"My thanks, Brother Tian."
Zhang Zhongping lowered his palms and once again swept his gaze over the disciples before him.
Black Water City seemed chaotic on the surface.
But in reality, everything from an entire street down to a single brick had an owner.
The so-called "half a day" meant that during that time, no one—whether from the underworld or the authorities—would pass through Cyan Willow Lane.
And after that half-day was over, no one would care what had happened there.
"What is his level of strength?"
Zhang Zhongping lowered his gaze to the floor, his eyes landing on the wound on Zhao Peng’s face.
"He should be about the same as me. Even if he’s stronger, it’s by a limited margin."
Zhao Peng thought for a moment, recalling the force behind the fox’s attack. In truth, it hadn’t been anything special.
If the constables hadn’t been there, causing me to lower my guard, there’s no way I would have suffered such a huge loss.
To redeem himself, Zhao Peng quickly added, "Besides, I’ve already had a few of my junior brothers secure the street. He won’t be able to escape, even if he grows wings!"
"My son cannot have died in vain."
Zhang Zhongping let out a long breath. "Yunhai, is half a day enough?"
A slender man stepped out from the crowd.
He said flatly, "The time it takes for an incense stick to burn is more than enough."
As his voice fell, another seven men stepped forward. Including Zhao Peng on the ground, there were eight in total, all of whom fell in line behind the man.
Qin Yunhai was the senior disciple of the Martial Arts Hall, and his Martial Arts were the closest to his master’s.
He had already mastered Inner Strength and was just one small moment of enlightenment away from being able to project it outwards and earn the title of Grand Martial Artist.
"Get the sabers."
Zhang Zhongping waved his hand.
A disciple next to him immediately came over, carrying a pile of long objects wrapped in white cloth.
These were the finest Fine Steel Long Sabers in the city.
"I don’t want to hear his explanations, nor do I want to see him beg for mercy."
Zhang Zhongping closed his eyes again. The grief he had been forcefully suppressing finally transformed into a thick, chilling aura.
With a slight exertion of force from his palms, the armrests of his chair splintered and cracked.
"Bring me his head."
Day turned to night.
Evening descended once more.
The main streets were bustling with people, exceptionally lively.
Cyan Willow Lane was just a shady alley tucked away in a corner of West City, not a place for polite society.
The events unfolding within it were too insignificant to affect the city in the slightest.
Two constables were patrolling the streets as usual.
The unusually young, dark-faced constable started to walk forward on his usual route, but was suddenly pulled back by the sleeve by the veteran constable beside him.
"Hm?" Chang Yi turned his head, looking at his senior in confusion.
"We’re not patrolling that street today. We’re going this way."
The veteran constable chuckled and withdrew his hand. He didn’t have a Purple Flood Dragon embroidered on his lapel, so technically, he should have been under Chang Yi’s command.
But he had been a constable for nearly twenty years and was under orders to show this kid, who had just joined the force, the ropes.
As for why they weren’t patrolling that street, and what he stood to gain from it, there was no need to explain. The kid wouldn’t understand the way things worked anyway.
Chang Yi was silent for a moment, then he suddenly recalled the previous incident.
It was the same kind of abnormality, yet it seemed impossible to find fault with it.
Someone had ended up dead, but no one spoke of it.
He hated the smile on the veteran constable’s face, but he also respected him as a senior. The two conflicting emotions mixed together, leaving him feeling suffocated.
Chang Yi looked up in the direction of Cyan Willow Lane.
After a moment’s hesitation, he followed the veteran constable toward another street.
「Meanwhile, in Cyan Willow Lane.」
Sister Hua was leaning against someone’s doorway, chatting and laughing with another Madam.
"We’ve got a new master, you see. Master Tian was promoted, but this new Master Lin is a reliable one too."
"And so handsome, tsk. Makes you want to pinch his cheeks."
The two old women cackled flamboyantly.
