That Fire

"Lin Qing? This is none of your business, get lost!"

A hooligan shouted sharply.

At the same time, he swung a club directly toward Lin Qing.

Lin Qing's eyes turned cold; he neither dodged nor retreated. His left hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the tip of the club and giving it a sharp shake!

"Snap!" The wooden club broke off at the base.

The hooligan felt a massive force surge through, splitting the web of his thumb, and the club was ripped from his grasp.

Lin Qing's right hand, like a heavy cannon, followed up with a strike.

A simple and direct Rigid Bridge strike landed squarely on the man's chest!

"Boom!"

The hooligan screamed as he flew backward, knocking over two men behind him.

The other hooligans, seeing this, were both shocked and enraged as they swarmed forward.

"You dare hit our people? You're looking for death."

"Brothers, get him!"

Facing the several hooligans charging at him.

Lin Qing stepped in a rapid sequence, unleashing the Iron Wire Fist, his moves fierce and violent.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

With a few muffled thuds, three more hooligans wailed and collapsed to the ground.

In a short time, they had lost their ability to fight.

Lin Qing did not use lethal force.

But his strikes were decisive and his power fierce, instantly suppressing the scene.

Feng Bing watched Lin Qing with a gloomy gaze.

He did not act immediately, seemingly weighing his options.

After all, with Lord Leopard away, he feared he was no match for this Lin Qing.

Lin Qing ignored them further.

Instead, he walked quickly to the side of Fan Kui, who was curled up on the ground.

The youth's breathing was as thin as a thread, his body covered in blood, and it was unclear how many ribs he had broken, yet he still clutched those two items tightly to his chest.

On the horizon, a sliver of dawn pierced the darkness.

Scattered morning light spilled onto Fan Kui's blood-mangled body.

He seemed to sense Lin Qing's arrival and lifted his head with great difficulty.

Those eyes, once filled with hatred, were now unusually calm, even carrying a trace of relieved laughter.

He looked at Lin Qing, his lips moving.

Exhausting his final ounce of strength, his voice was faint:

"Brother Qing, the debt the Fan family owed you... I have repaid it..."

Fan Kui trembled, forcing the two blood-stained property deeds from his arms into Lin Qing's hands.

Then, Fan Kui looked around at the neighbors who had been stunned into silence.

He used his last bit of strength to declare:

"I, Fan Kui, voluntarily gift my house and land deeds... to Brother Lin Qing..."

"Everyone... be my witnesses!"

As his voice fell, Fan Kui exhaled his final breath, his head lolling to the side.

The last spark of light in his eyes vanished completely.

His arm dropped limply.

Even in death, the youth wore a tragic, heroic smile.

Lin Qing stood frozen, clutching the two blood-stained, still-warm deeds.

It felt as if something had struck his heart with tremendous force.

An indescribable sorrow welled up.

He understood.

Fan Kui had used this fire to repay the kindness of those three strings of copper coins.

And he had used this suicidal gesture to ensure that his family's final assets were gifted to the person who had once shown them a shred of kindness, in a way that no one could ever snatch away.

"This is the evidence of your collusion!"

At this moment, Feng Bing pointed at the contract in Lin Qing's hand and shouted sharply, "It must have been you who instigated this Fan brat to set the fire. You wanted to annex the Security Hall's storefront, but feared trouble from the Pan Family, so you resorted to murder and arson."

"Just you wait, Lord Leopard and the Pan Family will never let you off!"

At this moment, under the shocked gazes of everyone present, Lin Qing made his move.

He stepped forward, his left leg lashing out like an iron whip.

"Bang!"

Feng Bing, already a Skin Refining martial artist, had not even had time to react.

With a sharp pain in his abdomen, he let out a miserable shriek as his body flew backward, embedding itself into the wall and bringing down a shower of dust and debris.

At this, the other neighbors all stood with mouths agape, their eyes filled with shock.

They could never have imagined that Feng Bing, a thug under Lord Leopard, would be unable to withstand even a single move from the other party.

"And what kind of thing are you?"

