Infinite Professions from a Pearl Collector
Chapter 28 - 26: Relentless Pursuit and Slit Throat

Chapter 28: Chapter 26: Relentless Pursuit and Slit Throat

PSH!

A spray of hot blood shot into the air.

The instant the blood splattered, Cheng Zhiwei ruthlessly pulled the trigger.

The moment the crossbow arrow was loosed, the figure seemed to sway slightly, making it impossible for her to tell if she had hit her mark.

She only saw Li Chunfeng’s head fly into the air and tumble to the ground. His headless torso swayed twice before crashing down.

After completing this shocking kill, the dark figure didn’t linger for a moment, turning and bolting into the distant darkness.

At the same time, Cheng Ming could no longer hold himself up. He collapsed heavily to the ground as blood gushed from his throat like a spring. His clouded eyes looked toward his granddaughter, as if he wanted to say something, but all he could manage was a hoarse gurgle.

Cheng Zhiwei’s vision turned red with rage.

She and Cheng Ming had depended on each other since she was a child. He was not just her grandfather, but also her master—her only family in this world.

And now, that family had died right before her eyes.

Heart-rending grief and overwhelming hatred instantly consumed all her reason.

She didn’t even go to look at her grandfather one last time. Instead, she threw caution to the wind and chased after the figure in the direction it had vanished.

Cheng Zhiwei was also incredibly fast. She pushed everything she had learned since childhood to its absolute limit.

She knew better than anyone that if she lost him, finding him again in the vast Capital City would be nearly impossible.

But the figure was too fast, too slippery.

Several times, Cheng Zhiwei thought she had lost him. But just as despair began to set in, the figure would flash past in the distance, as if deliberately baiting her.

Rage and hatred made her temporarily ignore how strange this was. She just lowered her head and chased blindly.

One chasing the other, they soon left the blazing Duke An’s Mansion, crossed the bustling streets, and headed south.

The scenery grew more and more desolate. Grand estates gave way to low-lying residences, and finally, even the blocks of homes vanished, replaced by sprawling, haphazardly built shantytowns that looked like giant scars on the land.

This was the most destitute corner of the Capital City. There wasn’t even a single decent lantern, only an impenetrable, heavy darkness.

By the time Cheng Zhiwei chased him to this desolate place, the faint, flickering figure ahead had finally vanished completely.

She stopped abruptly, leaning her back against a dilapidated earthen wall. Her chest heaved violently as she greedily gulped down the cold air.

A dead silence surrounded her, with only the sound of her own long, ragged breaths echoing in the darkness.

Cheng Zhiwei quickly realized she had fallen into a trap.

He must have lured her here on purpose, baiting her step-by-step from the Duke’s Mansion to this desolate spot.

But she felt no fear. Instead, she suddenly called out, "Since you have the guts to kill, why don’t you have the courage to show yourself?"

Her voice echoed through the empty shantytown, but there was no response.

Cheng Zhiwei wasn’t discouraged. She knew he had to be nearby, so she continued, "The Martial World hails you, the Stepping Moon Thief, as some kind of hero who robs the rich to help the poor and delivers justice for heaven. But from where I stand..."

She sneered. "You’re nothing but a bloodthirsty executioner, a coward who doesn’t even dare to show his face!"

She channeled all her rage and grief into vicious words, screaming them into the night.

Only when her voice had grown hoarse from cursing did a faint, cold laugh finally emerge from the dead-silent darkness.

The laugh seemed to skim along the ground, ethereal and directionless, making it impossible to pinpoint its location.

"You’re very angry, aren’t you?"

A voice, slightly hoarse yet unnaturally calm, spoke out.

Cheng Zhiwei froze.

"The man who died... he was your grandfather, wasn’t he?" the voice from the darkness continued, devoid of any emotion.

"Was he very important to you? Is that why you’re so angry?"

Every word was like a heavy hammer, striking Cheng Zhiwei’s heart.

