24: Chapter 24 The Black Market is Stirring Up Horror, Has Detective Lin Gone Mad?! (3k)

On the outskirts of the Ghost Market, in a shadowy street corner.

Several men huddled in the shadows were staring at a figure not far away.

"Boss, this kid is a stranger, he definitely has some big loot on him!" a skinny, monkey-like man whispered, his eyes full of greed. "Should the brothers follow him and... take care of him?"

Beside him, a masked man frowned, seemingly weighing the options.

He was the local kingpin of this area outside the Ghost Market, the leader of the Green Snake Gang.

"Something feels off." Another, more experienced-looking man shook his head. "For this kid to dare show off such wealth in the Ghost Market all by himself, and with such a steady gait, he might be a tough nut to crack. We'd better be careful."

The masked man sneered upon hearing this. "A tough nut? How tough can a wet-behind-the-ears pretty boy be?"

No fighting inside the Ghost Market—that was the rule that had been in place since the beginning.

But once you stepped outside the Ghost Market gate, it was a matter of life and death, left to fate.

Thus, their Gang, which made its living by robbery, had come into existence, and today's target seemed rather unusual.

Seeing the young man leave the Ghost Market entrance, the masked man spoke: "Let's go, follow him."

Hearing their boss's words, the few lackeys of the Green Snake Gang immediately followed with excitement.

Meanwhile, the few scouts left behind exchanged glances, seeing a trace of hesitation in each other's eyes. They decided to hold their ground for now and follow from a distance to see how things played out.

Chen Ran's footsteps were unhurried, echoing through the empty tunnel.

Five figures darted out from the darkness, sandwiching him from front and back, cornering Chen Ran in a dead-end alley filled with stagnant water.

The leader was none other than Cui Hai, the boss of the Green Snake Gang.

He held a thick-backed ghost-head blade in his hand, his face was fleshy, and his eyes glinted with undisguised greed and murderous intent.

Behind him followed four lackeys wielding sharp blades, staring fixedly at the cloth bundle at Chen Ran's waist.

"Run, why aren't you running anymore?" Cui Hai sneered repeatedly, slapping the ghost-head blade against his thick palm.

"Kid, a new face, right? Daring to show off such wealth in the Ghost Market, you don't even want your life anymore."

Chen Ran stopped walking. He slowly turned around. A wide bamboo hat obscured most of his face.

"Hand over the silver notes on your body and the things on your back. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll leave your corpse intact."

Cui Hai spat, pointing the tip of his blade directly at Chen Ran's face, his tone extremely arrogant.

The skinny, monkey-like lackey beside him looked Chen Ran up and down, laughing lewdly: "Boss, I think this kid has delicate skin and tender flesh; why don't we strip him bare and sell him a few times before sending him on his way..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Chen Ran sighed slowly. "Sigh, this world."

Chen Ran didn't consider himself a good person, but he certainly wasn't this evil.

No wonder the imperial court was in such disarray; even such murder-and-robbery business dared to be conducted right under the nose of the capital.

It was easy to imagine that internal corruption had reached its peak; the Ghost Market must have been given the green light from above, so no constables would bother with it.

But there was also a benefit—at least it confirmed that no one was policing this area.

He reached out with his right hand and unwrapped the tattered burlap sack on his back. "I was just worrying about how I'd spent all my savings to buy this blade."

Chen Ran's palm firmly gripped the rough hilt of the black iron long-blade. "Since you're rushing to deliver money, I won't stand on ceremony."

"You're courting death!" Cui Hai was furious. The Qi and blood of an Eighth-Realm Martial Artist erupted instantly, his muscles bulging all over his body.

He gripped the ghost-head blade with both hands, kicked off the ground with his legs, and lunged at Chen Ran like a tiger descending from the mountain.

The ghost-head blade whistled with a shrill wind as it chopped down toward Chen Ran's head. The momentum of the blade was extremely fierce, with no restraint whatsoever.

At the same time, the other four lackeys coordinated seamlessly. They brandished short blades and long spikes, sealing off all of Chen Ran's retreat routes from four different directions, each strike aiming for a vital spot.

