The atmosphere in the room instantly froze.
Shen Momo shut her mouth immediately, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Beside her, Madam Zheng's face turned pale. Her eyes were filled with panic, and her voice was tight as she said:
“Dalang, this...”
The smile faded from Shen Xiuhan's face, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Seriously...
It was never-ending!
Placing the trembling Shen Momo into his mother's arms, Shen Xiuhan said in a low voice:
“Mother, watch Momo. I'll handle things outside.”
“Dalang, be careful...”
Madam Zheng's voice trembled as she held her daughter.
Shen Xiuhan gave her a reassuring look, then stood up and pushed the door open.
Outside the fenced courtyard.
Four or five burly men dressed in black short-garb stood there. Their muscles bulged beneath their clothes, and they carried short sabers and daggers at their waists. They glared at him with fierce eyes.
Shen Xiuhan's gaze was sharp as a blade as he quickly swept it across their faces.
The front four were unfamiliar faces he had never seen before.
Only the tall man standing at the back, chewing on a thin twig, with legs as thick as pillars, made Shen Xiuhan's eyes narrow slightly.
It was actually him!
Back when Shen Xiuhan had caught the Silver-Striped Fish and sold it at the fish stalls, this was the man who had collected the stall fee.
‘Isn't this guy from the Golden Dragon Gang? Why is he calling himself part of the Luanbo Gang now?’
Shen Xiuhan had a deep impression of him.
On the day he sold the fish, the wooden token hanging from the man's waist clearly had the character ‘Gao’ carved on it.
But now, the wooden token hanging from his waist was of a completely different style, and the character carved on it had been changed to ‘Liu.’
He even changed his surname...
Could it be that these people were members of the Golden Dragon Gang in disguise?
Before Shen Xiuhan could think further, one of the men outside impatiently pounded on the gate and barked:
“Kid, what are you dazed for? Are you going to let your grandpas stand out here in the cold wind?”
The other party had numbers on their side, and it was unclear if they had any Mingjin Rank experts. To prevent them from threatening Madam Zheng and Shen Momo, he had to play it safe.
Shen Xiuhan opened the courtyard gate, cupped his hands, and smiled:
“Gentlemen, coming at such a late hour, may I ask what this is about?”
“What is this about?”
The scar-faced man leading them sneered, stepping into the courtyard.
The men behind him followed without ceremony, surrounding Shen Xiuhan.
The scar-faced man crossed his arms and looked down at him, saying gruffly:
“Kid, keep your eyes open!”
“From now on, Xiaojing Bay is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Golden Dragon Gang. Our Luanbo Gang is taking over. Hand over the spring protection fee to us brothers today.”
“Spring... protection fee?”
Shen Xiuhan pretended to be startled. A look of panic crossed his face as he rubbed his hands and smiled apologetically:
“But it's not time to pay the protection fee yet. We haven't saved up any spare money. Could you please show some mercy and give us a few days...”
The Golden Dragon Gang collected protection money from every ward in the Outer City every quarter.
Five mace of silver per household, which was five hundred copper coins.
Over a year, that amounted to two taels of silver, which was more than half a year's worth of food for an ordinary tenant farmer.
This was why the poor families in the Outer City worked day and night without rest, yet still struggled to put food on the table, sometimes even resorting to selling their own children.
“No money?”
The scar-faced man laughed.
The laughter looked exceptionally hideous on his scarred face.
He turned his head, his gaze bypassing Shen Xiuhan to land on the thatched cottage behind him, where a dim, yellow light flickered. He said meaningfully:
“If I remember correctly... you have a little sister in there, don't you? If you really can't pay, we can take her to the brothel to offset the debt. I can make that call for you...”
Shen Xiuhan's smile stiffened.
He lowered his eyes and fell silent.
A moment later, as if resigning himself to his fate, he reached into his robe and pulled out four strings of copper coins, handing them over.
This was the money he had gotten from selling the Blue-Spire feathers during the day.
“I only have these four hundred copper coins left. I'm still short of one hundred. I will definitely gather the rest as soon as possible...”
The scar-faced man's eyes lit up. He snatched the money, weighing it in his hand:
“Tsk tsk, I couldn't tell, you poor dirt-digger actually have some money on you!”
He stuffed the money into his robe, and his expression instantly flipped. He drew his short saber with a sharp ring and roared:
“But I don't believe you!”
“Get inside and bring out all the money you've hidden! I'm warning you, don't force me to search the place myself, otherwise—”
“Forget it,” the tall man standing outside the gate, who had been chewing on a twig without saying a word, suddenly said coldly.
“Young—cough, Boss Liu, this kid has this much on him, he must have plenty more hidden inside!”
“I said, forget it.”
“...Yes!”
The scar-faced man was clearly unwilling.