"That’s right!" She gritted her teeth so hard she could taste blood. "You killed my grandfather with your own hands. I, Cheng Zhiwei, swear to the heavens that I will bring you to justice!"

"Heh..."

Another soft chuckle came from the darkness. He didn’t respond to her threat directly, instead posing a question of his own.

"Since you’re so furious about the loss of your family, let me ask you: the maids Li Chunfeng tortured and killed, the bystanders he ran down with his horse, the common women he abducted and violated... shouldn’t their families be even more furious?"

’This...’

Cheng Zhiwei never expected him to say that. For a moment, she was struck speechless.

But she recovered quickly, her conviction providing an immediate rebuttal. "That’s different! Even if Li Chunfeng’s crimes were monstrous, it wasn’t your place to judge him! The law should have decided his guilt!"

"The law?"

The voice in the darkness laughed, full of undisguised ridicule and contempt.

"How sanctimonious. I doubt even you believe that."

"Miss Cheng, do you see yourself as exceptionally righteous? A defender of justice and truth, while I’m just a thug who uses violence to break the rules?"

"Deep down, you might feel a shred of sympathy for the plight of the common people, but it’s just that—sympathy. In your bones, you still look down on them, don’t you? That’s why you use this so-called ’law’ to placate and restrain them, forcing them to learn to meekly accept their fate after being bullied and humiliated!"

This string of words was like a series of sharp daggers, piercing precisely into the deepest part of Cheng Zhiwei’s heart.

She was shaken to her core, lost in a momentary daze.

But the image of her grandfather’s brutal death immediately flashed before her eyes, crushing that flicker of doubt.

’No matter what, I will never let this person go!’

"You seem to have a point," Cheng Zhiwei said, deliberately slowing her tone as if she were being persuaded. "But is there anything that can’t be discussed calmly? Why did it have to come to this?"

At the same time, she quietly regulated her breathing, focusing her mind and spirit, trying to discern the direction of the voice. The repeating crossbow in her hand was already silently raised, aimed at a general location.

’Almost there!’

’I feel like I’m about to pinpoint the source of that voice!’

"Discuss things calmly?" The voice from the darkness was laced with amusement. "Now that Li Chunfeng is dead, and your grandfather is dead, *now* you think we should talk things over."

"But what about before? When those innocent people were dying horribly, where were all of you so-called defenders of justice?"

"I don’t know why you would think that," Cheng Zhiwei’s voice suddenly became firm and resonant, a tactic to mask her intention to pull the trigger.

"But rules are rules, and the law is the law! It cannot be questioned by anyone! If everyone acted like you, killing and sparing people based on their own whims, wouldn’t the world descend into chaos?"

"You think this world isn’t chaotic enough already?"

The voice in the darkness paused, as if letting out a sigh.

"You’re right. After all, people like you are born high and mighty, dressed in finery and fed on delicacies. How could you possibly see the mountains of bones beneath this ’era of peace,’ or hear the cries of blood and tears amid all the song and dance?"

"So, Miss Cheng..."

"...put away your condescending sympathy."

"You aren’t upholding the law. You’re just... aiding a tyrant!"

’Now!’

Cheng Zhiwei had finally locked onto his position—in the shadows of a ruined house to her front left.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she moved to pull the trigger!

But just then, she heard the faint sound of breathing from right behind her.

Every hair on Cheng Zhiwei’s body stood on end. She instinctively tried to turn and counterattack, but it was too late.

In an instant, she felt a sharp coldness on her neck, and then all the strength seemed to drain from her body.

Her repeating crossbow fell to the ground with a CLANG. Using the last of her strength, she clutched the tiny but fatal wound on her neck and managed to turn around.

And then, she saw him.

He was an exceedingly young man with a handsome, refined face and eyes as cold as autumn waters.

In his hand, he held a small knife as thin as a cicada’s wing.

A drop of blood slowly trickled down the blade’s tip and fell into the dust.

This was the first time she had seen the Stepping Moon Thief’s true face.

And... the last.