"Help! Someone is snatching the child away!"
Just as Qiu Sheng was awkwardly completing his respectful greeting to Gustave, the previously peaceful crowd suddenly erupted into chaotic confusion. A desperate voice pierced through the ambient noise of the marketplace, crying out in terror about a child being kidnapped.
The moment Qiu Sheng heard that panicked shout, he immediately abandoned all other concerns and rushed toward the source of the commotion. Whatever else might be said about his character flaws and lazy tendencies, Qiu Sheng possessed an extraordinarily strong sense of justice that would never allow him to ignore someone in desperate need of help.
However, when Qiu Sheng finally managed to push through the dense crowd of onlookers and bystanders, he witnessed an astonishing sight: Gustave delivering a devastating punch to a masked human trafficker, the impact sending the criminal staggering backward seven or eight steps before he could regain his balance.
"How interesting," Gustave murmured with genuine curiosity, his analytical mind immediately recognizing something unusual about this encounter.
Because he had been genuinely concerned about accidentally harming the innocent child clutched in the trafficker's grasp, Gustave could honestly say that he had held back not just seventy or eighty percent of his strength. In reality, he had restrained more than ninety percent of his true physical power.
But who exactly was Gustave? He was the formidable individual who had relied purely on physical combat techniques to beat the second-generation Ladon to the point where his opponent had been forced to resort to using the devastating Word of Destruction ability. Even when Gustave employed less than one percent of his actual strength, it should not be something that any ordinary mortal could possibly withstand or block. Yet the human trafficker standing before him had somehow managed to absorb Gustave's restrained punch and remain standing, which demonstrated that this criminal possessed truly incredible physical conditioning and unnatural resilience.
When Gustave launched his measured attack against the human trafficker, the desperate criminal made an unexpectedly cunning decision. Rather than continue fighting against an obviously superior opponent, the trafficker threw the terrified child high into the air and immediately turned to flee, hoping to escape in the confusion.
Seeing this cowardly but strategically sound maneuver, Gustave had no choice but to use his powerful legs to leap into the air and catch the falling child, prioritizing the innocent victim's safety over pursuing the escaping criminal.
When Qiu Sheng observed Gustave moving to rescue the airborne child while the human trafficker was running directly toward his position, he courageously decided to attempt capturing the fleeing criminal himself. His martial arts training and sense of justice compelled him to act, despite the obvious danger.
However, when Qiu Sheng actually engaged in direct combat with the human trafficker, he quickly and painfully realized that the gap between his own abilities and the criminal's skills was absolutely enormous. After exchanging only two or three moves, Qiu Sheng could feel that the bones in his hands were on the verge of breaking from the tremendous force of his opponent's strikes.
The human trafficker hadn't expected that anyone would dare to deliberately block his escape route. Since Gustave had already successfully rescued the child and safely returned the terrified victim to his grateful mother, the criminal decided that his best option was to quickly eliminate this interfering young man and then resume his flight before Gustave could catch up to him.
With this murderous decision made, the human trafficker transformed his right hand into a deadly claw formation and struck toward Qiu Sheng's exposed neck with lethal intent, hoping to end the fight with a single devastating blow.
Faced with this vicious and potentially fatal attack, Qiu Sheng instinctively understood that he could not possibly resist or defend against such overwhelming power. The human trafficker opposing him was simply too skilled and too strong for someone of his limited experience to handle.
"I haven't even gotten married yet..." Qiu Sheng thought desperately as time seemed to slow during this life-or-death moment.
At this critical juncture between life and death, Qiu Sheng's mind raced with regret and unfulfilled dreams. He realized with crushing sadness that he had not yet found a wife, was still a virgin who had never experienced intimate love, and had not left any descendants to carry on his family lineage. He had never imagined that his life would end in such a mundane yet terrifying way.
Qiu Sheng squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for death, but after waiting for what felt like an eternity, he felt nothing but continued existence. When he finally gathered the courage to open his eyes again, he saw the human trafficker lying motionless on the ground, completely incapacitated. Standing nearby was Zhang Zhiwei, who was regarding him with a warm and reassuring smile.
"You demonstrated remarkable courage and possesses excellent moral character," Zhang Zhiwei observed with genuine admiration. "Fellow Taoist Yimei has accepted a truly worthy disciple, despite his other shortcomings."
Zhang Zhiwei's praise was both sincere and encouraging, recognizing the young man's willingness to risk his life for a stranger's child.
