Chapter 603: Courting Death and Going to Righteousness

The sun was setting, a sudden heavy rain poured down, and the streets were growing deserted. Old Chao Feng, who had been lounging behind the counter, stretched lazily and leaned forward to peek outside, thinking there would be no business today. He slowly moved around the counter to tell his apprentice to close the shop.

"Wait!"

A lean figure burst through the rain curtain, inserting his hand into the closing iron curtain. The apprentice, startled by the sound, looked up along the arm that pulled the curtain. The stranger was dressed in tattered clothes, with a round hole in the hem, as if struck by a weapon like the Penglai, and his wet hair hung with water droplets, softly pressing against his forehead. Yet his eyes gleamed with fire, containing anger. It was clear he was a survivor who had narrowly escaped death. At this hour, his arrival could only mean trouble.

"What do you want?" The apprentice, nervous, stepped back and reached for his waist.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Old Chao Feng called out and moved forward, standing behind the apprentice.

"Are you the master of this shop?" The stranger ignored the apprentice's nervous stammering and looked straight at Old Chao Feng.

"Lucky for you, the master isn't here. But if you say the word, I can handle it. What do you need, buddy?"

"I'm here to buy something."

"Ah, a VIP has arrived. Please, come in!" Old Chao Feng patted the apprentice's shoulder, urging him aside. The apprentice hesitated, opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately stepped aside. The stranger, without hesitation, dripped water into the shop and sat heavily in the guest chair.

"Your boldness is admirable." Old Chao Feng smiled and spoke.

The stranger picked up a half-finished cup of tea, drank it in one gulp, and said, "Old Chao Feng, you've outdone yourself. This place isn't a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. What's there to be afraid of?"

"If you say so." Old Chao Feng chuckled, placing his hands in his sleeves and asking, "May I ask your name?"

"What, do you need to know a customer's name before doing business? That's not how we operate. Our shop deals in legitimate goods—weapons, military supplies, spiritual elixirs, Buddhist teachings, and even the Six Arts chips. But your name... we can't handle that."

Old Chao Feng bowed politely, "So Shen Sir, please bring something more tangible. It'll make appraisal and pricing easier, won't it?"

"The Tianmen region isn't small, and the three teachings and nine sects, including the foreign soldiers and bandits, all have their places. Our 'Six Bao' backing ensures we're respected."

Old Chao Feng nodded, "Shen Sir, you've flattered us."

"The moment I walked in, you could tell who I am. So I'll be direct." Shen Ji's voice grew low, "I'm in a tight spot, with a stained record and cut-off channels. I need to pledge my name for a batch of firearms."

"Once I've settled things, I'll redeem my name at triple the market price. I won't break my word."

The moment the words fell, the shop fell into an eerie silence. The wind and rain outside grew wilder, battering the half-closed iron gate.

"By our standards, we should be aiding those in distress. But Shen Sir, the thing you're pledging... it's not ordinary. What do you plan to do with it?"

Shen Ji laughed coldly, "Are you questioning the rules?"

"Didn't you break the rules first?" the apprentice shouted.

"Does this mean the master won't take the deal?"

Old Chao Feng looked troubled, "It's not easy..."

"Then forget it." Shen Ji rose abruptly, "Excuse me!"

Just then, there was a loud bang as the iron gate slammed shut. Shen Ji halted, turning with a sly smile to glance at Old Chao Feng.

"What trick is this, Master?"

"Shen Sir, don't rush." Old Chao Feng stood and spoke softly, "I'm no fool who plays dumb. A few days ago, you beheaded Wang Shiji's son, clearing a pest from Tianmen. It was just, and I admire your courage."

"But now that you've escaped death with your men scattered, why risk your life again for a grudge?"

Shen Ji narrowed his eyes, "What are you implying?"

"I'm saying that since Wang Shiji's son is dead, but you've lost everything, isn't it fair to call it even? Let me, in the name of the 'Six Bao,' mediate and help you resolve this grievance with Wang Shiji. How does that sound?"

