"Who... who broke in?!"

A sudden roar erupted from downstairs, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Chen Zhou turned his head and saw a man struggling to climb the stairs.

The man was short and somewhat unattractive, his face filled with both surprise and anger. In his hand, he clutched a kitchen knife.

His legs seemed to be impaired, making it difficult for him to ascend. He was stuck on the stairs, unable to move further.

Seeing this, the woman quickly stepped forward. "Shh! Keep your voice down! Don’t let anyone outside hear!"

The man, still halfway up the stairs, craned his neck and spotted a handsome young man standing on the second floor. He looked startled and immediately asked, "Who is he?"

"This is the man who saved me on the street!" the woman quickly explained. "I saw him fleeing, so I let him hide here for a while."

The man was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly said, "Quick, help me up!"

The woman assisted him to the second floor, where he immediately bowed to Chen Zhou. "Thank you for saving my wife!"

"That’s not necessary," Chen Zhou waved a hand dismissively. It wasn’t exactly a life-saving favor—at the time, the Black Tiger Gang had only been trying to rob her.

However, Chen Zhou hadn’t expected that these two were actually husband and wife. Judging by appearances... they didn’t seem like a well-matched pair.

Even his unkind brother, Shen Mao, had been rather handsome—that was how he had managed to charm a beauty like Tong Lian.

If this were modern times, Chen Zhou would have assumed the man was wealthy. But judging by their home, that clearly wasn’t the case.

The room was dimly lit, with an unlit oil lamp in the corner. The furniture was sparse and crudely made—an ordinary household in Changqing County.

"My name is Jiang Su’e, and this is my husband, Wu Haisheng…" the woman introduced.

Wu Haisheng, who wasn’t much of a talker, simply nodded repeatedly, looking a bit awkward.

He had been taking a nap on the first floor when he suddenly heard voices coming from above, with words like "pull it out" being spoken repeatedly.

Assuming an intruder had broken in to harm his wife, he had grabbed a knife and rushed up—only to find himself in this embarrassing situation.

"Young man, in your condition, I assume you’re avoiding the Black Tiger Gang’s pursuit?" Jiang Su’e asked with concern.

"Partly," Chen Zhou replied.

"Partly?"

"Yes. After killing some Black Tiger Gang members, I broke into the Han Mansion and killed a few more people."

Jiang Su’e and Wu Haisheng stiffened. "Who did you kill?"

"Everyone."

"???"

The couple was dumbfounded. Did that mean Chen Zhou had wiped out the entire Han family by himself?!

This man was truly terrifying!

"So, keeping me here is a risk," Chen Zhou continued. "I don’t want to implicate you, so please just prepare a new set of clothes for me. I’ll change and leave."

"Oh, since we’re already hiding you, what difference does a little more time make?" Jiang Su’e smiled, showing surprising boldness. "Young man, you saved me, so I must repay your kindness! And now that I know you took down the entire Han Mansion by yourself, I admire you even more. Stay a while longer!"

"She’s right," Wu Haisheng nodded with a serious expression.

The Han family had been one of the wealthiest and most ruthless families in Changqing County. People like them had no love for the Hans.

"The Han Mansion isn’t the only problem," Chen Zhou warned. "Because the magistrate of Changqing County is dead as well."

Jiang Su’e and Wu Haisheng froze in shock before their expressions suddenly changed.

"Young man... are you saying Zhao Jing is dead too?!" Wu Haisheng asked, his lips trembling.

Chen Zhou nodded. He hadn’t killed Zhao Jing himself, but he was the one being blamed for it.

The next moment, the couple suddenly embraced each other, crying tears of joy.

"Dear, it’s a miracle! That bastard Zhao Jing is finally dead…"

"Yes! The heavens have eyes!"

Chen Zhou was a little taken aback by their reaction, but then he recalled Zhao Jing’s notorious reputation. He looked at Jiang Su’e’s face and understood immediately.

It seemed this was yet another family that had suffered at Zhao Jing’s hands.

No wonder the man had such a terrible reputation—just how many women in Changqing County had he victimized?

Chen Zhou couldn’t help but feel anger boiling inside him. A scumbag like Zhao Jing… the number of good deed points he would’ve earned for personally killing him must have been immense! But he hadn’t gotten the chance!

Now that he thought about it, he realized he had been too quick in killing County Lieutenant Xiao and the others. Those two had robbed him of his opportunity to take down Zhao Jing himself!

But then another thought struck him. If Zhao Jing was this monstrous, then his father—the county magistrate—must be even worse. A true beast among beasts…

A new target had just emerged.

Jiang Su’e and Wu Haisheng cried together for several minutes before they finally composed themselves. Then, without hesitation, they knelt before Chen Zhou and shouted in unison:

"Benefactor, thank you! Thank you for ridding the world of that monster! We will never forget your kindness!"

As they mentioned Zhao Jing, their faces twisted with hatred, and Jiang Su’e even bit her lip so hard it bled.

"Please, stand up." Chen Zhou waved his hand. "A scoundrel like Zhao Jing deserved to die a thousand times over."

He threw out a classic line from martial arts dramas, the kind that fit perfectly in moments like this. It was the only proper way to conclude such an encounter.

Chen Zhou didn’t ask about their past—it would only bring them more pain.

Noticing that Chen Zhou had no intention of prying further, Jiang Su’e looked at him with even more gratitude before standing up. "I’ll find you a new set of clothes, young man!"

"Alright," Chen Zhou nodded.

"You must be hungry. I’ll go cook you a bowl of wontons!" Wu Haisheng added.

"Sounds good," Chen Zhou agreed without hesitation.