Slaughter Through the Dark Alley

The alley was narrow.

The martial artists spread out slightly, blocking every possible path of escape.

Everything was now under control.

Qin Yunhai slowly came to a halt. He looked ahead, his gaze landing on the young man's hands, which hung naturally at his sides.

They were clean, delicate hands with slender, well-defined fingers, showing no obvious signs of martial training.

More importantly, the man held no weapon.

Foxes were best at deception.

Whether it was that sleepy-eyed expression or this harmless posture, it was all a ruse to feign weakness and lower the enemy's guard.

What usually followed was a stream of flowery words meant to bewilder and stall.

What a pity.

This foolish fox still hadn't grasped the situation.

He was here to kill, not to conduct business.

The man's best course of action would have been to steady his state of mind, grab whatever he could use, and make a final, desperate stand, rather than playing these ridiculous little games.

That would have allowed him to die with a shred of dignity.

"..."

Qin Yunhai glanced sideways at the tall, sturdy figures beside him.

He had led these eight men ever since the young master was a child, handling troubles on his behalf.

Over the years, they had no idea how many lives they had stained their hands with.

Of course, in return, his master had truly taught them everything he knew over the years; not only he, but the eight men behind him were the strongest disciples in the martial arts hall.

Now that Zhang Ci was dead, this tedious affair should finally come to an end.

As long as he handled this cleanly.

Once it was over, perhaps he could try to secure a position as a Purple Flood Dragon Constable at the yamen?

Qin Yunhai reined in his thoughts.

The lean man lowered his eyes once more, reached up to rub his temples, and said casually:

"Hack him to death."

Boom! Boom!

The thunder that suddenly exploded across the sky, like a precursor to a torrential downpour, drowned out the sudden, rapid patter of footsteps in the alley.

The lightning that followed tore through the dim night like a sharp sword.

It illuminated the long blades, glinting with cold light, inside the alley!

This group was by no means a collection of ordinary martial arts disciples; they were a group of well-trained killers, specifically cultivated by Zhang Zhongping to handle dirty work.

As the saying goes, enemies are especially prone to seeing red when they meet.

Zhao Peng took the lead, his muscles surging. A lifetime of martial arts training allowed him to whip up gusts of wind with every step he took!

His cracked skin and torn mouth made his entire face look ugly and ferocious.

"Who is going to protect you today?!"

"..."

Lin Shu stood his ground with his hands hanging down, his pupils reflecting the shadows of several men lunging forward like tigers.

The young man finally wiped the polite smile from his face.

In its place was a fierce light, a mixture of excitement and greed, deep within his eyes.

Spiritual energy surged restlessly through his arms, and wisps of black mist coiled around his ten fingers.

The next moment, that frail, scholar-like body erupted with unprecedented explosive power.

Lin Shu curled his fingers into claws and swung his arms with ferocity.

The movement was so swift that the black mist between his fingers was dragged out into long, flowing flames!

Rip—

The muffled sound of fabric tearing echoed through the alley.

Warm blood mixed with viscera sprayed out, splashing with a wet thud against the dim shadow on the wall—a shadow that had leaped high, only to be severed in the middle.

"..."

The group stopped abruptly, staring at the corpse at their feet, which had been torn into two pieces.

The scent of blood stung their nostrils.

They had seen many dead men, but such a gruesome sight still instinctively made their hearts race.

In the split second these martial artists stood stunned, the savage predator became the lone youth standing before them.

It was like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep!

Lin Shu slammed straight into the wall of men.

"Hack him to death!!"

Compared to Senior Brother Qin's somewhat dull tone earlier, the group shouted the same words, yet their voices were filled with unconcealable panic.

The bodies they had tempered since childhood had skin tougher than oxhide, and their bones were hard enough to split bluestone.

But before that palm wreathed in black Sha, they were like soft, overcooked trotters; they shattered at a touch and dissolved at a squeeze.

"Hoo."