But the tall man outside held absolute authority, so he could only grit his teeth and step back.
The man addressed as ‘Boss Liu’ spat out the twig and stared at Shen Xiuhan, saying unhurriedly:
“Deliver the remaining money to the Luanbo Gang's headquarters within three days. If you're late, bear the consequences.”
With that, he turned and strode away.
Seeing their boss speak, the other gang members could only glare fiercely at Shen Xiuhan before following him out of the courtyard.
“Consider yourself lucky, kid!”
Before leaving, the scar-faced man turned around, spat heavily, snorted, and followed.
Watching their retreating figures, Shen Xiuhan took a deep breath, went back inside to whisper a few instructions, and then quickly slipped out of the courtyard, quietly tailing them.
...
“Damn it, they moved!”
“Son of a bitch, they got lucky!”
Under the cover of night, several men kicked open the gate to Chen An's courtyard. After searching inside, they walked out cursing, looking frustrated.
They immediately turned toward Dongxi Ward.
On the road, the scar-faced man slowed his pace, leaning in close to Boss Liu and whispering:
“Young Gang Leader, that kid just now had four hundred coins on him. He definitely has more hidden in the house. Why did we let him off so easily?”
Boss Liu...
Or more accurately, the Young Gang Leader of the Golden Dragon Gang, said calmly:
“We used the Luanbo Gang's name to make a fortune and muddy the waters. That's already a good harvest. There's no need to lose the big picture for a small gain. In three days, when that kid brings the rest of the protection money to the Luanbo Gang... how do you think they'll react?”
The scar-faced man thought about it for a moment, then shook his head and said gruffly:
“I don't know... I just think you missed out on a lot of money just now, Young Gang Leader!”
Hearing this, the Young Gang Leader's mouth twitched in exasperation. He suddenly stopped, turned to look at the scar-faced man, and asked out of nowhere:
“Scarface, how many years have you been working for our Golden Dragon Gang?”
The scar-faced man was taken aback. Without thinking, he patted his chest to show his loyalty:
“To answer the Young Gang Leader, it's been a full four years!”
“From the very first day the Golden Dragon Gang established itself in Changyun County, I was taken in by the Old Gang Leader. I've followed you through thick and thin all these years, Young Gang Leader!”
“Four years... That is indeed a long time,” the Young Gang Leader's lips curled into an ambiguous smile, and his voice grew distant.
“But what if I told you that the Golden Dragon Gang wasn't established four years ago? Ten years ago, my father had already founded this gang in Shitan County of Guangwu Prefecture. Of course, it wasn't called the Golden Dragon Gang back then...”
The scar-faced man was completely bewildered and said blankly:
“This... this is indeed the first time I've heard of this...”
“Of course you wouldn't know,” the Young Gang Leader laughed softly.
“Because... other than my father and me, everyone who knew about this back then is already dead.”
Huh?
What did he mean?
The scar-faced man's eyes narrowed slightly, and his hand instinctively drifted toward the short saber at his waist.
The Young Gang Leader paid him no mind.
With a calm smile on his face and his hands behind his back, he spoke slowly, as if recounting a pleasant past romance:
“Back in Shitan County, I took a fancy to the young daughter of a local wealthy family who had just turned fifteen. That figure, that face... tsk tsk. I kidnapped her and took her body by force.”
He paused, licking his lips as if savoring the memory:
“Later, I took her personal undergarments to extort a ransom from her father.”
“During the process, I heard that she had an older brother in Cangzhou's Star-Plucking Sect who was a core disciple, and his cultivation had even reached the peak of the Anjin Rank. So, I decided to go all the way. I took the money and killed them all!”
“To completely erase all traces and prevent any leaks...”
The Young Gang Leader looked at the other four gang members ahead. Realizing something was wrong, they had stopped and turned around with wary looks. His lips curled:
“That night, my father and I slit the throats of all thirty-six of our old brothers in the gang, one by one... Then we took the money and fled to Changyun County overnight. Only then did the Golden Dragon Gang come to be.”
Silence!
Even the wind seemed to stop.
The flesh on Scarface's face twitched, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
No matter how stupid he was, he understood the hidden meaning behind this old tale!
“Young... Young Gang Leader...”
Scarface swallowed hard, instinctively taking a step back, his voice trembling:
“Why... why are you telling me this? I've been loyal to you and the Old Gang Leader, without a single shred of betrayal!”
The four men ahead also realized what was happening, and they hurriedly reached for the hilts of their sabers.
“Loyalty? In this world, only the loyalty of a dead man is truly reassuring.”
The Young Gang Leader turned to look at them, his eyes like a venomous snake staring at its prey:
“Besides... I gave you a chance just now. If you were a smart man, I wouldn't have minded letting you live. After all, training a loyal and useful dog takes a lot of effort.”
