Night lay heavy.
Wei Sheng stepped out of his home. The cold wind jolted him, clearing his head considerably. He tightened his collar, got his bearings, and headed straight toward the western end of Black Mud Ward.
It was late and the roads were dark, with few pedestrians about. The shops lining the streets had all closed. Wei Sheng walked through several streets without encountering a single person.
Wei Sheng was not surprised.
Black Mountain City was divided into the Inner City and the Outer City.
Of these,
the Outer City had thirteen wards.
The closer a ward was to the Inner City, the more prosperous it was. Black Mud Ward ranked in the middle of the thirteen, neither high nor low.
More importantly,
after nightfall, the Inner City's constables no longer set foot in the Outer City, leaving it the domain of the various gangs.
Private fights, gang battles, robberies, killings...
Any of them could unfold at any moment.
Thus, few ordinary people went out at night. Most who dared wander outside were martial artists.
Wei Sheng's figure blended into the darkness, his strides vigorous and his pace light and swift.
After mastering the Savage Bull Fist, Wei Sheng felt the strength in both his arms and legs increase tremendously, as though he had inexhaustible energy.
Even if a bull stood before him, he could knock it down with one punch.
Of course, he also knew this was an illusion brought on by his swelling strength.
Even if I can't actually knock down a bull, beating a thug to death will still be child's play!
Soon,
Wei Sheng stopped outside a shared courtyard by the river.
The courtyard had originally belonged to an old woman surnamed Lou. She had no children, and Niu Er had bullied and tormented her until she died of anger, then forcibly seized the courtyard.
Now it was home to Niu Er and his pack of disreputable friends.
Hmm? Not home?
Looking at the tightly shut, locked gate, Wei Sheng frowned slightly, guessing that Niu Er might have gone drinking with prostitutes in Black Glory Ward.
He did not leave.
Since he was already here, he naturally intended to settle this trouble.
Wei Sheng slipped into the shadows at the corner of the wall, blending into the natural darkness, and became the farmer waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit.
Two hours later,
three figures staggered toward him along the riverbank.
The night was too dark for Wei Sheng to make out their faces. He could only hear their voices drifting faintly on the wind:
"...In all my years, this was my first time visiting a brothel... my first time being served by two women... Brother Er, from now on, you're my own brother!"
"...Same here!"
Wei Sheng recognized the voices of Niu Er's followers, Skinny Monkey and A Mao.
"...Hic, keep up the good work, and someday I'll take you to have some fun at the Garden of Lasting Spring!"
Niu Er's voice was drunken, yet his tone carried an inexplicable swagger.
"The Garden of Lasting Spring? The number one brothel in the Outer City? That's a gold-devouring pit! One visit costs several taels of silver!"
"I've got money! Or I will once this job's done!"
"Once this job's done? Brother Er, you mean the Wei brothers? What could you squeeze out of those two paupers?"
"If we pawned off their house, it'd fetch some silver."
"...Hic, not the house. Wei He!"
"Wei He? That brat's worth that much?"
"Heh heh, the Eldest Master of the Hong Family has his eye on that brat... he's offering a high price to get him... hic!"
"The Eldest Master of the Hong Family? That old queen?! No wonder you insisted on making trouble for the Wei brothers, Brother Er, and even hired someone to injure Wei Sheng..."
"Hmph! I wasn't trying to injure Wei Sheng. I wanted him dead! Who knew the brat would be so hard to kill? Even that didn't finish him..."
"..."
So that was it!
Hidden in the darkness, Wei Sheng's gaze abruptly turned cold.
He had never understood why Niu Er kept targeting him, seemingly determined to wipe him out. So this was the root of it.
He really was...
Begging for death!!
Just then,
Niu Er and the others reached the courtyard gate. None of them hurried to unlock it and go inside. Instead, they stood side by side at the riverbank, undid their belts, and began relieving themselves.
At this sight, Wei Sheng could no longer hold back. Under cover of night, he silently approached Niu Er from behind.
"Huh? Brother Er, how come there's another person behind you?!"
Skinny Monkey turned his head, spotted a vague black shadow, and casually remarked on it.
The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly realized something. His scalp prickled, and most of his drunkenness vanished in an instant:
"Something's wrong! Brother Er, look-crack!"
Before he could finish his warning, Niu Er had just turned his head when two rough palms caught it, one above and one below, then violently twisted.
That's what you fucking get for pissing and shitting wherever you like without a helmet!
Crack!
Niu Er's head spun a full circle and returned to its original position, staring straight at Wei Sheng!
"It's, it's you..."
In that instant, Niu Er seemed to recognize Wei Sheng. He had barely uttered those words before the light rapidly dimmed in his eyes, and his entire body slumped to the ground like mud, as though his soul had been sucked out.
"Brother Er!"
Skinny Monkey and the other man's expressions changed drastically. They turned and ran!
Revenge?
They were only drinking buddies. Who the fuck would risk his life!
But Skinny Monkey had not pulled up his trousers. Before he had run two steps, his trouser legs tripped him, sending him sprawling. Despair instantly filled his heart.
To his astonishment, however, the mysterious man did not kill him, merely stamping on his back.
At that instant, Skinny Monkey felt as though a savage bull had trampled him. Several bones in his chest seemed to have broken, and he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.
At the same time,
the mysterious man had already caught up with the fleeing A Mao. His short blade left its sheath and plunged straight through A Mao's heart.
A Mao fell into a pool of blood.
Watching the mysterious black figure slowly return, short blade in hand, Skinny Monkey, who had just climbed to his feet, was scared out of his wits.
"M-mercy... shhk!"
Skinny Monkey's legs went weak as he pleaded pitifully for his life.
But before he could finish, his vision blurred, and a black shadow rushed at him. His heart felt as though a blade were twisting through it, the pain excruciating. He fell to the ground with a wretched scream, twitched twice, and went still.
After dealing with the two followers, Wei Sheng returned to Niu Er and stabbed him twice more in the vital spot over his heart.
Only then did Wei Sheng let out a long breath.
The fight had seemed brief, but in truth, he had seized the initiative, striking prepared against the unprepared.
Of course,
even in a head-on confrontation, killing the three would have been no difficult task with his mastery of the Savage Bull Fist.
What surprised Wei Sheng was how calm and cold he had been during his first time killing, as though he were slaughtering livestock.
Was it because I'd grown used to life and death fighting underground matches in my previous life?
Or was it...
Because these three bullied men, tyrannized women, and committed every evil, leaving me without the slightest burden on my conscience for killing them?
Wei Sheng did not dwell on it. He searched the three men and found two taels of loose silver and a small booklet. Without examining them closely, he stuffed everything into his clothes.
Finally, he threw their bodies into the river, tossing the bloodstained short blade in after them.
Once that was done,
Wei Sheng hurried away under cover of night!
The Wei home.
Wei He paced in the courtyard, his expression anxious.
Ever since Wei Sheng left, the more he thought about it, the more worried he became.
Especially as time passed and Wei Sheng still had not returned, his unease only deepened.
Seeing that over two hours had passed and his second brother still had not returned, Wei He could no longer sit still. Steeling himself, he was about to go out and look for him!
Creak!
Just then, the gate opened.
Wei Sheng walked in from outside, carrying two worn paper packages.
"Brother!"
Seeing Wei Sheng return safely, Wei He could finally lower the heart that had been hanging in his throat back into his belly.
"Getting anxious waiting, weren't you? I took a little detour to buy some roast chicken... tonight, we brothers can have a proper feast."
Wei Sheng raised the old paper packages in his hands and said with a smile.
Before you continue