You Think You Can Talk to Me About Rules?

"Clang!"

A sharp clash of metal rang out. A flying knife knocked Su Xin's sword aside, saving the man from a narrow escape.

The disdain vanished from the man's face, replaced by sheer terror.

He had never seen a sword so fast in his life!

"Cough, cough."

At some point, the door of the black house had been pushed open. A slightly stooped figure emerged.

The man looked to be in his forties, but his temples were already streaked with white, making him seem much older.

Though he looked aged, his features were vicious. His left eye in particular looked as if someone had gouged it out by force, leaving only a gaping hole. It was a ghastly sight.

"Boss Su of the Flying Eagle Gang? My men don't know their manners. You're a great gang boss—you wouldn't hold it against a petty thief, would you?" Old Wolf asked in a hoarse voice.

Su Xin scoffed. "Playing dumb when you know perfectly well? Old Wolf, don't tell me you didn't know I was coming. Your men don't know the rules, but surely you do."

Old Wolf's expression turned cold. He hadn't expected this young gang boss to show him so little respect. With just one sentence, Su Xin had backed him into a corner.

"Boss Su, let's speak plainly. You run Yongle District, and I run Blackwater Street. You don't care about this place anyway. We can each keep to our own, and neither of us will interfere with the other. What do you say?"

"Neither of us will interfere with the other? Fine. You were the one who stole the Prefect's son's purse a few days ago, weren't you? Hand over the purse and the Warm Jade inside, and we can keep to our own."

Old Wolf's expression changed. He had thought Su Xin was here to come after him, just like Dai Chong and Chen Dao had before. He hadn't expected him to come over this.

If it had been something else, Old Wolf wouldn't have minded doing Su Xin a favor, if only to buy himself some peace. But this was the one thing he couldn't do.

Old Wolf studied Su Xin for a moment, then said gravely, "Boss Su, it's not that I don't want to do you a favor. I truly can't.

"Every trade has its rules. We took the things, but we can't hand them back.

"If he comes to me today because he lost something, and you come to me tomorrow because you lost something, how are my men supposed to earn a living?

"I absolutely can't set that precedent. Even if the Prefect himself came to demand it, I wouldn't hand it over."

Su Xin shook his head. "Old Wolf, Old Wolf. Have you ever heard the saying, 'Don't mistake kindness for weakness'?"

"Su Xin! What do you mean?"

Anger showed in Old Wolf's one eye. He might have been crippled, but that didn't mean anyone could insult him!

"What do I mean? I call you Old Wolf to show you respect. Without that, you're just a sick dog!

"You lead a bunch of petty thieves in picking pockets and pilfering chickens, and you still dare lecture me about rules? What a joke!"

"Su Xin! You've gone too far!"

A vicious glint flashed in Old Wolf's eye. He pulled four flying knives from his clothes and launched them at Su Xin all at once!

He hadn't wanted to fight Su Xin. He had no wish to provoke people from the gangs, since they had an entire organization backing them.

When Dai Chong and Boss Chen had come to cause him trouble back then, they hadn't actually fought. Old Wolf had merely shown off his strength, and that had been enough to make them back down.

Neither Dai Chong nor Boss Chen would bother picking a fight that offered no benefit.

Old Wolf had taken the opportunity to exaggerate the story, spreading the word that both Dai Chong and Boss Chen had suffered at his hands. That was the only way to make his reputation seem impressive.

Afterward, Dai Chong and Boss Chen had both heard what he'd done. They thought he was a lowlife, but they weren't confident they could beat him, and they had no face to go to the gang for help. So they never came after him.

But now, faced with Su Xin's relentless pressure, Old Wolf could no longer hold back. He might as well kill Su Xin and make a living in another district.

Su Xin easily dodged the four flying knives. Then Old Wolf's stooped figure pounced at him, moving like a tiger, his momentum astonishing.

Old Wolf's hands were like claws, his sharp nails gleaming like blades with cold flashes of light. A sinister aura coiled around his hands.

His martial art had evolved from the Dragon Claw Hand, one of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts. It had a formidable pedigree.

They said that an evil martial artist had killed a Shaolin monk and obtained a fragment of the technique, then combined it with his own skills to create this art.

It wasn't as fierce as the Dragon Claw Hand, but it was more sinister and vicious. At the height of his strength, Old Wolf had once torn a man clean in half with a single claw.

Su Xin stood perfectly still, his face devoid of joy or sorrow.

If Old Wolf had been in his prime, Su Xin would have had no choice but to retreat.

But now, Old Wolf was just a sick dog without fangs. Half his skill was gone, and he had lost his nerve.

He had even thrown a few concealed weapons first to steel himself for the fight. How was that anything like a man who had once carved out a stronghold in the mountains and claimed countless lives? He was no better than some petty thief from the martial world.

Old Wolf had spent so long among these small-time crooks, he'd probably started to think of himself as one!

When the claw was nearly upon him, Su Xin finally moved.

He drove out a punch—Hatred Filling the Heavens!

Hating an unjust world, hating a blind heaven!

Rage! Rage! Hatred! Hate Extreme Fist!

