"The old city, Lion Alley... It's just three streets away, a ten-minute walk."

The crow laughed, "Lion Alley, have you heard of it?"

Gu Shen's mind stirred, and he furrowed his brow slowly.

Lion Alley, he had indeed heard of it!

Gu Shen grew up in the corners of the Qinghe District, which was already remote and backward in terms of information. He basically didn't know anything about major events... But he did have an impression of the name Lion Alley.

The wireless channel of the welfare institute had reported this Lion Alley name because the case at that time had a significant impact. It was reported for several days in a row, and Gu Shen still had an impression of this news... A certain prominent figure who had just topped the list of the richest people in the metropolitan area was assassinated in Lion Alley.

"Since childhood, winters in the metropolitan area have been very cold. Everyone rarely goes out, but I often wander outside. At that time, I would always smell a strange scent of alcohol... I originally wanted to climb over the wall and steal some alcohol, but I was caught red-handed."

Song Ci smiled sadly and said, "That man was interesting. He caught a little thief like me but wasn't angry. He even let me have a taste... The alcohol was so spicy that it made my nose run and my eyes water. He burst into laughter and called me a coward. So I took another big sip, and after finishing it, I passed out right there in the courtyard. Anyway, I was just a smelly kid with no parents, so it didn't matter where I slept."

"That man's name is Lu Cheng, but I call him Old Lu."

Song Ci's voice became hoarse. "I thought that someone like Old Lu, who wandered aimlessly in the old city area all day, would be a street ruffian with no prospects. He's getting old and can't find a wife, so he can only be a jobless wanderer... Until that day when I climbed over the wall and saw the walls of Lion Alley stained with blood. The scene was surrounded by hundreds of people, and I saw a bunch of police officers, doctors, and lawyers arguing loudly. Old Lu was lying quietly in the middle of those people, with a spreading pool of blood beneath him."

"And then... they took Old Lu away. I saw it on TV. Old Lu was the richest person in the metropolitan area, and these people were arguing because he had too much money. Everyone wanted a share." The crow looked at Gu Shen and laughed, "What do you think... Is it nonsense?"

Hidden in plain sight.

Everyone had heard this phrase, but how many people could actually achieve it like Lu Cheng?

"After Old Lu died, people cursed me as a jinx, saying that I killed my parents and the neighbors." Song Ci shrugged and whispered, "It wasn't until Xiao Lu came that they stopped saying those things. Not because they had good intentions and didn't want to hurt others, but because Xiao Lu was beautiful like a phoenix. It was obvious that she came from a prestigious background, so they didn't dare to talk bad about her behind her back."

"Xiao Lu...?"

"In fact, they don't know anything," Song Ci coldly laughed twice. "Xiao Lu is the name I gave her. After Old Lu died, the courtyard became vacant, and she moved in alone, so I called her Xiao Lu. Everyone speculates that she is Old Lu's daughter, but her temperament doesn't match at all. They can only guess that she is a distant relative or something... Don't believe me? Ask them, who knows what Xiao Lu's real name is?"

I asked before...

Gu Shen whispered softly, "Why did Xiao Lu leave?"

"I don't know." The crow's spirit suddenly collapsed, and he cried with a mournful face, "Xiao Lu is such an unpredictable person. She comes when she wants to and leaves when she wants to. When she left, she didn't even say goodbye to me or make plans to meet again... It wasn't until Lady Nan Zhi took me away that I found out they had a fight. Xiao Lu left the metropolitan area with her luggage in a fit of anger and said she would never come back."

He took a big gulp.

The crow angrily said, "Fine, she can leave, but how could she not take me with her? I can fight, I can hit, I can bend, I can stretch. Do you think I'm a burden?"

Gu Shen's expression was complicated, and he thought, isn't it because you're too unreliable?

"Heh, women." Song Ci waved his hand, "When she comes back to the metropolitan area, I will give her a chance to repent."

"After Old Lu left, only this alcohol was left. Xiao Lu didn't take it, so it's mine now." He invited Gu Shen to clink glasses and curiously asked, "Gu, how come you can hold your liquor so well? Don't you feel anything at all?"

"Um... I'm almost done..." Gu Shen fell silent for a moment, and he asked while supporting his forehead, "Another drink?"

"I will definitely make you pass out tonight!" Song Ci gritted his teeth and raised his glass, "You, you little brat, you really fooled me... I guess you really ran away because you did something wrong and felt guilty. Come on, confess, what kind of despicable thing did you do?"

"Actually, I told the truth at that time..." Gu Shen clinked glasses and helplessly smiled, "It's just that you didn't believe me."

Song Ci shook his head and swayed, supporting his chin with one hand, barely preventing his head from hitting the table.

He tried hard to recall Gu Shen's explanation at that time.

After a while.

His brows furrowed, and his tongue began to slur, "You said... you hit... Cui Zhongcheng with a bamboo pole..."

"Yeah."

Gu Shen lightly acknowledged.

"Wo... wo... woah..."

Song Ci gasped in a cold breath, and he slowly tilted his head back in a tactical move, looking at Gu Shen incredulously, and confirmed once again, "Cui Zhongcheng?"

After receiving confirmation.

He forcefully shook his head, dispersing the alcohol-induced dizziness, and laughed heartily, pulling Gu Shen's shoulder tightly, "You really know how to brag, but... I believe you!"

By this time, Song Ci finally realized, to his surprise, that Gu Shen had been sipping the Lion Awakening Wine at a constant speed, taking two or three times more than himself.

"Were you born in a wine jar?" Song Ci became anxious and quickly protected the wine bottle, "Drinking stops here today!"

