False Immortal in Troubled Times

Blackwater City, a dilapidated courtyard in the southern suburbs.

Lin Shu's consciousness was drifting; he wanted to open his eyes to take a look, but his eyelids felt as if they had been glued shut with rice paste.

"Keep hitting him."

A coarse voice suddenly rang out by his ear, jolting him into a state of slight alertness.

They're at it again? Who are they hitting?

Lin Shu instinctively reached out, wanting to grab something.

When it came to brawls, one had to have a handy weapon, otherwise, they would suffer a heavy loss.

He was more than experienced in handling such matters; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to crawl through those filthy alleys and survive until today.

Crack! Crack!

However, before Lin Shu's hand could even extend, two lashes were whipped fiercely across his shoulders and back, tearing his skin and flesh wide open.

"Hiss!"

The grogginess from a hangover vanished instantly. Stimulated by the sharp pain, Lin Shu finally forced his eyes open. The "rice paste" gumming up his eyes was a deep, scarlet red, casting his entire field of vision into a blurred, dark crimson.

So... it's me they're fucking hitting.

As his consciousness took control of his body, the pain from his battered frame flooded his brain.

Lin Shu's breathing turned ragged and trembling, and the skin on his arms tightened in a mix of adrenaline and fear.

He licked his split lip, curled the blood into his mouth with his tongue, and slowly raised his head to look around.

The surroundings were utterly unfamiliar: a crude, earthen-walled courtyard, a far cry from the filthy alleys and high-rise buildings he was accustomed to.

At least a dozen people had entered his line of sight, a mix of men, women, and children.

The most eye-catching were the three burly men in front.

All three were shirtless, their faces painted with strange, exaggerated ink patterns.

The leader sported a short beard, while the other two gripped leather whips, looking down at him with cold, sinister eyes.

"Whips?"

Lin Shu endured the agony, calmly observing everything.

Who uses these things in a street fight?

This stuff was either for carrying out punishments or for some twisted bedroom play.

After glancing at the three brutes, Lin Shu hoped it was the former.

His gaze shifted downward to the ground level, where a blood-stained burlap sack lay. Judging by its silhouette, it seemed to contain a living creature, something like an ape, still twitching slightly.

With the sack as an anchor, fragmented memories instantly converged.

This place was the base of a traveling troupe, a group that made their living through scams and deception.

His predecessor had been picked up by them from the outskirts.

Because of his slender build and fair skin, he was tasked with playing the role of immortals and deities to coax reward money out of people.

Not long ago, the troupe had set their sights on an old woman. After finding out she had a sick grandson who was only kept alive by medicinal soups, they hatched a malicious plan.

They first convinced the woman to stop the medicine, then fabricated a few "miracles," and finally brought the old woman before his predecessor, who was dressed as a deity.

They had easily swindled the old woman out of her entire life savings.

Normally, the matter would have ended there.

Who would have thought that his predecessor couldn't bear to see the child lose his life?

He had actually snuck out, intending to convince the old woman not to cut off the child's medicine. As for the money, he was willing to accompany her to report the matter to the authorities.

"This..."

Lin Shu's mouth twitched.

To be saddled with such a moronic body... there's really no helping it.

He stared at the burlap sack.

Through the half-open mouth of the bag, a bloodied, mangled old face was vaguely visible.

It looked a bit like a monkey starved to the bone, its round eyes staring wide, its shattered lips trembling uncontrollably.

The old woman looked straight at the young man who had swindled her money yet now wanted to help her seek justice.

She let out a gurgling whimper, unsure if it was a plea for help or a curse.

A withered palm trembled as it reached out from the bag, three of its five fingers broken and hanging limply.

Lin Shu watched the hand drawing closer and tried to recoil in slight disgust.

He knew he wasn't a good person and that he would likely die on the streets one day, and he had even imagined a scene as tragic and beautiful as this.

But the person involved should have been a "spirit sister" in leather, covered in dragon and tiger tattoos, or a high-society goddess in a gown and heels.

"Still not dead, the fucker!"

From the crowd, the man called Wang Xu suddenly jumped out and began viciously kicking the burlap sack.

"Cr-crunch... Awooo!!"

The old woman's last breath was kicked out of her, transforming into a howl akin to a wild beast.