“Unfortunately, you are exactly as my father said—greedy, lustful, and stupid as a pig. You have no value to be nurtured. Keeping you... will only get in the way of our family's grand plans!”
Scarface's face turned pale and red in turns. He grit his teeth and said:
“Young Gang Leader, let's talk this through. We will leave tonight and never return to Changyun County—no, we won't even return to Nanxiang Prefecture...”
“Too late!”
The Young Gang Leader sneered, his blood qi surging. “If you want to blame someone, blame the Luanbo Gang...”
“That Zheng Dadao is definitely not some rebel soldier. He has a mysterious background and immense capabilities. There is something big behind him.”
“Coincidentally, we've raked in enough money in Changyun County. We're just waiting for that place to open... then we'll change locations and live in comfort.”
“But since we're leaving, the rules of the past cannot be broken...”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Young Gang Leader's relaxed posture suddenly exploded forward like a starving wolf pouncing on its prey, closing the distance to Scarface in the blink of an eye!
“Gao Nian, you—”
Scarface was horrified.
He wanted to draw his saber, but a thunderous boom erupted by his ear!
Bang!
Gao Nian's right leg rose high like an iron whip, his instep tensed. Wrapped in violent blood qi, he kicked hard at Scarface's temple!
Bang...
Crack crack...
Scarface's head was snapped to the left, and a series of sharp bone-cracking sounds came from his neck, which was bent at a bizarre angle.
Blood snaked out of his nose, eyes, ears, and mouth.
Without even having time to scream, Scarface collapsed straight to the ground, dead on the spot.
“Son of a bitch!”
“Gao Nian wants to silence us! We're dead either way, brothers, fight him!”
The remaining four men's eyes nearly split with rage.
Desperation turned into the ferocity of trapped beasts.
They roared as they drew their daggers and short sabers, lunging at Gao Nian!
“Ants trying to shake the heavens?”
Gao Nian sneered. With his blood qi surging, he did not retreat. Instead, he advanced, twisting his waist and hips as his legs whipped out in succession like a wild windmill!
Bang, bang!
The two gang members who rushed forward looked as if they had been rammed head-on by a galloping stallion.
Their chests caved in, and their bodies flew backward four or five paces like sacks of grain. They spat out blood and shattered organs, convulsing twice before falling silent.
Seeing this, the remaining two men were scared out of their wits. Cold sweat instantly drenched their clothes, making them feel as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.
How was this a fight?
This was a one-sided slaughter!
The gap between an ordinary person and a Mingjin Rank martial artist was as vast as heaven and earth!
The two exchanged terrified glances and roared in unison:
“Run in different directions!”
“Run?”
Gao Nian laughed loudly, his blood qi rushing into his lower body like a tide:
“What a bunch of fools. You've spent all these years in my Golden Dragon Gang for nothing!”
The Gao family's ancestral stance work, the Twenty-Four Paths Mountain-Collapsing Kick, was fierce and aggressive, specializing in combat.
Its defining feature was tempering the tendons of the legs to be incredibly flexible, making it excellent for rapid pursuit.
Even if they ran in different directions, these two were destined to die today even if they grew wings!
However, right at this moment—
A ghostly gray figure bolted out silently from the shadows, accompanied by a loud shout:
“What arrogant scoundrel dares to make trouble on our Luanbo Gang's territory!”
Hearing this, the two Golden Dragon Gang members felt as if they had heard the voice of heaven. They were overjoyed.
Finding a path to survival in a desperate situation, they squeezed out every ounce of their strength and plunged into the dark alleys without looking back.
The gray figure ignored the two of them, and a sharp, peerless whistling sound rushed straight toward Gao Nian's face!
“Get lost!”
Shocked and enraged, Gao Nian immediately met the attack with a heavy kick!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Fists clashed with legs, and blood qi collided!
In the span of a single breath, the two traded three blows!
Dull sounds of flesh impact echoed, kicking up a ring of dust and wind.
The gray figure's arms suddenly spread like wings, his body tracing a light, agile arc. Like a soaring eagle circling on the wind, he landed steadily on the ground.
In contrast, Gao Nian's foot had plowed an inch-deep footprint into the hard-packed dirt road.
His chest heaved as he suppressed the churning blood qi in his body. Staring at the masked man as if facing a formidable enemy, he grit his teeth and roared:
“Who are you?”
“My father is Gao Fu of the Golden Dragon Gang, who has been in the Anjin Rank for many years! Does Your Excellency truly wish to fight my Golden Dragon Gang to the death?!”
Though Gao Nian spoke harsh words, his heart had grown incredibly heavy.
‘This person's blood qi is thin, looking like he has only recently entered the Blood Tempering Rank. Yet, his bizarre method of force delivery actually allowed him to clash head-on with me, a master at the Great Accomplishment of the Blood Tempering Rank, without falling into a disadvantage...’