"Thank you immensely, Taoist Tiantong, for saving this worthless disciple's life!" Lin Jiu declared with profound gratitude, executing a deep bow toward Zhang Zhiwei before hurrying to Qiu Sheng's side.
"Qiu Sheng, are you injured? Are you hurt anywhere?" Lin Jiu asked anxiously, his concern for his student's wellbeing evident in every word.
The human trafficker's martial arts abilities had been truly exceptional and formidable. Based on Lin Jiu's careful observation of the brief but intense exchange between the criminal and Qiu Sheng, he honestly assessed that if he himself had faced this opponent without employing Taoist supernatural techniques, he would not have been able to successfully block or counter the trafficker's devastating attacks. Given these circumstances, Lin Jiu felt no inclination whatsoever to blame Qiu Sheng for his defeat. After all, who could have possibly predicted that a mere human trafficker would possess such extraordinary martial arts mastery?
"I'm perfectly fine, Master," Qiu Sheng replied quickly, scrambling to his feet and brushing the accumulated dust from his clothing to demonstrate his continued health and mobility.
His voice carried both relief at his survival and embarrassment at his poor performance against the criminal.
"Who exactly is this human trafficker? How could his martial arts possibly be so incredibly powerful?" Lin Jiu wondered aloud, his eyes filled with puzzlement and concern.
Seeing that Qiu Sheng had emerged from the encounter unharmed, Lin Jiu turned his attention to identifying their mysterious attacker. He pulled off the concealing mask from the unconscious trafficker's face, revealing an extremely ferocious visage marked by a long, jagged scar running down the left cheek.
"Iron Hawk Syndicate—Dark Talon!" Lin Jiu exclaimed with sudden recognition and growing alarm.
Lin Jiu immediately identified the human trafficker as a notorious figure from the martial arts underworld. This was a famous evil master whose claw techniques were extraordinarily sharp and deadly, and whose skills had reached truly profound levels of mastery. Most disturbing of all, this particular villain practiced his martial arts by absorbing the vital essence of young boys and girls, which explained perfectly why he would brazenly snatch children in broad daylight on busy streets.
"You recognizes the identity of this criminal?" Zhang Zhiwei inquired after observing Lin Jiu's obvious shock and recognition.
"Yes, unfortunately I do," Lin Jiu replied grimly.
Lin Jiu then proceeded to explain to both Zhang Zhiwei and Gustave, who was walking over to rejoin them, the complete details of Dark Talon's identity and the extensive catalog of evil deeds and atrocities he had committed throughout his criminal career.
When Qiu Sheng heard Lin Jiu speak Dark Talon's infamous name aloud, he finally understood why he had been defeated so quickly and thoroughly by this opponent. After all, Qiu Sheng had heard stories of Dark Talon's terrible reputation and notorious crimes from various sources long before this encounter.
"A fierce fighter like Dark Talon couldn't even withstand a single punch from Master Gustave. He immediately turned around and fled like a coward, only to be easily captured by Taoist Tiantong," Qiu Sheng mused with newfound respect and amazement. "These two friends of Master's are truly incredibly powerful individuals."
Now Qiu Sheng no longer dared to underestimate Gustave, who appeared to be approximately the same age as himself. The man's strength was simply beyond anything he had previously imagined possible.
"Since he has proven himself to be such an irredeemably evil person, let us ensure he can never harm innocents again," Gustave declared with cold finality.
After listening carefully to Lin Jiu's detailed description of Dark Talon's crimes, Gustave casually flicked his fingers in the direction of the prone criminal. The barely audible sound was followed immediately by Dark Talon's agonized groan as all the accumulated power and energy within his body dissipated completely. His dantian was utterly destroyed, transforming him instantly into a complete cripple who would be unable to defeat even a child of seven or eight years old.
The reason Gustave chose not to kill such an obviously evil person as Dark Talon directly was twofold. First, committing murder in broad daylight on a busy street would inevitably cause significant trouble and complications. While Gustave was certainly not afraid of dealing with such trouble, he also found unnecessary complications irritating and bothersome. Second, for a person of Dark Talon's nature and character, being permanently crippled would prove far more psychologically torturous than a quick death. A life worse than death represented the most fitting and severe punishment for his crimes.
"Make way, make way! Security team coming through!"
Soon enough, the town's official security force arrived on the scene, led by their captain, the notorious Awei. His approach was marked by his characteristic arrogance and self-importance.
