They were in the same teahouse as before.
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng sat facing each other in a private room on the second floor.
"So, Junior Brother, which target have you chosen this time?"
Zhou Feng asked with practiced ease.
Some time ago, with the help of Exotic Beast Meat, Zhou Feng had successfully broken through the Blood Forging Fourth Layer that had plagued him for years, reaching the Realm of the Blood Forging Fifth Layer.
Zhou Feng was still extremely grateful to Lu Changfeng.
If not for his junior brother suggesting a path of murder and plunder, Zhou Feng would never have found this alternative.
With his ordinary family background and the missions he took from the Martial Arts Hall, he could never have afforded the massive amount of Exotic Beast Meat needed to break through.
In Lu Changfeng, Zhou Feng saw the true spirit of a cultivator—one who dared to fight for and seize what he wanted.
Sometimes, training blindly was a fool’s errand, impressing no one but yourself.
Furthermore, Lu Changfeng’s reconnaissance and planning for their last job had been exceptionally thorough; he seemed far more shrewd and calculating than Zhou Feng himself.
Because of this, Zhou Feng now had considerable faith in his junior brother.
Lu Changfeng took a sip of his tea.
He had started keeping an eye out for their next target over a month ago.
When it came to robbery and murder, one had to choose targets carefully.
First, they had to be people who deserved to die; otherwise, Lu Changfeng’s own conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Second, his current strength was still too weak, limiting his options. If he offended someone he couldn’t afford to, not even the Changle Martial Arts Hall could protect him.
The Outer City had a population of nearly a million, with a complex web of powers. Many of these factions were merely agents for the powerful elite of the Inner City.
Therefore, Lu Changfeng still focused his attention on newly emerging powers.
After many days of gathering and verifying information, Lu Changfeng had selected his target: a gang called the Golden Lion Gang.
The gang had over fifty members. Its leader went by the moniker Golden Lion and claimed to be from Cyan Mountain Prefecture.
Golden Lion was at the Blood Forging Fourth Layer and possessed a superb Fist Technique that had reached the Great Success stage. He had quickly made a name for himself in Feng City’s Outer City and established his gang.
Golden Lion’s main business was human trafficking.
He sold male laborers, women for pleasure, and even children.
It was a business so devoid of morality that it had destroyed countless families. If the Celestial Dao possessed any justice, this man would have been struck down by Thunder long ago.
However, not only was he powerful, but he was also extremely cautious, only preying on those weaker than himself.
When faced with someone stronger, he would immediately start sucking up to them.
As a result, the Golden Lion Gang’s power had been steadily growing.
Golden Lion also had four Red Sticks under his command, all of whom were at the Blood Forging Second Layer or higher.
The overall strength of the Golden Lion Gang was not to be underestimated.
"As you say, the Golden Lion Gang certainly deserves to be wiped out. But their strength... I’m not afraid for myself, but I worry something might happen to you. Do you have a complete plan?" Zhou Feng asked.
Lu Changfeng smiled. "Second Brother, do you remember the girl who was being forced on Wang Hu’s bed when we killed him?"
Zhou Feng thought for a moment and nodded. "Of course I remember. We saved her life, I suppose. Otherwise, she would not only have been violated but likely sold to a brothel to serve customers."
Lu Changfeng nodded.
"That girl is now working for the Golden Lion Gang."
One day, on his way to a teahouse, Lu Changfeng was stopped by the girl, who called out to him as her "benefactor."
Lu Changfeng had to think for a long time before he remembered who she was.
It turned out the girl’s name was Hua’Er. That night, she had successfully escaped the Giant Whale Gang’s headquarters.
Unfortunately, her widowed mother had been beaten to death, and with nowhere else to go, she ended up on the streets. After a few days, she was targeted by members of the Golden Lion Gang.
The gang happened to be short a kitchen maid at the time, so they made Hua’Er their cook, also making her responsible for buying groceries every day.
She had been out buying groceries the day she ran into Lu Changfeng.
The Golden Lion Gang gave her no silver and treated her like a slave. Gang members often eyed her covetously.
Fortunately, Hua’Er had learned to be smart. She didn’t wash her face or dress up, deliberately making herself look disheveled and smelly every day.
