On the stairs.
The limp woman stared up, her tear-blurred eyes peering toward the nearby figure.
The woman, whose heart had already been shattered, longed for a turn of fortune more than anyone.
But what met her eyes was only Zhang Ci's icy profile and the faintly throbbing temple beside it.
Clearly, the young master of Good Fortune Martial Hall had no intention of backing down. If anything, he was already on the brink of fury.
"Are you fucking brainless?"
All of Zhang Ci's good mood vanished.
No matter how powerful the Blackwater Gang was, the man was still nothing but a stinking Fox.
Good Fortune Martial Hall itself even had ties to quite a few members of Cunning Fox Hall.
Threatening ordinary folk was one thing, but he thought he could scare the young master of Good Fortune Martial Hall?!
"Fuck you—"
Cursing, Zhang Ci's gaze turned glacial. He swung his right arm, bringing his palm straight toward the man's face.
Whoosh—
The wind split with a sharp whistle. A vicious slap landed on Zhang Ci's face before he could finish cursing.
"Pfft."
Zhang Ci hadn't even seen the other man move before immense force crashed into him, nearly crushing his cheekbone.
He spat blood. As his body doubled over, that hand had already seized his hair with practiced ease.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Grabbing his head, Lin Shu slammed it against the table.
The sturdy wooden table shook violently and split apart—along with Zhang Ci's nose.
The fluid, unbroken assault went on for a dozen breaths.
Zhang Ci's mind reeled, his face contorted with pain.
By the time he came to his senses, he was pinned hard against the table. The fingers pressing down on the back of his head made lifting it a pipe dream.
"..."
Lin Shu leaned over, tugging the young master's hair as he revealed his blood-smeared face.
Their eyes met.
He carefully wiped the blood from the corner of the other man's eye with his thumb and asked mildly, "Can you understand plain speech now?"
Zhang Ci's face twitched violently, his eyes bulging.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the pack of bitches around them.
The sudden turn of events had left every girl in the room frozen in shock.
They hardly dared breathe, staring blankly at the two men.
Under all those undisguised stares, and with his face covered in wounds, Zhang Ci felt his skin burn with humiliation.
He took the greatest pleasure in seeing these wild chickens terrified and trapped with nowhere to run.
But now, he was the one being watched for their amusement.
"Hah!"
Zhang Ci's throat bobbed rapidly, a hint of madness rising in his eyes.
Then he felt the thumb at the corner of his eye begin to press harder, as if it meant to crush his eye socket.
"I... I understand."
Zhang Ci's voice trembled as he hurriedly shrieked his answer.
Lin Shu wiped the blood from his fingertips on the other man's collar, then couldn't be bothered to say anything more. "The door's over there."
He shifted slightly, revealing the bundle on the table to the young master.
The bundle had fallen partly open. On top lay a sharp, bloodstained iron spike.
Zhang Ci froze for a moment. Then his eyes flooded with blood, and he reached out without hesitation to grab the spike.
The instant his five fingers clenched around it,
the iron spike trembled violently, ringing out like a sword!
As the young master of Good Fortune Martial Hall, Zhang Ci was nothing like a back-alley thug such as Liu the Third.
Even if the two men were evenly matched in physique, the techniques passed down through his family could let him crush ordinary martial artists with ease.
You're dead!
Zhang Ci sprang up deftly, intending to end this Cheap Fox with a single thrust.
Compared to an iron spike that could ring like a sword, a short knife that made no sound seemed rather ordinary.
It just happened to be in the right place at the right time, slipping into Zhang Ci's heart with no particular flourish.
Squelch!
With one arm around the other man's shoulder, Lin Shu gripped the short knife in his other hand and pushed it in inch by inch.
Leaning close to his ear, he murmured reassuringly, "Don't be afraid. Take a deep breath. It'll be over soon."
Zhang Ci's gaze began to blur, and his body started to go limp.
The other man hadn't lied.
It really was quick—so quick that he kept feeling something was wrong, but didn't have time to figure out what.
