Butcher of the Rainy Night

Just as the men from the Black Water Gang were about to reach the courtyard gate.

"Roar!"

A muffled roar echoed from the pitch-black depths of the alley.

Although the rain was heavy, Li Pingsheng heard it clearly.

That sound was not human.

Something was wrong!

He decided to wait a little longer.

Down below, Master Scar and Master Qin's men did not have Li Pingsheng's sharp ears, so they proceeded with their original plan.

Master Scar signaled with his hand.

"Move out, smash the door!"

It was at this very moment.

"Awoo."

Two massive beasts lunged out from the depths of the alley, bringing with them a foul, fishy stench.

They were two giant hyenas over a zhang long, covered in black fur with red light glowing in their eyes.

Low-tier demonic beasts, Bloodthirsty Hyena.

They had likely been drawn by the scent of blood from the sentry's corpse discarded deep in the alley.

Now, catching the scent of even more, fresher flesh and blood, these two beasts fell into a complete frenzy!

Smelling the scent of living people, the two beasts went even madder.

"Puchi."

The two Black Water Gang members preparing to kick the door down had no time to react before they were pounced upon from behind by the two demonic beasts.

"Ah."

The scream lasted only half a second before it was cut short.

One man's throat was snapped by the hyena's fangs, and hot blood sprayed out, mixing with the rain.

The other was even worse off; half his head had been bitten away, with red and white matter spilling all over the ground.

Someone shouted, and the entire formation fell into chaos.

"Demonic beasts, it's demonic beasts!"

"Run!"

The formation scattered instantly, and everyone scrambled to flee, wishing their parents had given them an extra pair of legs.

Master Scar was a branch leader, after all; though startled, he didn't run immediately, instead roaring as he drew the Ghost Head Broadsword from his waist.

"Don't panic, you bastards, form up!"

"They're just two beasts! There are over a dozen of us, what are you afraid of? Kill them, and their pelts alone will fetch a fortune!"

His words were useless; his men only ran faster.

Master Qin was in an even more pathetic state.

A warm liquid trickled down his pant leg, and a pungent, foul odor immediately spread.

Master Qin's legs turned to jelly; he scrambled to the back of the crowd, clutching his head and shivering uncontrollably, his mouth emitting meaningless pleas for mercy.

"Master Scar, Master Scar, save me!"

In the chaos, one of the Bloodthirsty Hyena seemed to lock its gaze onto Master Qin.

It pushed off with all four legs and lunged.

"Ah, my leg!"

Master Qin felt a sharp pain in his thigh. Looking down, he saw the beast's barb-covered tongue licking the flesh of his leg, its foul, stinking saliva drenching him.

The beast bit down on his thigh, using all its strength to drag him away like a discarded sack, pulling him back with wild ferocity.

Master Qin screamed, reaching out desperately toward Master Scar, who was not far away.

"Master Scar, help me, Master Scar! For the sake of all the years I've followed you, save me!"

Master Scar glanced back.

He saw the fear and pleading in Master Qin's eyes, and he also saw the other beast behind the first one, staring right at him.

Save him?

What a joke!

How could he save him?

Instead of saving him, Master Scar took advantage of the moment the beast was occupied with Master Qin to swing his blade with all his might, forcing the other Bloodthirsty Hyena back, and then turned and ran for his life toward the alley entrance without looking back.

"Master Qin, rest in peace. I will take good care of your three wives and four concubines!"

"No!! Master Scar!"

Master Qin's eyes were instantly filled with despair and resentment, his screams quickly drowned out by the sound of bones shattering and flesh being torn apart.

The alley entrance was right in front of him.

As long as he rushed out, he would be safe.

A surge of wild joy flooded Master Scar's heart.

But just as one of his feet was about to step out of the alley, a dark shadow drifted down from the eaves above his head, landing in front of him and blocking his path.

The rain washed over the stranger's mask, revealing a face Master Scar would never forget for the rest of his life.

It was none other than Li Pingsheng.

Master Scar's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks.

How could he be here?

Wasn't he the waste whose meridians were completely severed by Instructor Wu, leaving him capable of nothing but patrolling the streets?

And that movement technique just now—what kind of hellish thing was that?

A massive wave of fear instantly shattered Master Scar's sanity.

"You bastard, you played me! You dared to ambush me."

"Use the ultimate move!"

Madness flared in Master Scar's eyes. Without a second thought, he pulled a small porcelain bottle from his robes, shook out a blood-red pill, and shoved it directly into his mouth.

Black Water Gang secret medicine, Blood Burning Pill.

"BOOM!"

As the pill hit his stomach, a surge of heat immediately spread through his body.

The skin and flesh all over Master Scar's body turned visibly red, thick veins bulged wildly on his forehead and arms, and his bones emitted a series of cracking sounds as if they were about to give way.

His eyes turned blood-red, and scorching white steam puffed from his nose and mouth. His entire frame seemed to grow a size larger, his aura even more terrifying than the beast behind him.

Master Scar let out a roar like a wild animal, gripped his Ghost Head Broadsword with both hands, and with every ounce of his strength, slashed at Li Pingsheng's face.

"Go to hell!"

The fierce blade wind left a visible white wake in the air.

Facing this strike, Li Pingsheng merely tapped his toes lightly against the slippery ground.

Light Body and Wind Treading, both talents activated simultaneously.

His figure instantly became elusive and unpredictable.

In his eyes, that ferocious blade light was laughably slow.

With a simple sidestep, he let the blade edge graze past the tip of his nose; the wind it stirred didn't even ruffle the corner of his clothes.

"What??"

Master Scar missed his strike, terrified to his core.

He roared again, swinging the broadsword wildly, covering every inch of space within three feet of Li Pingsheng.

But it was useless.

Li Pingsheng dodged effortlessly amidst the flashing blades, leaning forward, sliding to the side, or arching backward. Every step used the smallest movement and the most bizarre angles to evade every single attack.

No matter how crazed Master Scar became, he couldn't even touch a corner of Li Pingsheng's clothes.

"ROAR."

Just as Master Scar's attack missed, the Bloodthirsty Hyena that had just killed Master Qin caught the scent of the surging bloodlust on Master Scar and lunged from behind, jaws wide open.

In his berserk state, Master Scar's senses were heightened. Without even turning his head, he swung his blade backward.

"Get lost, you beast."

"SPLIT."

A flash of blood.

The Bloodthirsty Hyena was cleaved clean in two from head to tail by that single strike.

Warm entrails and foul-smelling blood splattered all over the ground.

However, this scene only earned a soft grunt from Li Pingsheng.

He even had the leisure to glance at the split-open head of the beast.

Amidst the spraying brains, he thought he saw a strange, pitch-black little insect, wriggling like a maggot, which dove into the muddy water the moment it hit the ground and vanished.

An illusion?

Li Pingsheng withdrew his gaze and looked back at Master Scar, whose aura had weakened slightly after delivering that strike.

"Blood Burning Pill, trading essence blood for power; once the medicinal effect fades, death is certain."

"You burn your own life just to put on a show of slaughtering a beast in front of me."

Master Scar shuddered, nearing despair.

"Who, who exactly are you?"

Li Pingsheng looked at him, slowly raising his right hand, fingers splayed, before clenching them into a sudden fist.

"Who am I?"

"Am I not just someone who has come to collect a debt."