This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 31 - 24: Still Have to Thank Him

Chapter 31: Chapter 24: Still Have to Thank Him

Late at night.

At the entrance of Peace Lane, two burly men propped each other up, reeking of alcohol.

"Pocky, I’m wasted. Hang on, I gotta take a leak."

One of the burly men let go of his companion and staggered to the base of a wall. He undid his belt and started pissing against the corner. PSSSHHH.

"Hurry up, it’s freezing," the other man urged, hunching his shoulders and stamping his feet.

"What’s the rush? It’s not like there’s a woman waiting for you."

The man taking a leak mumbled, but just as he was shaking off the last drop, he heard a heavy thud from behind.

He instinctively turned his head. The sight made his hair stand on end, instantly sobering him up.

His companion lay stiff on the ground, completely motionless.

Just as the man opened his mouth to shout, a dark figure lunged from the shadows, punching him square in the gut.

BANG!

The punch sent the man flying backward. He slammed into the wall, and before he could slide down, a hand clamped around his throat, pinning him in place.

In the moonlight, a young face appeared before him, its eyes as cold as winter ice.

"I ask, you answer." Lin Yan’s voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable, oppressive weight. "Scream, and you die."

The man nodded desperately.

"Are you from the Three Heroes Gang?"

The man nodded.

"Which one of your Vice Gang Leaders is trying to use a pregnant woman to change his luck?"

"It’s Vice... Vice Gang Leader Zhao!" The man spilled everything almost without hesitation, his voice trembling violently. "Vice Gang Leader Zhao failed his breakthrough to Second-Time Skin Smoothing twice. He heard that finding a pregnant woman could change his luck."

"Where is he planning on finding a pregnant woman? If you dare lie to me, you die!"

"Vice Gang Leader Zhao first planned to look in the brothels, but none of the girls there were pregnant. While they could have arranged for one, it would have taken too long. Vice Gang Leader Zhao couldn’t wait, so he decided to search for pregnant women in the territories controlled by the gang..."

"Where does he live? How many people are with him?"

"Willow Lane, the third house. There are two locust trees at the entrance. He... he lives alone."

A glimmer of hope appeared in the man’s eyes. "Sir, I’ve told you everything you asked, everything I know. Could you possibly..."

"I can."

The word had barely left his lips before the hand on the man’s throat tightened abruptly.

CRACK.

With the faint sound of a snapping bone, Lin Yan released his grip. The man’s head lolled to the side, and he slumped to the ground.

"Grant you a swift end."

Lin Yan turned and pulled the other man up from the ground. He had only knocked him unconscious, not dealt a fatal blow. Pressing a finger to the man’s philtrum, he brought him around.

"S-Sir, spare my life."

The man, now conscious, saw his companion lying dead on the ground and felt the stranger’s grip on him. He began to tremble uncontrollably.

"I ask, you answer. Scream, and you die."

...

A short while later, Lin Yan had tied the two corpses to stones and thrown them into the river. He also had a few more silver coins in his hand.

According to the two men from the Three Heroes Gang, their Vice Gang Leader, Zhao Kui, was indeed planning to target pregnant women in the nearby lanes. He had already selected his targets and was merely waiting a few days to act.

His mentor’s daughter-in-law was not on Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s list of targets.

Selfishly, Lin Yan could have just ignored the matter. He was now at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing realm. All he needed to do was go to the Martial Arts Hall, get his new disciple uniform, and pay a visit to his mentor’s home. After that, Zhao Kui would never dare to lay a hand on his mentor’s daughter-in-law.

’But that wasn’t what he wanted to do.’

Back in Tingchun Pavilion, the moment he learned a Vice Gang Leader of the Three Heroes Gang was targeting pregnant women, killing intent had sparked within him.

’If I couldn’t win, that would be one thing.’

’But now that I know I can beat him, and since the Three Heroes Gang controls the very area where I live, there’s no way I can let a monster like that continue to exist.’

’If I don’t kill men like him, I’ll never know a moment’s peace!’

As Mengzi once said: To prey upon the pregnant is to be less than human.

...

The third house on Willow Lane was brightly lit, despite the late hour.

"Vice Gang Leader Zhao, something big has happened at the gang! The Gang Leader has summoned you urgently."

Lin Yan stood outside the door, his voice deliberately lowered to imitate the rough speech of a gang member.

