Lao Liu's pupils shrank sharply, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
Before the words had even left his mouth, Fang Shuwen was already closing in.
This time, he went straight at him.
He was even faster than before.
In an instant, he was right in front of the short, stocky man.
"Die!"
Lao Liu steeled himself, drew the short knife at his waist, and thrust it forward.
He had the foundation of a single bone-ringing, and he put every ounce of his strength into the strike. The blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
Fang Shuwen's body seemed boneless as he twisted at an unbelievable angle.
The short knife grazed his ribs and stabbed into empty air.
At the same time, Fang Shuwen's right hand darted out like a snake's head, his fingers pressed together into a cone as he struck Lao Liu precisely on the temple.
Snake Tongue Strike!
This was a heavy blow.
The moment his fist landed, Lao Liu's head rang!
The fierce force sent his head reeling.
Lao Liu's consciousness plunged into darkness. His short, stocky body stiffened as if electrocuted, then crashed to the ground.
Dust flew up. The short knife slipped from his limp hand, clanged twice against the ground, then fell silent.
Fang Shuwen held his punching stance, looking down at the short, stocky figure on the ground.
Lao Liu's eyes were wide open, his pupils already unfocused. A thread of dark red seeped from the corner of his mouth, and a small patch of the gravel beneath him had grown damp.
From the punch to his death, it had taken no more than the time of a single breath.
The gap between a single bone-ringing and a double bone-ringing was far greater than most people imagined.
Fang Shuwen flicked the blood from his fist, crouched down, and searched Lao Liu's body.
He found a half-worn leather wallet at his waist. It felt heavy in his hand.
He untied it and looked inside. The silver dollars gleamed in the dusk.
He didn't bother counting them, simply stuffing the wallet into his cloth schoolbag.
Then he searched Brother Hu's corpse.
The tall, thin man had even more on him: a bulging money pouch at his waist and an oil-paper packet tucked inside his jacket.
Fang Shuwen untied the pouch and opened it. Besides silver dollars, it held several brightly colored banknotes.
He was delighted, though he kept his expression unchanged. He stuffed the whole pouch into his schoolbag, then opened the oil-paper packet.
Inside were a few pieces of hardtack and a small packet of white powder. It had no noticeable smell.
Fang Shuwen frowned, wrapped the powder up just as it had been, and put it in his schoolbag too.
He could find someone to identify the stuff later.
After searching both corpses, Fang Shuwen stood and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He went to the wooden boat and bent down to undo the knots on the sacks.
The first sack's knots were tight, the hemp rope cinched deep into the fibers of the burlap. He tugged at them, and after a few quick pulls, they came loose.
The mouth of the sack fell open, revealing a pale face.
Young and delicate.
He didn't recognize her, but judging by her clothes, she was a student from Public Middle School.
The girl's eyes were closed. Her lips had turned purple, and fine beads of cold sweat covered her forehead. Her breathing was so faint it was almost impossible to feel.
Judging by her condition, she had been given a heavy dose of the drug and wouldn't wake up anytime soon.
He was about to untie the second sack when it suddenly began to thrash violently.
A muffled "mmph, mmph" came from inside, as if someone were struggling with all their might, their mouth gagged.
Fang Shuwen raised an eyebrow and quickly undid the knots on the second sack.
The moment its mouth fell open, a flushed, pretty face emerged.
Her almond-shaped eyes were wide with fury.
But a wad of cloth was stuffed in her mouth, leaving her unable to speak. All she could do was glare with eyes that seemed ready to spit fire.
Fang Shuwen froze.
He knew her.
No, more accurately, she'd made an extremely deep impression on him.
Zheng Yuanpei's granddaughter, the rich young lady whose butt the original owner had squeezed.
What was her name again?
He thought it was Zheng.
"Why is it you?"
The words slipped out of Fang Shuwen's mouth, tinged with surprise.
Zheng Shulan's eyes widened. With the cloth stuffed in her mouth, she couldn't speak and could only let out a series of urgent muffled sounds.
Her hair was a mess, and her face was smudged with dust. One button at the collar of her school uniform had been torn open, revealing a small patch of fair skin below her collarbone.
But her eyes were still bright and lively as she glared at Fang Shuwen, as if to say, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and untie me!"
Fang Shuwen reached out and pulled the rag from her mouth.
Zheng Shulan gasped for breath several times, then sucked in a sharp breath. Her voice was as piercing as a knife:
"You lecher! What are you doing here? Did you kidnap me?"
Fang Shuwen gave her a speechless look, couldn't be bothered to explain, and turned to untie the other girl.
Zheng Shulan was bound inside the sack, her hands and feet tied tightly with coarse hemp rope. She struggled twice but couldn't get free, then shouted furiously:
"Hey! Untie me first! You filthy lecher, do you hear me?"
"Heh. Is that how you ask for help?" Fang Shuwen said with a laugh.
He had no idea which powerful family this young lady came from, but didn't she see the situation they were in?
If he really were a villain, wouldn't provoking him like that get her into trouble?
Seeing him ignore her, Zheng Shulan's face grew even redder with anger, and her teeth ground together.
"You... are you deaf? I said, untie me first!"
Fang Shuwen finally turned around and gave her a once-over.
"You need someone's help, and that's how you ask?"
Zheng Shulan was left speechless. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
She took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound less clenched with fury.
"Sorry for the trouble... could you untie me?"
Only then did Fang Shuwen stroll over. He crouched down and quickly snapped the hemp ropes around her wrists and ankles.
The moment she was free, Zheng Shulan scrambled out of the sack.
She staggered a couple of steps before regaining her balance, rubbed her rope-reddened wrists, and surveyed the riverside bend.
She saw the two bodies on the ground.
One was tall and thin, his chest caved in and blood pooling around him.
The other was short and stout, his temple crushed inward, blood seeping from his ear. His death was gruesome.
Her expression shifted. Her gaze returned to Fang Shuwen, now complicated.
"You... you killed them?"
Fang Shuwen didn't answer. Instead, he bent down to lift the girl.
"Are you planning to stay here? Waiting for the Wild Wolf Gang to come collect the bodies?"
Only then did Zheng Shulan come to her senses. She hurried after him.
She wasn't about to stay there alone. Who knew whether those thugs had any accomplices?
"Wait for me!"
Fang Shuwen laid the girl on the handcart, then turned to look at the rich young lady behind him.
"Then you push the cart!"
"You!"
"Are you pushing or not? If you aren't, go back by yourself. Don't follow me."
"Fine, I'll push! As if I can't!"
After trading a few words, Zheng Shulan still lost the argument.
With no choice, she went to push the handcart.
"I remember you bought a book at the bookstore on East Street today. Is it in your schoolbag? Let me see it."
Zheng Shulan froze, her hands on the handcart stiffening slightly.
"How do you know I bought a book?"
Only after asking did she realize the bookstore owner must have told him.
"It's in my bag."
Fang Shuwen bent down and rummaged through the handcart. Sure enough, he found a pale blue bag embroidered with a little orchid. The stitches were fine; it was clearly handmade.
He unzipped the leather bag and took out Tales of the Ancient Castle.
The moment the book touched his hand, a faint chill swept over him.
As expected, there was something wrong with this book too.