I Grind to Martial Saint

”What?!” Han Yuan’s expression shifted slightly at Wang Dahua’s words.

Changfeng Street was his main source of income.

To rob a man of his wealth is to kill his parents!

He tossed the head in his hand to Wang Dahua. ”Find out who this man was. I’m going to Changfeng Street to take a look.”

With that, he sprinted toward Changfeng Street, his figure vanishing into the dark street in the blink of an eye.

”Uh...”

”And who might you be, my friend?”

Wang Dahua asked, dangling the dripping, bloody head.

The head’s eyes were wide open, dripping blood, offering no answer to Wang Dahua’s question.

.....

By the time Han Yuan reached Changfeng Street, he found the doors of numerous shops smashed in. Their interiors were in shambles. Many shopkeepers were out in the pouring rain, trying to salvage what they could, sighing endlessly.

”Han Yuan.”

”You’re finally here.”

Wang Changbai walked over, holding an umbrella.

”Who did this?!”

Han Yuan’s hair was soaked, his voice sharp and glacial.

Even Wang Changbai felt a strange chill. He shook his head. ”We don’t know yet... The culprits were all masked. They smashed everything and then left.”

”Find them... To mobilize this many people, our culprits are no small fry.”

Han Yuan said coldly.

”Investigating is the easy part.”

”But after all this chaos, the reputation we worked so hard to build has likely been destroyed.”

Wang Changbai sighed.

”This month’s fees... Waive them.”

”Explain to the shopkeepers. I will give them a proper accounting for this.”

Han Yuan said in a deep voice.

”Leave it to me, then.”

Wang Changbai nodded.

Han Yuan lingered for a while longer before leaving.

SPLASH~~

Han Yuan stood in the courtyard, letting the rain fall on him, soaking his hair and clothes.

In truth,

This was the first time since his transmigration that he had suffered such a major setback.

He was filled with a simmering rage.

To calm himself, Han Yuan drew his long saber and began practicing the Thousand Falcons Blade Technique.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH~~

The flurry of blade flashes tore through the rain, creating a fine mist.

With each and every slash of his saber, Han Yuan’s mind slowly began to clear.

He continued his Cultivation until the rain stopped, only then did he sheathe his saber and go to rest.

...

He woke the next day.

DRUM~~

Raindrops drummed ceaselessly against the roof tiles.

”It’s raining again?”

Han Yuan shook his head.

It was the middle of the rainy season, so the downpours were frequent.

After changing his clothes, he tied his long saber to his waist and went out holding an Oil Paper Umbrella.

He made his way to the inner courtyard of the County Yamen.

Wang Changbai and the others had been waiting for a long time.

They went to a pavilion to talk.

”Han Head, I’ve found out about that man you gave me last night.”

”He has no name. People on the streets call him Zhu Yeqing. He specializes in contract killings.”

Wang Dahua said softly.

’An assassin... So someone hired this Zhu Yeqing to kill me...’

Han Yuan was stunned for a moment.

”It seems so.”

Wang Dahua nodded.

”Also, I’ve identified the gang that stormed Changfeng Street to wreck the place last night.”

Wang Changbai said softly.

”Who was it?” Han Yuan asked.

”The Fire Wolf Gang’s Hall Master, Song Heng.”

”He’s a ruthless figure in the Fire Wolf Gang, in charge of many gambling dens.”

”We didn’t even have to look into it; he’s been putting the word out himself today.”

Wang Changbai said in a low voice.

’The Fire Wolf Gang... Song Heng...’

”First the assassination attempt on Han Head last night, and then the trouble on Changfeng Street...”

”This doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”

Gu Zhengyang said.

”I’ve been drawing too much attention lately.”

”I suppose someone has it in for me.”

Han Yuan said lightly.

”Constable Han... Chief Constable Gao wants to see you.”

A Government Official walked into the inner courtyard and called out to him.

Han Yuan told Old Wang and the others to wait there and went to the courtyard where Gao Yuan handled his affairs.