Footsteps approached from within, accompanied by an impatient grumble. "The middle of the night? What could possibly be so important..."

Lin Yan crouched slightly, coiling power into his right fist. He waited only for the bolt to slide open to unleash a devastating strike.

But in the instant the footsteps halted behind the door, the hair on Lin Yan’s neck bristled. A potent sense of danger shot up his spine. Without the slightest hesitation, he twisted at the waist and threw himself into a roll to the right.

BAM!

With a muffled thud, the door was pierced. The tip of a thick-backed saber, glinting coldly, stabbed through the wood, just barely scraping past Lin Yan’s clothes.

"I’ve been in this game for years, and I just saw the Gang Leader today. Do you take me for a fucking idiot?"

As his voice fell, the door was thrown open. Zhao Kui stepped out, long saber in hand. His narrow, triangular eyes glinted viciously as he looked Lin Yan up and down.

"Just you?"

Zhao Kui sneered and visibly relaxed. He advanced on Lin Yan, saber at the ready. "Can’t even pull off a proper ambush, and you’re still trying to play the part with a mask. I’m dying to see what kind of idiot sent you..."

Halfway through his taunt, Zhao Kui suddenly lunged forward, his saber slashing horizontally!

The blade whistled through the air, heavy and powerful.

It seemed like a disdainful, reckless attack, but it was a calculated strike.

Lin Yan twisted to the side, taking two quick steps back to evade the blow.

As his blade met empty air, a flicker of surprise crossed Zhao Kui’s eyes, quickly replaced by an even more savage grin. "Quick on your feet, aren’t you? Too bad..."

His Saber Momentum shifted, and he brought the blade down in a vertical chop aimed right at Lin Yan’s head!

He put his full power into this strike. Before the blade even connected, the sheer pressure of the wind it created was suffocating.

Lin Yan’s expression remained calm. This was his first time facing an armed opponent. As Zhao Kui’s blade descended, his body tensed like a drawn bowstring. He burst forward with a speed he hadn’t shown before, sidestepping the blade and driving his right fist up into Zhao Kui’s wrist.

CRACK!

The sharp sound of a snapping wrist bone was unmistakable.

The saber flew from his hand, tumbling through the air.

"You... You’re a Second-Time..."

Zhao Kui’s pupils shrank. A scream of agony tore from his throat, but before he could finish his words, Lin Yan’s left fist followed.

It slammed heavily into his chest.

SPURT!

Zhao Kui was sent flying backward, slamming into the courtyard wall with enough force to shake dust loose. Before he could even slide to the ground, Lin Yan was on him, a second and a third punch hammering the same spot on his chest.

THUD! THUD!

Each blow landed with the dull thud of a drumbeat.

Blood poured from Zhao Kui’s mouth as his chest visibly caved in.

After three punches, Zhao Kui’s head slumped to the side. He was dead.

Even as he died, he couldn’t understand. ’Why would a Powerhouse at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing Realm need to use a sneak attack against a mere Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist?’

’In terms of pure strength, Zhao Kui was far weaker than me, even with his saber. His speed and power couldn’t compare. And that gap only widened when I used my Stone Waist Barbarian Spine Root Bone.’

Lin Yan reviewed the battle in his mind as he dragged Zhao Kui’s corpse back into the courtyard.

’The only reason it wasn’t over instantly was that Zhao Kui saw through my ploy, catching me by surprise. That, and the fact he had a long saber, which did throw me off balance. It was why I had to retreat at the beginning.’

’It had nothing to do with my power, just a pure lack of combat experience.’

But it was a good wake-up call for Lin Yan. He couldn’t underestimate the Martial Artists of this world. Gang leaders like Zhao Kui had survived by the skin of their teeth, living a life of constant danger. They had undoubtedly seen and survived plenty of ambushes and plots.

Fifteen minutes later, Lin Yan finished cleaning up the scene, a look of disappointment on his face.

’Are all these gangsters this poor? Zhao Kui’s entire net worth was just sixty taels of silver.’

’Looks like I misjudged Zhou Wu from the Black Tiger Gang. Compared to Zhao Kui, and Cao Peng from the Qingshui Gang, Zhou Wu was a wealthy man.’

What Lin Yan didn’t know was that Zhao Kui, having failed his breakthrough twice and preparing for a third attempt, had already spent all his money.

