Behind the screen in the main hall was a long corridor.
Long Huaxing walked ahead, bent at the waist and hunched over, his entire body giving off the air of old age and decline.
He did not speak, and naturally, Fang Xuan did not take the initiative to ask.
Smack.
Long Huaxing halted, turning slightly to the side as he handed Fang Xuan a packet of medicinal powder wrapped in yellow paper.
"This is Poison Dissolving Powder. Apply it to the Charging Tiger Palm imprint, and the residual poison will naturally disperse. Do not say I gave it to you."
Long Huaxing looked weary. He drew a deep breath and continued,
"There is nothing major in calling you here. I only wish to tell you a few things."
"Behind Zheng Juexiong stands that Second Young Master of the Sikong Family. The Sikong Family's three legitimate sons are currently fighting among themselves for power. You have already waded into this muddy water; it will be impossible for you to pull yourself back out."
"Zheng Juexiong is narrow-minded and bears grudges over every tiny slight. You ruined his grand scheme, so he will certainly want your life. If you wish to stay alive, not only must you improve your strength, you must also improve your combat methods. Relying solely on those crude fists and kicks of yours, even if your strength matched his, you would not be his opponent."
"I transferred him to the Northern Land overnight yesterday, but he can remain there for, at most, two months before he is bound to return."
"Therefore, within these two months, you must raise your strength to the utmost limit you can reach!"
"Xiang Chengjiang of West Hall is in cahoots with him, wearing the same pair of trousers. You must be extremely wary of him."
"Huang Zhen of North Hall may appear friendly with you, but he is resourceful yet indecisive, lacking the courage to smash the cauldrons and sink the boats. Such people are the most fickle, swaying whichever way the wind blows. They can only walk the fair-weather road with you; do not expect him to be a life-saving straw."
"Also, you had best find a backer no weaker than that Second Young Master. I cannot protect you."
His words fell.
Long Huaxing turned around and strode onward.
Fang Xuan lowered his head to glance at the medicinal powder in his hand. After thinking briefly, he cupped his hands toward Long Huaxing's retreating back, then turned and left as well.
Listening to the footsteps behind him gradually fade away, a sharp glint flashed through Long Huaxing's clouded eyes before vanishing in an instant!
He continued forward, and a dim inner room immediately appeared before him.
Uncle Rong, the elder who had previously been responsible for bathing Fang Xuan, had long been waiting there.
"Guild Leader, you want Fang Xuan to keep that evil wolf Zheng Juexiong in check. Aren't you thinking too highly of him?" Uncle Rong asked with a faint frown.
Long Huaxing removed the Buddhist beads from his wrist and casually tossed them aside before turning to sit in a large chair.
"Zheng Juexiong is an evil wolf, while Fang Xuan is a nursing tiger. Even if he cannot defeat that wolf, he should still be able to bite a chunk of flesh off Zheng Juexiong."
Long Huaxing picked up the teacup beside the armrest and took a faint sip.
"I have already given him two months. Perhaps he will bring me a surprise?"
Uncle Rong said nothing. He merely shook his head and sighed a single word.
"Difficult."
Long Huaxing likewise remained silent. He only stared into the empty space ahead, cold killing intent showing in his clouded eyes.
"Brother Xuan, congratulations! From now on, you'll be the hall master of our East Hall!"
"Hahaha, Brother Xuan, who are you planning to give the top lieutenant position to?"
"Wow, Brother Xuan, I never expected that after putting on this long robe, you'd look almost human—cough cough—truly handsome!"
"Brother Xuan, where are we going now? Should we go back to the east side of the city and throw fifty or a hundred tables?"
One Line Sky and the others swarmed in like a hive of bees, all laughing loudly.
"You all go to the east side of the city and set up fifty tables. Invite every brother from East Hall to drink. I will not be going; I need to visit Old Man Yu."
Fang Xuan shook his head. Then, as if recalling something, he looked at Water Monkey.
"By the way, have Xiao Li and Xiao Lan been all right outside the city these past few days?"
Water Monkey patted his chest and laughed.
"Brother Xuan, don't worry. I've been careful. Every time I bring them food, I travel the waterway under cover of darkness. You know my skills in the water—who could possibly keep up with me?"
"That's good."
Fang Xuan nodded, then raised his head to look at the plaque hanging high above, bearing the four words "Righteous Sea Cloud Sky."
