Heading to the Gambling Den

The Zhao family's courtyard.

Chang Yi stood silently, looking at the family gathered around him. Every last one of them watched him with apprehension.

In the past, he would have suppressed his fury, comforted the old and weak first, helped them deal with the bodies, and then found a way to investigate the matter and clear the Zhao family's name.

But now, an image rose in Chang Yi's mind: Lin Shu glancing at the note in his hand.

When lives were at stake, one had to know when to adapt and distinguish what was most urgent!

Thinking of this, he clenched his teeth and bolted onto Long Street like a madman.

Passersby stared in astonishment at the young constable sprinting for all he was worth.

He raced from West City all the way to East City.

Chang Yi charged straight into the imposing Yamen guarded by two stone lions. After winding through several corridors, he reached a deserted side hall.

He pushed open the door and strode inside. "Aunt!"

"Hmm?"

A graceful woman sat behind a broad desk in the hall.

As Blackwater City's County Lieutenant, she wore no makeup. She was dressed in a fitted black uniform much like a constable's, the purple flood dragon embroidered on her lapels soaring through the clouds, a splash of waves beneath its claws.

Along with the precious saber resting quietly on the desk, it lent an inexplicable air of authority to her otherwise gentle, lovely face.

Hearing him call out, Gu Nanzhi looked up from her book in surprise, her gaze settling on the somewhat disheveled youth in the doorway.

She smiled. "Didn't you warn me again and again not to let anyone at the Yamen know we were related? What brings you here today?"

Youngsters were often thin-skinned and proud.

On top of that, ten years ago, this child's elder brother had drowned in the Blackwater River. His family had become all the more protective of their only child, raising him into the sheltered young man he was today.

Chang Yi shut the door behind him and spoke in a rush. "On Four Directions Street in West City, people are saying the Zhao family is colluding with Fierce Wolf Hall. There's no solid evidence, but Zhao's sister-in-law has already been thrown in jail..."

"I know. I'll send someone to investigate again." Gu Nanzhi nodded.

But before she could look away, a hoarse, parched growl cut her off.

"Let her go! Let her go now!"

Chang Yi had more or less figured out where the Zhao family's Immortal Medicine from half a year ago had come from. His eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth. "I'll investigate and bring you the relevant evidence afterward."

He had always followed the rules to the letter, never daring to overstep, for fear that people would call him a connected nobody or a spoiled brat who threw his weight around.

But what mattered more in the end: his pristine reputation or those living, breathing lives?

In Blackwater City, the law had become little more than an empty shell.

If he truly wanted to get anything done, how could he keep clinging to the rules?

"..."

Gu Nanzhi raised her eyes again, her surprise deepening.

After a moment's thought, she said slowly, "I heard you've been spending a lot of time with Fierce Wolf from the Blackwater Gang. He just took over Four Directions Street, and you've already set your sights on Liu Zhen?"

Gu Nanzhi wanted to know whether the change in the youth came from within or whether he had become a blade in someone else's hand.

"Fierce Wolf?"

Chang Yi stared at her blankly. It took him a moment to realize who his aunt meant. He answered with firm conviction, "He's a good person."

Lin Shu's presence at the Zhao family's home meant he cared about the matter too. He simply couldn't get involved because of his position.

Hearing this still-naive explanation, Gu Nanzhi lowered her eyes helplessly. "You can take her out of jail for now, but keep a close eye on her. I'll make a decision once I've investigated. You don't need to gather evidence—you don't have the ability anyway. Just focus on patrolling."

"Remember, stay away from that wolf."

A wolf who had only just risen to power and was desperate to control his territory would most likely stop at nothing.

Gu Nanzhi didn't know Greedy Wolf well, but she knew her nephew very well. He was born to be used as someone else's blade.

"Go get her." She waved him away.

West City, Broken Firewood Courtyard.

Yun Niang lifted her head and looked at the thick curtain of night.

Ever since the day the Immortal Scion woke up, she had noticed that something overhead seemed to have been torn apart. Afterward, strange currents of air would occasionally appear in her field of vision.

They drifted unpredictably, like a tattered fishing net floating above the courtyard.

