Despicable Outsiders

Since this was not London, everyone missed out on seeing the famous Stargazy Pie.

After filling their stomachs, Tang Luo was still in no rush to hunt down Jack the Ripper.

Instead, he found a decent inn and booked three rooms.

There was no well-established household registration system here.

The inn Boss simply asked about their origins before entering a state of "only a fool turns away money."

Of course, Tang Luo could be certain the price was definitely higher than normal.

Tang Luo did not mind.

The money he had "begged" for was quite substantial.

It was enough to cover normal food and lodging for everyone for half a month.

As expected of pickpockets who turned to robbery when theft failed and claimed to be gang members; having backing really made a difference.

They carried much more cash on them than the average thief.

He hoped to run into them again in the future to "beg" some more.

Kind-hearted people like that were becoming rare.

"Master, what should we do next..."

"Rest," Tang Luo said. "You surely didn't sleep well last night, so rest today."

"..."

Everyone briefly suspected they were here on vacation.

Was being this relaxed really okay?

Pairing up by room, Li Liang shared one with Tang Luo, and they each went back to rest.

Li Liang quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Tang Luo, however, did not actually rest as he had said; instead, he left the room.

He knocked on the door of the adjacent room.

The room seemed empty, and Tang Luo knocked several times without receiving a response.

He did not give up, continuing to knock in a slow, steady rhythm, much like striking a wooden fish, for a full five minutes.

"Get lost!"

Finally, an impatient voice came from inside the room.

Tang Luo was not angry, saying instead, "Benefactor Zhou, won't you invite this humble monk in for a chat?"

Two minutes later, the door opened, revealing the face of Zhou Zhenguo: "How did you discover me?"

"Is Benefactor Zhou perhaps very confident in his tracking skills?" Tang Luo countered.

Zhou Zhenguo's old face flushed red.

What did he know about tracking techniques?

It was nothing more than skulking about, and it didn't even qualify as a clumsy imitation.

While God and Demon Walkers did possess extraordinary powers, that did not mean they were all-capable secret agents who could traverse the heavens and earth.

"This humble monk is going out for a while, so I ask Benefactor Zhou to keep a close eye on these children," Tang Luo said.

"..."

Zhou Zhenguo really wanted to ask, "Am I a nanny?"

But even if Tang Luo hadn't said anything, he would have kept his eyes on Li Liang anyway.

In Zhou Zhenguo's view, Li Liang was the most important lead at the moment.

As for the others, he could keep an eye on them while he was at it.

"Then I leave it to you, Benefactor."

Without waiting for Zhou Zhenguo to struggle or try to save face, Tang Luo turned and walked away on his own.

"Hey--"

A futile shout left Zhou Zhenguo feeling like he was not a veteran at all.

Walking out of the inn, Tang Luo strolled through the city and stepped into a clothing store.

A while later, Tang Luo walked out of the shop wearing a black trench coat and a black top hat, holding a cane.

With his conspicuous bald head covered and his clothes changed, Tang Luo had transformed.

He had gone from a master to a gentleman who walked with a brisk, sharp air.

Having changed his look, Tang Luo did not return to the inn, but instead headed toward the alleyway.

That was the place where he had "begged" an hour ago.

If he was lucky, he might run into some kind-hearted souls and beg for alms once more.

As for why he needed to beg again, it was because he had spent every last cent on his new clothes.

What to do when you're broke? Naturally, go beg for some more alms.

He walked to the entrance of that small alleyway.

Tang Luo chuckled; his luck was quite good.

There were six people standing there.

Each one looked fierce and menacing, clearly a group of good people—or rather, wealth-distributing boys.

"That's him!"

The two unlucky fellows from earlier were talking to the others when they suddenly spotted someone standing at the alley entrance.

Taking a closer look, wasn't that the vicious bald man from before?

Even though he had changed his clothes and was wearing a hat, his face was something they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

"Ami—"

Tang Luo stopped halfway through his Buddhist chant; he was currently following local customs and was temporarily not a monk.

At least, not in front of outsiders.

"Greetings, gentlemen." Tang Luo greeted them with a smile.

The six men opposite him also started to smile.

It was a ferocious, twisted grin, with two of them showing traces of pain.

With several bones broken in their bodies, how could it not hurt?

The fact that they could still stand and point him out made them tough guys indeed.

"My friend, you've got some nerve, daring to lay a hand on people from the Ripper Gang."

The man in the deerstalker hat, who appeared to be the leader, spoke up.

"Ripper Gang?"

Tang Luo raised an eyebrow slightly. "Is your boss Jack the Ripper?"

"That's right! It's him! Scared now, aren't you?"

Before the man in the deerstalker could speak, someone else shouted out.

This caused the people beside him to show expressions of unbearable embarrassment.

The so-called Ripper Gang actually had nothing to do with Jack the Ripper.

To put it bluntly, it was just a criminal organization riding the coattails of Jack the Ripper's infamy.

They were foxes borrowing a tiger's might to scare the timid.

They usually didn't dare shout it out loud, lest they attract trouble from Scotland Yard.

As for admitting that the Ripper Gang's boss was Jack the Ripper...

"Is that so? That's perfect. I am a detective from a distant land, and I am currently searching for Jack the Ripper."

