If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

Three days.

The air in the western part of Beijing has changed.

The once bustling street is now much quieter. Half the shops are closed, and those that are open are deserted. The shopkeepers and their assistants lean against the doorframes, their eyes filled with anxiety as they watch the street.

People walked quickly down the street. No one looked around. Everyone tucked their heads into their collars, as if trying to hide from something unseen.

Only the second floor of the teahouse, by the window, offers a relatively safe spot.

Zhou Yang held his teacup, the tea long since cold. He looked downstairs as a group of Earthly Fiend Sect disciples, dressed in black, walked past. Their steps were synchronized, and each carried a sword at their waist. Their eyes, like those of wolves, swept over everyone on the street.

Across the street, a few thugs with askew hats and a sleazy look saw them and immediately shrank back into the alley. They were members of the Green Dragon Society.

The powder keg is full. Now all that's missing is the spark.

Qin Shuang sat opposite him, also looking out the window. She didn't speak, but her fingers tapped unconsciously on the table. One tap, then another. The rhythm was light, yet it made one's heart tighten.

"Today is the third day," Zhou Yang said calmly. "It's time to settle the score."

Qin Shuang stopped typing. "Have the arrangements been made with the Earthly Fiend Sect?"

"Everything's arranged," Zhou Yang said. "Leopard Head Li Kui is a ruthless man, but also a fool. He thinks he's found the Green Dragon Society's weakness. He'll go there himself."

Where is Zhao Kun?

"Him?" Zhou Yang's lips curved into a smile. "He's waiting to become a live-in son-in-law."

Through Bai Xiaosheng, they spread a false rumor: the leader of the Azure Dragon Society has a beautiful daughter who is looking for a husband. This leader is particularly fond of Scorpion Hand Zhao Kun.

The news was false. But Zhao Kun's ambition was real. He had been ostracized by the Earthly Fiend Sect and had long wanted to climb the social ladder. He wouldn't let go of an opportunity that could make him the eldest daughter's son-in-law.

Therefore, he would go to the West City Wharf. That was where the Azure Dragon Society conducted its private transactions. It was also the grave that the Earthly Fiends Sect had prepared for him.

Qin Shuang looked at Zhou Yang. She still didn't understand how Zhou Yang could have planned everything so clearly. He had a firm grasp on people's hearts, desires, and timing.

"Let's go," Zhou Yang stood up. "Let's go see the show. The show's about to begin."

They went downstairs and joined the sparse crowd on the street. Zhou Yang had changed into ordinary short-sleeved clothes and put on some disguise, looking like an ordinary errand runner. Qin Shuang, on the other hand, looked like an ordinary woman going out to shop, with half of her face covered by a veil.

Instead of taking the main road, they walked through several narrow alleys. The closer they got to the West Wharf, the more complex the smells became: the earthy stench of the river, the fishy odor of shrimp, and... the smell of rust.

The dock was unusually quiet today.

All the laborers who used to carry goods were gone. Only rows of crates were stacked there, like silent tombstones. A few small boats were moored on the shore, gently rocking with the ripples. Lanterns hung on the boats, their dim light casting long shadows on the water.

The wind blew across the river, carrying a damp, chilly feeling.

Zhou Yang pulled Qin Shuang behind a huge cargo container. From there, they could clearly see the center of the dock.

Before long, a figure appeared.

First came a group. They emerged from all directions, silently, like a pack of ghosts in the night. Their attire varied, but they all wore a fierce expression. They were members of the Azure Dragon Society.

They quickly gathered seventy or eighty people and cordoned off an open area in the center of the dock.

Then, the people from the Earthly Fiend Sect arrived.

They didn't hide, but swaggered in from the main road. Leading them was a burly man, bald, with a leopard's head tattooed on his neck. He was Li Kui, the leader of the Earthly Fiends Sect, known as Leopard Head.

He was followed by hundreds of disciples, a dark mass that completely overwhelmed the chaotic Azure Dragon Society on the other side.

The two groups faced each other, about ten paces apart. The air seemed to freeze. Only the sounds of wind and water could be heard.

"Li Kui! What the hell do you mean?" A man who looked like a manager from the Green Dragon Society stepped forward, pointing his finger at Li Kui and cursing, "Bringing so many people to our docks, trying to cause trouble?"

Li Kui sneered, his voice like a broken gong. "Your dock? I'd like to ask, when did this dock become yours? In the western part of the capital, when did it become your place to speak, you lowlifes?"

"You're asking for it!"

Before the steward could finish speaking, one of the impatient men behind him had already drawn his knife.

The scene instantly erupted.

The members of the Earthly Fiends Sect were prepared. At Li Kui's command, the dark mass of people immediately rushed forward. Although the members of the Azure Dragon Society were caught off guard, they were also desperate men. Their eyes turned red instantly, and they grabbed their weapons and charged forward.

Shouts, the clash of swords, and screams echoed throughout the entire dock.

The smell of blood quickly filled the air.

Amidst the chaos, a figure moved.

Scorpion Hand Zhao Kun. He didn't participate in the chaotic battle on the front lines. Like a real scorpion, he silently circled the edge of the battle zone, sneaking towards the largest awning boat.

He believed that the leader of the Azure Dragon Society was on that ship.

Sure enough, two dark figures were standing on the ship, seemingly observing the battle. Zhao Kun's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace.

Just as he was a few steps away from the boat, a person suddenly appeared from the side and blocked his way.

It's Li Kui.

Zhao Kun was startled and stopped in his tracks. "Sect Master? What are you doing here? The front lines..."

