Chapter 123: You Will Find Out Who I Am

I surveyed the fierce-looking young men surrounding me, yet I showed no sign of panic.

Instead, I leaned against a bulkhead and slowly lit a cigarette. After taking a drag, I gestured at them with my finger and said, "Those of you without a mark on your brow, get aside. I’m not here for you."

Brother Seven heard this, brushed the dust off his clothes, and as he walked toward me, snatched a steel blade from one of his henchmen.

"You’re not a cop, are you? Why were you with the police?"

Brother Seven appeared to be in his thirties, but his voice sounded like that of an old man in his seventies or eighties.

I smiled and pointed to the body camera clipped to my chest. "What do you think?"

"Kid, are you even of age? Do you have any idea what the consequences will be for you?"

I let out a cold laugh, dropped the half-smoked cigarette to the deck, and crushed it under my toe. "Just turned eighteen. So, don't you think bringing a steel blade against a kid like me is a bit much?"

Brother Seven didn't reply. He walked straight toward me, his pace quickening. The moment he reached me, he leaped into the air and brought the blade down toward my skull.

I didn't dodge.

Not only did I not retreat, I stepped forward instead. "Shoulder strike!"

As Brother Seven landed, his center of gravity was off. My impact sent him stumbling backward. I pressed my advantage, launching a dual assault with one palm and one baton.

Brother Seven was startled. He tried to block, but realized my strength was far greater than he had anticipated. Afraid to act recklessly, he had no choice but to back away. As he retreated, I grinned.

I bent at the waist, shifted the defensive baton in my hand, and thrust it toward his stomach.

*Zzzzt...*

The sound of electricity crackled across the deck, though it missed its mark by a mere few centimeters!

Brother Seven steadied himself, flashed a sinister smile, patted his chest, and snapped his fingers.

His men immediately understood, dragging a burlap sack out from the cabin. Brother Seven pushed his underlings aside, crouched by the sack, and tore off the black talisman stuck to it.

He looked up at me and said, "You’ve certainly got some skills, but this isn't an era that cares about martial arts. From the moment you stepped onto this boat, you were a dead man walking."

The sack was opened, and a woman with disheveled hair, covered in bite marks and bleeding from all seven orifices, sprang to her feet!

Her wrists and ankles were bound by iron chains, each bearing a black talisman. I sniffed the air; there was no trace of the living about her—only the nauseating, malevolent stench of a corpse.

From the moment she stood, her body trembled incessantly. Her mouth hung open, and drool streamed down her chin, pooling on the deck.

Brother Seven looked at me with a disdainful smirk, as if I were already a corpse in his eyes. Without using a key, he tore the iron chains apart with his bare hands. He pressed his palms onto the woman's shoulders and whispered into her ear, "This fresh meat is a reward for you. Dig in!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the woman lunged at me like a mad beast.

I retreated quickly.

She reached out, trying to clamp her hands around my throat. I took a deep breath and slammed my palm onto the crown of her head.

"Ha! She’s no longer human! You think you can control her like that? Eat him!"

Brother Seven roared with laughter, but his laughter soon faded, for the outcome he expected did not unfold.

White smoke began to rise from the spot where my hand pressed against the woman’s crown, and she let out a series of low, whimpering groans.

The next second, I switched hands, grabbed her by the throat, and hoisted her into the air.

"A failed living corpse—hardly even a match for a grave-dog. You bring out trash like this? How embarrassing."

I sneered and rapidly changed my finger incantations. "As commanded by the Law!"

*Thud!*

With a dull sound, the woman collapsed to the deck. She twitched twice and then went completely still. Her flesh began to decay at a visible rate; thirty seconds later, nothing remained before us but a desiccated mummy.

I clapped my hands. "No wonder. In the Golden Cicada Society, you're nothing but a delivery boy. You're not even as good as Xiaobei."

Brother Seven's eyes widened in shock. "Who on earth are you!"

One must have manners when dealing with others. Since someone asked, I answered.

I stood straight, held my hands in a yin-yang gesture, and spoke, enunciating every word: "Wild Maoshan, Jiang Huai!"

My tone shifted instantly. "What? Didn't your men call you? Tell Lin Feng to wash his neck and wait for me!"

"You... you are Jiang Huai!"

I grinned. "What? Don't I look like the part?"

Brother Seven’s expression was no longer as relaxed as it had been. Although he possessed some skills, he was a bottom-tier member of the Golden Cicada Society. His sorcery wasn't particularly profound; he could only absorb yin-evil energy to harm others.

It worked on ordinary people, but against a genuine practitioner like me, he was completely out of his depth.

Still, there were many of them, and I dared not be careless. It was a matter of life or death, and I certainly didn't want to die.

I sheathed my baton, tore open the front of my shirt, and quickly traced a Vajra Killing Intent Mantra onto my chest.

I shifted my finger seals and declared in a cold voice:

"Borrowing the power of the Three Maos, advancing without retreat, attacking without defense! Killing intent from all directions, I alone charge forward! May the True Lord protect my body—as commanded by the Law!"

With the spell cast, I felt as though no one on the deck could stand in my way. Brother Seven’s henchmen tried to block me, but every one of them was struck down by a single blow.

Brother Seven tried to flee. I roared, "Where do you think you're going!"

Using both hands, I lifted one of his men and hurled him directly at Brother Seven. Brother Seven reacted quickly, dodging the projectile and sprinting toward the cabin.

I followed closely behind, but the moment I entered the cabin, I saw Brother Seven clutching a young woman by the throat.

"Stand still! Or I’ll kill her!"