Are You Always This Bold?

Still, to play it safe, Zhou Changqing had no intention of confronting the "visitor" in the courtyard head-on.

He circulated his metal attribute Dou Qi, sending it surging out of his dantian, then down along the meridians of his legs to the acupoints in his feet.

Then he turned and slipped away without making the slightest sound.

Although he had never practiced any Dou Techniques, Zhou Changqing still knew how to use Dou Qi in simple ways.

Infusing the acupoints in his feet with Dou Qi gave him finer control over his strength. Through direct contact, he could also channel Dou Qi into his shoes, forming a thin protective layer beneath the soles that reduced friction against the ground and silenced his footsteps.

As for why he did not use lightning attribute Dou Qi, it was far too violent. Fast, certainly, but hardly quiet.

Inside the courtyard.

A scar-faced young man sat beside the stone table, drinking tea with an impatient expression.

"Fuck, why hasn't that little bastard come back yet? This isn't right. Even if he crawled, he should've made it here from the marketplace by now."

Muttering a vicious curse, the scar-faced young man wanted to slam his teacup onto the stone table.

But after a moment's thought, he held himself back, unwilling to make too much noise and stir the grass to startle the snake.

What if the brat happened to return, heard something inside the courtyard, and grew wary enough to run away?

"Making me wait this long... once that little bastard gets back, I'm going to make him suffer!"

The young man's gaze grew increasingly sinister.

Yet he had no idea that a pair of bright eyes was watching his every move from the bedroom roof at the rear of the courtyard.

Leli? So it's this dumbass. I thought I'd drawn some powerful enemy here.

Lying flat on the roof, Zhou Changqing looked at the young man beside the stone table below and recognized him immediately.

At the same time, Zhou Changqing relaxed considerably.

After all, he had imagined that even if the visitor was not a Dou Shi, he would at least be a Dou Zhe.

He had never expected some little punk who was not even a Dou Zhe.

Of course, Zhou Changqing did not consider his earlier caution unnecessary.

But now that he knew who it was, there was no need to keep hiding.

Although he had no idea why this dumbass had come, it surely was not for anything good.

The man had tried to target him many times before. Even if he had never caused any real trouble, he was still utterly repulsive.

This was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him for good.

With that thought, Zhou Changqing silently withdrew from the roof and climbed over the eastern courtyard wall.

His movements as he climbed over were extremely clumsy, however, and both feet struck the ground hard when he landed.

Thud!

"Who's there?!"

Startled by the noise, Leli hurriedly stood and looked toward its source, only to see that someone had already climbed over the wall!

The sudden sound had truly given him a fright, and his heart could not stop pounding.

As the saying went, a man with a clear conscience had no fear of a ghost knocking at his door.

He had come here to do something wicked in the first place, and his nerves were hardly sturdy. Leli had nearly been frightened into fainting!

But once he got a clear look at the person who had climbed in, wild delight flooded his face.

"Hahaha! Scared the shit out of me! I was wondering who it was. Turns out it's you, you little bastard!"

Leli stared at the boy by the wall with a savage grin.

In an instant, he figured out why Zhou Changqing had climbed over the wall.

The brat must have noticed someone inside the courtyard and tried to sneak in for a surprise attack.

After all, Leli had been sitting with his back to the eastern wall, leaving it in his blind spot.

Unfortunately, the brat was so weak that he could not even climb a wall properly and had made all that noise.

All Leli could say was that the brat had some vigilance, but not much.

Across from him, a flicker of frustration crossed Zhou Changqing's face, as though everything were exactly as Leli imagined.

But soon, Zhou Changqing's face returned to its calm expression. He looked coldly at Leli. "What are you doing here?"

"Fuck, are you brainless, you little bastard? Can't you see who's in control here? You've still got the nerve to question me!"

Leli could not help breaking into a torrent of abuse.

His composure had cracked!

Because when the brat saw him, he did not show the fear and panic Leli had expected. He remained as cold and indifferent as ever!

Aside from the brat's face, what Leli hated most was that lofty, icy arrogance of his, that air of looking down on absolutely everything!

Why?!

Why does this little bastard have a face that can bewitch countless women, while mine is covered in scars?!

Why does this little bastard dare look down on everyone when he's so weak?!

Today, I'm going to ruin his face, break all five of his limbs, then throw him into a cesspit and let him die in humiliation!

As he kept imagining himself torturing Zhou Changqing until his final breath, a twisted, savage grin appeared on Leli's face.

Then he picked up the saber resting on the stone table, drew the blade, and walked toward Zhou Changqing one step at a time.

As he closed in, Leli laughed maniacally. "Little bastard, you're definitely dying today, but I'm a kindhearted man. I'll at least let you know why."

"I'm here for those four thousand gold coins you're carrying!"

"You little bastard got lucky, finding some treasured saber who knows where and selling it for such a huge sum."

"Too bad you don't understand that you should never flaunt your wealth. Now you're handing it all to me for nothing."

"Don't worry. As a reward for keeping that money safe for me, I won't let you die right away. I'll 'let you live' a little longer!"

By the time he finished speaking, Leli was less than three meters from Zhou Changqing.

At that moment, all the jealousy and hatred in Leli's heart seemed to vanish like smoke in the wind.

He could already imagine the wonderful days of indulgence ahead once he disposed of Zhou Changqing and took that enormous sum.

Just recently, he had heard that the Spring Blossom House had a new star courtesan, exceptionally luscious and juicy, who could melt a man's bones and marrow and make him forget to ever leave.

After today, he would definitely sample her and see whether she tasted as exquisite as the rumors claimed!

Whoosh!

"Urgh!"

But before Leli could strike, he felt a fierce gust rush against his face!

The next instant, a choking sensation surged through him, and he felt his neck tighten!

Under Leli's stunned gaze, a sudden crack rang out, and his head bent at a ninety-degree angle!

"What a brainless dumbass. A clown among clowns. Don't you know villains die from talking too much?"

"And how does a piece of trash who's only reached ninth stage Dou Qi at twenty find the nerve to rob someone's home? Are you always this bold?"

"Even I wouldn't dare do that, and I'm a Dou Zhe!"

"Ptooey!"

Looking at Leli, whose neck he had twisted and whose life had drained away, Zhou Changqing spat and cursed.

It had to be said that Zhou Changqing was overly cautious. Even against someone with ninth stage Dou Qi, he had feigned weakness before launching a surprise attack.

Then he tossed the body onto the ground, turned, and walked toward the bedroom.

Zhou Changqing now felt both pleased and somewhat irritated.

He was pleased that he had finally stomped this disgusting toad to death.

He was irritated because he still had to deal with the corpse.

Fortunately, Zhou Changqing had used little strength and no weapon. Otherwise, he would have had to clean up the courtyard too.

It was also because he had not seen even a trace of blood that, aside from feeling somewhat awkward, he suffered no other discomfort after his first kill.

After all, he had not just transmigrated. He had already spent fifteen years adapting to this world's rules.

(End of chapter)