I Have Nothing, But I Do Have Guts!

With all eyes on him, Fang Xuan walked straight through the crowd and into Tong'an Alley.

In front of his house, besides Big Eyes, Water Monkey, and Chu Chong, the other enforcers from the East Hall stalls were also present.

These enforcers were previously of similar status to Fang Xuan, considered minor leaders in the East Hall, just not the top enforcers.

At this moment, they looked at Fang Xuan, dressed in a red shirt and surrounded by others, with complex emotions.

Fang Xuan hadn't joined the gang particularly early; at least compared to the vast majority of them, his seniority was much shallower.

But in just three short years, Fang Xuan had achieved a three-level leap in status at a speed that could only be described as astonishing!

From the lowest level of ruffian, to the top enforcer of a rising star, and then from top enforcer, he had leaped to become one of the four Hall Masters of the Black Whale Gang!

This young man, much younger than them, had unknowingly reached a level they had to look up to!

"Li Can of the East Hall, greetings, Master Fang." Li Laosan, one of the leaders, took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and spoke respectfully first.

"Pang Xun of the East Hall, greetings, Master Fang."

"Sha Dafu of the East Hall, greetings, Master Fang."

"Wei He of the East Hall, greetings, Master Fang."

"East Hall..."

One by one, the leaders followed suit.

Fang Xuan nodded, then looked to the side.

He saw Big Eyes Chen Jingming waving away a boy of about thirteen or fourteen.

The boy was thin and dirty all over. His toes poked out of his cloth shoes, frozen and somewhat stiff and purple. His trouser legs were three inches above his ankles, clearly indicating his clothes were extremely ill-fitting.

"Master Fang!"

Seeing Fang Xuan enter, the boy, who was struggling in Chen Jingming's grip, immediately brightened up and hurried over.

"What's wrong?" Fang Xuan glanced at the boy, then turned his gaze to Chen Jingming.

"Brother Xuan, this kid insists on joining us, wants to mix with us in the Jianghu," Chen Jingming said, rubbing his nose helplessly.

Fang Xuan nodded, indicating he understood, then looked at the boy and asked, "Where are your parents?"

"They went fishing in the river a few months ago, ran into a big wave, and were taken by the Dragon King."

The boy shrugged, looking indifferent.

Fang Xuan 'hmm'ed, his face showing little emotion. The eight hundred li Pingjiang river took countless fishermen's children every year. In the dark corners of the bamboo raft houses, there were too many orphans like this boy.

"Join us, and you might die in the street the next day. Aren't you afraid?" Fang Xuan asked.

"Afraid? Compared to being poor for a lifetime, what's there to be afraid of about death?"

The boy, whose face was still very young, still looked indifferent, his eyes shining as he looked at Fang Xuan and said:

"Master Fang, give me a chance. I want to rise up and make something of myself like you!"

Looking at the boy's eyes, Fang Xuan's expression momentarily flickered, as if he vaguely saw the self who stood before Old Man Yu back then.

"To survive in the Jianghu, you need guts. Do you have them, kid?" Fang Xuan asked with a smile.

"Of course! I have no father, no mother, no relatives, no money, no house, no friends. I have nothing, but I do have guts!"

The young man puffed out his chest and looked Fang Xuan directly in the eye.

Fang Xuan burst into laughter at his words.

Under the young man's puzzled gaze, Fang Xuan looked at Water Monkey beside him and said, "Get me a knife!"

Water Monkey handed a knife to Fang Xuan.

"Kid, don't say I didn't give you a chance! If you stab that guy named Han Xian from the South Hall today, you'll follow me from now on!" Fang Xuan handed the steel knife in his hand to the young man.

The young man took the steel knife, which was almost as tall as him, gripped it tightly with both hands, then tightened his grip again in his palms. He nodded, dragged the knife, and walked to the back of the crowd.

Fang Xuan looked at the young man's retreating figure and couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

Children born in the Bamboo Raft Houses were always much more mature than children from outside.

