Double Kill

"Your future?"

"How exactly am I standing in the way of your future!"

Fang Shuwen stood up, looking straight at the approaching Liu Mang.

The night wind poured in from the alley entrance, and the moonlight stretched shadows long and short across the bluestone pavement.

Liu Mang's footsteps stopped five paces away.

At this moment, he had already realized that the person waiting ahead was not Chen Da.

"Fang Shuwen!"

"Why are you here?"

Liu Mang's heart eased. Although he didn't know why Chen Da wasn't here and why it was Fang Shuwen instead, and even though the other party had heard what he said, so what?

Fang Shuwen was just a scrawny student; he was no match for him in a real fight.

Thinking of this, a trace of a smile even appeared on the corner of Liu Mang's mouth.

However, he did not notice the slumped figure in the corner of the backyard.

He only saw Fang Shuwen stand up, alone and empty-handed.

"So you heard me, so be it."

Liu Mang shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, lifted his chin slightly, and resumed his usual reckless demeanor.

"I had originally planned to let you go, but since you couldn't just stay home and instead harbored delusions of going to find Young Master Guo, you have only yourself to blame!"

Oh, Fang Shuwen thought to himself, so that was it.

There really was something fishy about Liu Mang finding people to deal with him.

The last shred of uncertainty in his heart dissipated, replaced by a chill.

He raised his eyes to look at Liu Mang, his tone unhurried:

"So, the incident at the temple fair where you goaded me into pinching that rich girl's butt—that was also part of your scheme?"

"Only just figured that out?"

Liu Mang sneered, fished a cigarette out of his pocket, stuck it in his mouth, struck a match to light it, and took a drag.

"With a brain like yours, you wouldn't even qualify to be a dog. The position by Young Master Guo's side should be mine, Liu Mang's. You, the son of a gatekeeper, think you're worthy of competing with me?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Shuwen almost laughed out of anger.

What kind of brain did this guy have?

Fighting to be someone's dog?

He was not the original owner; he would never go out of his way to suck up to Young Master Guo or be anyone's dog.

"You think I'm competing with you?"

Fang Shuwen shook his head.

"Liu Mang, you went to all this trouble to scheme against me just to snatch a job as a lackey for Young Master Guo?"

"Who are you calling a lackey!"

Liu Mang was stung by these words, his voice suddenly rising:

"What do you know? That's Shenghai Martial University! Young Master Guo is an admitted student! If you follow him in, the worst you'll get after graduation is a squad leader position at the Public Security Bureau!"

"If it were you, wouldn't you be tempted!"

Born a commoner, bowing and scraping, acting like a dog—all to trade for a chance to enter Shenghai Martial University.

Even if it meant just auditing classes or acting as a study companion.

Once graduated, one would be qualified to enter official institutions and at least become a cadre.

Wasn't this exactly what Old Fang was always harping on about?

Old Fang had sold everything he owned to put him through middle school; wasn't this the goal?

To carry a pen in his pocket, become a cadre, and get ahead in life.

The original owner probably thought the same way.

That was why he had followed behind Guo Ziming, serving tea and water, flattering him, all to climb up to a noble and join the upper class.

It was a pity, but the original owner was already gone.

He had perished at that temple fair, under a single punch from Chen Da.

The Fang Shuwen standing here now had already had his core replaced.

"Liu Mang."

Fang Shuwen finally spoke, his voice cutting clearly through the night wind and into Liu Mang's ears.

"You are right; in the past, I might have truly been tempted by this path."

Liu Mang frowned, about to say something, but Fang Shuwen continued.

"But things are different now."

"Shenghai Martial University—if I want to get in, I will pass the entrance exam myself."

Liu Mang thought he had misheard. He froze for a heartbeat, then burst into raucous laughter.

"You? Pass the exam?"

"In your state, you still want to get into Shenghai Martial University?"

Fang Shuwen had failed six out of seven subjects; if not for his physical education scores pulling him up, he wouldn't even have qualified for make-up exams!

Yet a person like this was standing right in front of him, claiming he would enter the best martial arts university in the south: Shenghai Martial University.

Had this kid been squatting for so long that his brain was starved of oxygen?

Delusional, he must have lost his mind.

Thinking this, Liu Mang laughed aloud:

"Do you even know the requirements for the Shenghai Martial University entrance exam? You need at least three bone-cracking sounds, the entry level of Mingjin!"

"You've practiced martial arts, but you haven't even crossed the threshold. What are you going to use to pass? That mouth of yours?"

His laughter was loud and grating.

But as he laughed, his voice gradually lowered, and eventually, the curve of his lips stiffened.

Because Fang Shuwen did not refute him.

There was no red-faced arguing, no flying into a rage, not even a shred of embarrassment from being poked in a sore spot.

He just stood there, quiet and composed.

Under the faint moonlight, his posture was calm, as if he were looking at a fool.

This silence was more unsettling than any rebuttal.

"Are you finished?" Fang Shuwen asked.

Liu Mang opened his mouth, but no words came out.

At that moment, his gaze shifted, and he caught sight of a dark, curled-up shadow in the corner of the courtyard.

Liu Mang's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

It was a person.

It was Chen Da.

Chen Da's neck was twisted at an unnatural angle; it was obvious that he could not possibly be alive.

The laughter became completely lodged in Liu Mang's throat.

It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head, chilling him from his scalp to the soles of his feet.

He violently tore his gaze away from Chen Da's corpse.

He stared fixedly at the youth before him, who wore a grey cloth robe and stood with empty hands.

"You... you killed Chen Da?"

Liu Mang's voice turned shrill and distorted, his lips trembling.

"A martial artist with one bone-cracking sound—you beat him to death?"

"No, no, that's impossible. How did he die? Who actually killed him!"

Fang Shuwen did not answer the question.

He simply raised his right hand, spread his palm under the moonlight, and slowly clenched it into a fist.

His knuckles cracked.

The sound was not the usual popping of joints, but a crisp snap emanating from deep within the bone, like firecrackers exploding inside flesh.

One sound, two sounds.

Crisp, continuous, and powerful.

Liu Mang's face turned deathly pale.

Two bone-cracking sounds—he knew exactly what that meant.

So, Chen Da had indeed been killed by Fang Shuwen!

"You... when did you..."

Liu Mang stood dumbfounded, his heart filled with a sense of absurd disbelief.

But no matter how unbelievable it seemed.

Fang Shuwen was now someone he could not contend with!

"Do you still think I'm fighting you for the chance to be someone's dog?"

Fang Shuwen took a step forward.

He stopped in front of Liu Mang, looking down from above at the man who was half a head taller than him, yet currently retreating in fear.

"Liu Mang, do you want my legs, or do you want my life?"

Liu Mang could no longer hold it together.

He collapsed to his knees with a thud, his kneecaps striking the bluestone floor with a dull sound.

He scrambled to pull things from his robes, and ten silver dollars clattered onto the ground.

"Don't... don't kill me... Fang Shuwen... Brother Fang!"

Liu Mang's voice was choked with sobs, his face smeared with snot and tears.

"I have money! It's all yours! I won't fight you for Young Master Guo anymore, the spot is yours!"

"Brother Fang, let me go, I promise I'll never appear before you again, I promise..."

Snap.

The next moment.

With a crisp sound, Fang Shuwen twisted Liu Mang's neck.

"If I kill you, this money is still mine."