Chapter 17: Eternal Joy Gate Rescue

Eternal Joy Gate lies southwest of Tiger Mountain; on the nearest town nearby, the town is under Mountain City's jurisdiction.

Within an hour, a crowd from Dragon Tiger Gate surged to the foot of Mountain City with a menacing aura.

Mountain City, as the name suggests, is surrounded by continuous rolling mountains inside and out; Tiger Mountain also falls within Mountain City's jurisdiction.

"Who goes there? Report your name!" the city guard stationed above shouted.

"Tiger Mountain Dragon King!"

"Wait! I'll send someone to report to the city lord!"

"What's the point of reporting! If you don't open the gate, we'll force our way in!" the Dragon King drew the green great blade at his back and shouted at the guards on the wall.

Though a large band of Dragon Tiger Gate surrounding the city gate would normally not be allowed inside, the visitor is the Dragon King, and his Dragon Tiger Gate is the biggest gang in Mountain City.

Mountain City isn't like Clear Water City; it's small, remote, and far away—imperial officials can't afford to provoke such jianghu gangs. "All right, all right, Dragon King, don't rush; I'll open the gate right away…"

As the gate opened, the Dragon King spurred his horse with the great blade, shouting, "Surround Eternal Joy Gate inside and out!"

"Yes!"

Eternal Joy Gate is a three‑story wooden tower located at the exact center of Mountain City, also the city's liveliest spot.

Midnight is when Eternal Joy Gate does its best business and sees the most customers.

Standing at Eternal Joy Gate's entrance, one can see a gold plaque above the door bearing the seven large characters "Eternal Joy Gate—Always Win in Gambling."

Over six hundred members of Dragon Tiger Gate arrived, sealing off Eternal Joy Gate on all sides, impenetrable…

"Big, big! Bet big!"

"One hundred taels, the house wins!" Chen Yi He stood outside and could hear the excited shouts of gamblers and the house from inside.

"Wait outside and listen for my orders at any time. Yi He, let's go in first." the Dragon King said.

Chen Yi He then noticed the long blade in the Dragon King's hand—though it is a long sword, the hilt is unusually short, the length mainly in the blade. The blade overall is bronze‑colored; on its palm‑wide surface is carved a vivid coiling dragon, matching his aura. Looking closer, the tip's side has slight undulating grooves; Chen Yi He guessed this was to increase pressure. It is definitely a precious blade.

"Damn it, call your boss out!" the Dragon King stormed in and kicked over the nearest gambling table, sending silver notes, gold ingots, and silver ingots flying everywhere!

The gamblers stared dumbstruck, instantly losing their souls to the gambling excitement; they scrambled to hide—corners, under tables—in a moment Eternal Joy Gate descended into chaos, chickens flying, dogs jumping.

"Well, well, who do we have here? It's the Tiger Mountain Dragon King honoring us with his presence!" a voice came from above; a clean‑looking man in his late forties walked onto the third‑floor corridor.

The Dragon King looked up, pointed his Azure Dragon Blade at the man, and said, "I didn't expect it to be Ma Ming, the boss from the Imperial Capital!"

Chen Yi He then realized that this seemingly ordinary middle‑aged man upstairs was the big boss of Eternal Joy Gate!

"Hahaha! I didn't expect the Dragon King to know me." Ma Ming laughed loudly, stepping down the stairs one by one.

"We straight‑talking folks don't play tricks—why did you seize my brother?!" At this moment the Dragon King's face was black and red, the result of anger mixing with his complexion.

"Then let's ask your brother!" Walking up to the Dragon King, Ma Ming waved with a smile; two men led out a white‑clad man from the innermost room.

"Xu Jia!" Chen Yi He instantly recognized the white‑clad man.

His white clothes were soaked in blood, his delicate face beaten beyond recognition, held down and kneeling on the ground.

Ma Ming pulled the cloth from Xu Jia's mouth, smiling, and asked, "Still okay?"

"You!" Chen Yi He exploded in rage; his fists were about to split open, ready to erupt.

The Dragon King reached out to stop Chen Yi He; though his brother had been abused like this, he forced back his anger and calmly asked Ma Ming, "The Imperial Capital's Boss Ma himself has come out—this must be a major matter; I just don't know why you're targeting my brother."

Ma Ming laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Dragon King, you're indeed a talented youth of the Great Zhou Dynasty—truly not simple! Even your mind works this quickly!"

"Speak quickly!"

"This person, your brother, half a month ago stole my jade ruyi at the Eternal Joy Gate in the Imperial Capital." Ma Ming drew from his bosom a crystal‑clear jade ruyi only the size of a palm, laughing, "It's this very jade ruyi. Later I learned this man is the notorious jianghu thief Xu Jia—I never expected the divine thief to fall into my hands!" Hahaha!

The Dragon King looked at the jade ruyi, then at Xu Jia.

