"You're in pain, aren't you? I can make it worse—say, by chopping off your legs," Qian Jin said coolly, raising a hand, fingers splayed. "I can tell you that while your screams are loud, the City Patrol guards, under normal circumstances, are currently patrolling three streets over. It will take them five minutes to reach here. If I leave in two minutes, I should still have enough time."

"Aaaargh..." The warrior, having lost both arms, writhed on the ground, his pained eyes darting towards Qian Jin, filled with immeasurable terror.

"Still not talking? I’m pressed for time." Qian Jin's expression didn't change as he brought his blade down swiftly, severing one of the opponent's thighs clean off.

Qian Jin showed no mercy to this kind of enemy. Hesitation or kindness at this juncture was disrespect to his own life—it was courting death! Anyone who fought with the intent to kill should already be prepared to meet death.

"Still not talking?" Qian Jin calmly touched the tip of his nose, observing his opponent whose entire body was twitching from the agony. "My patience is very thin. I'll give you two choices now. One, I kill you immediately. Two, you answer me, and I let you live. I’ll count to three."

"One."

Qian Jin slowly raised his blade, all the while keenly watching his surroundings, guarding against a potential fourth attacker.

"Two."

A deeper layer of killing intent flashed in Qian Jin's eyes...

"Don't... don't... I'll tell you..."

Qian Jin smiled; this outcome was not unexpected. The man before him was clearly terrified of death; even crippled, he would want to survive. His harsh methods had finally worked.

"Speak. If I find you're lying, I'll still kill you."

"I'm not lying... Lucas... Lucas at the blacksmith shop, he said you would take his business in the future and wanted you dead..."

Lucas? The memory of the blacksmith shop flashed in Qian Jin's mind, along with the venomous look in Lucas's eyes when he left. He silently chastised himself; he had underestimated that hateful gaze and heart, that someone would hire assassins over such a petty matter.

"Everything I said is true... I'm not lying..." The warrior curled up like a shrimp on the ground from the pain.

Qian Jin nodded with a smile, then suddenly tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife! In the moonlight, that smile paired with the cold glint of the blade made him look like the cruel demon described in ancient texts. "I know."

"You... you break your promise!"

Thwack! Qian Jin casually dropped the knife that had just severed the man's head, coldly glancing at the corpse on the ground. "After torturing you like this, would you ever let me live if you survived? I saw those venomous eyes at Lucas's shop. Could I possibly overlook them?"

Looking up, Qian Jin frowned slightly, glancing in the direction of Lucas's Blacksmith Shop. Lucas likely wasn't there at this hour. It was a pity he didn't know where Lucas lived; otherwise, he might just march over tonight and see if he could eliminate him right there.

In the silent, dark streets, chaotic footsteps began to echo faintly from the distance, interspersed with the calls of military men. The City Patrol guards had arrived faster than expected.

Qian Jin looked left and right, sweeping the area again to ensure no hidden enemies were observing him. He then broke into a run, heading rapidly in the direction opposite to the Auckland Magic and Warrior Academy.

The days spent fighting in the Western Mountains had forged in Qian Jin a resolute, decisive temperament, alongside a cautious and meticulous way of handling affairs.

Killing was no small matter. Even self-defense killings were a monumental event for a warrior student with no power or influence.

Though his eyes had searched everywhere and he found no hidden figures, that didn't mean there wasn't anyone secretly watching. Every warrior student knew there was a relatively expensive piece of military equipment called a telescope.

It was a long tube that could be extended and retracted, featuring a large transparent lens at the front and a small lens at the eyepiece. These were not only used by the army but also by higher-tier mercenary groups and adventurer teams. Qian Jin dared not assume no one was observing from a distance using one.

If Lucas was watching from afar with a telescope, returning to the academy after the murder would be incredibly foolish. With Dean Keller presiding over affairs, he would surely seize the opportunity to find evidence of exactly when Qian Jin returned to school.

Franklin's Blacksmith Shop might provide an alibi, but that shop was significantly less influential than Lucas's. It would be a further disaster if he implicated the Franklin Blacksmith Shop.

Fabredis! In Oakland City, there was nowhere safer than Fabredis's place! Qian Jin ran all the way, and soon he heard the deep, melodious chime of the city's clock tower—the great bell that only rang for major homicides at night or when the city was under attack.

Torches flared in multiple locations throughout the city streets, and other City Patrol guards, having quickly donned their clothes, rushed out to enforce the curfew.

Qian Jin sprinted ahead of the City Patrol guards setting up roadblocks, reaching Fabredis's doorstep just before them. The sound of a large contingent of City Patrol troops running echoed behind him.

Time was tight; Qian Jin couldn't waste time knocking and waiting for Fabredis to open the door. He pushed off the ground, leaping high, grasping the not-so-low courtyard wall with both hands. He pumped his arms and kicked off the wall simultaneously with both feet, using the momentum to vault over into the courtyard.

"Excellent! The light is still on!" Qian Jin looked up and saw the highest, presumably largest room in the courtyard still illuminated. He broke into a short, accelerating run toward the house, vaulted onto the windowsill of the second floor, and pushed off again with renewed strength. He reached up, gripped the sill with his fingers, and pulled, twisting his body in mid-air to flip directly into the open window, which had its curtains already drawn.

Entering the room, Qian Jin instinctively rolled on the ground to absorb some of the impact, then quickly looked up, saying, "Mr. Redis..."

The room... was utterly silent... only the breeze made the window curtains flutter with a soft puff-puff sound. Qian Jin stared blankly at the figure in the room holding a nightgown, wearing only her undergarments, her alluring figure completely exposed: Gu Yue Jiaying.

Moonlight, the dead of night, and Gu Yue Jiaying in just her intimate wear; one curve of her delicate breast was faintly visible. Her long legs, unburdened by shoes, didn't appear shorter; rather, the removal of her outer clothing seemed to add length to her fair, beautiful legs. Coupled with her damp hair, the entire presence exuded an indescribable allure, maturity, and sexiness.

Qian Jin hadn't anticipated seeing such an intimate scene. His head felt hot, his face flushed crimson, and he froze stiffly on the spot.