Revenge

"Yes, take him out! Kill that backstabber!"

Skinny Dog gritted his teeth and growled, "Revenge is a must, but we don't know how strong that backstabber is. What if we can't beat him?"

Fang Zhixing remained expressionless and asked, "Do you think those little punks were stronger than me? Could they beat me?"

After thinking it over carefully, Skinny Dog suddenly understood.

With Fang Zhixing's strength, he could defeat any one of Freckled Face and the others in a one-on-one fight.

Even against a group assault, Fang Zhixing could handle them with ease and win.

Taking on ten at once would be no problem for him.

And even if he could not win, he could still escape.

That was assuming both sides fought normally and observed martial ethics.

But this world had no such rules. None of them cared about martial ethics.

Damn it, first lime powder for a sneak attack, then a net over the head, and then so many people ganging up on one person...

Holy shit!

In short, if you wanted to kill someone, you did not necessarily have to be stronger than them.

Because people could play dirty.

As long as someone was good at underhanded tricks, endlessly producing vile schemes and poisonous plots, stopping at nothing—

Then defeating the strong while weak was not as difficult as one might imagine.

Fang Zhixing quickly finished searching the bodies.

Most of these little punks were dirt poor and carried little money.

The poorest had only a few coins in their pockets.

Even the wealthier ones had only a little over three hundred coins.

Freckled Face was clearly the leader and had the most money on him. Fang Zhixing found a glittering gold nugget.

His dagger seemed to be forged from refined steel and was exceptionally sharp—a very fine weapon.

Fang Zhixing also found three packets of lime powder.

Fang Zhixing pocketed everything, rose to his feet, and said, "Come on. We're going to find that backstabber now."

Skinny Dog asked, "Go straight to the Chen Family, or...?"

Fang Zhixing pondered. "The Chen Family is the local power, after all. They have some foundation, and we know nothing about their situation. To me, that place could be a dragon's pool or a tiger's den."

Skinny Dog thought that made sense and replied, "Right. Even a mighty dragon can't suppress a local snake."

After thinking for a moment, Fang Zhixing glanced sideways at the corpses on the ground. The corner of his mouth curved up, and he quickly came up with an idea.

"Lure the snake from its hole, then kill it!"

Fang Zhixing drew his blade and chopped off Freckled Face's head with a single stroke.

By evening, the setting sun shone over the Little Clear River, orange and crimson interwoven.

A strong gust swept past, sending ripples across the river's surface. It glittered like a bolt of golden brocade.

The Riverside Restaurant's fragrance carried for miles.

"Kind sirs and madams, please have mercy."

"Please give my child something to eat. Good people will be rewarded!"

A large number of refugees had once again come to beg for food outside the restaurant, crowding the entrance.

They hoped some kindhearted person would generously toss a few leftover grains of rice onto the ground.

But the restaurant's guards quickly rushed out and drove the refugees away with a barrage of clubs.

Such scenes happened several times every day, and everyone was long used to them.

As mealtime arrived, customers gradually entered the restaurant to enjoy its delicacies.

Bang!

Something suddenly flew over and smashed into the restaurant's front door. It bounced off, fell to the floor, rolled several meters, and entered the main hall.

Everyone turned to look. What they saw shocked them!

"A head?!"

"Ahhh!!"

Cries of alarm and screams erupted, and everyone's faces went pale with terror.

A bloody head had appeared on the floor.

"Oh dear, this, this..."

The shopkeeper and waiters panicked, not daring to step forward and inspect it.

Even the guards sucked in cold breaths, their hearts pounding in fright.

They recognized that face at once. He was Master Chen's trusted subordinate, Hu San, known as Third Brother.

This man was one of Master Chen's lackeys, specializing in dirty work like bullying merchants, extorting protection fees, and collecting debts. His hands were stained with plenty of blood.

Third Brother had been killed!

Someone had slaughtered Master Chen's lackey and thrown his head into Master Chen's restaurant.

This was a blatant declaration of war!

Who had such guts?

"Quick, go inform Master Chen!" someone shouted anxiously.

Time passed bit by bit.

By the time Chen Yusheng arrived at the Riverside Restaurant, the sky had already darkened somewhat.

The customers inside had long since fled, while many people gathered outside to watch the spectacle.

Chen Yusheng had rushed over after receiving the news, bringing many subordinates with him in an imposing manner.

The crowd swiftly made way for him.

"What are you looking at? Get lost!" his subordinates shouted.

The onlookers did not dare provoke them and scattered at once.

Chen Yusheng entered the restaurant with a gloomy expression. When he saw the head on the floor, rage exploded across his face, his eyes nearly splitting apart.

The shopkeeper and the others stood silent as cicadas in winter, not even daring to breathe.

Chen Yusheng breathed heavily as he squatted down and lifted the head with both hands.

The head's eyes were still open. Its bloodless face retained the terror and despair from before death.

"Little Third, you were my childhood companion, like a younger brother to me."

Chen Yusheng wiped the head's eyes with his fingers, closing them. He said coldly, "I will avenge you. I'll make the one who killed you die ten thousand times more miserably than you did. I'll make him regret ever coming into this world."

Upon hearing this, one subordinate immediately declared his loyalty. "Master, this humble servant is willing to go through fire and water for you, charging into battle at the front."

Another quickly added, "Yes, yes! We must kill the murderer and seek justice for Third Brother."

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Revenge! Revenge!"

The subordinates shouted with high spirits.

At that moment, someone finally asked the crucial question. "Master, do you know who the murderer is? Who did Third Brother offend to end up like this?"

Chen Yusheng bared his teeth. "Around noon today, a young man came to the restaurant with a dog. That dog was rather unusual and was likely a bloodline beast. I wanted to buy it, but he refused to sell and left immediately. So I ordered Little Third to find out where that man was staying and figure out a way to get the dog for me. The one who killed Little Third must have been that young man."

By then, he had already recalled Fang Zhixing's face.

"Oh, that person!"

The shopkeeper and waiters cried out, vaguely remembering him as well.

Although the restaurant saw countless people coming and going, making it impossible for them to remember everyone, the man willing to feed meat to his dog had indeed left a deep impression.

Chen Yusheng slowly placed the head on a table, turned, and headed for the entrance. He said in a deep voice, "That man must still be in town. Find him for me, even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"

"Yes!"

The subordinates quickly followed Chen Yusheng, heads held high as they all swaggered out with the gait of men who recognized no kin.

The instant Chen Yusheng stepped through the doorway, whoosh!

A cold arrow suddenly shot toward him from the left!

Chen Yusheng's entire body stiffened. The arrow pierced into the left side of his neck and punched out through the right, spraying a burst of blood.

The angle of the shot was not only tricky, but it had also come without warning.

Chen Yusheng had been completely caught off guard.

Only after the arrow pierced his neck did he realize he had been ambushed.

Chen Yusheng instinctively raised his hands and clutched both sides of his neck, but blood flowed merrily through the gaps between his fingers and out of his mouth.

"Master?!"

His subordinates reacted a moment too late. Their faces changed drastically, and they were all scared senseless.

Chen Yusheng fell backward. They hurriedly caught him and dragged him back inside the entrance.

"Close the doors and windows!"

"Quickly!"