Following that, the noisy whimpering in the courtyard ceased entirely.

Those withered palms also lost their strength, coming to a halt just before Lin Shu's cheek.

It was bizarre; she didn't seem to be begging for help or cursing in anger, but rather expressing pity for this young man who was also about to be beaten to death.

Unfortunately, the old woman had no way to touch his face.

Her remaining fingers slid away rapidly, only managing to leave two warm, foul-smelling streaks of blood across the tip of his nose.

"..."

Lin Shu felt the moisture on his nose and remained silent for a moment.

He raised an eyebrow and looked at Wang Xu, his expression neither happy nor sad.

No one noticed that the instant the old woman breathed her last, a flicker of black light vanished in a flash, falling into Lin Shu's palm.

"Master Liu the Third, let me handle the cleanup."

Wang Xu looked fawningly at the burly man with the short beard who led them.

Master Liu the Third, the troupe leader, shoved him aside and walked over to Lin Shu, crouching down unhurriedly.

He then reached out to pinch the boy's jaw, forcing him to lift his head.

"Tsk, he actually withstood the family law."

Master Liu the Third was not very satisfied with this result.

A full hundred lashes, yet it hadn't managed to beat this lowly wretch who dared to rebel to death.

Still, the family had its rules, and the word had already been spoken.

"A truly stubborn life."

Master Liu the Third sighed, then spat a mouthful of filth onto Lin Shu's forehead: "Pah."

No matter how stubborn a life was, it was nothing more than a matter of adding a few more lashes.

"Drag him inside; there's another show tomorrow."

Master Liu the Third had no habit of chatting with the dead, so he tossed Lin Shu aside and stood back up.

Among the surrounding crowd, the old cripple, who clearly held the lowest status and had only dared to watch from afar, immediately scurried over. His eyes were filled with heartache, yet he dared not show it.

He bowed and scraped obsequiously toward Master Liu the Third.

Then, fearing the man might change his mind, he hurriedly and clumsily dragged Lin Shu into the woodshed.

The woodshed was messy but relatively dry.

Old Yang helped Lin Shu lie down against the wall, carefully closed the door first, then turned back and lowered his voice to complain:

"Tell me, why do you bother sticking your nose into other people's business?"

"Have they ever shared a single cent of the silver they earned with you? You don't even have the right to touch the money, so even if that old woman's entire family died off, what the hell does it have to do with you!"

The cripple walked back to the corner, only to see Lin Shu already gritting his teeth and forcing himself to sit up.

His fair, delicate, naked body was covered in wounds, with hardly a patch of unblemished skin left.

Yet, there wasn't much terror on the boy's face. Despite his rapid, heavy breathing, his posture against the wall was surprisingly loose and relaxed, and he even closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Old Yang was stunned; the boy had almost been beaten to death, yet he could still smile?

"What is going on here?"

Lin Shu looked down at his own chest. Compared to the wounds on his body, his hollow chest made him even more curious.

His entire heart had been gouged out by a sharp weapon; why could a person without a heart still be alive?

"Who knows about you? You were like this when I first dragged you back—always looking like you were about to die."

The cripple was called Old Yang, and he had once been a mainstay of the troupe.

Unfortunately, he had later broken the family law, had his martial arts crippled, and lost a leg, falling into this wretched state.

The two of them were brothers in misfortune.

"You mean to say that I can't get a share of the money, I don't know how long I'll live, and I still have to let people bully me like this?"

Lin Shu opened his eyes, looking over with a sense of surprise.

"Who told you to be such a saint!" Old Yang glared at him, frustrated by his lack of resolve.

In this opera troupe, one didn't necessarily have to rely on martial arts to survive.

The boy was born with a handsome face, and that was his capital.

If you had been willing to listen, you wouldn't be in this position today.

"A good person." Lin Shu felt the wall was too hard and shifted into a more comfortable position.

"What else would you be?" Old Yang always felt the person before him was acting strange today; he wondered if the whipping had knocked him silly.

Hearing this, Lin Shu pondered for a moment and nodded gently: "That's true, and I've never heard anyone speak ill of me anyway."

"..."

Old Yang let out a long sigh, too lazy to continue this idle chatter.

