“Who's there!”
Before his voice even faded, his bear-like, hulking body leaped up, landing lightly and precisely on the ceiling beam!
“Bang!”
With a sweep of his palm, he sent the roof tiles flying, thrusting half his body out of the roof. His hawk-like eyes swept the surroundings.
The cold wind wailed.
A dead silence hung over the area.
Gao Fu furrowed his brows. Suspicious, he held his breath and concentrated. His perception spread outward like a spiderweb, searching for the slightest movement.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, there was still no movement. Gao Fu's expression relaxed slightly, and he pulled his body back inside the room.
In a narrow, dark alley a hundred paces away, Shen Xiuhan squatted against the wall, his chest heaving rapidly as he thought in astonishment:
‘That was close...’
‘As expected of an Anjin Rank martial artist. His perception and reflexes far exceed those of the Mingjin Rank. Fortunately, I have Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon, otherwise Gao Fu would have definitely spotted me...’
Shen Xiuhan let out a breath and crouched there like a stubborn boulder, patiently biding his time for half the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
Once he was certain Gao Fu hadn't followed him out, the power in his feet suddenly exploded.
Swish!
His entire body transformed into a grayish-black afterimage, melting into the depths of the dark alley.
...
Xuanhua Ward.
The headquarters of the Luanbo Gang.
It was brightly lit, and the noise was deafening.
A bluestone table sat in the courtyard, where seven or eight burly lackeys had their shirts open. Red-faced, they sat in a circle, drinking and playing drinking games to their hearts' content.
“Five champions!”
“Six, six, six! You lose, drink!”
Two days ago, the Luanbo Gang had raided the Golden Dragon Gang's headquarters, and their reputation had instantly soared. Now, they were one of the most prominent gangs in the Outer City.
Over the past few days, everyone in the gang had gathered to drink, gamble, and hand out rewards based on merit. They were having a grand old time.
“Damn it!”
Outside the headquarters, Liu Laosan, who was on sentry duty for the night, smelled the aroma of wine and meat from inside. He couldn't help but spit, muttering curses under his breath.
“You guys are living it up with good food and drink while leaving me out here to freeze my ass off. Once my shift is over, I'm going to win every single copper of your reward money...”
Before Liu Laosan could finish his grumbling, a faint whistling sound pierced the air!
A sharp pain shot through Liu Laosan's forehead, as if he had been hit by something.
“Ouch, what the fuck!”
Shivering, he frantically drew the short blade from his waist and looked around warily.
“Where did this blind thief come from? Running to the Luanbo Gang to cause trouble, are you tired of living?!”
The alley was dead silent; no one answered.
Liu Laosan looked down and saw a crumpled paper ball at his feet. It was the very object that had hit him.
“What happened?”
“Liu Laosan, where is he?”
Hearing the commotion, the lackeys who were drinking and gambling inside rushed out with sabers and clubs.
Leading them was a middle-aged scholar-like man. He was the second-in-command of the Luanbo Gang, Tang Cheng.
Liu Laosan quickly picked up the paper ball and handed it over. “Second Boss, I don't know who threw this.”
Still slightly tipsy, Tang Cheng frowned as he took the paper ball and smoothed it out. After a few glances, his expression changed drastically, and most of his drunkenness instantly vanished.
“Yeci Ward, the fifth house. Gao Fu and his remnants are hiding here...”
He gasped, a look of sheer ecstasy bursting onto his face, and bellowed at the top of his lungs:
“Brothers, grab your weapons!”
“Go inform the Big Boss! We've found that dog Gao Fu's hiding place!”
...
Half an hour later.
Yeci Ward.
The Luanbo Gang mobilized in full force. Dozens of men, clutching sharp weapons, silently surrounded the Tian residence.
To avoid attention, Gao Fu had been extremely cautious, even going so far as to not leave a single lookout.
The Luanbo Gang members surrounded the courtyard so tightly that not even water could trickle through, and they did so with barely any effort.
“Bang!”
The door was kicked open, shattering to pieces.
Zheng Dadao let out a wild roar and was the first to charge inside. “Dog Gao Fu! Die!”
The other Luanbo Gang members let out blood-curdling screeches and followed him in.
Instantly, deafening shouts of slaughter filled the courtyard.
“Kill!”
“Uproot them completely! Leave no one alive!”
“The wind is tight, scatter!”
“Brothers, charge out with me! Run in different directions!”
Flashing blades and miserable shrieks instantly shattered the silence of Yeci Ward.
