Chapter 5: Uneasy

Afternoon, dyed red.

Amidst a sound like tearing silk, half of the man’s throat, along with a large piece of flesh from his chest, was ripped off.

“Ah!”

The sudden attack, the fatal injury, and the intense pain did not defeat the man. Instead, they made him instinctively raise his hand to draw his gun.

But,

Ding Xie’s left hand was already clasped in reverse, firmly grabbing the opponent’s right arm.

His right hand, which had torn off a large piece of flesh from the opponent, smashed down towards the opponent’s face like a sledgehammer.

Bang!

Bang bang!

After three blows, the man’s right arm gradually lost strength, and his hand loosened.

Finally, he collapsed to the ground.

【Tiger Fist killed an unknown enemy, experience +100】

【Judged as combat, talent ‘Martial Star’ takes effect, experience increased by 100%!】

【Judged as rookie instance, experience increased by 100%】

【Experience +300】

…’Unknown enemy?

I don’t know this person, and the Martial Scholar Champion’s memory doesn’t have them, so it’s judged as unknown?

However, someone with a gun gives really high experience!

Two more, and I can level up!’

As the character Rank reached 2, 1000 experience points were needed to level up to the next Rank. After the previous level up, 30 experience points remained, and with the current 300 points, nearly one-third of the experience needed for the next Rank had been reached.

Ding Xie thought to himself, but his hands did not stop; he quickly began to loot the corpse.

The first thing Ding Xie found was the pistol.

To be precise, it was a revolver with a silver-plated, engraved barrel and an ivory-white grip.

【Name: peacemaker】

【Type: Firearm】

【Quality: Fine】

【Attribute: None】

【Effect: None】

【Requirement: Firearm 1】

【Can it be taken out of this instance: Yes】

【Note: This is a single-action revolver. If you want to spin the gun with flair, remember to only load 5 rounds.】

…Ding Xie gripped the gun handle. Under the unique tactile sensation, an inexplicable sense of security began to emerge from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, Ding Xie had a deeper understanding of the term ‘peacemaker’.

‘Equality for all beings?’

Ding Xie pulled off the opponent’s holster and tied it to his waist, inserting the peacemaker into it.

As for a Martial Scholar Champion using a gun?

If he doesn’t use a gun when he has one, how can he become a Grandmaster?

Without stopping, Ding Xie continued to loot the corpse.

The next moment, he pulled out three items from the inner pocket of the opponent’s long robe: a money bag, a key, and a folded piece of paper.

The money bag contained five silver dollars and two jiao of Broken silver.

The key, made of copper, was not only larger than ordinary keys but also had ‘Hong Kong Grand Hotel’ engraved in a fancy script on its handle.

On the other side of the key handle was the number 303.

But when Ding Xie carefully opened the folded paper, he was startled.

It was a bounty.

To be precise, it was a black market bounty.

Black market bounties, unlike the crude and public imperial wanted posters, were much more refined and circulated only within a small scope.

‘Zhang Yian, a Flying Thief, around twenty years old, injured left shoulder, often dresses as a Daoist, suspected to be from Iron Temple in Junfeng Mountain, after stealing from several Flower City magnates, he has infiltrated Hong Kong. Dead or alive, 500 silver dollars!’

Ding Xie’s gaze swept over the lifelike portrait on the bounty in his hand.

Finally, his eyes rested on the red flower pattern in the bottom left corner of the bounty.

It was the unique mark of the local black market.

It was called: Hongbao.

In the former martial arts champion’s memory, this detail existed.

However, the person on the bounty was not in his memory.

This made Ding Xie temporarily lose interest in the other party.

After folding the bounty and putting it into his pocket, Ding Xie’s gaze turned to the three main rooms of the second courtyard.

Ding Xie knew very well that what was inside was what he was looking forward to.

The impending spoils of war did not make Ding Xie drop his guard.

He stood outside the door, looking into the main hall.

After confirming that there was really no one inside, he stepped in.

The main hall served as a reception room, visible at a glance. Aside from tables, chairs, and teacups, there were only the calligraphy and paintings Jia Ren hung to feign elegance. The real spoils should be in the rooms on the east and west sides.

