Must This Old Man Avoid His Edge?

"Can't afford to pay, can you? Heh heh, fine then. You lot, take this little lady away!"

Zhang Xiaoshan smiled faintly and waved behind him, signaling several burly men to go seize her.

"No... Young Master Zhang, you can't do this! Broad daylight, where is justice? Where is the law?"

Old Man Qian wept bitterly as he grabbed Zhang Xiaoshan's thigh.

"The law? This is the Black Market, and you're talking to me about the law? Hahaha, you're killing me."

Zhang Xiaoshan laughed recklessly. "My uncle is Zhang Bo. On this street, I am the law! Beat him!"

At once, several burly men swarmed forward, pinned Old Man Qian to the ground, and rained punches and kicks upon him. The pain made him howl miserably.

The surrounding crowd wore looks of pity and shook their heads with sighs. Some clenched their fists in rage, but no one dared step forward.

What happened to the Black Market's protection?

Why was no one stepping in?

Had all the protection fees they paid to the Black Market been for nothing?

In an instant, many people's expressions turned strange.

Jiang Yuan arrived just in time to witness the beating. Without a word, he slashed out three sword qi strikes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, the three burly men beating Old Man Qian each took a strike of sword qi. Their bodies exploded on the spot, leaving not even whole corpses behind.

They were all third-rate thugs, utterly incapable of taking even one of Jiang Yuan's sword strikes.

"Ah, murder!"

The stallholders nearby were terrified out of their wits and scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing far away.

"Who? Who dares kill this young master's men?"

Zhang Xiaoshan was frightened too, but fury swiftly surged through him until it became unbearable.

His uncle was Zhang Bo!

Who dared oppose him here?

When he turned around, he saw an elderly man in a blue martial robe, with the immortal air and bearing of a sage, slowly walking toward him with an exceedingly cold gaze.

"Y-you... who are you?"

For a moment, Zhang Xiaoshan was cowed by Jiang Yuan's imposing presence.

Jiang Yuan merely glanced at Zhang Xiaoshan and ignored him outright, calling loudly to the crowd:

"Do not panic, everyone. This old man is Jiang Yuan, the manager here. I merely killed a few petty troublemakers."

The people around them sighed in relief and finally put their minds at ease.

So he was a Black Market manager. No wonder he dared kill people. It was just that this manager was rather too old.

"A manager?"

Zhang Xiaoshan's gaze sharpened. Then he remembered that his uncle was a deacon, one rank above a manager, and his confidence immediately returned.

"Bastard! You old fool, how dare you ignore this young master?"

"Do you know who this young master's second uncle is?"

Zhang Xiaoshan glared fiercely.

"A mere manager dares kill this young master's men? Kneel and apologize at once, or else this young master—"

Before he could finish, Zhang Xiaoshan suddenly saw a flash of cold light before his eyes. Then, to his astonishment, he discovered that his head had flown from his body as blood sprayed wildly!

He actually saw his own back!

This young master has been beheaded?

By the time he realized that, Zhang Xiaoshan was already dead.

Until his death, he could not understand why this old man before him had dared kill him without a word.

Was he not afraid of his second uncle?

Li Yi, who had followed behind, was dumbfounded as well, staring blankly at the pile of corpses on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, this lord had killed so many people?

Looking carefully, he suddenly found the young master lying on the ground somewhat familiar. Wasn't he one of the young masters Zhang Bo had told him to look after yesterday?

"Zhang Xiaoshan?"

Li Yi jumped in fright. "Master Jiang, why did you kill him?"

Jiang Yuan said calmly, "This man broke the Black Market's rules and bullied men and women on this old man's turf. Why could I not kill him?"

"Oh no!"

Li Yi's face was full of bitterness as he cried out in alarm. "Master Jiang, you don't know—he's Deacon Zhang's nephew. Now we're in serious trouble!"

Deacon Zhang's nephew?

Wasn't that the very man whose reserved residence he had snatched yesterday?

Well then, the conflict was gone now.

Jiang Yuan raised a brow. "What, this old man acted according to the rules. What can he do about it?"

"Master Jiang, rules may be rules, but Deacon Zhang is known as Madman Zhang. If you encounter him in the future, it would be best to avoid his sharp edge."

Li Yi shook his head with a sigh.

He had killed a deacon's own nephew. This matter would likely not end so easily.

Besides, Zhang An was a well-known madman of Black Tortoise Hall. His strength was average, but he had become a deacon entirely by relying on his ruthless ferocity.

Nearly everyone who offended him had died.

At his maddest, he had even wanted to make a move against Zhu Hu, the White Tiger Hall Master. Yet because of that, Zhu Hu had come to admire him greatly.

Jiang Yuan chuckled softly and said nothing more.

This old man should avoid his sharp edge?

He even dared kill Xue Tu and Zhou Yun. Why would he fear a Black Market deacon?

"Thank you, Master Jiang!"

At that moment, Old Man Qian brought his daughter before Jiang Yuan and kowtowed in gratitude, thanking him for saving both father and daughter.

Jiang Yuan looked at them with a complicated expression before saying evenly, "Go home. Do not come here again tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Master Jiang!"

Old Man Qian hurriedly agreed and quickly pulled his daughter away from Sishui Street.

To them, this place had become a land of trouble, where their lives could be at risk at any moment.

White Tiger Hall, inside the Zhang Residence.

Zhang Bo was in his room, embracing two beautiful women as he went at it, panting heavily.

He was already over forty, yet still had no children. He did not know where the problem lay, despite working so diligently every day.

Thus, he had readily agreed when his elder brother asked him to bring over his nephew Zhang Xiaoshan and treat him as his own son. He had sworn to properly reform Zhang Xiaoshan and turn him into a useful subordinate.

"Deacon Zhang, something terrible has happened!!"

Just then, several shouts rang out from outside the door.

"Who is it? Ruining my fun like this! Believe it or not, I'll chop you dogs to pieces!"

Zhang Bo shuddered and climbed off the two beautiful women. Pulling up his trousers, he headed outside, only to see several burly men carrying a headless corpse into his residence, reeking of foul stench.

"You dogs, why are you bringing a headless corpse into my residence? Are you trying to disgust me to death? Fucking bad luck!" Zhang Bo cursed loudly, feeling utterly miserable.

If these men had not wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves, scaring him soft, perhaps he could have held on a little longer.

That alone would have been bad enough, but they had even brought in a headless corpse!

"Master Zhang... this is Young Master Zhang!" the burly men wailed.

Zhang Bo had sent them to find Zhang Xiaoshan, fearing that the brat might cause some major trouble in the Black Market and offend someone he should not offend.

Though Zhang Bo was a deacon, there were still quite a few people in the Black Market whom even deacons could not afford to provoke.

"Young Master Zhang? Which Young Master Zhang?"

Zhang Bo's eyelid twitched, and his expression abruptly changed. He demanded, "Xiaoshan? Is that Xiaoshan?"

"Yes!"

The burly men dropped to their knees with a thud and wept bitterly. "Young Master went out today and was killed for no reason. By the time we arrived, only this headless corpse remained."

Hearing that, Zhang Bo staggered and nearly fell. Trembling, he walked over to Zhang Xiaoshan's body. His vision went black, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground.

A moment later, an earthshaking roar rang out from within the Zhang Residence, filled with boundless fury:

"Who! Who the hell dared kill my nephew?!"