Hearing the noise, the other person turned around: "Old Wu? What's wrong?"

Lin Feng gently laid the body down, stepped out from behind the pile of goods, lowered his head, and mumbled in the servant's voice, "It's nothing, I just tripped..."

"You fucking scared me..." the man muttered as he turned around and continued his search.

Lin Feng silently crept up behind him and repeated the same move. The second servant also fell.

He quickly dragged the two bodies behind the pile of goods to cover them, blew out the lantern, left the warehouse, and locked the door behind him.

The gambling in the west wing hadn't ended yet. Old Liu San cursed, "Where the hell are Old Wu and the others? They haven't come back for ages!"

"I'll go take a look." The horse-faced man got up and went out.

Lin Feng lay hidden in the shadows of the eaves, watching him head towards the storeroom. When the horse-faced man reached the middle of the courtyard, Lin Feng drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

"call out--"

The arrow pierced the air and struck him squarely in the back! The horse-faced man fell forward without even letting out a scream.

"What's that sound?" Liu Laosan asked alertly from inside the house.

Lin Feng leaped down from the eaves, landing silently. He quickly walked to the door of the west wing and kicked it open!

"Bang!"

The wooden door shattered. The three people inside looked up in horror and saw a masked man in black standing at the doorway, holding a bow and his eyes as cold as ice.

"Who...who are you?!" Liu Laosan suddenly stood up and knocked over his wine bowl.

Lin Feng didn't answer, but turned around, closed the door, and bolted it shut.

"You're asking for death!" One of his men drew his knife and lunged forward. Lin Feng dodged to the side, swept his hunting bow horizontally, and tightened the bowstring around the man's neck with a powerful twist! The man's eyes bulged out, and he collapsed.

Another henchman grabbed a stool and hurled it at him. Lin Feng ducked and kicked him in the back of the knee. As the henchman lunged forward, Lin Feng plunged the knife into his ribs, straight through his heart.

In the blink of an eye, two of his men were dead. Liu Laosan's face turned ashen. He retreated to the wall and reached for his waist—where a dagger was tucked.

"Don't move." Lin Feng's hunting bow was already aimed at him, the bowstring fully drawn.

Liu Laosan's hand froze, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Good sir... which gang are you from? If you want money, just say the word, Liu..."

"Shut up." Lin Feng interrupted him, took the real account book from his pocket, and threw it at his feet. "Take a look, do you recognize it?"

Liu Laosan looked down and was utterly terrified: "You...where did you come from...?"

"From your warehouse," Lin Feng said coldly, "smuggled salt, ironware, weapons, and human trafficking. Liu Laosan, you've got some serious business acumen."

"Hero... Hero, spare my life!" Liu Laosan knelt down with a thud. "I... I have money! Lots of money! You can have it all! Just let me go..."

"Money?" Lin Feng laughed, a cold laugh. "You think I'm short of money?"

Liu Laosan broke out in a cold sweat: "Then...then what do you want? Women? I have them! Women from town, women from the county, as long as you..."

"I want your life," Lin Feng said, enunciating each word clearly.

A fierce glint flashed in Liu Laosan's eyes. He suddenly rolled on the ground, drew his dagger, and stabbed at Lin Feng!

But Lin Feng had already dove to the side the instant he moved, and the arrow left the bowstring at the same time!

"puff!"

An arrow pierced Liu Laosan's wrist, the one holding the gun! The dagger slipped from his hand. Liu Laosan screamed, clutching his wrist as blood gushed out.

Lin Feng stood up, walked up to him, and drew his knife.

The knife pierced Liu Laosan's heart. Liu Laosan's eyes widened, a "hoarse" sound came from his throat, his limbs twitched for a moment, and then he remained still.

Lin Feng drew his knife and wiped the blood off Liu Laosan's clothes. Then, he took out the account book he had found in the storeroom from his pocket and placed it on the table. He then picked up Liu Laosan's dagger, put it in his hand, and positioned him in a suicide pose.

After doing this, he went to the wall, took down the torch hanging there, and lit the curtains.

Flames shot up and spread rapidly.

He took one last look at the burning west wing, turned and went out, climbed over the wall and disappeared into the night.

Half an incense stick later, flames shot into the sky from Liu's warehouse. The town resounded with the sound of gongs and was bustling with noise.

"Fire! Liu's warehouse is on fire!"

"Quickly, put out the fire!"

"Master Liu is still inside!"