Just then, a man came down from inside the house, called the Madam over, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Sister Hua waited curiously for her to return, planning to tease her a bit more.
But when the Madam turned back to her, the smile on her face had vanished instantly, replaced by a strange look in her eyes.
BANG!
Sister Hua watched, wide-eyed, as the other woman slammed the door, shutting her out.
"What the hell is her problem?!"
As one of the top Madams in Cyan Willow Lane, Sister Hua had a temper of her own.
She retreated two steps in annoyance, just about to shout a few curses.
But before the curses could leave her lips, she was interrupted by a series of sounds.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
The continuous sound of doors and windows being shut made Sister Hua instinctively shrink her neck.
In the space of a few breaths, Cyan Willow Lane, which had been filled with laughter and cheerful voices just moments before, suddenly fell silent.
She was the only figure left in the entire alley.
The sky was growing dark—the time when they should have been preparing for customers.
Such a bizarre scene sent an inexplicable chill down Sister Hua’s spine.
She wrapped her clothes tightly around herself and hurried back to the Magpie’s Nest. After a moment’s hesitation, she bolted the main door as well.
"What is wrong with everyone!"
Sister Hua ran up to the second floor and peered out the window.
She stared at the dimming sky, and the more she looked, the more she felt that something was wrong.
Normally, people would be starting to trickle into Cyan Willow Lane by now. But at this moment, not only was the alley empty, even the main street outside was terrifyingly desolate.
The night wind was bone-chilling.
Sister Hua stood stunned for a long time before she finally realized what was happening.
’The look that other Madam gave me... she was clearly looking at a dead person!’
Everyone else had gotten the message, but the Magpie’s Nest knew nothing.
The young, dark-faced junior constable who had been standing guard at the alley’s entrance last night was also nowhere to be seen today.
’It’s over!’
Sister Hua’s body went limp, and she fell to the floor with a THUD.
How could she not guess? Master Lin’s backer had clearly been overpowered by the other side.
Now, everyone was making way for the Hongyun Martial Arts Hall.
As for what they were making way for, the answer was self-evident.
In this forgotten corner, there would soon be piles of rotting flesh, left to be devoured by snakes, insects, rats, and ants until nothing remained.
The sudden noise startled the girls.
They swarmed into the room, asking in a panic, "Mother, what’s wrong?"
"Your mother is about to die..."
Sister Hua’s face was deathly pale, her lips twisted in a bitter smile.
She staggered to her feet and returned to the window.
At the entrance to the alley, a broken lantern swayed, its light flickering on and off.
TAP.
A foot suddenly stepped out from the shadows on the ground.
Soon, nine distinct shadows were cast upon the dilapidated walls, rising and falling as they surged into the alley.
They had white cloths tied around their arms and long sabers in their hands. Their faces were expressionless, like soul-reaping demons.
The one in the lead was a slender man.
His eyes were downcast as he strolled leisurely through the alley, approaching the two-story building.
The houses on both sides of Cyan Willow Lane were clearly packed with people, countless eyes peering outside, yet there wasn’t the slightest sound or movement.
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, like a domain of ghosts.
Sister Hua knew why.
Because she, too, had instinctively clamped her hands over her mouth. The sobs brought on by extreme fear made the veins in her neck throb violently.
The girls, at a loss, huddled dumbfounded inside the room.
It was like a stifling pantomime.
Desperately in need of another sound to break the silence.
CREAAAK—
The harsh sound of the old wooden door being pushed open made Sister Hua gasp for breath so violently that she choked on stomach acid.
Beneath the dim sky, within the deathly silent, dark alley, the main door of the Magpie’s Nest was pushed open from the inside.
A young man in a long robe stepped out into the street.
A trace of sleepiness still lingered in his eyes, as if he had just woken up.
Lin Shu rubbed his wrists, his gaze clearing considerably.
He turned to the Martial Artists not far away, who were carrying long sabers, and gave them a polite smile.
"Is everyone here?"

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