Lin Seeks Revenge Without Waiting for the Night (New book seeking collection~ Seeking votes~)

Rustle.

The night wind stirred the dense treetops, revealing a flash of white perched atop the wall.

The young man sat on the high wall, leaning against the trunk of a tree. Draped in a luxurious fur cloak, he looked like a theatergoer, detached and uninvolved.

Yet, at this moment, all eyes on the stage were fixed upon him.

"Lin Shu?"

Upon recognizing the intruder, the fierce grin Master Liu the Third had been forcing to maintain turned into something genuine.

To say he wasn't panicked would be a lie.

This was West City. With only the few men he had here, let alone encountering a cultivator from the city, even a random patrol officer would be more than they could handle.

The jolt of fear completely sobered him, turning his previous lust into cold-blooded intent.

So, it was this lowly wretch.

He had been lucky enough to keep his life for a day and wasn't satisfied; he actually dared to leave the courtyard... If he left this fellow alive, there was no telling what kind of trouble he might stir up.

"How the hell did you get out? Where is Wang Xu?" The two brothers, their good time interrupted, looked sullen.

Seeing the troupe leader's change in expression, they realized there would be no show tonight, and their disappointment quickly curdled into rage toward Lin Shu.

"..."

Yun Niang opened her eyes in silence, her pupils filled with nothing but emptiness.

She had guessed that the person who came might not have much of a plan, otherwise, he wouldn't have been crouching in the shadows for so long.

But she hadn't expected it to be him.

Although she hadn't seen that slightly youthful face from afar, she had seen that fur cloak when the troupe was touring, and she knew the old woman had followed him to report the matter to the authorities.

This young man was just another poor soul in the troupe who couldn't control his own fate; how could he possibly save her and the child inside?

"You already got my grandmother killed—do you want to get us both killed now too? Run!"

Yun Niang didn't try to reason with him; she knew that a hot-blooded, naive fool like him couldn't be swayed by a few words.

Helpless, she could only roar with all the grief and indignation left in her lungs, hoping not to drag another innocent life into this.

"Hah."

Lin Shu adjusted his breathing, his expression showing clear disappointment.

Although the memories left by his predecessor suggested that those who had mastered immortal arts were overwhelming to ordinary people, neither his predecessor nor anyone else in the troupe—including the leader—had actually seen such arts.

To be safe, Lin Shu chose the method he was most proficient in.

After all, he had only taken one piece of bad currency from that old woman; it was a transaction to buy the lives of this orphan and widow, not to include things like purity or other extras.

But he hadn't expected Master Liu the Third to be this vigilant, even while drunk.

Lin Shu glanced at the sharp shard of roof tile in his hand and tossed it aside.

Crack.

Amidst the sound of shattering tile, the white shadow leaped from the wall and landed steadily in the courtyard.

Master Liu the Third's pupils flickered. He had seen with his own eyes Lin Shu endure a hundred solid lashes.

Anyone else would have been beaten to death, yet only an afternoon later, the man acted as if nothing had happened.

At this thought, his hand reached toward his lower back, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his blade.

"Stop playing the mute! I asked you where Wang Xu is!" The brothers lacked the troupe leader's keen instincts. Seeing Lin Shu discard the pathetic tile, they looked on with mockery, unable to feel any wariness toward such a coward.

"Him?"

Lin Shu spread his palms and walked toward them, looking harmless, choosing the most advantageous spot to stand.

The young man curled his lips into a smile. "I'll take you to him."

Before the words had even faded, the white fur cloak swirled, and a sharp short blade darted from his sleeve into his palm.

The position Lin Shu had chosen placed him in a straight line with the three men.

So, the moment he struck, Eldest Ma's view was blocked by his brother's body, and for a split second, he didn't even see what had happened.

"You... you..."

It wasn't until the silver flash crossed his vision and a chill bit into his skin that Little Ma finally realized what was happening.

The blade sliced across his neck with the sound of steel cutting through thick hide.

From his perspective, Lin Shu's slightly delicate face was now twisted, looking like a soul-reaping demon. The ferocity in his eyes was no less than Master Liu the Third's—he was clearly a seasoned killer who lived by the blade!

"So this is what a martial artist is like."

Lin Shu quickly realized the resistance felt wrong and felt a pang of regret.

Such a clean strike had only left a gash on Little Ma's neck instead of severing his head entirely.

Yet his momentum did not falter; he skillfully dropped his shoulder and slammed it fiercely into Little Ma's chest.

Bang!

The burly man staggered backward, stumbling.

