From inside the private room came the sound of fighting. Outside, the shop's waiter scrambled and stumbled his way to the shopkeeper to report the situation.
"Someone's fighting!"
"Judging from all the noise of things breaking, it's sounding pretty serious."
"Things inside are really intense."
"Damn it." Lu Nian cursed angrily. He couldn't tolerate Lin Fan any longer, already entertaining the intent to kill him. At worst, after killing him, he would flee Jiangdu City.
That Lu Nian felt he could kill Lin Fan was also because he noticed Lin Fan's sword skills lacked any disciplined structure.
"Mountain Pushing Hand, Five Dings Mountain Opening!"
Lu Nian roared lowly and struck with a palm, the force solid and overwhelming, capable of splitting bricks and stones. The air thundered with whooshing noises.
"I'll chop!"
Lin Fan's sword technique was simple, without unnecessary frills or sophistication—just using his thirty-one years of cultivation to square off directly against the opponent.
Lu Nian didn't dare meet Lin Fan's blade strike head-on with his hand. Stepping forward, his movement technique turned agile, dodging left and right. Soon, spotting an opening in Lin Fan's defense, a cold smirk crossed Lu Nian's lips as his hand darted in at a cunning angle.
Outside.
The shopkeeper was panicking, unsure of what to do. A fight broke out in the premium "Heaven-Class" private room, and the outside customers all fled in fright, which was a massive loss for the shop.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry and report to the government!" The shopkeeper screamed at the dumbfounded waiter, now visibly desperate—this shop meant everything to him, and he simply couldn't afford for it to be ruined like this.
The waiter snapped out of it and bolted, legs pumping as he ran toward the distance.
Bang!
At this moment, a figure slammed open the private room's doors and tumbled out.
Lu Nian emerged, bloodied, his right hand mangled and dripping with blood, several fingers missing. His face showed alarm and disbelief as he looked toward Lin Fan, seemingly unable to fathom that Lin Fan could be this strong.
"Hit me again, let's see how you manage to do it now," Lin Fan muttered, stepping out of the room holding his large blade. Then, rubbing his head, he swore, "Damn, that last blow nearly cracked my skull."
Looks like practicing "Head of Steel" should be on the to-do list. Otherwise, keeping this up might just give me a concussion.
"Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic, the government is handling the situation by apprehending a criminal. Please stay back to avoid accidental harm," Lin Fan called, emphasizing his official position to calm the crowd.
Lu Nian remained vigilant, glancing around as he looked for an opportunity to escape.
But Lin Fan, gripping his blade, stepped forward and continued slashing toward Lu Nian.
Taking this guy's life was something Lin Fan had to do.
From the beginning, he never considered giving him any chance to live.
"You bastard Lin, you despicable, shameless scoundrel! You took my silver taels and still try to kill me? You'll pay for this!" Lu Nian snarled. He never could've imagined their meeting would turn out so dangerous.
In his mind, a situation like this should be the safest.
It was just a bribe—what danger could that possibly involve?
"Hah! I, Lin Fan, as a constable of Jiangdu City, act with integrity. Do you think I'd stoop to working with the likes of you?!" Lin Fan roared in anger. Without wasting any more words, he charged at Lu Nian with deadly strikes.
Dodging and rolling, Lu Nian took several cuts to the body, blood flowing uncontrollably. In particular, the severed fingers on his hand gushed blood like a fountain.
One of Lin Fan's slashes missed, frustrating him to no end. "Damn! What a slippery bastard. So what if you've got some fancy movement technique?!"
"Let's see if I don't slash you to pieces!"
Lu Nian, unwilling to continue tangling with Lin Fan, immediately bolted toward the exit.
"Wild Boar Charge!"
Lin Fan roared furiously, his speed accelerating. With a loud "bang!", he rammed straight into Lu Nian's lower back. Lu Nian's mouth opened wide as he sprayed blood and collapsed to the ground. Just as he tried to get up—
"Squelch!"
Lu Nian's eyes widened, growing rounder and rounder as he tried to glance behind him. But in the end, he failed, his head lolling to the side as he died within the shop.
