Revenge

Morning dew had condensed through the night, and the east was beginning to pale.

Mei Ye opened his bleary eyes. As usual, he got up, washed up, put on his uniform, and walked out of his home.

"Mr. Mei."

Suddenly, beneath an old locust tree not far away, a man in black looked over and stared fixedly at Mei Ye.

"Who are you?"

Mei Ye closed the door coolly and glanced around, confirming that no ordinary people were nearby.

"I am Boss Wang of Black Sky Mining's secretary. The boss would like to invite you for a drink."

The man in black approached respectfully and handed him a business card.

The black card had gilded edges, and it carried a faint chill as it was passed to him.

"Black Sky Mining..."

A sharp glint flashed through Mei Ye's eyes. Keeping his expression neutral, he said, "Didn't you people want to kill me before? What, was all that boasting fake?"

Mei Ye weighed the matter in his mind and looked at the man in black with hostility.

"Boss Wang said it was all a misunderstanding. Since you are both from North River, he is willing to offer Mr. Mei satisfactory compensation."

The man in black swallowed, bent at a ninety-degree angle, and lowered his posture completely.

Mei Ye looked at the man in black and considered it for a moment. "Fine. Lead the way."

The man in black let out a sigh of relief and waved his hand. A luxury car drove over. He hurried over to open the door, and Mei Ye got in.

More than ten minutes later, they arrived at an upscale hotel.

The hotel's private room was covered in thick carpet, crystal lamps shone dazzlingly overhead, and the air carried the scent of alcohol and perfume.

At the VIP table, Mei Ye saw a potbellied middle-aged man.

"Oh! Mr. Mei."

Boss Wang jogged over and forced out a smile.

"You're finally here. Come, please sit."

He hurriedly pulled out a chair and invited Mei Ye to sit down.

"Boss Wang, what kind of act are you putting on?"

After sitting down, Mei Ye spoke without courtesy. He placed his saber on the table, making Boss Wang's eyes twitch.

"Mr. Mei, I don't mean anything by this." Boss Wang chuckled as he poured Mei Ye a drink. "I simply want to clear up this misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

Mei Ye did not touch the glass of wine and merely sneered.

"Colluding with demons and evil creatures—how did that become a misunderstanding, Boss Wang?"

"What demons and evil creatures?" Boss Wang's expression changed. "What demons and evil creatures? Mr. Mei, I came this time to convey an apology.

"Regarding what happened last time, my brother failed to recognize your greatness. Please be magnanimous."

Mei Ye watched his performance coldly.

After being attacked by the Dog Demon yesterday, he had thought things over for an hour and finally figured out who wanted him dead.

Boss Wang's real name was Wang Jian. He was the owner of Black Sky Mining and had some influence in Jiangbei City.

These days, any company with even a little scale kept some thugs on its payroll.

A few days ago, the previous Mei Ye had been heading home after work when a naked female corpse fell from above as he passed through an alley.

Before the previous Mei Ye could step forward to inspect it, a group of people rushed out and dragged the body away.

The previous Mei Ye had been young and still possessed some conscience, so he stepped forward and questioned them.

The result was that the yellow-haired punks burst out laughing. "You're just some trainee Demon-Suppressing Guard. Why are you sticking your nose in so much? Looking to die?"

The yellow-haired punks looked at Mei Ye with disdain.

The previous Mei Ye grew angry as well and began arguing with them.

"Do you dare tell me your name?"

A dangerous gleam flashed through the yellow-haired punk's eyes.

"Mei Ye!"

The previous Mei Ye answered without hesitation.

"Fine, Mei Ye, is it?"

The yellow-haired punk nodded. "Black Sky Mining will remember you. Soon enough, you'll see the power of capital."

With that, the yellow-haired punk left with his underlings.

At the time, the previous Mei Ye had taken it as nothing more than a threat. After all, killing someone within the system was far too outrageous.

Yet the audacity of those people had truly opened the eyes of Mei Ye, who had come afterward.

"Local tyrants... no, perhaps the backdrop of social decay must be added as well." Mei Ye pressed his fingers to his brow, pondering the madness of these gangsters.

