Assassination

In a shadowy alley.

In the darkness, two figures slithered forward like poisonous snakes lurking in the shadows.

Fang Xing staggered along, looking as if he might fall at any moment.

"Ugh..."

Suddenly, Fang Xing stopped. He leaned against the wall, bent over, and retched.

"Now's our chance!"

The two men's eyes lit up at the sight. They exchanged a glance, then darted out, blades flashing.

Each held a dagger and stabbed at Fang Xing.

But just as their daggers were about to strike, Fang Xing abruptly turned around.

Bang! Bang!

His hands flashed like lightning, knocking the daggers away with blinding speed.

The two men staggered back, their arms numb and their faces pale.

"He's a martial artist? How is that possible?!"

A cry of alarm rang out, but before either man could react, a suffocating pressure bore down on them.

A pair of hands clamped around their throats like iron pincers.

His gaze was icy, like that of a man-eating beast. He no longer looked the least bit drunk.

The intense suffocation left the two men's brains starved of oxygen in an instant.

With a hand around each black-clad man's throat, Fang Xing said frostily, "Who sent you?"

From the terror on their faces, Fang Xing could make a pretty good guess that they weren't Yang Bo's men.

If they were Yang Bo's men, he wouldn't have sent two ordinary people.

But if it wasn't Yang Bo, then who was it?

He couldn't remember having a grudge against anyone.

"Misunderstanding, this... This is a misunderstanding," one of them said, his face flushed as he struggled to speak.

Crack!

As soon as the words left his mouth, Fang Xing twisted one man's neck. His eyes bulged as Fang Xing let go, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"My patience is limited." Fang Xing's voice was cold as he looked at the man who remained.

Seeing his companion lying motionless on the ground, the other man couldn't help trembling. "I... I'll talk. It... It was our boss who sent us."

"Who's your boss?" Fang Xing asked, watching him.

"Our boss is the leader of the Black Tiger Gang."

"The Black Tiger Gang..." Fang Xing narrowed his eyes. Relevant information quickly came to mind.

It was a small-time gang.

Though the Black Tiger Gang was nothing impressive, its leader was a Bright Force martial artist.

According to his memories, the Black Tiger Gang had risen barely two months ago.

Its expansion had been swift. Though it was still a small-time gang, it had already gained some renown.

But... why would the Black Tiger Gang come after him?

The Black Tiger Gang was one of the powers in North City, but he had no dealings with them.

The area he'd patrolled before wasn't even part of their territory.

He had just been promoted today, and now the Black Tiger Gang had sent people to assassinate him. No matter how he looked at it, something felt wrong.

The news of his promotion might not have reached the local powers yet, but sending people to assassinate an official was something a minor gang would do? Had the Black Tiger Gang gone mad?

A thought flashed through his mind like lightning. Fang Xing looked at the man and asked, "Why did the Black Tiger Gang come after me?"

"I... I don't know. The boss said that if we took care of you, we'd get fifty taels of silver," the man said with a flushed face, struggling to speak.

"Anything else? Didn't your boss tell you why?" Fang Xing pressed.

"I... I don't know. The b-boss didn't say," the man stammered.

"Is that so?" Fang Xing's gaze sharpened, his eyes as cold as knives.

But no matter how he pressed him, he couldn't get the answer he wanted.

The two men had no idea what the real motive was.

Getting nowhere, Fang Xing immediately exerted force and snapped the man's neck. The man fell before him, his eyes filled with fear and resentment.

In the night, two corpses lay on the ground. As Fang Xing looked down at them, he felt none of the fear he'd felt the first time he killed someone. Instead, he was utterly calm.

He searched the two bodies and found only a little loose silver.

Then he grabbed both corpses and quickly vanished into the night.

He didn't do anything special to hide the bodies. He dumped them in a patch of wild grass in North City.

Anyone passing by during the day would easily spot them.

He intended to use the two corpses as bait. With them as his excuse, he could investigate the Black Tiger Gang.

The Black Tiger Gang might be a minor power, but its leader was a Bright Force martial artist.

He wasn't confident he could kill a Bright Force martial artist.

But by using his current position to investigate, he might uncover something.

He hadn't offended the Black Tiger Gang, yet they had sent people after him.

There had to be a reason.

Aside from his run-in with Yang Bo today, he couldn't think of anything else.

Still, he figured this probably had nothing to do with Yang Bo.

But he couldn't rule it out completely. It was possible.

If he hadn't only just stepped into Bright Force, he would have dealt with it himself.

But he didn't want to take risks when he had no guarantee of success.

After all, a Bright Force martial artist wasn't someone easy to deal with.

He only knew that the Black Tiger Gang's Li Hu was a Bright Force martial artist. He had no idea about Li Hu's precise strength or fighting style.

Storming in alone would be far too risky. His Capture Hand might have reached the pinnacle of mastery, but it was only a basic martial art.

When fighting another martial artist alone, martial arts, experience, and all sorts of other factors mattered.

"I'll test the waters tomorrow..."

Fang Xing glanced at the bright moon overhead, his eyes flashing. Then he quickly left.

Back home, Fang Xing continued practicing the Capture Hand as usual.

After what had happened with the Black Tiger Gang, he was eager to improve his strength.

But training couldn't be rushed; he could only progress step by step.

For now, he needed to accumulate Enhancement Points. Only with enough Enhancement Points could his strength improve faster.

He practiced until late into the night before finally stopping.

He washed up, went inside, and went to bed.

The next morning.

Fang Xing got up early.

After breakfast, he headed out.

But today, he didn't take his usual route. Instead, he went to the place where he'd dumped the bodies the night before.

As he passed by, he saw a crowd already gathered, talking among themselves.

"Two men. No idea how they died. They look young, too. What a shame..."

"What's there to pity? I've seen these two before. They're from the Black Tiger Gang. Good riddance."

"They were from the Black Tiger Gang? Then they probably died in some gang fight..."

Listening to the onlookers' chatter, Fang Xing smiled faintly.

Just as he'd expected.

Now that the bodies had been identified as belonging to the Black Tiger Gang, he had a legitimate reason to take men there and "investigate."

Without stopping, Fang Xing continued on to the County Yamen.

After arriving at the County Yamen and changing into his constable's uniform, Fang Xing told Xu Zhengxiong about the incident he'd "come across" on the way.

After hearing Fang Xing's account, Xu Zhengxiong furrowed his brows. "Looks like a fight between gangs. Just go through the motions; you can handle it yourself."

"Don't worry, Chief." After getting Xu Zhengxiong's approval, Fang Xing nodded and set off with several constables.

He was the one who'd killed them!

But he had to pin the blame on the Black Tiger Gang.

With these "bodies" as his "lead," he had to investigate—and it was also the perfect chance to confront the Black Tiger Gang.

Soon, Fang Xing, Xu Le, and four or five other constables arrived at the "crime scene."

Looking at the two bodies, Fang Xing glanced around. "Investigate and confirm their identities first."

Although he already knew who they were, he still had to follow procedure.

Before long, the two men's identities were "confirmed" through the testimony of people nearby.

Once their identities were clear, Fang Xing sent some men to deal with the bodies and take them away. At the same time, he led several constables to the Black Tiger Gang.