Chapter 9: Assassination from the Shadows

Squeak— squeak—

In shacks built from cut wood, it is inevitable that various insects remain within the uncleaned timber.

In the dead of night, they become active, burrowing through the wood and making faint, rustling sounds.

However, there are times when other circumstances cause the wood to emit similar chirping noises.

Inside a certain shack.

Following the sudden cessation of that squeaking sound, Luo Heng felt entirely listless.

Smacking his lips, he climbed up and grabbed the clothes by the bedside.

He dressed amidst the rustling, finally pulling up his trousers.

It was only for this moment.

Yet as long as a little something leaked through their fingers, it was enough for these gangs to grow large and strong, act with impunity, and remain standing firm!

Although generally speaking, a low-level gang member like Luo Heng should not attract much attention, one must always be prepared for the unexpected; thus, Du En did not do anything extra, so as to avoid leaving any flaws.

"Ha—"

On Luo Heng's person and in his home, there was indeed this fellow's wealth, likely quite substantial, yet Du En had no intention of searching for it.

Regarding other people, those stewards generally treated everyone the same with an indifferent attitude, but they would value the gang leaders who regularly offered tribute and paid their respects a bit more.

When she raised her head again, all she saw was deep, pitch-black darkness.

Pulling the thin quilt tight and curling up her body, low sobs echoed within it, not daring to leak out.

At the very least, I must teach that brat a good lesson!

Although there was a small accident while searching for Luo Heng earlier and he did not find the other party's trail in his home, after carefully observing footprints and other traces, he still tracked him all the way here and found this fellow who was just pulling up his trousers to head home.

The so-called morning business was actually to catch Du En and the others off guard!

At daybreak, he was going to block their door.

As he spoke, Luo Heng suddenly gave a malicious, wicked smile, clearly harboring some evil thoughts in his mind.

Luo Heng felt a bit disappointed, but considering he had been served well tonight, he did not fuss about it at this moment.

"Thinking you're something special? Go take a piss and look at yourself in the reflection!"

Seeing this, the woman was somewhat frightened, and suddenly felt her unhealed old wounds throbbing with pain; she immediately forced a stiff smile and hurriedly said, "Master, Master, didn't you just say you had important business tomorrow morning?"

Death was devouring him at a speed he had never imagined, causing one of his eyes to stream with tears, while from his still-intact throat, he squeezed out a plea: "Sir, spare, spare my life! I won't do it again! Really..."

It was not until dawn, when the corpse-buriers went to work, that the Blood Eagle Gang's branch responsible for this area learned that Luo Heng had died a miserable death, his corpse abandoned in the street.

As a member of the dignified Blood Eagle Gang, in this vicinity, he didn't need his word to be law, but he could certainly bully anyone he pleased.

Luo Heng could not understand how, in this district, anyone would dare to kill him.

Du En, hidden in the shadows, narrowed his eyes and peered carefully for a moment; confirming he was truly dead, he slowly retreated, merged into the darkness, and quietly departed.

Stopping before the small courtyard, Du En looked back at the place where Luo Heng's corpse lay, his gaze shifting slightly.

Whoosh!

Bang!

Another earth pellet shot out violently from the shadows, hitting Luo Heng directly three feet below the navel, piercing his lower abdomen and smashing his dantian, sea of Qi, intestines, and manhood into a mangled mess, scattering them across the ground.

Luo Heng was dead.

He quietly returned to his room, changed his clothes, seized the time to cultivate, and caught up on sleep after finishing.

As if sensing the gaze from behind, Luo Heng suddenly turned his head, looked at the woman sitting on the wooden bed clutching the thin quilt to cover herself, and grinned, revealing several yellow teeth: "Tonight wasn't bad, you served me well!"

Did he not know that offending the Blood Eagle Gang would lead to death?

"Moreover, this corpse will likely fall into my hands in the end; by then, perhaps..."

Because the Blood Eagle Gang was indeed difficult to deal with, their gang leader had a fairly close connection with the steward sent from the border city to manage the shack district.

Never mind the protection money for now; in any case, teach Du En a harsh lesson first!

The more he thought about it, the angrier and more frustrated he became.

It was also because of this sudden turn that he saw something flying toward him in the blind spot of his original position.

Was that... an earth pellet?

"Fu—"

Even though he was a member of the Blood Eagle Gang?

So, in the end, I was just afraid of getting shit on my fists!

With a thud, the corpse fell, and blood quickly spread.

"Good, good, good! I never expected that someone would actually dare to pull the tiger's whiskers! Go investigate! Go find them! I want to see who is so bold!"

Watching the man walk away, his shoulders shrugging as he walked as if anticipating something, the woman's expression gradually turned blank.

The wooden door slowly closed under the blowing night wind, blocking out the only light.

"Hmph! Let's see if he still dares to be so stubborn by then!"

"Mm, as long as he doesn't act like he did a few days ago, refusing a toast only to be forced to drink, heh—"

Erasing traces and hiding in the shadows is better than striking out violently to assassinate!

In the shattered eye on the side, shock and fear remained.

The once-composed face froze, with distortion and terror locked in place.

"Th-thank you for the praise, Master."

"... Indeed, never mind then, next time."

Suddenly, he thought of Du En out of the blue, thinking of that calm face and calm eyes.

"When dawn breaks and I see that brat come out, never mind the others, I'll charge straight up, give him two punches first, beat him up hard, and break an arm and a leg for starters!"

Upon receiving the notification, Branch Leader Zhang Lin, a spirit-field farmer who looked quite honest and simple, was originally transplanting rice seedlings in the paddy field; upon learning the news, he flew into a rage, his face turning ferocious.

Luo Heng imagined his plan.

"That brat spends all day boiling dung, likes boiling dung, does he? Fine, I'll go fetch two more buckets of the real thing, and when the time comes, I'll make him eat shit and see if he still dares to keep boiling it!"

Luo Heng would never admit that he had actually been intimidated by Du En's calmness and composure earlier, so now, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and with a turn of his feet, he set off to procure two buckets of stinking dung.

Walking on the road home, Luo Heng could not help but think hatefully.

Bang!

A fist-sized dirt clod smashed directly onto his forehead, immediately splashing up a beautiful spray of blood.

"Dad, Mom, over here, I really can't hold on much longer, why, why did it have to be like this..."

Unable to stop a yawn, he walked over and pulled open the wooden door, letting the light from the scattered torches outside shine into this shack.

Without any unnecessary hesitation, he turned around and moved away from the scene.

At the very least, he was still alive for now...

Luo Heng's mind trembled!

With a broken head and bleeding, his vision grew dim, and his magic power, amidst the painful wavering of his consciousness, could not be channeled, rendering it as good as non-existent.

Two lines of clear tears flowed down silently.

Thinking back on it now, he was stunned to discover that his attitude had actually been that of treating a dead man, a corpse that could still breathe!

The reputation and intimidation of the Blood Eagle Gang, just like its name, were paved with blood!

At this moment, moving one hair affected the whole body; the gang members who had already gone to work in various places, those who could be summoned, were all urgently called over, totaling less than ten people, to carry out the investigation in a great hurry.

They had only been granted leave for the morning!

(End of this chapter)