"Sir, you..."
After leaving the dark, narrow alley, Qin Fang quickly gave chase. Before long, he caught up to Bald Li.
He called out quietly to Bald Li, whose nerves were so frayed that he nearly shrieked in terror.
Fortunately, Qin Fang clapped a hand over his mouth just in time, preventing him from giving them away.
Bald Li then came to his senses and, seeing it was Qin Fang who had returned, let out a sigh of relief.
He was about to say something, but in the next moment, his expression changed abruptly. A trace of fear flickered in his eyes as he looked at Qin Fang.
It was because he had seen... the fresh blood spattered on Qin Fang's face.
This made him realize... that man had really been killed!
Bald Li's head swam, and his heart pounded with unbearable anxiety.
'This man is a ruthless killer, no doubt about it!'
'Is... is he really going to let me go?'
A chill ran down Bald Li's spine, and his thoughts were a chaotic mess.
Qin Fang, however, paid no mind to his thoughts and asked in a low voice, "Did anyone else leave?"
He peered ahead... Bald Li was too timid and had been following from a great distance. The targets had almost reached the other end of the street, so he couldn't clearly make out how many of them there were.
Snapping back to reality at Qin Fang's question, Bald Li stammered, "Yes, one of them left..."
"Where?"
Qin Fang asked in a low voice, his brow furrowed.
Bald Li pointed to an alley up ahead. "In... in there..."
"How long ago?" Qin Fang asked with a frown.
"He just... just went in..."
"Alright. You keep following them... get a little closer. I'm going to take a look."
Without any hesitation after speaking, Qin Fang took off at a run.
He was now a good distance from Wang Long and the others, so he didn't have to worry about them hearing his footsteps.
Bald Li opened his mouth to say something, but Qin Fang had already dashed away.
'Such decisiveness...'
Bald Li trembled all over. He wanted to back out, but the image of Qin Fang's blood-streaked face instantly dispelled any such thought...
'If I keep going, maybe I'll live. Like he said, we're in the same boat now.'
'If I quit now... I'm certain he'll kill me, one hundred percent!'
Bald Li was completely trapped; he no longer had a choice.
Of course, Qin Fang was unaware of Bald Li's inner turmoil. He dashed into the alley, his gaze sweeping the area. He immediately spotted someone several dozen meters ahead, in front of a courtyard, seemingly picking a lock.
Qin Fang's gaze sharpened. He wasn't sure if there was anyone inside the house. If the man got inside, it would be troublesome.
He immediately picked up his pace, no longer caring if the man would spot him.
In the dead of night, the sound of someone suddenly running was impossible to hide.
Even though Qin Fang was being as careful as possible, he was still discovered.
"Who's there?"
The man was clearly startled and instinctively turned his head to ask.
Qin Fang didn't answer, only closing the distance rapidly.
The man was obviously bewildered. He shouted again, "You—"
But in the time it took him to speak, Qin Fang had closed the distance to five or six meters. The instant the man opened his mouth again, Qin Fang raised his right hand, and a dart shot out!
PFFT!
The accuracy of his Minor Achievement-level Darts was reliable.
The man had just managed to get the word "you" out before the dart stuffed the rest of his words back down his throat.
He let out a muffled groan, clutching his neck with both hands. He staggered backward and slammed into the door, making a loud noise.
Qin Fang, without a word, rushed forward and, just as he had with the first target, pressed down hard on the dart embedded in the man's neck.
The man's eyes went wide as he instinctively thrashed about, his body thudding against the wooden door. DONG! DONG!
But Qin Fang paid it no mind, simply pressing down on the dart in the man's throat with all his might.
Finally, after struggling for a short while, the man's strength gradually faded, and just like the first target, he stopped breathing.
Qin Fang was breathing a little heavily. After killing this second target, he pulled out the dart but didn't immediately identify the man. Instead, he scanned his surroundings.
He paid special attention to the courtyard door the man had been trying to open, listening for any sound from within.
All was quiet.
After waiting for a good while, Qin Fang breathed a sigh of relief.
'I was lucky. It seems the commotion didn't wake anyone nearby.'
'Then again, it's the dead of night, when most people are in their deepest sleep. The man spoke, but not very loudly, and his struggles weren't that noisy either. It's not surprising no one else woke up.'
After letting out a soft breath, Qin Fang expertly searched the body.
A moment later, he frowned.
'This poor bastard wanted to be a gangster?'
He'd gotten three or four taels of silver from the first target, but from this second one, he only found a few dozen copper plates.
He was speechless for a moment. He got up, examined the man's face to confirm it matched Bald Li's description, and then left quickly.
He didn't dispose of the body.
There was no time.
The longer he lingered here, the more troublesome the rest of the operation would become. He might even have to start killing people inside their own homes.
'It's a shame my strength is too low. The Darts can only pierce the neck, not go straight through. It drastically reduces their killing power and wastes a lot of time...'
Qin Fang summarized his two encounters.
The Darts had enough killing power, but getting an instant kill was difficult.
A serious wound to the neck was fatal, but not immediately so.
The best method would be to pierce the head... a clean shot through the skull would mean instant death.
But unfortunately, his Darts couldn't even pass clean through a neck right now, let alone a head.
The skull was hard; at best, his Darts would just get stuck in the forehead.
It would look intimidating, but it wouldn't even count as a serious injury, nor would it hinder the target's ability to act.
Unless he could pierce an eye socket. That could also achieve an instantly fatal result...
But the eyes were too small a target, and it was pitch-black. If he missed, it would be a huge problem.
He might even get himself killed in return...
Although he had successfully killed two targets in a row, it seemed to go smoothly.
But in reality, it was all done with surprise attacks from a distance using a Hidden Weapon.
If it came to a direct fight... with his small frame, he'd most likely be crushed.
His body was still too weak.
If he had another month or two to recover, or if his master started truly teaching him martial arts, and if his Darts Level were a bit higher... then it would be much simpler.
'A pity.'
As these thoughts ran through his mind, he once again caught up to Bald Li.
There were still four targets left.
But when he caught up to Bald Li again and saw the anxious expression on his face, Qin Fang's brow furrowed slightly. He realized something might have gone wrong.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Qin Fang, Bald Li hurriedly whispered in a trembling voice, "Sir, what do we do? Three of the targets went to Lan Gui Fang together... There are so many people in Lan Gui Fang! What... what do we do?"
Hearing this, Qin Fang's expression darkened.
Lan Gui Fang was the name of a brothel in True Martial County.
It was very famous in True Martial County.
"Which ones? Is Wang Long with them?"
Qin Fang asked in a grim voice.
Bald Li was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "Wa-Wang Long isn't there. It's... it's the other three..."
That meant it was Wuzi Zhang and the other two remaining targets.
Qin Fang's eyelid twitched.
'...The unexpected has happened after all.'
He had already killed two of them.
When the news got out tomorrow, the remaining men would surely be on high alert.
They might even suspect him.
And in his current state, if he were to openly confront the Iron Tiger Gang, it would be like an egg smashing against a rock—he wouldn't stand a chance of fighting back.
'What now?'
Qin Fang's expression was grim and uncertain.