「The next morning.」
Lu Changfeng, who had just stabilized his Realm, invited his Second Senior Brother, Zhou Feng, to a teahouse for morning tea.
Zhou Feng arranged for a proficient Named Disciple to teach his class for him and happily accepted the invitation.
Among the senior brothers at the Martial Arts Hall, First Senior Brother Sima Ming and their master’s son, Zhang Yong, were away year-round. It seemed they wanted to establish a branch of the hall in the richer and safer Jiangnan Prefecture.
Third Senior Brother Liuu Ye was also often absent from the Martial Arts Hall.
Meanwhile, Second Senior Brother Zhou Feng often taught classes for several Disciples at the Martial Arts Hall and lived there as well. He was the senior brother Lu Changfeng had spent the most time with and was closest to.
Besides his regular training, Lu Changfeng would often practice Martial Arts like Palm Techniques with Zhou Feng.
That was why, of all his senior brothers, Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng had the best relationship.
The two left the Martial Arts Hall and walked until they reached a teahouse with a pleasant atmosphere.
By the teahouse, two burly men were responsible for driving away vagrants.
They stepped inside.
In the teahouse’s main hall, a storyteller was narrating a newly composed tale.
The guests at the surrounding tables were all people from the Outer City who had both money and leisure time. Some were there to listen to the storyteller, while others discussed the current situation.
Their leisurely and carefree appearance was a stark contrast to the crowds of sallow, emaciated vagrants in the streets and alleys outside.
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng found a secluded spot suitable for conversation, sat down, and ordered a pot of tea.
The price of tea had risen from a few copper coins to ten, and snacks were an additional charge.
"Junior Brother, you suddenly invited me out for tea. This can’t be just to celebrate your breakthrough, can it?"
Zhou Feng poured a cup of tea and spoke.
Lu Changfeng smiled. "As expected, I can’t hide anything from you, Second Senior Brother."
"I invited you out this time, Second Senior Brother, because I want to make a deal with you."
Zhou Feng was slightly puzzled. "A deal? What kind of deal?"
Lu Changfeng made a throat-slitting gesture. "Let’s team up and make some money."
Lu Changfeng explained his idea.
Recently, with the increasing number of refugees pouring in from the neighboring Cyan Mountain Prefecture, the number of gangs in the Outer City had grown rapidly.
Every day, many people died in gang conflicts.
Even the Mang Gang, the strongest in the Outer City, was helpless against the numerous new gangs that were popping up like mushrooms after the rain.
The old gangs were manageable; they all followed the rules.
But these new gangs didn’t follow any rules at all, and to make matters worse, they actually had some experts from Cyan Mountain Prefecture among them.
This had led to significant infringements on the Mang Gang’s interests.
Now, everyone in the Outer City wanted these new gangs gone.
Lu Changfeng’s targets were these new gangs.
And he had already chosen a target.
"The Giant Whale Gang. Their leader is a Blood Forging Third Layer Martial Artist from Cyan Mountain Prefecture named Wang Hu."
"He’s gathered several dozen people from Cyan Mountain Prefecture, taken over two small streets to collect protection fees, and has even forced several women on the street into prostitution."
"If we take them out, one, it’s a service to the public, and two, I need silver coins to buy cultivation resources."
After speaking, Lu Changfeng took a sip of tea and quietly watched Zhou Feng for his response.
Zhou Feng spoke first. "Aren’t the resources Master provides you enough?"
Obviously, Zhou Feng knew that Zhang Desheng was giving Lu Changfeng special treatment.
But Zhou Feng wasn’t jealous. He felt that with Lu Changfeng’s Talent, it was a treatment he deserved.
"Not enough," Lu Changfeng replied simply and clearly.
Zhou Feng nodded, not pressing the issue. Instead, he asked curiously, "Changfeng, how did you find out all this information about him?"
Lu Changfeng smiled and gestured around them.
"Listen closely to their conversations. The news in a teahouse travels fast."
