Gains

"You brat, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you off!" Xu Donglai's eyes were bloodshot. Even at the moment of death, he remained stubborn, cursing Zhao An with a ferocious expression.

"Pity, since you died under my blade, you are destined not to even become a ghost." Zhao An's expression remained ordinary. After speaking calmly, his blade swept cleanly across Xu Donglai's throat, finishing him off.

A ghostly soul crawled out from Xu Donglai's body. With a look of terror, it watched helplessly as it was grabbed by Zhao An's palm and tossed into the Soul Pool.

Being only a soul body, it could not speak, and could only wail in agony within the Soul Pool, enduring torment far worse than death.

"The gang leader is dead!"

"The gang leader is dead!!"

"..."

Xu Donglai's sudden death completely shattered their morale.

The remaining members of the Python Gang dropped their clubs and ran for their lives, terrified that if they were a step too slow, they would be caught and cut down by Zhao An as well.

Every one of them knew clearly that after today, there would be no more Python Gang in the Outer City!

Zhao An let out a long breath, feeling his thoughts clear and unobstructed.

From the very first day he transmigrated, trouble regarding this Python Gang had come one after another.

First it was Xu San, then being forced through those ridiculous Three Trials, followed by Cao Li leading men to surround and kill him, and finally, today's assassination.

His grievances with the Python Gang had long since accumulated to the point of life and death.

Killing his way through the Python Gang today and wiping them out could be considered a complete resolution to this matter!

After today, his feud with the Python Gang was wiped clean!

"Zhao, Brother Zhao?!"

On the other side, after Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi finished dealing with He Song's corpse in the small courtyard, they ran over through the rain, carrying two short clubs.

Seeing the corpses littering the ground, they knew immediately that the slaughter had already ended.

The result was that their big brother had truly, all by himself, wiped out the entire Python Gang!

Once this news spread, one could only imagine how many jaws would drop.

"You two came at the right time." Zhao An instructed them to search the entire Python Gang headquarters and carry away everything valuable and useful.

He naturally wouldn't leave these spoils behind for others or the government to profit from.

They worked until nightfall before returning to the small courtyard.

The wealth they brought back wasn't much, just a small chest, roughly calculated to be around two hundred taels of silver—less than what Zhao An had expected.

But on second thought, it was normal.

These gang members were not stable people; they were much like Zhao An's predecessor, all types who lived only for the moment, with no concept of saving.

Most of these two hundred taels came from Xu Donglai's own money pouch.

Besides that, thirty taels were found on the body of the black-clad assassin, He Song.

Adding it all up, he suddenly had nearly three hundred taels of silver on hand, which counted as a small fortune in the Outer City.

In the short term, he no longer needed to worry about the money required for his martial arts training; it was completely sufficient.

Beyond money, he also found two pairs of gauntlets and arm guards on He Song and Xu Donglai.

And a martial arts manual.

The manual was found in the crevice of Xu Donglai's bed; it was only because Li Gou'er had sharp eyes that they spotted it, otherwise it might have been lost.

The cover of the manual was blank, looking like a handwritten copy.

Zhao An flipped through it. The handwriting inside was somewhat sloppy, and having not studied characters for long, he couldn't recognize them all.

By guessing and inferring, he managed to get a rough idea; he estimated it was the palm technique that the martial brothers Xu Donglai and He Song had learned!

This discovery immediately piqued his interest.

Money was an external possession that would be spent eventually, but this martial arts technique, once learned, would be his forever.

Ever since he learned the Fierce Tiger Blade Art and experienced its many subtleties, he had become quite interested in all the martial arts techniques in the world, eager to practice them all and compare their strengths.

He made up his mind that as soon as the rain stopped, he would go to the medical clinic and have Doctor Meng help him translate it.

Beyond these tangible gains, the other major harvest from destroying the Python Gang was naturally the number of soul slaves in his Soul Pool, which had surged dramatically!

After a brief count, not including those that had already turned into Karma Fruit and been absorbed by Zhao An, there were currently nearly thirty soul bodies in the Soul Pool!

Once the refinement was finished, they would all be usable soul slaves.

Among them, the soul bodies of He Song and Xu Donglai were the ones he paid the most attention to.

They were both Martial Masters in life, possessing the greatest ability, and their utility and potential as soul slaves would be the highest.

He wondered just how much of an increase in strength these two Martial Master soul slaves would eventually bring him.

The next day.

The rain ceased overnight. A group of yamen runners and clerks stood before the Python Gang headquarters, looking at the mess inside, all speechless as they looked at one another.

Suddenly, a clerk ran out from the main hall in a slight panic, his face pale as he said, "Chief, they're all dead. Not a single survivor!"

"Xu Donglai is dead too?" Chen Song, dressed in a black official uniform and wearing a soft-winged cap, asked with a frown.

Hanging from his waist was an iron token, signifying his status as a yamen constable.

"He's dead, killed right in the main hall!" the yamen runner hurriedly replied.

"Who did it!" Chen Song pinched the hilt of the blade at his waist, feeling somewhat annoyed.

The group of constables and runners could not provide an answer.

With the rain falling so heavily yesterday, it was an unspoken rule that the officers responsible for patrols would simply stay in the yamen to play cards, drink, and kill time.

And usually, with rain this heavy, people dying outside was just a common occurrence.

Heaven knows who killed these people.

"Find out exactly who wiped out the Python Gang, and besides that, send someone to the Tiger Head Gang!"

After giving his orders, Chen Song cursed under his breath and headed back to the yamen.

Inside the yamen, in a side room.

Constables and runners were gathered in groups of three or five, playing cards, betting on crickets, drinking, and having fun, creating a foul and chaotic atmosphere.

"Get to work!" Seeing this, Chen Song felt his anger flare up and chased all the constables and runners out.

"Chen Song, did you lose money again?" Lu Yixiu, another constable, was sitting on a bench drinking wine and couldn't help but ask with a chuckle.

"Something more annoying than losing money; our purse has been lost." Chen Song plopped down onto a chair, casually took off his official cap, and tossed it to the side.

"What do you mean?" Gao Baoding, another constable, looked over upon hearing this.

"Someone wiped out the Python Gang, the methods were ruthless, and Xu Donglai is dead too!" Chen Song said, downing a bowl of murky wine.

As soon as these words were spoken, the few constables all frowned in unison.

The Python Gang ran rampant in the streets and alleys, bullying the poor without interference, naturally because they paid bribes to those above.

Among them, the four constables on duty received a monthly payment from Xu Donglai.

To say the Python Gang was their purse was no exaggeration.

Now that the purse was gone, how could they not be annoyed?

"Who did it? Could it be Zhou Hu?" Lu Yixiu asked.

With this kind of incident, the first person he thought of was that fierce tiger in the Tiger Head Gang.

"Not clear yet, I've already sent people to investigate." Chen Song shook his head.

"The three of you, don't panic. Even if the Python Gang is gone, there will be a Wolf Gang or a Rat Gang popping up in the future, and we'll still be collecting just the same," Zhao Ke laughed.

He was the most composed among the constables and seemed indifferent to the destruction of the Python Gang.

Just then, a constable rushed over.

"Chief, there's news!"

"Speak!" Chen Song asked immediately.

"The one who wiped out the Python Gang yesterday was indeed the Tiger Head Gang; to be precise, it was done by one person from the Tiger Head Gang!" the constable said.

"It was that Zhou Hu!"

"No, it wasn't; it was someone named Zhao An!" the constable wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly added.

"?" Zhao Ke's previously composed, smiling face stiffened, his tone becoming awkward.

"Who?!"