Self-Destruction

At that moment, outside Jiaqing County, in Jiangyu Village.

A courtyard stood in the village, quite striking beside the shabby houses around it.

Inside a room, Zhang Mingxi and Li Niuhe sat facing each other.

Their eyes rested quietly on the Jiangtuan fish in the basin before them.

"Mingxi, now that we've bought this Treasure Fish, how should we divide it?"

Li Niuhe knew his own limits. He wasn't as shrewd as Zhang Mingxi.

So rather than beat around the bush, he decided to get straight to the point.

Zhang Mingxi smiled and said:

"Old Li, we may not share parents, but we're as good as brothers. And as the saying goes, even close brothers should settle their accounts clearly. Let's make it fair."

"Today, I paid sixty-four taels of silver for the fish, while you only put in thirty-six."

"How about this? I'll give you my Foundation Building Soup for this month and pay back your thirty-six taels. In exchange, you can leave this Treasure Fish to me. That'll be thanks for coming along with me today."

Li Niuhe's expression instantly grew tense.

"No way!"

Treasure Fish were hard to come by.

Their effects were even better than the Martial Hall's Foundation Building Soup, and they were impossible to obtain on demand.

He could see a chance to become a Martial Artist before the Martial Hall kicked him out.

In the future, he might even get to walk the world as a Martial Hall disciple.

For once, Li Niuhe stood his ground.

Li Niuhe said:

"We split it fifty-fifty. We bought the fish together."

"I'll pay you back the rest of the silver later! And I don't want your Foundation Building Soup."

A shadow passed over Zhang Mingxi's eyes. He pondered for a moment, then tried reasoning with him.

"Old Li, you know that splitting a Treasure Fish greatly diminishes its effects... Why waste such a precious thing..."

Li Niuhe gave a cold laugh. "Even with its effects reduced, the Treasure Fish is still much better than that Foundation Building Soup."

"How about I pay you back the money for the fish and give you my Foundation Building Soup, and you leave the whole Treasure Fish to me?"

Zhang Mingxi looked up with a smile, his expression unchanged.

"Then we'll split it fifty-fifty."

"After all, we're as close as flesh and blood, the dearest of friends. How could we let a Treasure Fish come between us?"

Seeing Zhang Mingxi give in, Li Niuhe's taut expression relaxed. He looked at the Treasure Fish before them, his eyes shining.

"Mingxi, why don't we divide the fish today? That way, nothing unexpected can happen. I want to try breaking through to the fifth level of the Martial Way tonight, too."

Zhang Mingxi waved a hand. "Treasure Fish usually need to be taken with some ordinary medicinal ingredients to bring out the spiritual essence inside and get the best effect."

"Let's wait until tomorrow, after I buy the ingredients at a shop in town, then we can take it."

Li Niuhe scratched his head. He didn't suspect a thing and simply said, "I see."

Zhang Mingxi's eyes flickered. He smiled and said:

"But tomorrow, I'll still need your help, Brother Li, getting back the hundred taels of silver we lost."

Li Niuhe knew Zhang Mingxi meant the money they'd paid Lin Yi for the fish.

Both their families were involved with gangs, accustomed to taking what they wanted by force. There was no way they'd swallow the loss they'd suffered today.

They'd only made that concession because they feared Lin Yi might suddenly lash out and destroy the Treasure Fish. It had been a desperate expedient.

As for the silver, they were definitely getting it back.

They wanted both the fish and the money.

Li Niuhe said in a low voice, "Easy enough. He's just a sixteen-year-old kid who's practiced a little martial arts. What tricks could he have?"

"I looked into his family before. They just run a teahouse and pastry shop. His father died young, and his uncle took him in. His other uncle's a gambling addict. Aside from him, there's only his teenage cousin in the family who's fit enough to count as a man. No threat at all."

"If it comes to it, we can always find someone to beat him to death."

Zhang Mingxi smiled and agreed. "That's true."

Then Zhang Mingxi stood up and said, "Old Li, sit tight. Let's forget about that unpleasant business for now. Today's a happy occasion. A few days ago, my father got a bottle of good liquor. It's the perfect time for the two of us to enjoy it."

Li Niuhe loved his liquor, and at the mention of a good bottle, his eyes immediately lit up. He nodded again and again.

The instant he turned around, Zhang Mingxi's expression darkened.

A little while later, Zhang Mingxi returned. He held a wine jug in one hand and a piece of smoked cured meat in the other, grinning as he called out to Li Niuhe.