‘I must not be careless!’
The gray figure snorted, deliberately adopting a raspy, gravelly voice:
“I do not change my name or surname. I am the Second Master of the Luanbo Gang, Shen Erdao! I'm here specifically to beat down you Golden Dragon Gang scum!”
“You...”
Gao Nian was almost amused by his anger.
But before he could say more, the gray figure crouched down.
Immediately after, wrapped in sharp and peerless blood qi, like a soul-reaping god of death, he charged at him along the ground!
So fast!
Gao Nian's eyelids jumped, and he twisted his body as if trying to flee.
The moment the gray figure closed in, Gao Nian's left leg shot upward like a venomous dragon emerging from its cave, using the twisting force of his waist to deliver a fierce back-kick without any warning!
Twenty-Four Paths Mountain-Collapsing Kick: Returning Wind Kick!
This move was sinister and vicious, targeting vital spots.
An ordinary Blood Tempering Rank martial artist kicked at such close range would be crippled if not killed.
However, the gray figure twisted and flashed in mid-air like a clever fish, dodging the blow by a hair's breadth!
“A movement technique!”
Gao Nian's eyes widened, and his scalp went numb.
Though he gasped in shock, the transition of his kicks did not slow down in the slightest.
Since the first strike missed, he lifted his knee and lowered his waist, his legs turning into a sky full of afterimages. Accompanied by sharp whistles, he launched a torrential storm of consecutive kicks at the gray figure's face and chest!
Twenty-Four Paths Mountain-Collapsing Kick: Shadowless Kick!
Yet, the gray figure's body swayed left and right, moving up and down, preventing Gao Nian from even touching the hem of his clothes!
‘Aside from his force delivery method, this person also possesses a movement technique. No, I must retreat!’
Alarm bells rang in Gao Nian's mind.
He roared, thrusting his long leg straight out like a great spear, attempting to force the opponent back a step so he could seize the opportunity to escape.
Twenty-Four Paths Mountain-Collapsing Kick: Spear-Thrust Kick!
But to his surprise, the gray figure, who had been constantly dodging, suddenly burst with a brilliant light in his eyes!
His right hand clawed forward fiercely, his fingertips drawing five gray streaks of light as he clawed straight toward Gao Nian's right leg!
It was like a soaring eagle tearing its prey apart.
The five fingers of his large hand sank like hooks into the flesh of Gao Nian's thigh. Then, carrying violent blood qi, he ripped downward savagely!
“Ah!!”
Gao Nian let out a miserable shriek.
On his right leg, five horrifying blood-grooves had been torn open, deep enough to expose the bone. Blood sprayed from the wounds!
‘Oh no!’
Gao Nian was terrified!
With his thigh severely injured, his strength was cut by eighty percent. It would be difficult to even escape!
Ignoring his pride, Gao Nian begged for mercy in a hoarse voice:
“Your Excellency... No! Brother, spare my life! If you let me go, my Golden Dragon Gang is willing to offer a hundred taels of silver with both hands...”
But the gray figure gave him no chance at all. His left hand turned into an afterimage, striking straight at Gao Nian's throat!
Gao Nian's face changed wildly as he said rapidly:
“Brother, spare my life!”
“I have a great opportunity to share! There is a blessed...”
The gray figure paid him no heed, the wind from his claw making the skin on Gao Nian's neck tingle!
“Don't push me too far!”
Gao Nian roared, channeling all the blood qi in his body into his right fist. He swung his fist upward, smashing it toward the gray figure's chest!
Bang!
A muffled sound echoed.
It hit!
Wild joy surged in Gao Nian's heart.
But in the next instant, the joy on his face froze, turning into endless despair.
The gray figure, who had taken his punch, stood as still as an iron tower, completely unharmed!
The opponent had clearly just entered the Blood Tempering Rank, yet his body was as indestructible as a Bone Tempering Rank martial artist!
The iron claw-like hand tore through the night wind, firmly locking around his neck!
Gao Nian's eyes bulged, and his mouth overflowed with blood. Feeling the hand tightening around his throat, he squeezed out three words:
“Body... tempering... technique?”
Beneath the mask, Shen Xiuhan remained expressionless.
He exerted force with his single arm, slowly lifting Gao Nian over his head like a chick.
Then, his right hand curled into a fist, blood qi rushing into his knuckles. Like a heavy hammer, he slammed it savagely into Gao Nian's chest!
Thud!
It sounded like hitting a broken drum.
The shockwave of blood qi that passed through Gao Nian's body exploded into a mist of blood from his back!
His ribs were shattered, and his heart was instantly crushed to pieces by the force.
In the next moment, Gao Nian's body went limp and collapsed to the ground.
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