Tonight Was a Good Night for Murder

"All right, you win!" Lin Yi spread his hands helplessly.

A brilliant smile bloomed across Zhang Mingxi's false face. "Hahaha! As expected of my good junior brother!"

"One hundred taels of silver!"

Zhang Mingxi's smile stiffened, then quickly faded. "One hundred taels of silver?! Junior brother, this Treasure Fish is precious, but it can't be worth more than forty taels!"

Lin Yi nodded. "One hundred taels. I'm the seller now, so that's what it's worth."

"Surely you're a reasonable man, junior brother. You wouldn't make things difficult for your senior brother by demanding an outrageous price at the last moment..."

Lin Yi met his gaze without flinching. "You're the ones who want to buy the fish. I've given you the price: one hundred taels, and you can take it. Otherwise..."

Zhang Mingxi narrowed his eyes. "Otherwise, what do you plan to do?"

Lin Yi gave a scornful laugh. "Otherwise, if I can't take the fish with me, neither can you. But it'd be a terrible waste to bury such a fine Treasure Fish in the wilderness."

Zhang Mingxi's pupils contracted, and a vein twitched faintly on his forehead.

He knew Lin Yi was threatening him.

The Treasure Fish had to be taken with special, mild medicines. If it was killed outright, the medicine's effects would be greatly diminished, wasting at least seventy percent. It would be the height of waste.

He weighed his chances: if Lin Yi truly decided to make them both lose, how sure was he that he could stop him?

He wasn't sure at all.

In his eyes, he was far stronger than Lin Yi. But he wouldn't risk betting on the force a person could unleash when driven completely mad.

He had always remembered his father's words.

Even a rabbit would bite when cornered. Never drive someone into a dead end, because you could never know what they might do.

Zhang Mingxi hesitated for a long while, then gritted his teeth. "Fine! One hundred taels!"

Lin Yi scoffed. The man before him was too greedy and too arrogant. In his eyes, the Treasure Fish was already as good as his.

Cautious people often feared the unknown risks they might have to bear, and could find themselves unable to move even when faced with ordinary choices.

After rummaging through their clothes for a while, Zhang Mingxi and Li Niuhe managed to scrape together only fifty taels of silver.

Zhang Mingxi drew a deep breath, pulled a scroll from his sleeve, and handed it to Lin Yi. "My father got this martial technique from the gang a few days ago. I'll use it to cover thirty taels."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.

Most martial techniques weren't available on the open market; they were resources monopolized by martial arts schools and great clans. Even an ordinary scroll could cost a hundred taels or more. How could this one cover thirty taels?

Lin Yi sneered. "Do you really believe that's a martial technique worth thirty taels?"

For once, Zhang Mingxi awkwardly scratched his head. "It's an incomplete martial technique... But mastering it can still improve your combat strength. The martial arts school's annual gathering is coming up, and I'm sure you want to get a good result."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, took the scroll, and glanced at it. It was titled Reckless Blade.

His pupils contracted in surprise.

This was the latter half of Reckless Blade, the incomplete portion that had appeared in Hu Ma's cultivation memories.

But he kept his brows furrowed and handed the scroll back to Zhang Mingxi with a look of disgust. "No. How do I know if this thing is even safe to practice? What if it causes problems?"

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

Lin Yi sneered. "Looking at it once means I can learn it? Don't they inspect martial techniques before selling them at auctions?"

Zhang Mingxi had no choice. He gritted his teeth, beckoned Lin Yi over, and led him to a secluded corner.

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and followed warily.

Zhang Mingxi pulled a finely crafted Sleeve Crossbow from his sleeve. "This covers twenty taels. Don't use it. I'll come to the martial arts school tomorrow with the money to redeem it."

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow, curious. "Is this thing worth twenty taels?"

Zhang Mingxi scoffed. "You should ask who made it. It's a replica of one of Master Wu's masterpieces. Within five meters, it can kill with a single shot anyone below the Martial Artist level."

A dark glimmer flickered in the depths of Lin Yi's eyes for a moment. He casually accepted the Sleeve Crossbow.

Night had fallen.

Zhang Mingxi and Li Niuhe left.

Lin Yi watched them go, his gaze fixed on their retreating figures as his eyes flickered repeatedly.

"Brother Lin, about the money..." Jiang Er hesitated, but still wanted to return the money Lin Yi had given him earlier.

Lin Yi waved him off. "Don't worry about it, Brother Jiang. You sold the fish to me, and I'm reselling it. That's only fair. Why would you need to pay me back?"

Jiang Er was touched. Seeming to have made up his mind, he looked earnestly at Lin Yi. "Brother Lin, I owe you for this Treasure Fish. I'll catch another one for you!"

Treasure Fish were impossible to find unless fate decreed it. If an ordinary person said that, Lin Yi probably wouldn't take him seriously. But looking at Jiang Er's magnificent Aura of Fortune, Lin Yi found himself believing him.

"Good. I'll be waiting, then."

After parting with Jiang Er, Lin Yi didn't go straight back to Yu Qinglian's home.

Instead, he headed straight to the martial arts school's communal dormitory.

The night was pitch-black, the wind howled, and it was a good night for murder.

He needed to make sure he had an alibi.

The courtyard was noisy. Several fellow disciples were playing cards, and when they saw him, they called out for him to join them.

Lin Yi smiled and answered them with a couple of words. He took off his outer garment, found a spot, and sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting.

Meanwhile, beyond the city, deep in a gloomy house in the outskirts, inside a dark underground passage...

A pair of eyes, gray-white with a tinge of purple, suddenly flashed with a sharp glint.

Lin Yi's Corpse Puppet was finally about to make its move.

In the darkness, a stiff figure rose silently and slowly began walking in a certain direction.