Meeting Silk-Pulling Wolf Again

Whether it was projecting inner force or wielding Spiritual Power, these abilities were already beyond the realm of ordinary people.

Two waves of savage energy clashed in midair.

Though the fight was decided in just a few breaths, even after Zhang Zhongping's corpse hit the ground with a thud, everyone in Green Willow Alley remained immersed in that murderous aura.

Their bodies were stiff, their eyes vacant.

A Great Martial Master, powerful enough to collapse a high wall with nothing but his aura, had actually died just like that.

His performance had been worse than his disciples'.

However you looked at it, that pack of brutes had at least worn down Master Lin's stamina and stained his clothes.

Now, the young man stood in the alley, calmly waving away the black qi from his fingertips.

He didn't look tired in the slightest; even his breathing remained steady.

The heart-stirring scene had made everyone overlook the unusual figure beside them.

Just as Zhang Zhongping smashed through the stone steps and lunged forward to attack, a tall figure in blue robes strode through the crowd at an unhurried pace, yet with incredible speed.

She walked with her arms folded, one hand slightly raised, several fine white threads dancing at her fingertips.

Each strand gleamed like the edge of a sword.

Only when the black qi surged into view did a faint trace of confusion finally appear on the woman's indifferent, beautiful face.

She stopped and carefully studied the scene ahead.

A moment later, with Zhang Zhongping's death, the sword threads in the woman's hand dispersed into Spiritual Power and returned to her body.

"Hmm?"

Yan Jin slowly lowered her hands.

She was used to going about alone, and usually only spoke much with Bai Feng.

As a result, she was rather slow to catch up on news within the gang.

She had happened to overhear someone mention her name, and that was how she learned that a Fierce Wolf was asking about the origins of this Fox.

After all, she was the one who had recruited him into the gang.

Once she had gotten the gist of the situation, she had decided to come take a look.

But she hadn't expected to see this.

In Yan Jin's mind, the young man ought to have been on the verge of death. Yet the person standing before her was plainly a genuine early-stage Qi Refiner!

This time... it seemed she had misjudged him.

"Made another killing."

Lin Shu casually closed his hand. In a place only he could see, a string of black copper coins clattered into his sleeve.

And trailing behind them were two white jade Virtue Coins.

[Life and death are determined by Heaven. You seized a life from Yama's hands, saving one wretched soul. Granted one Virtue Coin.]

Two notifications appeared almost simultaneously.

What was going on?

Lin Shu was a little surprised.

Today's situation was different from the last one. Those disciples had dared to come with the intention of wiping out his household because they had made preparations beforehand.

But in broad daylight, with constables still patrolling the streets, there was no way the old man could vent his anger on innocent lives. Good Fortune Martial Hall wasn't some all-powerful force. It was already outrageous that the old geezer had dared to come for revenge.

What had earned him these Virtue Coins?

Puzzled, Lin Shu glanced over his shoulder.

At the half-open gate of Magpie Nest, Old Yang and Jin Gui stood silently. They seemed out of place beside the many brothel girls and madams peering outside from the stairwell.

Zhang Zhongping truly wouldn't have dared to go on a killing spree.

But if someone went looking for death, that was another matter.

"..."

Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, feeling a strange stir in his heart.

He had more or less figured out where the two Virtue Coins had come from.

Blackwater City really was a strange place.

All it had taken was a hot meal and one favor in exchange for payment, and he'd received two lives in return.

"What are you still looking at? Get inside."

Lin Shu waved them back indoors.

Then he turned his eyes toward the figure approaching from not far away.

"Let's talk inside." The woman was as terse as ever, utterly unconcerned by the two corpses on the ground.

It was as if no one would dare question what had happened as long as she was there.

Suppressing his urge to spend his Virtue and Evil Coins, Lin Shu glanced at her and turned away. "Upstairs."

Strange. The fat man surnamed Tian was also a Fierce Wolf, but he hadn't given Lin Shu this same sense of danger.

And now that Lin Shu had entered the early stage of Qi Refining, that feeling hadn't faded at all. If anything, it had grown much clearer.

Inside a room on the second floor of Magpie Nest.

Lin Shu lounged against the bed with no regard for decorum, while Yan Jin had taken the chair by the window.

She turned her head and watched the young man's chest from the corner of her eye.

If she remembered correctly, there was nothing beneath his clothes. A piece of flesh, along with his heart, had been brutally gouged out.

"What, want to try again?" Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing.

"..."

Yan Jin couldn't be bothered to trade barbs with him, so she simply looked away.

She took out a small jade bottle and set it on the table. "Qi-Replenishing Pill. It contains a trace of Spiritual Power. I originally brought it to keep you alive. I figured I might as well try my luck."

It was a supplement for cultivators.

It did contain Spiritual Power, but without understanding the Inner Method, it was difficult to absorb that power before the medicinal effects faded.

Clearly, Yan Jin had heard that the young man had killed nine martial artists in a single night.

She had also guessed that Lin Shu had used up too much of the mist on his body and risked dying from exhaustion of his Spiritual Power.

She had brought him this, yet her manner remained cool.

Just as she'd said, she was only trying her luck. If it didn't work, so be it.

"Looks like you can use it after all."

"I just got lucky."

Lin Shu sat up, his expression still lazy, though his manner had warmed a little. "You're too kind. You could've just come over—there was no need to bring anything."

At least she knew better than to show up empty-handed. She was much better than the people from Good Fortune Martial Hall.

That pack of martial artists had come by so many times, yet only Zhang Ci had remembered to bring him a jade pendant. The rest of them really had no manners.

"..."

Yan Jin silently watched his abrupt change in attitude, the corner of her mouth twitching almost imperceptibly.

In his eyes, her reputation as Silk-Pulling Wolf seemed to count for less than a single pill.

"I heard some things about why Zhang Zhongping came here. It had to do with you."

Yan Jin gathered her thoughts, intending to remind the young man that although Zhang Zhongping was dead, the matter wasn't over.

The young man had taken up cultivation and personally slain a Great Martial Master.

That was certainly something to celebrate. But if he grew arrogant and careless over it, he might fall prey to someone's schemes and lose his life.

Of course, she was also bringing it up to give him a chance to ask for help.

Earlier, the two of them had left in such a hurry that they had both forgotten Lin Shu had no way to contact her.

Magpie Nest alone had no business getting caught up in such a huge mess.

It was a small favor that could be settled with a word, and Yan Jin didn't mind helping.

"I have a pretty good idea. Let's talk about something else."

Lin Shu shook his head, showing no interest in asking her anything.

He had already pieced together what had happened in his mind on the way downstairs.

The reason Cunning Fox Hall hadn't shown up was simple.

After all, the two Foxes who had come knocking had already proven that he had "treacherous bones."

Even Yan Jin had hurried over after hearing the news, yet the Fierce Wolf overseeing this street had remained absent. That meant someone had intervened there, too.

The first matter was easy enough to explain. The second involved the Blackwater Gang's reputation. It wasn't something outsiders could settle just by offering a little silver. Someone with considerable standing in the gang had surely been lobbying on their behalf.

As for who it was, the two Foxes had already said his name earlier.

A man who let an enemy go unavenged was no better than a petty coward.

Let that fat bastard surnamed Tian jump around for a few more days. Sooner or later, Lin Shu would find a chance to kill him!

That was what he thought, but Lin Shu's expression remained unchanged, as relaxed as ever.