A lone cloud veiled the moon. The moonless night was perfect for murder and arson. The quieter a night like this seemed, the more unrest lurked beneath the surface.

Dark clouds swallowed the moon, and the night was so black you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Yet two sneaky figures were crouched by the wall. One look at them told you they were no good.

“Listen, Dora B Meng. We’re going to catch a thief, so why are we sneaking around like this?” a young man asked in a low voice. He looked down at himself, dressed just like a thief, utterly baffled.

“That’s where you’re wrong. A righteous hero has to come and go without a trace, so he can suddenly appear from the darkness and strike fear into criminals,” said the man called Dora B Meng with a cheerful grin.

“But aren’t we doing this for the money?”

“That’s not the point, Comrade Big Bear. Think about it: if the champions of justice wipe out a criminal gang but can’t even take the spoils, wouldn’t that break the hearts of heroes everywhere?”

“But we’re wanted! What kind of hero gets hunted by the police?”

“Tch. And what are the names of the two wanted men?” Yixing clicked his tongue and asked.

“Dora B Meng and Big Bear,” the other man answered honestly.

“And what are our names?”

“Yixing and Ansari.”

“There you go.”

“I still feel like something’s off… We…” The man whose codename was Big Bear and whose real name was Ansari seemed to have a hard time accepting that logic.

“Quit overthinking it. They’re here!” The man who called himself Dora B Meng suddenly ducked low. Their target had appeared right in front of them.

“Ansari, what’s the intel?” Yixing watched his prey. In their bounty-hunting team, Ansari handled all the research on their targets.

“Twin Ming Swords—Leng Qianfeng. He’s from the Eastern Silk Country. Combat rating: B+. The police have tried to arrest him several times, but he killed them instead. His main crimes are trafficking in antiques and drugs, as well as murder. He’s skilled with a sword, and his nickname is also ‘Twin Ming Swords.’ We don’t know his exact style, but you should be fine, right?” Ansari asked Yixing.

“Who asked you all that? You’re just spouting useless details.” Yixing pursed his lips. He didn’t care about the basic information at all. “I asked how much this guy’s worth.”

“All right, let me check.” Ansari looked at the scroll. “The bounty’s twenty-five gold coins. Not bad. After taxes, we’ll take home about thirteen.”

“Damn, when did the bounty tax go up to fifty percent? Have those people no shame?!” Yixing was stunned. That was way too high! Wasn’t it only thirty-five percent last month? How’d it jump so much in just one month?

“That’s why business has been rough lately…” Ansari shrugged.

“Damn, even being a bounty hunter’s this hard. Those tax collectors are bloodsuckers.” He clicked his tongue, still grumbling, then sprang forward. His movements were nimble and swift as a tiger or leopard in the woods, impossible to predict.

A commotion was coming from a small farmhouse in the countryside.

“You useless bitch! You even let the police follow you!” Leng Qianfeng, the target listed on the scroll, was kicking a woman without mercy. Two bodies lay beside him, both wearing uniforms. They were clearly police officers.

“Please… just give me a little medicine first!” The woman clutched Leng Qianfeng’s foot, tears streaming as she kowtowed frantically. She didn’t stop even when her forehead split open and blood ran across the floor.

“Medicine?” Leng Qianfeng looked at her indifferently, then smiled. “I can give you some. Where’s the money?”

“I’ve sold my house… and all my land! When I dug up the burial goods in my family’s ancestral grave, my husband tried to stop me. I even killed him! I really have no money left…” The woman babbled incoherently, kowtowing again and again.

“You’re broke? Then why are you here?” Leng Qianfeng frowned. He’d already squeezed plenty of money out of her, and now she really did seem to be tapped out. He kicked her aside and turned to leave.

As all this happened, a little girl was crying in fear, doing her best to choke back her sobs so they wouldn’t escape her. But everything happening in the house had already soaked the place in terror.

Leng Qianfeng’s ear twitched. He’d heard something. He turned and spotted a scruffy little girl whose pretty features still shone through the dirt.

“Who says you’re broke? You could get a pretty penny for selling this child to a brothel…” Leng Qianfeng looked at her greedily. He could tell this little beauty was worth quite a lot.

“My daughter?” The woman froze for a moment. Maybe a little reason still remained in her mind, but under the crushing force of her craving, it flickered out like a candle in the wind. She hurriedly nodded. “Then take her! Give me the medicine… please!”

“Mom…! Wake up!” The girl seemed to understand what was happening. She clenched her teeth, trying not to cry, and rushed over to shake her mother awake.

But Leng Qianfeng couldn’t have cared less. He tossed a small bottle onto the ground and watched the woman scramble toward it on all fours, snatching it up like a treasure. She didn’t spare her daughter a glance.

“You heard her. You belong to me now, so behave.” Leng Qianfeng picked up the little girl without a trace of emotion, wondering how much he could sell her for.

Most of the drug addicts under his control had been squeezed dry lately. He’d have to find another way to make money.

As he thought it over, he decided that instead of selling her, he might as well become the buyer himself. If he used drugs to control these people…

After a moment’s thought, he took out a pill. “Eat this. It feels really good. You’ll forget all about this once you’ve taken it.”

