What Greed Means

At nightfall, all of Four Directions Street sank into darkness. Only the faint glow of lanterns illuminated the mottled ground.

Quite a few people were still coming and going at the teahouse entrance.

Almost all of them came out with dark faces.

After all, anyone who'd won money was loath to leave. They'd keep gambling until they couldn't squeeze out another copper coin.

The chubby Boss Wang saw off several more gamblers and let the smile fall from his face. He was just about to head back into the teahouse when he turned around and spotted two figures.

"Well, well. Tian... Oh, no. You're Master Lin now."

He narrowed his eyes and pretended to slap his forehead. "Look at me, forgetting again. You gentlemen keep changing names so often, I can hardly keep track."

"Shut your mouth if you don't know how to talk!" Dong Cheng felt uneasy, but he was afraid of Liu Zhen, not the other man's dog.

"My fault, my fault."

Shopkeeper Wang forced another smile and chuckled. "A guest is always welcome. If Master Lin wants to try his luck, I'd be delighted to have you. I just wonder whether you brought enough gambling money. I hear you've just come from Green Willow Alley. Those whores don't have much to squeeze out of them."

"If you're short on cash, I do happen to lend money at interest."

Most people, even with the Yamen backing them, wouldn't go out of their way to offend the Blackwater Gang.

But Shopkeeper Wang was different.

He was Chief Constable Liu's flag planted on the street, so he had to make his allegiance clear at every turn.

Besides, judging by the Blackwater Gang's conduct on Four Directions Street, they were hardly frightening.

"Just show us the way."

Lin Shu wasn't angry. A smile still played at the corner of his lips.

Dong Cheng felt a little stifled by this, but at least he relaxed a bit. It seemed Master Lin didn't intend to make too much trouble. He wasn't completely foolish, after all.

At the sight of this, a flicker of surprise crossed Shopkeeper Wang's eyes.

This wolf seemed different from the ones who'd come before. He just didn't know what the man was here for.

Never mind. Why bother thinking about it? Chief Constable Liu was sitting downstairs. Surely he wouldn't let this mad dog run wild.

"Please, come in!"

The teahouse had two floors, and the furnishings were simple. A few jars of tea sat carelessly on the counter.

But down the stairs to the lower level lay an entirely different scene.

Smoke swirled through the air, and voices clamored on all sides.

Piercing shrieks and groans rang out from time to time.

Wooden tables and benches were crammed together crookedly, leaving barely enough room to pass. Yet an empty space had somehow been left in the middle, with only one long table in it.

It was as if an invisible line had been drawn across the floor. Even gamblers who'd lost their senses knew to steer clear of it.

"Wait about another hour, then take your men and get it done."

The middle-aged man in a loose black robe reclined in a chair, holding a teacup. It seemed he was tired from gambling and taking a short break.

Even the wealthy households with standing on the street had to stop playing and sit obediently at the table, waiting.

He was speaking to the two black-clad constables behind him.

"Chief Liu, aren't you going to lock them up first?" One constable asked in surprise, his voice timid. "Isn't that going a bit far? The Zhao family did resist arrest, but this family hasn't done anything..."

"Too far? I've worked my fingers to the bone guarding this street, driving off vicious dogs and keeping the peace. They can live and work in peace because they're under my protection."

Liu Zhen spat out a bit of tea leaf and raised his eyelids. "Now I'm short on some Precious Medicine. Shouldn't they help their constable out?"

"Of course!" The two young constables hurriedly nodded in agreement, their hesitation gone. "We didn't mean anything by it. We'd just heard Chang Yi also went to the Zhao family. That Fool will surely report it to the Yamen. If we make a move now, we're worried our superiors will have something to say about you."

"That's exactly why we need to move faster." Liu Zhen set down his teacup, looking a little impatient. "Once we're done, dump the blame on that new Wild Dog. If he wants to scrounge a few scraps on this street, he'll have to pay something for it."

"Tsk."

Just then, a sigh suddenly came from across the long table. "No wonder my back's been aching lately."

Through the swirling smoke, a young man strolled toward them.

He was handsome and slender, with a listless air that made him look sickly.

When he reached the table, he casually yanked the wealthy man out of his seat. As the man stared in shock, Lin Shu flung him two or three meters away, then sat down in his place.

"Ow!"

The wealthy man's pig-slaughtering scream, along with the crash of the nearby tables and benches being knocked over, jolted the surrounding gamblers to their senses.

Fatty Wang's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly helped the man up and blurted out, "Lin, are you here to gamble or cause trouble?"

Crack!

Before he could finish speaking, a porcelain cup carrying scalding tea smashed into his furious face.

As Shopkeeper Wang wailed and clutched his face, every gambler in the hall put down their dice cups in unison and gathered up the silver in front of them. Then they surged toward the stairs like a swelling tide.

The new Fierce Wolf was refusing to back down and had even dared to provoke Chief Constable Liu.

Someone was bound to die again tonight!

The gambling den, which had been clamoring just moments ago, was instantly cleared out. Only a handful of people remained.

Dong Cheng stood frozen behind the young man. The heart he'd only just managed to calm leapt right back into his throat.

"..."

Liu Zhen's eyelid twitched. His expression remained unchanged, but a chill had already risen in his eyes. "May I ask what this is supposed to mean?"

Though he knew the other man had heard what he'd just said,

there was no embarrassment or any other emotion on his face. He looked only vicious.

If you wanted to scrounge for a living on Four Directions Street, you had to put up with this!

The two constables looked grim and drew their blades almost at the same time. Shopkeeper Wang staggered to his feet and waved. Two martial artists immediately blocked the way upstairs.

"Care for a couple of rounds?" Lin Shu said, as if he hadn't noticed the murderous aura boiling around him.

"What are you hoping to win from me? My territory or my monthly pay?"

Liu Zhen sneered. That wasn't how someone begging for scraps should act.

He planned to teach this new Wild Dog how to survive on Four Directions Street.

"Uh!"

At that, Dong Cheng suddenly came to his senses and shakily reached into his robe.

So this was what Master Lin meant.

If they were going to gamble, they needed a stake.

Though he didn't think the ledger was worth much, it seemed like the only thing they had that they could bring to the table.

But before Dong Cheng could take out the ledger, his whole body stiffened again.

"Weren't you already prepared?"

Lin Shu raised a hand and playfully traced a couple of lines in the air.

That afternoon, the deputy constable had stood at the teahouse entrance and drawn a finger across his throat at the two of them.

It had been a casual warning.

Who would have thought he'd come looking for them before the day was even over?

Faced with such a provocation, the flesh on Liu Zhen's face visibly twitched. His eyes narrowed, and the fine lines at their corners deepened into ravines.

He fell silent for a moment, then slowly rose and picked up the blade from the table. Looking down at Lin Shu, he laughed mockingly. "If you want my life, have you thought about what you'll pay if you lose?"

"I haven't."

Lin Shu answered crisply. He interlaced his fingers and gently flexed his knuckles, then said seriously, "So I'll do my best to win."

The instant the words fell, Dong Cheng wanted to turn and run for his life.

He finally understood how Master Lin had earned his Wolf Reputation.

It was a greed far beyond anything he could have imagined!

The man wanted more than territory and silver. He wanted Liu Zhen's life too...