You Dare Lecture Me on Rules?

"Clang!"

A metallic chime rang out as a flying dagger knocked Su Xin's sword aside, allowing the man to escape a brush with death.

The disdain on the man's face vanished, replaced entirely by terror.

Never in his life had he seen a sword move so fast!

"Cough, cough."

The door of the black house was pushed open at some unknown moment, and a slightly hunched figure emerged.

The man appeared to be only in his forties, but his temples were already full of white hair, giving him an aged appearance.

Though he looked old, his features were incredibly vicious, especially his left eye; it looked as if it had been gouged out by force, leaving only a hollow socket that looked extremely ghastly.

"Big Boss Su of the Flying Eagle Gang? My subordinate doesn't know the rules, but as a dignified head leader, surely you wouldn't lower yourself to the level of a petty thief?" Old Wolf said in a raspy voice.

Su Xin sneered, "Playing dumb? Old Wolf, don't tell me you didn't know I was coming. Your subordinate doesn't know the rules, but surely you do?"

Old Wolf's expression turned cold. He had not expected this young head leader to show him so little respect, cornering him with a single sentence.

"Big Boss Su, let's speak plainly. You rule the Yongle District, and I manage Blackwater Street. You don't have your eyes on this place anyway, so let's keep to our own sides. How about that?"

"Keep to our own sides? That's fine. The prefect's son lost his coin purse two days ago—that was your doing, right? Hand over the purse and the Warm Jade inside, and we'll keep to our own sides."

Old Wolf's expression shifted. He had assumed Su Xin was like Dai Chong and Chen Dao before him, looking to make trouble for him, but he hadn't expected him to be here for this.

If it were anything else, Old Wolf wouldn't mind giving Su Xin some face, treating it as the price for his own peace. But this specific matter was impossible.

Giving Su Xin a deep look, Old Wolf said in a low voice, "Big Boss Su, it's not that I won't give you face, but I truly cannot do this."

"Every trade has its rules. We took the item, but we cannot hand it back. If he loses something today and comes to me, and you lose something tomorrow and come to me, how are my brothers supposed to eat?"

"This precedent must not be set. Even if the prefect himself came to demand it, I wouldn't give it up."

Su Xin shook his head. "Old Wolf, Old Wolf, have you ever heard the saying: 'If you're given face but refuse it, you're asking for trouble'?"

"Su Xin! What do you mean by that?"

A look of irritation appeared in Old Wolf's single eye. Though he was a broken man now, he was not someone to be lightly insulted!

"What do I mean? I call you Old Wolf out of respect; without it, you're nothing but a sick dog!"

"Leading a bunch of petty thieves to commit petty crimes, and you dare talk to me about rules? It's a joke!"

"Su Xin! You go too far!"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Old Wolf's eyes. He pulled four flying daggers from his robes and launched them at Su Xin!

He had not wanted to cross swords with Su Xin. He had no intention of provoking these gang members, as they had a powerful organization backing them.

When Dai Chong and Chen Dao had come to trouble him in the past, they hadn't actually fought. He had simply displayed his strength, causing them to retreat.

Neither Dai Chong nor Chen Dao would engage in a fight that offered no profit.

Old Wolf had taken the opportunity to exaggerate the events, making it seem as though Dai Chong and Chen Dao had been humiliated by him, which bolstered his reputation.

Afterward, although Dai Chong and Chen Dao knew the truth, they merely felt Old Wolf was underhanded. Lacking the confidence to defeat him and too proud to ask the gang for reinforcements, they had simply stopped bothering him.

But now, facing the aggressive Su Xin, he could no longer hold back. If it came to it, he would kill Su Xin and move to another district to make a living.

Su Xin easily dodged the four flying daggers, but Old Wolf's hunched form lunged forward like a fierce tiger, his momentum startling.

Old Wolf's hands were like claws, his sharp nails resembling blades and shimmering with a cold light. A chilling, sinister energy coiled between his claws.

His martial art was derived from the Dragon Claw Hand of the Shaolin Seventy-Two Arts, and its lineage was quite extraordinary.

It was said that a wicked expert had obtained a fragmented scroll after ambushing a Shaolin monk and had then combined it with his own techniques to create this style.

While not as rigid or powerful as the original Dragon Claw Hand, it was far more sinister and vicious. In his prime, he had once used these claws to tear a man in half.

Su Xin stood motionless, his expression neither sad nor happy.

If Old Wolf were in his prime, Su Xin would have had to retreat.

But the current Old Wolf was merely a sick dog without fangs; half his martial arts were ruined, and he had lost his nerve.

To throw hidden weapons to bolster his courage before attacking—what kind of move was that for a man who had once established his own territory and taken countless lives? It was no different from a petty street thug.

Having spent so long with these small-time thieves, Old Wolf had likely started to see himself as one!

As the claw strike reached him, Su Xin finally moved.

He threw a punch, filled with towering hatred!

Hatred for the injustice of the world, hatred for the blindness of the heavens!

Hate! Hate! Hate! Hate Extreme Fist!