"I heard reports that human traffickers were snatching children in broad daylight on our streets. Where exactly are these criminals?" Awei demanded in his typically haughty manner, surrounded by his security team members and addressing Gustave and the others with his nose literally pointed in the air.
His bearing suggested someone who considered himself far more important and capable than he actually was.
"Captain Awei, the human trafficker is lying right here," Lin Jiu responded respectfully, standing up and pointing directly at Dark Talon's motionless form. "He is the notorious wanted criminal known as Dark Talon."
Lin Jiu's tone remained deferential despite Awei's obvious arrogance, recognizing the political realities of dealing with local authority figures.
"Dark Talon? You're not lying to me, are you?" Awei responded with obvious skepticism and disbelief. "How could people like you possibly capture someone as dangerous as Dark Talon?"
Although Awei was widely regarded as a fool who had only obtained his position as security captain through the influence of his cousin, he was still aware of Dark Talon's fearsome reputation as a wanted criminal with truly terrible notoriety throughout the region.
"Captain Awei, if you don't believe our account, you're certainly welcome to verify his identity for yourself," Gustave replied with a pleasant smile that somehow managed to carry an undertone of subtle menace.
His voice remained perfectly polite and reasonable, making his words seem like a helpful suggestion rather than a challenge.
"Who do you think you are, you pretty boy?" Awei snapped with obvious irritation and wounded pride. "How dare you speak to me, Captain Awei, in such a casual manner?"
When Awei observed Gustave's fashionable outfit and took in his remarkably handsome but also different facial features, he couldn't help but feel a surge of personal inadequacy and resentment. Awei harbored a deep-seated hatred for anyone who was more attractive than himself, which unfortunately included most of the male population.
"I'm simply a concerned citizen trying to help," Gustave replied mildly, his smile never wavering despite Awei's hostile tone.
However, Awei suddenly noticed that the blue stone bricks beneath Gustave's feet had somehow been reduced to fine powder, apparently without any visible effort or movement on the young man's part.
Awei swallowed nervously, his throat suddenly dry with fear, then reluctantly bent down to examine the identity of the unconscious man on the ground. After careful inspection, he was forced to confirm that this was indeed the infamous Dark Talon.
"Very well, I understand the situation now," Awei announced, his voice carrying a noticeable tremor despite his attempts to maintain his authoritative demeanor. "Since you people are the ones who successfully captured the wanted criminal Dark Talon, you should follow me to the security headquarters to claim the official reward."
Awei's words still carried traces of his characteristic arrogance, but his voice was clearly shaking with barely controlled fear.
"Haha! Thank you very much, Captain Awei!" Gustave responded cheerfully, as if completely unaware of the intimidation he had just displayed.
His genuine gratitude seemed to confuse Awei even further, making the security captain uncertain about how to interpret this strange encounter.
"Troops, collect yourselves and transport the wanted criminal Dark Talon back to headquarters immediately," Awei commanded with trembling legs, leading his team in a hasty retreat.
The security team members dutifully picked up Dark Talon's unconscious form and carried him back toward their station, eager to complete this assignment and distance themselves from these obviously dangerous individuals.
"Let's go collect that reward money," Gustave suggested with obvious amusement, gesturing for Lin Jiu and the others to follow the departing security team.
His casual attitude toward the entire incident reflected his complete confidence in handling any complications that might arise.
After arriving at the security team headquarters, Awei reluctantly produced one hundred yuan and explained with obvious discomfort that the Renjia Town Security Team could only provide this much money immediately. The remaining twenty-nine hundred yuan would have to wait until official representatives from the provincial capital arrived to verify the capture and authorize the full payment.
The reason Dark Talon's bounty was set at such an extraordinarily high amount was quite specific and politically motivated. Dark Talon had committed the ultimate mistake of killing both the beloved son of a high-ranking government official and the cherished daughter of an influential wealthy businessman during his criminal activities in the provincial capital. Without these particular victims among his crimes, even if Dark Talon had absorbed the vital essence of dozens more young girls, his bounty would never have exceeded fifty yuan at most.
According to Awei's normal style of conducting business and his well-known corrupt practices, he would definitely have attempted to keep most of Dark Talon's substantial bounty for himself, finding various excuses and bureaucratic delays to justify his theft. However, Gustave's casual demonstration of his ability to pulverize stone with his mere presence had made Awei abandon any thoughts of greed or corruption. Although money was certainly desirable, one absolutely had to remain alive to spend it.