Tonight, Killing is Advised

Tonight is a good night for killing. "Fine, you win!" Lin Yi spread his hands in resignation.

A hypocritical, radiant smile instantly bloomed on Zhang Mingxi's face as he spoke, "Hahaha, as expected of my master's fine junior brother!"

"One hundred taels of silver!"

Zhang Mingxi's smile stiffened, then quickly faded. "One hundred taels of silver?! Junior brother, although this treasure fish is precious, it is worth forty taels at most!"

Lin Yi nodded. "One hundred taels of silver. I am the seller now, so it is worth one hundred taels."

Zhang Mingxi said, "Junior brother must be a reasonable person; surely you wouldn't resort to such blatant extortion to make things difficult for your senior brother..."

Lin Yi's gaze did not waver. "You are the ones who want to buy this fish, and I have set the price. One hundred taels of silver, and you take the fish. Otherwise..."

Zhang Mingxi narrowed his eyes. "Otherwise, what does junior brother intend to do?"

Lin Yi gave a contemptuous smile. "Otherwise, if I cannot take this fish with me, neither will you. However, burying a prime treasure fish in the wilderness would be a terrible waste."

Zhang Mingxi's pupils contracted, and the veins on his forehead twitched slightly.

He knew Lin Yi was threatening him.

Consuming a treasure fish required specific, mild medicinal herbs to be effective. If it were killed outright, the medicinal potency would be severely compromised—wasted by at least seventy percent. It was the height of extravagance.

He weighed his options: if Lin Yi truly decided to destroy the fish, how confident was he in stopping the other man?

The answer was: not at all.

Although he considered himself far superior to Lin Yi, he dared not gamble against the ferocity of a man driven to madness.

He always remembered his father's words.

A cornered rabbit will bite; never push a man to the brink, because you never know what he might do.

Zhang Mingxi hesitated for a long time before gritting his teeth. "Fine! One hundred taels of silver!"

Lin Yi smiled dismissively. The man before him was too greedy and too arrogant; in his eyes, the treasure fish was already his for the taking.

Cautious people often worried about unknown risks, finding themselves struggling even with simple decisions.

After searching their entire bodies, Zhang Mingxi and Li Niuhe could only scrape together fifty taels of silver.

Zhang Mingxi took a deep breath, pulled a scroll from his sleeve, and handed it to Lin Yi. "This is a martial arts manual my father obtained from the gang a few days ago. I will use it to offset thirty taels of the price."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.

Martial arts manuals were rarely circulated in the market, as they were resources monopolized by martial arts halls or noble families. A random scroll on the market would cost hundreds of taels; how could one be used as collateral for thirty?

Lin Yi sneered. "A thirty-tael martial arts manual? Do you even believe that yourself?"

Zhang Mingxi scratched his head in a rare moment of embarrassment. "It is a fragmented manual... but if mastered, it will increase your combat power. With the martial arts hall's annual meeting approaching, I'm sure junior brother wants to achieve good results."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and took the scroll, glancing at it indifferently—Reckless Blade.

His pupils shrank, and he was secretly astonished.

This was actually the second half of the Reckless Blade manual that had appeared in Hu Ma's memories.

However, he kept his brow furrowed, looking at the scroll with feigned disgust before handing it back to Zhang Mingxi. "No, how would I know if this thing is even trainable? What if I end up crippling myself?"

Zhang Mingxi hurriedly said, "No, you've already seen it."

Lin Yi sneered. "I can learn it just by looking at it once? Even auctions have a process for inspecting martial arts manuals!"

Out of options, Zhang Mingxi gritted his teeth, beckoned to Lin Yi, and led him to a secluded corner.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and followed cautiously.

Zhang Mingxi pulled an intricately crafted hand crossbow from his sleeve. "This is worth twenty taels. Don't use it; I will bring the money to redeem it when I go to the martial arts hall tomorrow."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, curious. "This thing is worth twenty taels?"

Zhang Mingxi said disdainfully, "Look at who made it. This is a replica of one of Master Wu's masterpieces. Against anyone below a martial artist, it's a guaranteed kill within five meters."

A dark, flickering light passed through the depths of Lin Yi's eyes as he casually accepted the crossbow.

The night grew deep.

Zhang Mingxi and Li Niuhe left.

Lin Yi watched their retreating backs, his eyes flickering with deep, hidden thoughts.

"Brother Lin, this money..." Jiang Er hesitated for a moment, still wanting to return the money Lin Yi had given him earlier.

Lin Yi waved him off. "Brother Jiang, do not worry about it. You sold the fish to me, and I resold it; it was a fair transaction. Why return it?"

Jiang Er was moved. Seeming to have made up his mind, he looked at Lin Yi earnestly. "Brother Lin, I owe you for this treasure fish. I will catch another one for you!"

Treasure fish were rare and hard to find. If anyone else had said this, Lin Yi might not have taken it to heart. But looking at the magnificent fortune surrounding Jiang Er, Lin Yi actually believed him.

"Alright, then I shall wait for it."

After parting ways with Jiang Er, Lin Yi did not return directly to Yu Qinglian's house.

Instead, he headed straight for the martial arts hall's communal dormitory.

Tonight, the moon was dark and the wind was high; it was a good night for killing.

He had to ensure he left himself an alibi.

The courtyard was filled with the clamor of voices as several fellow disciples played cards, beckoning him to sit as soon as they saw him arrive.

Lin Yi responded with a smile, shed his outer robe, and found a spot to sit cross-legged, closing his eyes to rest his mind.

Meanwhile, in the outskirts of the city, deep within a gloomy, ominous mansion and inside a pitch-black tunnel.

A pair of eyes, originally grayish-white with a hint of purple, suddenly flashed with a sharp, piercing glint.

Lin Yi's corpse puppet was finally ready to strike.

In the darkness, a stiff figure rose silently and began to walk slowly toward a certain direction.