Old Fourth didn’t hesitate; he immediately turned and ran. But suddenly, he felt a chill on his head—at some point, a lock of his hair had already been sliced off by Edward Sutton!

“If you run again, I’ll kill you.”

Old Fourth turned around and immediately knelt before Edward Sutton, kowtowing in terror as he pleaded, “Last time really had nothing to do with me, it was all David Lewis’s decision! For the sake of our years together, please spare me!”

“Get up!”

Old Fourth, terrified, scrambled to his feet, not even daring to breathe loudly.

“Hand over all the silver you have on you.”

Old Fourth hurriedly took out all the loose silver he had and handed it to Edward Sutton.

“Take him back to David Lewis, and tell him that what he owes me, I, Edward Sutton, will come collect from him personally.”

There was no expression on Edward Sutton’s face—no malice, no anger—but that alone made Old Fourth feel a chill deep in his heart.

Old Fourth dragged and carried the corpse away, quickly disappearing into the alley.

The other passersby in Changle Lane hurriedly stepped aside.

They had seen killings before, but to see someone like Edward Sutton kill so cleanly and decisively left them all shaken and fearful.

“Grace, open your eyes now.”

Edward Sutton rubbed Grace’s head and said, “Come on, let’s wash up. Big brother will take you to eat beef brisket noodles.”

A happy smile immediately appeared on Grace Sutton’s face. For her, as long as her brother was there and there was food to eat, she was content.

At the street corner, Mrs. Walker had been running her stall here for decades. Since childhood, Edward Sutton had brought Grace Sutton here to eat noodles.

Mrs. Walker only sold three kinds of noodles: plain noodles, mixed offal noodles, and beef brisket noodles.

In the past, Edward Sutton would only occasionally bring Grace for a bowl of mixed offal noodles to satisfy a craving. Only during festivals would he order a serving of beef brisket noodles. Just one serving, saved for Grace.

“Granny, two bowls of beef brisket noodles, please.”

Mrs. Walker served them two bowls of beef brisket noodles with bright red broth, and specially gave Grace’s bowl a few extra pieces of beef brisket.

“Good girl, eat slowly.” Mrs. Walker, with her Xiang-Chuan accent, watched Grace devour the noodles, her wrinkled face blooming with a smile.

“Mm, thank you, Mrs. Walker.” Grace couldn’t wait to eat the noodles, mumbling her thanks to Mrs. Walker.

Edward Sutton picked the beef brisket out of his own bowl and gave it to Grace, then started eating his noodles heartily.

As the food went down, Edward Sutton felt some of his strength return. After three days of hunger, most of his energy was restored.

Although, thanks to practicing the Quanzhen Sect’s basic internal skills, Edward Sutton had gained a tiny bit of internal energy, it was far from enough to fully restore his strength.

After finishing his noodles, Edward Sutton saw Grace still wolfing down her food. He gently rubbed her head and said to Mrs. Walker, “Granny, I have something to take care of. Could you look after Grace for a while?”

Mrs. Walker waved her hand and sighed, “Child, the jianghu is dangerous. Don’t forget you still have a little sister to care for.”

Edward Sutton smiled at Mrs. Walker. The jianghu is dangerous, but could it be more dangerous than the human heart?

“Grace, be good and eat your noodles here with Mrs. Walker. Big brother will be back tonight.”

Grace Sutton puffed out her cheeks and nodded obediently.

Chapter Three: When Heaven Wishes to Destroy Someone, It First Drives Them Mad

In Changning Prefecture’s forty-nine wards, Changle Lane was the poorest, but it wasn’t all a slum—at least one street was decent, called Happy Forest.

As the name suggests, Happy Forest was a place for pleasure. On this small street, there were over a hundred gambling houses, restaurants, brothels, and inns.

Just this one Happy Forest was enough to support dozens of members of the Flying Eagle Gang. Without it, the Flying Eagle Gang would probably have to withdraw from Changle Lane altogether.

To fight the Green Bamboo Gang to the death over such a poor place, even the Flying Eagle Gang felt it was a losing deal.

At this moment, inside Drunken Moon House, the largest brothel in Happy Forest, David Lewis was squinting his eyes, enjoying a massage from two girls, listening to his subordinates report, living quite a comfortable life.

David Lewis was already over thirty this year. After more than ten years in the jianghu, he had finally clawed his way up to the position of a minor boss—not an easy feat.

Although the way he got his current position wasn’t exactly honorable.

But this was the jianghu. Even though these small gang members were the lowest rung, there was one universal rule: the winner takes all.

David Lewis was fierce and ruthless enough—his very first fight, he killed a rival gang member with three slashes, earning the nickname David Lewis. But he wasn’t a martial artist; he didn’t know any martial arts at all.

Because of his lack of strength, he had spent over ten years struggling at the bottom of the Flying Eagle Gang.

Still, it wasn’t without its benefits. At least at the bottom, he made many connections, and had some ties with both minor and major bosses above him.

Otherwise, after framing Edward Sutton, what would have awaited him wouldn’t be this minor boss position, but punishment by gang rules.

“How’s Brother Brooks doing over at the gambling house?” David Lewis played with a pair of iron balls in his hand, asking casually.

He had learned this trick from Tie Wuqing, the chief constable of the Eastern Twelve Wards of Changning Prefecture. He thought it looked quite impressive.