For these children, it seemed that walking the Jianghu path was their only way out.

And Fang Xuan, who had also come out of the Bamboo Raft Houses, seemed to have become the target they chased after in their hearts!

Truly leading children astray!

Fang Xuan muttered to himself, then took a deep breath and strode out of Tong'an Alley, heading towards the South City.

The night was gradually being swallowed.

In the last bit of twilight before dawn.

Hundreds of figures in Azure Clothes followed closely behind, walking with swords in the rain.

The misty waves were vast, and the clouds steamed with colorful hues.

In the early morning of Pingjiang City, wisps of smoky morning mist, like light gauze, gently unfurled.

Long Hair Tian, one of the leaders of the South Hall's hall entrance, came out of a brothel. He rubbed his sleepy eyes while yawning, muttering curses under his breath:

"How boring! They don't even know what it means to pat their butts when standing behind! I have to teach them how to change positions! I don't know what those officials and noble lords like about these fledglings!"

"Brother, where are we going now?"

Behind him, three or four ruffians looked somewhat excited.

This was the first time they had followed Brother Long Hair to "tame horses." They had been busy all night, six or seven times in total, which had them incredibly excited.

Clap clap clap!

Long Hair Tian reached out and slapped each of the three on the head, glaring and cursing angrily:

"Damn your mothers! I told you yesterday that horse was tied up from the East Hall, a virtuous wife and loving mother! I told you to tame the horse one by one, but your mothers fed her medicine and the three of you went at it together, playing with all three holes open!"

"Now look! I heard she can't even hold her shit anymore! How am I supposed to make money now?"

Seeing Long Hair Tian's furious expression, the three ruffians shrank their necks and said with fawning smiles, "Brother, we didn't have experience the first time we tamed a horse..."

"No experience and you don't know how to cherish and pity? Now it's good. That horse could originally earn five hundred coins per session, but now I don't know if anyone will even look at her for fifty coins. Forget it, forget it, throw her into the broken kiln in the city head. It'll be cheap for those laborers."

The few of them walked forward as they talked, laughing and speaking loudly, completely unrestrained.

Bang!

Suddenly, Long Hair Tian noticed that the three ruffians following behind him had stopped dead in their tracks without a sound. Cold sweat kept breaking out on their foreheads, and their bodies trembled incessantly.

"Hey? Are you three playing deaf and dumb, acting like wooden dummies? What do you think of my idea? Get a thirty-foot-long bed, then put ten courtesans from different regions and styles on the bed, sleeping under one blanket, just to serve one person. Wow, just thinking about it is exciting!"

Before Long Hair Tian could finish his sentence, a ruffian stammered,

"B-b-brother, behind you..."

"Behind me? Is there a ghost behind me? You're scared like this!"

Long Hair Tian, facing the three ruffians, sneered and turned around.

The next moment.

The smile on Long Hair Tian's face instantly froze, and all the color drained from his face with a 'whoosh', turning it pale.

He saw a few feet in front of him, a tall figure in a red shirt with a full head of thick black hair cascading down, looking down at him expressionlessly.

Behind him, Chu Chong and the four from One Line Sky had cold expressions, their eyes like ice as they stared over.

Further back, figures in azure clothes filled the entire main road of South City, covering everything!

"F-f-fang Xuan..." Long Hair Tian's mouth trembled, his heart feeling as if it was being tightly squeezed by a large hand.

"You're Long Hair Tian, right? Kidnapping people in our East City, right? I'll chop you into Dead Hair Tian today!"

Before he could react, One Line Sky had already rushed out with a sinister grin, a fierce and ruthless glint shooting out from his narrow eyes!

Pfft!

One Line Sky rushed out quickly.

That Long Hair Tian had just turned around, wanting to escape.

One Line Sky had already hooked Long Hair Tian's neck with one hand, and the sharp knife in his other hand was fiercely plunged into Long Hair Tian's lower back.

"Chop them to death for me!"

Pulling out the knife, bringing a spray of blood, One Line Sky raised his knife and roared angrily.