Outside the window.
Lin Zheyu took a deep breath.
He hid his body in the darkness.
He reached into his coat, pulled out black brass knuckles, and slipped them onto his fingers.
Brass knuckles, also known as iron fists, knuckle dusters, or iron four fingers, are weapons specifically for fist skills, enhancing the destructive power of punches when fitted onto fingers.
People, he's killed them before.
When he was mixed in with refugees, Lin Zheyu took out more than one guy who wanted to steal his food.
Now that he knew these guys planned to harm him, Lin Zheyu couldn't let them off.
Lin Zheyu clenched his fist, his mood somewhat complicated.
He just wanted to live a stable and peaceful life, with no conflicts.
Yet this world is so cruel; if you don't take the initiative to harm others, you'll be targeted yourself.
The people inside finished talking about their plans in secret, didn't leave immediately, and took out some alcohol to drink.
In the Outer City, houses aren't as densely packed as in the Inner City.
Houses are quite far apart, and some are even surrounded by fields, a lone house in the middle.
The moon rose, the breeze gusted.
It was already winter, the weather a bit cold, but with Lin Zheyu's current physique, he didn't feel it much.
The three of them drank into the deep of night, then staggered out of the house.
These guys had quite a good tolerance; after drinking so long, they were only mildly tipsy, their walk slightly wobbly.
This house seemed to be their temporary base; after drinking and chatting, they each headed home.
"One at a time, deal with the weaker two first, then take down the big guy."
Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
He quietly followed the weakest one, dealt with him at the fastest speed possible, and then followed the other two.
"Damn, it's still cold after drinking. I need more clothes."
"Once we rob that kid, we'll have money for warm clothes."
Wen Biao walked down the path, smirking and mumbling.
His personality was somewhat timid, greedy for Lin Zheyu's silver taels, yet afraid of accidents.
Burp—
After a hiccup from the alcohol, Wen Biao felt much better.
Under the moonlight, a shadow swiftly approached him.
"What is..."
Wen Biao saw the shadow, his mind hadn't processed yet, and the brass-knuckled fist crashed into his temple.
The powerful force made Wen Biao dizzy, the sharp protrusions on the brass knuckles pierced into his temple.
He opened his mouth trying to call for help, but no sound came out, a cold, coarse hand covered his mouth.
Lin Zheyu's left hand firmly covered Wen Biao's mouth, holding him tightly to his chest, while his right hand punched quickly at his temple.
After three consecutive punches, it went quiet in his arms, Lin Zheyu finally stopped, blood stained his fists and clothes red.
Looking at the silent corpse, his arm trembled slightly, his eyes showed a glint of determination.
In this chaotic world, good people don't live long.
"Whew—"
With another long exhale, Lin Zheyu subdued the emotions in his heart.
He moved his feet, quickly chased after in another direction.
Since he decided to act, he had to deal with all potential threats to him.
Lin Zheyu didn't want to be constantly targeted by sewer rats.
On the other side, Yanling was a bit tipsy, wobbling while walking home under the moonlight.
"Going home late will have the wife nagging again."
"What does a woman know, it's tough to make money in this hard world; if this job succeeds, it'll last for a year or so."
Yanling murmured, venting his pent-up frustration.
He stood by a ditch, took out his thing, and relieved himself.
After drinking heavily, nature called.
With a shudder, Yanling muttered, "Why has it gotten dark?"
Boom—
Glug glug—
A huge pain hit from the forehead, Yanling fell into the ditch, struggling to get up but pinned down by a strong hand.
Bubbles gurgled out from the ditch, the struggle ceased in a moment.
These two were just ordinary people, lacking martial skills, not even as robust as Lin Zheyu; he dealt with them effortlessly.
"One left."
Lin Zheyu coldly looked at the motionless man in the foul ditch.
We had no quarrel, but since you targeted me, you deserve to die!
He did not rush to clean up the scene; delayed by these two, Gao Yu had walked a distance already.
Lin Zheyu stepped hard, sending splinters of mud flying.
Among the three, only Gao Yu had relatively stronger capabilities.
A sturdy guy, standing 1.83 meters tall, from a hunter background, practiced basic martial skills as a child, but abandoned them as he grew up.
"Heh heh…"
Gao Yu walked down the road, chuckled, hummed a tune, feeling good.
Found a fat sheep to easily take down, once this job completes, he can live leisurely for some time.
"That kid is quite a talent, if I could control him to earn money for me, it'd be great."
Gao Yu mumbled, but knew it was unlikely.
Shh shh shh.
The cold wind blew past, trees rustled with shushing sounds.
Gao Yu tightened his clothes, picked up his pace a bit.
Late night, best to head back, his wife at home had already warmed the bed for him.
Whoosh—
A shadow swept by, its motion hidden by the whistling cold wind.
Combined with the alcohol, Gao Yu didn't notice the unusual presence.
Gao Yu turned a corner, passed by some civilian houses, walked a dozen meters forward, all around fell silent.
It was then, Lin Zheyu lunged out.
The brass-knuckled fist aimed at Gao Yu's temple, where the body is weak, a fatal attack can cause dizziness at best, or instant death at worst.
Bang!
Gao Yu lost his balance, fell to the ground.
As someone from a hunter background, with experiences battling beasts, Gao Yu managed to kick at the approaching Lin Zheyu while struggling.
Lin Zheyu sidestepped, embraced Gao Yu's foot, using his body weight, pressed hard onto his head.
A crunching sound came, Gao Yu's foot was snapped by Lin Zheyu.
The pain delayed by a few seconds due to the alcohol; when Gao Yu opened his mouth wide to scream out, a coarse hand tightly covered him.
Bam bam bam—
Relentless punches landed on Gao Yu's forehead, within a few moments, he stopped breathing.
Lin Zheyu sat on the ground, breathing heavily, trying to calm the indescribable feelings inside.
This was his first proactive kill; back when he was a refugee, his actions were always defensive for survival.
He didn't dawdle long, Lin Zheyu quickly stood up.
"Hurry and clean up."
Although he knew it wasn't likely the murder here would be traced back to him, better to deal with it for safety's sake.
He hauled up Gao Yu's body, found a deserted area and dumped the bodies in the wild.
"So poor, they don't even have a hundred copper coins on them."
Lin Zheyu held the silver taels scavenged from their bodies, shook his head somewhat.
...
Back at home, Lin Zheyu lit a fire, burned the blood-stained clothes.
He went to the yard, washed his body several times, yet still felt as if his body was stained with the blood of his kind.
Having lived the peaceful life of his previous world for too long, received decades of civilized education, accepting the notion of lives being worthless and killing without psychological burden, he couldn't do it.
Lin Zheyu lay down to sleep, couldn't sleep, got up to shower, repeated several times until he finally fell asleep late at night.
Cluck cluck cluck—
Morning.
The crowing of a rooster with a rough voice woke the sleeping Lin Zheyu.
He hazily opened his eyes, took the blanket, and continued his sleep.
Slept till afternoon.
Yawn—
Lin Zheyu yawned as he arrived at the Bidan Tea House.
"Kid, did you go to Baihua Tower yesterday? You look lacking spirit." Mr. Wo teased.
"I miss home, didn't sleep well last night." Lin Zheyu replied.
Last night he had nightmares all night, chaotic and irregular, didn't sleep well at all.
"It's still early, why not sleep a bit more?" Mr. Wo suggested.
"Alright, wake me up when it's time."
Lin Zheyu didn't refuse, he indeed needed more rest.
...