The clamorous gambling den was deliberately kept dim. Cultivators crowded around the gambling tables, shouting excitedly.

“Come on, come on! Bet big to win big, bet small to win small! Place your bets and step away!”

“Three sixes! Leopard! House wins all!”

“Hahaha! I’ve got the Supreme Treasure this round! Who can stop me!”

Many cultivators had flushed faces, clutching chips in their hands, their necks red as they stared at the gambling tools on the tables and yelled incessantly.

This was precisely the place Qin Lu had once frequented most—the Jishan Store.

The entire establishment was bustling, with everyone engaged in gambling.

Only one person was the exception.

He stood over 1.9 meters tall, with a large build. He stood by a second-floor window, idly playing with a chip in his hand, his gaze gloomy as he watched the flow of people outside.

This person was Fang Hu.

Just then, a middle-aged cultivator with a small mustache suddenly walked up to Fang Hu, patted his shoulder, and said cheerfully:

“Hey, Tiger, what are you staring at? I’ve noticed your expression has been off since this afternoon. What’s going on?”

The mustached cultivator was named He Liang, nicknamed Old Six He. He was an enforcer at the Jishan Store and was quite familiar with the regular customer Fang Hu.

Fang Hu turned around and gave a slight cupped-hand salute.

“Brother Six, you’re making fun of me. I accidentally saw an enemy passing by outside today, so I’m in a bit of a bad mood.”

“An enemy?”

He Liang frowned, shifting his stance to stand beside Fang Hu, and asked curiously, “Have you offended some big shot recently?”

“No, just a worthless little punk,” Fang Hu slowly shook his head.

He Liang stroked his chin, teasingly said:

“That’s strange then. Given your temperament, you usually settle scores without fail. Why are you moping around here, not daring to go cause trouble for him?”

Mentioning this, Fang Hu couldn’t help but recall his two brothers who had died miserably on the street that day, and his expression grew even darker.

He never could have imagined that the ambush that day would end with two of his own side dead, while that Qin Lu emerged completely unscathed. It was utterly bizarre.

Qin Lu’s inexplicable attack methods had scared his elder brother out of his wits, leaving him too terrified to even consider further retaliation.

Seeing Fang Hu’s shifting expression, He Liang ventured a guess:

“What, is this kid’s cultivation very high?”

“No, he’s only at the second layer of Qi Refining. It’s just…” Fang Hu paused, his face turning somewhat awkward, his voice lacking confidence as he continued, “It’s just that he somehow learned a few strange techniques. They’re quite powerful, so he’s a bit troublesome to deal with…”

“Second layer of Qi Refining?!”

He Liang swept a skeptical gaze over Fang Hu’s entire body. “No way, Tiger. A kid like that has you stumped? How long has it been since you last trained?”

Fang Hu scratched his head, his face full of embarrassment. It was truly shameful.

A mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator unable to handle an early-stage one—if word got out, he’d definitely become a laughingstock.

But Fang Hu paused, suddenly remembering something, and spoke up:

“Oh, right. Brother Six, you should know this person too. He used to come here to gamble often.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

“It’s that Qin Lu, the one nicknamed Devouring Sky Python.”

“Who?!”

He Liang let out an involuntary shout, his face filled with shock.

Fang Hu was somewhat bewildered, finding He Liang’s reaction strange, and stammered:

“Q-Qin Lu.”

“Qin Big Mouth…” He Liang lowered his head, his expression shifting unpredictably, his thoughts racing. “How is this possible? It can’t be…”

“What’s wrong, Brother Six?” Fang Hu asked curiously.

At that moment, He Liang promptly regained his composure, immediately plastering a smile on his face. He reached out and patted Fang Hu’s shoulder, saying:

“It’s nothing. Oh, I have some matters to attend to. You enjoy yourself here.”

With that, He Liang turned and left directly, leaving behind a thoroughly puzzled Fang Hu.

……

On the third floor of the Jishan Store, inside an inner room.

The room was decorated simply and elegantly. A large redwood desk stood in the center, and seated behind it was a middle-aged man with a hooked nose. He was holding a brush, making strokes on a sheet of xuan paper.

Just then, He Liang walked in from outside, casually closing the door behind him. He walked up to the hook-nosed man and said solemnly:

“Manager, I have something to report.”

The hook-nosed man put down his brush, looked directly at He Liang, and said calmly:

“What is it?”

He Liang hesitated. “It’s like this… that Qin Big Mouth who offended you some time ago has appeared again…”

“Appeared again?”

The hook-nosed man glanced at He Liang and said softly, “What do you mean? Didn’t you say that day you had sneaked into his house and finished him off? How is he appearing now?”

“Right! I find it strange too! I clearly remember strangling him to death. But… today someone said they saw him again, alive and well…”

“Hmph!” The hook-nosed man snorted coldly, his tone unfriendly.

“Then what is there to say! You must have botched the job that day, letting him slip through! Sixth, your work has been getting sloppier and sloppier lately!”

“But… that day after I acted, I checked his breathing. I confirmed he was dead before I returned…”

He Liang’s voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, clearly lacking confidence in his own explanation.

“Enough.”

The hook-nosed man cut off He Liang’s words, his voice cold and severe. “He’s just an ignorant kid who doesn’t know his place. Since he wasn’t cleaned up properly, just kill him again! You handle this. Make sure not to cause any more trouble!”

“Yes!”

He Liang immediately cupped his hands in acknowledgment, his eyes filled with fierce killing intent.

Just as He Liang was about to take his leave and exit the room, the hook-nosed man suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out to stop him.

“Wait!”

“What other instructions does the Manager have?” He Liang asked.

“I almost forgot. Hasn’t there been a petty thief in the market recently?”

“Yes. This petty thief has been stealing in the market every night lately, taking Spirit Stones from quite a few shops.”

“And recently, has the Wuji Sect been investigating strictly?”

“Well… they’ve added several more patrol teams. The night patrols have been significantly strengthened.”

“In that case…” the hook-nosed man said in a low, deep voice, “then don’t act rashly on this matter for now. If we get expelled from the market because of this, the loss would outweigh the gain…”

“What should we do then?”

The hook-nosed man thought for a moment and asked:

“That day when you went to kill him, did he see your face?”

He Liang shook his head. “No. I used knockout smoke to render him unconscious before entering. He doesn’t know who did it.”

“Good. This kid still owes us Spirit Stones. Use that as a reason to approach him. If you can recover the money, do so. If not, then secretly find an opportunity to…”

The hook-nosed man made a chopping motion with his hand, his expression cold and severe.

“Yes!” He Liang immediately responded.

==========