Chapter 30: A Hundred Martial Arts—This Is Road Roller Iai!

After haggling, Feng Xue purchased the scroll housing the spirit ghost for 47 guan and 300 wen, taking with him the full set of accessories the shopkeeper had thrown in, before leaving the antique shop named "Mo Yu Xuan."

He rarely came to the port city, but Feng Xue had no intention of staying long; though this city felt more real than Ping'an County, that very realism made him want to leave sooner.

But night was falling, and returning home meant traveling by road after dark—just as Feng Xue wrestled with whether to ride back to the county under cover of night or simply book a hotel room for the evening, someone else made the choice for him—

There was no standard confrontation, no warning clash—only three broad-shouldered men in black suits standing shoulder to shoulder before him, their cold expressions instantly radiating malice.

"You look pretty new here? Just arrived in the port city?"

A voice, casually spoken yet laced with chill, came from a thin-faced man who appeared scholarly but whose eyes gleamed with malice; he strolled forward, hands in his pockets, striding with unshakable arrogance.

No introduction was needed—pedestrians on the sidewalk instantly veered away, and the street, previously crowded from evening rush hour, instantly became an "island" of solitude.

"I came to the city for some business, and I'm leaving now," Feng Xue said calmly, his fingertips lightly tracing the ring on his finger; with a glance over his shoulder, he noted the lifespans of the three giants hovered around 14,500, while the middle-aged man's lifespan had dwindled to just 6,000.

"He's probably not a martial artist, but thugs in big cities often carry guns."

Feng Xue weighed his options, yet still checked whether the lock before his own lifespan remained sealed.

The short-lived middle-aged man showed no surprise at Feng Xue's answer—or rather, he didn't care what Feng Xue said; his gaze swept over Feng Xue's clothing and the faint gleam of a "gold watch" on his wrist, then he smiled:

"You came all the way into the city only to leave so soon? What a waste. Brother's treat—let me show you the real fun of the port city."

"No thanks," Feng Xue stepped left, as if to sidestep them—but the three giants moved in perfect unison, blocking every possible escape route.

"So you're planning to rob me outright?" Feng Xue frowned. The man laughed:

"The Port Head Gang invites you to be our guest—you refuse, and you insult us. In this world, reputation is everything. You disrespect us, then we…"

"Oh, fine then!" Feng Xue pulled off his ring and tossed it toward the nearest giant—just as the man reached out to catch it, Feng Xue suddenly spoke:

"You look like a road roller!"

"Wha—"

The man, utterly baffled by the six-character phrase delivered in a single breath, barely had time to retort when a thunderous boom erupted, smoke billowed, and within moments, the stench of blood spread thickly across the street.

The smoke vanished almost instantly—but the next instant, the man calling himself Port Head Gang saw a massive vehicle that had appeared out of nowhere, while his three bodyguards were gone, leaving only pools of blood oozing beneath steel treads to indicate their fate.

"A hundred martial arts—this is Road Roller Iai!"

"You're going to kill yourself! Can't you use a cleaner method? This is filthy!"

Liu Yunxi's clear voice cut through Feng Xue's words; normally, thugs would have chased after such a sweet tone to flirt with a girl—but now, the thug who had been so confident a moment ago lay slumped on the ground.

Feng Xue reached out and pressed his hand against the road roller, his eyes narrowing sharply:

"You look like a Taser!"

The road roller shrank instantly; Feng Xue, having practiced this move countless times, seized the grip—and two electrode needles shot out, sending the thug collapsing to the ground in full paralysis.

"Still trying dirty tricks?" Feng Xue bent down, picked up a very old-model pistol from the ground, and raised its muzzle toward the thug's forehead.

The muzzle swayed left and right; the thug's darting eyes pleaded for mercy, but his body, fully paralyzed, gave no response.

Even if he begged, it would mean nothing—because Feng Xue's wavering muzzle wasn't hesitating.

He had just discovered another use for his Golden Finger.

The instant he had thought of tossing the ring, the lifespans of the three giants had begun plummeting—and he had thrown the ring precisely when all three hit their lowest point simultaneously.

The result was perfect: all three giants were completely covered by the road roller, with zero chance of recovery.

This made him realize a problem he had long known but never paid attention to—without using 【Ding Tian Ming】, lifespans fluctuate.

Illness shortens them; healing restores them—but now it seemed…

"Bang!"

He pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into the thug's shoulder, causing his body to jerk—his hovering lifespan stabilized.

"So if I don't shoot when the lifespan hits zero, it won't kill instantly—or rather, because this shot can't kill instantly, his lifespan didn't drop to zero?"

Thinking this through, Feng Xue fired again—this time, no doubt: the lifespan hovering at 1 froze, then instantly dropped to zero.

He carefully ejected each bullet, tossed the gun carelessly onto the ground, ignored the corpse with its shattered skull, stepped around the blood and flesh sludge, and murmured:

"You look like a bicycle."

"Bang!"

A white bicycle appeared before him; Feng Xue pedaled the small pedals and vanished into the bustling city.

Actually, if this could turn directly into a motorcycle, the aesthetic would be cooler and the speed much faster—but who could he blame? He'd just crippled Bai She!

Bai She had only cultivated for three days; even though she'd regained nearly a year's worth of previous cultivation, her demonic energy might power a small shock—but to power a motorcycle ride for dozens of miles? Pure fantasy.

Pedaling hard, Feng Xue sped swiftly out of the city along the road he'd taken to arrive, his mind already turning to what to do next.

Killing wasn't something he regretted; as someone who'd gambled his nine extra years of lifespan, he'd prepared himself mentally the moment he decided to cross over—but the aftermath was the problem.

Gangs are bloodsuckers; without sufficient power, whether he surrendered or had Bai She beat them all up, more trouble would follow—better to eliminate them outright—giving himself more reaction time.

But he couldn't stay in the port city, and Ping'an County might not be safe either; after a moment's thought, he made his decision…

As a primordial Anti-Contradiction Holy Body, I anticipate someone will say the plot contrivances are too forced, the villains too obvious—but the appearance of these thugs isn't coincidence; it's foreshadowed.

Long ago, when I mentioned renting a room in Yazi, I casually noted the port city had gangs.

The real foreshadowing was at the rickshaw stand: three drivers stood up, but after noticing one of them, the other two sat back down—this showed that the rickshaw driver who took the fare had some background, not much, or he wouldn't be pulling a rickshaw, but enough to deter others from competing for his customers.

That driver saw the protagonist enter the antique shop, and combined with his solitary presence and apparent unfamiliarity with local roads during the ride, concluded he was likely an outsider.

Hence the thugs blocked his path.

In fact, the moment the protagonist chose to hail a rickshaw upon entering the city, encountering thugs was inevitable—and his personality guaranteed he'd fight back. This wasn't random; it was highly probable.

Twenty years ago, places like train stations in some cities still had similar situations: many tricycle drivers and taxi operators were tied to organized crime; they'd spot outsiders with money and alert their superiors to rob them—though their methods were subtler: cutting gold chains, staged accidents, classic tactics.

These details are meant for readers to deduce themselves, but since many now refuse to think, and others immediately argue, I'll explain here to preserve reading experience. After all, this is a minor subplot with no sequel—over-elaborating would just feel padded.

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(End of Chapter)