Four Directions Street Had Changed

"Who dared kill Chief Constable Liu?"

"Do you even have to ask?!"

The shopkeepers of Four Directions Street wore ashen faces. It wasn't anger that made them look that way, but the chill and fear that shot from the soles of their feet, up their spines, and straight to the backs of their heads.

The Blackwater Gang and the Yamen had been at odds for years. The common folk had long since grown used to it.

But they were more accustomed to keeping these disputes behind closed doors, or resolving them in a more respectable fashion.

What had happened here, in broad daylight and under the eyes of the entire crowd, was different: a corpse had been violently tossed into the middle of the street.

This was more than a simple struggle over profits. It carried an unmistakable air of intimidation!

It was like a swift, vicious slap across their faces, waking them up before brutally prying open their eyelids and silently asking:

Open your damn eyes and take a good look. Who does this street belong to?

"I'm heading back..."

One shopkeeper's legs buckled. He turned to return to his shop, but his boot caught on the threshold, and he sprawled face-first on the ground.

He didn't even have time to cry out or get back up. Instead, he crawled toward the inner room on all fours, trembling from head to toe.

After replacing two Fierce Wolves to no avail, the Blackwater Gang had finally sent a true hardcase!

Liu Zhen had been so cocky, yet all it took was a little provocation at the teahouse entrance for him to end up lying dead in the street the very next day. The reckoning waiting for the rest of them would surely be even more brutal.

Four Directions Street had changed hands!

The shopkeepers could still think straight, but the servant girls and young footmen along the street fled back to their courtyards, then tremblingly bolted the gates.

In no time, the crowd scattered and fled.

The once-bustling Four Directions Street had abruptly emptied out, leaving only a mess behind.

"..."

While the common folk trembled with fear throughout the street, the pregnant woman stared blankly at the corpse on the ground.

Not long ago, this very man had led constables into the Zhao Family home.

Without a word of explanation, he had dragged her out of bed, clapped her in shackles, and then hacked her husband to death.

"Good riddance... Good riddance!"

A manic smile suddenly spread across her haggard, dazed face. If Chang Yi hadn't been holding her back, she would have rushed forward and devoured the evil constable's flesh and blood.

As she laughed hoarsely, hot tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

At last, the pregnant woman let go of the composure she had forced herself to maintain and burst into sobs.

She had never imagined that anyone would really avenge a tiny household like theirs, one that made pastries—and that the avenger would be from the Blackwater Gang.

Liu Zhen had accused her of conspiring with Fierce Wolf, and in the end, he had indeed died at Fierce Wolf's hands.

What was that if not retribution?

"Please don't get worked up. You might harm the baby."

Chang Yi released her, carefully tucked the account book into his clothes, then reached down and hoisted the battered corpse onto his shoulder. "I have urgent business. There are only a few steps left, so please make your own way home, sister-in-law."

Under normal circumstances, no matter how anxious he was, he would have escorted Zhao family's sister-in-law back to the courtyard first, just to make sure nothing else happened to her.

But things were different now...

Chang Yi looked up and gazed into the distance.

That Master Lin was sitting at his stall as if nothing were amiss. This was the other man's street—what was there to be afraid of?

What truly mattered was the account book on him. He had to get it back to the Yamen as soon as possible. Lin Shu had risked himself to hand it over; it was the evidence that would clear the Zhao Family's name!

"I know. Go take care of your business! I'm fine." The pregnant woman lightly clutched her throat, struggling to rein in her emotions.

"Wait for my news. I... He'll clear your name."

Chang Yi turned away. Another day of being inexplicably put to work by Lin Shu.

But this time, all he felt was elation and gratitude.

He really hadn't been wrong about the man. Whether he was a Fox or a Fierce Wolf, and whatever ability he had gained to kill Liu Zhen, at least... he wasn't a bad person!

Beside the breakfast stall.

The owner wore a strange expression. "Sir, you can still eat after all that? You've got some nerve. Hurry and find somewhere to hide. Fierce Wolf might be on the street any moment."

"What's the rush? I've still got two bites left."

