At dusk, the curtain of the "Good Fortune" gambling den in Linshan Town was roughly flung aside.
Liu San and Wang Laizi came out cursing under their breath, their eyes sunken and their faces ashen.
Liu San spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground. "Damn it, what rotten luck! I've been on a losing streak for days. Lost everything, principal and interest!"
"Third Brother, what do we do now? Brother Lai told us to keep an eye on Kexianju Restaurant..." Wang Laizi felt his empty money pouch, his pockmarked face crumpling.
"Keep an eye on what? We're broke. Let's get back to the fort first."
Liu San waved a hand irritably. "We'll scrape together some money tomorrow and win it back."
The two trudged dejectedly along the dirt road outside town, heading toward Luming Fort.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the dusty road, twisting them out of shape.
They didn't notice the man following thirty paces behind, carrying firewood and wearing a bamboo hat like a woodcutter. He kept an unhurried pace.
Beneath the hat, Qin Meng had used his talent to change his features and shorten his stature. He'd come down the mountain to town and had spotted the two of them at the gambling den.
He'd watched them lose their last copper coin, watched them leave in frustration. This was exactly the chance he'd been waiting for.
Having lost all their money, the two men up ahead were in foul tempers, cursing as they somehow got around to Qin Meng. "Damn it, that good-for-nothing's gotten better..."
"Tell me about it. He took down two spotted deer in one go a few days ago."
Liu San suddenly struggled to lift his head. "Brother, I've got some news for you..."
"Brother Lai's already asked Master Wang to help deal with that bastard."
Wang Laizi turned his head too, his pockmarked face looking even more lecherous in the dim light. "Brother Lai said once he's had his fill of that Qiu Yue... he'll let the rest of us have a turn. That woman's got a real round, big ass..."
Qin Meng, tailing them from behind, paused so slightly it was almost imperceptible. The last trace of warmth vanished from his eyes, leaving only icy cold.
The sky darkened, and few people remained on the road.
About two li out of town, the roadside gave way to wide patches of wild grass and scattered graves.
This was the place the townsfolk called Wild Ghost Slope. Few came here, apart from woodcutters and scavengers. Qin Meng abruptly quickened his pace.
Liu San and Wang Laizi heard hurried footsteps behind them!
They instinctively turned around, only to see a dark figure swooping at them like a night owl! The face beneath the bamboo hat was indistinct, but the eyes shone terrifyingly bright in the twilight.
"Who—"
Liu San barely got half a shout out before an iron-clamp hand closed around his throat.
On the other side, Wang Laizi was subdued the same way, his pockmarked face turning purple-red in an instant.
Qin Meng flexed both arms and lifted them like a pair of chicks, crossing the dirt road in a few strides before plunging into thick reeds beside an irrigation ditch.
"Thud! Thud!"
Liu San and Wang Laizi were hurled to the ground, landing in a daze.
"Who... who are you?" Liu San struggled to get up, but a foot came down hard on his chest.
Ignoring the question, Qin Meng spoke as calmly as if asking for directions. "I've got a few questions. Answer well, and you might live."
"Damn you, we're Brother Lai's men! You dare lay a finger on us—"
Crack.
Qin Meng's hand shot out and seized Liu San's left little finger, then snapped it backward with a clean, decisive twist. The bone-breaking sound rang out sharply across the silent wilderness.
Liu San's scream had barely left his throat before a wad of rag was jammed into his mouth. His cry became a muffled whimper, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat streamed down his face.
Wang Laizi shook like a leaf beside him.
"I'll ask again." Qin Meng turned his gaze to him, the steel knife in his hand gleaming coldly in the firelight. "Who pushed Qin Meng into the water that night?"
"I... I don't know..." Wang Laizi's lips trembled.
Qin Meng didn't waste another word. The knife's tip abruptly pressed against Wang Laizi's left eyelid, and the icy touch made his whole body stiffen.
"Tell me, or I'll gouge out an eye." His voice held not a trace of emotion.
"It was Brother Monkey—no, it was Skinny Monkey, Song Zhong! He kicked him!" Wang Laizi broke down and blurted it out. "Brother Lai ordered it. He said... said to leave him half-dead, so Shen Qiuyue would have nowhere to turn and would have to borrow money from us and sign a deed..."
Qin Meng's knife paused, then turned toward Liu San. "Is that true?"
Liu San's face was deathly pale. He met Qin Meng's cold gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Yes, Skinny Monkey did it, but it was Brother Lai—it was Qin Lai's idea! He wanted to lend her money and make her sign a contract. Even the authorities wouldn't be able to do anything."