If the other party hadn't caused trouble, at most a child would have died of illness, but now, that old woman's entire family would likely suffer.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but offer one more piece of advice: "Work hard! If you can't truly join the gang, you'll never get a share of the money. How will you find a doctor then? Do you really not want to live?"

"Money, is it?"

Lin Shu turned his head to look at the black light in his palm.

It was a pitch-black copper coin that had appeared the very moment the old woman breathed her last.

[Good deeds bring good wealth, evil deeds bring Evil Coin]

[Murder and arson bring golden belts, building bridges and paving roads leave no remains; kill a lowly life, be rewarded with one Evil Coin]

The brief text confirmed that the old woman had indeed died at the hands of his predecessor.

Anyone else might have felt guilt or regret.

But Lin Shu merely rubbed the coin with his thumb and decided to keep it.

The moment he clenched his palm, everything in his field of vision seemed to change; in the previously empty space of his chest, a vague, indistinct phantom appeared.

It looked like a curled-up Little White Wolf.

The next moment, the copper coin in Lin Shu's hand suddenly burrowed into the phantom.

The Little White Wolf let out a muffled grunt of pain, and a trace of gray gloom flickered across its snow-white body.

It lifted its eyelids in a daze, and in the deepest part of its clear eyes, a touch of scarlet quietly ignited.

Is this the reason for living without a heart?

Am I being parasitized?

Lin Shu stared at his chest with keen interest.

He saw the mist drifting from the phantom connecting to his entire body like meridians, replacing the position of his heart.

New text appeared before his eyes.

[Evil Coin enters the immortal body, bringing disaster to the world]

[Half-Life Immortal. Silver-Eyed White Wolf]

[Qi Refining Grade 7. Bright Moon Claw Technique: Entry Level]

"..."

Lin Shu clenched his fingers.

If the mist on the white wolf phantom had only been passively maintaining the vitality of this body before the coin entered, he could now actively mobilize this mist.

He tried to contend with the Little White Wolf and discovered a warm current beginning to surge through his body.

Although his injuries had not yet healed, his strength began to return, and the pain was gradually fading.

So, immortals really do exist... though they look a bit strange.

Lin Shu closed his eyes to wait for his strength to fully recover, sniffing the air: "It smells so good."

"Don't even think about it, there's none for you." Old Yang swallowed his saliva.

Through the tattered paper window, one could see large pots being set up outside.

The scent of chili and fatty meat overpowered the original stench of blood, and jars of wine were brought to the tables.

Unfortunately, only a few men were allowed to sit at the table.

Not to mention the two locked in the woodshed, even the old men and women in the troupe had no right to touch the food and could only return to their rooms with hard, dry flatbreads.

"Once they've had their fill of wine, they'll make their move."

Old Yang sighed and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand:

"There's still an orphan and a widow left in that old woman's family. When night falls, they'll surely notice something is wrong. They won't let that widow have a chance to report this to the authorities."

"Hoo."

Lin Shu listened quietly, closed his eyes again, and began to sort through his memories.

Blackwater City was a chaotic place.

Even an external martial arts expert as strong as Master Liu the Third, who could snap a person's bones with one palm, could only keep his head down and engage in petty swindles rather than direct, forceful plunder.

There were even traces of cultivators in his memories.

The Blackwater Gang divided the city with the authorities, and the entire city was surrounded by the Blackwater River, cut off from the outside world for reasons unknown.

This was a wolf's den with no way out!

Lin Shu felt the gnawing pangs of hunger, and a trace of greed gradually emerged in his eyes.

Old Yang, meanwhile, curled himself up, trying not to smell the aroma of meat or listen to the noisy clinking of glasses outside.

He only hoped that the three men's operation tonight would go smoothly, so that he and Lin Shu might be spared another beating.

As the two fell silent, the woodshed grew quiet.

Until nightfall.

The sky turned dim.

In the courtyard, Master Liu the Third stood up, tucked the short blade from the table into his waistband, took the Ma Brothers along, and strode out of the compound.

Only Wang Xu remained at the table, drinking by himself. He had never practiced martial arts and was no match for the other three, but he was more than capable of guarding two cripples.

"Tsk."

Lin Shu took it all in and swayed as he stood up.

