Chapter Forty: The Second Stage of Double-Crossing

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Quyuan Street, much like Erxian Bridge, was a gathering place for all walks of life.

Yet, while those who gathered at Erxian Bridge were generally industrious artisans striving to make a living, Quyuan Street had taken a more degenerate turn.

The name itself hinted at its origins: the area was once filled with opera houses. Troupes of performers, dance ensembles, theater companies, comedians and storytellers all once resided along this street.

In the eastern district, it was considered a street brimming with artistic atmosphere.

But as the performing arts waned, those who had made their living here found themselves unable even to provide for their families.

Some troupes, especially those with many young, attractive women, gradually discovered that their clients paid more to escort the performers than to watch a show. Thus, the path of Quyuan Street began to twist toward something more sordid.

One establishment after another sprang up—this building, that courtyard—turning the street into a haze of vice. Those who could not endure it moved away, leaving behind only thieves and scoundrels.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that, in the entire eastern district, this was the densest gathering of the dregs of society.

But now, the street was in chaos.

More than twenty men, wrapped only in bedsheets and duvet covers, stalked the alleys with their followers, seething with anger.

Their homes had been emptied out—so thoroughly that they would have to renovate before anyone could live there again.

So now, whenever they saw a stranger on the street, they would pick a fight, and if they saw a stray dog that looked too shifty, they suspected it might be the Night Crow.

Otherwise, Liang Zhi wouldn’t have had to hide on the rooftop to check the reward for fulfilling a final wish.

He looked down at the angry, despairing thieves and couldn’t help but laugh aloud. Weren’t they now feeling exactly as those whose money they had stolen once felt?

Liang Zhi felt no pity for them—on the contrary, he was delighted. If he could mock them to their faces, that would be even more satisfying.

So, Liang Zhi climbed down from the roof.

Of course, he wasn’t about to taunt the whole street in person. He still had two final wishes to complete: the second stage of the “prey on the wicked” task, and the “moral coercion” wish.

Over the past days, Liang Zhi had figured out some of the rules for the final wish list.

Committing a single bad deed only counted toward the completion of one wish—like when he’d snatched a child’s lollipop. That counted as robbery, but it couldn’t be tallied under the “Chapter of Theft” wish completions.

So, even though he had targeted the thieves and stolen from them over twenty times, he still hadn’t completed the “prey on the wicked” wish.

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The second stage of “prey on the wicked” required him to commit such acts ten times—the victims had to be bad people, they had to recognize that Liang Zhi was also a villain, and he had to seize their interests directly to their faces.

It was only ten times, after all; he might as well take this opportunity to get it done.

...

“What a marvelous place this is,” murmured a gaunt man in a black robe, his face pale as snow. He stood on the second floor of the Spring Affinity House, gazing down at the street below.

Beside him sat Ling Ji, her face resting on her hand—a simple gesture that rendered all the other women in the Spring Affinity House dull by comparison.

She spoke with resignation, “I summoned you to Wangjing to help out, not to have you loiter here in the Spring Affinity House. You’re hardly a whole man anymore, are you?”

The man gave a cold, chilling laugh. “Our agreed task isn’t until tomorrow, is it? I’ll be there, I promise. Today, I just want to have a little fun.”

“A little fun?” Ling Ji frowned. “Yuan Mi, what are you planning to do here? I’ll warn you—this is Wangjing. You toss a brick and it’ll hit two remarkable individuals.”

Yuan Mi’s smile twisted further. “When did you, the enchantress, become so timid?”

“Perhaps after witnessing what it truly means for there to always be someone greater,” Ling Ji thought of Xie Zhitou’s overwhelming strength and that handsome face, and her own cheeks colored.

Yuan Mi’s eyes suddenly turned gray, a mist swirling within them.

“Don’t worry, I won’t take any risks. It’s just that there are so many who died unjustly here—perfect for cultivating my ‘children.’ Tonight will be lively, indeed.”

A shiver ran through Ling Ji. She was not afraid of Yuan Mi’s power, but she loathed his abilities.

“In any case, I’ve warned you. Don’t let your whims ruin the mission the cult assigned us.” She rubbed her arms as she descended the stairs.

...

“Head Constable Hu, you must stand up for us!”

“That Night Crow is utterly heartless—he couldn’t even leave my chamber pot!”

A band of veteran thieves surrounded Hu Zhiying, voicing their grievances.

Hu Zhiying found the situation rather odd. Usually, people came to report these very men, and they would deny everything. Now, the tables were turned and they were the ones indignantly accusing someone else.

If Night Crow hadn’t stolen case files from the Criminal Investigation Office that very morning, Hu Zhiying might have found the Night Crow’s actions quite commendable.

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Because of Hu Zhiying’s presence, the thieves on Quyuan Street no longer dared to brazenly harass strangers, which gave Liang Zhi his chance.

He wandered the street, acting just suspiciously enough to draw the attention of those searching for the Night Crow, but not so suspicious as to be obvious.

Four men in total—all bald, each with a different colored cloth strip on their arms, marking them as belonging to various crime bosses—began to shadow him.

When Liang Zhi turned down a secluded alley, far from Hu Zhiying’s watchful eye, the four thieves finally revealed their true colors.

Li Xiao’ao, wearing a blue ribbon, shoved Liang Zhi hard, pinning him against the wall. “We’ve never seen you around here before. What are you sneaking about for? Was it you who robbed my boss’s house?”

The other three eyed Liang Zhi with ill intent. In truth, none of them were seriously trying to catch the Night Crow.

The Night Crow was the true king of thieves in the eastern district—if he could clean out their boss’s house so thoroughly, he was no simple character.

They were simply looking to take advantage of the situation for some petty gain.

Such was the chaos of the eastern district’s most notorious street: even in broad daylight, a lone stranger could be mugged.

Liang Zhi brushed Li Xiao’ao’s hand off him and straightened his collar. This was the second time he’d faced such a situation in Dazong, but he was no longer the same as before.

“That’s right, it was me who stole from your boss.”

The four were dumbfounded—had they really stumbled onto the culprit by sheer luck?

Wei Fu, with the red armband, scowled and shoved Liang Zhi. “Cut the crap. You think you can bluff us here?”

Liang Zhi seized Wei Fu’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, making Wei Fu howl in pain.

As a former undercover journalist, Liang Zhi had picked up some self-defense skills—not enough to take on a crowd, but more than enough for unsuspecting thieves.

“By the rules of the eastern district’s thieves, I’m now the King of Thieves. Since you’ve met me, shouldn’t you offer something as tribute?”

Liang Zhi grinned wickedly at the four, ready to begin his moral coercion.