The feeling grew more vivid by the day, until scattered words began seeping into her mind.

She stood, wanting to share the good news with her benefactor.

But a figure muttering to himself suddenly barged into the courtyard. Yun Niang hesitated, then returned to her room and shut the door, peering outside through the window.

As her benefactor's status rose, more and more unfamiliar faces appeared in the courtyard.

She couldn't let herself interfere with his work, so she could only try to keep out of sight.

"Master Lin, I brought the things..."

Dong Cheng stopped outside the side room, his voice weak and listless.

To be honest, he'd spent a long time thinking it over after he went back: should he leave this greedy, stupid lunatic as soon as possible?

Yes, greedy and stupid. That was how Dong Cheng saw Lin Shu now.

Unfortunately, he couldn't escape Blackwater City. The city had been divided between the Yamen and the Blackwater Gang, and no one was willing to take in a young wolf like him.

Whether Greedy Wolf hunted him down or got him killed, it seemed to make little difference.

In the end, Dong Cheng had gritted his teeth and come anyway.

"Come in."

A calm voice came from inside.

Dong Cheng pushed open the door, guiltily shut it behind him, then gritted his teeth and set a ledger on the table.

He wished he could tear his own mouth to shreds.

So what if Liu had provoked him? It wasn't the first time. He didn't have to go running his mouth and bragging.

"Master Lin, I need to make this clear." Dong Cheng still wanted to make one last attempt. He forced a smile. "Liu Zhen isn't stupid. He knew we'd keep records, and he still managed to kill the previous Wolf Lord."

"Sure, it was a planned ambush, but the real reason was that he simply wasn't afraid..."

"This ledger has evidence of his crimes, but it all involves those tigers!"

Dong Cheng's smile turned bitter. Even a fool should have understood by now.

With the White Tiger Hall involved, what wolf would dare expose something like this?

Knowing Liu Zhen had nothing to fear, how could he be scared? Compared to coughing up a little silver, this constable would surely rather kill them both.

"It's not worth it for a little silver!"

"..."

Lin Shu's expression didn't change as he leafed through the ledger.

Every line of writing recorded how that constable had traded the lives of ordinary people on the street for benefits from the White Tiger Hall.

The entries were packed tight, too many to count.

He'd simply chosen the wrong line of work. If Liu Zhen had joined Fierce Wolf Hall, then the "greedy" in Greedy Wolf should rightfully belong to him.

Lin Shu closed the ledger and casually took two Qi Replenishing Pills from his belt, swallowing them.

They weren't as sweet and fragrant as the immortal pills he'd imagined.

Instead, bitterness spread across his tongue, so bitter it could twist a person's entire face.

But Lin Shu only furrowed his brow slightly as he felt the medicinal power rapidly dissolve inside him.

In his earlier contest of magic with Tian Jingyuan, he had used up about six wisps of Spiritual Power.

He had just planned to use two Virtue Coins to try to upgrade his Inner Method. With Yu Sheng's Essence Blood to help him, his seventh-grade Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art had already reached the very brink of a breakthrough.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough Virtue Coins, and it hadn't managed to cross that threshold.

It had only loosened the threshold a little more, while restoring four wisps of Spiritual Power.

With the two Qi Replenishing Pills on top of that, he was now back in peak condition.

"Uh..." Watching the young man, Dong Cheng couldn't help rubbing his temples.

He was already this short on confidence, and still he had to go after the silver?

He'd have to stay alert tonight and act according to the situation. If anything seemed off, he needed to be ready to make a run for it at any moment.

"Phew."

Lin Shu tossed the ledger back to him and slowly rose to his feet.

He was always complaining about needing more Virtue Coins.

But in Blackwater City, people who dared to commit murder were few and far between—most were like Liu the Third, driven into a corner and lashing out like a mad dog. The rest all had some kind of backing.

Now that Virtue Coins had landed right in front of him, he couldn't just shut his eyes and pretend not to see them.

"Is he still at the teahouse?"

"Of course. He won't be satisfied until he's gambled till dawn." Dong Cheng let out a long breath.

"Bring the ledger. We'll go have a little fun too."

Lin Shu started toward the door, pushed it open, and strode decisively into the night.