Justice Under Heaven had a fine name, but the court had recently been plagued by turmoil, showing clear signs of a dynasty in decline.

Local powers everywhere colluded with one another, turning their regions into a filthy mess while official authority plummeted off a cliff.

And to a court on the brink of collapse, the deaths of certain insignificant groups truly meant nothing.

"Boss Wang, I am a public official. Handling cases according to the law is my duty. If this were merely a personal grudge, I would not care, nor would I abuse public office for private revenge." Mei Ye said calmly. "But you colluded with demons and evil creatures and caused deaths. There is nothing to discuss."

Boss Wang's face immediately turned cold. "So Mr. Mei is unwilling to give me this respect?"

Mei Ye said nothing, but his meaning was already obvious.

Boss Wang's expression changed again and again, shifting from restraint to anger, then finally to unwillingness.

"Big Brother! Why waste so many words? Just kill this brat!"

Suddenly, the sound of something tearing through the air rang out.

The private room door was kicked open with a tremendous bang.

More than a dozen men in black charged in, with the yellow-haired punk at their head.

They all held gleaming machetes. Their blades reflected the lights with a blinding shine, and the breaths of more than a dozen people mingled together with a vicious aura.

When Boss Wang saw them emerge, he knew there was no longer any chance of settling this peacefully.

With a sigh, he hurriedly retreated behind the group.

"Are you planning to oppose the court?"

Mei Ye glanced at the group.

"You think your life is worth much? You're just a trainee Demon-Suppressing Guard. What are you worth?"

The yellow-haired punk had a lean, muscular build, with dragons and tigers tattooed across his chest, displaying his ferocity.

"Just you people? Whether it's the hired Dog Demon or these helpers of yours, who are merely at the first or second level of Body Tempering, you think this handful can keep me here?"

Mei Ye gave the men in black a contemptuous glance.

"Young brother, we did not want things to come to this. As long as you agree not to pursue our responsibility, we can leave." Boss Wang said in a deep voice from within the crowd.

The yellow-haired punk was his brother-in-arms. Killing a trainee Demon-Suppressing Guard should have been nothing.

But since he had been killed instead, it was worth Boss Wang's attention.

Yesterday, he had investigated that brat's background and vaguely heard some rumors.

Having navigated the underworld for many years, he felt it was best to play it safe before obtaining the details.

Thus, he had apologized politely. Yet this brat was too arrogant and kept clinging to the matter of them sending people to kill him.

Sigh, young people these days truly had no tolerance at all.

"What the hell are you dreaming about? How about I try killing you too, and you forgive me?"

Mei Ye looked at Boss Wang, who was shielded by layers upon layers of people, and sneered.

"Since that is the case, there is nothing more to say!" Boss Wang's face darkened. He raised his head and shouted outside, "Invite the Shoe God in!"

As soon as he spoke, slippers slapped against the carpet. A sour stench slowly spread, overwhelming the perfume.

An sallow old man in a white tank top and loose shorts, picking his nose, slowly ambled up to Mei Ye.

He looked utterly ordinary, and the few hairs on his head made one wonder whether he had wandered onto the wrong set.

"You're finished, brat."

The yellow-haired punk who called Boss Wang Big Brother immediately calmed down and said to Mei Ye with glee.

"This man is the Fire Cloud Shoe God, one of the top-ranked killers! He is far stronger than that Dog Demon and that piece of trash from before.

"With the Shoe God here, you are definitely going to die today!"

"Hey, keep it down, keep it down."

The Shoe God waved his hand and said modestly, "It is all thanks to the praise of my friends in the martial world. I am old now, being studied in a mental hospital. How could I still count as an expert?

"But I heard there was a promising junior here, so I came out of retirement. Is that you, brat? Can you beat me to death?"

The Shoe God smiled at Mei Ye, exposing a mouthful of yellow teeth. The foul smell made Boss Wang frown.

"So you want to be the first to stick your head out?"

Mei Ye drew several inches of his saber, and his five fingers suddenly tightened.

"Can't be helped. Boss Wang wants your head." The Shoe God shrugged. "Two hundred thousand in total. If you can pay two hundred thousand for your own head, I can let you go too."