"Fair enough. But remember, my losses include several lives!"

"Wang Shiji's son was just one life."

Shen Ji sneered, "A non-sequitur brat without a seat in the hierarchy—what's he worth?"

"How many of your men were initiated? The valuable things are Wang's face and your own life."

Old Chao Feng's voice softened, "The times are what they are. You and I both know this. The past is meaningless. Moving forward is what matters."

Shen Li laughed. "I am cherishing the present moment, right now."

"Since Brother Shen has set his heart on continuing this feud with the Wang clan, this old man has nothing more to say. Please, go ahead."

The old shopkeeper sighed, shooting a glance at his apprentice. "Open the door for Brother Shen."

"Right away."

Glancing at the apprentice brushing past him, Shen Li suddenly spoke. "How much is Wang Shiji paying for my head these days?"

The words had barely fallen when a freezing muzzle pressed against the back of Shen Li's skull.

"Not a small sum. One million Baocurrency!"

The apprentice's voice was savage, his gun-holding arm trembling faintly with excitement.

"Tsk, tsk. Just that much? That old bastard Wang Shiji, who the hell does he think he's looking down on?!"

From beneath Shen Li's tattered sleeve, a cold light flashed like a bolt of silk. His right foot snapped backward, driving into the apprentice's stomach.

*Bang!*

A scorching bullet grazed past his ear, tearing a bloody gash across his cheek.

Simultaneously, the cold light in Shen Li's hand shot out, burying itself precisely in the apprentice's throat.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The wavering muzzle flash spat fire continuously; stray bullets flew wildly, punching thumb-sized holes in the tightly shut rolling shutter door.

*Boom!*

Thunder roared, wind and rain rushing through the holes into the shop.

The pale yellow lamplight illuminated the old shopkeeper's sinister expression, reflecting a steely glint in Shen Li's eyes.

In that very instant, Shen Li lunged like a cheetah, throwing himself at the old shopkeeper who had just activated his Gearheart.

The man-high counter was smashed to smithereens by the two entangled figures crashing through it.

The next moment, the clang of striking steel erupted from the rising dust and smoke!

*Clang!*

After a long while, the pawnshop's rolling shutter door was hauled open once more.

Shen Li walked out the door, a bulging backpack on his shoulders, striding into the raging wind and rain.

Behind him, crimson blood trickled slowly down the stone steps.

That night, in the mourning hall set up within the Wang clan manor, the gongs and drums had not ceased.

A youth's projection, clad in brocade robes with a face heavy with rouge and powder, stood before the spirit tablet, his expression grief-stricken, cupping his fists in salute to the mourners.

The man was dead, yet propriety could not be lost. This style was currently in vogue among the minor aristocratic houses of the Empire—those stuck in the awkward middle.

And this youth was naturally Wang Yongjin, the son of the Wang Clan Lord, stabbed to death six days prior.

"My Lord, please restrain your grief."

"Restrain what grief? A useless good-for-nothing who couldn't even make the stage. To lose the Wang clan such face... even if he hadn't died, I would have slaughtered him with my own hands."

Wang Shiji, the Wang Clan Lord with his long flowing beard, held not a shred of the scholarly elegance expected of a Confucian gentleman in his tone.

He waved a sleeve, dispersing his son's spirit projection, and fixed his gaze on the Wang clansmen kneeling before him in terror.

"Have you found Shen Li's corpse?"

"Not yet."

The clansman hurriedly replied, "But please rest assured, My Lord. Shen Li absolutely cannot survive this time."

"I don't need your useless guarantees. I want to see Shen Li's corpse!"

Wang Shiji's voice was cold. "His filthy hands are stained with the blood of my Wang clan kin. They must be wiped clean with his life. Understand?"

"Understood. Understood."

The clansman nodded in assent, then suddenly sensed something. He turned to look behind him.

Hmm?

In mid-air, a two-foot-square backpack fell from the heavens, clearly hurled from a distance.

"My Lord, watch out!"

