In the end, they all gasped and looked at each other.

What they were observing was the corpse of Ma the Second.

A huge, bloody hole in his head made it nearly impossible to see what had been used to kill him...

Ma the Second was a Mingjin Martial Artist!

The reflexes and Physique of a Mingjin Martial Artist far surpassed those of Ordinary People.

And this Hidden Weapon could pierce the skull of a Mingjin Martial Artist... Against Ordinary People, it would kill them one by one!

"The power... is vicious!"

"Most of the people here were killed by him!"

"Judging from the power, not only is our culprit an expert with Hidden Weapons, but... they’re most likely a Martial Artist at the Mingjin level or higher!"

"Where did this person come from? Have you guys heard of any Experts in Hidden Weapons from True Martial?"

"Can’t say I have..."

This group was clearly not from a single faction. They had come together, and there were several Mingjin Martial Artists among them.

Just as they were growing suspicious about the attacker’s identity, a hesitant voice piped up.

"I, uh, just remembered something..."

Everyone turned to look at the speaker.

He was a young man. When he saw the Mingjin Martial Artists looking at him, he swallowed nervously before continuing, "Sirs, do you remember... how Wang Long died?"

Wang Long?

The crowd was taken aback.

Then, the memories came back to them one by one.

Wang Long himself was no one special.

But he was Wang Hu’s older brother, which made his status unique and his death a subject of some interest.

The story of Wang Long’s death had circulated widely among the gangs.

They hadn’t made the connection before, but the mention of Wang Long’s name jogged their memories...

Wang Long, as it turned out, had also been killed by a Hidden Weapon!

"That’s not certain, is it? I know Wang Long was killed by a Hidden Weapon, but from what I heard, the killer just happened to use one. It’s not like they were an ’Expert in Hidden Weapons,’ right?"

Someone frowned and said, "Several of Wang Long’s men died at the same time, likely killed by the same person. But a number of those men were killed in close combat... If it were this expert, why would they bother with the hassle of getting up close? Couldn’t they have just finished them off with one dart each?"

These words made everyone nod in agreement.

’...Killing a few hooligans? If it really was this expert, it would be effortless. Why make it so complicated?’

"Well, it was just something that occurred to me... It might not be the same person..." the young man said awkwardly.

The crowd buzzed with discussion, but ultimately reached no conclusion.

"Alright, that’s enough."

A burly man cut in, frowning, "How Wang Long died is irrelevant. What’s crucial now is... we have a true Expert in Hidden Weapons on our hands. We don’t know their background... and the money Wang Long left here has probably been taken by them as well."

"Dammit, a wasted trip!"

"I knew we should have gone to Cao Zhen’s place!"

An uproar went through the crowd.

...

Qin Fang paid no mind to what was happening back there.

After all, he had already secured his prize.

Including what he’d looted from the bodies, he had a total of over two thousand, almost three thousand taels of silver... which left him quite satisfied.

’Three thousand taels of silver was no small sum!’

Many Ordinary People might not earn that much money in their entire lifetime.

And if he spent it all on Qi Blood Pills... maintaining a pace of one Qi Blood Pill a day, Qin Fang would have a supply for nearly a year!

Qin Fang was in a good mood and quickly returned to where Monkey was waiting.

Monkey had been waiting the entire time. Although he firmly believed there was no issue with Master Qin’s strength, he still grew anxious and worried as Master Qin had been gone for half the day.

When Qin Fang finally returned, Monkey’s eyes lit up, and he rushed forward to greet him. "Master Qin!"

Qin Fang nodded.

"How did it go? Did you get it?"

Monkey asked, his face a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

"I got it... Let’s go. To Cao Zhen’s house."

With Wang Hu’s fortune secured, Qin Fang had no intention of passing up on Cao Zhen’s.

’The Iron Tiger Gang and the Four Seas Gang were comparable in strength, so Cao Zhen’s home must also hold a massive fortune!’

Hearing this, Monkey’s eyes shone. "This way! I’ll lead!"

The two immediately set off for Cao Zhen’s house.

Cao Zhen’s and Wang Hu’s homes were on nearly opposite sides of the market... As mortal enemies, it was only natural they wouldn’t live too close to each other.

Wang Hu’s home was at the foot of a mountain, while Cao Zhen’s was by the docks.

One backed by the mountains, the other by the water.

Night had fallen. As they passed through the market again, they noticed chaotic commotions everywhere, punctuated by shouts and curses.

Qin Fang frowned. The marketplace was unusually chaotic.

Just then, Monkey’s voice chimed in, tutting softly. "The gangs occupied the market, and while they exploited the Ordinary People, they also... maintained order. Now that the Iron Tiger Gang and the Four Seas Gang can’t even fend for themselves, some people can’t sit still anymore... A lot of people are probably going to die tonight. And Pingze won’t be peaceful for some time to come."

’Perfect for looting in the chaos!’

Qin Fang shook his head at the thought.

’Human nature is wicked, and greed is a poison.’

’It was just like the government shutdowns back in his past life... the looting would start immediately.’

Pingze City was much the same now.

Without the Four Seas Gang and the Iron Tiger Gang to keep things in check, people were bound to take the opportunity to cause trouble...

After all, you could make a score and run, and no one would ever know who did it... let alone investigate.

Someone was always going to be tempted.

And once the first person acts, a second is sure to follow, and then it becomes a flood.

This was especially true for the riffraff and the down-and-out, those who had more than the lowest but not enough to be content... they probably loved this kind of chaos more than anyone.

But of course, Qin Fang wasn’t going to get involved in any of it.

’And he couldn’t stop it all anyway.’

He had a bit of power now, but he was nowhere near strong enough to single-handedly control the area.

’His Hidden Weapons were formidable, capable of taking down even a Mingjin Martial Artist in a single strike.’