After leaving the martial hall, Foreman Zhao rushed toward the Wild Wolf Gang’s territory at a brisk jog. As long as he revealed where Lu Chen and Jiang Qingyu were hiding, he could receive a reward of 100 taels of silver. For someone like Foreman Zhao, that was a windfall beyond imagination.
However, as he passed through a secluded alleyway, a figure wearing a bamboo hat suddenly blocked his path.
“Foreman Zhao, rushing off in such a hurry—where are you going?” Lu Chen’s familiar voice echoed coldly.
Foreman Zhao immediately turned to flee, but Lu Chen grabbed him and dragged him into the alley before he could react.
“Lu Chen, don’t kill me!” Zhao cried, trembling all over. “I have an old mother and a young child at home—please spare me!”
Lu Chen said coldly, “Over the years, you’ve killed at least eight or ten laborers. Don’t they have families too? Who will repay their lives?”
“And now you’re running off to Wild Wolf Gang territory in such a hurry—weren’t you planning to inform on us?”
Foreman Zhao dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy. But Lu Chen showed no mercy to scum like him. He reached out and grabbed Zhao’s neck, twisted with force—
Crack.
Foreman Zhao’s head tilted at an unnatural angle, and he soon stopped breathing.
This was Lu Chen’s second kill since entering the simulated world. Unlike the first time when he had killed a beggar, this time there was no nausea or discomfort. Instead, he felt a satisfying rush, as if he had just avenged countless injustices.
Lu Chen tossed the corpse aside, pressed down his bamboo hat, and quickly left the alley.
After returning to the martial hall, he removed his bamboo hat and headed toward his quarters. Along the way, several martial hall disciples who recognized him greeted him politely. Though Lu Chen was younger than most of them, as a guest of Hall Master Lin, he was treated with due respect.
At the same time, Jiang Qingyu was sitting on the threshold of the courtyard, swinging her pale little legs while holding a stick of candied hawthorn. When she saw Lu Chen approaching, she immediately jumped up and ran over to hand him one.
“Brother Chen, try this. It’s really sweet.”
“Xiao Yu is such a good girl.” Lu Chen took the candied hawthorn and gently patted her head.
But when he bit into one, a sharp sourness shot through his teeth. He winced.
“Haha! Brother Chen got tricked! You got tricked…” the little girl pulled a funny face and ran into the courtyard.
Watching her playful figure, Lu Chen couldn’t help but smile and shake his head.
…
In the days that followed, Lu Chen continued improving his strength. With constant training, he had become very proficient in the Mountain-Shattering Fist. Yet, he wasn’t satisfied.
Martial skills without real combat were just flashy and weak.
But whenever he challenged the martial hall’s inner disciples, they all held back because he was a favored guest of Hall Master Lin. No one dared to go all out against him. This frustrated Lu Chen greatly.
“Only a real fight—between life and death—can elevate my fist technique to the next level.”
“But the martial hall’s disciples are too cautious. I can’t fight seriously with them.”
After a moment of thought, a sharp idea struck his mind.
“Since there’s no County Office or soldiers in Luo City, the Wild Wolf Gang does whatever it wants—extorting the people with impunity.”
“If not for Lin Martial Hall standing against them, the common people would be suffering even more.”
“And the gang still hasn’t stopped searching for me and Xiao Yu.”
“In that case, I’ll make sure they suffer too.”
Having made up his mind, Lu Chen put on his bamboo hat and left the martial hall.
After several days of tracking and observing, he locked onto two Wild Wolf Gang members: Zhang San and Li Si. Both were at the 9th-grade Bronze-Skin Realm. They committed all sorts of evil, even killing people while collecting tributes. They didn’t even spare the wives of the dead.
Lu Chen discovered that they had imprisoned a woman in a ruined courtyard in the west of the city. Every evening, the two would bring some of their brothers there to drink and have their way with the woman—subjecting her to endless abuse.
“Scum like them don’t deserve to live,” Lu Chen muttered, killing intent rising in his chest.
That evening, most Wild Wolf Gang members were sent to the docks to offload cargo. Only Zhang San and Li Si went to the courtyard to drink.
After eating and drinking their fill, they stumbled into the room and soon, sounds of tearing fabric and the woman’s cries echoed through the air.
The surrounding neighbors, hearing the woman’s screams, all closed their doors and windows tightly. No one dared to interfere. Since Luo City was taken by rebel forces, the County Office had been nothing but an empty shell. The Wild Wolf Gang ruled everything now.
The people had long since learned to suffer in silence.
Inside the room, Zhang San and Li Si tore the woman’s clothes, undid their belts, and were about to ravage her again—
Bang!
The door was suddenly kicked open with a loud crash.
Startled, both men went limp in an instant.
“Who the hell dares interrupt your grandpa’s fun!?” they roared, pulling out the long knives from their waists and turning toward the door.
There stood a man in a black martial outfit and a bamboo hat—Lu Chen had arrived.
“Trying to play ghost tricks? You’re courting death!” they shouted, charging at him.
Though both were only 9th-grade Bronze-Skin Realm, they had worked together for years and coordinated their attacks well. Even though Lu Chen had the advantage in cultivation as an 8th-grade Ironbone Realm martial artist, the cramped space of the room limited his movements.
In the exchange, Lu Chen was slashed on the arm and shin—sharp pain surged, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. It was his first real fight against martial artists—worse, two at once.
Ignoring his wounds, he threw everything into his Mountain-Shattering Fist.
As the fight continued, Lu Chen gradually adapted to their attack rhythm.
Bang!
He finally found an opening and punched Zhang San square in the ribs, sending him stumbling back.
Using that moment, Lu Chen dodged a sneak attack from Li Si, grabbed his arm, pulled him forward, and slammed his fist into Li Si’s head with all his strength.
Li Si was sent flying several meters and died on the spot.
Lu Chen then grabbed the fallen long knife and hurled it at Zhang San—nailing him right through the chest.
In an instant, two Bronze-Skin Realm martial artists were dead.
“Get out of here quickly. The Wild Wolf Gang will be here soon.”
Lu Chen pulled a long robe off Zhang San’s body and tossed it to the half-naked woman.
He never even looked at her once.
“Thank you, kind sir!” the woman cried, putting on the robe and kowtowing to Lu Chen several times.
Then, without hesitation, she picked up a knife from the floor and slashed her own throat.
Thud.
Her body collapsed to the floor.
Lu Chen turned his head and saw no trace of pain on her face—only peace, like someone who had finally been freed.