And soon, Ding Xie made a discovery.

He found a box on the bedroom beam in the east.

The box was wooden, about the size of a jewelry box, heavy in his hand, with a small lock. The key was under the pillow.

Click!

The key inserted into the small lock with a crisp sound, and the lock opened.

However, before opening the box, Ding Xie went around to the back.

The box opened, and no poisoned needles or Flying Daggers shot out.

Inside were only two rolls of silver dollars and some scattered silver dollars.

Each roll contained 50 silver dollars.

There were 22 scattered silver dollars.

Adding the 10 silver dollars previously found in Jia Ren’s money bag, the total was 132 silver dollars.

Suddenly, Ding Xie frowned.

132 silver dollars was definitely not a small amount in this era.

But,

It did not match the income of Jia Ren, the Dog Kennel Owner, from memory.

According to the former martial arts champion’s memory, this Dog Farm was definitely the largest underground boxing arena in the nearby neighborhood.

It was impossible for every match to be full, but there were many people every night.

The daily ticket money alone was a considerable income.

What’s more, Jia Ren also lent money at interest.

Let alone 132 silver dollars, it wouldn’t be excessive if this box was full of small gold bars.

With doubts in his heart, Ding Xie subconsciously looked at the room to the west.

Then, in the study’s curio shelf vase, Ding Xie found an account book.

The first page of the account book read: September, Year Yimao.

From the second page onwards, it contained detailed records—

Niu Dazhi, borrowed 3 silver dollars, unable to repay, entered the dog cage to box, died.

Li Tushun, borrowed 20 silver dollars, unable to repay, mortgaged wife and daughter.

Wang Youlin, borrowed 50 silver dollars, unable to repay, mortgaged house… Page after page of the account book told Ding Xie that the money Jia Ren handled was more than just this amount.

So where did the money go?

With doubts, Ding Xie turned to the last page of the account book in his hand.

11 boxers, boarded the ship.

16 women, boarded the ship.

‘Boarded the ship?

Human trafficking?

Even his own boxers are used to make up the numbers!’

Ding Xie narrowed his eyes.

In an instant, Ding Xie thought of many things.

It was clear that Jia Ren, this ‘Dog Kennel Owner,’ was also a Puppet pushed to the forefront, with someone behind him controlling everything.

Those who dared to traffic people, and could traffic people, were not ordinary individuals.

Especially, the other party was very organized: the account book was recorded monthly.

This indicated that the other party had already formed a system and scale.

Making an enemy of such people was something Ding Xie truly did not wish to see.

So… he had to kill them!

As for who the other party was?

This was not difficult for Ding Xie.

He just needed to wait quietly. The person behind Jia Ren, upon discovering that the Dog Farm was not operating, would definitely send people to investigate and inquire!

However, before that, he had to bring back the three corpses of Jia Ren, Ah Da, and Ah Er!

Otherwise, he would alert the enemy!

The sun set, and the moon rose high.

The daytime hustle and bustle had just faded.

The unique liveliness of the night began.

Between the buildings, music and singing were clearly audible.

Laughter and clinking glasses intertwined.

Graceful figures appeared and disappeared in the lamplight.

The rich had their joys.

Ordinary people also had their nights.

The Dog Farm was the first choice for ordinary people nearby.

People came to the Dog Farm courtyard in twos and threes.

Upon finding the courtyard gate tightly shut, most of them left disappointed.

A small number of people switched venues to continue their entertainment.

Without Jia Ren’s Dog Farm, there were still other people’s casinos, opium dens, and brothels.

And soon, the news about Jia Ren’s Dog Farm closing spread among these establishments.

Just an hour later, a person arrived at the Dog Farm’s gate.

Unlike those who had left disappointed after seeing the Dog Farm closed earlier.

This person went around to the side of the main gate, took a running start, and nimbly flipped over the courtyard wall.

After landing steadily on both feet, the newcomer crouched down, squinting to survey the situation inside the courtyard.

But, immediately, the newcomer froze.

Because—

A sharp dagger was pressed against his lower back.