Twenty minutes later, the two of them stumbled out of the alley.To be precise, one person was staggering while the other was forced to stagger.

Gu Shen was supporting a crow and still savoring the taste of Lion Awakening Wine... He tasted the spiritual elements in the wine and silently recalled the "Lion Alley Case" mentioned by the crow.

Ten years ago, after Old Lu died, the Lu family fell apart and all their assets were taken over by someone. If I remember correctly, it was also the year when Zhao Qi awakened.

Gu Shen was not clear about what happened back then, but he knew that in the Judgment Hall, his senior sister registered her name as Nanjin.

His senior sister abandoned the surname Lu.

The crow said that the two sisters had a fierce argument, and since that day, Lu Nanjin had left the city and had not returned... This information was enough to speculate on something.

"Desperate Sanlang probably bears an irreconcilable blood feud..."

Gu Shen muttered softly, then he remembered Chu Ling's words and said in a low voice, "We shouldn't harbor ill intentions towards others' past."

Supporting the crow, Gu Shen arrived outside the alley. After the crow vomited a lot by the grass, it reached out to Gu Shen for the helmet and struggled to put its head in.

"You want to go back like this?" Gu Shen said seriously, "In the city, drunk driving results in a revoked driver's license, and motorcycles are no exception."

He wasn't worried about any accidents happening to the crow.

"I'm not drunk..." Song Ci spat and laughed, "The reason I got drunk is because I wanted to. Do you understand?"

Gu Shen fell silent for a moment.

Based on his intuition, what the crow said was correct.

Transcendents, regardless of their system, needed to temper their spiritual power. When their spiritual power was strong enough and alcohol could no longer dissolve their will, no matter how much they drank, they only needed to activate the breathing technique to regain sobriety... With Song Ci's strength, even if he drank the "Lion Awakening Wine" containing spiritual elements, he would not get drunk, at least not in such a sorry state.

"If I don't get drunk, there are some things... I can't say."

The crow leaned against the wall and gestured for Gu Shen to come closer.

It chuckled softly, "You're a smart person. I mentioned the Lion Alley Case just now, and you should have guessed something..."

Gu Shen opened his mouth, not because he didn't want to speak, but because he really didn't know what to say.

"I never believed in coincidences. Old Lu was such a good person, how could he provoke enemies? He had already hidden in the old city, but he was still targeted." The crow chuckled softly, "Who do you think did it?"

Gu Shen calmly said, "You think it's Zhao Qi."

"Correct, correct!" Song Ci patted Gu Shen's shoulder forcefully and affectionately said, "No wonder Mr. Cui took a liking to you... You really understand me. There's nothing better than knowing your own child... Ah, forget it."

"What do you want?" Gu Shen's expression was strange.

"Of course..." The crow extended a palm and lightly swiped it in front of its neck, making a gesture of killing, its eyes burning with excitement. It smiled and asked, "What do you think?"

"Do you want to get rid of Zhao Qi?" Gu Shen said, "Or..."

"Ahaha..."

"Just kidding, just kidding." Song Ci quickly interrupted Gu Shen.

Explore the extended edition on p𝑎wre𝑑d.com

"Although everyone is afraid of me outside... I'm actually a coward." The crow sighed heavily and chuckled, "Besides having strong fists and a strong life, I don't have any other notable qualities. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of acting impulsively and causing trouble for my wife. You know, on the day I met you, do you know why I ran away?"

Gu Shen silently waited for the continuation.

"A man came to wreck my place, and before he could introduce himself, I attacked... I swear, I only used one punch, but I didn't expect him to be so weak. I sent him half-dead to the underworld, almost meeting the King of Hell."

The crow smiled and somewhat proudly said, "That person is called Chen Jingtan, Chen San's nephew."

After waiting for a long time and not hearing Gu Shen's response, the crow raised its eyebrows angrily, "Are you mute?"

"Chen San's nephew..." Gu Shen said, "So what?"

"Is this the first time you've heard Chen San's name?" The crow was quite annoyed and seemed a bit discouraged.

"Not the first time, but... hearing his name, should I have any reaction?" Gu Shen felt a bit embarrassed and said, "I know that Chen San is on par with the Zhao family's congressman, a very powerful figure."

Song Ci sighed softly and completely gave up on explaining to Gu Shen.

"It's probably... very satisfying."

"You'll know when you try it... Beating up a powerful person is really different from fighting normally. Under the framework of this damn law, rules, and fate, my life is a mess, but his isn't. So when you throw that punch, his pain will bring you double the joy. It's a kind of pleasure that surpasses the rules."

The crow excitedly extended its fist, clenched and then loosened it, seemingly savoring the feeling at that time. It stared at the rough calluses on its skin, grinned, and said, "I've thought more than once... What would it be like if these fists landed on Zhao Qi's face?"

Speaking of this, it couldn't help but make a choking sound, but it had already put on the helmet, so it quickly held back and leaned against the wall, feeling dizzy.

Gu Shen sighed lightly and patted its back.

At this moment--

Several people slowly walked out of the long alley, about a few hundred meters away, across a block.

The person in the lead, when he glanced at the two at the street corner, paused for a moment.

The man wearing a helmet seemed vaguely familiar, but it was just a glance, and he withdrew his gaze.

The cowboy holding a shotgun also followed his gaze. He silently gripped the gun handle and asked softly, "Young Master Zhao?""Nothing much... just a couple of drunk dogs, not worth wasting time on."

Zhao Qi spoke softly, suddenly furrowing his brows. He extended his palm, wiping his cheek that should have been clean, but was now smeared with grime. It must have been from the abandoned factory.

He silently stared at the dirt on his palm, murmuring, "There's just too much filth in the old city district..."