The little girl curled in on herself, trembling all over. She bit down on her lip and refused to open her mouth. Despair filled the eyes of the frail young girl. Her mother had completely abandoned her to rush for the bottle, and the girl’s grief twisted her expression.

The girl’s refusal irritated Leng Qianfeng. He was just about to slap her into opening her mouth when a gust of wind suddenly sounded outside, and a stone flew straight toward Leng Qianfeng.

His sword was too fast to follow. Leng Qianfeng drew the blade from his back and cut the stone to powder in an instant! Even caught off guard by the sneak attack, he reacted with ease. He was clearly no amateur.

“Who’s there?” Leng Qianfeng immediately sensed the faint movement. He drew his long sword in a reverse grip, its blade flashing silver!

“Who are you?” Leng Qianfeng shouted, on his guard.

“Bounty hunter. Could you not resist? These clothes are expensive, and I’ll be upset if you rip them.” Yixing emerged from the darkness in a full set of night clothes and stood squarely in front of his opponent, completely at ease.

“Earth Ming!” But Leng Qianfeng answered Yixing with a sword thrust straight at him! He’d never intended to leave anyone alive from the start!

The blade flashed white, carrying a murderous aura as it lunged straight for Yixing!

But the unstoppable strike hit nothing. Leng Qianfeng immediately turned back, his body and sword steady and precise—a clear sign of a master.

“I told you to be careful! These clothes are expensive! Do you really have to get a beating before you’ll listen?” Yixing had barely dodged the attack, and anger edged into his voice.

“Are you looking down on me?!” Leng Qianfeng’s face darkened, murder filling his expression even more as he heard Yixing’s words. His opponent acted like he didn’t take him seriously at all! Fury rising, he sheathed his sword. “Draw—Heaven Ming!”

He roared, and the sword wind rose! Killing intent surged! A shuddering viciousness rode the sword’s momentum. In the pitch-black night, a flash of light suddenly cut through the dark! The sword struck like a thunderstorm, its light spilling out until the black night seemed to turn into broad daylight. Everything around them was revealed in dazzling detail. In that instant, all Yixing could see was a blade of cold light, as if it could swallow heaven and earth!

“Idiot…” Ansari crouched behind cover, looking at Leng Qianfeng like he was a fool.

The information in Ansari’s hands was perfectly clear.

Leng Qianfeng, male, thirty-four. He’d once fought dozens of elite government agents alone, killing seven before retreating wounded. Later, he ambushed and assassinated his opponents one by one, sending every expert who’d surrounded him straight to hell. That record was what earned him a B+ threat rating. It meant he could wipe out a thousand-man squad all by himself.

But Ansari knew perfectly well that compared to Yixing, Leng Qianfeng… didn’t even come close.

Clang! A pair of bare hands met the long sword, ringing out like metal striking metal. Then fingers clamped around the blade like pincers. With a slight twist, the sword shattered.

The fierce expression on Leng Qianfeng’s face hadn’t even fully formed before it turned to shock. The two expressions mingled, making him look ridiculous. But no one would see it.

Because the next second, a foot slammed into his lower belly. A tremendous force sent Leng Qianfeng flying into the wall.

“Huh? Sword energy protecting your body? You’re not a total weakling after all?” A voice came from beneath the night sky. Leng Qianfeng shuddered. He couldn’t believe that even with his sword energy protecting him, this person had kicked him so hard he was gravely injured. And… his signature technique had been casually stopped with a pair of bare hands! Who was this person? How could he not know about such a powerful bounty hunter?

Still reeling in shock, the infamous tomb raider struggled out of the rubble and clung to the approaching man’s leg. He broke down crying without a shred of dignity. “Waaah… sir, you bounty hunters are only after money… I have money! I’ll give it all to you! Everything! Please don’t kill me.” He’d heard this trick from an old-timer once: bounty hunters were mostly greedy, so if you said this, they’d probably get tempted. Then… when the moment came—!

A flash of silver! A small dagger appeared in Leng Qianfeng’s hand and shot toward Yixing’s throat, fast as lightning! That old-timer had said… as soon as the other person hesitated, you killed him!

It was a perfect plan, but he’d overlooked one thing.

The dagger was razor-sharp, its cold glint chilling to the heart. But when it struck Yixing’s throat—it chipped.

Leng Qianfeng’s head came clean off, the greed and viciousness still frozen on his face.

Holding the head, Yixing turned around. “Another idiot who didn’t know when to quit. Come on, let’s go collect the bounty!”

“You got it, boss!” Ansari sprang out. He’d seen scenes like this countless times by now. He wasn’t surprised anymore.

“What are you going to do about them?” Leng Qianfeng was dead, but… there was still the woman, high and lost in a drugged haze, and the girl. She tried to hold back her sobs, but couldn’t stop staring in terror at Yixing, covered in blood and holding a severed head.

The sight left Ansari feeling conflicted.

“…Sigh.” Yixing sighed and shoved the head into Ansari’s hands. “Go on ahead. I’ll take care of things here.”

He didn’t let scumbags get to him. He’d met too many people, after all. As the saying goes, once you’ve seen enough men, you’ll find every kind of bird. You just get used to it.