Does hatred have power? People hate every day—hatred for love, hatred for power, greed, anger, ignorance, and hate!

This was the power of hate, and Old Wolf could not withstand it.

The first punch shattered the bones in Old Wolf's hand, snapping his sharp claws into fragments and leaving his right hand dripping with blood.

The second punch pulverized Old Wolf's right arm, leaving it hanging limply by his side.

With the third punch, Old Wolf spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, his body twitching powerlessly.

Despair—a deep, profound despair. This feeling of helplessness was one Old Wolf had experienced before.

Ten years ago, he had been full of spirit, leading his brothers to roam the mountains and forests. Even when officials from the imperial court passed through the dense forests of Xiangnan, he dared to lead his men out to tear a piece of flesh from them.

That was until the day he provoked someone he should never have crossed.

That person was merely a youth of fourteen or fifteen, holding a Nether Spring Sword. He had dismantled his stronghold and slaughtered his brothers, while he could only lie on the ground and play dead.

Later, he learned that youth's name: He Xiu, the man who would come to be known as the Sword Young Master. He was the heir to Famous Sword Villa, one of the five great sword-wielding sects!

Facing He Xiu, Old Wolf had been desperate and powerless. He knew he would never be able to take revenge in this lifetime, so he hid away in Changning Prefecture, recruited hundreds of pickpockets and petty thieves, and holed up in a lightless room to mourn his own glorious past.

But now, Su Xin's three punches had completely shattered him.

The same youthfulness, the same crushing defeat without a shred of resistance.

Just as Su Xin had said, he was no "Old Wolf"—he was nothing but a sick dog!

Su Xin walked over to Old Wolf. Lying on the ground, Old Wolf could only see Su Xin's black boots, yet at this moment, he did not want to look up.

"Hand over the money bag and the Warm Jade."

Old Wolf coughed up more blood and struggled to crawl up. He said to his subordinate, who was frozen in terror nearby, "Go and get my box."

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the savage look in Old Wolf's single eye, he snapped to his senses and immediately went into the room to retrieve a small box for him.

Opening the box, it was filled with the glimmer of pearls and precious stones.

Whenever Old Wolf's pickpockets obtained loot, they would present it to him first. If there was anything of great value, he would hoard it away.

Although he claimed to uphold his own rules—insisting that even if the prefect himself arrived, he would never hand over what had been stolen—the truth was that he simply kept these things hidden. He dared not use them, nor did he dare to pawn them, fearing that if the original owners came looking, he would be unable to return the goods and would face retaliation.

Old Wolf took a money bag from the box and handed it to Su Xin. Su Xin opened it to find a jade pendant carved with a mythical beast; it felt warm and smooth to the touch. It was indeed the priceless Warm Jade.

Stowing the money bag away, Su Xin turned to leave, but Old Wolf suddenly spoke up: "Wait."

Su Xin turned his head, one eyebrow arched.

Old Wolf produced a silver-white porcelain bottle and handed it to Su Xin, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I have no use for this, nor am I qualified to use it. Take it. I only hope you will spare my brothers."

Old Wolf had heard of Su Xin's reputation; he was no man of mercy. Now that he was clearly no match for him, did his Blackwater Street even have a reason to continue existing?

Yet, Old Wolf still wanted to try. He did not want to end up like he had ten years ago, watching his brothers die under that man's sword while he could only hide beneath the corpses, shivering in fear.

He had told the world that he was betrayed by his brothers, but only he knew the truth: it wasn't his brothers who betrayed him. It was he who had betrayed the brothers he once swore to live and die with.

"What is this?"

Old Wolf replied, "I don't know. My men stole it from a martial artist. The medicinal scent is potent; it must be a top-tier healing medicine or a pill to assist in cultivation. Regardless of what it is, I have no use for it anymore."

The injury that truly crippled Old Wolf was not his body, but his heart.

Once the heart is broken, no medicine, no matter how fine, can heal it.

Taking the bottle of pills, Su Xin said indifferently, "From now on, Blackwater Street belongs to me, Su Xin. But I will not send my own men to interfere with you. Blackwater Street will remain Blackwater Street."

As they walked out of Blackwater Street, the gang member who had led the way looked at Su Xin with absolute adoration.

His boss was truly a legend of the Flying Eagle Gang. Old Wolf, who had previously made the likes of Dai Chong and Boss Chen eat dirt, had been utterly defenseless in his hands.

In truth, Su Xin had nothing to be proud of in defeating Old Wolf. He had already opened sixty acupoints and was nearing the middle stage of the Postnatal Realm.

Old Wolf might have been very strong once, but now he possessed the strength of fewer than ten acupoints. At best, his martial arts were a bit more sophisticated and his combat experience a bit richer.

It was no difficult task for Su Xin to simply use his superior strength to crush him instantly.

Of course, Su Xin was also very satisfied with the power of the Hate Extreme Fist; it was worthy of being a peerless technique passed down by the great villain Yuan Shixian from the Wen novels.

If the Hate Extreme Fist was already this formidable, Su Xin truly wanted to see just how stunning the heaven-shaking Heartbreak Little Arrow might be.