As the saying went, cutting off a man's livelihood was like killing his parents.
A coffin blocking the door.
It meant there was no hope of reconciliation.
Bloodstains still marred the ground. The old man's only son and beloved disciple had both lost their lives in this alley.
Now he was all alone, his gaunt figure radiating desolation.
His voice was ice-cold, all because he wanted justice!
Zhang Zhongping seemed no longer the master of Good Fortune Martial Hall, but a pitiful old man whose entire family had been slaughtered by a gang, leaving him with nothing but a heart bent on revenge.
Under these circumstances, even if the Yamen officials showed up, they probably wouldn't dare interfere lightly.
Who could stop an old man like this from avenging his son?
Were they supposed to take Blackwater Gang's side?
Zhang Zhongping had already staked everything on this. He couldn't afford the slightest misstep; he had even factored that young Purple Flood Dragon Constable into his plans!
"..."
The gate of Magpie Nest stood half-open.
Only Jin Gui, who happened to be sweeping the floor, stood rooted to the spot, caught red-handed by this Great Martial Master.
Her legs went weak with fear. She had meant to retreat indoors like the other girls and let Master Lin deal with this.
But when she heard that heartfelt cry of "A life for a life"...
Jin Gui suddenly remembered how wretchedly she had wailed in despair the day Zhang Ci came.
She swallowed against her dry throat and turned back with a tremble, confusion in her voice. "If you understand that principle, why did you let your only son kill two of us for no reason?"
Jin Gui was nothing more than an ordinary prostitute.
Facing a renowned Great Martial Master, even managing to speak at all was no small feat.
So her voice was very low, her tone very soft.
So soft that it hardly sounded like a question.
But her words made Zhang Zhongping's face twitch violently.
A wave of fury swiftly filled his eyes.
The old man lifted his head in disbelief, as though he had suffered a terrible insult. Even his voice turned shrill:
"You dare compare the worthless life of a whore to my son's?!"
As he spoke, the powerful aura around Zhang Zhongping unconsciously burst forth.
The surging pressure drained the color from Jin Gui's face. She swiftly understood why lives were divided into noble and base.
The onlookers' expressions changed dramatically, and they hurriedly backed away.
They had heard that Great Martial Masters were fearsome, but only experiencing one firsthand showed them that the rumors had never done it justice.
If they were that fox from Magpie Nest, they would never show themselves and face him alone.
This was terrifying.
Clap, clap.
A sudden round of applause answered Zhang Zhongping's question for Jin Gui.
"Well said."
The young man in a long gown strolled downstairs, clapping his hands in admiration.
He passed Jin Gui, who was trembling all over, and stepped across the threshold.
"..."
The instant Lin Shu appeared, Zhang Zhongping narrowed his eyes. His body tensed beneath his loose robe, and he stared fixedly at the young man.
He tried to detect the weakness that should have been coming from him.
Instead, he looked up and met that fair, handsome face, wearing a mocking smile.
"Those women's lives really aren't worth much. My life isn't worth much either. Otherwise, why would I be scraping by in a place like this?"
Lin Shu stood in the doorway.
He carefully examined the coffin before him. "But I'm genuinely curious. I'd like to see what makes your young master's life so precious."
Hearing the first half of his words, the people of Green Willow Alley thought the fox was going to back down.
But in the next moment, they saw Lin Shu lift his head with a smile, then suddenly raise his leg and kick the coffin with savage force!
Bang—
A muffled crash erupted.
The two-meter-long black coffin shot forward like a giant python surging from its lair, or a great pestle striking a bell, hurtling toward the opposite side with terrifying force!
The old man was like that struck bronze bell.
His body sank abruptly, arms crossed over his shoulders as he braced against the coffin with his entire upper body.
The two surging forces poured into it.
The black coffin was as fragile as paper. Invisible force tore through it with a series of swishes, turning it into a rain of splintered wood!
Thud, thud!
