The black-clad martial artist hunched his shoulders and was just about to turn around when a hand suddenly shot out of the rain behind him, clamping around his neck like iron pincers.
The grip was so strong that he couldn't make a sound.
The bones in his throat felt ready to shatter. His windpipe was crushed shut, and not a peep escaped him. He couldn't even breathe.
His eyes bulged as he flailed wildly, trying to pry the hand away, but it wouldn't budge. It was hard as iron—not like a human hand at all.
Panic seized him.
Who was behind him??
Li Pingsheng didn't so much as change his expression. With one hand, he hoisted the man—who weighed well over a hundred pounds—off the ground.
He touched down on the slick rooftop with his toes, then drifted into a nearby dead-end alley piled with junk, as light as a feather and utterly silent.
"Thud."
The black-clad man was slammed into the muddy ground, splashing filthy water everywhere.
He coughed hard, finally managing to draw breath, but before he could catch it, a foot came down on his chest. The pressure was so immense that his breastbone felt ready to snap.
He looked up in terror and saw a rain-washed, corpse-pale face.
Li Pingsheng.
The cripple Instructor Wu had said was dead inside, with his meridians severed?
What was he doing here?!
Wasn't he supposed to be patrolling the streets, out of breath after just a few steps?!
"Who sent you?"
The black-clad man's thoughts began to spin.
He was nothing but a cripple. Even if he had a little brute strength, the man himself was a martial artist of the Black Water Gang!
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes. His right hand shot out from his sleeve, a poisoned dagger plunging toward Li Pingsheng's ankle!
But to Li Pingsheng, the move was a joke, slow as a snail.
Li Pingsheng pressed down a little harder with the foot on his chest.
"Crack!"
The sound of breaking bone.
The black-clad man's chest caved in, and his body curled upward. The dagger clattered to the ground.
He convulsed in agony, his face purpling as he struggled to scream without making a sound.
Li Pingsheng bent down, picked up the dagger, and waved it before the man's eyes. Then, without expression, he seized the man's left wrist.
"I'll ask you one more time."
The black-clad man's eyes pleaded with terror. He shook his head frantically, trying to beg for mercy with a hoarse "Hrk, hrk."
Li Pingsheng ignored him.
His five fingers tightened.
"Crack!"
Another bone-breaking crunch that made your teeth ache. The black-clad man's left hand was crushed into a lump of mangled flesh.
This hurt far more than the last blow. The man shook all over, tears and snot mixing with the rain on his face. He thrashed in the muddy water like someone having a seizure.
"Talk!"
Unable to bear the pain any longer, the black-clad man gave in. He dared not entertain another thought and stammered in a voice barely loud enough to hear, "I-it was Master Scar..."
"Master Scar's coming tonight... bringing men..."
"In this heavy rain... he'll kidnap your whole family..."
"He wants... you to kneel and watch your family... one by one... die..."
He hadn't finished speaking.
Tonight!
A murderous rage burst from Li Pingsheng's heart and surged through his whole body.
He said no more.
His hand clamped around the man's neck and twisted sharply.
"Crack."
The black-clad man's head lolled at a grotesque angle. His body jerked twice, then went still.
Rain washed over his dead, staring face and the blood in the alley.
Li Pingsheng released him, and the corpse slumped to the ground.
He looked at the body, not a ripple in his eyes.
After a moment, he calmly crouched down and swiftly stripped off the man's still-warm black clothes and face covering. Then he dragged the corpse to the far end of the alley, lifted a stinking garbage heap, and shoved him underneath.
Once that was done, he pulled on the black clothes and covered his face with the mask.
Turn their own scheme against them.
Let the mantis stalk the cicada while the oriole waits behind.
The Li Family's old home.
With a creak, the courtyard gate swung open.
Grandpa Li, Mother Li, and Second Aunt, who had been anxiously pacing the main room, jumped in fright.
"Who's there?"
"It's me."
Li Pingsheng slipped inside and quickly shut the door.
"Pingsheng? Weren't you out on patrol? Why..."
Mother Li saw that her son was soaked and wearing unfamiliar black clothes. Panic seized her.
"Mother, Grandpa, Second Aunt, listen to me."
"Some thieves may come tonight. Lock all the doors right now, then take Yunmei and hide under the bed in my room. Remember, no matter what you hear, don't come out or make a sound."
"Thieves? What thieves? Pingsheng, what happened?"
Grandpa Li clutched his cane, his hands trembling.
"There's no time to explain, Grandpa. Trust me."
"Hide, and you'll live. Come out, and you'll die."
Looking into his eyes, Grandpa Li knew something terrible had happened.
He asked no more. He nodded firmly and said in a low voice, "All right! We'll do as you say!"
With the family's help, they soon slipped into hiding under the bed in Li Pingsheng's room, silently blocking the gap with quilts. Not one of them dared draw a deep breath.
After making sure they were hidden, Li Pingsheng leaped onto the roof and crouched in the shadow beneath the eaves, blending into the darkness.
The rain fell harder and harder.
Raindrops the size of beans hammered the roof tiles with a rushing roar, drowning out every other sound.
Li Pingsheng crouched there without moving.
He was waiting.
Waiting for those fools who thought themselves hunters to walk straight into the snare of the oriole waiting behind.
About half an hour later,
a jumble of footsteps, muffled by the rain, finally came from a distant, pitch-black alley entrance.
Li Pingsheng saw more than a dozen shadows racing through the downpour toward the Li Family's old home.
At their head was Master Scar, deputy chief of the Black Water Gang's branch.
Beside him was Master Qin.
"Master Scar, this is the place."
"That boy's family is all inside. Not one of them can get away!"
Master Scar stopped at the mouth of the alley and spotted the black figure crouched on the roof.
That was the lookout he had sent ahead.
Master Scar raised a hand and made a signal known only to members of the Black Water Gang.
"How's the situation?"
On the rooftop, Li Pingsheng, his face masked, remained perfectly calm.
He copied the lookout's habitual gesture from memory and raised a hand to return the signal.
—All clear. The family's inside.
At the sight of the signal,
It worked.
He turned to look at the dozen or so gang elites behind him. They were the toughest, most ruthless men at his command. They were more than enough to handle a cripple's family.
"Master Qin, haven't you always wanted to see that boy's face when he despairs?"
Master Scar patted Master Qin's cheek and grinned. "Tonight, you'll get your fill."
"Thank you, Master Scar! Thank you!"
Master Qin trembled with excitement, as if he could already see Li Pingsheng kneeling and begging for mercy.
"Move!"
Master Scar gave a savage grin and waved his hand, wasting no time.
"Rush in! Break the men's legs and tie up the women! Keep it quiet. Don't alert the martial arts academy disciples on night patrol!"
At his command, the dozen Black Water Gang thugs crept toward the Li Family's flimsy-looking courtyard gate like hungry wolves.
Master Qin followed at the rear, wearing a twisted grin as he muttered to himself.
"Li Pingsheng, you dared to cross me. This is what you get!"
"When you come home and find your family destroyed, I wonder what your face will look like. I just... can't wait!"
Not one of them noticed.
Above their heads, the "lookout" on the eaves had quietly risen to his feet.
His eyes fixed on every one of them as if they were already dead.
On this rainy night, the killing intent was thick.
Before you continue