Lin Qing's tone turned cold.

Feng Bing was both terrified and furious, but he dared not speak.

After all, the other party's strength far surpassed his own.

Just then, a flurry of rapid footsteps approached.

Head Constable Wang of the local government arrived at the scene with several yamen runners.

Following closely behind him was Pan Yun, the head shopkeeper of the Security Hall.

Pan Yun looked at the Security Hall, now reduced to a charred ruin, his face turning livid as his gaze instantly locked onto Lin Qing, who held the contract.

"Head Constable Wang, you have arrived just in time."

Pan Yun's voice was icy, suppressing his rage as he pointed at Lin Qing.

"This man, Lin Qing, instigated Fan Kui to commit arson and burn down my Pan Family's property, the Security Hall, with the intent to murder for wealth and monopolize the medicinal herb business on Yongning Street."

"Now that he has been caught red-handed, I ask Head Constable Wang to take him into custody immediately!"

Head Constable Wang frowned and looked at Lin Qing: "Lin Qing, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Lin Qing took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, carefully tucked away the contract, and swept his gaze toward Pan Yun: "Shopkeeper Pan, one must speak with evidence. You claim I instigated this, but where is your proof?"

"I have no relation to Fan Kui, so why would I instigate him? This contract was voluntarily gifted by Fan Kui before he passed; the neighbors can all bear witness!"

"As for these people lying on the ground, they beat Fan Kui to death. Is it a crime for me to intervene and stop them from committing violence in the street?"

"Silver-tongued devil!"

Pan Yun was furious; he had long hated Lin Qing to the bone.

Now that his shop had been burned, old grudges and new hatreds surged in his heart.

Seeing that he could not gain the upper hand with words, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Disregarding the presence of Head Constable Wang, he suddenly stepped forward, his right hand forming a claw. With a sharp whistling wind, he lunged straight for Lin Qing's right shoulder!

It was the vicious move of the Pan Family's Silk Entangling Hand.

He intended to cripple one of Lin Qing's arms first, forcing him to suffer a secret loss.

He was confident that with his own strength in the Tendon Opening Realm, taking down this brat Lin Qing in a sneak attack would be as easy as turning over his hand.

However, Lin Qing was no longer the same man he once was.

His nerves were already taut, and he had perceived Pan Yun's killing intent with absolute clarity!

The moment the other party's shoulder twitched and his power began to surge, Lin Qing had already reacted.

"Hmph!"

Lin Qing let out a cold snort, advancing instead of retreating.

At the same time, he channeled power from his waist and hips, sinking his shoulders and dropping his elbows. He stepped forward heavily, neither dodging nor evading, and executed a Wild Horse Parts Mane. His arms swept out like a galloping stallion, fierce and tyrannical, meeting Pan Yun's strike head-on!

"Boom!"

Fist and claw collided, sending shockwaves of energy rippling outward!

Pan Yun felt a fierce, incredibly refined force far exceeding his expectations travel up through his fingertips.

It numbed his fingers and caused his blood to churn slightly.

He was forced to retreat two steps, only then managing to dissipate the force, his face filled with astonishment.

Lin Qing's figure swayed, and the bluestone beneath his feet cracked slightly.

Yet, he stood firmly in the end, not retreating even half a step.

A single exchange, and they were evenly matched!

The entire scene fell into instant, deathly silence!

Everyone stared at this sight, dumbfounded.

Pan Yun, a martial artist at the second stage of the Tendon Opening Realm, had launched a full-force sneak attack.

And he had been blocked head-on by the young owner of a pharmacy from the Outer City?

A flash of brilliance ignited in Head Constable Wang's eyes.

The way he looked at Lin Qing had completely changed.

This young man's strength was truly hidden deep.

Pan Yun's face flickered between green and white, filled with shock and rage.

He stared fixedly at Lin Qing, as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

The morning light grew increasingly clear.

It shone upon the two figures standing in such tense confrontation.

The sky over Yongning Street.

It seemed that from this moment on.

Was truly about to change.