Chapter 25

Looking at the claw marks on the scarred man’s neck, he raised his foot and stepped down heavily until he had crushed the neck from the head, masking the traces left by the "Bear King Probing Claws."

He picked up a blade from the ground and left quickly.

This time, he couldn't be bothered to destroy the evidence; there wasn't enough time.

Returning to the hall, the main gate was still open, meaning no one inside was awake; they had no idea that Qian Ming and the two had left.

He hid outside and listened for a while, confirming there were no sounds other than snoring. Xu Yang swallowed the antidote for the Soft-Muscle Powder.

After waiting a while and confirming the antidote was taking effect, he slipped in through the open gate.

There was no one in the courtyard, only some overturned stools and bowls. Snoring came from the rooms on both sides.

The doors to several rooms weren't even closed; they were just left open.

For these rooms, Xu Yang walked in and sprinkled a handful of Soft-Muscle Powder, not in a hurry to kill.

Once he had sprinkled the powder in all the rooms with open doors, he began to call them out one by one, first covering their mouths, then piercing their throats with a blade.

Ten minutes later, there wasn't a single living soul left.

Using blood, he left the two characters "Si Shui" on the wall and walked out carrying a large bag.

Inside were the protection fees collected by the hall over the past few days, all copper coins—there should be five or six thousand of them—along with some broken silver.

Adding what he looted from the dead, his harvest tonight should be around ten taels of silver.

"Sure enough, killing and arson bring golden belts. But I can't take so many copper coins home yet."

He found a hidden place to stash the money, then returned home.

The next day, at the first light of dawn, someone discovered Qian Ming and the two dead on the road. He rushed in a panic to the Tri-Union Gang hall to report it, only to be scared into collapsing on the ground by the scene inside.

Not long after, the news that the Tri-Union Gang hall had been wiped out spread through the nearby villages. ===== CHAPTER 47 =====

"Over a dozen people are all dead!"

"Back then, Qian Ming was a fierce man who could hack over a dozen people with one saber, yet he was killed."

"I wonder who dared to touch the Tri-Union Gang’s bad luck. Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"

"It seems to be the Si Shui Gang."

"What 'seems'? It was the Si Shui Gang who killed them. Others fear the Tri-Union Gang, but the Si Shui Gang doesn't. After killing them, they even left blood characters in the hall to provoke them."

"The two gangs are probably going to war."

"War is good. It would be best if they all died."

The morning sun rose. Usually, at this time, most of the folks in White Stone Workshop were just waking up, but today it was bustling; the alleys were full of discussions about the Tri-Union Gang hall being wiped out.

"Be smart. If there’s any trouble, say that my martial arts talent is outstanding and I’m valued by the Huang family, who have already paid to send me to a martial arts school."

Before leaving, Xu Yang instructed Xu Qing.

Although it was unlikely they would trace it back to him, so many people had died at once; the Tri-Union Gang might do anything, and they might vent their anger on innocent people.

"Brother, you be careful too. With so many people dead, I’m afraid there will be chaos."

"I know!"

Seeing Xu Qing nod, Xu Yang left the house.

Once out of White Stone Workshop, he heard wailing.

Looking from afar, he saw the location of the Tri-Union Gang hall, where the families of the gang members he had killed were crying in a mass; there were at least a hundred people crying together.

He felt no sympathy or pity. These people followed the Tri-Union Gang and did evil; he didn't know how many families they had ruined. They deserved to die.

Their families enjoyed the money, so now they were suffering the consequences; it was their own fault.

"I hope they fight."

He had deliberately left the two characters "Si Shui" to make the Si Shui Gang and the Tri-Union Gang fight. Whether it would work depended on Heaven.

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance · Entry (32/100)]

[Martial Dao Longevity Points: 15]

Last night’s harvest was not small. Besides nearly ten taels of silver, he had gained fifteen points as a reward this morning.

"I must focus on cultivating the Turtle-Snake Great Stance from now on."

If he wanted to gather Qi and become a martial artist this month, the progress of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance had to rise; otherwise, it wouldn't keep up with the progress of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

And with last night’s harvest, he didn't need to worry about nutrition and could cultivate without restraint.

Arriving at Weiyuan Hall, he found that except for him and Lu Ren, Zhang Yong, Luo Dehu, Tang Ruiyang, and the others were all absent.

"They must have gone to hunt exotic beasts!"

