Chapter 17: The Truth Exposed

After registering his identity, Lu Zhangsheng returned the way he came.

His identity token was now hanging at his waist.

At this moment, he had officially joined the Demon-Suppressing Division. Having successfully achieved his expected goal, he felt a weight lift from his heart.

The pressure the Sanhe Gang had placed upon him was immense; he could not afford to slack off.

Even if they knew he was the one who had killed Zhao Erhu, they would be unable to do anything to him for the time being.

His top priority was to immediately lead Fang Qing and her younger brother to move house and live in the Demon-Suppressing Division's family compound.

This way, he wouldn't have to fear the gang playing dirty tricks.

After all, under the very noses of the Demon-Suppressing Division, even the Sanhe Gang Leader would not dare to act rashly.

Before long, Lu Zhangsheng returned to the central square.

Fang Qing and her brother were still waiting there.

Seeing Lu Zhangsheng return, they smiled broadly.

"Did it go smoothly?"

Lu Zhangsheng smiled and nodded: "Let's move today. The environment in the Demon-Suppressing Division family compound is much better."

"Great, that's great..."

Fang Tao was full of excitement; he also wanted to move into the new home immediately.

Fang Qing, however, looked troubled. The two families had a lot of miscellaneous items, and it would be hard to clear everything out in half a day.

"Can't we wait a few days?"

Lu Zhangsheng did not hesitate and immediately told them about offending the Sanhe Gang.

Their residences were located within the gang's sphere of influence; if the gang played dirty, it would be extremely troublesome.

Naturally, he did not want to stay a moment longer. Some unnecessary items could be abandoned; he could just buy more with silver later. He still had the one hundred taels of massive wealth contributed by Zhao Erhu.

Hearing this, Fang Qing no longer insisted.

Soon, the three of them walked quickly toward their courtyard.

Passing through the foul-smelling streets, the three returned to their respective homes and began to pack their belongings.

Aside from taking the books from the storage room, Lu Zhangsheng only took a few sets of clothes, abandoning the rest.

After finishing all this, he began to wait.

Over an hour later, Fang Qing and her brother finally arrived, carrying large and small bags, looking quite comical.

"Brother Changsheng, where are your things?"

Seeing Lu Zhangsheng empty-handed, Fang Tao looked stunned.

Lu Zhangsheng smiled slightly and pointed to the small bundle on his back.

"It's all here. Let's go."

After saying this, he stepped forward quickly, took the two large bundles from Fang Qing's hands, hoisted them onto his shoulders, and walked out.

Seeing this, Fang Qing blushed slightly; the bags contained private clothing, some of which had been worn.

However, Lu Zhangsheng's actions warmed her heart, and she couldn't help but think: "The Lu family brother has truly grown up."

At this moment, a group of neighbors sensed the commotion and came out one after another, holding some coarse grains in their hands.

"Changsheng, take these things, and practice your martial arts well..."

Everyone spoke up at once, as if they were all Lu Zhangsheng's relatives.

Seeing this, Fang Tao's expression turned cold: "Move aside, my Brother Lu isn't used to eating this coarse grain..."

His tone was blunt.

He had long despised these neighbors. When they were in trouble, none of them had offered a helping hand. Today, now that Brother Lu was successful, the group swarmed around like fish smelling bait, which was truly shameful.

Lu Zhangsheng ignored the group and led Fang Qing and her brother forward quickly.

Leaving the crowd behind to look at each other in dismay, filled with regret.

The only chance to escape their bottom-tier predicament had slipped away just like that, and they hadn't gained a single benefit.

Half an hour after the three left, several scouts from the Sanhe Gang arrived at Lu Zhangsheng's courtyard.

Seeing the empty courtyard, they looked at each other in disbelief.

The group quickly reported the news to the gang's high-level members.

Sanhe Gang, Wind-Thunder Hall headquarters.

Wang Yong sat on a chair with a domineering posture, his eyes filled with killing intent.

Before him, several gang members knelt on the ground, trembling slightly.