"And then?" Qin Meng's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Then... when the debt came due and Shen Qiuyue couldn't pay..." Liu San couldn't bring himself to finish.
Qin Meng laid the knife against Liu San's throat. Liu San let out a scream.
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Liu San shut his eyes and spoke as fast as he could. "Qin Lai's had his eye on Shen Qiuyue for ages. He thought Qin Meng was in the way.
"He said once he had the loan agreement, Shen Qiuyue wouldn't be able to repay the money, so she'd have no choice but to... to give herself to him. When he'd had his fill, he'd sell her to a brothel and make another pile of money..."
For a moment, the reeds fell silent.
Only the water burbling in the ditch and the rustle of reeds in the night wind could be heard.
Qin Meng's voice was hoarse and murderous. "Where's Qin Lai now?"
"He went into the city with Master Wang," Liu San answered hastily.
"When will he be back?"
"He said he'd be back in a couple of days, once he's finished his business."
"What about Lin Hai, the gambling den's owner?" Qin Meng frowned and changed the subject.
Wang Laizi hurried to answer. "Shopkeeper Lin's usually in town. He's got a house at the west end, and he can stay in the gambling den's back courtyard too, but he should be at his house tonight..."
"Where exactly is the house? How many guards?"
The two men spilled everything they knew, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube: the layout of Lin Hai's house, his relatives and family, the number of guards. They even circled back to Qin Lai, listing the brothels he frequented...
Qin Meng silently committed it all to memory.
Once he'd asked everything he needed, he lowered his gaze to the two men sprawled on the ground.
A trace of hope still lingered in their eyes. Maybe, after telling him so much, they could trade it for their lives?
"B-brother, we've told you everything..." Liu San forced a flattering smile. "Please spare us. We'll pretend we never met. We promise we'll leave Luming Fort right away, leave the borderlands, and never come back..."
Qin Meng suddenly smiled.
Before the words had even left his mouth, Qin Meng suddenly smiled.
The smile looked especially chilling in the gloom.
"You just said," he drawled, his voice so soft it was almost a mutter, "that once Qin Lai had his fill, Shen Qiuyue could be handed over to you for a turn?"
Liu San and Wang Laizi both shuddered, their faces turning ashen.
At last, they understood—the man before them had never intended to let them live.
"Run!" Liu San sprang up, trying to bolt out of the reeds.
Qin Meng didn't even move. He simply kicked.
Crack! The sound of a bone snapping rang out clear as day.
Liu San screamed and fell. His left shin bent at a grotesque angle.
Wang Laizi seized his chance to flee, trying to jump into the water. But just as he was about to hit the surface, a hand clamped around the back of his neck and hauled him back.
Qin Meng gripped his throat with one hand and lifted him to the edge of the ditch. Under the moonlight, the water was dark and deep, reflecting Wang Laizi's face twisted by suffocation.
"Look." Qin Meng leaned close to his ear, his voice cold. "Ten days ago, you shoved Qin Meng into this ditch. He almost died."
Wang Laizi struggled wildly, clawing at the air, but he was helpless against Qin Meng's iron-clamp arm. Inch by inch, his face was forced toward the water.
"Gurgle..."
Bubbles streamed from his nose and mouth. Wang Laizi's eyes bulged, reflecting the wavering moonlight and water—the same way Qin Meng's had that night.
Ten breaths later, he stopped struggling.
Qin Meng dragged his limp body back to the bank, pressed both hands against his head, and twisted hard. A sickening crack sounded in the darkness. Then he did the same to Liu San, snapping his neck with brisk efficiency.
[Life Source +2%] [Life Source +2.3%]
The familiar warmth flowed into Qin Meng's body. His face remained expressionless. He wrapped both corpses in reeds, carried them like two bundles of firewood, and silently circled around the ditch toward the barren mountains, far from human habitation.
Half an hour later, deep in the mountains, he reached a steep ravine where wild wolves often prowled.
Qin Meng tossed the bodies down, used his waist knife to make marks suggesting that beasts had gnawed and dragged them, then found some animal droppings and fur to scatter around the area.
The rain and the living things in the mountains would soon take care of the rest. In the end, not even bones would remain.
When he was done, Qin Meng stood in the dark woods and murmured, "How can you change scum like them? If they can't change, then they can only die."
With that, Qin Meng took up his knife and disappeared into the night, quickly making his way back to Linshan Town.
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