Bao Dating and Old Zhang

Xu Yi did not take out the document because he had memorized every name on it while on his way here.

Since Bao Dating was someone invited by Duan Hu, he was bound to be reputable in his business and would not leak secrets easily.

But what if he did?

Xu Yi never believed in the nonsense that "an informant will always keep their employer's secrets."

After finishing the list of those who had to die, Xu Yi also listed those who needed to be kept alive to avoid any accidental casualties.

Bao Dating listened with a beaming smile, then slowly began to speak, reciting one by one the home addresses, security situations, martial arts proficiency, typical bedtime, wake-up time, and even whether they had the habit of getting up at night for those individuals...

Duan Hu was clearly accustomed to such scenes and simply listened attentively.

Xu Yi was dealing with an informant for the first time, and hearing such detailed information, he found it quite incredible.

How could he possibly know things in such detail?

Bao Dating spoke for a full half-hour, digging up everything there was to know about the people Xu Yi had listed.

Bao Dating only provided information and nothing else; once finished, he smilingly accepted a silver dollar from Duan Hu, cupped his hands, said, "Keep your eyes sharp, and may the wind be at your back!", and left the Peacekeeping Hall.

This phrase was one of the most common pieces of underworld jargon, meaning:

Keep your eyes peeled, see the reality of the road and the path of the underworld clearly, take care, and may everything go smoothly!

The moment Bao Dating stepped out the door, Xu Yi followed, pulled Ye Miao's sachet from his lapel, and pressed it to his nose.

As the pleasant fragrance flowed through his nasal cavity, his spirituality was activated, and Xu Yi saw that in his black-and-white vision, two black, long ponytails taller than the man himself were standing upright on top of Bao Dating's head!

The long black ponytails stood perfectly straight on Bao Dating's head, and as the night wind blew, those two eye-catching ponytails swayed amidst the crowd...

This is...

A cockroach?

Is he a cockroach spirit?

Or a cockroach demon?

It couldn't possibly be a cockroach immortal! Does a thing like a cockroach even deserve to become an immortal?!

Xu Yi's mood was in complete disarray.

Passersby could not see these two horrifying long ponytails, and Bao Dating's ordinary appearance made him easy to overlook.

Bao Dating's figure was quickly swallowed by the crowd and vanished from sight.

Xu Yi held his breath for ten seconds, let his spirituality settle, and exited the black-and-white vision.

He returned to the counter and heard Duan Hu whisper:

"Old Zhang is very reliable when it comes to getting things done. I've been working with him for three years, and the information he provides has never once gone wrong.

It's just that he has some strange quirks; he likes dark, damp places, doesn't light lamps at night, and his place is always stinking...

We don't really know what his home situation is like."

Duan Hu clearly didn't know the full story behind Bao Dating, also known as Old Zhang, and only trusted him due to their long history of successful cooperation.

"Second Brother doesn't know about the Hundred Night Miasma?"

Hearing Duan Hu's words, Xu Yi couldn't help but feel suspicious.

He can identify Spirit Remains, yet he doesn't know about the Hundred Night Miasma.

Second Brother's experience is quite peculiar.

A moment later, Xu Yi, Duan Hu, and two other henchmen met in a dark alley. They divided the targets on the list among themselves, then scattered and disappeared into the night of the 38th Shop District.

Though the night in the 38th Shop District was not quiet, it wasn't particularly boisterous either. Voices occasionally drifted from alleys far from the main street, only to be quickly drowned out by the whistles of steam trains and swallowed by the viscous night.

From time to time, red, green, and purple rays of light swept across the sky above the 38th Shop District—these were the focused neon beams projected by the "Glass Silver Light Tower" atop the large dance halls in the center of Puxi City.

The neon lights from the center of Puxi City shone over, but they did not bring the prosperity of the city center along with them.

People arrived here yearning for the prosperity of Puxi City, but they were not the ones who got to enjoy it.

They were merely a part of what made that prosperity possible.

At this very moment, countless crimes were occurring in the chaotic alleys of the 38th Shop District.

Out-of-towners yearning for a better future walked on the main street, while in the dark alley next door, some poor wretch was being stripped down to a helpless pig.

Many of last week's new residents were already soliciting customers in the dark alleys by the street, while those who had arrived just today took a curious look at the osmanthus cakes selling for two copper coins at a street stall, squeezed their meager purses, and could only endure their hunger while searching for a place to sleep tonight.

People always want to believe that everything will get better after dawn.

People can only hope that tomorrow will bring them a job enough to scrape by, or perhaps a stroke of good luck to make up for today's frustrations.

By the time Xu Yi pushed the last person on his list into the latrine, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Dragging his exhausted left arm, Xu Yi walked step by step out from the depths of the alley, facing the first rays of the morning sun. The murderous aura radiating from his body sent the cats that hadn't yet fallen asleep in the alley scurrying in terror.

His left wrist had also been injured during the scuffle last night—the enemy had used a child as a shield, and the child was not on the list of those who had to be killed.

Xu Yi did not mind killing, but he minded harming the innocent.

To avoid hurting the child, Xu Yi had pulled his hand back, only to be struck hard on the wrist by the child's club; had he not dodged in time, he feared even his bones would have snapped.

Although the injury did not draw blood, it had likely damaged the tendons—his wrist felt numb, and he could barely feel his palm.

However, shops that treated bruises and fractures would not be open this early—it was not even 6:00 AM yet, and only breakfast stalls were open at this hour.

Fortunately, his constitution was sturdy enough to endure it.

He was exhausted, but now was not the time to sleep.

He went to the nearest large bathhouse, spent two copper coins to soak in a bath and get his back scrubbed, washing away the faint scent of blood from his face.

Seeing that it was still early and not yet time for his rendezvous with Duan Hu, Xu Yi went to a roadside dim sum stall, sat in a corner, spent four copper coins, and ordered a serving of char siu bao and a bowl of century egg and lean meat congee.

Suddenly hearing the cries of a newsboy, he beckoned him over and spent one copper coin to buy a copy of the Post.

He looked at the newspaper first, only to see the front page headline:

<Recent Rains: Citizens Advised Against Drinking Unboiled Water; Sudden Surge in Diarrhea Patients at Epidemic Hospitals!>

Puxi was prone to rain, and the city's drainage system was practically non-existent, so such a situation was all too normal.

Xu Yi continued reading down:

<Shooting at Celes Dance Hall Last Night; One Man Shot Dead, Suspected Gang Vendetta>

<Cold Front Arrives in Shanghai Tonight; Puxi City Temperatures May Drop by Ten Degrees>

<Collision on Green Shore River Yesterday; Rice Transport Ship Sinks>

<Public Service: Citizens May Collect Rat Poison Free of Charge at District Fire Stations>

Xu Yi gently rubbed his left wrist, trying to speed up blood flow and promote self-healing, while reading the paper with his right hand.

Suddenly, he felt the light in front of him dim.

Looking up, he saw a strange old man sitting in the seat opposite him.

The old man wore a simple summer cotton jacket and a faded, tattered leather felt hat. His hair was gray, and his beard was tied with several knots, each adorned with brass rings featuring complex patterns that looked quite exquisite at a glance.

The old man's skin was a dark, sallow yellow, and his face was etched with the wrinkles of vicissitudes and depth, looking exactly like an eagle trainer from the Gobi Desert in the Great Northwest.

The old man sat there without a word, staring straight at Xu Yi.