Chapter 4

"Someone really followed me?"

Li Rui glanced behind him; with his cautious temperament, how could he not have a bit of counter-reconnaissance awareness?

The lean man behind him had looked at him at least seven or eight times while he was buying medicine, and as soon as he walked out of the black market, the lean man followed.

But he had deliberately worn more clothes and even wore a face scarf, making him look like he wasn't to be trifled with.

Why did the other party pick him?

Thinking of this, his pace quickened a bit more.

"Want to run?"

Seeing Li Rui in front accelerate, the lean man hurried to follow.

Passing a corner.

He was about to see the scene on the other side of the corner.

Suddenly—

A handful of yellow sand was thrown fiercely onto his face!

"Damn it!"

The lean man cursed out loud, his eyes blinded by the yellow sand, his body bumping around; however, the lean man had plenty of fighting experience, raising both hands to clamp his head with his arms, curling his body into a ball to protect his vital parts.

However.

Li Rui stepped forward and kicked the lean man's left leg.

Based on his observation just now, this person's right foot was lame.

Kicking the good leg of a lame person is definitely the right move.

The lean man felt pain in his left ankle, large beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, and he stumbled to the ground. Li Rui leaned in, rode directly on the lean man's body, and greeted him with a flurry of old-fashioned punches.

Soon, the lean man was beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, begging for mercy repeatedly.

Damn, damn, damn!

Didn't they say he was a seventy-year-old man?

How the hell is he so fierce!

The force of these punches was greater than those martial arts instructors in the martial arts hall, enough to beat a cow to death; if he kept hitting, he'd lose his life.

Just as the lean man was about to faint, Li Rui stopped and held his fist in mid-air.

The force and the injuries were controlled just right by him.

"Speak the code!"

The sudden sentence stunned the lean man, who then rejoiced: "The code of the 'Ding' family, the word after the code is bright."

"Which water route are you walking?"

The lean man was even happier: "So it's an old acquaintance from the 'Li' family, Rong Sect, a laugh at the sky, sword drawn and out the door."

"So it's one of Shopkeeper Wu's people," Li Rui loosened his grip: "The flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, the Eight Sects are all one family, a chicken in the northwest profound sky, the green forest doesn't bully the green forest."

The lean man quickly climbed up, smiling and cupping his hands: "If the green forest bullies the green forest, it's definitely not a good thing."

Li Rui: "The rule code, eating the Ge's."

"Big Brother!"

The tense atmosphere just now suddenly dissipated for the most part.

What the two were speaking was the Jianghu slang of this Qinghe area, also known as 'spring points' or secret codes.

This 'code' is actually reporting one's name; the 'Ding' code means the surname is Ding, and the word after the code being bright means Ding Liang.

Asking which water route he's walking is asking what trade this lean man is in.

"Wind, Horse, Goose, Sparrow, Horizontal, Orchid, Rong, Ge," these are the Eight Secret Sects of the Jianghu, all doing unspeakable deeds.

This lean man is from the Rong Sect, which is pickpocketing.

And this "a laugh at the sky, sword drawn and out the door" means the mouth and sky make the character 'Wu'.

Every one of the Eight Secret Sects in Qinghe City has a leader, also known as the 'ladle handle' in slang; the leader of the Rong Sect is a person surnamed Wu.

It's said he was once a swordsman at Hengmen, which is a bandit, with quite a fierce reputation; later, no one knows how he became the leader of the Rong Sect.

What Li Rui said, "eating the Ge's," refers to the Ge Sect, which is people like Jianghu thugs and robbers.

The lean man thought to himself: "Sure enough, a Jianghu veteran!"

Li Rui first established his authority with his fists, then stated his identity with the slang; the lean man was completely tamed by this set of carrots and sticks.

Li Rui had lived for fifty years, and of course, he hadn't lived in vain; in his early years, he had learned many slang terms following the Zhu family caravan and understood many Jianghu rules.

He had long passed the age of being brave and fierce; if he were young and vigorous, with his Martial Bone, he might have really beaten this man to death.

But what after beating him to death?

Anyone who kills often knows that killing is simple, but disposing of the ashes is much more complicated; wanting to do it seamlessly in this busy city is almost impossible.

These people who do side-door businesses mostly have accomplices; if the government or this lean man's accomplices find out, trouble will undoubtedly be endless, and it's very possible to end up with a broken home.

This is where the importance of sufficient Jianghu experience is reflected.

Those who understand the slang are all old Jianghu hands, and they definitely have people behind them, and their strength is also strong.

When walking the Jianghu and encountering things, not only are you afraid, but the other party is also afraid; if you match the secret codes, figure out the path, and both sides recognize each other's halls, it can save a lot of trouble.

It's also fortunate that this lean man wasn't a novice who just entered the Jianghu, otherwise Li Rui would have already thought of eighteen ways to dispose of the ashes.

The lean man slapped himself twice: "Blinded my eyes, touched a peer." (Blinded eyes, touched a peer.)

Li Rui: "We're all brothers, there are many government hawks in this area, be careful."

'Hawk-catching grandsons' means government runners.

After saying this, he intended to leave.

The lean man quickly called him to stop, spat on the ground, and cupped his hands: "Eyes didn't recognize Mount Tai, today I was pecked in the eye by a little brat, saying you were already seventy, easiest to bully, easy to bully my ass!"

Thinking of this, he got angry. He was aiming to bully an old man, but ended up being ridden and hammered by the old man.

What happened to bullying the old man?!!

If he hadn't met someone who knew the ropes, he would have lost his life.

Li Rui stopped: "Was it a young man, six feet tall, wearing black clothes?"

The lean man was stunned: "You know too?"

Li Rui's face sank.

Ma Yang!

"Thank you, brother."

The lean man: "Old Brother Li is righteous, brother can't hide anything either; come to the Rong Sect to drink in the future, my treat."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Li Rui didn't stay too long, picked up the herbs he had just placed in the corner of the alley, and quickly disappeared after a few turns.

Seeing that the lean man was no longer visible, the breath he had been holding finally relaxed.

For those walking the Jianghu, just knowing some slang is useless; seasoned Jianghu people all know to look at the tone and demeanor of speech, otherwise, even if the slang is correct, others won't believe it, which is commonly known as 'leaking air.'

He had prepared enough caution for this trip out, no wonder he was still targeted; it turned out he had been sold out.

"My good apprentice!"

Li Rui didn't have much anger, his heart was surprisingly calm.

It seems his master-apprentice relationship with Ma Yang has come to an end.

Ma Yang actually colluded with people from the underworld; who doesn't know that these people from the Rong Sect don't just steal money, but often kill for wealth.

It's clear he's after his life!

If he died, the next groom of the Zhu family would definitely be Ma Yang, and the pay could double.

The abacus beads were almost hitting Li Rui in the face.

Since the apprentice is unrighteous, he, the master, naturally has nothing to hold back; being able to mix in the Zhu family for decades isn't just by relying on being honest and dutiful.

A cold light flashed in Li Rui's eyes.

Carrying a sharp blade, the heart to kill arises!

"Return to the Zhu family first."

But just as Li Rui was about to leave the alley—

Lines of small characters appeared before his eyes.

【Congratulations to the host for completing the achievement 'Famous in the Jianghu' beginner plot—First Entry into the Jianghu.】

(End of chapter)