Chapter 4: Special Skill — Heavenly Wolf Sniffs the Moon!

A thorough beating of a drowning dog.

The dozen-plus Blood Wolf Gang members who had overstepped their bounds were driven out of the Great Blade Gang's territory, their faces bruised and swollen.

"These wolf cubs — next time they come, I'll break their legs!"

A sturdy man in his early thirties, thick-waisted and broad-shouldered, rubbed his wrist and let out a cold shout.

Finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Huang Feiyang beside him, grinned, and said, "Thanks a lot today, Dahu, for rushing over to help at the first moment."

"Hey, I just happened to be nearby." Huang Feiyang gave a modest smile. "The wolf cubs have been chased off, so we won't bother Boss Yu any longer. We'll head back first…"

"Head back where?"

Yu Baoliang waved a big hand, cutting him off. "How could I let a man go back with an empty stomach after helping out? Tonight I'm treating. Brothers, follow me — to the Spring Breeze Pavilion, drink to our hearts' content!"

"No, no, really, you don't have to." Huang Feiyang hurriedly declined.

Yu Baoliang, however, would hear none of it, threw an arm around his shoulder, and forcibly dragged him off toward the tavern.

The others excitedly followed, shouting, "Thanks, Boss Yu!"

Yu Baoliang, like Xing Yong, was one of the heads of the Great Blade Gang.

Xing Yong was in charge of the streets on the Changping Ward side; Yu Baoliang was in charge of two streets on the Changlong Ward side.

The two wards sat right next to each other.

By population, Changping Ward had more — but the people living in Changping Ward were all poor, all commoners.

Only the street at the very center of the market had any vendors; the other streets had no businesses at all.

Changlong Ward was different — far more prosperous.

Either of the two streets under Yu Baoliang's charge had more fat to be had than all of Changping Ward.

Of course, in terms of foot traffic and shops, the most prosperous street in the East District — and also the largest and longest — was Changle Street.

Wards like Changping, Changlong, and Changde all had sections of road that ran right alongside Changle Street.

The Changping and Changlong side was Great Blade Gang territory; across from it was Blood Wolf Gang territory.

The two gangs would fight from time to time over who owned the sections of Changle Street that bordered their turf.

Xing Yong had long wanted to take the Changping-side section, but had never succeeded.

As for the Changlong-side section, Yu Baoliang had already taken it.

Having to manage two streets inside the ward and also guard the bordering section of Changle Street, Yu Baoliang was a bit short-handed…

No — to be precise, he was short on good fighters willing to go all out.

How could he let this "tiger coming down the mountain" — Huang Feiyang — slip away now that he'd finally shown up?

That's right.

Yu Baoliang wanted to poach Huang Feiyang!

Plenty of people could see that.

Chen Mu, naturally, was not surprised.

'Slipped up!'

Only after running out did Chen Mu learn that the Blood Wolf Gang members had overstepped their bounds, and that Xing Yong had not shown up.

Yet Huang Feiyang had charged over with a group of people.

They were all Great Blade Gang members, so helping out was no big deal in itself.

The problem was that Xing Yong, this boss of theirs, was — in Chen Mu's memory — not a generous man.

Huang Feiyang bringing people to rush over to Changlong Ward could be called hot-blooded goodwill, protecting the Great Blade Gang's interests — or it could be called acting on his own authority, with no sense of his place!

It all depended on how it was judged.

Yu Baoliang even wanted to poach Huang Feiyang. Whether it worked out or not, in Xing Yong's eyes it was probably a slap in his face!

……

"Bro, next time something like this happens, don't get involved."

After the meal, back at home, Chen Mu said to Huang Feiyang in a serious tone, "I'm afraid Boss Xing will overthink it."

"……"

Huang Feiyang was silent for a moment, then said in a muffled voice, "Got it."

Seeing that, Chen Mu kept his serious gaze on him and asked in a low voice, "Bro, you're not really thinking of transferring over to Boss Yu's banner, are you?"

"Nothing of the sort."

Huang Feiyang raised a hand, got up to go fetch a towel, and said as he went, "Don't overthink it. Just a normal helping hand — the boss isn't that petty."

With that, he took the towel and went outside to draw water and wash up.

'Xing Yong isn't petty?'

Chen Mu sneered inwardly.

Reviewing the original body's memories of Xing Yong, this Boss Xing was best at shouting slogans — the more hot-blooded the better — while the actual benefits he handed out were pitifully few.