Ever since Zhang Desheng had made Lu Changfeng draw blood for the first time, he realized that the world could change drastically at any moment. He had started going out for walks often, eventually settling on the teahouse as a good place to pick up the latest and most useful news.
If Feng City were to ever fall into chaos, he’d have a chance to slip away early.
With just a pot of tea and some time, Lu Changfeng, relying on the hearing of a Blood Forging Martial Artist, could pick up a great deal of the latest news from the idle chatter of the teahouse patrons.
Afterward, with a little more investigation, he could confirm the authenticity of any useful information.
"I see."
"Since you’ve investigated it all so clearly, Changfeng, why wouldn’t I go along with you on this?"
"It’s perfect timing, actually. I’ve been stuck at the Blood Forging Fourth Layer for so long, I was just thinking about buying more Exotic Beast Meat to break through to the next Realm!"
Zhou Feng’s eyes lit up.
Zhou Feng was already twenty-six this year. His chances of breaking through to Tendon Transformation were slim, but he still wanted to give it his all and try.
The two of them finished their discussion and decided to act that very night.
That evening, the Martial Arts Hall closed for the day.
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng each left through the back door of the Martial Arts Hall carrying a small bag. An iron long sword hung at Lu Changfeng’s waist.
The two wandered over to the vicinity of the street where Wang Hu was based.
They secretly observed the distribution of the members within Wang Hu’s territory.
Wang Hu was a bald man, two meters tall, with a corpulent yet powerful build. His weapons were a pair of twin hammers.
Among his underlings were a few Martial Artists in the Blood Forging Realm, but they were all only at the Blood Forging First Layer and not worth worrying about.
Lu Changfeng’s plan was to cut off the head of the snake. They would first join forces to assassinate Wang Hu, and then deal with the siege from his underlings.
The final step would be to collect the spoils.
After a period of secret observation, the two quickly identified the house where Wang Hu was staying.
It was a two-courtyard residence on the street. The front courtyard housed Wang Hu’s men, while the back courtyard was his private territory.
After nightfall, Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng found a dark alley, changed into night-traveler outfits to hide their figures and faces, then quietly scaled the courtyard wall to look for an opportunity to strike.
Wang Hu was in a very good mood today.
Because tied up on the bed in his room was a beautiful young maiden.
His men had found the girl at the market and forcibly snatched her from a village woman from the Outer City.
The village woman had given chase but was beaten to death with a club by one of Wang Hu’s men.
In the end, the young maiden was tied up on Wang Hu’s bed, waiting for him to grow tired of her, after which she would be sent to a hidden room on the street to be sold.
’This one’s skin is so soft and tender,’ he thought. ’She’ll probably be great for business in the hidden rooms.’
Dinner lasted for two hours. Wang Hu, completely drunk, waved away the underling who came to help support him.
Wang Hu staggered toward his room.
To be able to get a Blood Forging Third Layer Martial Artist this drunk showed just how much alcohol Wang Hu had consumed at the table. He’d lost count of how many jars he’d downed, but he had definitely drunk all his underlings under the table.
The thought of the girl waiting for him in the room made Wang Hu quicken his pace.
Arriving in front of the room with the red lantern hanging outside, Wang Hu reached out and pushed the door open.
After closing the door, Wang Hu’s eyes immediately fell upon the girl tied to the bed. Just as he’d heard, she was a fair-skinned, incredibly delicate-looking teenage girl.
"Mmm, little missy, no need to be scared. Just serve me obediently. If you serve me well, I’ll spare you the ordeal of being sent to the hidden rooms. You can serve me exclusively from now on!"
The girl on the bed was gagged and couldn’t make a sound, only able to weep with muffled sobs.
Seeing this, Wang Hu’s beastly nature flared. With a roar, he pounced onto the bed.
Just then, the door to the room was suddenly kicked open. A figure rushed in, striking fiercely at Wang Hu’s back with a ferocious palm!
Wang Hu’s reaction was extremely sharp. Sensing the danger behind him, he didn’t even turn his head, simply bending at the waist and rolling sideways like a lazy donkey!