Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

THUD! THUD!

From the dark, quiet room next door, the sound of something heavy hitting the floor suddenly rang out.

It was followed by terrified whimpers.

Clearly, the people inside were scared out of their wits.

"..."

Lin Shu stood alone in the pitch-black alley.

A trace of exhaustion flickered in his eyes.

It wasn’t the weakness that came from physical exertion, but the discomfort of having his life force rapidly drained.

He looked down at his fingertips as the black energy slowly dissipated.

Compared to the Moonlight Claw Technique he had used against Liu the Third, which had only manifested a few streams of light, the Immortal Technique he just unleashed was several times more devastating.

This wasn’t just because he had advanced to First Grade.

Lin Shu could vaguely sense that ever since he started investing Sin Coins, the Immortal Technique itself had been developing in a strange direction.

Of course, the price for such a terrifying effect was a far greater consumption of energy than he had anticipated.

The Fog that had been feeding the White Wolf’s phantom and sustaining Lin Shu’s life was now less than thirty percent of what it had been.

"Tsk."

Lin Shu turned and sat down on the nearby stone steps.

Corpses were piled haphazardly on both sides.

[Arsonists and murderers wear golden belts, while those who build bridges and repair roads die without a grave. Kill a worthless life, rewarded with five Sin Coins.]

[Life and death are decreed by fate, to snatch a life from Yama’s grasp. Save a wretched life, granted one Merit Coin.]

Notifications for Merit and Sin Coins popped up in a dense swarm.

Lin Shu could almost hear the sound of coins clinking against each other.

The scrawny man was worth five coins, and the others weren’t far behind, each priced at three.

A total of twenty-nine pitch-black copper coins fell into Lin Shu’s sleeve.

He had anticipated the number of Sin Coins; after all, this group was clearly much stronger than Liu the Third. It was only natural they’d be worth more.

But the twenty notifications about Merit Coins came as a slight surprise.

The Brothel Madams in Magpie’s Nest, including Sister Hua and Old Yang, totaled only twenty people.

They hadn’t planned on letting a single one go. Talk about being thorough.

Lin Shu propped himself up with his hands, his gaze sweeping over the corpses on the ground. He shook his head and sighed, "You guys are a little too ruthless."

He had rested long enough. He patted his clothes and looked lazily toward the alley’s entrance.

"Lord Official, you can come in and collect the bodies now."

"..."

Someone stepped out slowly from beneath a tattered red lantern.

It was the same dark-skinned face.

Chang Yi looked over with a complicated expression, his scabbard slung at his waist and his hand clamped tightly on his sword’s hilt.

In truth, he had arrived some time ago.

After making up an excuse about a stomach ache to get away from his senior, he had rushed to Cyan Willow Lane without a moment’s delay.

Chang Yi had leaned in the shadows, watching with his own eyes as Qin Yunhai and the other disciples from the Martial Arts Hall entered the alley.

He was just hesitating.

He was wondering under what circumstances and for what reason he could intervene without looking like a paid enforcer for the Cunning Fox Hall.

But what Chang Yi had never expected—what even terrified him—was what happened next.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the situation had spiraled into absurdity and ended with lightning speed.

The power Lin Shu had displayed sent a shiver of fear even through him.

The aura from that Immortal Technique just now had surpassed the bounds of Early-stage Qi Cultivation, faintly approaching the Mid-stage.

’No wonder... no wonder he wasn’t panicking at all!’

’My good intentions must have looked like meddling to him.’

"You’re not a fox."

Chang Yi’s throat was dry, his voice much hoarser. "You’re a wolf!"

As the words left his mouth, he finally understood why he had been instinctively gripping his hilt the entire time.

As a Purple Flood Dragon Constable, his duty since taking office was to deal with the Fierce Wolves that roamed the city.

And the man before him was a young wolf that had yet to fully mature!

"Cut the crap and get to work."

Lin Shu rolled his eyes and gestured casually at the bodies littering the ground.

"Oh."

The turbulent thoughts in Chang Yi’s mind were interrupted. He nodded subconsciously and released his hilt.

There had been deaths in his jurisdiction. He really should inspect the bodies first before reporting to the Government Office.

Just then, an angry roar came from the alley’s entrance.

"Who the hell told you to come here!"

The veteran constable hurried over. Upon seeing the alley floor covered in corpses, he was filled with a mix of terror and rage, seething with anger.

He clenched and unclenched his fist, barely resisting the urge to slap him.

"I... This junior just wanted to take a look... I was just about to inspect the bodies..."

Caught red-handed in a lie, Chang Yi’s face flushed with guilt, and he even started to stammer.