He walked toward the door. The night air was chilly, so he reached out and grabbed the clean, white fur cloak hanging on the wall.

His predecessor had worn this very outfit to play the part of a fake immortal in the city.

"Are you crazy? That's your costume for the wandering deity act. You're covered in blood—how dare you touch it? Master Liu will beat you to death!"

Dazed and confused, Old Yang was instantly jolted awake. "And where do you think you're going?!"

"I took the money, so I intend to finish the job."

Lin Shu draped the cloak over his shoulders and pushed the door open.

In the courtyard.

Wang Xu picked up a piece of fatty meat with his chopsticks and chewed it heartily.

His drunken face was full of self-satisfaction.

His mind kept replaying the scene from that afternoon, when he had decisively stepped forward and kicked that old thing to death with such clean, crisp efficiency.

Look at that keen eye for opportunity!

It was a task that required no real effort, yet because others were too afraid to do it, they missed out on this feast of wine and meat.

Thinking of this, Wang Xu couldn't help but hum to himself, so much so that he didn't notice someone approaching.

Lin Shu paced behind him, looked at the hotpot still bubbling away, reached out to take the wine pot, gave it a light shake, and downed the rest in one gulp.

"Who?! Who the hell told you to come out?"

Wang Xu was startled by the figure that had suddenly popped up. Upon seeing it was Lin Shu, he instinctively barked a reprimand.

The boy's weak and submissive nature was known to everyone.

Coupled with the fact that he had been beaten half to death earlier that day, Wang Xu couldn't even be bothered to reach for the short blade on the table.

"Pah! Mediocre wine."

Lin Shu spat lightly, shook his head, and looked curiously at the hotpot. "How's the meat? Is it good?"

Hearing this, Wang Xu almost laughed out of anger.

He caught the provocative tone in the other man's voice. With the alcohol going to his head, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he prepared to strike. "It's great. Why?"

Before the words had even left his lips, he saw Lin Shu grin, his white, neat teeth carrying an inexplicable chill.

The next moment, the wine pot smashed violently against his head!

Crack!

Already drunk, Wang Xu staggered forward under the force of the unexpected blow.

Gurgle—

Before he could steady himself, a slender hand firmly pinned the back of his head, brutally shoving his entire face deep into the boiling hotpot!

"If it's good, then have some more."

Lin Shu's eyes were clear and bright, and his smile was remarkably clean.

Only the veins bulging on his right hand and his suddenly raspy voice made him seem inexplicably terrifying.

Thump! Thump!

Wang Xu's arms thrashed wildly, nearly overturning the table.

In his agony, he instinctively opened his mouth to scream, and the scalding oil soup surged into his throat and stomach.

Lin Shu leaned down, his body taut, like a beast biting into its prey.

His right hand pressed against the back of the man's head, while his left arm bore down heavily on his shoulder.

His own fingertips were submerged in the boiling oil, quickly turning red and cooking, but the pain that would have been unbearable to an ordinary person only made the smile on his lips grow more ferocious.

Until the table stopped shaking violently and Wang Xu went still, his head bobbing up and down in the red oil.

Another streak of black light darted out, landing inside Lin Shu's sleeve.

The commotion awakened the others in the courtyard.

Yet, they all stood dazed, peering through their windows into the yard.

They watched as the slender young man, his white fur cloak swaying slightly, withdrew his hand, carelessly flicked the grease from his fingertips, and then picked up the short blade from the table.

The entire process was executed without a hint of hesitation.

This scene... was even more terrifying than when Master Liu the Third and his men had beaten that old woman to death through a burlap sack earlier today.

"Hah!"

Old Yang, who had chased him to the threshold of the woodshed, found himself unable to step over it no matter what.

He had witnessed everything that just occurred with his own eyes; his legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed to the ground, his hands gripping the doorframe so tightly that he barely managed to keep from fainting.

His mind was filled only with the conversation the two had just shared regarding good and evil.

To Wang Xu, Lin Shu certainly could not be considered a good man... but it seemed he would never have the chance to say that to Lin Shu's face.

Old Yang stared blankly as that white fur cloak merged into the night, vanishing down the long street.

Taking money to get things done?

Whose money had the other party taken, and what business were they intending to carry out?