Lin Shu had never practiced martial arts and could not understand the rhythm of their blade work.

But he was very good at fighting.

He could tell at a glance whose blade would reach him first, and who was blocked by their own companions, unable to unleash their strength.

He used this to determine the order of his strikes.

Snap!

Lin Shu raised his palm and abruptly crushed a throat bone.

Scarlet blood splattered, adding a few streaks of red to his fair, handsome face, while a hint of murderous intent flickered in his clear eyes.

He swung his arm again, the black energy surging to shatter a steel blade swinging in from the side.

He clenched his fingers into a fist and smashed it into the man's chest, sending him flying backward.

Another life claimed!

His long robes fluttering, the youth moved through the crowd with ease.

One figure after another fell.

Until the alleyway became spacious once more.

"Hah!"

The last remaining martial arts disciple's face twisted, his eyes bulging as he looked down in disbelief.

Lin Shu exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly withdrew his hand from the man's chest.

The disciple's eyes gradually dimmed, his tall frame twitching slightly as he fell backward.

He hit the ground with a thud, revealing the thin man standing not far behind him.

Drip, drip.

Although there had been thunder and lightning earlier, this was not the sound of rain.

Lin Shu stood with his hands hanging at his sides, the black energy having spread from his palms to his elbows, dancing like flames.

Viscous blood dripped from his fingertips, soaking into the muddy ground.

It added a splash of vivid color to that ink-like mist.

"Why so quiet? Something on your mind?" Lin Shu stepped over the corpses and looked toward the opposite side.

"..."

Qin Yunhai stared at the youth nearby with an expressionless face.

The entire process had been far too fast.

He had not yet recovered from the comfort of contemplating his future before the other party had already arrived before him.

Thus, this thin man was not calm and collected; he simply did not know what expression to wear to face this scene.

Qin Yunhai adjusted his ragged breathing.

He slowly bent down and placed the long blade in his hand onto the ground.

Then he stood up, faced the youth directly, and slowly took two steps back.

Though he said nothing, his attitude was clear.

He had already discerned the other party's identity: a wolf in fox's clothing... This was a cultivator, similar to Tian Jingyuan in the past, only with insufficient cultivation, merely stopping at the Magpie Nest for the time being.

Facing this, Lin Shu glanced at the corpses at his feet, and after a moment, exhaled a puff of hot air: "Since you're already here."

He raised his head and grinned, his neat, white teeth gleaming with a chilling coldness: "Don't leave."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yunhai's expression shifted uncertainly, and he pressed his dry lips together.

He had once watched his master spar with Tian Jingyuan, a fight that ended with his master having the slight upper hand.

This proved that a martial artist's internal energy could indeed harm a cultivator.

His internal energy was perfectly rounded, and he was only a single step away from the Great Martial Master realm; he might not be without a chance of victory.

The reason he had put down his blade, aside from feigning weakness, was that Qin Yunhai had practiced fist techniques since he was a child.

Energy surged within his body, flowing along his meridians into his arms. Beneath his calm exterior, he was already prepared to fight for his life!

"You forced my hand!"

Watching the young man draw ever closer, the gaunt man's eyes finally brimmed with brutality.

He let out a hoarse growl, stepped forward into a lunge, and threw the most ferocious punch of his life.

All his internal energy was concentrated at his knuckles, whistling as it sought to tear through the frail body before him.

But soon, Qin Yunhai realized something was wrong.

The black mist was as cold as frost, seemingly freezing his skin and meridians, causing his punch to slow down by an immeasurable degree.

It was slowed to the point that the other party caught his wrist with ease.

Qin Yunhai looked up in horror.

What met his eyes were the young man's indifferent, downward-gazing pupils and the slightly cruel arc of his lips.

Squelch!

A fierce hand-blade, wreathed in roiling black mist, cleanly and decisively swept across Qin Yunhai's neck.

Amidst a rain of blood scattered across the sky, his head rolled away down the street.