”I know about what happened on Changfeng Street last night.”

”I also heard you survived an assassination attempt.”

Gao Yuan asked nonchalantly as he saw Han Yuan walk in.

”It seems nothing in Qingshui County escapes Chief Constable Gao’s notice.”

Han Yuan said with a smile.

”Do you know why the Fire Wolf Gang would make a move on you?”

Gao Yuan asked again.

Han Yuan pondered for a moment. ”The County Yamen and the city gangs have had a lot of friction lately. And yesterday, we apparently shut down one of the Fire Wolf Gang’s gambling dens.”

”Is the Fire Wolf Gang trying to retaliate because of that?”

Gao Yuan gave Han Yuan a surprised look and said softly, ”So you do understand.”

”It’s just speculation,” Han Yuan said softly.

”But you guessed correctly.”

”These are hard times, and public order is in chaos. The gangs in the city are getting restless.”

”Your reputation has grown quite a bit in Qingshui County Town recently.”

”If they can assassinate you and wreck Changfeng Street in the process, it would be a major blow to the County Yamen’s reputation.”

Gao Yuan explained.

In reality, the Fire Wolf Gang chose Han Yuan as their target not because of any personal grudge.

It was simply because Han Yuan was the most suitable target.

”Have things already reached the point where we drop all pretenses?”

Han Yuan frowned.

”The attack on the County Magistrate’s Wife before... you think that was really a coincidence?”

”I investigated it later... I found traces of gang involvement.”

”These bastards... they’ve gone completely insane.”

Gao Yuan gave a cold sneer.

Han Yuan narrowed his eyes and finally said, ”Chief Constable Gao... I want to go make an arrest.”

He couldn’t just swallow this insult.

”Have you thought this through?”

Gao Yuan stared into Han Yuan’s eyes.

”Changfeng Street is under my jurisdiction... and now the culprit has openly revealed himself.”

”As a constable of the Qingshui County Yamen, it is my duty to bring him to justice.”

Han Yuan said with an air of righteous integrity.

”Then go. Bring him back.”

”Yang Sen and Zeng Bei will assist you.”

”Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, I’ll have your back.”

Gao Yuan’s tone became stern.

With these words from Gao Yuan, Han Yuan immediately cupped his fist. ”I accept your order!”

...

「Inner Courtyard of the County Yamen.」

Han Yuan didn’t have to wait long.

The two constables, Yang Sen and Zeng Bei, arrived with their respective men.

”Constable Han, Chief Constable Gao has given the order.”

”We will follow your lead on this operation.”

Yang Sen said, cupping his fist.

Zeng Bei said something similar.

”My thanks to you both.”

”But we’ll need to wait a bit. Old Wang has gone to find out Song Heng’s whereabouts.”

Han Yuan said.

Yang Sen and Zeng Bei nodded.

There were many rooms in the inner courtyard of the County Yamen for people to rest.

Everyone could only rest while waiting for news from Old Wang.

.....

「Golden Moon Tower.」

This was the most luxurious place in Qingshui County.

It was a den of hedonism and extravagance.

The people who could come here were all prominent figures in Qingshui County.

The three-story wooden building was decked out in lanterns and colorful banners, each floor resplendent and magnificent.

In a private room on the top floor, a dozen or so burly men, each with a voluptuous woman in his arms, were drinking and carousing, having a grand old time.

”Hall Master Song. You smashed up Changfeng Street this time, and that Han Yuan didn’t even dare to fart.”

A dark-skinned, burly man laughed heartily.

”Hahaha, that’s right! Looks to me like Han Yuan is nothing but a coward, hiding in his shell.”

Another person chimed in.

”Well, it was the County Yamen that made a move on our gambling dens first.”

”This time, we were just teaching them a lesson. If we really drop all pretenses, it’ll be bad for everyone.”

A ferocious man whose arms were covered in tattoos sneered.

He was none other than Song Heng of the Fire Wolf Gang.