Tang Luo said.

"A detective?"

"That's right. News of Jack the Ripper has spread, including the wanted posters from Scotland Yard." Tang Luo said, "I'm just here to try my luck."

Jack the Ripper had left Scotland Yard in a state of utter chaos.

They had not only issued a high-bounty wanted notice but were also actively "recruiting" detectives to assist in finding the real culprit.

"An outsider, a detective, hmph." The man in the deerstalker sneered and gestured, prompting the others to step forward and surround Tang Luo.

At the same time, they glared at the outside.

A few passersby who had stopped to watch the scene near the alley immediately hurried away.

Excitement was good, but their lives were more important.

"Since I need to investigate the Jack the Ripper case, I require some operating funds."

Tang Luo placed his left hand over the back of his right, resting them on the top of his cane, which he pressed against the ground. "Would you gentlemen care to make a donation so I can catch the killer sooner?"

"Hahaha."

The group laughed as if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

Even if it wasn't funny, they had to force themselves to laugh to overwhelm Tang Luo with their presence.

When it came to fighting, wasn't it all about the momentum?

Mixed in were suppressed coughs, as they had unfortunately aggravated their injuries while trying to project their aura.

However, the very next second.

The laughter of five of them came to an abrupt halt, leaving only one man, who was squinting and looking up, still laughing.

He stopped only after being nudged by his companion, his expression shifting to one of shock and uncertainty as he focused his gaze.

The cane, which had been in his hand a second ago, had been driven straight into the ground by Tang Luo's light tap.

If it had been dirt, that would be one thing, but the ground beneath their feet was made of solid stone slabs!

The man in the deerstalker hat reached up to touch his face.

There was blood on his fingers.

A small pebble had grazed his cheek just moments ago, leaving behind a shallow wound.

"Do you gentlemen wish to donate some money? Or would you prefer to be beaten senseless by me and tossed into Scotland Yard, labeled as accomplices to Jack the Ripper, where a bit of interrogation will surely lead them to the man himself?"

Tang Luo pulled out his pristine cane and tapped it twice against the ground as he asked.

"What are you panicking for! It's just a magic trick!"

The man in the deerstalker hat shouted sharply.

His bluster, however, lacked any real conviction.

Sure enough, he followed up by saying, "You lot go! I'm going to get help!"

With that, he turned and ran.

The other end of the alley was a dead end.

But there were several trash cans at the far end, piled high with refuse.

As gang members, they were used to daily brawls, so their movements were still quite agile.

Leaping up, stepping on the trash cans, and vaulting over the wall shouldn't have been a problem.

The man in the deerstalker hat scurried over to the trash cans, but instead of jumping, he turned around and pulled out a gun, aiming it at Tang Luo.

"Stupid, right? Did you really think I was running away?"

He wore a look of immense triumph.

In this place, firearms weren't exactly rampant, but they were far from strictly prohibited.

As a minor gang leader, getting his hands on a pistol was no issue.

Gripping the Palm Thunder revolver, the man's confidence surged.

So you can fight, can you?

Can you fight against a gun?

As it turned out, he certainly could.

Before the man could utter any more threats, his vision blurred.

The foreigner, who had been over ten meters away, had already appeared right in front of him!

Then, a sound of bones snapping and a sharp, agonizing pain erupted from his raised arm.

The revolver fell from his hand and into the grip of the foreigner.

"This gentleman has donated a revolver."

Tang Luo casually slapped the man into the trash pile, then turned to look at the remaining few. "And you lot?"

He pointed the muzzle of the revolver at them, shaking it slightly.

Despicable foreigner!

The men cursed inwardly—he was actually using their own gun to threaten them?!

They obediently pulled out all the money they had on them.

The two who had already been "solicited" earlier could only offer up their knives.

Not to resist, but to donate them as well.

Yes, he wanted the knives too.

Tang Luo didn't need them, but he could give them to Xiao Chu and the others for self-defense.

After stripping the group clean, Tang Luo pulled out the cane he had tapped into the ground a second time and happily completed this round of solicitation.

This time, he was acting in the capacity of a foreign detective.

"Oh, right."

After walking a few steps, Tang Luo turned back to the group and said, "There are only six bullets in this revolver. Leave me your gang's address; I'll come by to ask for more when I run out."

"Sure thing!"

One man's eyes darted around, and he rattled off an address.

Tang Luo gave a slight nod of acknowledgment and left.

"Are you trying to get us killed?! Why would you lead this foreigner there?" As soon as Tang Luo was gone, infighting broke out immediately.

"Hmph! You don't know a damn thing," the man replied. "Our gang has so many people; why would we be afraid of just one of him?"

"He can call for help, too."

"An outsider, who could he possibly call?"

"Scotland Yard! You idiot!"

"On what grounds?"

"Didn't the boss say yesterday that the Ripper business has caused too much of a stir? We're changing our name back to the Crow Gang. It's best not to use the Ripper Gang name anymore, or even our people at Scotland Yard won't be able to protect us! The folks at Scotland Yard are going crazy! They might just use us as scapegoats!"

"..."

Trying to ride the coattails of a trend comes with a price.

Especially when you have teammates as thick as pigs.

Well, I won't say any more.

Let's just have a moment of mutual understanding.