The Zhao Family Tragedy (Seeking follow-up reads and monthly votes for the new book~)

Four Directions Street, Zhao Family.

The gate of the bluestone courtyard was hung with lanterns that were neither new nor old.

This family had been in the pastry business on this street for several generations and had even opened a branch shop, making them somewhat well-known.

Their family circumstances could not be called extravagant, but they were comfortably well-off.

At this moment, many onlookers had gathered outside the courtyard, glancing into the open gate with lingering fear while whispering among themselves.

"I attended a banquet at their place just a few months ago; how did things end up like this?"

"What do you know? I felt something was off back then. A family that sells pastries—where would they get the immortal fate and wealth to buy a Precious Medicine to nourish the wife's pregnancy, and even go out of their way to celebrate it?"

"It turns out his beautiful wife was secretly colluding with Fierce Wolf Hall. Who knows how much dirty money she earned? Now, not only has the wife been dragged away by the constables, but he's lost his life too!"

The jealous busybody clicked his tongue in wonder, but as he spoke, he was suddenly bumped by someone's shoulder.

He turned around in confusion, his face turning deathly pale in an instant. He quickly shrank his neck and ducked back into the crowd.

There was actually a Fierce Wolf here!

"There's really nothing to see." Dong Cheng followed behind the young man, feeling a splitting headache.

When it came down to it, it was nothing more than that messy business involving White Tiger Hall.

A Precious Medicine was indeed a Precious Medicine, but if one wanted to put it into a furnace to refine pills, it was best to nourish it with vitality for a period of time beforehand.

Thus, the pastry-selling family's luck had suddenly exploded, and they "accidentally" received news of an Immortal Medicine.

It was rumored that this medicine could ensure the safety of both mother and child, and even make the infant naturally intelligent.

Boss Zhao had spent a large sum of money to invite the Immortal Medicine into his home and successfully fed it to his wife, allowing the medicinal power to integrate into the fetus in her womb.

Now, it was almost time for the birth.

Since Liu Zhen had earned a handsome sum from selling the medicine, he naturally had to be responsible for coming to collect the "Immortal Medicine" and delivering it to White Tiger Hall.

As for the excuse, he would certainly choose the one that was most convenient...

"Colluding with the Fierce Wolf?" Lin Shu listened to the surrounding gossip as he walked slowly through the crowd.

With a single sentence, the constable had defined the fate of this family.

Ordinary people on the street, not living their lives properly, actually daring to collude with the Fierce Wolf.

This matter was too outrageous.

It was outrageous precisely because, as the Fierce Wolf of Four Directions Street, Lin Shu was completely unaware of it.

It would be one thing if he were a newcomer, but even Dong Cheng had never mentioned it.

This couldn't help but stir a bit of curiosity in Lin Shu.

"Don't look at me. In our situation, who would be crazy enough to collude with us? That fellow surnamed Liu always does things this way; you'll get used to it eventually."

Dong Cheng shrugged helplessly, glanced quietly at the young man's head, and whispered, "I told you not to come."

Not only had no money passed through their hands, nor had they managed to curry favor with White Tiger Hall, but the blame had been firmly pinned on them.

As the new Fierce Wolf in charge of this area, in the eyes of the common folk, this debt would inevitably be counted against him.

If he had the strength to intervene, it would be one thing, but since he couldn't, wasn't he just asking for trouble?

Sure enough.

As Lin Shu and Dong Cheng reached the courtyard entrance, the surrounding crowd fell silent.

The jealous ones were in the minority; most people actually wanted to know what exactly Zhao's wife had done for the Blackwater Gang that required the yamen to forcibly arrest her just as she was about to give birth.

Did this new Fierce Wolf have no opinion on this?

Or perhaps, he didn't dare to have an opinion...

"Let's take a look first."

Lin Shu ignored the strange gazes of the people around him and stepped into the courtyard.

He saw that the old and young of the family, including the servants and maids, were almost all paralyzed on the ground in terror.

Even when they saw Dong Cheng, this Young Wolf, they didn't have much of a reaction; they all stared blankly at the ground.

Lying there was a man.

He was dressed elegantly, but that silk outfit was now in complete disarray, oozing warm blood.

His body was covered in marks from blunt force, the back of his head was caved in, and his back was riddled with horrifying gashes. It was clear he had been beaten severely first, then hacked to death with blades.

"He must have resisted arrest and angered that fellow Liu."

Dong Cheng rubbed his hair, feeling a bit regretful.

He actually quite liked the Zhao family's pastries; they were fragrant, sweet, and soft. This kid had good skills and made them no worse than his father.

But looking at this scene, he probably wouldn't be able to eat them again.

Resisted arrest?

Lin Shu lowered his eyes and looked over.

The man's fingers were dug deep into the ground ahead, his final instinct even in his dying moments to crawl toward the door.

Beside him lay a broom covered in bloody palm prints.

It was perhaps the most useful weapon he could manage to grab.

With nothing but this, the man had stood against several constables armed with blades; he had tried to use this ridiculous object to protect his wife and child.

"Tsk." Lin Shu stood with his hands at his sides, staring at the corpse. His expression remained unchanged, though a trace of cold indifference welled up in his eyes.

For this man to dare resist arrest with a broom—that was truly dangerous indeed.

He supposed the man must have frightened the constables, forcing them to beat him to death right in front of his family.

"..."

The silence of this newly appointed Fierce Wolf made the people outside the courtyard grow uneasy.

The common folk of West City sought nothing more than a stable life.

Whether they relied on the yamen or submitted to the Blackwater Gang, they only wanted to preserve their lives.