Lin Shu chewed on his fried dough stick, then downed the rest of his soy milk.

After going to all that trouble, he had to let someone taste it.

He wasn't sitting here because he had nothing better to do. He needed to make sure Chang Yi left with the goods.

There was a reason he had chosen whom to give the account book to.

The man had to be honest and stubborn, so the evidence wouldn't get buried. He also needed enough status and backing to ensure that handing it in would earn him merit rather than get him hurt.

Chang Yi met the first condition, and there was a good chance he met the second as well.

What sort of family could raise someone with such rare, unvarnished innocence, if not a wealthy and influential one?

Besides, Bai Feng had met several constables.

Only when he faced Chang Yi had that wolf's smile held a trace of wariness—and he had even mentioned the so-called Lord Gu.

Black Charcoal's reaction had been just like that of a young master who had infiltrated a company to start from the bottom, only to have someone see through his identity at once, leaving him sulking in displeasure.

"Keep the change."

Lin Shu took a small piece of silver from his pocket and tossed it onto the table.

It was what he had gotten earlier from selling the jade pendant. Otherwise, he would have had to pay with two huge silver ingots.

He stood up and glanced at the pregnant woman ahead.

Now that he thought about it, Brother Precious Blade wasn't so green after all. At least he knew to get her out of jail first.

"Sir, I can't make change for that. Never mind, never mind. It's on me." The young owner looked nervous. All he wanted now was to pack up his stall, not make change.

"Keep it, then. Take that woman home for me."

Lin Shu rose unhurriedly. If he'd earned money, he had to spend it lavishly—or what was the point of earning it?

He'd start by blowing a few taels to whet his appetite.

Now that was generous!

Night and day passed in a blur.

Inside the Side Room of Broken Firewood Courtyard.

Perhaps because he had finally gained some control over his surroundings, Lin Shu had, for once, slept soundly.

He lay sprawled across the bed, a hand warmer hanging from his ankle.

The Porcelain Doll, with skin as smooth as jade, hugged his ankle and slept soundly. She seemed to be dreaming of some delicacy; drool marked her chubby cheeks.

Chomp!

The little one opened her mouth and sank her small white teeth into the young man's toe.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lin Shu's eyes flew open. His face twisted as he kicked wildly.

"Ow, that hurts, that hurts!" Yu Sheng rubbed her forehead and shrieked in her childish voice, "If you kick me to death, you won't be able to enter the Immortal Sect!"

"..."

Lin Shu stared at the tooth marks covering his toe, his eyelid twitching.

He suddenly found himself envying the bodies of the Immortal Scions.

Immortal Methods were certainly powerful, but they needed Spiritual Power to activate. If he could have a body this resilient, he might finally be able to sleep in peace.

"Tonight, you're sleeping under the bed."

Lin Shu climbed up impatiently, put on his outer robe, and looked out the window.

The sun was already high in the sky. Yet the normally desolate Broken Firewood Courtyard was now packed with people.

"Bleh!"

Yu Sheng didn't dare provoke this brute. She waited timidly for him to turn around, then tugged down the corner of her eye.

"Will they notice you?" Lin Shu walked to the doorway, then glanced back to ask.

"Even if you tore my formation to pieces, and that Little Widow absorbed a few wisps of it, no one below Foundation Establishment could see through it easily. Let alone notice that I'm here."

Yu Sheng flopped back down, carefree as ever.

That brute had sensed the Azure Qi back then because he'd spent a long time cultivating in the courtyard. He might also have drawn on the power of the thing parasitizing his heart.

Even so, he'd only noticed the formation itself.

If she hadn't been unable to bear it any longer, worried that even the Little Widow would choose to run away, and forced to reveal herself, she wouldn't have ended up having her Essence Blood stolen.

That was right. In Yu Sheng's mind, her Essence Blood had been stolen.

As if a mere Qi Refining initial-stage cultivator like him could...

Huh?!

The little one abruptly lifted her head, staring intently at Lin Shu's back.

Her mouth fell open in astonishment.

What was going on?

When had he taken the Middle Three Ranks Cultivation Method from her?!