"What are you standing around for? Come help me with the wine. I'll lay out the food."

"Sure thing, Mingxi." Li Niuhe stood and walked over to him.

Zhang Mingxi promptly handed him the wine jug.

In that instant, Zhang Mingxi's heart leaped into his throat. He watched the jug in his outstretched hand from the corner of his eye, his thoughts churning.

The jug didn't hold wine but kerosene. Zhang Mingxi had rigged its lid with a mechanism and hidden a concealed weapon inside: a Fire Mist Pill.

The moment the jug was opened, the Fire Mist Pill would burst, releasing a cloud of fire that would ignite the kerosene.

He would seize that moment to launch a sneak attack and kill Li Niuhe with one blow.

This was his own home, so disposing of Li Niuhe's body would be easier, too.

Afterward, he could use the Treasure Fish to break through to the fifth level of the Martial Way, then join the Martial Hall and go out into the world as one of its disciples.

With the status of a Martial Hall disciple, he would climb even higher within the gang.

Even if Li Niuhe's father suspected him, he wouldn't dare touch Zhang Mingxi once Zhang Mingxi had the backing of both the Martial Hall and the gang's higher-ups.

Zhang Mingxi felt his thoughts growing clearer and clearer, his blood boiling.

Kill him.

Then I can rise higher.

I can climb, step by step, to the very top.

At the thought, the emotions in Zhang Mingxi's eyes grew more tangled: guilt, greed, yearning, a mass of feelings all mixed together.

Sorry, my good brother. For your sake, I'll have to ask you to die... Zhang Mingxi watched Li Niuhe approach and reach for the jug, thinking to himself.

Squelch!!

A sharp sound of flesh tearing apart rang out without warning.

Zhang Mingxi's pupils abruptly contracted.

"You..."

Zhang Mingxi stared at his chest, at the patch of red staining it, and at the dagger that had pierced through him.

"Sorry, Mingxi..." Li Niuhe's face no longer held a trace of his former honest, foolish look. It was cold and impassive. "Sorry, Mingxi. I know you too well."

"If I didn't make the first move, you would."

"I want to live, and I want to climb higher, too!"

Thud!

Zhang Mingxi crashed to the floor. Blood gushed from the wound left by the dagger in his chest, and his body twitched uncontrollably.

But those convulsions didn't last long.

In less than ten breaths, he fell completely still.

Li Niuhe glanced at Zhang Mingxi, his face cold. Then he went to the fish basin and looked at the Treasure Fish. His voice came out low and rough, yet trembled as he spoke.

"You... belong to me now."

Clang, clang, clang!

In the dead of night, a distinct, unmistakable sound rang out in the room.

Li Niuhe's breath caught. His pupils shrank, and he didn't dare breathe as he slowly turned his head, almost mechanically.

His eyes fixed on the door behind him.

Three breaths passed.

Clang, clang, clang...

The crisp knock sounded again.

It was unhurried, two light knocks and one heavy one. Whoever it was had quite good manners.

Li Niuhe crept toward the door, moving softly and cautiously.

The knocking stopped.

Still uneasy, Li Niuhe gently pressed his ear against the door, trying to make out what was happening outside.

Silence!

An unnatural silence.

Li Niuhe's senses were stretched to their limit. In his ears, his heart thudded again and again; at his nose was the heavy smell of blood.

Rustle, rustle!

Suddenly, a faint scraping sound came from the wooden door.

Who would come to someone's house in the middle of the night and feel around the door like that?!

The whole thing felt so strange that Li Niuhe couldn't help getting goosebumps.

Crash!

With a tremendous bang, the wooden door shattered.

At the same time, Li Niuhe, who had been leaning his head against it, had his skull pierced by a blue-black arm.

The arm slowly withdrew.

Li Niuhe's body could no longer hold him up.

With a gaping hole in his head, he crumpled straight to the ground.

As the door latch turned, the door swung open.

The newcomer wore an all-black night suit covered in armor. A black-and-red Vengeful Ghost Mask concealed his face as he walked into the room.

Meanwhile, far away at the Martial Hall, Lin Yi shared the Corpse Puppet's vision. He glanced at Li Niuhe, who lay before the door with a hole through his temple from Lin Yi's own hand.

Then he looked at Zhang Mingxi, who lay on the floor with a dagger stuck in his chest.

Lin Yi's gaze swept across the room, surprise in his voice.

"That was easier than I expected..."