Li Kui's face was grim, like a piece of old iron. He stared at Zhao Kun, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger.

"You don't need to worry about the front lines." Li Kui's voice was low, yet it drowned out the surrounding shouts of battle. "Zhao Kun, I've always valued you highly. Do you know why?"

Zhao Kun was stunned. "This disciple does not know."

"Because you're ruthless, vicious, and decisive," Li Kui said. "I thought you'd be the sharpest blade in our Earthly Fiend Sect. I never imagined you'd be an ungrateful dog!"

Zhao Kun's expression changed drastically. "Sect Master, what do you mean by that?"

Li Kui snorted coldly, took something out of his pocket, and threw it at Zhao Kun's feet.

It was a letter.

The envelope had already been opened, and the sealing wax stamp on it was the mark of the Earthly Fiend Sect.

"This letter, you wrote it to the leader of the Azure Dragon Society, didn't you?" Li Kui's voice trembled slightly, like the sound of heartbreak. "You told them everything about our Earthly Fiend Sect's plan for tonight, the deployment of our brothers! You want us all to die here so you can escape and become their live-in son-in-law!"

Zhao Kun's face turned deathly pale instantly.

He stared at the letter on the ground, trembling all over.

"No...no! Sect Master! I didn't write this! This is a setup! Someone is framing me!"

He knew, of course, that this was a setup. The handwriting on the letter was so perfect, almost indistinguishable from the real thing. But he had never written it!

"Framed?" Li Kui roared, pointing at the fallen Earth Fiend Sect disciples around him. "Then tell me! Why did the Azure Dragon Society seem to know our plan all along! Why were we ambushed the moment we entered! My brothers are falling one by one, and you're here thinking of defecting to the enemy! What else do you have to say?!"

The fighting around them stopped at some point.

All the disciples of the Earthly Fiend Sect gathered around, looking at Zhao Kun with cold, hateful eyes.

They saw the letter in the sect leader's hand, and they saw their dead brothers on the ground. Everything became clear.

He's a traitor. Zhao Kun is a traitor.

"I didn't! I really didn't!" Zhao Kun panicked completely. He looked at his brothers around him, trying to defend himself. But he couldn't speak. Their gazes felt like knives stabbing into him.

There is no denying it.

This plan was tailor-made for him from the very beginning. The more he tries to explain, the more it sounds like the truth.

"Brothers," Li Kui's voice rang out again, filled with endless sorrow, "our brothers, whose blades fell? The Green Dragon Society. But who lured the Green Dragon Society here? Who handed them the knife?"

He raised the knife in his hand and pointed it at Zhao Kun.

"It's him!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill the traitor!"

The disciples of the Earthly Fiend Sect were all bloodthirsty, raising their knives and approaching step by step.

Zhao Kun had nowhere to retreat. He looked at Li Kui's cold face, and at the faces of those around him who had once called him brother. He suddenly understood.

This is a trap. A trap designed to kill him.

"Hahahaha..." Zhao Kun suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter shrill and piercing. "Well... well, Li Kui! Well, the Earthly Fiend Sect! You've schemed so much! I, Zhao Kun... admit defeat!"

Before his laughter subsided, he suddenly pulled out several poisoned scorpion-tail darts from his waist and threw them at Li Kui.

He wanted to make one last desperate attempt.

Li Kui, a veteran of countless battles, dodged the attack with a swift sidestep. His disciples behind him, however, were less fortunate; they screamed, clutching their necks and collapsing, their bodies turning black.

"You dare to resist!" Li Kui roared and kicked Zhao Kun in the stomach.

Zhao Kun was kicked and rolled to the ground. Before he could get up, several gleaming steel knives simultaneously pierced his back. His body jolted violently, his eyes widened, and he stared in disbelief at his chest.

Blood gushed from the wound, staining his clothes red.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only spat out a mouthful of blood.

His head tilted to one side, and he fell silent.

Scorpion Hand Zhao Kun is dead.

Seeing this, the members of the Azure Dragon Society completely lost their will to fight. Their patron was dead, and they themselves had become a leaderless mob. Under the onslaught of the Earthly Fiends Sect, they quickly crumbled, either surrendering or jumping into the icy river.

On the dock, only the cheers of the Earthly Fiends remained.

Li Kui stood beside Zhao Kun's corpse, his face devoid of any joy. He kicked the body and spat. "A traitor deserves the fate of a traitor."

In the chaos, no one noticed an inconspicuous, unassuming man who slipped up to the body.

Zhou Yang crouched down, pretending to search Zhao Kun for anything valuable. His hand rummaged inside Zhao Kun's clothes. Soon, he felt something hard.

It is a jade pendant.

He discreetly tucked the jade pendant into his pocket, then stood up and, as if nothing had happened, blended into the crowd of Earthly Fiend Sect disciples cleaning up the battlefield.

He turned and walked away, disappearing into the deeper shadows.

He hadn't gone far when he saw Qin Shuang waiting for him.

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and walked side by side out of the alley.

Behind them, the shouts of battle at the dock had subsided, leaving only the shouts of the Earthly Fiend Sect and the groans of the wounded.

Zhou Yang reached into his robes and touched the cold jade pendant.

The jade pendant is of excellent quality, smooth and warm to the touch. It is carved with a simple cloud and dragon pattern. Most importantly, below the dragon pattern is a small character engraved.

Qin.

He held the jade pendant in his hand; the character on it made his palm hurt a little.

The wind stopped. But the smell of blood on the street seemed even stronger.