"Fine, then I'll pay one yuan." Returning the favor, Mei Ye offered the same suggestion. "Give me one yuan, and I can let you go too."

The Shoe God's face darkened. "Junior, you are courting death!"

He stepped forward, his slipper striking out, followed closely by the stench of his feet.

Black energy instantly swirled through the room!

The gangsters all felt pressure in their chests and covered their noses with both hands.

Mei Ye frowned and hurriedly held his breath, then slashed at the slipper again.

However, the slipper had long been the Shoe God's personal weapon and was no ordinary object. When the tip of the saber struck it, a notch actually appeared in the blade.

"How can a mere martial artist compare to this old man's kick?"

The Shoe God was immensely pleased with himself. He kicked repeatedly, leaving afterimages as the stench of his feet filled the air.

"Shoe God is invincible! Invincible under heaven!"

Boss Wang and his underlings cheered and shouted encouragement for the Shoe God.

Mei Ye bent low and slashed at the Shoe God's foot. The Shoe God panicked and hurriedly backed away, but Mei Ye's eyes turned cold as he strode forward and stomped down hard.

"Ah!"

The slipper fell off. Mei Ye hooked it with his saber and swiftly stuffed it into the Shoe God's mouth. The stench turned the Shoe God's face blue and made his eyes bulge.

"Looks like your toes are not as tough as your slippers."

Mei Ye said with a smile as he ground his right foot down, crushing the Shoe God's toes into pulp.

The Shoe God's face reddened and tears flowed from his eyes. A vicious glint flashed through his heart as his fingers turned into eagle claws and grabbed for Mei Ye's throat.

Mei Ye twisted his wrist slightly and thrust his saber in. The tip pressed against the Shoe God's hand and pierced through his arm.

Splat!

Drops of blood ran down the blade and dripped to the floor, staining the hotel flooring red.

The saber issued by the Demon Suppression Bureau was not some divine weapon, but its craftsmanship was superb. It had no trouble cutting down a martial artist who had not broken through to the Qi Gathering Realm.

Splat!

Mei Ye slashed upward, severing the Shoe God's arm. Having lost too much blood, the Shoe God's face turned pale. He swayed, then fell stiffly to the ground.

"I surrender!"

The Shoe God knelt and kowtowed, his forehead red and swollen with a large lump protruding from it.

"I never expected Your Excellency's divine skill to be so unmatched. This lowly one admires you!"

The Shoe God raised his head and spoke in terror. Mei Ye's saber hovered above his head, but did not continue downward.

"This lowly one is willing to surrender himself. From now on, I will never commit evil again..."

The Shoe God spoke in a trembling voice, but his tiny eyes kept shifting upward.

Suddenly, a ruthless light flashed in his eyes. His left hand flickered, and a slender golden needle gleaming with light silently stabbed toward Mei Ye.

But Mei Ye had been wary of him all along. Without a second thought, he pressed down with the motion, cutting straight down from the Shoe God's head.

The Shoe God's pupils shook violently. The dull, grating sound of blade splitting bone and flesh erupted as his organs spilled all over the floor, and the stench instantly filled the private room.

[Merit Points: +1699!]

"Spare me!"

Boss Wang surrendered without hesitation. Water dripped from his trouser legs and ran down onto the carpet, the smell of urine mixing with blood in a particularly pungent stench.

"Too late."

Mei Ye swung his saber and split Boss Wang in two.

When you sent people to kill me, why did you not think of this day?

"Colluding with demons and evil creatures—you deserve to die!"

Splat!

Blood flowed from Boss Wang's forehead. His eyes widened, then slowly lost their light.

Seeing this, the surrounding underlings scrambled to flee. The hall descended into chaos, with tables and chairs crashing over, screams blending together, and cups and plates shattering across the floor.

Mei Ye did not stop them.

The chief culprit had already been executed. Once he reported back to his superior, someone would come investigate the lackeys of this criminal organization.

After cutting off Boss Wang's head, Mei Ye wrapped it in a tablecloth and walked out of the hotel.

Under the trembling gazes of pedestrians, he hailed a car and headed toward the Demon Suppression Bureau.