Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

This piqued Lin Shu’s interest.

His original plan had been simple.

If the Immortal Descendant ran into trouble, he could, at worst, just force out her Life Essence Blood and act as if he’d never met her.

But things were different now.

Setting aside the unreliable business of some "Immortal Sect guide token"...

The information Yu Sheng possessed alone was enough to remedy Lin Shu’s lack of knowledge about this world.

Of course, with his current lack of strength, he wouldn’t go out on a limb to protect her.

But if he could control the area around the Old Woodshed, combined with the concealing properties of his residual Cyan Qi, he could at least drastically reduce the chances of the Immortal Descendant being discovered.

"Besides this, your wolf name has also been assigned."

Bai Feng said, suddenly fighting a smile.

Lin Shu was all too familiar with that expression; after all, he’d been holding back his own laughter just like that yesterday.

He had a sinking feeling.

When he’d attended the banquet, Lin Shu had heard the other Fierce Wolves’ nicknames. They were almost all related to their signature techniques.

Based on his performance when he killed Tian Jingyuan, he expected a name like ’Black Hand’.

Or, if he had revealed his Red Moon Dharma Eye, something like ’Red-Eyed Wolf’.

’Ugh, that one’s not great. Sounds like some red-eyed mutt.’

"You tell him." Bai Feng glanced at Dong Cheng.

Dong Cheng’s expression faltered. He said sheepishly, "Master Lin’s wolf name... is just one word: Greedy."

These names were given based on how the hall members described a person.

Evidently, at the banquet...

Compared to his Fifth Grade Claw Technique Immortal Technique, the hall members were far more impressed by Lin Shu’s voracious appetite—how he’d demanded Fatty Tian’s entire street, and how he’d meticulously searched the corpse afterward.

...

Yan Jin silently averted her gaze, clearly thinking the name was a perfect fit.

"Whatever," Lin Shu resigned himself.

’Real benefits were more important than some meaningless title anyway.’

"That’s all there is to it. As for the specifics of taking over Sifang Street, Brother Lin, Dong Cheng will fill you in. We’ll be on our way."

Bai Feng forced a smile and waved.

He waved goodbye again, but unlike the first time when he couldn’t even be bothered to ask for a name, this time he at least remembered to use a proper title.

Yan Jin strode to the door, then glanced back and said coolly, "Sifang Street isn’t a good place. Watch yourself."

There was nothing wrong with the street itself; the problem was with the wolves who ruled it.

Tian Jingyuan’s rise to power had only been possible because the Fierce Wolf before him had met a grim fate.

Although Yan Jin didn’t know Lin Shu well, she was the one who had brought him into the Fierce Wolf Hall. She had no desire to see the street change hands to yet another wolf so soon.

Still, the fact that this young man had the sense to hide his true abilities meant he wasn’t as reckless as he seemed.

Any further warning would just be nagging.

...

The men chatted casually, completely oblivious to the young widow standing nearby.

Miss Yun stood quietly to the side.

The way the two Fierce Wolves treated him as an equal, the topics they discussed—everything proved it...

In less than half a month, her benefactor had shed his fox’s skin and become a Fierce Wolf.

He had transformed from a theater troupe laborer—forced to wear a fur cloak and an ink-painted mask under the scorching sun while begging passersby for tips—into a King Yama who could take the lives of the city’s common folk at will.

"Master Lin, these are the ledgers. Please, take a look."

Acting as if he hadn’t heard Yan Jin’s assessment of Sifang Street, Dong Cheng pulled out a thick ledger with a broad smile and handed it to Lin Shu.

"On our street, we have a total of six restaurants, two clothiers, a teahouse..."

"Just tell me how much money we can collect."

Lin Shu flipped open the ledger, but a single glance gave him a headache. SNAP. He snapped it shut.

Hearing this, Dong Cheng’s expression grew strange. He stammered, "Originally... we could collect close to a thousand silver."

The statement hung in the air, and even Lin Shu was slightly taken aback.

The Magpie’s Nest might turn over twenty silver a month, but that was because they were in the flesh trade. Even their Brothel Madams were women abducted by the Cunning Fox Hall, making it a business with zero overhead.

But the businesses on this street were all legitimate.

Every month, they had to pay taxes to the Government Office and protection money to the Black Water Gang. Only after covering their own costs could they squeeze out a share for the Fierce Wolf.

That monthly take was more than twenty times what someone like Brother Baodao made.

"So, what happened then?"

