Coaxing Chaos

"W-what's going on? Someone was killed?"

"Where?"

It must be said, the patron's voice was shrill and piercing; in the dead of night, it startled everyone in the entire courtyard.

Doors swung open across the courtyard, revealing faces filled with shock as a buzzing wave of discussion erupted.

Amidst the panic, a group of men hurried over from the direction of the front yard. Leading them was a gaunt, middle-aged man who strode up to the frantic patron and asked in a deep voice, "What happened? Where is the body?"

"The latrine, the latrine! There's a corpse!"

The patron stammered his reply, his face deathly pale even under the glow of the red lanterns.

The middle-aged man signaled to his subordinates and said in a low, steady voice, "Everyone, stay calm. Let us investigate first."

After offering this reassurance, he led his men toward the latrine.

Before long, a corpse was carried out by several men.

Seeing the body, the patrons all gasped in unison.

"Someone really died?!"

"Damn, what is going on?"

"Who is it?"

The crowd buzzed with speculation.

Qin Fang stood among the crowd, his brows tightly knitted; he had realized things were taking a turn for the worse the moment he saw that group.

Clearly, as a famous brothel in the area, Lan Gui Fang must be backed by a powerful force.

Otherwise, how could a den of vice like this even exist?

The man in charge was clearly not someone to be trifled with. Though gaunt, his gaze was sharp and spirited, and his actions were swift and decisive, calming the patrons' panic with just a few words.

This situation was clearly unfavorable for him.

Just then, Qin Fang's expression shifted. He saw the doors to the rooms of his other two targets open. Mole Zhang and the other target appeared in their doorways, looking on from behind the crowd with expressions of surprise.

Qin Fang narrowed his eyes.

He observed that the prostitutes from those two rooms had not come out.

They were likely still inside getting dressed.

Qin Fang turned his head to see the group nearby examining the corpse, while more men kept arriving from the front yard.

They were all guards of Lan Gui Fang.

In a short while, they would surely have the crowd's emotions under control.

By then, they would inevitably be on high alert.

Not to mention the question of whether he would be discovered...

There would certainly be no chance to kill the two targets.

That being the case...

Qin Fang was decisive. Without a moment's hesitation, a throwing dart appeared in his hand. Taking advantage of the lingering chaos and the fact that everyone's attention was fixed on the corpse, he hunched his body and moved toward the two targets.

"Who died?"

"Who dares to kill in Lan Gui Fang? Don't they know Lan Gui Fang is backed by the Money Gang?"

The buzzing of discussion filled his ears.

There were two targets left; one was naturally Mole Zhang, and the other was a man nicknamed Short-Legged Tang.

As his nickname suggested, the man was short in stature. Having come out late after hearing the commotion, he was currently standing on his tiptoes, trying to peer through the wall of people.

"Who the hell got taken out?"

He looked on with curiosity.

Suddenly, the space in front of him darkened, causing him to freeze. He instinctively looked up to find someone blocking his path.

"Damn, why the hell are you so tall?"

He looked displeased; because he was short, he detested tall people.

The person before him was much taller, and even while hunched over, he stood more than a head taller than him.

However, this was Lan Gui Fang. Although he was a member of the Iron Tiger Gang, he dared not offend people easily—who knew what kind of background the other party had?

Though annoyed, he instinctively stepped back, intending to wait for the man to pass before moving forward to watch the spectacle.

But at that very moment, his vision blurred. The next instant, he felt a sharp weapon plunge straight into his throat from the front!

Puchi!

After the faint sound, his entire body stiffened. The next moment, he felt himself being embraced, his head pressed firmly against the man's chest.

He widened his eyes, but before he could speak, he felt the weapon being pulled from his throat, only for it to be plunged back in with another puchi.

Puchi, puchi...

After three or four consecutive strikes, his entire body went completely rigid.

Then, he felt his body being supported as the other party considerately pushed him to the edge of the room, propping him up against the wall.

Short-Legged Tang wanted to speak, but his neck had been pierced repeatedly, and his throat and trachea had been mangled into a bloody pulp, leaving him entirely unable to make a sound.

The other party simply walked away.

Short-Legged Tang stood there in a daze, his body stiff, lacking even the strength to cover his neck as he watched the figure walk into the distance in a stupor.

Who was it?

Why kill him?

He hadn't even seen the other party's face.

The crowd's attention was completely drawn to the corpse in the distance; not a single person noticed anything amiss with him in the throng.

After a few more vicious strikes, the target was dead for certain and unable to make a sound, so Qin Fang quickly headed toward Mole Zhang.

...He was also the final target of this trip.

Mole Zhang was also peering toward the corpse, and just as he was feeling curious, a voice suddenly rang out from the direction of the body.

"It's Liu Three-Cudgel from the Iron Tiger Gang!"

Among the guards of Lan Gui Fang who had arrived later, someone seemed to have recognized the identity of Liu Three-Cudgel.

After all, True Martial County was only so big, and the areas where the local ruffians and hoodlums operated were quite limited, so it was normal to recognize one another.

When Mole Zhang heard the name Liu Three-Cudgel, his expression changed instantly.

What?

Liu Three-Cudgel??

He was dead??

Mole Zhang wore a look of utter astonishment, then almost instinctively turned his head, wanting to find his other companion, Short-Legged Tang.

He knew the man was in that room, so he saw him the moment he turned.

But the instant he saw him, his eyes widened...

Short-Legged Tang was standing against the wall, but a massive amount of blood was pouring from his mouth and neck; his head hung limply, and his body was slowly sliding down the wall in a lifeless heap...

Short-Legged Tang?!

Mole Zhang's pupils constricted sharply.

But before the shock could subside, a faint sound of wind breaking reached his ears, and the next moment, something pierced his neck.

Puchi!

His entire body went rigid, and he turned his head instinctively.

Then, he saw a very familiar face.

The other party's expression was calm, but his eyes were cold and sharp.

It's... him?!

Mole Zhang's eyes bulged.

He wanted to speak, but blood surged from his throat into his mouth, only bubbling out as bloody froth.

Puchi! Puchi!

The other party withdrew the sharp weapon and stabbed the same spot two or three more times, completely stripping him of the ability to cry out.

Then, the other party retreated, slipping into the crowd.

Thump...

Mole Zhang's body collapsed limply to the ground, blood gushing from his nose and mouth, his body convulsing. His gaze drifted toward the crowd, wanting to say something, but he couldn't make a single sound.

Qin Fang, hidden within the crowd, took a deep breath, and then a shrill cry rang out through the night sky.

"He, he's killing again!! The, the murderer is still here, he's slaughtering people!!!!"

Boom!

"What?!"

"The murderer is slaughtering people?!"

"Ah!!"

"Someone really died!!!!"

Seeing the corpse, the crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion instantly descended into chaos.