Chapter 196: Ruthless

As soon as Lin Dong turned around, screams came from outside the door. Feng Changzhai’s face turned pale instantly as he staggered toward the door, but Lin Dong stopped him with a casual gesture.
“Elder Feng, I know my limits,” Lin Dong said softly.
Feng Changzhai’s face was deathly white. If this was called knowing one’s limits, then surely no one would feel pain even if their own son was killed…
“Elder Feng, let me say it again. If you want the family to live in harmony and unity from now on, you must stand aside and watch.” Lin Dong said gravely, “Think about Xiao Liang—without any support, how will he survive? End up begging on the streets? Or becoming a bandit through deception?”
Feng Changzhai shuddered. A hint of compassion appeared on his pale face.
“Don’t worry. At most, I’ll just have him lie in bed for a year or two. You decide what’s more important, Elder Feng.” Lin Dong said no more and strode toward the first room on the left side of the hall.
When Lin Dong kicked open the door, the screams outside finally woke Liang Chuanzhen up. Shouting “dead ghost!” he rushed outside.
Breaking down room after room, Lin Dong found quite a bit of snacks in the room farthest to the east. Moreover, in a wooden chest in the room, he discovered many gold and silver ingots—counting them carefully, there were over three thousand taels.
Over three thousand taels of silver was already considered a substantial fortune in Qiufeng City, enough to put one among the wealthy families.

Seeing a whole chest of gold and silver, Feng Changzhai was stunned. He knew Feng Jingtang had made a considerable amount of silver in recent months, but he never imagined it would be this much. As the accountant in the county office, his salary plus the rewards from the county magistrate amounted to no more than a hundred taels of silver per year—amount he hadn’t earned even by scrimping throughout his life.

“What on earth is this scoundrel doing to commit such heinous acts?”

Feng Changzhai was terrified by this chest of gold and silver. It was impossible to earn that much in just a few months, not even Liang Mulong, Liang Chuanzhen’s elder brother, could do it, let alone through legitimate business, as running a large business required capital.

Apart from bandits, no other explanation seemed possible.

“Master Lin…” Feng Changzhai’s voice trembled. If this chest of gold and silver truly had an unclear origin, it could be enough to sentence Feng Jingtang to death.

Lin Dong was also troubled. If this gold and silver really came from murder and robbery, since they had stumbled upon it, they couldn’t let Feng Jingtang go. But if they didn’t spare him, what would become of Feng Changzhai?

“Old Feng, we’ll have to see the situation,” Lin Dong said helplessly. “He deserves death; there’s no reason to spare him. If his crime isn’t punishable by death, I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything.”

Feng Changzhai’s face turned ashen. It was absolutely unacceptable—how dare that scoundrel be so brazen, leaving gold and silver lying around at home?
Lin Dong sighed, handed the snacks he had found to Feng Liang, and rubbed his head, speechless.
As they remained silent, a burly man in a blue short jacket strode in, followed by a group of men armed with large knives. This was certainly not the work of ordinary street thugs.
“Brother, it’s him! It’s him…” Liang Chuanzhen supported Feng Jingtang, whose right arm was tightly bound with white cloth and hung down by his head, pointing at Lin Dong and shouting, “He broke Jingtang’s arm and tried to kill me too!”
“That’s right, big brother! I already said I’m your brother-in-law!” Feng Jingtang nodded frantically. “He said you, Liang Mulong, are nothing—no matter what, you’ll still lose your arm.”
“What audacity!” Liang Mulong glared coldly at Lin Dong, his eyes filled with a murderous intent far beyond what an ordinary person could possess.
“These henchmen are barely above average,” Lin Dong said with a calm smile.
“Pretty bold! Chop him to pieces!” Liang Mulong snarled and waved his arm; the men behind him raised their knives, clearly intent on killing Lin Dong.
Lin Dong frowned slightly. People from casinos really knew how to act recklessly—daring to kill with knives in broad daylight.
A blue sword reappeared in Yun Lan’s hand, but Lin Dong shook his head to stop her. If Yun Lan took action, given her temper, she might kill them all with a single strike, but that wouldn’t be very effective.
“The Ninth Level of the Spirit Mobility Phase is more than enough.”
Smiling, Lin Dong stepped forward, heading toward the fastest and most aggressive opponent.
A gleaming knife swung down at him, but Lin Dong sidestepped just in time. As the man tried to swing the knife horizontally, Lin Dong grabbed his throat abruptly.
With a slight release of spiritual energy, the knife clattered to the ground. Lin Dong held the man by the neck and smashed him hard against the ground.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the man was knocked out instantly. Before he could react, Lin Dong kicked him fiercely.
Surrounded by spiritual energy, Lin Dong’s right foot emitted a faint, barely visible glow as it stepped on the man’s leg.
Crack!
The man opened his mouth wide, gasping for air. Severe pain rushed to his brain, and as he tried to scream, Lin Dong stepped on his leg again.
Pfft!
A muffled sound, like a bamboo tube being smashed by a hammer, drowned out the screams. The man let out a pitiful cry, his head tilted, before collapsing unconscious.