Because of this, she hadn’t been assaulted.
It was only after getting in touch with Hua’Er that Lu Changfeng began to investigate the Golden Lion Gang in earnest.
After his investigation, Lu Changfeng knew that if he played his pawn—Hua’Er—correctly,
...annihilating the entire Golden Lion Gang wouldn’t be impossible.
"The day after tomorrow, the Golden Lion Gang is holding its year-end ceremony. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to..."
「Two days later.」
On that day, Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng ate an early dinner in the mess hall, then left the Martial Arts Hall together and disappeared.
「Outer City, Golden Lion Gang Headquarters.」
From within the compound’s walls came the sounds of singing and dancing.
Today was the Golden Lion Gang’s first-ever year-end ceremony, and it was especially lively.
In addition to their own servants, the Golden Lion Gang had also hired chefs from an outside restaurant to help prepare the feast.
「The compound’s rear kitchen.」
Although Hua’Er was only a servant in the gang, at this moment she held a measure of authority.
She was busy directing the hired chefs.
"You two, go bring in the jars of pickled vegetables from the cellar outside. We’ll need them for the pickled fish soup later," Hua’Er said to two unusually tall servants.
The two servants, dressed as handymen, nodded and headed outside.
These two were none other than Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng, who had infiltrated the Golden Lion Gang’s kitchen with Hua’Er’s help.
Using the task of moving the pickled vegetable jars as an opportunity,
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng surveyed the situation with the gang members in the compound.
In an open-air courtyard within the compound, seven or eight tables had been set up. At the head table sat Golden Lion, the gang leader, along with his four Red Sticks and the gang’s strategist.
The gang members were drinking and laughing, already tipsy.
Dishes from the rear kitchen were still being served continuously.
The pickled fish soup was one of the head chef’s signature dishes.
Committing the scene within the compound to memory,
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng, now clear on the situation, headed to the cellar.
The strong flavor of the pickled fish soup would be perfect for masking the taste of poison.
The poison was Red Toad, which Lu Changfeng had carefully selected.
After consumption, even a Martial Artist in the Blood Forging Realm would suffer from coagulated blood and energy, leaving their limbs weak and unable to exert their strength for a short time.
An ordinary person who ingested it would die instantly.
Lu Changfeng took out several packets of the poison. He and Zhou Feng poured it into the pickled vegetable jars, gave them a good stir, and then each carried a jar back to the rear kitchen.
The master chef, suspecting nothing, took out the pickled vegetables and began to diligently prepare the pickled fish soup.
Today’s clients were unreasonable gang members. If the food wasn’t good, the head chef feared for his own life.
Soon, pot after pot of pickled fish soup was ready, and servants began carrying them out to the tables.
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng exchanged a look, then quietly slipped out of the rear kitchen, following the servants.
Inside the kitchen, Hua’Er looked a little nervous, but she followed Lu Changfeng’s instructions. After untying her apron, she ran out a side door and away from the compound to wait for news from a safe distance.
Lu Changfeng and Zhou Feng pressed themselves against a corner of the wall, watching the people eating in the courtyard as the pickled fish soup was served.
The crowd eagerly began to taste the delicacy.
"Hm? There’s a Red Stick over there who isn’t eating the fish!" Zhou Feng said, having noticed something.
"We’ll kill him first in a bit!" Lu Changfeng made a throat-slitting gesture. ’Serves him right for not eating fish!’
Fortunately, the gang leader, Golden Lion, was not the one refusing the fish.
Just as planned, the taste of the Red Toad was completely masked by the strong flavor of the pickled fish soup.
No one noticed anything unusual.
A few minutes later, a gang member suddenly began to convulse and collapsed to the ground.
It was like a chain reaction. At table after table, gang members began twitching and falling. Even the gang leader, Golden Lion, his face changing color, clutched his chest!
"Damn it! We’re under attack!"
Golden Lion roared as he staggered to his feet.
In the distance, seeing the poison take effect, Lu Changfeng drew his longsword and Zhou Feng his long saber. They covered their faces with cloths and charged into the courtyard, beginning to reap a harvest of heads!