Slaughter

Outside the gambling house, in the open space, that instant kill seized the hearts and minds of everyone present.

Even the eight men brought along took a small step back, no longer charging forward to fight.

No one saw how Zhou Muzhi had struck, and no one knew what realm this masked, sword-wielding man in black had reached.

"Who... is this man?"

Someone's lips quivered as he spoke those words in fear.

There were Body Condensation martial artists among those who had rushed out. Comparing themselves to him, they realized it was impossible for them to do what Zhou Muzhi had done with such ease.

The gap was not merely in their realms. The difference in their weapons was also glaring.

Suddenly, a suffocating sensation like a watery mist enveloped everyone.

Zhou Muzhi raised his hand and looked at the sword. Its blade was spotless, without a trace of blood.

"What a fine weapon!"

He could not help praising it.

Though his swordsmanship was abysmal, the sword in his hand was of excellent quality. With a weapon, he was somewhat stronger than he was bare-handed.

The gambling house's thugs retreated step by step, their eyes fearful as they watched Zhou Muzhi, terrified that he might cut their heads off with a single stroke.

His hard boots made soft footfalls on the bluestone paving as Zhou Muzhi walked step by step toward the gambling house's main entrance.

The saber-wielding thugs spread out in a fan, standing on either side of the doorway, looking as though they dared neither advance nor leave.

Seeing Zhou Muzhi move forward, the eight men followed together, keeping a wary eye on the people around them from behind him.

He lifted a leg onto the steps. He had taken only one step when a voice came from the gambling house's entrance.

"Interesting. You brought this handful of men to slaughter your way into my Covered Rain Gambling House. Do you really think any stray cat or dog can challenge us?"

The speaker wore flowing purple robes and also held a longsword. His face was ordinary, with only his eyes showing any spirit. As he spoke, he stepped over the threshold.

Facing Zhou Muzhi, his tone changed. "State your name. I, Rain Wyrm, do not kill nameless nobodies!"

As a Blood Gate Martial Artist, he believed he had every reason for such confidence. What real ability could a fellow who only dared sneak over here possess?

In his eyes, the masked man before him was merely relying on the precious sword in his hand to wreak havoc.

At that thought, Rain Wyrm looked at the three-foot blade in Zhou Muzhi's hand, a flicker of greed crossing his eyes.

In a moment, I'll call everyone to attack together, then take the treasure after killing him.

Such a treasure ought to belong to me.

While the other man indulged in his fantasies, Zhou Muzhi paused briefly.

He glanced at him and asked a question.

"Are you in charge?"

"Of course I'm not."

As soon as those words were spoken, the mistlike suffocation coiled around Rain Wyrm.

His hair stood on end, and a sense of extreme danger swept through his entire body.

Zhou Muzhi's words fell.

"Noisy."

In the next instant, his figure appeared behind Rain Wyrm, inside the gambling house.

No one saw how he had entered.

They only saw that after he walked inside, Rain Wyrm remained motionless, as though scared witless.

A thug standing nearby called softly.

"Master Wyrm?"

Then his pupils widened.

Rain Wyrm's head slid off at an angle, his perfectly intact head hitting the gambling house's white stone floor with a thud.

For a moment, no blood gushed out. Only after Rain Wyrm toppled forward did blood spurt like spring water.

It drenched the thugs still standing at the entrance from head to toe. Only the eight men standing slightly farther away escaped it.

"A ghost!"

"Master Wyrm is dead!"

"Run!!"

After a few people shouted, the others could no longer hold themselves together and fled, looking at the gambling house as though it were a tiger's gaping maw, keeping as far away as possible.

In no time, only those eight men remained.

They exchanged glances, then all walked forward.

They had come to trade their lives for money. That was the agreement. Everyone had thought they would not survive the night, but now the situation seemed to have changed.

The man who had brought them here seemed excessively powerful.

Did that mean they did not have to die?

Once they stepped inside the gambling house, they saw Zhou Muzhi walking toward the rooms farther in and immediately followed him.

A short while later, Zhou Muzhi frowned and spoke to the men behind him.

"Search. I need someone who can take charge here!"

"Yes!"

The men scattered and began searching.

After all this commotion, the once-crowded gambling house had long since emptied. Not a single figure could be seen on the first floor in particular, and nearly everyone on the second floor had fled as well. Eventually, someone brought a few people down from the third floor.

They were all dressed in sumptuous long robes, broad-bodied and prosperous-looking, with fear on their faces as they were brought down.

"I'll talk. I know the managers here. They're usually below. There's a hidden hatch you can use to get in!"

Once the first person spoke, everything afterward became simple.

The men found a manager and brought him over, trembling all over.

Zhou Muzhi glanced at him and said, "Take me underground."

"Yes, yes, yes." The first-floor manager, his head covered in anxious sweat, hurriedly led the way.

After descending through the hidden door, Zhou Muzhi took in the various sights underground.

The first was how empty it was. Scattered gambling implements lay about underground, along with several shoes of different colors.

Clearly, people had fled in such a hurry that they had lost these things without having time to worry about them.

After looking around, Zhou Muzhi seized the manager who had brought him down with one hand and asked, "Where is the secret chamber here?"

"What?" An odd look appeared in the manager's eyes as he tried to resist. "I don't know!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

The eyes beneath Zhou Muzhi's mask turned cold. It seemed he had still been too merciful.

He tightened his hand. With just a little force, the distinct sound of bones being crushed rang out.

Before he could even be pressed for answers, the manager was crushed to death there underground, his eyes still open as he stared at Zhou Muzhi in unwillingness.

"Go. Find another one!"

Zhou Muzhi tossed the dead manager aside and gave the order to the two men following him.

The two immediately went upstairs to find someone.

As for the underground gambling house, Zhou Muzhi walked forward along the wide central passage, signaling for a search for anyone still here.

After searching around and finding nothing, he could only wait there for someone to be brought down.

Soon, the two men came over with another man in their custody. He was also a manager, from the second floor-a fat man with small eyes and a round cap. His face was deathly pale, and his head swam, especially when he saw someone he knew lying dead nearby.

Zhou Muzhi stood quietly where he was, with one person's width between them, and spoke once more. "There's a secret chamber here. Take me to it."

The second-floor manager immediately nodded. "I'll take you there right away."

This time, the man they had brought left Zhou Muzhi very satisfied.

The two released the second-floor manager and let him lead the way.

The three headed deeper into the underground gambling house.

In the courtyard where Qian Zhen usually stayed.

Dressed in white, Qian Zhen sat in the hall where he normally received visitors. By candlelight, he looked gravely at the trusted gambling house subordinate who had come to report.

Only after a long while did he take in what the man had said, yet he still could not believe it and repeated his words.

"You're saying a masked man brought a few men and slaughtered everyone in my gambling house, then beheaded Rain Wyrm, an expert who had passed the Blood Gate, with a single stroke?!"

Recalling that scene, the trusted subordinate felt all his strength drain away and replied in a trembling voice, "Yes. That's exactly what happened."

"Absurd!"

"Where did an expert like that come from!"

Qian Zhen's chest heaved with anger. During the day, everything had clearly been going splendidly against the Zhou Family, yet by night, his home base was simply gone.