Liang Hui stared at the twisted blood characters on the ground and revealed a glimmer of realization.
So, this was where the problem arose?
As the cause and effect concluded, the figure collapsed on the ground did not stop the sliding of their finger, shakily writing:
"Esteemed sir, might you spare my life?"
Observing the final plea for life in the blood-written words.
Liang Hui straightened his body, and within the gaze of despair, slowly shook his head.
The next moment, his right foot instantly kicked the figure's neck.
In the crisp sound of breaking bones, the figure on the ground moved no more.
Liang Hui's silhouette quickly disappeared into the dark alley as well.
Not long after, a few figures tiptoed stealthily, sneaking into the alley.
Upon discovering the collapsed figure, a glint of joy flashed through their eyes, and they immediately pounced forward, stripping the body of its clothes.
Soon, all that remained in the alley was one naked male corpse.
And once again, a slender figure emerged at the entrance of the alley, took a deep look at the corpse on the ground, then departed.
All traces had been cleared, and under normal investigation, the authorities should find no valuable clues, except, of course, if they employed mystical arts.
But for a life deemed so lowly in the eyes of the Imperial Court, would it be worth it to engage a Taoist priest?
Not to mention that the occasional casualties within the city were quite normal.
However, was there another risk that needed to be eliminated?
Walking on the street, Liang Hui looked towards the direction of the leather shop; its proprietor should be the only one aware that he possessed Exotic Beast fur.
A frown formed between his brows, but he still quickened his pace towards the tavern.
He soon returned to the tavern, ate the dinner prepared for him, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
Minutes ticked by, and the night grew ever deeper.
Suddenly, Liang Hui's eyes snapped open as he lay in bed, casually tearing off a piece of black cloth and wrapping it around his face, while the crisp sounds of bones snapping echoed continuously.
After the bones in his face had shifted,
He gently opened the window and, like a feline, leaped to cling to the second floor.
With another jump, he was already on the street.
Following the plan he had already devised, Liang Hui quickly headed towards a blacksmith's shop.
Running along the shadows cast by the houses, he encountered more than one group of similarly dressed figures.
However, both parties merely glanced at each other before cautiously passing by.
About fifteen minutes later, Liang Hui arrived at the front of a blacksmith's shop.
At that time, the blacksmith's door was half open, and a low thud of hammering came continuously from the courtyard.
Liang Hui lowered his footsteps, and darted inside.
Just upon entering, he saw a clerk dozing off at the counter and the firelight in the courtyard.
Afterward, his gaze turned to the various weapons hanging on the wall. Without examining them too closely, he only stared at a very ordinary longbow.
The next moment, his legs exerted a powerful force, and he leaped over the counter, snatching the longbow and arrows from the wall and quickly departing.
At the same time, several pieces of broken silver were also placed on the counter.
"Thief! Thief! Master, a thief!"
Despite Liang Hui's swift departure, he still awoke the sleeping clerk.
Looking up at the vanishing shadow at the door, he immediately cried out.
Before his words had fallen, a bare-chested, muscular man came running over with a hammer.
"Where's the thief? What did he steal?"
By now, the clerk was fully awake and looked towards the weapons on the wall.
Moments later, somewhat uncertainly, he said:
"Master, it seems that an ordinary bow and some arrows are missing."
"You're mistaken; nothing is missing," the burly man said, weighing the broken silver on the counter.
Pausing, he spoke with a hint of frustration:
"Zeng Zhuang, you must be more vigilant during your night shifts, or you won't even know when someone has taken your head."
"Master, I have remembered."
Zeng Zhuang nodded, also feeling somewhat nervous.
Elsewhere.
Liang Hui, who was dashing through the streets, gripped his longbow, pulled on the bowstring a few times to get a good feeling for the tension, then slung it across his back.
The leather shop he had visited that morning soon came into view.
His eyes coldly fixed on the store in front of him, he did not hesitate to scale the wall and break in.
...
Tao You tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep, feeling as if something was about to happen.
Creak!
"Brother Tao, my brother hasn't returned yet, nothing bad could have happened to him, right?"
A middle-aged woman with lingering charm pushed open the door and said with some worry.
She paused, then walked to the bedside, and whispered softly, "He's never been this late coming home before."
The missing brother-in-law late at night, the green beast fur, and the frustration in the younger brother-in-law's eyes when he was refused.
A chill ran from his crown to his brain as he finally understood why he couldn't sleep.
That idiot, could he still be harboring thoughts of seizing the Exotic Beast's fur? How dare he!
"Brother Tao, why has your face suddenly turned so pale?" the middle-aged woman asked, bending over with concern.
"Wife, we'll go to the authorities tomorrow..."
Slash!
An arrow pierced through the heart, nailing into the wall.
Warm blood sprayed across Tao You's pale face.
Looking up, he faintly saw a dark silhouette standing atop the wall.
"Brother Tao, Brother Tao..." the middle-aged woman stared blankly at the bloody hole in her chest, at a loss.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two arrows with metallic glints, like silver snakes under the moonlight, passed instantaneously through the window.
One arrow struck the woman's throat instantly, ending her life.
The other headed for Tao You's face.
Ah!
Amidst his roaring, Tao You shook his head desperately to avoid the arrow, not caring about the grief of his wife's departure.
But the arrow was too fast, and even though his wife's death bought him reaction time, it still did not completely miss.
The arrow grazed his cheek, leaving a deep bloody mark.
Before he could react further, two more arrows followed in quick succession.
One went through his arm, pinning it to the bed, the other passed through his chest.
And still, the arrows did not stop, one after another they sliced through the night sky towards Tao You's corpulent body.
Thud! Thud! Thud!...
The sound of metal piercing flesh continued without end.
Only when Liang Hui had shot all the arrows in his hand did he stop firing, tossing the longbow aside.
Through the moonlight and the tattered window, he saw the shopkeeper riddled like a hornet's nest.
His figure then leaped down and disappeared into the night.
It was not until half an hour later that the neighbors around the shop dared to come over and knock on the door to check the situation.
However, no matter how much they knocked, there was no response, and the neighbors began to sense that something might have happened to the shopkeeper's family.
They reported to the authorities overnight.
By this time, Liang Hui had already returned to the tavern.
Lying on the bed, he reflected on the day's killings.
The leather shop's keeper was not weak, likely at the Skin Refining Level, having walked a fair distance within this Realm.
But under the attack of a long-range bow and arrow, he had no chance to resist and was shot dead.
It seemed that, in the future, he had to continue improving the striking power of bows and other long-range weapons, and, of course, prepare defensive measures against such attacks as well.