The surrounding residents reacted quickly, shutting their doors and locking their windows.
The beggars and refugees on the streets took to their heels, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
In the courtyard, Nie Cang and several trusted aides of the Golden Dragon Gang were surrounded. In the blink of an eye, they were hacked to the ground by a flurry of blades.
“Luanbo Gang!”
Gao Fu let out a furious roar that set the roof tiles rattling.
“I will never rest until you are all dead!”
Covered in blood, he was like a frenzied beast. Braving the slashes of several steel sabers, he forcefully smashed through the courtyard's dirt wall.
At this moment, he was in an incredibly wretched state. A slash wound as long as a forearm ran across his chest, the flesh peeled back in a gruesome display.
But he was an Anjin Rank expert after all. Even though he was heavily injured, he still managed to carve out a bloody path and vanish into the night.
“Chase him! Don't let that dog escape!”
Zheng Dadao took the lead in the pursuit, closely followed by several Mingjin Rank martial artists.
Covered in blood, Tang Cheng rushed out of the courtyard with a sinister grin, clutching a stack of silver banknotes and several bundles.
He quickly ordered:
“Old Fifth, take some men to the city gates. Make absolutely sure he doesn't slip into the Inner City. Old Seventh, take a group to watch the waterways; watch out for that dog trying to escape by boat. The rest of you, follow me! We pursue Gao Fu and support the gang leader!”
The crowd roared in agreement.
In an instant, the courtyard that had been filled with deafening shouts of slaughter fell dead silent.
From the dark alleyway, Shen Xiuhan seized the window of chaos to leap into the main room where Gao Fu had been hiding.
Guided by the pale-gold light spots, he locked onto the ceiling beam the moment he entered.
Tapping his toes, he landed on the beam as lightly as a swallow. He pried open a wooden board and retrieved a cloth bundle from a hidden compartment.
Opening it, Shen Xiuhan's eyes instantly lit up.
Inside the bundle lay a yellowed, thread-bound manual—
《Twenty-Four Paths Mountain-Collapsing Kick》!
Beneath the manual was a palm-sized, disk-shaped jade plaque. It was smooth and lustrous all over, carved with intricate cloud patterns, and warm to the touch. It was clearly no ordinary item.
Although he didn't know what this jade plaque was used for, since Gao Fu had hidden it so securely, it was bound to be a treasure.
Stuffing the items into his breast pocket, Shen Xiuhan did not dawdle. He turned, left the room, and quickly vanished into the night.
Just as he left, several burly men who had failed in their pursuit ran in, cursing.
They rummaged through the room, overturning chests and cabinets, and even pried up the floor tiles, but in the end, they found nothing.
“Bah! What fucking bad luck!”
One of the men spat, smashing the teapot and porcelain cups on the table to pieces.
“Aside from the few dozen taels of silver banknotes we found on Nie Cang, we didn't even find a single copper coin in this room. That old dog Gao Fu must have taken everything with him!”
The man beside him patted his shoulder.
“Forget it, don't be greedy. Being able to pull out the Golden Dragon Gang's remaining tough nuts and heavily injure Gao Fu is already enough. Let's go!”
Long after the Luanbo Gang members had left, on the streets of Yeci Ward, a tattered, blood-drenched figure stumbled back into the courtyard.
It was actually Gao Fu, who had doubled back!
At this moment, his face was as pale as golden paper. A dark-brown palm print was deeply embedded in the flesh of his abdomen, and the surrounding skin emitted a foul, rancid stench.
Had he not used his Anjin to suppress it, the poison from the palm strike would have spread even faster.
“Heart-Shattering Palm... Zheng Dadao, the master of both palm and blade, truly lives up to his reputation.”
Gao Fu gritted his teeth and endured the agonizing pain, the killing intent in his eyes practically overflowing.
“Just you wait!”
“Once I obtain that fortuitous opportunity, I will rip off your palms and pull out your ten fingers, one by one!”
Enduring the excruciating pain, Gao Fu leaped onto the ceiling beam.
When he saw the open and completely empty hidden compartment, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning!
“My jade plaque!!”
Gao Fu's already hideous face contorted like a malevolent demon. His eyes turned crimson, and he clenched his fists, roaring at the sky:
“Luanbo Gang!”
“Zheng Dadao!”
“You destroyed my foundation and ruined my opportunity! I will definitely kill you all!!”
His roar was shrill and mournful, like an owl weeping blood.
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