Could hatred give someone strength? Every day, people felt it—hatred born of love, hatred born of power, greed, anger, delusion, and hatred!

That was the power of hatred. Old Wolf couldn't withstand it.

With the first punch, the bones in Old Wolf's hand shattered, his sharp claws breaking into fragments. His right hand was left bloody and mangled.

With the second punch, Old Wolf's right arm was smashed, hanging limply at his side.

With the third punch, Old Wolf spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying. His body twitched helplessly.

Despair. Deep despair. Old Wolf had once felt this same helplessness.

Ten years ago, he had been brimming with ambition, leading his men to gather in the mountains. Even when Imperial Court officials passed through Xiangnan Dense Forest, he had dared to lead his men in and tear off a chunk of their flesh.

Then one day, he provoked someone he shouldn't have.

That person was only a boy of fourteen or fifteen. Armed with a Nether Spring Sword, he had stormed Old Wolf's stronghold and killed his men, while Old Wolf could only lie on the ground and pretend to be dead.

Later, he learned the boy's name: He Xiu, the one who would come to be known as the Sword Young Master. He Xiu, heir to Famous Sword Villa, one of the Five Sword Sects!

Faced with He Xiu, Old Wolf had been overwhelmed by despair and helplessness. He would never be able to take revenge in this life, so he had gone into hiding in Changning Prefecture, gathering hundreds of pickpockets and petty thieves and retreating into a lightless house to reminisce about his glorious past.

But now, Su Xin's three punches had utterly broken him.

Another young man, and once again he'd been crushed without the slightest chance to fight back.

Just as Su Xin had said, he wasn't Old Wolf at all. He was just a sick dog!

Su Xin walked over to Old Wolf. Lying on the ground, Old Wolf could see only Su Xin's black boots, but he couldn't bring himself to look up.

"Hand over the purse and the Warm Jade."

Old Wolf coughed up blood, then struggled to his feet. He turned to a subordinate who was still too stunned to move. "Go get my box."

The man hesitated. Only when he saw Old Wolf's hideous one-eyed glare did he come to his senses. He hurried into the house, brought out a small box, and handed it to Old Wolf.

When Old Wolf opened the box, it glittered with jewels.

Whenever his pickpockets brought something back, they first showed it to Old Wolf. If anything was valuable, he would keep it.

He had insisted that he would uphold his rules, and that he wouldn't return stolen goods even if the Prefect himself came to demand them.

But in truth, he had kept all these things in storage. He didn't dare use them or pawn them, afraid their owners would come looking and retaliate when he couldn't return what he'd taken.

Old Wolf took out a purse and handed it to Su Xin. When Su Xin opened it, he found a jade pendant carved with a strange beast. It felt warm and smooth in his hand. It was the priceless Warm Jade.

Su Xin put away the purse and turned to leave. Just then, Old Wolf called out, "Wait."

Su Xin turned back, raising an eyebrow.

Old Wolf took out a silvery-white porcelain bottle and handed it to Su Xin. A bitter smile crossed his face. "I have no use for this anymore, and I'm not worthy of it. Take it. I only ask that you spare my men."

Old Wolf had heard about Su Xin's deeds. He wasn't a merciful man. Now that Old Wolf couldn't possibly defeat him, was there any reason for Blackwater Street to keep existing?

Still, Old Wolf wanted to try. He didn't want to relive what had happened ten years ago—to watch his brothers die beneath that man's sword while he trembled beneath the corpses of the dead.

He had told people that his brothers' betrayal was what had left him like this. But only he knew the truth: his brothers hadn't betrayed him. He had betrayed the men with whom he'd once sworn to live and die.

"What is this?"

Old Wolf said, "I don't know either. One of my men stole it from a martial artist. It has a strong medicinal scent, so it's probably a superb healing medicine or a pill that aids cultivation. Whatever it is, I have no use for it."

What Old Wolf had truly lost wasn't his health, but his heart.

Once the heart was broken, no medicine, however potent, could heal it.

Su Xin took the bottle of pills and said calmly, "From now on, Blackwater Street is under my control. But I won't send my men to interfere with you. Blackwater Street will remain Blackwater Street."

As they left Blackwater Street, the gang member who had guided Su Xin was practically worshipping him.

His boss really was a legend in the Flying Eagle Gang. Old Wolf, who had once made Dai Chong and Boss Chen suffer, had been utterly helpless against him.

There was nothing particularly impressive about Su Xin defeating Old Wolf. He had already opened sixty acupoints and was close to the Post-Heaven Mid-Stage.

Old Wolf must once have been very powerful, but now he had fewer than ten acupoints' worth of strength. At most, his martial skills were a little better and his battle experience a little richer.

Su Xin had simply overwhelmed him with brute force. It was no surprise he'd defeated him in an instant.

Of course, Su Xin was also pleased with the power of the Hate Extreme Fist. It was worthy of being a signature technique passed down by Yuan Shixian, the great villain in Warm Book.

The Hate Extreme Fist was already so powerful. Su Xin could hardly wait to see the breathtaking power of the legendary Heartbreak Little Arrow.