"Stealing from anyone is bad, but stealing from our Eternal Joy Gate's property is practically asking for death!" Ma Ming kicked Xu Jia in the face, sending him sliding six or seven meters across the ground…

"Damn it, just talk if you're going to talk—what's with the hands!" Chen Yi He pointed at Ma Ming's face and shouted angrily.

"Heh heh, although your title Dragon King is grand, our Eternal Joy Gate's sign isn't any smaller—how do you propose to settle this?" Ma Ming ignored Chen Yi He entirely and asked the Dragon King.

The Dragon King's expression froze; he watched everything in silence.

"I didn't know this at first, but he pulled it off successfully. Who let him sell it that day for a hundred thousand taels of gold to the court's powerful eunuch Zhang? Zhang was thrilled—such a treasure, he bought it for a hundred thousand taels. The next day Zhang invited the prominent figures of the Imperial Capital to his West Factory for drinks, specifically to show off the jade ruyi he'd purchased for a hundred thousand taels. I thought, 'Isn't this my jade ruyi?' Heh heh, but I later had to spend a lot of talk and another three hundred thousand taels to buy it back."

"Three hundred thousand taels?" the Dragon King raised a hand to cut off Ma Ming's words and asked directly.

"Money? I'm never short of it! This little thief made me lose face before the Imperial Capital's folk! Jianghu law says that when theft is caught, the minimum punishment is chopping off both hands!" Ma Ming issued the threat directly.

"What? I don't want that!" Xu Jia shouted upon hearing he'd have both hands cut off.

"Press him down." Ma Ming ordered.

The Eternal Joy Gate men pressed Xu Jia onto the gambling table, holding both his hands.

Ma Ming drew a blade from his subordinate's scabbard.

"No, no, I don't want it!" Xu Jia roared, blood pouring from his mouth, yet he could not break free of the bonds.

The Dragon King said little more—first, jianghu law; second, they were in the wrong; but there would be some solution, just not cutting off his brother's hands!

"Then we'll decide it this way—no problem? After we chop, you can take him away!" Ma Ming said with a smile, already raising the blade high.

Chen Yi He reached out to block the blade beneath Boss Ma's arm, saying to him, "He's doing this for me—using my hands to spare his!"

Everyone inside Eternal Joy Gate erupted in surprise—no one had expected anyone to offer to take the hand‑cutting in his place!

Ma Ming first stared, then sneered, "Oh? When did a little lackey like you get to speak? What use would I have for your hands? Get out of my way!"

"Don't push people too far!" Chen Yi He was about to go mad with anger.

No sooner said than done—the Dragon King swung his blade at Ma Ming! "I can't take this either!"

In an instant the scene erupted into chaos! Dragon Tiger Gate's underlings chopped open the gate and rushed in!

Ma Ming swung his blade to block the Dragon King's incoming strike.

Seizing the opening, Chen Yi He kicked the gambling table to pieces, grabbed Xu Jia, and with two consecutive punches sent the two men holding him flying!

"Yi He, hurry and take him away—I'll hold them off!" the Dragon King shouted to Chen Yi He.

"All right!" Chen Yi He replied. But he could not easily break free now—upstairs the rooms were filled with Eternal Joy Gate's troops; Ma Ming had prepared well, and tonight would not be easy for them!!!

The subordinates of Changle Sect and the brothers of Dragon Tiger Sect fought together; the whole Changle Sect was in chaos, and many innocent gamblers who suffered losses lost their lives for nothing.

Long Wang never expected Ma Ming to be this strong, able to withstand his "Slaying Dragon Sword Technique".

"Heh, tonight, no matter what, you will all die here!" Ma Ming said coldly to Long Wang, the blade in his hand swinging faster and faster.

Long Wang chopped down with a blade, but Ma Ming blocked it. Around them, Changle Sect's subordinates launched a sneak attack; Long Wang grabbed one and hurled him straight out the door! "You're not after money, nor after a hand—what do you really want?"

He deflected Ma Ming's blade, Long Wang gathered his true qi in his right hand, channeled it into his long blade, and thrust toward Ma Ming!

A tiger's roar and dragon's chant! A mighty blade qi swept everyone before him away! Straight for Ma Ming!

Ma Ming showed no panic; he planted his feet, tossed aside his long sword, and thrust his palms forward to meet the blade qi!

"Bang bang bang!"

Who knows how many gambling tables were shattered, how many people died on the spot; two powerful forces shattered all the doors and windows of Changle Sect, sending the shards out into the street.

Long Wang stood rooted to the spot, not moving a muscle.

Ma Ming, however, staggered back three or four steps, clutching his chest as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he snarled, "You can't escape—our reinforcements are arriving any moment; none of you will get out!"

But Long Wang had had enough of Ma Ming's nonsense; he wanted to go save his brothers! He stepped onto a tilted gambling table, flipped three times, and stood at the entrance of Changle Sect.