This scene, witnessed by Big Ma, caused his pupils to constrict, his already drunken brain momentarily seizing up.

That scrawny kid who looked like he couldn't even truss a chicken had actually managed to knock back his brother, a man who had practiced martial arts for years?

However, he had no time to ponder; the moment his brother was knocked aside, a short blade darted out with lightning speed, aiming straight for his chest.

"Damn it!"

Big Ma's ingrained instincts made him lash out with a counter-slash. Twenty years of tempering his body meant that both the power and speed of this strike far exceeded Lin Shu's.

But the man opposite him seemed to have anticipated this. He cleanly discarded the short blade used for the feint, leaned in close, and slammed his entire body into Big Ma's chest, followed by a ferocious elbow strike that hit the big man hard in the abdomen.

Boom!!

With a dull thud, Big Ma fared even worse than his brother, flying backward a full three meters!

Only Lin Shu could see that every collision between their bodies caused the mist surrounding him to vibrate.

It was precisely this mist that provided him with the capital to contend with these martial artists.

But it seemed that was all there was to it.

"Ah!"

Yun Niang stared blankly at the scene unfolding right before her.

This young man had just charged in, forcefully repelled two men, and shielded her behind him.

But the problem was, although the entire process had been brief, it was more than enough time for Master Liu the Third to react ten times over.

The man had remained motionless, also waiting for an opportunity.

And now, the young man, his initial momentum spent, had left his entire back completely exposed to him.

Yun Niang, who had been biting her lip to avoid disturbing Lin Shu, could not help but cry out a warning the moment she saw Master Liu the Third coldly draw his short dagger: "Watch out!"

"You hid it well; even I was fooled."

Master Liu the Third's icy voice rang out beside Lin Shu's ear.

He had observed quietly for so long because he had felt something was off earlier. No wonder the boy could endure the family punishment; he was a practitioner himself.

Now that the opening was right before him, he would not give this person any room to resist.

"It's a pity your temperament still lacks tempering."

Master Liu the Third did not understand why, after enduring pig swill and beatings, the boy would expose himself now for the sake of a few unrelated people.

Of course, there was no need to think about it anymore.

As he spoke, the short blade raised a silver light, like the sharp claws of a tiger pouncing on its prey, aiming straight for the target's most vulnerable spot!

Yet Yun Niang, standing directly in front of Lin Shu, saw that the young man's face held no panic; instead, he let out a gentle breath.

It was as if an angler had finally seen ripples on the surface of the water.

"..."

Lin Shu's expression was no longer ferocious; he licked his dry, blood-stained lips.

His right palm, which had dropped prematurely, splayed open. Silver light rippled across his slender fingers, and sharp, three-inch-long nails extended from them.

The next moment, Lin Shu whipped his head around, using his bare hand to strike from bottom to top, hooking toward the incoming short blade.

His fingertips collided with the blade, slicing through it like tofu, effortlessly shearing off Master Liu the Third's hand before viciously piercing into his jaw!

Pfft! Pfft!

Master Liu the Third's pupils trembled. He looked down in disbelief at the blood-stained fingertips protruding from his own mouth.

"Click... click..."

He hung suspended in mid-air, wanting to say something, but blood surged uncontrollably from his throat, choking him to the point of suffocation.

He had spent his whole life looking up to immortal arts, only to see them for the first time as he met his end.

"Do you enjoy spitting so much?"

Lin Shu held his right arm high, staring at the head in his palm, his fingers slowly tightening.

As he whispered, a touch of cruelty appeared at the corners of his lips.

Unfortunately, Master Liu the Third would never have the chance to respond again.

Lin Shu withdrew his hand, wiped his warm, crimson-stained palm across his face, and casually smeared away the filth the man had spat onto his forehead at noon.

At the same time, he wiped away the bloodstain the old hag had left on the tip of his nose.

The debt was paid in full.

For Lin Shu, the greatest threat had been this Master Liu.

According to the memories left by his predecessor, this man was at least one level stronger than the Ma brothers.

The only thing he could rely on was that one immortal technique.

Beyond that, whether in terms of stamina or footwork, he was far weaker than this troupe leader.

There was only one chance; if he were exposed, given Liu San's cautious nature, the man would never again give him the opportunity to get close.

Fortunately, even though he had left that life behind in his past existence and no longer needed to ply his old trade, he hadn't become so lazy as to throw away his wits.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lin Shu's gaze fell upon the two brothers, who stood there dumbfounded.

"..."

In the cramped, dilapidated courtyard, there were clearly four living people present, yet at this moment, the silence was so profound that the dropping of a needle could be heard.