He was not waiting for a person, but a weapon. The moment that weapon whizzed out from some corner, he would dart toward it like a leopard, ready to challenge the person who launched it. Capturing them alive would be best; only then could he fully understand the truth of the Shengsi Qiyue (Life and Death Contract), and only then could he track down any clue about Xiaoyu and learn of his recent condition.

As he mused, someone else found something amidst the rubble heap. The person jumped down from the debris, located a wooden stick about three inches long, and used it to poke around the broken stones, pushing aside large pieces of glass and brick. He then discarded the stick and reached into the resulting hole, fumbling for something. This action was far too conspicuous. Had he quietly plucked a gold necklace from the ruins and slipped it into his pocket, perhaps no one would have noticed. At this moment, his arm was halfway into the cavity, unconsciously fueling the wild speculations of the surrounding onlookers and scavengers. Malicious gazes and footsteps slowly closed in on him, yet he remained utterly absorbed in retrieving whatever was in the hole, completely oblivious to the imminent danger closing in.

Just as three or four figures crept toward the man digging in the rubble, precisely as Xiao Shu had anticipated, a boomerang shot out from the east corner—the same color, following the same trajectory. The dart flew diagonally toward the head of one of the plunderers, cleanly cleaving the greedy eye in two as if slicing through iron. Before the body even hit the ground, Xiao Shu was already moving like an arrow toward the corner where the boomerang had originated, clamping icy hands around the assassin’s neck.

“You can actually move that fast!” The voice belonged to the same black-clad girl named Bing Yu from before. In her hands, she now held two more boomerangs. Ignoring Xiao Shu’s presence entirely, she flicked her wrists, sending the darts flying in rapid succession. In just two or three seconds, the two other marauders lurking around the digging man quietly collapsed, not even managing a grunt.

“Can you save them?” Bing Yu glanced dismissively at Xiao Shu, looking at the bodies on the ground, as if issuing a challenge.

“I am not here to be a savior.” Seeing that his actions posed no threat to her, Xiao Shu withdrew his hands, standing respectfully before her with a smile as flat and unreadable as a playing card. “I am here to inquire about someone.”

Seeing his sudden shift to a pleasant expression, Bing Yu became slightly flustered, reverting to the look of an inexperienced young girl. She shot back, “Aren’t you angry about their deaths?”

“If anger could solve problems, I would readily lop off my own head. Even if I stopped you, I couldn’t stop your companions.” Xiao Shu glanced back at the corpses lying on the ground, a flicker of regret crossing his eyes, then turned back to her. “Therefore, such actions are utterly futile. Right now, I only wish to ask you about the whereabouts of a friend. Perhaps he, like you, is fighting for his life under the Shengsi Qiyue, struggling between conscience and survival.”

“Conscience and survival…” Bing Yu let out a cold laugh and said to Xiao Shu, “This world is not sustained by morality. Survival of the fittest is the true law of existence.”

Seeing her haughty demeanor, Xiao Shu lowered his posture. “Very well, I take back what I just said. Then, can you lead me to that friend? He once perished until no bones remained, yet he was resurrected in the waters of Peach Blossom Pool. I have something he needs.” As he spoke, Xiao Shu pulled the photo locket from an inner pocket of his coat, opened it, and placed it in Bing Yu’s hand, saying tenderly, “He still has family in this world who miss him dearly.”