Xu Yang hadn't expected that they had only mentioned it to him yesterday and were already in the mountains today.

"Brother Xu, the Tri-Union Gang matter was your doing, right?"

Just as he was thinking, Qiu Wenjie sneaked over, his face full of suspicion.

Xu Yang nodded slightly. He had used Soft-Muscle Powder; an experienced coroner could verify it with one test. It was normal for Qiu Wenjie to guess it was him.

He just hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly; it had already reached the city.

"Be careful. I heard from my dad that Li Sanhe has already reached Great Completion in Qi Gathering and is very difficult to deal with."

Li Sanhe was the leader of the Tri-Union Gang, a martial artist who had been famous for many years. It could be said that Xu Yang had grown up under Li Sanhe’s lewd and fierce power.

He then smiled and said, "However, once you become a martial artist, with the reputation of Weiyuan Hall, even if he knows you did it, he might not dare to provoke you. Besides, you didn't leave any flaws."

Once he became a martial artist, it wouldn't be a matter of whether Li Sanhe came to find him or not.

"Do you think the Tri-Union Gang will fight the Si Shui Gang?" Xu Yang whispered.

Qiu Wenjie shook his head, "Your methods were a bit clumsy. They probably won't fight; they might think a third-party force is plotting in the dark and become cautious instead."

"Li Sanhe and Zhang Si Shui are both cunning and cautious people; they won't impulsively fight to the death just because of a few subordinates."

Xu Yang felt somewhat helpless.

He also knew this framing tactic was clumsy, but he had never had contact with the Si Shui Gang, nor did he have time to plan slowly.

But now it seemed that although they might not fight, it could buy him some time.

When he returned home that night, what he heard from Xu Qing confirmed this: the Tri-Union Gang and the Si Shui Gang hadn't fought, but the atmosphere was tense.

The Tri-Union Gang hadn't sent anyone to the hall again; he didn't know if they were afraid of more trouble or if they would wait a few days.

They had sent people to search White Stone Workshop, but Xu Yang hadn't brought anything back except the silver, so the Tri-Union Gang hadn't found anything.

In the blink of an eye, on the third day, Zhang Yong and the others returned, all of them glowing with health and high spirits.

Following the inner hall senior brother, they had really hunted an exotic beast, and everyone had received a share.

"A-Yang, it was money picked up for free! It’s a pity you didn't go. We just wandered around in the mountains and got this much."

Tang Ruiyang held up two fingers: "Two taels. Do you know that? We each got two taels."

With money, everyone was floating. At the very least, Tang Ruiyang was floating.

Before, he wouldn't have dared to call Xu Yang "A-Yang." At the beginning, he called him "Brother Xu."

Even later, when Xu Yang and Lu Ren had a complete falling out and occasionally spoke, he continued to call him "Brother Xu."

Although everyone was not optimistic about Xu Yang, in fact, they all hoped Xu Yang could gather Qi and give them some hope.

"What a pity. For someone with small courage, even if you give him ten chances, he won't be able to grab them." Luo Dehu said sarcastically.

With money, he felt he could become a martial artist again.

Although two taels were still a bit small, it wasn't like they could only do this once. If they did it two or three more times, becoming a martial artist would be a sure thing.

Xu Yang really wanted to say that he had gotten ten taels two days ago and was drinking Body-Strengthening Soup every day, but he thought about it and didn't show off.

"You’ve disappointed me." Zhang Yong said.

He had always viewed Xu Yang as an enemy and vowed to surpass him. He hadn't expected Xu Yang to lack even this bit of ruthlessness.

Xu Yang was speechless. Zhang Yong was talking to him again because of this kind of thing.

"We’ll go into the mountains again in a few days. If you’re willing, I’ll go talk to Senior Brother Xue Fangsheng; you can participate. I don't want to use resources to surpass you."

His cold face showed a bit of seriousness.

"I don't agree. If there’s one more person, I’ll get less. If you want him to join, use your share to split with him."

Xu Yang didn't speak, but Qian Jiaxing had already voiced his opposition.

They had agreed on a 3-7 split with Xue Fangsheng; the seven of them would get 30%. If there was one more person, it would be eight people splitting it.

"I object too!" Tang Ruiyang followed closely.

He was now regretting it so much that his intestines were green. If he had known making money was so easy, he shouldn't have called so many people.

Following a martial artist into the mountains was like picking up money. ===== CHAPTER 48 =====