After hesitating for a moment, Adam Carter still felt a bit awkward as he picked up the decayed sword and slung it over his back.

The most pressing matter now seemed to be finding a suitable scabbard for this ‘Qingyun Divine Sword’.

He didn’t really care much about appearances, but as a grown man, he didn’t want to be seen walking around everywhere with a broken, rotten sword on his back.

If he hid the sword in a scabbard, that problem would be solved.

And as soon as he pushed open the door, he was greeted by the sight of more than a dozen figures gathered in the small courtyard. Most of them were young men in their twenties, all looking excited and chattering animatedly.

When Adam Carter opened the door, they all stopped at once, turning to look at him with eyes full of reverence and surprise.

A burly, dark-skinned man built like a tower walked up with a grin and gave Adam Carter a hearty slap on the shoulder.

“Wudao, you’re finally awake! You really did a damn good job yesterday!”

Chapter 8: Lichen Academy

“All the bodies have been taken care of. We bought corpse-dissolving water for ten taels of silver—no one will ever find a trace. Your neighbors in the west of the city were also sent out overnight, so there shouldn’t be any loose ends!”

At this moment, Adam Carter was walking along a street in the north of the city. Beside him was that same burly man.

When he was a child, this man was called George Quinn, but after growing up, he changed his name to Frank Quinn. He was the true leader and brains of their little gang.

It was strange, really—Adam Carter had delicate, almost girlish features as a boy, yet he was the best fighter among them, always leading the charge in battle.

Frank Quinn, on the other hand, looked like a big, rough brute, but he had a mind as sharp as a fox. He was the one who held their dozen or so brothers together, always scheming and adapting, earning a reputation for cunning. Even the skills he learned leaned toward agility and finesse.

Their appearances and roles were completely reversed.

At this moment, Frank Quinn was speaking while giving Adam Carter a strange look, as if a flower had sprouted on Adam Carter’s body.

“Ten days is probably impossible, but we can at least keep things quiet for three. Honestly, if you ask me, we should’ve just killed all those mine slaves to keep them quiet—wouldn’t that have been easier?”

Adam Carter ignored him and looked around. The east side of Yue City was home to the wealthy and powerful, but the north was where the real heart of the city lay.

Thousands of small mine owners and merchants lived here, and the city’s largest market was also located in this area. Brothels lined the streets, and taverns were everywhere.

Not only did the sons and servants of the great families from the east like to come to the north, but even young mine slaves, when they had money, enjoyed coming here to broaden their horizons.

The Yuhuan Street controlled by the Qingyi Hall was the most remote, but even so, it brought in nearly a thousand taels of silver every day.

The tavern, gambling house, and two alleys run by Adam Carter and his group were also on this street. The conflict between the two sides started because Qingyi Hall wanted a bigger cut. When negotiations failed, things turned violent.

It was also because Frank Quinn had been running the gang so well lately, recruiting several powerful new members, that Qingyi Hall became wary and started cracking down.

Now, as they walked down Yuhuan Street, they noticed that most of the Qingyi Hall thugs, who used to swagger around, were nowhere to be seen.

The few who remained looked uneasy, and when they glanced at the two of them, their eyes were filled with both fear and suspicion.

Just a few days ago, they had been hiding like stray dogs, but now they were strutting openly down the street, which was bound to raise eyebrows.

“Could you really do something that heartless? Besides, even if you killed them all, the secret wouldn’t stay hidden for long.”

People who live at the bottom might not know much about the bigger picture, but they’re the most sensitive to changes.

If Shi Hu and Liu He didn’t show up for three or five days, everyone would know something was wrong, and then the whole gang would fall apart in an instant.

“Wudao is right!”

Frank Quinn let out a dry laugh, then his expression turned serious: “And as for Eric Bennett, his body has been taken care of. We got the best coffin, and he’ll be buried in a few days.”

Adam Carter frowned. Whenever he thought of this former brother, killed by his own hand, he felt a knot in his chest.

But after a day had passed, he didn’t feel much regret anymore.

Thinking about it, even if the roles were reversed, if he had been in a life-or-death situation, he would have killed Eric Bennett without hesitation.

Yesterday, he had blamed the sword spirit named Emily, but that was just shirking responsibility—a bit hypocritical. It was only the years of brotherhood that made him uncomfortable and unable to let go.

“Is there any way to contact his wife and child? According to our code, we should give them a hundred taels of silver as compensation, don’t you think?”

“A hundred taels? Compensation?”

Frank Quinn sneered at this: “We brothers risk our lives for every bit of silver we earn, and there’s barely enough to go around—why should we give any to him? He betrayed us for his own gain. The fact that I didn’t skin him alive in front of the others means he was lucky! As for his wife and kid, why should I care if they live or die?”