But the fire was too intense, and no one dared to approach. The fire was not extinguished until dawn. Four charred bodies were found in the ruins. One of them was holding a dagger, and next to him was a tattered ledger with the words "smuggled salt" and "armor" faintly visible.

The county officials arrived. The coroner examined the body and said that Liu Laosan "committed suicide," and the account books beside him were "ironclad evidence of his smuggling and collusion with bandits."

The other three were guards from the Liu family.

The news spread quickly. Qing Shi Town was in an uproar.

"Liu Laosan committed suicide?!"

"They even left behind evidence of their crime! Thank God!"

"The account book even records that he sent silver to the county magistrate! Now the magistrate is in trouble!"

The county magistrate is indeed in trouble. The prefectural government has sent people to investigate, the magistrate has been suspended from his post, his home has been searched, and tens of thousands of taels of silver and countless jewels have been found.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng was in the cave at Eagle's Beak Cliff, changing Zhou Fugui's bandages.

"Liu Laosan is dead," Lin Feng said calmly. "He left behind evidence of his crimes. The county magistrate is also under investigation. You are safe now."

Zhou Fugui and Ye Qingshuang were stunned.

"Dead...dead?" Zhou Fugui couldn't believe it.

"Yes." Lin Feng nodded. "Your revenge has been taken."

Ye Qingshuang burst into tears and was about to kneel down in front of Lin Feng. Lin Feng stopped her.

"No need. Evil will be punished; it's only natural."

Tears streamed down Zhou Fugui's face: "Brave warrior... Your great kindness and virtue will be forever remembered by the Zhou family..."

"Take good care of your injuries." Lin Feng patted his shoulder and walked to the cave entrance.

Su Wanyue looked at him, her eyes filled with worry and pride. This man didn't talk much, but everything he did was earth-shattering.

a few days later.

Charcoal kiln.

Lin Feng asked, "Boss Zhou, your injuries are almost healed. What are your plans for the future?"

Zhou Fugui said, "I'm afraid the cloth shop will have to close down. My hometown is Yangzhou, and I still have some distant relatives there. I want to take Qingshuang back to Yangzhou, find a stable place, open a small shop, and live out the rest of my days there."

"Yangzhou is good, a peaceful water town in Jiangnan." Lin Feng nodded. "When do we set off?"

"What do you see...?"

"Tomorrow," Lin Feng said. "I'll take you to the ferry tomorrow. It'll be a smooth and safe journey down to Yangzhou with favorable winds and currents."

"This..." Zhou Fugui looked at Ye Qingshuang.

Ye Qingshuang bit her lip and whispered, "Brother Lin, Sister Su, aren't you... coming with us? Yangzhou is prosperous; you can settle down there..."

Su Wanyue gently took her hand: "Qingshuang, we still have things to do and need to head north. All good things must come to an end. If fate allows, we will meet again in the future."

Ye Qingshuang's eyes reddened, and she nodded emphatically.

The next morning, Lin Feng hired a mule cart, and the group headed to the ferry crossing thirty miles to the south.

The ferry crossing is called "Sanhe Ferry," a confluence of several waterways, where boats come and go, making it quite lively.

Lin Feng found a large passenger ship to Yangzhou and paid the fare.

On the dock, Ye Qingshuang held Su Wanyue's hand, her eyes brimming with tears: "Sister Su, these past few days, I've been so grateful for your and Brother Lin's care. Qingshuang... Qingshuang doesn't know how to repay you."

"Being well is the best way to repay her." Su Wanyue gently tidied her hair.

"Once you arrive in Yangzhou, live a good life. If you encounter any difficulties, remember to send me a message."

The passenger ship cast off its moorings and slowly departed from the shore.

"Let's go." Lin Feng took Su Wanyue's hand and walked back.

The two found a clean inn in the ferry town and stayed there.

Lin Feng wandered around the town again, finding a carriage shop to prepare for his journey north the next day. As he passed a clinic, he suddenly heard crying and the sound of things being smashed coming from inside.

"Please! Stop smashing it! My father is still sick!"

It was the voice of a young woman, shrill and desperate.

A crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the clinic, pointing and whispering. Lin Feng paused, then walked over.

Peeking through the gaps in the crowd, the clinic was a complete mess.

An elderly doctor with white hair lay on a couch, his face sallow, coughing incessantly.

A young woman, about eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a light blue cloth dress, stood with her arms outstretched in front of the old doctor, her face streaked with tears, but her eyes were stubborn.

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