The clansman screamed a warning, but it was already too late.

*Boom!*

Surging gold and red engulfed the entire ground floor of the Wang manor. Several clansmen were instantly swallowed by the sweeping heatwave, including Wang Shiji, who was still standing there in a daze.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Several "Fire Dragons Emerging from Water" shrieked in from outside the door, exploding thunderously. The blast-scattered flames revealed a floor littered with wreckage and charred corpses.

Wielding a saber in one hand and a spear in the other, Shen Li did not pause for a heartbeat. Hunched low, he sprinted madly through the sea of fire, heading straight for where Wang Shiji had just been standing.

*Thud!*

A fist shadow suddenly erupted from the rising flames.

Caught off guard, Shen Li hastily crossed his saber to block, but was sent flying backward by a single punch.

The fire died down, revealing a figure clad in a shoulder-mounted cuirass, both arms gleaming with the cold light of metal, pouncing on Shen Li.

The sudden encounter instantly escalated into a fight to the death.

Fists flew, legs kicked; neither yielded an inch.

Shen Li unleashed all his martial arts; the saber in his hand was swift and fierce.

But the Armament Sequence he faced was bizarrely tough. The blade's edge fell, sparking only a few flashes, the shock numbing Shen Li's tiger's mouth instead.

The man's face was unfamiliar; not a shred of intelligence on him existed in Shen Li's prior reconnaissance.

And right now, the surnamed Wang was nowhere to be found, while footsteps grew louder from all sides.

All signs told Shen Li one thing: he had walked into a trap!

But so what?

Ruthlessness flared in Shen Li's heart. He chose to tank a heavy punch to the abdomen, countering with a vicious downward hack that buried the saber deep into the man's shoulder blade.

Decisively releasing the hilt, he clenched his five fingers tight, hammering a heavy fist into that face.

*Bang!*

The fist sank into the features. The unleashed force blasted the skin, flesh, and features into scattered fragments, revealing twisted, deformed metal facial bones beneath. Blue sparks sputtered from the cracked seams.

Yet such a horrifying injury only bought the man a few staggering steps back before he steadied himself again.

It was Shen Li, rather, whose abdomen churned with agony, his legs going soft, forcing him to a half-kneel on the ground.

"Shen Li, I knew you'd come personally to see my son off on his seventh-day vigil, to accompany him on the road to reincarnation."

Figures surged, closing in from all sides.

Wang Shiji stood unscathed amidst the crowd, looking down with contempt at Shen Li, now a beast at bay.

“I’ve heard you’re Wu Xu Ba?”

Wang Shiji shook his head disdainfully. “It’s a shame that the good days of your Wu Xu are over. This sequence has become nothing more than a sewer, a place where the powerless and impoverished can hide and eke out a living.”

“You could have stayed on the streets, playing the role of a gang leader, and this level of strength would have been enough. But you wanted to learn from others, to do good deeds, to rob the rich and help the poor. What right do you have?”

Wang Shiji’s words were cut short as Shen Li suddenly surged forward again.

A gust of wind hit him from behind, and Shen Li didn’t have time to react before his head was grabbed and slammed into the ground.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hot bullets pierced Shen Li’s limbs, shattering his bones and flesh, but they precisely avoided all vital organs.

The burning pain shot through his nerves, and Shen Li clenched his teeth, his mouth making a clicking sound.

“You have strong bones and great courage, no wonder you dared to attack my son. But you overestimate yourself. You’ve managed to save your life, but you still don’t know how to keep your tail between your legs. You dare to come back to Tianjin? Who do you think you are? A commoner’s anger, blood splattering three feet? You, Shen Li, don’t have that ability yet!”

Shen Li struggled to lift his head from the pool of blood, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at the nearby Wang Shiji.

“You’re just a thug. No, you’re not even a thug, Shen Li. You’re nothing but a scumbag, a low-class person, and your sequence is equally lowly.”