’Best to hear the whole story. Can’t celebrate too early.’ Lin Shu shot him a sidelong glance.

"Later, that Master Wolf died. When Master Tian... when Fatty Tian took over, the more powerful shopkeepers, led by Boss Wang of the teahouse, basically stopped paying. He could only scrape money from small businesses and common households."

"He managed to scrape together about four hundred silver."

Dong Cheng gave an awkward smile, trailing off.

Tian Jingyuan had only held Sifang Street for a few days and had just finished one round of "scraping." Now that it was Master Lin’s turn, it was hard to say what was left to take.

But considering that even Yin Ling was wary of this man...

Dong Cheng gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Should... should I go see what I can find?"

These common families worked for the wealthy households, so they were certainly better off than the dirt-poor folk in the South Suburbs.

But they only had so much to give. You could squeeze them until they bled and not get much out of it, and if you pushed too hard, people could easily end up dead.

It was a thankless task, and Dong Cheng didn’t want to do it. But returning empty-handed to the new Master Wolf was not an option either.

"That’s not my style."

Lin Shu raised an eyebrow and shot him a casual glance. "And you’d better not make it yours."

In his memory, the alleyways of his past were so squalid precisely because everyone was desperately trying to squeeze something, anything, from those even weaker than themselves.

He had fought tooth and nail just to crawl out of that mire, but he had never done a single thing to make those streets even filthier.

To put it plainly, rather than wringing silver from the poor, Lin Shu much preferred to target those who were already fat and rich, like Tian Jingyuan.

"Ah... yes!"

Dong Cheng was still a bit dazed when a shiver ran through him under the man’s gaze.

’Wasn’t this Greedy Wolf supposed to be at the Early-stage of Qi Cultivation? Just some lucky guy who happened to master a Middle Third Grade Immortal Technique?’

’He isn’t even using any Magic, so how can he be putting this much pressure on me?’

’Besides, if we don’t take this money, there’s no other money to be made!’

’Are we all supposed to just starve?’

As Dong Cheng was lost in thought, he failed to notice that the young man before him had also frozen for an instant.

[Life and death are a matter of fate. You have snatched lives from the hands of Yama. Saved two worthless lives. Awarded two Merit Coins.]

Staring at the prompt that had suddenly appeared, Lin Shu slowly retracted his gaze, hiding the astonishment in his eyes.

’I was just wondering how to earn Merit Coins, and here they are already.’

’Wait, *this* counts as a good deed?’

’So if this little wolf had actually gone to extort them, two people on Sifang Street would have died today.’

Lin Shu shook his head, composing himself. "So, how did the first wolf die?"

"That whole thing still makes my blood boil!"

Dong Cheng had been on Sifang Street for years and had grown accustomed to the good life. The memory clearly stirred a lot of anger in him. "In the beginning, the silver was flowing because that man, Wang, opened a teahouse with a casino in the back. He had Deputy Chief Constable Liu Zhen backing him."

"We had a deal for a cut. But then business got better and better, and not only did he refuse to share, that bastard Liu found some excuse to get Master Wolf killed."

"The merchants on the street used to prepare two payments every month—one for him, and one for us... Now, they’re not paying any less, but it’s all going straight into his pockets!"

Dong Cheng’s voice grew quieter as he spoke.

He had suddenly realized something.

’This Greedy Wolf says he won’t take money from the poor, but now he’s asking how the previous wolf died.’

’Is he planning to take food right out of Liu Zhen’s mouth?’

’That’s crazy!’

’After the first Master Wolf died, Fatty Tian was so scared he wouldn’t have dared to make a peep. He would even walk on the other side of the street to avoid people.’

’Now we have a new guy. Sure, he’s stronger than Tian, but he’s still just at the Early-stage of Qi Cultivation. How much stronger could he really be?’

’I must have misunderstood. He’s probably just asking casually.’

Dong Cheng silently reassured himself, but he failed to notice that the expression on the young widow’s face behind him had already changed completely.

...

Miss Yun stared at that tall, slender figure, a sense of panic suddenly rising within her.

When she’d heard him refuse, she had been truly relieved, not wanting Lord Lin to engage in such ruthless exploitation.

But at the same time, she didn’t want him to confront the notoriously vicious Evil Constable either.

Compared to Dong Cheng, Miss Yun knew Lin Shu far better.

Despite the lazy air about his handsome face, as if he had only asked casually...

It was with that very same expression...

...that he had raised his hand and brutally slapped the Immortal Descendant!