Facing the five-man lethal siege, Chen Ran stood his ground, not moving an inch. It was only when Cui Hai's ghost-head blade was about to shatter the bamboo hat on his head...

"Clang—" The black iron long-blade left its sheath.

The aura around Chen Ran underwent a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering change in that instant. He was no longer that ordinary person with an introverted aura.

Terrifying Qi and blood erupted in the darkness like a volcano that had been dormant for a hundred years! Unmatched, violent Internal Energy flooded into the black iron long-blade. Hum!

The incredibly heavy black blade felt as light as a feather in Chen Ran's hand. There were no flashy, unnecessary movements. It was just a simple horizontal sweep.

Rip! The black blade-light, like a tangible ribbon of silk, surged forward at a speed the naked eye could not possibly capture.

Wherever the blade edge passed, the air was violently torn apart, emitting a shrill screech.

"Crack—" The teeth-gritting sound of metal shattering rang out in unison.

Cui Hai's prized, hundred-refined ghost-head blade was snapped in two the instant it touched the black iron long-blade.

Following that. Without any resistance. The black blade's spine, carrying absolute, devastating power, ruthlessly sliced through his protective Qi and blood, crushed his flesh, and severed his thick spine.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment. The ferocious expression on Cui Hai's face instantly stiffened, his pupils filled with endless fear and disbelief.

He lowered his head, staring blankly at his waist. A clear line of blood slowly emerged.

The next second. "Pfft—!" Scalding hot blood surged into the sky like a high-pressure fountain, splashing onto the ceiling of the mine tunnel.

His upper body, along with the bodies of the four surrounding lackeys, was severed right at the waist under this terrifying horizontal slash!

Severed limbs and broken arms, accompanied by warm internal organs, spilled all over the ground, dyeing the stagnant water into a shocking, dark red slush.

One strike. Just a single strike. An Eighth-Realm Martial Artist, along with four fierce robbers, were instantly killed.

They didn't even have time to let out a dying scream before they were reduced to piles of minced meat. Absolute power suppression.

Chen Ran held the blade in one hand, standing quietly in the pool of blood. The blade was as black as ink, still clean, not stained with a single drop of blood.

"Good blade." Chen Ran praised sincerely.

At the entrance of the mine tunnel, the few Ghost Market scouts who had chosen to hold back were hiding in the shadows, witnessing this scene.

At this moment, they all covered their mouths in terror, their legs trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat instantly soaked their backs.

"One strike to kill the Green Snake Gang boss... Good heavens!"

They were both shocked and terrified, yet also incredibly relieved that they hadn't let greed cloud their judgment and attacked earlier.

"The Green Snake Gang people kicked a steel plate this time!" one scout swallowed, his voice trembling. "Let's go, this person is not to be trifled with, hurry and leave!"

The few men scrambled away from the scene. The mine tunnel returned to deathly silence.

Chen Ran had actually long sensed those rats observing from the shadows in the distance, but since they hadn't made a move, he couldn't be bothered to hunt them down.

He wrapped the black blade back up in layers of burlap and slung it onto his back. Next, it was his most familiar part of the process.

He bent down and skillfully rummaged through the five mangled corpses. A moment later, Chen Ran stood up with a heavy money pouch in his hand.

He opened it to take a look. Inside, in addition to the five hundred taels of brand-new silver notes he had just spent at the blacksmith's shop, there were over three hundred taels of loose silver and a few high-quality jade pieces.

"Not only did I get my money back for the blade, I made a net profit of three hundred taels." Chen Ran tucked the money pouch away close to his body, a satisfied arc curling the corners of his mouth beneath his bamboo hat.

Fishing for trouble, black-on-black crime. It really is the fastest shortcut to getting rich throughout history.

After taking the loot, Chen Ran fished out an inconspicuous little porcelain bottle from his bosom. Uncorking it, he evenly sprinkled the white powder inside over the five corpses and the bloodstains on the ground.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..." A piercing sound of corrosion quickly rang out, accompanied by a pungent white smoke.

