I Am a Person Who Clearly Distinguishes Between Gratitude and Grudges (1)

When he saw Huang Qisheng again, this once refined and easygoing Boss Huang now had a sallow face full of stubble, as if he had endured some inhuman torment. His clothes were tattered and ragged, faint traces of blood showing through, utterly wretched to the extreme.

The moment he saw Lin Shuguang, Huang Qisheng dropped to his knees, as if grasping at his only lifeline.

A thousand words wanted to pour out, but they all stuck in his throat.

In just seven short days, everything had changed... If not for the Blood Feud burning in his heart, he truly wouldn't have held on until now.

"Mr. Lin..." With that cry, Huang Qisheng couldn't hold back his tears, streaming down his aged face.

He asked himself—he had never done anything to wrong anyone. In the years since coming to Demon Martial, he had worked diligently and conscientiously.

Yet in the end, his wife and child had died tragically in the streets!

It was utterly laughable.

Lin Shuguang looked at Huang Qisheng kneeling before him and let out a faint sigh.

But at that moment, the rapid footsteps of over a dozen people came rushing in.

A group of assassins appeared!

They stopped just a few meters away.

Eyeing Lin Shuguang with suspicion and uncertainty, the leader demanded coldly, "Which path do you walk, sir?"

Lin Shuguang's face was expressionless as he looked down at Huang Qisheng from above. "I'm no philanthropist. If I help you, what do I get?"

Huang Qisheng withdrew his furious gaze from the assassins, wiped the tears from his face, and said earnestly, "I have nothing now—I can give you nothing. But I have ability. I can build a net worth of over a billion in five years, start over, and rise again! If you are willing to help me, I swear, I, Huang Qisheng, will serve you as my master for life and follow you unto death!"

Lin Shuguang's gaze was calm.

But Huang Qisheng's heart tightened as he watched.

Just then, the assassins snapped to action. The leader made a swift decision: "Kill Huang Qisheng first! If he tries to stop us, kill him too!"

"Yes!" The assassins raised their blades and charged.

Huang Qisheng's expression tensed as he watched the assassins closing in fast, fine sweat beading on his nose, his eyes fixed nervously on Lin Shuguang.

"Fine. I'll give you one chance."

With those words, Lin Shuguang lifted his head and stared coldly at the charging assassins.

Under Huang Qisheng's shocked and bewildered gaze, Lin Shuguang made no move to act. He simply waved a hand lightly. "Leave one alive."

The next instant.

A mysterious figure, entirely cloaked in a blood-red robe, appeared abruptly in the midst of the charging assassins. His movements were ghostly, and the scythe in his hand easily reaped the lives of the killers.

Blood flowed freely as piercing screams rose and fell.

Huang Qisheng's eyes went wide.

He had no idea how that mysterious figure in the blood-red robe had appeared, but this scene straight out of a hellish nightmare nearly made him, an ordinary man who had never set foot on the martial path, scream in terror.

Was he... the Grim Reaper?!

Unconsciously, Huang Qisheng looked at Lin Shuguang with a reverence that bordered on worship.

He found this ghostly, godlike feat almost impossible to believe, yet it also gave him a clearer understanding of the power Lin Shuguang commanded.

He had once thought Lin Shuguang was alone, but now it seemed... far from it.

In the blink of an eye, only the leader of the assassins remained.

His face was full of terror, his legs trembling.

Behind him stood that terrifying, Grim Reaper-like figure...

The entire scene fell into dead silence.

The assassin leader met Lin Shuguang's indifferent gaze and immediately threw down his broadsword. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Lin Shuguang turned his head to look at Huang Qisheng. "Ask what you want to know."

Huang Qisheng slowly came back to his senses, grabbed a knife from the ground, and walked over.

The assassin leader shook all over, repeating the same phrase over and over—"Don't kill me!"

He wasn't a martial artist, not even a Martial Arts Apprentice. He had simply taken the job and led his men here.

If he had known that Huang Qisheng had such a powerful martial artist protecting him, he would never have accepted the contract no matter what.

Seeing Huang Qisheng approach with the knife, his expression shifted drastically. He was almost eager to spill everything, begging only for his life.

"It was Su Rong... I've told you everything I know. Can you let me go? I swear I'll never cross you again, and I won't breathe a word about tonight..." the assassin leader pleaded.

Huang Qisheng's face was numb. "Did you have a hand in my wife and child's deaths?"

The assassin leader opened his mouth, stammering, "I... no."

Huang Qisheng let out a bitter, cold laugh and raised the knife to strike.

Amid a series of faint screams, Huang Qisheng's face was splattered with blood.

Ten minutes later, covered in bloodstains, he stood before Lin Shuguang and knelt, speaking from the depths of his heart. "From this day forward, my life, Huang Qisheng's, belongs to you, sir!"

Lin Shuguang smiled faintly. "Don't worry, you won't die. Your job is to make me money. If anyone needs killing, just tell me."

The sharp words made Huang Qisheng lower his head.

Then he heard Lin Shuguang muttering as if to himself: "Since the mastermind is Su Rong, we'll make an example of him first."

Huang Qisheng hesitated: "But sir, we don't have evidence to nail him. What if we alert the enemy instead?"

Lin Shuguang said flatly: "The Special Management Bureau doesn't need evidence to handle a case."

Huang Qisheng was stunned.

That night, with approval from Ma Wei and Cao Chao personally leading the team, the Demon Martial Special Management Bureau raided Su Rong's home with swift efficiency. The Su residence fell into chaos, the entire courtyard filled with the cries of women and children.

Su Rong, disheveled and disoriented, was dragged into the car, his face full of terror: "Who are you! You're nothing but bandits! Who's your leader! I'll report—"

He suddenly spotted Huang Qisheng by the roadside and thought he was seeing things. But when his gaze shifted to Lin Shuguang beside Huang Qisheng, the words caught in his throat.

He pressed against the car in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at Lin Shuguang!

And when he saw the men who had arrested him standing respectfully before Lin Shuguang, all color drained from his face.

Stammering, he asked the man beside him: "You... what agency are you people from?"

The man glanced at him coldly.

"Special Management Bureau."

Su Rong fainted on the spot.

"Mr. Lin, everything's been handled. The Su family does have issues—though not enough to warrant death, it's more than enough to give them a hard time." Cao Chao smiled.

Lin Shuguang nodded and gestured toward Huang Qisheng beside him: "He's my man. Make sure to look out for him from now on."

"Easy enough." Cao Chao glanced at Huang Qisheng without expression. Huang Qisheng bowed with clasped hands: "Lord Cao."

Cao Chao waved a hand casually: "Then we're on the same side now. If anything comes up, you can come straight to me."

"Of course, of course. I'll be troubling Lord Cao in the future."

Cao Chao smiled lightly, leaned close to Lin Shuguang, and lowered his voice: "Mr. Lin, this Su family... should we keep them or not?"

Huang Qisheng also watched nervously.

Lin Shuguang glanced at the chaos in the Su residence: "I'm a man who distinguishes between kindness and grievance."