Scheming

When Cripple made his appearance, Lin Qi was standing by the liquor cabinet, staring fixedly at the young men. He watched almost frantically as the young man leading them carefully wiped his hands with a white silk handkerchief. The youth's fingers moved, and the rings on them cast one captivating halo after another beneath the lights.

Nearly all the blood in Lin Qi's body rushed to his brain and heart. His body grew hot, and sweat streamed down him.

"That guy's filthy rich!" Lin Qi's vision kept going black from his dangerously high blood pressure. He swallowed with difficulty, his nostrils flaring violently as he took one deep breath after another. At last, he managed to suppress the mad flames in his heart. With his hands hidden in his sleeves, his fingers stroked the triggers of the two small hand crossbows tucked inside, again and again. Several times, he nearly lost control and raised his hands to attack the youth.

Gold, glittering golden gold; gemstones, sparkling gemstones. Lin Qi groaned under his breath and clutched his heart with his right hand. He breathed deeply, finally managing to steady his breathing and let the boiling blood flow slowly through his body, narrowly avoiding sudden death from a ruptured heart or a burst blood vessel in his brain.

"What a plump sheep! What a pity they had to come to the Cripple's Shop."

Lin Qi cursed every god he knew in his heart. Whatever god had sent this flock of plump sheep to the Cripple's Shop had become Lin Qi's sworn enemy from this day onward. The youth's right hand glittered with jewels. Lin Qi had never seen a hand so valuable in his entire life.

Lin Qi had the simplest, most honest, most unsophisticated worldview in the world. As far as he was concerned, there were only two kinds of currency: his money and other people's money; only two kinds of people: the rich and the poor; and only two kinds of things: valuable treasures and worthless trash.

Turning certain rich people into poor people, taking the valuable treasures from them, and making other people's money his own—that was Lin Qi's ideal, his pursuit, and his life's goal. His life was built on money. Without money, his life was dull and dim.

The youth's right hand was like a beacon atop a lighthouse, illuminating a long stretch of Lin Qi's winding road through life.

"What a pity. This is Cripple's turf!" Lin Qi swallowed hard, lowered his hands, and released the crossbow strings. He carefully tucked the two poison-coated bolts into the leather pouch inside his belt. Then he stepped out of the liquor cabinet's shadows, leaned against the long counter with a grin, and made a throat-slitting gesture at the youth.

"Easterners, out of regard for the fact that you share my ancestors' blood, I'll give you a solemn warning! This is the Cripple's Shop, Uncle Cripple's turf. You dared to beat up the loveliest, prettiest maid in his employ. You're finished!"

Lin Qi's words brimmed with malice. He couldn't wait to provoke a clash between the Cripple's Shop and these plump sheep in black cloaks. In that instant, he had already formulated a plan: only if the plump sheep clashed with the Cripple's Shop would he have a chance to fish in troubled waters and get his hands on enough benefits.

For gold coins, Lin Qi could work with Cripple. For even more gold coins, Lin Qi could just as easily sell him out without hesitation.

The pale-faced youth's lips twitched into a haughty, superior sneer. With his left hand behind his back and his waist slightly bent, he walked leisurely to the long liquor counter. He narrowed his eyes and looked Cripple up and down, then glanced at Lin Qi. His right hand slipped inside his cloak, and when it emerged again, it held a gold bar half a foot long and as thick as a thumb.

He gently set the gold bar on the greasy counter and spoke in fluent Western Continent common tongue. "I am Jiang Yong. By your customs, you may call me 'Jiang,' or address me as Steward Jiang."

With a strange smile that made one's scalp crawl, Jiang Yong said softly, "I offer my sincere apologies for what happened to that young lady. But I hope you'll understand: I'm not accustomed to letting people get too close to me."

With a faint sigh, Jiang Yong lightly tapped the gold bar on the counter with his finger. His pale, slender finger passed soundlessly through the gold bar and sank deep into the liquor counter, made from century-old oak. It pierced a clear hole through the counter's inch-thick surface.

The brawny men who had just been swaggering about, eager to get a few benefits from the plump sheep, all returned to their seats. They raised their cups and began shouting noisily again. The three dancers swung their hips enthusiastically, kicking up their long, snow-white legs and drawing passionate laughter and howls from the men. In an instant, the tavern returned to normal, the air filling once again with the stench of sweat and wine.

Two servants from the Cripple's Shop carried away Lisa, who remained unconscious, and soon disappeared from the bustling tavern.

Standing beside Cripple, Lin Qi drew a sharp breath. He stared in shock at the gold bar and counter Jiang Yong had pierced with a single finger, then let out a heavy sigh.

What terrifying strength! Could this man named Jiang Yong have the strength of a high-tier knight? Aside from those legendary high-tier knights who could split boulders with their bare hands, Lin Qi knew of no other kind of monster capable of doing what Jiang Yong had just done. How could flesh and blood pierce a gold bar? What was his finger made of?

This wasn't a plump sheep; it was a beast with a dappled coat. Its pelt might be worth a lot, but risking his life for gold coins was clearly unwise. Unless he could confirm that Jiang Yong had enough wealth to tempt him, the rings on the man's hand alone weren't enough to make Lin Qi act.

Of course, if Lin Qi learned that Jiang Yong really did have a fortune on him, he'd make the man understand that, no matter how formidable he was, he should never have brought so much wealth into the Iron Fist Brotherhood's territory.

Lin Qi gave Jiang Yong a long look, then stepped away from the liquor counter and sat at a table with Enzo and Vik. He loudly called for wine and roast meat, laughing as he enjoyed the dancers' bold, uninhibited moves.

In the blink of an eye, Cripple had already left the counter with Jiang Yong and his entourage.

Only Lin Qi, who had been watching them from the corner of his eye all along, noticed how they left. In particular, as several of Jiang Yong's attendants walked by, their cloaks caught on the table legs, revealing the dark blue robes beneath.

The robes had a strange style and were embroidered all over with an uncanny creature. It looked like a python, but its mouth was full of sharp teeth, and it had four claws that looked like a rooster's feet. The creature was savage and ferocious, yet magnificent and beautiful, exuding a sinister allure that made one's heart quail.

"Easterners!"

Lin Qi raised his cup and gulped down a mouthful. "This is Berely City, the territory of my Iron Fist Brotherhood!"

He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. "Vik, get someone to keep an eye on them. I want to know exactly how much money they brought with them!"

Vik, a small, thin man, stuffed a large piece of fatty meat into his mouth and nodded hurriedly. As he did, he reached out and gave the passing maid a grope on the backside.