounds on the corpses were strange, like... How should I put it?"

Blackskin nudged Ma Pangzi beside him. Although Ma Pangzi was his older brother,