After all, neither side was anything good.

The Zhao Family might have truly colluded with the Fierce Wolf, or perhaps they hadn't, but that was of no importance.

What mattered was that Chief Constable Liu had used his own actions to declare exactly whose hands the lives of the people on this street were held in.

No matter how many wolves were replaced, the outcome would never change.

"Break it up, break it up."

Seeing that the matter was settled, someone sighed, and the onlookers scattered in a rush.

The area outside the Zhao Family courtyard suddenly became much quieter.

"Well, they've certainly lost all face this time."

Dong Cheng clicked his tongue. What was the point of watching such a spectacle?

He glared irritably at the members of the Zhao Family nearby and hissed, "Why aren't you moving to collect the body? Do you all have a death wish?"

Since Liu Zhen had already dragged the others inside, he assumed that by tomorrow at the latest, the necessary charges would be methodically listed out.

If this family wanted to survive, they would have to grit their teeth and swallow their resentment, stop making a scene, and prepare a generous tribute to send to that Chief Constable Liu.

If the man was in a good mood, he might just spare the lives of the rest of the family.

Hearing this, the Zhao Family members wore expressions of misery.

They knew Dong Cheng had no real say on this street, and as for the Fierce Wolf, they had already gone through three of them in succession, so they had never held any expectations for either man.

But what he said was true.

Even with the women of the house dragged away, the unborn child's fate unknown, and their pillar of support beaten to death right here.

They could not make a scene.

If they wanted to live, they had to endure!

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard.

Accompanied by a loud roar.

"The evidence is not yet conclusive, this matter requires a re-investigation—everyone, stop!"

As the words fell, a dark-skinned constable rushed in, looking flustered.

He clutched a slip of paper soaked in sweat, his arm held high in a stiff, awkward gesture.

"Stop... everyone stop..."

Chang Yi stared at the limp figures filling the courtyard, then down at the corpse at his feet, his arm dropping powerlessly.

"Hah! Hah!"

He remained silent for a long time, his breathing growing heavier. As if sweat had stung his eyes, his pupils suddenly turned blood-red.

Clang!

The exceptionally young constable suddenly gripped his sword hilt. The cold blade slid from its scabbard, his fingers trembling.

Upon learning of this incident, he had sought approval from his superiors as quickly as possible and rushed over.

He hadn't expected to be too late.

Looking at the corpse before him, Chang Yi suddenly felt those rules were laughable.

Why did it seem that in all of Blackwater City, he was the only one restricted by these red tapes?

Compared to the useless paper in his hand, he felt a sudden, surging impulse to draw his blade and hack those bastards to pieces!

"What kind of madness is this..."

Dong Cheng had been startled by the sound of the blade being drawn.

But upon recognizing the newcomer, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

So it was this Master Chang, famous far and wide for being as foolish as a simpleton.

The other party was too inexperienced and couldn't possibly outmaneuver a sly old fox like Liu Zhen.

But if he flew into a rage and actually drew his saber to kill that Liu fellow... Huh! Wouldn't Four Directions Street be better off then!

As for what kind of punishment this hothead would receive, what did that have to do with them from Fierce Wolf Hall?

"Hee-ha."

Thinking this, Dong Cheng couldn't help but chuckle.

But the next moment, he saw their own Fierce Wolf walking over slowly and casually sheathing Chang Yi's long saber.

The young constable blinked, then buried his head again.

"I know you've seen this kind of thing before and think it's no big deal, but don't stop me, I can't swallow this insult!"

Chang Yi gritted his teeth, his eyes tearing up from the sting of sweat: "These sons of bitches!"

Brother Zhao and his wife treated him well, often preparing tea and pastries for him when he patrolled the streets, inviting him to sit in their shop for a while.

Why should such good people be arrested and beaten to death by those scoundrels without even concrete evidence?

"Who's stopping you?"

Lin Shu looked at him with a hint of speechlessness: "I just wanted to say, they're already gone, what are you drawing your saber for, to scare ghosts?"

"Secondly..." He looked at the slip of paper in Black Charcoal's hand and sighed, "Sometimes you have to be flexible in how you do things."

With that, Lin Shu strode out of the courtyard.

Dong Cheng followed with a sense of regret.

So this kid was known to Master Lin. Alas, he had wanted to see a dog-eat-dog fight.

Now the young constable understood flexibility, but what about Four Directions Street...

"I'm heading back," Lin Shu stretched his arms slightly.

"You rest assured, I'll report to you immediately if anything comes up."

Dong Cheng forced a smile, cupped his hands, and prepared to turn.

However, before he could take a step, his whole body staggered.

"Oh, right. Remember to bring me that ledger you mentioned before nightfall."

The young man's voice didn't carry much emotion, just like when he casually mentioned wanting to watch the excitement at the food stall earlier.

But this sentence alone was enough to turn Dong Cheng's face ashen.

Indeed, there are no wrong names, only wrong nicknames.

As expected of Greedy Wolf.

On his very first day here, he wanted to use the ledger to blackmail Liu Zhen into coughing up money!

But if it were that simple, wouldn't he have done it himself? How could he have waited for you, Lord Wolf, to handle it?

"Go on."

At the courtyard entrance, Lin Shu gazed idly down the long street.

Seen it all before?

It didn't seem entirely so.

Whether it was going to West City to save the widowed mother and her children for the old woman, or pinning Zhang Ci down beneath the building in Green Willow Alley.

There was always a reason for taking money to do a job.

But this time, it seemed he hadn't received any money yet.

Never mind, if he hadn't received it, he hadn't received it.

He'd be in debt for now.