Chapter 67: The Pink-Clad Gang Leader (1)

Once they entered the territory of the Chu Du, the waterways were accessible in all directions, far more stable and comfortable than the land routes. After Nie Qi requested instructions from the Master, he ordered his subordinates to come and meet them. The group abandoned the carriage and boarded a boat, heading south into the Chu Jiang, straight toward Shangying.

The boat caught the wind and filled its sails, making the journey exceptionally light and fast. Soon, Shangying City was visible in the distance. Nie Qi climbed to the bow, took a deep breath of the fresh air on the river, and said to Shang Rong, who had come with the boat, "It is still Eunuch Shang who thinks things through. With you bringing the Shadow Slaves, Shi Niang and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Shang Rong lowered his white eyebrows slightly and smiled. "The Chu State is, after all, not the Imperial Capital. I said long ago to send more people to follow, just in case something happened, so there would be support. But the two masters were willful, and these past two days have truly been hard on you and Shi Niang."

Nie Qi rested his sword on his shoulder, his expression bright. "The journey has been smooth so far. It is just fortunate that the Princess didn't provoke the Yue Ma Gang, otherwise, it would have been a bit of a headache..." Before he could finish, he suddenly raised his eyes to look ahead, let out an "Eh," and frowned.

On the river ahead, a giant double-headed boat was riding the wind and breaking the waves, speeding toward them.

The giant boat had all its sails fully spread, appearing extremely imposing. A large flag painted with the Yue Ma Gang's emblem fluttered in the air. In the center of the deck, a three-story wide cabin was built, equipped with parapets for defense. At a glance, it had quite the air of a warship.

The distance between the two sides grew closer. Someone on the watchtower issued an order, and several accompanying Red Horse Boats sped forward at full speed, using the advantage of their light hulls to rush ahead toward the Mingyi Tower's flagship.

The giant boat slowed slightly, and the watchtower issued another order. The five sails on the boat were quickly lowered. At the same time, two rows of oars extended from both sides of the boat's hull, striking the water in unison toward the back. Not far from the Mingyi Tower's flagship, the giant boat slowly anchored on the river surface. The massive hull looked like a towering building, not to be underestimated.

Shi Niang had already rushed to the top deck when the giant boat appeared. She saw more than ten people in brocade clothes standing on the high platform. In the middle was a young woman in tight-fitting attire, her face like a peach blossom and her eyebrows like willows. A goose-yellow cloak fluttered in the river breeze, setting off the beauty of the lady without losing her heroic spirit, making her very eye-catching. She exchanged a look with Nie Qi, recognizing that this group was exactly the Yue Ma Gang members who had been hurrying along in the small town earlier.

At this time, Shang Rong had already disappeared from the bow, and the Shadow Slaves under his command had also silently hidden in various places. The response to the situation would be handled by Nie Qi and the others; unless the other side threatened the upper cabins, they would not easily expose their strength.

After the giant boat docked, the people on the boat leaped from the high platform to the bow one after another, placing them exactly at eye level with Nie Qi and the others standing on the upper deck. The woman in tight-fitting attire cupped her hands and asked loudly, "May I ask if the person who can speak for the Mingyi Tower is on the boat? Yin Xiyu of the Yue Ma Gang pays her respects!"

The person who had come was none other than the Yue Ma Gang leader, Yin Xiyu. Across such a river breeze, her voice could still be clearly delivered to the opposite cabin, gathered without scattering, pleasant and melodious, showing that her internal energy cultivation was not bad. The elites of the Yue Ma Gang's Shangying branch beside her were also all one-in-a-hundred expert-level figures. The Yue Ma Gang's formation was clearly aimed at the Mingyi Tower. Besides this building boat in front of them, about twenty fast boats were scattered around the river, forcing passing ships to detour far away to proceed.

"I didn't go to provoke her, yet she came looking for trouble herself."

Under the curtain in the cabin, the cold, faint light cast a few shallow shadows. A jade-white hand gently put down the jade cup. The woman leaning against the desk raised her phoenix eyes, the gentleness gone, replaced by a cold, sharp sneer. The man opposite her had a calm expression, his deep eyes like a quiet sea, as if indifferent to everything outside, yet he twitched his eyebrows very lightly.

"The Mingyi Tower and the Yue Ma Gang have always kept to themselves, yet you have provoked and caused trouble time and again. Do you think the Mingyi Tower is too easy to talk to?" The woman's faint words came from the cabin, clearly soft and charming, yet like a river of ice flowing slowly, splashing into everyone's heart with incomparable clarity, making even the rising sun feel a bit chilly.

Nie Qi turned and said respectfully, "Tower Master, why bother yourself with such a trivial matter? Leave it to your subordinates to handle."

The soft, charming voice was clear and cold, vaguely containing a smile. "Haven't you seen that the Gang Leader has come? We shouldn't be too negligent, lest it spread and people say our Mingyi Tower is like those unrefined small gangs and factions, ignorant of the rules of the martial arts world."

Yin Xiyu frowned slightly upon hearing this, but hearing that the person on the boat was the Mingyi Tower Master, whose true face no one had ever seen, she couldn't help but be a bit surprised. She slowed her tone. "I apologize for presumptuously blocking the Tower Master's boat. We apologize here first, but there is an urgent matter I would like to ask about. I heard that your tower obtained the snake gall of Zhu Jiuyin a few days ago. I wonder if the Tower Master is willing to part with it?"

