I practiced my spirituality alone in Hong Kong.

After the meal, as Ruan Xiaotang changed her shoes, she called out loudly into the house:

"Mom, I'm going to work."

"Okay, be careful." Shen Daining coughed lightly, her tone full of concern as she gave her instructions.

Shen Daining is frail and unable to work outside. Even though she can collect rent from the houses left by Ruan Xiaotang's grandfather, medical expenses in Hong Kong are extremely high. After adding and subtracting, she basically has no money left.

So every night, Ruan Xiaotang went to work at a night market stall near Shek Tong Tsui to earn her tuition and living expenses and to ease some of the burden on her mother.

But as soon as she got downstairs, she noticed Li Chang'an following her, so she asked him in confusion:

"Brother Chang'an, why are you following me?"

Li Chang'an brandished the slingshot in his hand:

"I'm going to rid the people of this scourge. The area around Shek Tong Tsui has the most rats, especially near the late-night food street. It just so happens that it's on my way, so I'll go and deal with them."

Ruan Xiaotang blinked her bright almond-shaped eyes, raising an eyebrow in disbelief: "Brother Chang'an, are you really that kind as to exterminate rats for everyone?"

"...I kill rats purely out of a sense of justice, okay? It's so that girls like you won't be scared by those rats that are almost as big as cats when you walk alone at night."

"Who would be scared by a mouse?"

Ruan Xiaotang pursed her lips. She couldn't understand the meaning of Li Chang'an killing the rats, so she simply stopped asking.

Shek Tong Tsui is especially lively at night, with dozens of open-air food stalls and late-night snack stands operating along a nearby street.

Grilled oysters, stir-fried beef noodles, pan-fried stuffed three treasures, charcoal-grilled squid, shark fin soup, claypot rice with preserved meat, seafood platter... all kinds of delicacies are available, and the aroma mixed with the smoke can be smelled from two streets away.

The fumes and heat from the food not only attract diners, but also attract harmful rodents.

In those back alleys piled with leftover food, you can always see large numbers of rats gathering to forage for food.

These are precisely the places that Li Chang'an is targeting.

After parting ways with Ruan Xiaotang at the entrance of the food stall, he went straight into the back alley of the Shek Tong Tsui Night Market.

The space was so narrow that only two people could pass side by side. Piles of rotten vegetable leaves and fish balls discarded by food stalls were stacked against the wall, and the smell of fish and mold was very pungent.

As soon as Li Chang'an stepped into the back alley, he heard a soft "squeaking" sound.

He turned on his flashlight and saw four gray-black rats huddled around a pile of scraps of food, gnawing on them.

Perhaps because no one had ever cared for them, these rats were completely unguarded in the face of the flashlight beam and continued to eat as if nothing was wrong.

Li Chang'an gently pulled the rubber band that had been smeared with lubricant and aimed at the head of the largest rat.

whoosh-

With a whooshing sound, the large rat, which was hunched over eating, collapsed to the ground before it could even react.

Young man, you struck with deadly accuracy, ridding the people of this scourge and slaying the first rat demon.

The rats nearby scattered in fright, but Li Chang'an didn't rush to chase after them.

The old tenement buildings in Shek Tong Tsui were filthy and teeming with rats, giving him plenty of time to hunt them down.

Young man, you are an excellent marksman, shooting down the second rat demon... the third... the tenth...

Young man, you...

Young man, you've hit the bullseye every time! You've finally hunted down one hundred rat demons!

Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.

"Huff huff..."

Li Chang'an put away his slingshot and shook his aching thumb.

Even though he had practiced stance training these past two days and his stamina had improved, four consecutive hours of hunting in the alleyways still left Li Chang'an's legs and hands sore and weak.

In addition, the alleys lined with old tenement buildings were stuffy and poorly ventilated. He was already soaked in sweat, and his sticky clothes clung to his body, making him very uncomfortable.

However, the trip was not in vain. He hunted down hundreds of rats in the various garbage dumps and dark alleys near the night market, completing one-sixth of the task.

Thinking of this, Li Chang'an felt an indescribable hunting thrill.

He casually tossed the sack full of dead rats into the garbage dump, and then laid out sticky rat traps and rat poison of different sizes in the places where rats most often appeared.

After all, it's too much work to kill rats by manpower alone. He still has a quota of 500 rats to kill. Although the chances are slim, he still wants to try. He wonders if the narrator will count the rats he kills as his own.

After setting up the trap, Li Chang'an washed his hands by a water pipe. Listening to his rumbling stomach, he went out of the back alley to have some late-night snacks at the night market.

It was already late at night, and many stalls and food stalls had already closed up shop, making the night market gradually quiet down.

However, there were still many sexy and beautiful women standing by the roadside. When they saw Li Chang'an, their eyes lit up and they waved to him charmingly.

These beautiful women are all part of the historical legacy of Shek Tong Tsui.

Before 1935, Sir Nathan, the then Governor of Hong Kong sent by the British Empire, moved the brothels in Shui Hang Hau, Sheung Wan to Shek Tong Tsui, which became a famous red-light district on Hong Kong Island.

It is said that at its peak, there were more than seventy brothels and nearly two thousand registered prostitutes.

After Hong Kong banned prostitution in 1935, Shek Tong Tsui gradually changed its appearance, but during the Japanese occupation, it once again became a place of pleasure.

Even now, although all the large brothels in Shek Tong Tsui have been demolished and replaced with tenement buildings and various shops, the women who fell into prostitution have never truly disappeared.

The government's ban on prostitution has not been stopped. The problem is not with the women, but with this chaotic world and the powerful factions that prey on the people.

Young people, there are many who have fallen on hard times in this world, not because they were born lowly, but because of the exploitation of society and the oppression of the powerful… A true hero should possess the wisdom to see through the nature of oppression.

To eradicate injustice in the world, to punish those who exploit others... Young people, never forget your mission.

[First time entering the red-light district, innate Qi +0.01]

The narrator's voice carried a hint of compassion. Li Chang'an remained silent, walking away amidst the slightly regretful gazes of the young women.

He considers himself a person with a narrow perspective, and right now he can only take care of himself and his family, and at most, take care of Aunt Shen's family who have been kind to him.

The righteousness and mission mentioned by the narrator are too distant and too heavy. He is just a young hero who is doing this out of interest.

If becoming a great hero requires such awareness, then he is probably not qualified.

After calming down, Li Chang'an found the food stall where Ruan Xiaotang was.

At this moment, Ruan Xiaotang, wearing a white apron, was bending down to tidy up the mess on the table.

Her wisps of hair were damp with sweat and clung to her smooth forehead. She straightened up only when Li Chang'an approached.

"Brother Chang'an, what brings you here?"

"Young hero, after ridding the people of evil, you should certainly reward yourself."

"Xiao Tang, bring me a plate of steamed scallops with garlic, fish balls, char siu..." Li Chang'an found an empty seat and sat down, ordering a string of dishes.

"You ordered so much?" Ruan Xiaotang pouted, her tone tinged with helplessness. "Looks like I'll have to work overtime again."

"If you want to leave work early, then eat with me and finish this late-night snack sooner."

Ruan Xiaotang understood Li Chang'an's good intentions and knew that he was trying to protect her self-esteem by using this excuse to let her have a late-night snack.

She couldn't help but chuckle, gave him a playful glare, and turned to place her order.