"Reporting to the Hall Master, after several days of investigation, this person had a major conflict with Zhao Erhu. After waking up, he suddenly entered the martial arts path and joined the Demon-Suppressing Division..."

The low-level gang members whispered, their eyes full of fear.

This Hall Master Wang was always extremely cruel, his hands stained with blood; the aura of a strongman made people shudder. "Hmph... that brat has good methods. He killed my man and immediately joined the Demon-Suppressing Division. It seems he had planned this long ago."

Killing intent erupted in Wang Yong's eyes.

The time of the crime investigated by his subordinates also matched; this person clearly had major suspicion.

"Hall Master, the other party only forcibly practiced the Iron Cloth Shirt to become a Skin Refining martial artist. It wouldn't be hard for us to find a chance to kill him..."

Wang Shouren, standing to the side, was dismissive.

"Hmph... what do you know? Is someone from the Demon-Suppressing Division someone you can kill just because you want to? This is a bloody lesson learned over countless years."

Wang Yong's gaze sharpened, and he smashed the teacup in his hand onto the ground, causing a clattering sound.

"The risk is too high. If the news leaks, we will all die."

Seeing this, Wang Shouren's eyes darted around.

"Since it's inconvenient for us to do it, can we ask outsiders to do it?"

"Or perhaps ask someone inside the Demon-Suppressing Division? We just need to offer some benefits; it's no big deal."

"The death rate for Demon-Suppressing Division missions is quite high; it's common for someone to die in the line of duty by accident..."

Wang Shouren's tone was extremely sinister.

Wang Yong's eyes flickered: "You arrange this matter, and keep it clean."

For this person who dared to challenge the Sanhe Gang, he had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Let the world know that the dignity of his Wind-Thunder Hall could not be offended.

"Subordinate obeys."

Wang Shouren nodded with a joyful face. He would naturally not refuse the chance to kill an ordinary Skin Refining martial artist and gain merit.

………………

Half an hour later.

Lu Zhangsheng led Fang Qing and her brother to a medium-sized courtyard.

The courtyard was several dozen meters in circumference, quite clean and tidy, clearly having been cleaned long ago.

Four side rooms were situated on both sides of the courtyard, with a kitchen and storage room in the middle, arranged neatly.

"From now on, this is our new home."

Lu Zhangsheng looked at the characters on his waist token, Bing 43 Hao, which matched the courtyard exactly.

As long as one could join the Demon-Suppressing Division, one would be assigned a courtyard; this treatment was truly not bad.

Those higher-ranking Demon-Suppressing Envoys all lived in the Inner City, which was more comfortable and prosperous.

However, this place was enough for them to live in for now.

Then, he led the two inside.

The three chose their own side rooms, and after tidying up their things, they prepared to celebrate.

Time passed, and it was soon evening.

In the center of the courtyard, a stone table was filled with various meat dishes and fragrant white rice, making Fang Qing and her brother drool.

This scene was like a dream.

While ordinary people were still worrying about filling their stomachs, they were already eating big fish and meat.

The life of a martial artist was indeed incomparable to that of a commoner.

"Finally, I don't have to gnaw on black cakes."

Lu Zhangsheng was quite happy in his heart; after several months, he had finally initially solved the problem of food and clothing.

The life of an ordinary person going hungry every day was gradually moving away from him.

Then, the three began to feast, their mouths oily.

Until night fell, the few returned to their respective rooms, patting their bellies.

Lu Zhangsheng lay on the bed, quietly pondering his next plans.

Presumably, the Sanhe Gang had already received the news by now. The two sides had already formed a deadly feud; only when one side completely fell could it be resolved.

He didn't need to use his brain to know that the other side was definitely thinking about how to deal with him.

But if they tried to deal with him as an ordinary Stone Skin martial artist, they would likely take a massive tumble.

He sneered inwardly.

Ever since he stepped onto the path of martial arts, Lu Zhangsheng had always adhered to one principle: never let the enemy know his true depth.

With the Attribute Modifier, he would only charge toward the peak of martial arts with all his might.

(End of chapter)