「The next day.」

Wei Hai, Gang Leader of the Three Heroes Gang, and Liu Song, the Vice Gang Leader, stood in the courtyard, their faces grim as they stared at Zhao Kui’s corpse on the ground.

"Judging from the wounds on Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s body, the killer is clearly an expert in fist techniques. I’d wager they have at least a decade of practice."

The middle-aged man, having finished his examination of Zhao Kui’s corpse, looked up and gave his conclusion to Wei Hai and Liu Song.

"Forensic Doctor Zhou, can you identify the Fist Technique?"

"I can’t tell."

"Thank you for your trouble, Forensic Doctor Zhou."

Wei Hai cut Liu Song off before he could press further, taking out a silver ingot and handing it over.

"It’s no trouble. I just do the work I’m paid for."

After watching Forensic Doctor Zhou depart, Liu Song said resentfully, "Big Brother, it’s obvious that Forensic Doctor Zhou wasn’t telling the whole truth."

"And so what if he was?"

Wei Hai’s retort left Liu Song stunned. Then, a thought seemed to strike him. "Big Brother, what are you saying? We’re not going to avenge Second Brother?"

"Avenge him?"

Wei Hai gave a bitter smile. "The killer is undoubtedly a Powerhouse at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing realm, has practiced fist techniques for over a decade, and can make Forensic Doctor Zhou give up on earning more money just to avoid telling the truth. With all that, what kind of background do you think we’re dealing with?"

Liu Song fell silent. After a long pause, he managed to utter a few words: "A noble disciple from a Martial Arts Hall!"

Of all the Martial Artists in the county, only a Martial Arts Academy Disciple—and a wealthy, noble one at that—would have the luxury to focus solely on their fists. Martial Artists like them, who had to take up posts or find other ways to acquire Martial Arts Resources, would always learn to use a weapon.

No matter how powerful one’s fists were, before reaching the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, you would always be at a disadvantage against a Martial Artist of the same Realm wielding a weapon.

"Third Brother, these are turbulent times. This was most likely a personal grudge between Second Brother and that individual. There’s no reason for our Three Heroes Gang to get involved."

Wei Hai had made his decision, and Liu Song offered no rebuttal. The facts were plain to see.

If a Powerhouse at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing Realm from a noble family truly wanted to target the Three Heroes Gang, Second Brother wouldn’t have been the only one assassinated last night.

The fact that the killer only targeted Zhao Kui showed that he wasn’t interested in collateral damage. In a way, they should be grateful to this person for being so clear-cut about his grievances.

...

「Yang Family Martial Arts Hall.」

Yang Qingfeng looked at the disciple before him and asked coolly, "Who do you think it was?"

"Master, according to Forensic Doctor Zhou’s analysis, the person has at least ten years of practice with the Mountain-Splitting Fist and is at the Second-Time Skin Smoothing realm. The only ones who fit those two conditions are Junior Brother Wang and Junior Brother Fang. However, Junior Brother Wang is not in the city, which means the only one it could be is Junior Brother Fang."

Hao Jingnian offered his judgment. As one of only two Third-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists at the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, Hao Jingnian held a position at the Inspection Bureau. Because the killer had used the Mountain-Splitting Fist, Forensic Doctor Zhou—who had dared to hide this fact from Wei Hai—had made a special trip to inform Hao Jingnian.

"Forensic Doctor Zhou told me this to get on my good side. Zhao Kui was a gangster who caused nothing but trouble. In killing him, Junior Brother Fang has rid the public of a menace."

Yang Qingfeng didn’t comment immediately. Instead, he asked, "Where is the Three Heroes Gang’s territory?"

"The Three Heroes Gang’s original territory was in West City, but the Four Seas Gang forced them to retreat to North City. They now control Willow Lane, Peace Lane, Willow Lane, and Daping Street."

"I understand," Yang Qingfeng said. "Let this matter drop. There is no need to investigate it further."

"Yes, Master."

Hao Jingnian readily agreed. He wasn’t surprised by his master’s attitude. No matter which of his junior brothers had killed Zhao Kui, he knew their master would never find fault with them for it.

’In fact, if the Three Heroes Gang dared to pursue this, he, as their senior brother, would have no choice but to step in and tie up the loose ends for his junior.’