To save her brother's life, Yin Xiyu had spent a fortune to hire Yan Ling to find the snake gall, but because of Ye Xuanshang's secret obstruction, she couldn't find out the truth for a time. With the young gang leader's life hanging by a thread, the Yue Ma Gang tried every possible way to find doctors and medicine, finally finding the witch doctor Qi Shi. Yesterday, Yin Xiyu rode fast horses to the ghost residence and visited in person. Qi Shi naturally didn't have the kind heart to save a life, but he had ulterior motives and revealed the whereabouts of the snake gall to the Yue Ma Gang.

Upon receiving this news, Yin Xiyu immediately mobilized all subordinates of the nearby branches to search with all their might. Zi Rao and the others had been delayed in the small town for a night on a whim, but Yin Xiyu had been riding fast horses, not closing her eyes for a night, and ended up arriving before them. After returning to the Chu Du and receiving news from other subordinates that the people they were looking for had changed to the waterway, she immediately mobilized boats to meet them along the Chu Jiang.

Although Zi Rao didn't know that Qi Shi was sowing discord, and even less about how hard the Yue Ma Gang had struggled that night, since the snake gall was for Zi Hao's medical treatment, there was absolutely no possibility of parting with it. Moreover, she owed Ye Xuanshang a great favor for the trip to Wangliang Valley, and for the Yue Ma Gang, which had once helped Crown Prince Yu hunt down Ye Xuanshang, she truly only had the heart to cause trouble, not the reason to be polite. "It is true that the snake gall is in my hands, but unfortunately, I have no interest in the Gang Leader's proposal."

Hearing that the snake gall was indeed in the Mingyi Tower, Yin Xiyu was overjoyed and immediately said, "As long as the Mingyi Tower is willing to part with the snake gall, please name your price. The Yue Ma Gang can accept any conditions and will never haggle!"

A light laugh suddenly came from the cabin. "What a big tone. The Yue Ma Gang is as rich as a country; I suppose you have more money than you can spend. Very well, since Gang Leader Yin is so generous, I have no reason not to earn a mountain of gold and silver. You bring me one hundred thousand taels of Chu gold, and we will exchange money and goods on the spot. How about that?"

Hearing the other side demand such an exorbitant price, everyone on the giant boat showed anger. Yin Xiyu raised her hand to signal her subordinates not to act rashly, enduring it. "My younger brother is poisoned and is waiting for this snake gall to save his life. We have come to discuss this with sincerity and are indeed willing to buy the medicine at a high price. If the Tower Master is willing to fulfill this, the entire Yue Ma Gang will definitely be grateful!"

"Your brother is waiting for the snake gall to save his life, but do you think I went through all the trouble to get that snake gall just to play with it? If I were to buy your life for one hundred thousand taels of Chu gold, may I ask Gang Leader Yin, would you sell it or not?" The cold, indifferent voice from the cabin was like ice and snow. Yin Xiyu's face changed, and the branch leader of the Shangying branch beside her, Xie Haitian, couldn't help but shout angrily, "You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Our Gang Leader came to discuss with courtesy, how can you speak so hurtfully?"

Before the angry shout faded, a low, soft laugh sounded in everyone's ears. That pleasant laugh seemed to echo in the depths of everyone's heart, lingering softly. The woman's voice from the cabin drifted out charmingly. "Are you angry? If the discussion doesn't work, are you thinking of taking it by force? Why haven't you made a move yet?"

The voice and laughter were like a breeze, rolling in from all sides. Xie Haitian bore the brunt of it, feeling his blood rush to his heart. A surge of indignation was hard to suppress, and he wished he could destroy the other side's boat immediately to feel satisfied. He knew something was wrong and gave a low shout, trying to stabilize his mind. Yin Xiyu was closest and suddenly saw that half of his face was ferocious and terrifying, while the other half was struggling bitterly, as if he had suddenly split into two. Her heart couldn't help but be shocked. Before she could react, Xie Haitian had suddenly leaped into the air, his body pouncing down like a hawk, his hands uncontrollably gathering ten percent of his power to strike at the opposite boat's bow!

Seeing this, Yin Xiyu knew it was bad. A silver whip shot out from her hand, blocking in front of him, and she shouted urgently, "Branch Leader Xie, do not be rude!"

With her obstruction, Xie Haitian tilted his palm, and with a loud bang, a palm strike gathering his life's power hit the river. A water column shot into the sky, shaking the large boat and forcing the surrounding small boats to dodge in a hurry.

"Good palm technique!" Nie Qi shouted, cupping his palms to meet the opponent falling toward the bow!

Amidst the sky-filling water spray, the two struck palms hard, both forced back by the opponent's thick palm power.

Nie Qi retreated half a step and then stabilized his figure. Xie Haitian, however, used the counter-shock force to perform a somersault in the air. Just as he was about to land back on his own boat, he suddenly saw a black shadow flash in front of him, and a palm wind attacked his face silently.

Xie Haitian was shocked and hurriedly returned the palm to meet it. In a dangerous situation, the True Qi in his body flowed naturally. This palm was fierce and unparalleled, directly following the previous strike!

Amidst the lingering fragrance and drifting wind, suddenly, the moment the woman in black passed him, she laughed lightly.

The smile was charming and transcendent, and all living things seemed to flow in those eyes that were like water and ink. In the extreme clarity, extreme charm and extreme enchantment were born. At that moment, the thought was only that if this palm were to strike, he would surely regret it for the rest of his life. As the palm power was about to be released and his hand had almost touched the warm, soft body, Xie Haitian actually forcibly withdrew his palm power in an instant.

Doing so was no different from striking all the power gathered in this palm onto himself. With severe pain in his meridians, Xie Haitian spat out blood, and he fell heavily onto the deck with a spray of blood.

The woman in black laughed softly, and the palm that was originally attacking his heart drifted to the side. In the blink of an eye, she had already exchanged three palms with Yin Xiyu!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 68 =====