The series of insults made Wang Shiji spit out the anger in his heart. As if he had suddenly remembered something, he raised a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

“Shen Li, do you know why you were suddenly exposed when you first robbed Yongjin?”

Wang Shiji squatted in front of Shen Li, smiling. “It’s simple. It was your so-called brothers who betrayed you. Do you know how much money they got for selling you? Not much.”

Wang Shiji raised one palm, his five fingers stretched out.

“That’s the amount. Your life is only worth that much.”

Wang Shiji’s expression gradually became grotesque. “So, how dare you, a cheap scumbag like you, mess with my Wang family? Hmm?”

The still warm gun barrel was pressed against Shen Li’s forehead.

“Today is my son’s seventh day. You’ll follow him in death. Remember, in your next life, don’t be a Wu Xu anymore. Being a dog would be better than this.”

Bang!

The memory ended abruptly here.

Such a dream, full of loopholes, could be easily identified as false by anyone, and Shen Li was not surprised either.

But the woman who claimed to be from the Witch Temple used this humiliating and absurd memory to cover up his previous experiences.

No matter how Shen Li now recalled his time in Tianjin, he remembered only his limbs being shattered by bullets and the words that had humiliated him.

Nightmares plagued him, and the pain was hard to erase.

The other party could have directly taken away the genetic code of his martial arts, but they chose to manipulate and toy with him this way, leaving scars and marks.

“This woman is really vicious!”

Shen Li, shivering in the cold rain, forced a weak smile at the concerned-looking Jiang Wei. “Old Jiang, did you hear that? From now on, I’ll be a lone wolf.”

“If you’re rich, don’t forget each other.”

Jiang Wei nodded seriously. “When you catch up with Li Jun, remember to pull me up.”

“You think I’m capable?”

“Of course I am. You’re Shen Li!”

“That’s true.”

Shen Li nodded in agreement. “Your words are enough. When you’re stripped bare like this, I’ll definitely come to save you.”

“Even in this state, your mouth is still so talkative.”

Jiang Wei burst into laughter, his hanging heart slowly falling.

“Come over, help me out. Jun Ge, I’m already beaten like this, why do you still want me to stand straight? That’s not making it difficult for me, is it?”

Shen Li weakly leaned on Jiang Wei’s shoulder and said softly, “When you go back, help me explain to the old men. Tell them that I, Shen Li, am not someone who hates the poor and loves the rich. I don’t want to go solo, but I have no choice now.”

“You can rest assured. I’ll tell them. It’s right that you’re hiding. Otherwise, the old men might really break your legs.”

Jiang Wei asked, “But can you really change paths?”

“If not this life, then the next. If not the next, then the next one after that. There will always be a chance to enter the Wu Xu again.”

Shen Li said lightly, “There’s someone in my head telling me not to be a Wu Xu anymore, but I always feel that apart from this path, everything else is bullshit!”

Shen Li’s voice became hoarse after a mocking laugh.

“Jiang Wei, listen to me. You can’t get involved in the city’s affairs. Don’t go back.”

Jiang Wei felt an arm tightly gripping his shoulder, his fingertips trembling.

“We’ve lost enough people in Tianque. Really, brother, don’t go and die.”

The arm tightened, pushing Jiang Wei forward with force.

“Listen to me, go!”

Jiang Wei moved a few steps forward under the force, then turned to look at the glaring Shen Li.

“I’m at least a Sequence Four. If I’m here, I’m already dead. What about you?”

Shen Li pointed at his own nose, laughing heartily, laughing proudly.

“We’re different. My eldest brother is inside now. So this isn’t suicide for me.”

“For me, Shen Ge, this is a righteous act!”

At the other end of the city, the night was black beyond repair.

“Li Jun has entered the city! Li Jun has entered the city!”

A sharp roar rose from the depths of his heart.

“Finally, he’s here.”

The speaker was about fifty years old, with black hair, a thick beard, a square face, and a righteous appearance, but with a pair of sinister eyes.

Opposite him was a robust old man with gray hair and a bare upper body.

“Yi Huang, admit defeat.”