Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

In the courtyard.

Xiaoma stood stiff as a board, his breathing ragged.

He stared blankly at the horrifying face on the ground, riddled with bloody holes. A vicious chill shot up his spine and straight to his head.

Third Master, who had been full of life just a moment ago, was gone in a single clash!

Xiaoma’s gaze shifted upward, meeting the casual glance of the young man standing beside the corpse.

Just from that one look, he instinctively clutched the gash on his own neck and stumbled back several steps, roaring in terror, "You’re finished! You’re in deep trouble!"

"Shut up!"

Da Ma couldn’t resist slapping him across the face.

As his younger brother stared, bewildered and dazed, his face twitched, and he forced a fawning smile.

The next moment, the burly man dropped to his knees with a THUD. "Master Lin, don’t listen to his nonsense! There’s no big trouble... It’s just that we do have some connection to the Black Water Gang."

"What kind of connection?" Lin Shu asked, his eyes lowered.

Seeing that the other man didn’t attack immediately, Da Ma dug his fingers into his thigh, trying to suppress his trembling.

He hadn’t gotten a clear look at what happened just now, but Lin Shu’s ability to shatter a blade with his bare hand was clearly beyond his comprehension.

’With Liu the Third already dead, trying to threaten this man is no different from seeking death!’

"Third Master... When Liu the Third took over this opera troupe, all he could think about was saving up enough money to offer to the Cunning Fox Hall, hoping to find a patron in them and join their hall."

The elder Ma brother pointed to Miss Yun beside them and explained with an extremely humble expression, "We’ve paid a lot of silver over the years. Once this deal was done, we’d have had just about enough."

’As long as they could connect with the Black Water Gang, they could do whatever they wanted in the city.’

Da Ma didn’t care whether it was Liu the Third or Lin Shu who led them to pledge their allegiance.

"The Cunning Fox Hall?" Lin Shu was a little curious.

His predecessor had held no status in the opera troupe and knew very little about these matters.

Just then, Miss Yun, who had been squatting quietly nearby, slowly raised her head and said cautiously, "The Black Water Gang has four great halls, named after the Fox, the Fierce Wolf... the White Tiger, and the Chenlong."

"The Cunning Fox Hall specializes in extorting money for the Black Water Gang. They are masters of swindling. They also engage in human trafficking, selling girls to Brothels and delivering infants to the White Tiger Hall. Not even the Government can interfere in their affairs."

"Exactly, exactly!" Da Ma chimed in hurriedly, hoping to use the Cunning Fox Hall’s fearsome reputation to quell Lin Shu’s killing intent.

’After all, to establish a foothold in Black Water City, you either had to rely on the Government or cozy up to the Black Water Gang.’

’Otherwise, you could only eke out a miserable existence, unable to hold your head high no matter how skilled you were.’

"I see."

Lin Shu nodded and gestured to the Ma Brothers.

The two of them froze for a moment. After it dawned on them, they hurriedly handed over their short blades.

By now, even Xiaoma had come to his senses.

’In front of Lin Shu, the blade in Master Liu San’s hand was no different from one made of mud. How could they possibly resist?’

’Just being able to keep their lives was a blessing from their ancestors!’

"Alright, go clean up the body," Lin Shu said nonchalantly, toying with a short blade.

As if they had heard an imperial edict, the two brothers were overjoyed. They scrambled to their feet and rushed toward Liu the Third’s body on the ground.

The instant they turned around, Lin Shu’s arms shot forward. With a sickening SQUELCH, the two short blades pierced through their necks simultaneously.

He had learned from his previous experience that the people here were tough and thick-skinned.

Lin Shu had even deliberately channeled the Fog into his arms to ensure a fatal blow.

A moment later, he calmly pulled out the blood-stained blades and tossed them onto the ground.

THUD! THUD!

Two burly figures swayed and then collapsed.

"Urk!"

Miss Yun watched this unfold, unable to do anything but clench her cuffs.

At this moment, she completely dismissed her earlier assessment of this young man as a "pitiful person" whose hands were tied.

’His earlier cold observation wasn’t because he lacked confidence; it was more like he had some strange quirk.’

’With the terrifying strength he had displayed, he could have easily defeated those two, yet he still chose this method.’

