Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

Chapter 25: Chapter 23: The Worth of a Life

As the saying goes, robbing someone of their livelihood is like murdering their parents.

A coffin blocking the door.

It was a declaration of a fight to the death.

The bloodstains on the ground had yet to fade. The old man’s only son and his beloved disciple had both lost their lives in this very alley.

Now, he was all alone, his gaunt figure radiating a desolate sorrow.

His voice was cold, demanding nothing but justice!

Zhang Zhongping no longer seemed like the master of the Hongyun Martial Arts Hall. Instead, he looked like a pitiful old man whose entire family had been slaughtered by a gang, with only a heart full of vengeance remaining.

Under these circumstances, even if men from the Government Office arrived, they would likely find it difficult to interfere.

Who could stop an old man like him from avenging his son?

Would they dare to side with the Black Water Gang?

Zhang Zhongping had staked everything on this single gambit and could not afford the slightest mistake. He had even factored that young Purple Flood Dragon Constable into his calculations!

”...”

The main gate of the Magpie’s Nest was ajar.

Only Jin Gui, who happened to be sweeping the floor, was caught. She stood frozen in place before the Grand Martial Artist.

Her legs grew weak with fear. She had wanted to retreat inside like the other women and let Master Lin handle the matter.

But when she heard the heartfelt cry of ”a life for a life”...

Jin Gui suddenly recalled her own wretched state on the day Zhang Ci had come—how she had shrieked and wailed in despair.

She swallowed, her throat dry, and turned back, trembling. In a voice laced with confusion, she asked, ”If you understand that principle, then why did you let your own son murder two of us for no reason at all?”

Jin Gui was nothing more than an ordinary Brothel Madam.

Facing such a renowned Grand Martial Artist, it was a feat for her to be able to speak at all.

So her voice was low, and her tone was soft.

So soft it hardly sounded like an accusation.

But her words made a muscle in Zhang Zhongping’s cheek twitch.

A deep, violent anger instantly filled his eyes.

The old man lifted his head in disbelief, as if he had suffered a great insult. His voice turned sharp.

”You dare compare the worthless life of a whore to my son’s?!”

As he spoke, the powerful aura emanating from Zhang Zhongping’s body unconsciously surged forth.

The overwhelming pressure made Jin Gui’s face turn deathly pale. In that moment, she understood why some lives were considered noble and others worthless.

The expressions of the onlookers changed abruptly, and they scrambled to back away.

It was rumored that Grand Martial Artists were formidable, but only by experiencing their power firsthand could one know just how much those rumors fell short.

They were certain that if they were the fox from the Magpie’s Nest, they would never show themselves to face him alone.

It was just too terrifying.

CLAP. CLAP.

The sudden sound of clapping served as a response to Zhang Zhongping’s question on Jin Gui’s behalf.

”Well said.”

A young man in a long robe strolled down the stairs, clapping his hands appreciatively.

He walked past the trembling Jin Gui and stepped over the threshold.

”...”

The moment Lin Shu stepped out, Zhang Zhongping’s eyes narrowed. The body beneath his loose robes tensed instantly as he stared fixedly at the young man.

He tried to detect the scent of weakness that was supposed to be on him.

But when he raised his eyes, he was met with a fair, handsome face filled with playful amusement.

”Their lives aren’t worth much, it’s true. My own life isn’t worth much either, or else why would I be trying to make a living in a place like this?”

Lin Shu stood at the entrance.

He carefully sized up the coffin before him. ”But I’m genuinely curious. I’d like to see just what makes your young master’s life so precious.”

After hearing the first part of his sentence, the crowd in Cyan Willow Lane thought the fox was about to back down.

But in the next moment, they saw Lin Shu look up with a grin, then abruptly raise his leg and unleash a vicious kick on the coffin!

BANG—

A dull thud exploded through the alley.

The two-meter-long, pitch-black coffin shot out like a great python, like a giant mallet striking a temple bell, carrying a terrifying force as it smashed toward the old man!

The old man was like the bronze bell being struck.

His stance sank abruptly as he crossed his arms over his chest, bracing his entire upper body to receive the coffin’s impact.

The two surging forces converged on it entirely.

The pitch-black coffin seemed to be made of paper as it was torn to shreds by an invisible energy, exploding into a shower of wooden splinters!