The iron spike clattered to the floor.
It jolted everyone in the room out of their shock.
"..."
Old Yang stood frozen, staring at Lin Shu.
He had seen the other man kill before, but only from behind.
Now that they were face-to-face, he finally felt the baleful aura clinging to the young man.
"Whew."
Lin Shu let out a soft breath and pulled out the knife.
He casually took the jade pendant from the young master's waist and tucked it into his own clothes.
Then he picked up both the bundle on the table and Zhang Ci's limp corpse, and headed for the street.
The stench of blood drifted through Green Willow Alley.
Passersby jumped in fright and hurried to make way.
The girls peeking out from the neighboring brothel soon recognized Zhang Ci.
Relief welled up in their faces. Then they looked at the man carrying the corpse, their gazes complicated.
Before the girls could even finish sighing over it, they saw Lin Shu glance around and casually toss the corpse in front of another establishment.
He dusted off his hands and turned back inside.
Leaving an unlucky mess like that outside would surely hurt business.
"..."
The corners of everyone's mouths twitched, but no one dared complain. They could only sheepishly pull their heads back inside.
Magpie Nest fell silent.
No one knew what to say.
The woman on the stairs staggered to her feet and hurried toward Lin Shu as he returned. Then she dropped to her knees and knocked her head against the floor.
"Jin Gui thanks Master Lin for saving my life."
No matter what anyone else thought, she had survived because of this Lord Fox.
"No need. Get back to work."
Lin Shu stretched and walked right past her, returning to his seat behind the table.
His posture was just as weary as before, but somehow it gave the girls around him a different feeling.
Just as Zhang Ci had said, even Master Tian wouldn't interfere with him.
Was it because Master Tian couldn't afford to provoke Good Fortune Martial Hall?
Of course not. It was simply that their worthless lives weren't worth as much as the Filial Respect Zhang Ci gave him.
They were just a pair of legs. If one died, Cunning Fox Hall could send over another batch of merchandise.
But this Lord Fox really would step in and take charge!
"Don't just stand around. Get back to work."
Sister Hua hurriedly soothed their nerves, then came over beside Lin Shu.
She wasn't sure how much confidence Master Lin had, and she no longer had the heart to explain just how serious Zhang Ci's death was.
Sister Hua knew only one thing.
The man was dead. Now, the only person Magpie Nest could rely on was this Fox.
If she wanted to keep him on their side, she would have to offer him something truly valuable.
That was three whole taels of silver!
Sister Hua's heart bled, but her face was wreathed in smiles. "Master Lin, what a fine display of skill. You're covered in blood, though. Would you like to wash up? I'll have Liu Ya attend to you."
She winked. "Don't worry, she's still a virgin. I guarantee she's clean—not dirty at all!"
Sister Hua had thought her offer was sincere enough.
But Lin Shu glanced at her and said with disdain, "I meant this place of yours is filthy."
Most of the women in this dark alley had been tricked, swindled, threatened, or enticed into coming here by Cunning Fox Hall.
If Master Lin took off his pants in a place like this, how could he ever show his face again?
As soon as he finished speaking,
the women, unsettled and only pretending to be busy, stopped what they were doing in unison.
They silently turned their eyes toward the corner.
Still, no one said a word.
But a moment later, quite a few of them secretly rubbed at the corners of their eyes.
"Get me a clean room. Oh, and there's one more thing..."
Lin Shu had no interest in explaining himself to a madam. He took out the jade pendant and set it on the table. "Go exchange this jade pendant for silver. Bring it to me at daybreak."
Then he turned his head toward the empty space.
[Kill and rob, earn a gold belt; build bridges and roads, leave no bones behind. Take one worthless life, receive two Evil Coins.] [Life and death are decided by Heaven; snatch a life from Yama's hands. Save one wretched life, receive one Virtue Coin.]
Thinking that he finally had something else to feed the puppy, Lin Shu couldn't help feeling a flicker of anticipation.
Before you continue