Zhang Zhongping staggered back several steps, then planted his heels against the stone steps and steadied himself.
"Hah!"
Shock flooded his face. That kick had been brimming with spiritual power.
How could Lin Shu look even remotely drained?
But before he could question Tian Jingyuan in his mind, Zhang Zhongping abruptly looked up—and saw a sight that made his eyes turn red.
The coffin had shattered, so naturally the corpse inside had fared no better.
Not only were its clothes torn to shreds; all four limbs had been twisted like knots in a rope, and it had crashed into the alley in a most indecent heap.
Lin Shu descended the stone steps, his boots coming to rest squarely on Zhang Ci's chest.
His eyes lowered. With the tip of his shoe, he nudged the corpse's chin, turning that bloodless face from side to side.
"Forgive my poor eyes."
Lin Shu's smile faded. He said indifferently, "I really can't see it."
A beast that bullied the weak and preyed on the wretched dared to prattle about lives being noble or base?
"Argh!!"
A hoarse roar thundered through all of Green Willow Alley.
Zhang Zhongping finally lost his composure. His aged face twisted with rage. The Cheap Fox's foot was trampling not only his son's corpse, but also the reputation Good Fortune Martial Hall had built over decades.
Whether you're at the end of your strength or not.
No matter how powerful your backing is.
If you dared destroy this old man, then...
"Die!"
Zhang Zhongping's white robe billowed wildly. Something seemed to squirm inside his gaunt frame.
Following the course of his meridians, an invisible force finally burst forth!
The old man stomped through the stone steps and lunged toward Lin Shu with murderous intent.
Powerful inner force churned around him, forming the hazy shadow of a tiger. Amid its shrill roar, the dilapidated walls of Green Willow Alley split apart, nearly collapsing!
"..."
Lin Shu stood sideways, black qi hissing into existence at his fingertips.
In an instant, the Black Fire that had recklessly reaped lives in the night once more entered everyone's sight.
Only, compared with that night, the sinister flames seemed several times stronger today.
With Magpie Nest at its center, the area within ten meters seemed to plunge into an ice cave. Chilling cold gnawed at the marrow of everyone's bones.
With no more spiritual power to limit it, the Immortal Method known as Ghost Moon Bone-Splitting Hand seemed to have quietly cast off its shackles.
Lin Shu abruptly raised his arm and thrust his hand straight toward Zhang Zhongping.
Wisp after wisp of black qi darted out like venomous snakes, spreading over the hazy tiger shadow.
They writhed wildly.
The sharp inner force was torn apart with ease before the black qi, then swiftly dissolved.
The tiger's roar crumbled in the span of a snap.
His long gown stirred faintly, but Lin Shu remained where he stood,
while the gaunt old man kicked frantically, suspended before him.
A clean hand clamped around Zhang Zhongping's neck, its fingertips slowly sinking into his sagging skin.
Black qi seeped through the wound and into his body. The chill froze his flesh and blood.
Slap! Slap!
The old man's eyes bulged, veins rising as he desperately beat at the young man's wrist.
But his reactions grew slower and slower, and his movements gradually weakened.
"Let... let me go..."
Zhang Zhongping had sparred with plenty of cultivators before, but he had never seen such an evil Immortal Method.
What terrified him even more was that the aura this method gave off had clearly surpassed what should be possible in the early Qi Refining stage.
The old man could no longer form a complete sentence. He could only stare wide-eyed, hoping Lin Shu would understand that he was begging for mercy.
"Fair enough."
"Your life must be worth quite a lot."
The last thing Zhang Zhongping heard was a low murmur tinged with mockery.
Squish!
Blood spattered from Lin Shu's fingertips.
He ruthlessly crushed Zhang Zhongping's fragile neck.
At the same time, a notification immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Kill and burn your way to a golden belt; build bridges and roads, and leave no corpse behind. Take one lowly life, and earn twenty Evil Coins]
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