"Whew, satisfying."
"You've obtained Sword Skill: Fiery Sun Saber Skill (Second Rate)."
"Fiery Sun Saber Skill (Second Rate): Supreme Yang Blade Technique consisting of five blades—Universal Illumination, Twin Lights, Breaking Ridge, Burning Earth, and Burning Sky."
"You've obtained an item: Love's First Spark."
"Love's First Spark: A supreme Yang-based miraculous remedy of the heavens and earth. Nothing is beyond its reach, and it exploits every opening. Has a temporary curative effect for kidney deficiency."
Lin Fan paused, perplexed. "What the hell is this?"
He admitted the blade technique sounded impressive; the descriptions of its five moves were a little enigmatic but undoubtedly domineering. Luck was clearly on his side.
But seriously—what the hell is this "Love's First Spark"? Can loot even include this kind of thing?
Wouldn't looting corpses get me the same results anyway?
On top of that, he felt a bit regretful about the lack of cultivation gains.
He realized now that he had been naive—assuming cultivation gains were guaranteed drops. Clearly, that was just wishful thinking.
Lin Fan flipped over Lu Nian's corpse and lifted his shirt, revealing a glaringly red bellyband.
"Damn pervert."
An initial rummage yielded a thousand silver notes, which he gleefully stuffed into his pocket.
"Interesting. So there's a chance to loot after all. Wouldn't it have been easier to just look for myself?" Lin Fan muttered to himself.
At that moment, the government officials arrived—ordinary constables, not specialized arrest officers, mainly responsible for maintaining basic order in Jiangdu City.
"Constable Lin, why are you here?" One of the officials recognized Lin Fan. Though Lin Fan was newly appointed, he was highly regarded by Lord Wang Zhou, making him someone they wouldn't dare forget.
"This man tried to assassinate me. I killed him in self-defense. Gather his body and transport it back for investigation. Find out who he really was," Lin Fan instructed.
"Yes, Constable Lin," replied the official.
"Shopkeeper, come here," Lin Fan called out to the shopkeeper, who stood a short distance away.
The shopkeeper approached fearfully, the thought of someone dying in his establishment weighing on him. This wasn't going to bode well for his business.
Especially since Lin Fan was revealed to be a government official, it only made him feel more helpless.
He could only grit his teeth, swallowing his bitterness in silence.
"What can I do for you, sir?" the shopkeeper stammered nervously as he shuffled up to Lin Fan, treading cautiously.
In truth, he was dreading one possibility.
If this official intended to extort him, all he had to suggest was that his shop had harbored assassins targeting him—implying he had ties to them.
Should that happen, there'd be no arguing against it. The government's word was absolute.
"Sorry about the damage to your shop. Calculate how much it'll cost, and I'll compensate you." Lin Fan spoke firmly. Now that he was loaded, he didn't mind spending a bit of money on such things.
The shopkeeper hurriedly protested, "No need, sir. You were nearly assassinated here. My humble establishment shares some responsibility. Please, there's no need for compensation!"
"This isn't about blame. Just tally it up quickly; I have more pressing matters to attend to and can't afford delays." Lin Fan waved him off. Holding official power had its perks—smashing up someone's shop during a fight, not needing to pay for damages, and even having the owner beg not to complain—it felt a bit surreal.
"Well..." The shopkeeper hesitated, unsure of Lin Fan's intentions.
Lin Fan, seeing the man's reluctance, grew slightly irked and glanced around carefully. "Hmm, the damage is substantial. And there's also the unpaid tabs from the fleeing customers—let's say fifty taels should cover it."
Without waiting for any rebuttal, he took out the silver taels and slapped them into the shopkeeper's hands.
He'd done the math—it was a fair estimate.
The shopkeeper watched the silver in his hands and then looked at the departing Lin Fan, falling into a daze.
What just happened?
Are officials nowadays really this considerate?
PS: Thanks to Flying Bird Asuka for the generous donation.
PS: The extra Chapter for the alliance hierarch will be deferred until the release of the subscription version.