The gangsters in the casino were clearly highly skilled. Though not as desperate as bandits, they were accustomed to violence. The screams of the men didn’t frighten them; they quickly surrounded Lin Dong. Blades flashed, screams echoed, and occasionally, sprays of blood could be seen. Feng Changzhai clung tightly to Feng Liang, unable to bear the sight. Feng Jingtang and his wife couldn’t see clearly what was happening inside and thought all the blood was from Lin Dong. They clenched their fists, veins bulging with excitement, eager to rush over and avenge themselves once Lin Dong fell. Beside them, Liang Mulong looked grave. With his keen eyes, he could see that despite being overwhelmed, Lin Dong remained unharmed, while his men were falling one after another. The weakest of his men were still at the first stage of the Lingdong Phase, considered trained fighters, while the stronger ones were at the third stage. Yet under such assault, he still held his own, clearly at the fourth or even fifth stage of the Lingdong Phase. Although Liang Mulong himself was at the fifth stage, he sensed something was wrong. From afar, Yun Lan felt much more at ease. She had thought that despite Lin Dong’s superior strength, his lack of combat experience might lead to injuries, so she had remained tense and vigilant. Now, she was relieved—only she could see that Lin Dong wasn’t giving it his all. In each move, aside from occasionally using the Misty Step to dodge attacks, he never used the Heavenly Control Art. The chaos didn’t last long. Lin Dong stood amidst blood, with the attackers lying sprawled on the ground, screaming. Feng Jingtang and his wife finally realized the situation wasn’t as they had expected and stepped back in terror. “Pretty skilled. From the academy or a family?” Liang Mulong didn’t look at his screaming men but bowed to Lin Dong instead. “Wanting to make peace?” Lin Dong sneered, stepping firmly on one of the gangster’s palms. With a slight release of spiritual energy, he twisted it a few times, causing the screaming man to pass out. The palm on the ground was now a mess of blood and flesh. Liang Mulong took a deep breath. He possessed such brutality too. But seeing it used against his own men still shocked him. Just as Liang Mulong was about to speak, Lin Dong lifted his foot, sending the sword on the ground flying toward him. Liang Mulong panicked and dodged the sword, but Lin Dong’s right fist was already close. Gritting his teeth, Liang Mulong channeled spiritual energy into his right arm and charged forward. Boom…

At the moment their fists collided, a strong wind suddenly blew out, instantly sweeping away the dust on the ground. Amidst the loud noise, a crisp sound was quietly drowned out. Lin Dong’s expression remained unchanged, with a faint smile carrying a chilling coldness. Liang Mulong’s face, covered in fleshy protrusions, gradually twisted into a grotesque shape; the intense pain made him unable to even feel the presence of the fist. Lin Dong flipped his right hand, turning the fist into a palm, and violently grabbed Liang Mulong’s already broken arm, slamming it against the ground. Blood and flesh splattered; under the force of the impact, Liang Mulong’s thick arm, from elbow to wrist, was flattened into a thin layer. “I… I’m Liang Mulong…” Gasping for air frantically, Liang Mulong’s face became like that of a demon from hell due to the unbearable pain. “A tough guy!” Lin Dong smiled, setting down the curled-up Liang Mulong, then kicked his thigh hard. A glint of light flashed, followed by a terrifying cracking sound. Liang Mulong’s shrill screams were like the cries of demons, filling every pore of the body with fear. Seeing Lin Dong raise his foot to kick again, Yun Lan felt pity and opened her mouth, but after seeing Lin Dong’s stern face, she slowly closed it. The next moment, she moved swiftly, appearing as a streak of light in front of Feng Changzhai and his grandson. She grabbed them and vanished into the grand hall, which was ten to a hundred times quieter and more peaceful than the courtyard. By the time Yun Lan came out again, Liang Mulong’s limbs were completely ruined. Even if a top-tier alchemist were to arrive, there would be no way to restore him. Lin Dong glanced at the panicked thugs retreating and turned to Yun Lan, “Can you guarantee they won’t die?” Yun Lan nodded. She understood what Lin Dong intended to do next. She wanted to stop him but couldn’t find any reason. Compared to those thugs before, these people were all desperate criminals; killing them wasn’t excessive—Lin Dong was just more ruthless. Terrifying screams echoed throughout the courtyard. Wherever Lin Dong went, Yun Lan would flick her fingers, shooting heart-protecting pills into these people’s mouths. In an instant, aside from the four thugs who only had broken arms and could recover in a year or so, those lying on the ground were nothing but human shapes still breathing. Looking back, Feng Jingtang and Liang Chuanzhen were huddled in a corner, their eyes lifeless, their trembling bodies shaking violently. A foul smell slowly spread from the corner.

Yun Lan instantly rushed to Liang Chuanzhen’s side, placing her right palm gently on her shoulder. Spiritual energy flowed in, forming a light barrier that enveloped the fetus in her womb.
Lin Dong stepped forward boldly and bent down to look at Feng Jingtang and Liang Chuanzhen.
“Are there any more helpers?”
“H-helpers…”
The two murmured to themselves, their eyes unfocused.
“Think again. Does Liang Mulong know any powerful people? Or do you two know anyone formidable?” Lin Dong said calmly. “If not, I’ll have to turn you two into the same as them.”
Frightened, the two tried to push themselves away from Lin Dong.
“Helpers, yes, helpers…” As Lin Dong stepped closer, Liang Chuanzhen suddenly went crazy-like, grabbing Feng Jingtang and shaking him: “Lord Qiao! Lord Qiao is so powerful—he’s definitely stronger than him. Go to Fenglin Restaurant and find Lord Qiao. Just say we’ll give him 10% of the profits if he helps us kill one person.”
Lin Dong frowned. He had thought it would be Liang Mulong’s friends or some backing, but never expected Fenglin Restaurant to come into play.
Lord Qiao, Fenglin Restaurant!
Lin Dong was both amused and exasperated. How did these two get connected to Qiao Tianhao?