Duancha

Chen Han was unmoved, utterly uninterested in the woman's advances. He asked, "Do you have any beast blood?"

Beast blood?

Qing Xue was taken aback. She hadn't expected this man to remain unmoved by her seduction. She asked:

"I do, but what do you want it for?"

Exotic Beast blood and meat were both rich in vital energy and blood. Eating them could quickly replenish a martial artist's reserves, but the former had a drawback: drink too much, and it could affect your mind.

You might become stupid. More likely, you'd go mad.

Most people bought it to use as a medicinal ingredient or as bait to catch Exotic Beasts.

Chen Han's voice was utterly devoid of emotion. "Just sell it to me, Aunt Xue'er. Don't ask so many questions. Oh, and I want it clotted."

"Clotted?"

Qing Xue gave Chen Han a long, searching look. Could the boy have a whole nest of Exotic Beast cubs?

It wasn't unheard of to raise Exotic Beasts in the Black Market, but it was rare. And the best food for them was blood that had clotted into chunks.

But ordinary Exotic Beasts were hardly easy to tame. They usually escaped or died within a few days, unless they were one of several special kinds of cubs.

Those cubs, however, were worth a fortune. You needed a substantial fortune just to buy one, let alone pay the enormous daily cost of raising it.

"Could this kid really have struck gold and stumbled upon a nest of Exotic Beast cubs?"

Qing Xue was rocked by the thought. Her gaze toward Chen Han grew even more alluring.

She wanted to make a move on the young man tonight.

The Black Market forbade killing for profit. That was the rule. But rules were made to be broken. It wasn't that no one dared; the time simply hadn't been right, and the profit hadn't been great enough.

But now, that possibility was right in front of her. Should she make her move?

After thinking it over for a moment, she smiled softly. "Very well. I'll wait another two days. If the beast blood burns this kid's brain to mush by then, it'll prove he doesn't have the cubs I suspect."

If the kid was perfectly fine, that would be proof enough that something was up.

That would be safer. She wasn't short of two days."

The ravishing beauty's thoughts raced. It seemed to take a long while, but in truth, no more than three breaths had passed.

Qing Xue smiled sweetly at Chen Han. "Your aunt sells meat, so of course I have blood too. How much do you want?"

"Two pounds. Aunt Xue'er, don't water it down."

Qing Xue giggled, half covering her cherry lips with her slender hand. "Your aunt is an honest businesswoman. How could I do anything so disgraceful? Just wait a moment, dear nephew. I'll get it ready."

As she spoke, Qing Xue stood and strode toward the back room.

Before long, she came out carrying two large water gourds. Her tall figure was smeared with crimson, clearly showing she'd been busy.

Chen Han took the gourds. The beauty deliberately brushed his hand, making him furrow his brows in irritation.

This woman had put a curse on him. He wished he could stay a hundred thousand miles away from her, preferably never cross paths with her again in this life.

"I'm off. Aunt Xue'er, remember to have it ready next time. I'll be back."

With that, Chen Han left the shop.

Qing Xue's beautiful eyes remained fixed on the direction Chen Han had gone, never turning away.

Elsewhere, Chen Han left the Black Market and headed straight out of the city.

Tonight, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. A cold breeze stirred.

With a black veil covering his face, Chen Han walked along the path. Along the way, he saw dozens of beggars huddled together. Some of the young and old had already frozen stiff. Others saw someone passing and crawled forward on their knees to beg.

Chen Han sternly refused, but the other party wouldn't take no for an answer. A few of the more brazen ones even blocked his way, acting as though they wouldn't leave without getting something.

Chen Han's face remained expressionless. He wasn't about to indulge them. Without a word, he kicked several of them flying a few meters away.

Immediately, cries of pain rang out.

The others were stunned and didn't dare linger near Chen Han. They returned to the warmer corners and huddled there again.

Chen Han remained unfazed and strode away as though nothing had happened.

Before long, he arrived at a small, ramshackle wooden hut that looked relatively intact. There was a bonfire inside, its flames glaringly bright in the darkness.

Yet no one dared come warm themselves by it. Anyone who had tried earlier had had their legs broken.

Chen Han pushed the door open. There were two people inside. One was a disheveled little old man—the same one who had fought with Qing Xue earlier. The other was a young man, lean and powerful, with sharp, chiseled features and a lively air about him.

"Finished? Did that saucy woman react at all?"

The little old man narrowed his eyes when Chen Han came in and asked.

Chen Han shut the door behind him. The cold wind howled outside. He walked straight over to the bonfire and sat down, looking completely at ease.

"She seemed to react in a way that wasn't quite ordinary. I'd say she noticed something, just as Senior predicted."

The little old man had naturally instructed Chen Han to get the beast blood. He knew Qing Xue was greedy and lecherous, so he'd deliberately sent Chen Han to dangle that bait before her.

With Qing Xue's money-mad nature, if Chen Han went back to tempt her a few more times, she would surely take the bait. Then she would follow him, walking right into the little old man's trap.

Three against one. No suspense at all.

"You old man and young brat sure know how to scheme."

The lean young man spoke up.

His name was Wu Duan. He was a covert constable employed by the authorities, making his living by using his exceptional investigative skills to move between the underworld and the law-abiding world. If you paid him, he'd work for anyone!

They said that as long as someone was still alive and hadn't been burned to ash, there was no one he couldn't find.

That was why people called him Duancha—the man who cracked cases!

"But I have no interest in sitting around here. Unless you want me to act, that'll cost two hundred taels. No more."

The little old man gave him an unhappy glance. "Young man, the few of us paid you four hundred taels to come here. What's wrong with asking you to lend a hand while you're at it? And now you want more money? Is your whole world made of silver?"

Wu Duan ignored the little old man completely. "One thing at a time. Investigating someone is investigating someone; killing someone is killing someone. If you're not satisfied, I'll give you half your money back. Shall I leave?"

The little old man was instantly at a loss for words. The man hadn't found out a thing, yet he'd only return half the money. What a heartless swindler.

He was so angry he didn't know whether to curse or hit him. Wu Duan had connections on both sides of the law. Killing him would probably offend half the city.

"Very well, Senior. You can easily take that woman down by yourself. With me there too, we'll be completely in the clear. Why put up with him?"

"Hahaha, now that's a young man who knows how to talk!"

The little old man roared with laughter.

After a while, when Chen Han judged the time was right, he asked curiously, "May I ask why you and the other seniors went to such expense to invite the renowned Duancha here? Who are you investigating?"

The little old man downed the wine in his cup and smacked his lips before replying,

"Why, we're investigating a fiend. In just one night, he killed more than fifty of my gang's brothers. Among them were five Dark Force martial artists and dozens of Mingjin Martial Artists. Looking at the bodies, you couldn't tell how they died. Their bones had been smashed to powder."

"That powerful?"

Chen Han's eyes widened, feigning surprise.