"Inspect my ass!"

The veteran constable grabbed his arm forcefully, saying angrily, "Come with me, now."

"..."

Lin Shu watched the turn of events calmly, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

A moment later, he rose slowly, feeling a bit helpless.

’All these bodies are bad for business. I’m already this weak; surely I can’t be expected to move them myself.’

"Lord Official, wait a moment." As he spoke, he strolled over to the two men.

"Hiss!"

The veteran constable flinched back instinctively, hit by the overwhelming stench of blood.

Then his eyes narrowed, full of warning, as he lowered his voice. "You stinking fox, don’t go looking for trouble!"

"What’s the rush? I’m just curious, wanted to ask something, that’s all." Lin Shu stretched lazily.

"Hm?" Chang Yi looked over, confused, not understanding what the man was doing.

’Is he trying to help me out of this bind?’

’But Lin Shu is from the Black Water Gang. What Government Official would listen to a fox?’

Before Chang Yi could figure it out, he saw Lin Shu reach out and start vigorously ruffling the back of his head.

His expression went blank, his brain short-circuiting. "..."

"This kid is dumb as a rock, making the Lord Official so angry."

Lin Shu said with a grin, contentedly ruffling the Blackhead’s hair, "If you ask me, why don’t we just take that Purple Flood Dragon off him and stick it on your chest, Lord Official? Wouldn’t that work?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Of course... of course that wouldn’t work."

Hearing this, the veteran constable’s face suddenly went pale. He shot a guilty glance at the Blackhead beside him, terrified the young man might understand the implication.

The Government Office had only told him to show Chang Yi the ropes.

His act of playing the senior was already against the rules; it was just that this kid was honest, obedient, and easy to manipulate.

Strictly speaking, this fifteen-year-old greenhorn was his actual, proper superior.

"Oh, so it wouldn’t work."

Lin Shu seemed to consider it seriously for a moment, the smile on his face vanishing.

His eyes turned ice-cold as he stared intently at the old bastard and said flatly, "Then why don’t you spit out what you’re supposed to?"

"What thing! There’s no thing!"

The veteran constable yelped as if his tail had been stepped on, his voice suddenly shrill. He grabbed the utterly confused Chang Yi and tried to drag him away. "Let’s go! Don’t listen to this criminal’s nonsense!"

But he couldn’t take a step.

SMACK—

In an instant, a swift, vicious slap landed crisply across the veteran constable’s face!

The slap not only stunned the veteran constable, but it also struck Chang Yi like a bolt of lightning. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

’Why would a fox dare to attack an Official for no reason?!’

"How about now? Remembered yet?" Lin Shu asked, flexing his wrist.

"You..."

The veteran constable covered his face, stunned. His lips trembled, and the humiliation in his eyes quickly turned into blazing fury!

He instinctively reached for his blade, but then his eyes fell on the other man’s blood-soaked clothes.

Adding to that was Chang Yi, standing beside him like a wooden post.

After a moment, the veteran constable’s throat bobbed. He stared at the young man with venomous eyes.

He reluctantly pulled a small cloth pouch from his robes, shoved it forcefully into the Blackhead’s arms, and then ran out of Cyan Willow Lane without another word.

"What is this?"

Seeing his senior actually pull something out after being slapped, Chang Yi’s entire perception of reality began to crumble.

’Lin Shu’s background seems far more terrifying than I imagined!’

"Dirty money. You want it?" Lin Shu raised an eyebrow.

"No." Chang Yi instinctively tossed the pouch away.

"Then it’s mine." Lin Shu caught it neatly and tucked it into his robes.

"But why?" Chang Yi was bewildered, watching as the other man turned and strode away.

"That’s the money they paid to have me killed. It’s my life, so of course I’m entitled to a cut... Oh, right. Clean this up quickly. I have to open for business tomorrow."

Lin Shu was already walking away, waving his hand dismissively.

Hongyun Martial Arts Hall must have paid a hefty price to clear out this alley.

And that old bastard took the money for my life, yet he still dared to show his face in Cyan Willow Lane.

It was only natural for Lin Shu to use someone else’s authority to put him in his place.

The only thing he found amusing was that, until the very end, the Blackhead never realized that the person the veteran constable truly feared wasn’t him, the fox, but his own "junior."

Taking dirty money might not be a big deal in the chaos of Black Water City.

But secretly pocketing a superior’s share? If that got out, the veteran constable’s career would be over.

"Whew."

Lin Shu let out a long breath, rubbing the Merit and Sin Coins in his palm as he pushed open the door to Magpie’s Nest.

After working himself to the bone for so long, it was finally time to enjoy the fruits of his labor.