Purple Flame County

The scar-faced man swallowed, cold sweat slowly trickling down his cheeks.

He had kicked an iron plate.

Since this man had the strength to casually knead a silver ingot flat, snapping their necks probably wouldn't take much effort either.

Just as he was preparing to accept his fate, one of his underlings suddenly snorted with laughter.

"Hahaha!"

When the scar-faced man turned around and looked at him in confusion, the underling, eager to show off in front of his boss, hurried over and said, "Boss, I've seen this trick before. That thing looks like a silver ingot, but it's actually made of something else. Even a child can leave fingerprints on it."

The scar-faced man's face flushed red when he heard this, and he kicked the underling away in annoyance.

After all, he had been in the underworld for so many years, yet today he had nearly been conned by a charlatan.

Humiliated and enraged, he walked straight toward Kong Wu and snarled, "You son of a—"

Before he could finish, Kong Wu sighed and kneaded a small piece of silver into a ball before casually flicking it away.

Still cursing under his breath, the scar-faced man took two more steps before his entire body pitched forward and slammed heavily into the ground.

Splurt!

Under the pressure inside his body, blood sprayed from the hole in the back of his head like a fountain.

The scene fell silent for a moment. Then the scar-faced man's underlings scattered in all directions.

Kong Wu didn't get up. The silver ingot in his hand slowly diminished in size.

One silver ball after another was flicked away. Only when the last person to run more than a hundred paces collapsed did Kong Wu toss the remaining half of the ingot back into the sack.

What a nuisance. Couldn't they just let me drink my tea in peace?

Kong Wu shouted irritably, "Waiter! Where's my tea?"

The waiter, who had long since run off to hide nearby, hurried back in terror and tremblingly ladled tea from the large vat.

After the tea was served, Kong Wu took one sip and spat it out.

"Ptooey! It's so bland! How am I supposed to drink this???"

After glaring at the waiter's trembling legs, Kong Wu said, "What about that bit of poison from earlier? Hurry up and add it!"

With a thump, the waiter immediately fell to his knees and began begging for mercy.

"Great sir, please spare me! I have a seventy-year-old mother to support and five children to raise. I..."

Kong Wu splashed a bowl of tea in his face and barked, "Why are you wasting time? Add it if I tell you to!"

Seeing that Kong Wu wasn't putting on an act, the waiter rolled and crawled to the counter, took out a small paper packet, and cautiously shook a little of the white powder into Kong Wu's bowl.

"Why are you being so stingy? Pour it all in!!!"

Kong Wu's furious roar made the waiter's hand jerk, and he dumped all the powder inside.

Seeing this, Kong Wu reached out, picked up the bowl, tipped back his head, and gulped it down.

"Ah!"

After contentedly wiping the moisture from the corner of his mouth, Kong Wu asked, "Do you have any more?"

The waiter stood there, mouth slightly agape, staring at him in a daze.

The amount of poison he had just poured in was enough to bring down several oxen.

Yet Kong Wu looked completely unharmed, his expression unchanged.

Only after Kong Wu asked again did the waiter come back to his senses and hurriedly say, "Yes! There's more!"

He ran back and took several packets from behind the counter.

Kong Wu pointed at the several bowls of tea in front of him.

"Come on! Put it in evenly."

After the waiter finished adding the poison, Kong Wu picked up a bowl of tea and held it out, saying, "Come on, drink with me!"

The waiter looked as though he was about to cry and hurriedly shook his head. "I...I..."

Kong Wu frowned. "What? You look down on me? You're refusing to give me face?"

Combined with that ferocious expression, his words were highly convincing.

The waiter hurriedly accepted the bowl of tea, his body trembling so violently that quite a bit spilled out.

"Hm?"

Kong Wu's gaze swept over. The overwhelming pressure forced the waiter to suppress his body's instinctive reaction, and both his arms clamped around the bowl like iron pincers.

After nodding in satisfaction, Kong Wu picked up another bowl of tea, clinked it against the waiter's, and said, "Bottoms up!"

The waiter watched Kong Wu's Adam's apple bob as he drank the entire bowl of tea. Then he lowered his head to look at the clear tea in his hands, his heart filled with confusion.

Could I have bought a fake?

While he was pondering this, Kong Wu finished his tea. When he saw that the waiter still hadn't moved, his expression darkened.

The waiter noticed this and immediately shuddered. He drank so much and nothing happened. The problem must be with my poison.

He gritted his teeth, tipped back his head, and poured down the entire bowl of tea filled with poison.

"Good!"

Kong Wu's expression brightened, and he picked up another bowl of tea.

But when he turned around, he found that the waiter was already lying on the ground.

Black blood flowed from all seven orifices, and his body continued to twitch.

Kong Wu curled his lip, took a sip of tea, and felt the poison's cool sensation slide down his throat. He let out a comfortable hum.

After leisurely finishing the tea in front of him, Kong Wu packed up his things and walked out of the tea stall.

The blazing sun moved toward the mountain peaks, and the sweltering weather finally grew a few degrees cooler.

Leaving the tea stall and countless corpses behind him, Kong Wu continued on his journey.

Before nightfall, a towering city wall appeared before him.

"Purple Flame County."

Three large characters were set directly above the city gate, and a long line had formed beneath the two-zhang-high gate.

Kong Wu had heard of this county before. Whether in population or other respects, Purple Flame County could be considered the foremost county beneath the provincial capital.

He scratched his shoulder, and his mood improved considerably.

Although sleeping rough and dining in the open had little effect on him during this period, a cold floor was ultimately less comfortable than a soft mattress.

I should have a good meal, take a bath, and get some rest.

Kong Wu joined the crowd. His sturdy muscles and towering height made him stand out like a crane among chickens. The commoners in front of and behind him kept their distance, occasionally stealing glances at him.

As expected, the soldiers conducting the inspections also noticed Kong Wu. A man who looked like an officer approached with two soldiers.

"May I ask your surname, warrior?"

Although the two subordinates behind him watched Kong Wu warily, the leader himself appeared especially respectful.

"Kong Wu. Is there a problem?"

The cold attitude did not change the leader's expression. He merely cupped his fists and said, "You don't look like an ordinary commoner. Waiting in line would be inconvenient for you, so please step out of the line. Would it be all right if I conducted a separate inspection?"

Kong Wu nodded and stepped out of the line.

Although the man's tone was mild, the hand resting on the long saber at his waist had never moved away.

Kong Wu's extraordinary appearance had probably made him somewhat concerned, so he wanted to conduct the inspection himself.

Moving away from the line might also have been intended to prevent any innocent bystanders from being affected.

After walking a few steps, the man took a book from his robes. He flipped through it while occasionally looking up at Kong Wu.

Before long, he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for your cooperation, warrior. I'll need to open and inspect this sack of yours."

Kong Wu nodded and tossed the sack onto the ground.

One of the soldiers stepped forward and opened it.

Clatter, clatter—the gold, silver, and precious jewels spilled all over the ground.