Apart from a few trusted followers, he paid almost no attention to the others, let alone looked after them.

Including Huang Feiyang, his number-one fighter — the same.

The only thing was, each month's pay was delivered in person by someone from the gang's Service Hall, and every gang member collected it themselves.

If Xing Yong were the one handling it, he would definitely take a cut — if the members below got even half of their full pay, that would be considered decent.

'I've still got to get stronger, fast!'

Chen Mu clenched his fist.

Only by getting stronger could he be his own master — only then could he take down Sun Jindong!

Last night he'd woken up again shouting about killing that Sun bastard…

……

……

The Great Saber Gang's branch station at Changping Ward.

"Yu Baoliang invited Huang Feiyang and his group to 'Spring Breeze Pavilion' for drinks?"

"During the banquet, Yu Baoliang praised Huang Feiyang repeatedly?"

"Hehehe~ Looks like Boss Yu thinks quite highly of Huang Feiyang, doesn't he."

After hearing his subordinate's report, Xing Yong let out a cold laugh, his sullen face growing even uglier.

There were still four people in the room.

These four were all Xing Yong's trusted confidants. Now, listening to Xing Yong's cold laugh, one of them slowly raised a hand and said, "Big Brother, should we…"

He made a slicing gesture across his own neck.

"Idiot!"

Xing Yong glared at him. "Use a blade? You want the people from the Punishment Hall camping at our place every day?"

"……"

The four confidants fell silent.

Using a blade was the easiest, but the follow-up trouble would be great.

On the Great Saber Gang's own turf, if someone disappeared, the head of the Punishment Hall would definitely investigate thoroughly.

"Getting rid of a person doesn't necessarily require bloodshed."

Xing Yong spoke in a low, eerie voice, a vicious glint flashing through his hawk-like eyes.

……

……

The morning sun rose, the sky a clear blue.

A new day again.

Chen Mu got up, washed, ate breakfast, and headed straight for the city gate.

He went first to the nearest mass grave, circled around, and picked up a Stamina Card.

Then he circled to the mass grave on the west side, and picked up a Stamina Card and an Energy Card.

Leaving the mass grave and heading back to the city, he saw a group of people gathered at the foot of a distant mountain, faint screams drifting over on the wind.

'Someone dead?'

Curious, Chen Mu left the main road and headed toward the mountain's base.

As he got closer, he heard a discussion.

"What Wu Wu Mazi did was utterly inhuman. Everyone in the village knows how much Old Hu loved his dog."

"Exactly. That's a hunting dog—Old Hu relies on it for half his hunting. Now that it's died of old age, it deserves a proper burial. But Wu Wu Mazi dug the corpse up out of the ground—wants to eat its meat? Would he die without that bite of meat!"

"Hit him! Hit him hard! A beast like this who isn't even as good as an animal deserves to be beaten to death!"

"……"

Chen Mu stood behind the crowd, listened for a while, and was also a bit speechless.

The bond between a hunting dog and its hunter is something outsiders simply cannot understand.

Even an ordinary pet dog, once raised long enough, brings grief when it dies—let alone a loyal hunting dog that guards its hunter's side?

Digging up a hunting dog's corpse for meat—he deserved to be beaten to death!

Chen Mu glanced at the wretched, pockmarked man rolling on the ground, screaming pitifully under the blows of a burly fellow, shook his head.

He looked away and turned to leave.

But at the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a black dog's corpse lying in a wooden box inside an excavated pit not far away.

After a moment's hesitation, he still walked over.

【Corpse discovered. Pick up?】

……It actually works?

Chen Mu, who had reached the edge of the pit, couldn't help but widen his eyes.

A dead dog can actually yield a card…

Wait!

Over the past few days, Chen Mu had also come across cat and dog corpses, and there had been no prompt.

But this hunting dog triggered one.

Could it be…

"Yes!"

Responding inwardly, Chen Mu took one more look at the dog's corpse, then turned and left.

Some in the crowd had noticed Chen Mu, but didn't think much of it.

A passing stranger who heard the commotion came over to watch the show—nothing unusual.

……

Meanwhile, Chen Mu walked back toward the main road while reaching into his pocket, his fingertips brushing the newly added card.

A Skill Card!

Another Skill Card, but this one had a "Special" tag.

A special skill?

Chen Mu silently willed it to activate, and the card transformed into a stream of light that surged into his body.

The next instant, his body jolted, and the relevant information flooded into his mind.

Special Skill—Celestial Wolf Sniffs the Moon!