The split on his finger had stopped bleeding, the blood congealing into a dark red scab.
Even the slightest movement sent waves of pain through it.
These hands had just killed a man.
Not with a knife.
With his fists.
One punch after another, he had beaten him to death.
"So this is what it feels like to kill someone?"
Chen Ye closed his eyes and took deep breaths, calming the emotions churning in his chest.
"Zhang Tieyi, the Gao Family was determined to see me dead. If he didn't die, I would. They forced my hand."
"I did nothing wrong. This wasn't my fault."
"Who knows how many innocent people he's killed? I'm doing the people a service by getting rid of him."
Chen Ye repeated these thoughts to himself over and over.
With each repetition, his hands steadied a little more.
Again and again.
By the third time, his hands had stopped shaking.
By the fourth, his thoughts had cleared.
In this place that devoured people alive, anyone without a ruthless heart wouldn't survive.
There would be no shortage of bloodshed like this in the days ahead.
Killing people.
The first time was hard; the second was easier.
If he couldn't get used to it, he'd just have to kill a few more until he did!
Chen Ye let out a long breath, expelling all the pent-up frustration from his chest.
He pushed himself upright and looked up at the sky.
Zhang Tieyi's body would be discovered sooner or later, and the Gao Family could come charging at any moment.
The real danger had only just begun.
This was no time to let his guard down.
Chen Ye suppressed his churning emotions and summoned the Pawn System.
[Remaining lifespan: one day.]
Chen Ye stared at the words, speechless for a moment.
A moment ago, cornered with no way out, he'd gambled everything and pawned away all his lifespan in one go. Now, his actual lifespan was down to just one day.
If he didn't buy his lifespan back within a day, escaping the Gao Family and even Qinghe Prefecture would be useless.
He would die, without a doubt.
But in that situation, even if he hadn't pawned his lifespan, he would still have been doomed.
At most, he could have clung to life for a few more days.
He'd had no choice.
Chen Ye quickly ran through the calculations in his head.
Since the first time he pawned his lifespan, he had pawned a total of two years, nine months, and six days.
During that time, he had spent twenty-two taels of silver to buy back a total of eighty-eight days.
By the system's calculations, he should be able to buy back two years, six months, and eight days of lifespan.
At four days per tael, he would need two hundred and thirty taels of silver.
Forget two hundred taels—even a single tael was beyond his reach right now.
At that thought, his gaze fell on Zhang Tieyi's body.
Since the man had been going to the Xie Family, he should have brought travel money.
Chen Ye quickly crouched down, slipped a hand inside Zhang Tieyi's robe, and searched carefully.
He felt from the man's chest down to his waist, then pulled out a money pouch.
Chen Ye untied the pouch and opened it. There were only a few bits of silver inside.
Crouching on the ground, he gathered the silver in his palm and counted it, not caring that it was dirty. It came to about five taels.
One tael bought back four days, so five taels meant twenty days.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to let him catch his breath.
Chen Ye didn't hesitate. He used all the silver to buy back his lifespan.
"I want to buy back my lifespan."
The familiar interface appeared before him once more.
[Redemption successful.] [Remaining lifespan: twenty-one days.]
At the latest notification, the nerves wound tight inside Chen Ye finally eased. He let out a long breath.
He kept searching.
A trace of warmth still lingered in Zhang Tieyi's corpse.
As Chen Ye searched, he could still feel some heat.
Suppressing his discomfort, he reached lower and felt another hard object at the man's waist.
He pulled it out. It was a secret letter, its seal stamped unmistakably with the Xie Family's wax emblem.
Chen Ye knew that when the aristocratic clans of the Jing Kingdom dealt with one another, they often carried seals like this, in addition to calling cards, to prove their identities.
Zhang Tieyi had carried the letter on him, clearly intending to use it when he visited the Xie Family.
Chen Ye unfolded the letter and read it word by word.
During his years with the Gao Family, his previous self had picked up plenty of characters simply by being around them, so reading it wasn't difficult.
The letter had been written by Gao Yunheng. Most of it was empty pleasantries and greetings, nothing of substance.
Only at the very end did it mention him:
"Chen Ye of the Gao Residence has just revealed his True Yang. He may be sent to the Xie Residence. I trust he will be received favorably."
A few sparse words. It said nothing about his aptitude and revealed no secrets.
Anyone who wasn't part of the game would never see their hidden meaning.
But Chen Ye was part of the game, and he understood.
He carefully folded the secret letter and tucked it inside his robe.
Chen Ye knew this wasn't over.
Gao Yunheng. The Xie Family!
He was still clumsy at killing people, and could use a few more people for practice.
He searched again but found nothing else.
Chen Ye picked up Zhang Tieyi's short blade and straightened, only to catch sight of Gao Qiaoniang standing in the doorway.
She was holding a wooden tray. He didn't know when she had arrived.
He'd been focused on searching the body and hadn't paid attention to what was outside. He hadn't noticed her.
Gao Qiaoniang didn't scream as he'd expected.
Her lips parted, then closed again. In the end, she said nothing.
Her gaze shifted from his face to the corpse on the ground, then from the corpse back to his face.
She took half a step backward, her back touching the doorframe, then stood still.
The bowl on her tray tipped slightly. Some porridge spilled over the rim and trickled down the side, but she didn't bother to steady it.
Chen Ye opened his mouth. His voice was hoarse, as if he had a mouthful of sand.
"I didn't see you."
Gao Qiaoniang lowered her eyes to the bowl of porridge on the tray.
The spilled porridge was nearly running onto the wooden tray.
She picked up the bowl, then looked toward the slop bucket where she dumped the medicine dregs each day.
"I didn't see you either."
Gao Qiaoniang spoke too, her voice soft. Then she turned and hurried back to the side room, closing the door behind her.
Chen Ye clasped his hands and bowed solemnly toward the closed door.
Just as he was about to leave, a few more words drifted out from the side room. "The two guards outside change shifts at the Chen-Mao hour. Before the shift change, they'll go together to slack off around the corner at the alley entrance and smoke a pipe. They'll be gone for about half an incense stick."
Chen Ye stopped in his tracks and murmured, "Thank you."
He walked out into the courtyard and glanced back.
At some point, a crack had been opened in the window of the west side room.
Gao Qiaoniang's face was hidden behind it.
They looked at each other across half the courtyard for a few moments.
Then her gaze passed over him and beyond the courtyard wall, settling on the alley that led outside the residence. Her expression was impossible to read.
Chen Ye didn't know what she was thinking. He turned and hurried away.
He had always had a good memory.
When he'd arrived more than ten days ago, he had memorized every route.
As he reached a corner, the faint sound of guards chatting drifted from ahead.
Chen Ye immediately slipped out of sight, holding his breath as he peered out with just half an eye.
Two guards up ahead were making idle conversation.
He stayed put and waited patiently.
After about the time it took to burn an incense stick, the two guards did as Gao Qiaoniang had said. They sneaked around to another corner and pulled out their pipes.
Chen Ye seized his chance, pushed off with his feet, and darted past the alley entrance and out.
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