Fierce Wolf at the Door (Seeking Monthly Votes for the New Book~)

Lin Shu stood up and pushed open the door.

The mist permeating his body not only allowed him to use immortal arts but also sharpened his senses significantly.

With this in mind, Lin Shu looked out into the courtyard.

The young widow had not returned to her room all night to tend to her frightened child; instead, she had carefully dragged the three corpses to the corner of the yard.

She had even dug up soil to cover the bloodstains on the ground.

"Tsk." Lin Shu's gaze held a hint of profound meaning, though he said nothing more. "Come in if you have something to say."

"Alright."

With a dusty face, Yun Niang nervously clutched her sleeves, hesitating for a moment before stepping into the room.

She had a feeling that, given the nonchalance with which he had turned away last night, he likely wouldn't bring up that shameful topic again.

Things went exactly as Yun Niang had expected.

Even as they sat opposite each other at the dilapidated table, the young man's gaze remained perfectly normal.

When their eyes met, it was she who felt guilty instead.

"What is it?" Lin Shu asked casually.

"Sir, the bodies in the yard..." Yun Niang pulled her thoughts back.

She gestured toward the bluestone courtyards on either side. "At night, those people might not meddle in others' affairs."

Her screams last night hadn't brought any help, but they had certainly woken many people up.

The commoners of Blackwater City didn't like to interfere in nighttime disturbances, but once it was daylight...

"Now that it's dawn, their gatekeepers have likely already reported it to the authorities."

Yun Niang lowered her head, looking slightly apologetic.

Although he had killed those men to save her—an act of chivalry—the government runners, who would squeeze oil out of a stone, were experts at making things difficult for people.

"It's fine."

Lin Shu was not flustered; he had plenty of experience dealing with government runners.

Not to mention, for once, he actually had the law on his side.

What truly troubled him was something else entirely.

Blackwater City was indeed a chaotic and isolated place.

But regrettably, the chaos was not absolute.

According to the memories left behind by his predecessor, there were at least two major powers—the government and the Blackwater Gang—that jointly maintained a peculiar form of order.

And if he wanted to evolve a new cultivation technique, he needed a sufficient amount of evil money.

Under this special order, killing might not require adherence to the law, but it certainly required connections.

It was difficult.

Lin Shu closed his eyes and gently rubbed his temples with his fingertips.

Given his background in a theater troupe, the hope of relying on the government was slim indeed.

According to the Ma Brothers, Liu the Third had paid tribute to the Blackwater Gang for many years; this was an opportunity.

Reasonably speaking, he was also a member of the troupe, so why couldn't he inherit the connections of Old Third?

The only problem was how to re-establish that line.

Just as Lin Shu was pondering this, a rush of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the courtyard!

As the saying went, a widow's door was a magnet for gossip, especially with a handsome man of similar age inside.

Yun Niang, however, showed no intention of shirking responsibility and stood up straight. "I will go with you to explain to them."

Lin Shu glanced at her with slight surprise, but he did not refuse.

The two had just stepped out of the room when—

Bang!

The flimsy courtyard gate was pushed open violently.

Two men dressed in crisp black shirts with long blades hanging at their waists followed the stench of blood, frowning as they looked into the yard.

Clearly, these were the runners of Blackwater City.

Behind them, the gatekeeper from the neighboring courtyard peered in with curiosity.

Judging by his expression, this old man, who had turned a deaf ear to everything the night before, hadn't rushed to report to the authorities out of concern, but rather out of a desire to see what had happened in the widow's home.

The gatekeeper first leered at Yun Niang, then caught sight of Lin Shu beside her, and his face immediately filled with a sense of righteous indignation that suggested he had expected as much.

He spat, lowering his voice: "Dirty whore."

It shouldn't take long before the neighbors have a new topic of conversation.

"Officers."

Yun Niang seemed accustomed to these gazes; she stepped forward, preparing to offer an explanation.

Suddenly, a figure sauntered past her, followed by a practiced, forceful front kick!

Bang!

Before the gatekeeper could react, his entire body flew backward, rolling across the street like a discarded sack for three or four turns.

"Cough, h-hng!"

The old man lay on the ground in a wretched state, staring at the supposed adulterer in disbelief as he pointed a trembling finger. "You..."

Lin Shu glanced over, showing not a shred of shame for striking an old man, and said indifferently, "What are you looking at, you old hag? Keep staring and I'll gouge your eyeballs out."

His moral baseline was low, and he had never been one to suffer in silence.

If he had slept with her, he had; if he hadn't, he hadn't.

"Insolent!"

The two bailiffs furrowed their brows and shouted in anger, preparing to intervene.

However, they noticed that while the ruffian was busy hurling insults, he remained standing obediently inside the courtyard, making no further moves.

It gave the impression of someone with strength but nowhere to vent it.

"..."

Lin Shu withdrew his gaze without changing his expression, feeling no panic at all.

He had measured his strike perfectly.

If a single minor injury could be detected on that old man, it would mean his technique was subpar.

"This, this."

Seeing this, Yun Niang's brain stalled once again.

She looked up at Lin Shu in front of her, blinking her eyes, having already forgotten what she had intended to say.

"Yo, some entertainment to watch early in the morning."

Just then, a mocking voice drifted from the street.

Hearing that familiar tone, the two bailiffs' faces turned icy. They spun around abruptly, drawing their long blades halfway out of their scabbards.

However, the blades could not be fully unsheathed.

A handsome, frivolous-looking young man in white casually pressed his hands onto their right arms, forcing the blades back into their scabbards.

"Officers, no need to be so agitated."

The young man in white smiled, draping his arms over their shoulders as he looked into the courtyard, teasing, "This is a family matter. We'll handle it ourselves, so there's no need to trouble you two."

"..."

The bailiffs' expressions darkened. They stared intensely into the young man's eyes before shifting their gaze to another tall figure not far away.

The woman was also young, dressed in a thin green shirt, her lips pressed into a tight line, a fierce glint in her eyes.

Neither of them carried any weapons, yet their presence alone suppressed the bailiffs.

"You pack of stupid wolves, keep your whelps in check."

The bailiff shook off the young man's hand, his eyelids twitching. Though furious, he didn't linger, turning and walking away immediately.

"Officers, such short tempers. Walk slowly, I won't see you out."

The young man in white, having had his hand shaken off, kept his smile and brushed off his sleeves as if it were nothing.

He and the woman stepped slowly into the small courtyard, then turned back to close the gate.

Creak.

Once the gate was shut tight.

When the two turned back around, all expression had vanished from their faces, leaving only indifference.

"Hah! Hah!"

By all accounts, these two had just helped them out of a tight spot.

But Yun Niang's breathing suddenly hitched, and there was no gratitude on her face at all.

Even though she could remain calm at the sight of a corpse, she now instinctively moved a few steps closer to Lin Shu.

Closing the door to handle business.

The business of the Blackwater Gang.

The people who had arrived were two vicious wolves!

"..."

Lin Shu glanced at the courtyard gate. To be honest, the Blackwater Gang's interference was within his expectations.

After all, with Wang Xu dead, the remaining members of the troupe certainly wouldn't just sit idly by.

It made perfect sense that they had chosen to report the matter, running off to notify the Blackwater Gang.

The only thing Lin Shu hadn't expected was that these Blackwater Gang members could openly and brazenly intimidate government bailiffs right in the middle of the street.

How interesting.