"Heh."
A mocking curve tugged at Fang Xuan's lips. He no longer hesitated and strode toward where Old Man Yu was.
On a road leading to the Northern Land.
Yellow sand filled the sky, and dust rushed into their faces.
"Hall Master, are we really going obediently to the Northern Land?" a thug asked unwillingly.
"That old bastard Long Huaxing has grown muddleheaded with age. He wants stability for himself and does not dare to take sides with the Sikong Family early, yet he insists on stopping me from doing so! I call him Guild Leader only to give him face. If I decide not to give him face, sooner or later I'll send him into the ground!"
Zheng Juexiong sat atop a tall horse, a vicious gleam flashing through his eyes.
The thug who had spoken hurriedly put on a flattering smile and echoed, "Long Huaxing is nothing but a cowardly nobody. Hall Master, you are in the prime of life—you'll pull him down sooner or later! But if we just leave like this, won't that let Fang Xuan live a while longer?"
"No matter. Let him live a while longer, then. He cannot stir up any great waves."
Zheng Juexiong shook his head, then looked toward the forest beside the Official Road.
The tree shadows in the forest stirred, as though a convoy was transporting something.
Zheng Juexiong let out a heavy snort through his nose. If he had taken East Hall's ferry crossing, why would he need to risk taking this Official Road to transport Human Pills for the Second Young Master? Never mind the danger—he still had to swallow yellow sand for a month or two!
"Hall Master, the pit you ordered has been dug!"
A South Hall thug stepped forward to report.
"Good!"
Zheng Juexiong dismounted and walked toward a patch of reeds beside the Official Road.
In the middle of that reed bed, a large pit had already been dug.
A tall, burly man with a small braid tied at the back of his head had his hands and feet bound and was thrown into the pit.
"Hall Master! Hall Master! Spare me! For the sake of my wholehearted loyalty in following you for so long, spare my life! I—I swear I'll make up for my crimes with merit and help you kill Fang Xuan!"
Xie Han's face was filled with terror. Like a maggot, he wriggled his body at the bottom of the pit, struggling to climb out of the deep hole.
However, his bones and sinews had been completely destroyed. Every time he managed to inch upward a little, he would roll back down again.
"Trash! I gave you a Demon Embryo Pill, and you still could not defeat Fang Xuan! What use are you to me? If not for you, would I be here eating dust now?"
Seeing Xie Han crawl up from the bottom of the pit once more, a vicious glint flashed through Zheng Juexiong's eyes. He casually grabbed an iron shovel from nearby and smashed it viciously down onto Xie Han's head!
Bang!
In an instant, Xie Han's entire head exploded, brains spraying everywhere.
The headless corpse rolled into the pit.
Zheng Juexiong casually tossed the shovel into the pit as well. Wiping the bloody water from his face, he could not even be bothered to look again. He turned around, clasped his hands together, and said,
"Bury him."
Scrape—!
Scrape—!
Shovelful after shovelful of earth was thrown into the pit.
Zheng Juexiong twisted his thick neck and looked at a thug beside him, opening his mouth to ask,
"You found Fang Xuan's family, right?"
The thug hurriedly replied with a flattering smile, "Hall Master, we found them! Fang Xuan hid his younger brother and sister in a Thatched Hut outside the city. Every three days, one of his men called Water Monkey travels by water under cover of darkness to bring them food."
After a pause, the thug continued with a laugh, "Hall Master, that Water Monkey is immensely skilled in water. With one dive, he can swim beneath the river all the way to the opposite bank. If Water Monkey were not so lustful that he boarded a pleasure boat to play with women while delivering food, allowing our men to notice something unusual, he truly might have kept it hidden from us!"
"Judging by the time, our South Hall men should have already set out for outside the city and begun making their move."
Hearing this, Zheng Juexiong approvingly patted the thug's shoulder. Then he turned back to look at the distant walls of Pingjiang City, now only a faint outline.
His lips peeled back into a cold, savage grin.
"We people of the martial world must keep our word. When we say we'll kill a man's entire family, we kill his entire family!"
"Wouldn't you agree?"
They say the early bird gets the worm, so Old Drunk got up at six thirty to update! Could I trade that for a monthly ticket and this book's first tip? O(∩_∩)O
Before you continue