"..."

Lin Shu tossed the short blades aside, completely ignoring the strange look hidden within Miss Yun’s awestruck gaze.

He had no hobby of toying with people’s lives.

It was just that while the Silver Moon Claw Technique was unexpectedly powerful, its consumption was also genuinely terrifying, far exceeding what was needed to heal his physical body earlier.

That single strike just now had cost Lin Shu nearly twenty percent of his Fog!

’In other words, even without considering the amount needed to sustain his life, he could use it four more times at most. He had to conserve it whenever possible.’

"Thank you for saving my life, my lord. This humble woman has no way to repay you. If there is anything I can do, please do not hesitate to ask."

Miss Yun rose shakily to her feet and bowed low to the young man before her.

If he hadn’t intervened, she would have surely died a bloody death today, to say nothing of protecting the child inside the house.

After a long moment without a response, Miss Yun, already tense, suddenly felt a gaze that made her slightly uncomfortable.

She looked up in confusion.

Lin Shu had already turned to leave.

But after hearing her words, he slowly turned back and casually scanned the young widow.

Miss Yun’s body tensed slightly.

This gaze was completely different from the three men before. It lacked their lewdness but was far more aggressive.

And for some reason... she actually sensed a hint of frankness within this intensely aggressive scrutiny?!

At this thought, the young widow’s face gradually reddened, and she began to stammer, "My... my lord..."

"Go heat some water. I want to take a bath. You can scrub my back."

Since she had told him to ask for anything, Lin Shu didn’t stand on ceremony.

The sudden transmigration, coupled with killing four people right off the bat, had left even him feeling mentally exhausted.

Besides, although the immediate problem was solved, he still felt like a headless fly, with no control over his surroundings.

This feeling of being out of control had turned into an intense pressure that he desperately needed to release.

If he could enjoy himself a little, having a pretty young woman help massage his back would relieve a lot of that pressure.

"Huh?"

Hearing this, the young widow stood there stunned. She had never imagined things would develop in this direction.

She roughly understood what he meant.

Even though Miss Yun had grown up fending for herself in Black Water City and was more adaptable than an ordinary woman, she was now at a loss for how to respond.

’The man had just finished killing people, the bloodstains on his face were still fresh, and he had offended the Black Water Gang, yet he still had the mind for other things.’

’His nerve was just too much!’

After a long pause, she pointed to the house and haltingly squeezed out, "The child is still... in there..."

Hearing this excuse, Lin Shu paused, then decisively averted his gaze and said casually, "Then forget it. Just go heat the water."

As soon as he finished speaking, he went straight to the thatched hut opposite them.

’I almost forgot about the whole transmigration thing.’

’This is a respectable young widow, not a masseuse from my past life.’

’Even if it was just a simple back scrub, in a place like this, which resembled ancient times, it would probably involve a lot of troublesome customs.’

"Huh?"

Miss Yun was still pondering how to preserve her innocence when, in a moment of distraction, she looked up to find only the young man’s back as he walked away.

She gaped, bewildered.

’Wait, that’s it?’

’He made the request so frankly, without a hint of shame, and left so decisively, without a moment’s hesitation.’

’What... what kind of person was he?’

...

In the side room of the hut.

Lin Shu took a rag and, using a bucket of hot water, carefully wiped the grime from his body.

He sighed to himself.

’These living conditions are just too poor.’

’No wonder that young widow had such a strange expression.’

’Given how poor her family was, they couldn’t possibly scrape together a wooden tub big enough for a bath. He could only stand and give himself a quick wipe-down.’

The only food was a few cold steamed buns on the table, plus a lump of pickled vegetables.

’Fortunately, I might not live much longer anyway, so I won’t have to suffer too much in this place.’

As Lin Shu grumbled internally, he looked down at his empty chest, dried himself off, and put his long cloak back on.

Jokes were jokes.

He was still quite interested in many things in this strange new world and didn’t want to kick the bucket just yet.

Lin Shu sat down at the table, chewing on a cold steamed bun as he opened his palm.

’It seems my previous guess wasn’t entirely accurate. Killing people does indeed earn Sin Coins, but the price for each person is different.’

