The burly man beside him: "..."
Feng Yin, with a stony face, walked over and pressed a finger down onto the collapsed part of Xu the Third's chest.
It was clearly visible that the force he applied was not at all slight.
Xu the Third's face turned deathly pale. A scream reached his throat but was abruptly cut off, his breathing was momentarily hushed.
"Only three broken ribs, you won't die from that any time soon..."
Feng Yin hummed: "How did they get broken this time?"
"Last night... on a mission... cough, cough... we were ambushed... the ambushers were ruthless, not only did they steal our mission, but they also punched me..."
Xu the Third felt humiliated, and his voice grew weaker as he spoke.
That person was very ruthless?
Feng Yin immediately felt annoyed, and increased the strength of his hand, causing the broken bone to crackle.
"Argh~~~Oof... hissing..."
Xu the Third was in such pain that he wished he were dead. His face had turned even more ashen, but he didn't dare to scream out loud.
Feng Yin's annoyance was not without reason.
The mission seemed easy enough, and the key objective was not far from them. But when he went to eliminate the target, this pair of Xu brothers also went to undertake the same task...
Taking my peach right from under my nose?
Feng Yin would not show mercy to such individuals. Naturally, he gifted him a punch...
With a clear conscience, he had already held back, considering that the opponent had been his patient more than once in his medical hall...
Yes, Xu the Third who was being treated for his broken bones in Feng Yin's shop, was actually hit by this very same doctor...
One punch, three broken ribs.
Out of respect for a fellow Heavenly Judge assassin, Feng Yin only threw one punch.
Just broke three ribs.
Even God would admit he showed mercy!
Then he completed the mission and left.
The reward for this mission was a bun, an intermediate-level Yuan Energy Pill, an intermediate-level Food Resistance Pill, and a low-level Marrow Cleansing Pill.
"...Mission accomplished. Accomplished by: Gentle. Serial, one hundred and seventy-three thousand five hundred and seventy-seven. Rank, Iron Rank."
He ranked over one hundred and seventy thousand among the Iron Ranked...
Gentle, that's Feng Yin's registered name as an assassin.
Yeah, stage name.
All things in the world are cruel.
Only death is eternally gentle.
Of course, others would not see it that way, they do not possess Feng Yin's profound thoughts.
They just find it peculiar that this killer, who kills as effortlessly as wiping out weeds, has chosen the name Gentle...
Such a damn weirdo...
(4)
Iron Rank!
Yes, after ten years of effort, ten years of risking life and death.
Feng Yin had successfully advanced from a paper-ranked assassin of the Heavenly Judge to a Wooden Badge, and even further, he was promoted to an Iron-ranked assassin.
The badge had become an Iron Badge.
The badge upgrades automatically, so he didn't need to worry about it.
Feng Yin was quite satisfied with his progress.
He even wanted to retire from the martial world now.
Because the ranks above, Bronze Badge, Silver Badge, Gold Badge, Jade Rank, Purple Crystal, King Rank, Emperor Rank, Honor Rank, God-level, Sacred Rank...
Feng Yin stated... if he doesn't cheat, he might be able to struggle to the Silver Rank, but the badges after that... he won't live long enough to see them.
Maybe he won't ever achieve those ranks in his lifetime, and he himself will become a badge.
The business was too dangerous.
After all, the ranks mentioned above are just the ranks among the Heavenly Judge assassins.
The more commonly used ratings for martial artists in society... cough, Feng Yin was not very concerned about those just yet.
...
"Ready?"
"So I'm gonna start?"
No sooner had Feng Yin finished, he began. Not giving his patient any time to respond.
His movements were swift yet rough as he realigned Xu the Third's broken bone.
This was fundamental, and it was something Feng Yin was good at.
Throughout the process, Xu the Third's shrieks of agony were earth-shattering.
The doctor's treatment was just as brutally direct as a butcher.
After all this torment, Xu the Third's face turned waxen. His forehead was dripping with beads of sweat, his eyes bulging almost out of their sockets, gasping for air, and occasionally uttering an agonized cry from deep within.
Crack crack...
"Fixed," Feng Yin wiped his hands, then consoled the patient. His tone unusually warm. ——heh, who would've thought
Poor Xu the Third couldn't even speak now, his moans weak and listless, completely unable to feel any warmth.
I'm in such a mess, and you're saying I'm lucky…
Feng Yin didn't waste any words, and immediately grabbed a few herbs.
He remembered that two or three of them were just the right prescription, and as for the rest... well, it's not like they would kill anyone. Especially Huanglian, the more, the better. It's perfect to cool down and get rid of the raging fire in the hearts of these money-making guys.
Done!
Splat!
A firm slap landed right on the wound.
To Xu the Third's increasingly sharp and choppy screams, Feng Yin casually said, "Done! Just rest for a few days and you'll be a strong man again... It's your luck to have met me."
Xu the Third shivered, waves of lingering pain kept hitting him, and he almost fainted from the agony.
Getting slapped by you like that... it will be 20 years before I'm a strong man again... What great luck!
Xu the Fourth, the brother on the side, although uninjured, was also scared and covered in sweat... this kind of treatment is simply horrifying!
Conscientious Clinic...
Fuck me, this clinic... really has no conscience...
"How much?"
"Give me five hundred taels of silver," Feng Yin wiped his hands nonchalantly.
"F... Five hundred taels?"
Xu the Third's face changed, he moaned, "You might as well change the name... Don't call it Conscientious Clinic, call it Unconscientious Clinic…"
"If you crunch both of our marrow bones, it still wouldn't make up five hundred taels…"
Feng Yin raised an eyebrow, displeased: "Watch your words! I'm a devoted doctor, saving lives and charging a fair price in my trade. How come I am unethical when it comes to you? We don't allow credit here. You can choose not to come again if you find it expensive. However, this time... you still have to pay. By the way, didn't you two claim to be Iron Rank assassins? How come you can't even afford a mere five hundred taels? Both of you together?"
From the moment the two of them came in, they had been discussing with each other. They had no consideration for confidentiality, and no reservations. Feng Yin could hear every single word. Now was a good time to probe further.
But his heart was filled with frustration: How could they be so indifferent about confidentiality? And these are supposed to be assassins? On par with me, an Iron Rank assassin?
Just to be clear, I've never told anyone that I'm an assassin. Not one word, okay?
"You can't even afford five hundred taels, you're really a disgrace to assassins!"
The contempt in Feng Yin's words deepened.
While we are of the same Iron Rank, I manage to run a shop and even charge high prices. And you two broke asses!?
Xu the Third almost broke down in tears: "You said it yourself... we're just Iron Rank assassins... It's nothing... It's the lowest rank, nothing good to say about it, it's a wonder if we had that much money…"
Shit!
Feng Yin's face darkened.
You guys might be nothing, but I damn well can't be!
You guys belittle yourselves, but are you including me in that too?
Xu the Fourth continued: "How much can an Iron Rank make? In fact, we brothers have just recently been promoted... Fuck, the second time we're sent out, the big guy gets three ribs broken... Making money? Where to make money from? This trip's medical expenses are a complete loss... Iron Rank, what bird is the Iron Rank..."
Just an Iron Rank!?
Iron Rank is a bird?
Feng Yin felt as if he had been struck again, he suddenly felt a suffocating sensation in his chest. He knew very well that the Iron Rank did not carry much weight in the rankings of Heavenly Judge assassins. But to hear such words from others, it still felt rather uncomfortable.
Damn it… Just an Iron Rank, did it eat your rice?
Looking down on Iron Rank so much!
......
A new chapter has been released, it's a large chapter, nine thousand words.
I'm back, my brothers.