In less than half a cup of tea's time, the corpses and bloodstains on the ground had turned into a pool of foul-smelling yellow liquid, flowing silently into the intricate underground river along the mine's drainage ditch.

Having done all this, Chen Ran adjusted his bamboo hat, his figure flashed, and he completely merged into the darkness of the Ghost Market.

A few days passed. Great Wei's Heavenly Prison.

Chen Ran, carrying a cup of hot tea, strolled leisurely into the Cell Block D guard room. As soon as he entered, he felt the atmosphere was a bit off.

Usually at this hour, the guards would mostly be dozing off or rolling dice. But today, the room was empty. Instead, an extremely noisy clamor came from outside the door.

"Boss Chen! Where have you been!" Zhang Wen ran in from outside, panting, holding a thick stack of case files, drenched in sweat, his tone filled with clear respect.

Ever since Chen Ran had been promoted a while ago and put in charge of a more important prison area, his status among the guards of the Heavenly Prison was no longer what it used to be.

Chen Ran took a sip of hot tea, his gaze falling toward the outside of the corridor. "Zhang Wen, what's going on outside? Is it the New Year in the middle of the night?"

"Something big happened!" Zhang Wen slammed the case files heavily onto the table, his tone filled with undisguised shock and excitement.

"You don't know yet? For the past few days, that Divine Constable Lin from the Six Doors has gone absolutely mad!"

"How so?" Chen Ran put down his teacup.

"Based on the clues left by Lei Laohu, she has kicked up a storm of arrests in the capital these past few days!"

"She led a large group of elite Six Doors operatives and raided dozens of secret residences, shops, and even the private homes of several imperial officials in the Western District of the capital!"

Zhang Wen spoke with spittle flying and gestures wild. "Divine Constable Lin followed the trail and dug up a shocking, massive web!"

Zhang Wen pointed at the corridor outside and swallowed. "Listen."

Chen Ran listened intently. Sure enough. The Heavenly Prison, which should have been dead silent, was now bustling with noise, like a busy marketplace.

The sound of dense footsteps, the heavy dragging of iron shackles, shrill curses, and the angry shouts of the Demon Suppression Division captains were all intertwined.

"In just these few days, there have been dozens of prisoners hauled into our Heavenly Prison alone!" Zhang Wen clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Section C is already completely packed. I heard they're even clearing out space in the Yi Ward overnight. This Divine Constable Lin is truly a living female Yama. I heard that everyone brought in this time is a tough nut, and there are a huge number of people involved!"

Listening to Zhang Wen's description and the clamor outside, Chen Ran's eyes slowly lit up.

A large number of people involved? In the eyes of others, this was a hot potato, dangerous criminals, and an increased, heavy workload. But in Chen Ran's eyes, these were not prisoners at all. They were a whole prison full of high-quality "experience babies" waiting to be fed!

As Chen Ran's strength continued to increase, the ordinary bandits and thieves in the Cell Block D were providing less and less cultivation power.

Although Lei Laohu was decent, he had already been casually slaughtered by him to silence him.

He had been worrying these past few days about where to find high-level prisoners to "collect rent" and farm participation, so as to improve his martial Dao Realm.

Unexpectedly, Lin Wan was so efficient; she had turned around and sent him a super gift package.

"Boss Chen, what are you smiling at?" Zhang Wen looked at the smile gradually widening on Chen Ran's face, feeling a bit confused. With so many serious criminals packed into this Heavenly Prison, the days ahead would be hard to bear.

"It's nothing, I just feel that our Heavenly Prison is becoming more lively."

Chen Ran stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. "I remember Captain Li saying before that the supervision rights for Section C are now also under my responsibility, right?"

"Yes, that's right, Boss Chen."

"I'm a natural workaholic. Hearing that so many new prisoners have been locked up, I feel a sense of pity and truly can't sleep."

Chen Ran walked to the corner, picked up two huge wooden buckets filled with sour, smelly leftovers.

"I'm going to go deliver some warmth to the new guests."