But Fang Chen easily dodged his attack,
then turned and came to his side,
Fang Chen suddenly exerted force with his waist, swung his arm like a hook, and thrust out his fist, turning it into a claw,
and directly clamped it around the other man's neck, using the momentum to throw him to the ground!
The move was so fast that by the time the other man reacted, Fang Chen had already pinned him to the ground.
With his neck caught in Fang Chen's grip, he found it difficult to breathe and was completely unable to speak.
He tried to move Fang Chen's arm away with both hands, only to discover that he simply couldn't do it.
In fact, he was utterly astonished,
because more than twenty days ago, he had personally killed Fang Chen by mistake,
yet now Fang Chen was standing perfectly well before him and had even thrown him down with ease,
even though Fang Chen had clearly been nothing more than a powerless thug back then.
How had his strength suddenly become so great?!
Fang Chen looked at the tall, gaunt man before him and asked coldly, "Were you the one who clubbed me from behind back then?"
The tall, gaunt man wore a terrified expression and shook his head desperately, not daring to admit it.
Fang Chen understood that this man must have been connected to his predecessor's death,
and judging from how he had taken the initiative to attack just now, it was certain that the man before him was no good person.
Thus, Fang Chen had no psychological burden now. He simply seized the tall man's hand and violently bent it backward, snapping it!
"Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
The tall, gaunt man felt a searing pain,
and though he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, Fang Chen had his throat in a grip, so he couldn't even cry out. All he could make were "ugh, ugh" sounds.
Fang Chen smiled and said:
"Why were you so surprised just now? Even if you weren't the one who clubbed me from behind, you should still know who the killer was, right?"
The tall, gaunt man noticed that Fang Chen's grip had loosened slightly,
and he gulped down two deep breaths,
though he had nearly been strangled to death just now, the tall, gaunt man still refused to admit anything.
His eyes rolled, and he put on a pitiful expression as he said:
"B-Brother Fang, you won several banknotes at the gambling house that day, drawing the attention of the steward."
"The steward saw that you were nothing but a peasant and originally planned to rig the game and cheat, winning back all the money you had earned."
"But you didn't fall for it at all. As soon as you won the money, you wanted to leave."
"The steward was extremely greedy for money. He couldn't bear to let you take it away, so he followed closely behind you, planning to seize the money back."
"The steward only intended to knock you unconscious, but he accidentally struck too hard, and that's why... No, wait... you're still alive."
Fang Chen narrowed his eyes, raised his right hand high, and fiercely slapped the other man!
The tall, gaunt man felt his face burning with pain and pleaded aloud, "Brother Fang, everything I said is true!"
Fang Chen smiled and said:
"Do you take me for a fool? Anyone who can become a steward is a Skin and Muscle Realm expert. Who the hell would use a stick to hit someone?!"
"Besides, would a steward need to act personally? If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who actually did it!"
The tall, gaunt man's face filled with terror,
but Fang Chen didn't waste words. He directly snapped the man's other hand!
The tall, gaunt man let out a howl of pain. He hadn't expected Fang Chen to be so ruthless.
Now both his hands had been broken.
The tall, gaunt man pleaded, "I was wrong, Brother Fang. I really did strike too hard by accident back then!"
Fang Chen sneered. "So it really was the steward who ordered you to do it?"
The tall, gaunt man no longer dared to hide anything. He answered respectfully:
"Yes! Yes! There were some things I didn't lie about. He was extremely greedy for money and couldn't stand seeing you earn so much, which was why he ordered me to attack you from the shadows!"
"You weren't the first. The steward has done many similar things. As long as someone has no background or strength, the steward will do everything he can to wring money out of them. He doesn't care in the slightest whether they live or die!"
Fang Chen asked, "Does he have any regular schedule? Don't tell me he stays in the gambling house all day?"
The tall, gaunt man shook his head,
"Normally, that is indeed the case. After all, he has to keep an eye on the entire gambling house."
"But every four or five days, he goes to Yihong Courtesan House to enjoy himself."
"He says it's to relax, but in truth, he takes all the money he's extorted there to feast and drink, indulging himself wantonly on women's bodies!"
The tall, gaunt man had only gotten halfway through when he suddenly pleaded, "Brother Fang, look at how much I've told you. Could you spare my life?"
"As the saying goes, one life pays for one life. You're still alive and well, so there's no need to kill me, right..."
Fang Chen sneered. "Say one more useless word and I'll snap the thing between your legs too!"
"You said he goes to Yihong Courtesan House every four or five days. About when does he go?"
Hearing Fang Chen's threat, the tall, gaunt man shuddered. He suddenly felt a chill below the waist,
and he no longer dared to hide anything. After thinking for a moment, he continued:
"Today, as it happens! He may be leaving soon. Brother Fang, you'd better hurry and find him. Don't let me make you lose time!"
"Fine."
Fang Chen answered, twisted his wrist, and directly snapped the man's neck, killing him beyond any doubt.
After searching him, Fang Chen found ten taels of silver.
Without giving it much thought, Fang Chen leaped away and hurried straight home.
He planned to take a knife first, then go kill someone.
It wasn't too late yet. The steward shouldn't be leaving too early, so he still had time.
Inside the gambling house,
the steward was carefully counting his money,
"One hundred taels in banknotes, three hundred taels, and five hundred taels..."
"And all these broken silver coins!"
"Hahaha! I can have a good time tonight! The top courtesan at Yihong Courtesan House is mine tonight!"
The steward laughed for a while, then hid the five-hundred-tael banknote.
He put the one-hundred- and three-hundred-tael notes into his robes, then stuffed in some broken silver as well.
He actually didn't need this much money to visit Yihong Courtesan House, but he loved money dearly. If he didn't keep some banknotes on him, he always felt uneasy.
After putting away his money, the steward called over a lackey and asked,
"Has Old Six come back?"
The lackey respectfully replied,
"Reporting to you, my lord, Brother Six hasn't returned yet."
The steward shouted angrily,
"I only sent him to collect ten taels of silver. Why has he been gone so long?!"
The lackey was as quiet as a cicada in winter, not daring to speak.
The steward waved his hand,
"Forget it, forget it. I'm leaving first. When he comes back later, have him put the money directly on my table."
"Remember, no one is allowed to touch it. If I find even a single coin missing, you all know the consequences!"
The disciple respectfully answered, "Yes, my lord!"
The steward nodded,
"There shouldn't be any problems at the gambling house. Unless something major happens, don't come bother me!"
With that, the steward walked straight out.
He was already impatient to meet those beauties.
On the road from the gambling house to Yihong Courtesan House,
a knife-wielding figure was hiding in the shadows of a secluded alley.
Fang Chen pondered inwardly,
according to Ling Hu and the others' intelligence, this steward's strength was at most in the middle stages of the Skin and Muscle Realm.
And Fang Chen's strength could contend with Wang Yanshan, who was at the peak of the Skin and Muscle Realm.
Killing this steward shouldn't be a problem.
He might as well settle the matter tonight,
and retrieve the banknotes that had belonged to his predecessor!
If you can't find it by searching the book's title, try searching for the author's name. Maybe it was simply renamed!
At the request of many readers, we are now launching an ad-free feature for VIP members.
Click to view
Before you continue