The road north from town led to Baitou Mountain. Zhao Lin was almost certain the short, sturdy man had been sent by the bandits.

The short, sturdy man was extremely cautious. He would walk for a stretch, then stop suddenly, glancing back deliberately, yet casually, to see if he was being followed.

Zhao Lin wasn’t confident in his tracking skills, so he waited for a while. He only started moving after the man was about to disappear from view.

It was noon, and there weren’t many people on the road. After they passed a village, the number of travelers dwindled until only Zhao Lin remained.

"Friend, who might you be?"

The short, sturdy man stopped abruptly. His expression turned hostile as he stared at Zhao Lin, his hand dropping to rest on the hilt of the saber at his waist.

"What are you saying? I don’t understand."

Zhao Lin’s eyes looked blank and his tone was full of confusion, but his movements were lightning-fast. He drew his axe and swung it viciously at the man’s head.

The man never expected Zhao Lin to attack without another word. Shocked and enraged, he didn’t have time to draw his saber to block. He immediately dodged to the side and continued trying to pull his blade free.

Zhao Lin’s skills were on a whole new level now. He gave the man no chance to draw his weapon. He lunged forward and drove a fist into the man’s left ribs.

The man had no choice but to release his saber’s hilt and raise a hand to meet Zhao Lin’s fist.

With a muffled THUD, the man flew backward and slammed against the trunk of a large tree.

Before the man even hit the ground, Zhao Lin was on him, driving a kick into the small of his back.

The pain nearly made the man black out. He gritted his teeth, fighting to stay conscious, when he suddenly felt his collar tighten. He was being dragged into the cornfield by the side of the road.

Zhao Lin forced him facedown, wrenched his arms behind his back, and pressed a knee into his neck, giving him no chance to fight back.

The man felt as if a mountain were crushing his back. He could barely breathe. He couldn’t help but cry out in pain, "Spare me, Sir!"

Zhao Lin said coldly, "I ask, you answer. Lie to me, and I’ll kill you."

The man replied hastily, "Yes, yes! I’ll answer every question."

"Are you one of Drilling Mountain Leopard’s men?"

"Yes, our chieftain is Drilling Mountain Leopard. What is it you want to know, Sir?"

Zhao Lin’s voice was low. "Why are you buying bear gall?"

The man’s eyes darted around. "My old father is sick..."

Zhao Lin pressed his knee down harder. The man immediately changed his story. "The Chieftain wanted me to ask around! I don’t know why!"

"Are there others asking at the other apothecaries?"

"Yes..."

Before the man could finish, Zhao Lin snapped his neck.

The man’s eyes shot wide as he breathed his last, dying with an eternal grievance.

Zhao Lin quickly frisked the body and pulled out a money pouch. He opened it to find a five-tael ingot of Official Silver and over three taels in loose silver coins. A flicker of delight crossed his face.

’Robbery really is the fastest way to get money.’

The thought had barely formed before it put him on alert.

’This was just a matter of expediency. Besides, he was a ruthless bandit. I can’t make a living this way.’

’What a sin, what a sin...’

Zhao Lin pocketed the silver and tossed the empty pouch onto the corpse. He didn’t clean up the scene, intentionally leaving behind the "evidence" of a deadly robbery.

After he was done, a potential problem occurred to Zhao Lin.

This was Lisha Town. If one of their bandits was killed here, wouldn’t Drilling Mountain Leopard assume the killer was from Lisha Town or the surrounding area?

’A rabbit doesn’t foul its own nest. I need to find a way to throw them off the trail.’

Zhao Lin’s mind raced, and he quickly devised a solution: kill another bandit who was buying bear gall, but in a different location.

Killing bandits in different places would not only earn him more silver, but it would also confuse Drilling Mountain Leopard and prevent him from getting a clear lead.

With that thought, Zhao Lin took off at a run toward Goujiao Town, thirty li away.

Goujiao Town was ten li northwest of Qinghe County. He chose it because the town was situated in a mountain pass, with winding, rugged roads that were difficult for horses and carts to traverse.

The bandits couldn’t ride their horses there, which meant he would have enough time to catch them. Otherwise, they would be long gone by the time he arrived.

Zhao Lin wasn’t a fast runner, but he had incredible stamina. He ran for nearly two hours without slowing down, finally arriving in Goujiao Town.

"Doctor, I haven’t been sleeping well these past few nights. Could you take a look and see what the problem is?"

Zhao Lin was waiting in the apothecary for the bandit to show up. As a cover, he came up with an excuse to have the resident doctor examine him.

He had just inquired discreetly and learned that the person looking for bear gall hadn’t arrived yet.

"Your pulse is steady and strong. You don’t seem to have any illness. Have you been worried about something lately?"

The doctor asked after a moment of taking his pulse.

"You’re truly skilled, Doctor. You hit the nail on the head," Zhao Lin replied, putting on an act.

The doctor nodded. "I’ll write you a prescription to calm your nerves. Go home and rest for a couple of days."

The doctor wrote out the prescription. Zhao Lin paid, asked the apothecary to brew the medicine for him, and then waited in the main hall to drink it.

After a short wait, an attendant brought over the brewed medicine. As Zhao Lin drank, he glanced toward the door. ’It’s almost dark. Why hasn’t the bandit shown up yet?’

Just as he was wondering, a figure appeared in the doorway. A middle-aged man wearing a long, green robe walked in.

Zhao Lin was slightly taken aback. The man had refined features and was well-dressed; at first glance, he looked like a scholar. But when he walked, his legs bowed outward—he was bowlegged.

’Not just a bandit, but a veteran horse-bandit.’

The green-robed man was more discreet. Unlike the short, sturdy man who had immediately started shouting about buying bear gall, this one walked directly to the counter and spoke quietly to the Shopkeeper.

Zhao Lin couldn’t make out what the man was saying, but the Shopkeeper’s reply revealed his purpose. "We only have one bear gall in the storeroom, from last summer..."

Hearing this, Zhao Lin drained the rest of his medicine in one gulp, grabbed the remainder of his prescription, and walked out of the apothecary.

The sky was growing dark and the streets were emptying. Zhao Lin employed the same tactic as before, following the green-robed man out of town.

The green-robed man quickly realized he was being followed and picked up his pace. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Zhao Lin dropped the pretense. He sprinted forward, drew his axe, and brought it down on the man’s back...

A moment later, the green-robed man lay in a pool of his own blood.

’The first time is strange, the second is familiar.’ This time, Zhao Lin felt quite calm as he killed.

To his slight disappointment, however, the green-robed man didn’t have much money on him. A thorough search of the body yielded less than two taels of silver.

This time, Zhao Lin didn’t leave the body where it fell. Instead, he dragged it several li to the riverbank and tossed it in.

The methods for the two murders were different. ’I wonder what the bandits will make of that?’

After disposing of the body, Zhao Lin reverted to his usual self.

It was late, but considering the importance of the day’s events, he decided he had to notify Zhou Pao and the others.

Zhao Lin took a shortcut to Baiqiao Village. When he was still several li away, he saw the sky glowing with the light of widespread fires.

Dozens of masked men on horseback, holding torches, had surrounded Baiqiao Village, sealing it off completely.

"Everyone, listen up! Get out here, now..."