Hong Wei walked through the town while hearing whispers from nearly every resident he passed.
Even though he was all clean now, with no bruises or injuries on his body, fully healed after transmigrating into this body, and later cleaned up by Shan Mei… that didn't erase the memory people had of him dragging his tattered form through the streets not long ago.
So, they were curious.
How was he fine now?
Had he been pretending earlier?
And most importantly, why was he walking toward the outskirts of the town… toward the place where the Black Dog Gang lurked?
Naturally, there were all sorts of gossip. The people had nothing better to do. They were free, idle, and hungry for spectacle… waiting for a good drama to unfold before their eyes.
His safety? That was the last thing on their minds.
That's why Hong Wei didn't spare them a glance.
And with Shan Mei by his side, exuding an unfamiliar presence that no one dared to block his path, he moved forward.
He was heading to the more desolate side of the town… toward where the Black Dog Gang was.
Soon enough, the townspeople faded away behind him, and only a few beggars remained scattered here and there… people who didn't have the same courage to speak like the previous ones, and so the surroundings grew quiet…
Just for a moment.
Because not long after, the silence was torn apart, by a loud, vulgar laugh, and chatters.
The noise wasn't from the beggars. It came from ahead, deep within the Black Dog Gang's hold.
What was going on to make them this loud? What were they celebrating?
Hong Wei didn't need to wonder for long.
Because not far ahead, he saw it with his own eyes.
They were grilling the boar.
The boar he had hunted with tremendous effort.
The same boar they had stolen from him.
They were roasting it openly, drinking, laughing, toasting.
Celebrating.
And at that sight, Hong Wei's eyes turned cold.
An unprecedented fury began to burn within him.
Did they not know what that boar meant?
He may have healed his mother with Shan Mei's help now…
But that didn't erase the truth of what that boar once was.
It wasn't just meat.
It was a chance… a desperate, blood-earned ticket for his predecessor to call the physician.
That boar was the manifestation of everything his predecessor felt, the helplessness, the fire, the will to save his mother.
So at this moment, more than anger at them for driving his predecessor to death… no, for killing him.
More than the rage of murder…
It was this… this act.
This desecration. This laughter over stolen effort.
It was what made Hong Wei's fury soar beyond reason.
And he thought that was the worst thing they had done.
Until—
He finally made sense of the drunken chatter leaking from the gang's mouths.
"Heh, the meat tastes better when it's stolen. Isn't that right, Ergou?"
"Hmph! Of course it does! I told you fools, that kid was too pretty. Walking around like he was some young master. Thought he was better than us. I fixed that!"
"Hah! Bet his soul's still wandering, sniffing the air for his damn pig!"
"What about his mother? She's all alone now… we should go and share our warmth with her, no?"
"Pfft, you idiot! You wanna catch something from that filthy bitch?"
"Hahaha! Should've taken her back when she was still fresh. Real pity, isn't it?"
The last voice was cut short.
Because in the lull that followed their filth, one of them finally looked up and blinked.
"...Wait. Isn't that Hong Wei?"
Some grinned. Some frowned. And in the end, a few reached for crude weapons, got to their feet, and walked toward him.
Hong Wei, however, didn't move. Didn't flinch like his predecessor, as in show his fear. Instead, he clenched his fist, turned to Shan Mei beside him, and said, with a voice laced with seething frost:
Hong Wei, however, remained still. Unlike his predecessor, he did not flinch, let alone show fear of them. Instead, he clenched his fist, turned to Shan Mei beside him, and spoke with a voice laced in seething frost:
"Kill all of them."
Shan Mei gave a small bow of her head.
"Understood, master."
She began to step forward, but Hong Wei's hand caught her wrist.
His other hand rose, pointing toward a specific figure at the center of the group still sitting.
"Leave that fucker to me. But, cut his legs off. So, he can't run away."
Shan Mei nodded once again and resumed walking forward. Her every step was calm and graceful, carrying an air that didn't belong in this filthy place… and finally, the Black Dog Gang noticed her.
"Who the hell is she?"
"Dunno, but damn, look at her. Looking like a courtesan draped in fairy silk…"
"Think she's a gift? Heh… maybe we ought to take turns!"
"Oh yeah? Let's see if she's got the same tightness as her cheap face suggests!"
"She scared? What's with the little wave she's doing?"
Hong Wei's brow twitched.
He was about to speak… perhaps to tell Shan Mei to remove their tongues first.
But he didn't have to.
Because right then, Shan Mei finally moved.