Guan Yunhai suddenly clutched his throat, his eyes wide, gasping like a fish out of water. His mouth opened and closed rapidly.

"Y-Yan Tianfei," he choked out.

Then, foam started to form in Guan Yunhai's mouth. A choking sound came from his body, and then, as if relieved from pain, he closed his eyes and crashed into a table, dead.

Wu Datao also had foam on his mouth. His eyes were so wide they looked like saucers, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. But before he could say anything, he too closed his eyes and crashed into the table, dead.

Seeing this, Liu Xing inhaled deeply. A moment ago, the three of them had been consoling each other like family, but now, Guan Yunhai and Wu Datao were dead, while Yan Tianfei smiled like an evil manipulator who had successfully outsmarted his opponents.

"Ah, finally. To think the time would come so soon. With this, the Shadow Wolf Gang is mine alone!" He glanced at the gauntlets. "Duan Hai, you're full of surprises. To think you'd die just like that. Heaven truly favors me!"

Yan Tianfei grabbed the gauntlets and pulled the hand out of them. He then put the two black gauntlets on his hands. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then arcs of electricity shrouded the gauntlets.

"Hahaha! This wonderful treasure is now mine! No one can stand against me."

While Yan Tianfei was drunk with power, Liu Xing saw Wu Datao's hand twitch.

Seeing this, Liu Xing pursed his lips. He looked at Yan Tianfei and realized that he was celebrating too early.

Yan Tianfei turned around and stepped closer to the wall. He put his hand on it and sent qi through his hands. The wall glowed for a moment, and then like a door, it slid to the side, revealing piles of gold, jugs of alcohol, spirit stones, an array of weapons, and much more.

"This is--"

"Mine!" Wu Datao said as he stabbed Yan Tianfei with a short sword. The sword pierced through Yan Tianfei's back and jutted out from his chest. Seeing the position, Liu Xing knew that Yan Tianfei's heart was now destroyed.

Every cultivator had high vitality, but for a cultivator in the Lock Opening realm, a destroyed heart or head was still the end.

Yan Tianfei's eyes widened. He turned his head and saw Wu Datao's ugly smile.

"Seems like you forgot who the real snake among us was."

As he said that, he pulled out the sword and kicked Yan Tianfei. Yan Tianfei fell into the pile of gold, his eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe he was dying at the hands of his friend who was supposed to be dead.

Liu Xing shook his head. He couldn't say that betrayal only happened in the cultivator world. After all, even on Earth, Liu Xing knew betrayal was common, but this reminded him once again that this world was harsh. Might made right, and in the end it was the last one standing that was the true victor.

Wu Datao scavenged the gauntlets from Yan Tianfei's hands and put them on himself. He flexed his hands, and a chuckle came from his mouth.

"With this, I will advance!"

Liu Xing summoned his gun and aimed at Wu Datao's head. To Ji Dongyang, he had said that he wasn't above killing. He could kill people if necessary, but Liu Xing didn't want to make killing people a habit.

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In this situation, Liu Xing asked himself: Since his goal was to get those gauntlets, could he get that treasure without killing Wu Datao? The answer was yes. Liu Xing could paralyze him with an electric bullet, knock him out, and pry the gauntlets from his hands. But seeing Guan Yunhai and Yan Tianfei's still-warm bodies, he licked his lips and wondered if letting Wu Datao live was the right choice.

Liu Xing thought for a moment. He had met many robbers before and killed many of them, but the recent robbers he met were Pu He and his gang, whom he let live, and who probably turned their lives around. What was the difference between Mo Yan's group and this Shadow Wolf Gang? Why let them live but not Wu Datao?

After a moment, Liu Xing decided not to overcomplicate the situation. He stepped closer to Wu Datao. The tip of the gun was mere centimeters away from Wu Datao's head.

A moment later, Wu Datao turned around, coincidentally making Liu Xing's gun point right at the center of his forehead.

"Haha! Xiao sect, wait for me. With my clever plan, I can annihilate all of you!"

As he laughed, Liu Xing pulled the trigger. A soft click sounded, and Wu Datao's eyes darted left and right as if looking at what made that click sound, but his death was already decided. Before he could do anything, a hole formed in his forehead, and he simply collapsed to the ground. A small pool of blood formed around his head.

As Liu Xing saw the green strips of his gun glow faintly, he checked his surroundings.

Before, this had been the base of a successful gang of robbers. But now, with all the leaders of this gang dead, Liu Xing was pretty sure the Shadow Wolf Gang was no more.

Crouching, Liu Xing started to loot the Thunderstrike Gauntlets from Wu Datao's hands. He also took the spatial bags from Yan Tianfei and a few hundred spirit stones before fleeing the scene.

As he ran, Liu Xing felt his hands were a bit dirtier than before, but oddly, he didn't feel too much guilt or too much remorse in his heart for killing Wu Datao.

Shaking his head, Liu Xing put the matter of the Shadow Wolf Gang out of his mind. He couldn't change the past, so he focused on the future.

Since he had already gotten two treasures near Mystic Moon City, he only needed to gather eight more treasures so he could move to the next city.

Tilting his head, Liu Xing realized the night was still young, and he decided to get more treasures tonight.

Liu Xing was pretty sure that tomorrow there would be many Purple Moon Sect disciples arriving in this city, so the only night without competition was tonight.

"Alright, next is the Red Lotus Staff."

As he opened the interface and checked the exact location of the Red Lotus Staff, Liu Xing wondered if he would find that the people who had that staff were already dead. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and Liu Xing needed to check whether there was a third time where people died with their hands remaining. If it happened again, then Liu Xing would know that something was wrong around this Mystic Moon City.

Whatever it was, Liu Xing would know soon enough.

Name: Red Lotus Staff

Location: Near a small lake, southern Mystic Moon City

Description: A staff that can encourage growth of herbs around it. This staff was made by an elder of Purple Moon Sect and loaned to a loose cultivator.

Additional Information: In the hands of a talentless loose cultivator by the name of Bai Lin

Liu Xing walked while checking the information again. In front of him was a serene little lake with a surface that reflected the moon. In front of that lake was a pretty little hut, with a roof made from green vines that sprouted yellow and white flowers. The white flowers seemed fresh, as if the moon gave them sustenance. The walls were made from bamboo, and in front of the hut was a small herb garden, with a red staff stuck in the ground like a lighthouse.

Soon, Liu Xing moved through the garden, passing the carelessly placed Red Lotus Staff. He could snatch the staff and just go, but Liu Xing wanted to check on Bai Lin. Hopefully, he was still alive.

Liu Xing knocked on the bamboo door. His knock was light, yet the whole door and wall rattled because of it. From the interface, Liu Xing knew Bai Lin was a loose cultivator, and loose cultivators were usually hungry for resources, but this Bai Lin lived peacefully near a beautiful lake and did gardening, as if he didn't want to involve himself with cultivation.

Not long after, the door opened, and he faced a white-haired old man with a bent back. When seeing Liu Xing, the old man bowed.

"Bai Lin greets the honored master from Purple Moon Sect."

"Greetings," Liu Xing said while clasping his hands. "I've come to pick up the Red Lotus Staff that was loaned to you."