STOMP! STOMP!

Zhang Zhongping stumbled back several steps, his heels catching on the stone steps before he finally regained his footing.

”Hah!”

A look of shock washed over his face. That kick had been clearly filled with Spiritual Power.

He didn’t look like he was on his last legs at all!

But before he could even begin to question Tian Jingyuan in his mind, Zhang Zhongping suddenly looked up and saw a sight that made his eyes burn with fury.

With the coffin shattered, the corpse inside had fared no better.

Its clothes were torn to ribbons, and its limbs were twisted like rope, landing grotesquely in the middle of the alley.

Lin Shu walked down the stone steps and planted his boot firmly on Zhang Ci’s chest.

He looked down, hooked the corpse’s chin with the toe of his boot, and flipped the bloodless face back and forth a few times.

”My apologies.”

The smile vanished from Lin Shu’s lips as he spoke with indifference, ”I really can’t tell.”

’A beast who preys on the weak and fears the strong, who specifically targets the unfortunate... dares to pontificate on the value of a life?’

”AHH!!”

A hoarse roar echoed through Cyan Willow Lane.

Zhang Zhongping finally lost his composure. His aged face twisted in a snarl. What that wretched fox was stomping on was not just his son’s corpse, but also the decades of reputation the Hongyun Martial Arts Hall had built.

’I don’t care if you’re on your last legs.’

’I don’t care how powerful your backer is.’

’If you want to destroy me, then...’

”Die!”

Zhang Zhongping’s white robes billowed wildly, and it looked as if something was squirming beneath the skin of his gaunt frame.

Invisible energy erupted from his meridians!

The old man shattered a stone step with a single stomp and lunged forward, intent on the kill.

Immense Inner Strength rolled around his body, coalescing into the blurry shadow of a tiger. With a piercing shriek, the dilapidated walls along Cyan Willow Lane cracked in unison, threatening to collapse!

”...”

Lin Shu stood sideways, and with a HISS, black energy emerged from his fingertips.

In an instant, the same black fire that had reaped so many lives in the night was once again reflected in the eyes of the onlookers.

But compared to that night, this malevolent fire seemed several times more powerful.

With the Magpie’s Nest at its epicenter, the area for more than ten meters around felt as if it had been plunged into an icy cavern, a dreadful chill seeping into the marrow of their bones.

Now, free from the constraints of his limited Spiritual Power, the Immortal Technique—the Gloomy Moon Bone Splitting Hand—seemed to have been quietly unshackled.

Lin Shu abruptly raised his arm, thrusting his palm straight forward.

Wisps of black energy shot out like vipers, spreading out to envelop the blurry tiger shadow.

They danced wildly.

The sharp Inner Strength was easily torn apart by the black energy, then rapidly dissolved.

The tiger’s roar dissipated in the blink of an eye.

His long robe fluttered gently, but Lin Shu remained standing in the same spot, unmoved.

The gaunt old man, however, was suspended in the air before him, his legs kicking wildly.

Zhang Zhongping’s neck was caught in the firm grip of a clean hand, its fingertips slowly sinking into his sagging skin.

Black energy seeped into his body through the wound, a deep chill freezing his very flesh and blood.

SLAP! SLAP!

The old man’s eyes bulged and his veins popped as he slapped desperately at the young man’s wrist.

But his reactions grew more and more sluggish, and his movements became increasingly feeble.

”Spare... spare me...”

Zhang Zhongping had sparred with many Cultivators in his time, but he had never encountered such a sinister Immortal Technique.

What terrified him even more was that the aura emanating from this Immortal Technique had clearly surpassed the scope of Early-stage Qi Cultivation.

The old man could no longer form a complete sentence. He could only widen his eyes, hoping his opponent would understand his silent plea for mercy.

”Say what you will...”

”Your life ought to be quite valuable.”

The last thing Zhang Zhongping heard was a low, slightly mocking whisper.

CRUNCH!

A spray of blood burst from his fingertips.

Lin Shu ruthlessly crushed the fragile neck.

At the same time, a notification immediately popped up before his eyes.

[The wicked grow rich, the good die in a ditch. One worthless life killed. Reward: 20 Sin Coins.]