[Murder and arson bring riches; building bridges and roads leaves no corpse. Slay a worthless life, be rewarded with one Sin Coin.]

A similar message had flashed before his eyes four times, but the last one had a slight variation.

[Murder and arson bring riches; building bridges and roads leaves no corpse. Slay a worthless life, be rewarded with two Sin Coins.]

According to these prompts, from the old woman to Liu the Third, they were all nothing but worthless lives.

But even among worthless lives, there was a difference in price. An expert’s life was clearly worth more.

Wang Xu and the Ma Brothers were each worth one Sin Coin, while Liu the Third was more expensive, valued at two Sin Coins.

A total of five copper coins fell into Lin Shu’s palm.

’It looked like a small amount.’

But Lin Shu wasn’t disappointed. Only he knew just how precious these Sin Coins truly were.

A single coin was enough to crush Liu the Third’s decades of grueling physical training.

In the face of an Immortal Technique, the Martial Arts that man had relied on for survival seemed like a joke.

’Now it was time to verify my second guess.’

’When the number of Sin Coins increases, will the Immortal Technique spat out by this Half-Life Immortal also become stronger?’

"Let’s do this."

Lin Shu reached out, moving the copper coins toward his heart, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

’Perhaps this White Wolf phantom could solve the problem of his unrecoverable Fog.’

Unlike before.

This time, the little White Wolf no longer showed any resistance to the Sin Coins. Instead, it actively absorbed them into its body.

Its whole body twitched slightly, and as if a drop of ink had fallen onto it, a trace of darkness appeared at the tips of its snow-white fur.

[Consumed five Sin Coins. The Evil Immortal is not yet formed. The Magic Technique has changed.]

[Qi Cultivation Seventh Grade, Moonlight Claw Technique: entry-level]

As Lin Shu watched in confusion, the words in the second prompt began to ripple like water.

[Qi Cultivation Sixth Grade, Moonlight Claw Technique: Minor Success]

After feeding it five Sin Coins, the grade and proficiency of this Immortal Technique quickly changed.

But its name, after blurring for a moment, returned to what it was before.

Lin Shu’s temples throbbed.

At the same time, a searing heat surged into his eyes.

His expression changed slightly as he quickly processed the new information in his mind.

The Moonlight Claw Technique had become much more complete, and its power was greater than before.

Lin Shu carefully examined his right palm, confirming that the searing sensation originated from the change in the Immortal Technique.

"So this Immortal Technique isn’t set in stone."

"It’s a pity it didn’t evolve any Formulas related to the Fog. Perhaps I didn’t have enough Sin Coins."

Lin Shu took note of the change in the Immortal Technique’s grade and looked up thoughtfully.

He wasn’t the type to complain about his fate. As long as he had a clue, he would try to follow it first and worry later.

Just then, among the pile of prompts, Lin Shu suddenly noticed one he had never seen before.

[Life and death are determined by heaven; a life was snatched from the hands of Yama. Save a wretched life, be bestowed with one Merit Coin.]

White light gathered, coalescing into a round, jade-like coin in Lin Shu’s palm.

"You get something for saving people, too?"

With his experience with the Sin Coins, this prompt was easy enough to understand.

What Lin Shu didn’t understand was why he had been shortchanged one coin when he had clearly saved a widow and her orphan child.

He glanced out the window and quickly understood.

’It seemed like he had saved two people, but the only one who was actually going to die was the infant being sent off to be used in alchemy. As for the widow, Liu the Third and his men were desperate for money; they wouldn’t have been willing to kill her.’

"Here, try this."

Lin Shu had no reverence for Immortal Gods. As if feeding a dog, he casually offered the Merit Coin to the phantom.

"..."

The little White Wolf kept its eyes closed in slumber, showing no reaction to the jade coin.

"Quite the picky eater," Lin Shu frowned, rubbing the jade coin in his hand.

’The earlier prompt said the Evil Immortal is not yet formed. Does that mean this little mutt can’t digest the Merit Coin?’

’If that’s the case, then I’ll have to find a way to raise some other kind of Immortal.’

"My lord..."

The sky was beginning to brighten when a call from outside the door interrupted Lin Shu’s thoughts.