"Someone is following me?"
Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.
After advancing Wild Bull Fist to the Proficient level, his sensory perception had vastly improved, leaving him exceptionally attuned to the slightest movement around him.
Just now, he had felt a gaze constantly lingering on him, and someone sneaky was tailing him from behind.
After his pace hitched for the briefest moment, Lin Zheyu continued walking, pretending nothing was amiss.
"Who is following me, and what do they want?"
Thoughts raced through Lin Zheyu's mind as all sorts of possibilities flashed past.
Yet no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out who had targeted him.
Ever since moving to the inner city, he had kept an extremely low profile and never crossed paths or clashed with anyone.
Lin Zheyu turned a corner, taking another route toward a bustling market.
Arriving at the marketplace, Lin Zheyu browsed around, examining goods and bargaining. Paying close attention, he finally spotted the person shadowing him.
"It's him!"
"I've already moved to the inner city, yet they're still haunting me like ghosts!"
Lin Zheyu was speechless.
Although that sneaky fellow had dressed a bit differently than before, Lin Zheyu recognized him at a glance.
Back when he lived in Baishan District, a gang of thugs had robbed him of his food ration, and this guy was one of the four.
Lin Zheyu hadn't expected that even after he had moved to the inner city, these people would still refuse to let him go.
Did they really take him for a pushover?
In the past, he had lacked strength, and his body was weak and malnourished; whenever he encountered them, he could only steer clear.
Now that his Wild Bull Fist had reached the Proficient level, his strength had taken a leap forward. He no longer cared about these petty ruffians.
Against these fellows who had never practiced martial arts and only knew how to brawl and act tough, Lin Zheyu wasn't boasting—he could take on ten of them.
"A thief can wait a thousand days to strike, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days. I need to find a chance to investigate and see what this guy is up to," Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
***
After his storytelling session, it was another bountiful day.
Lin Zheyu earned nearly three hundred wen in tips today.
On his way back, he noticed he was being followed again.
Calmly returning home without showing any sign, Lin Zheyu quickly changed into ordinary clothes and quietly slipped out behind his pursuer. With his current strength, although his tailing skills weren't particularly refined, hanging back at a distance was more than enough to keep from being discovered.
"They switched who was tailing me, but it's still one of their crew."
Lin Zheyu followed the man from a distance.
They arrived at Baishan District.
It was far less bustling than the inner city here. Many places were quiet and deserted; it was commonplace for a murder to go unnoticed for a dozen days.
The man wove through the alleyways of Baishan District, taking several twists and turns before arriving at an ordinary residence.
He knocked on the door. Someone inside opened it, and after he stepped in, the door shut behind him.
"Strange. Being this secretive—could they be plotting something big?"
Lin Zheyu murmured and hurried over.
These fellows usually loitered at street corners shooting the breeze, yet now they were secretly huddled inside a house scheming. Lin Zheyu felt something was definitely off.
Since this involved him, he took it very seriously.
Lin Zheyu was no villain, but he was certainly no saint either. Good-natured softies rarely survived among refugees.
***
Dusk settled in.
Cautiously approaching the window, Lin Zheyu took out a piece of black cloth and masked his face.
He leaned close and pressed his ear against the window frame, eavesdropping on the conversation inside to uncover what plot they were brewing against him.
With his enhanced strength, Lin Zheyu's hearing had grown remarkably sharp.
Even though the people inside spoke in hushed voices, their conversation came through clearly through the flimsy window.
"Wen Biao, how did it go today?" Gao Yu asked the man who had just walked in.
"Same old, same old. Aside from telling stories, the kid stays home all day. Even when he strolls outside, he only visits bustling areas."
"And once night falls, I've never seen him step outside. He probably got terrified while fleeing as a refugee, so now he treasures his life dearly," Yan Ling added.
They had already been tailing Lin Zheyu for over ten days, intending to map out his daily routine and find an opportunity to ambush him—avenging Skinny Monkey while looting a sum of silver.
Based on their observations over the past ten-plus days, this kid was very wealthy.
He earned at least two hundred wen in tips every day. Combined with his base wage, his daily income exceeded three hundred wen, turning their eyes red with envy.
A penniless scholar who had fled as a refugee had actually made such a fortune in such a short time!
"These guys have been tailing me for so long!"
A lingering fear stirred in Lin Zheyu's heart.
From their conversation, he could tell they had been following him for quite some time.
If not for his senses sharpening after his strength improved, allowing him to catch their trail, he might have been ambushed without ever knowing what hit him.
Fortunately, he had been extremely cautious during this period, never going out at night and avoiding remote alleys.
A man might have no desire to harm a tiger, but the tiger harbored intentions to devour the man.
To be targeted for no reason left Lin Zheyu thoroughly displeased, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
When carrying a sharp blade, the urge to kill naturally arises.
With the leap in his strength, his courage had swelled as well.
"Right, Brother Yu, I noticed he somehow learned martial arts from somewhere. Every day, the sound of fists striking a wooden post echoes from his courtyard."
Wen Biao spoke with some hesitation. "Are we really going to make a move? Dealing with someone who knows martial arts..."
He had never been keen on taking action. Although he called Skinny Monkey his brother, they were merely fair-weather drinking buddies. Taking risks on Skinny Monkey's behalf was something Wen Biao felt reluctant to do.
Yet knowing this fellow was such a fat sheep—and all alone with no one to rely on—tempted Wen Biao once more.
"What's there to be afraid of? Even if he started practicing martial arts the day he arrived in Songyi City, he's only trained for a little over two months."
"Building a decent foundation in two months is already impressive; what real power could he have developed?" Gao Yu said dismissively.
Yan Ling curled his lip and chimed in with a grin. "Exactly. Wen Biao, you're way too cowardly."
"Since there's no chance to ambush him outside, we'll slip in secretly at night."
"Yan Ling, go buy a few sticks of knockout incense—get a potent dose to knock out the dog in his courtyard."
"Wen Biao, prepare the gear for scaling walls."
"We'll strike in another ten-odd days, once that kid earns a bit more silver. Heh heh."
"..."
Chapter 16