Renting a Room

The alley was quiet. Xiang Yang exerted force under his feet, and in a few steps, he reached the second courtyard in Flower Alley. He bent down and listened for movement inside the door, but there was nothing. The only things were the rusted lock on the iron rings on both sides of the wooden door, and the walls, which were over a person's height, making it difficult for ordinary people to climb over.

However, Xiang Yang had a way. Although he couldn't yet perform feats of lightness like leaping over eaves and walking on walls, or gliding through the air, his strength had greatly increased after days of practicing the Iron Crotch Technique, and his jumping ability was astonishing.

He slightly bent his knees, placed his hands on his chest, and exerted force with his calves. With a whoosh, he jumped nearly a meter high. Although he couldn't leap onto the wall, he managed to grab the edge of the wall with his hands. He strained his fingers, like doing a pull-up, and slowly pulled his entire body over the wall.

With a bang, Xiang Yang rubbed his slightly numb legs. He looked around. It was even more rudimentary than his own small courtyard and carried a foul odor, clearly not a place for people to live.

However, in the east corner of the courtyard, there was indeed a pile of straw stacked there. Xiang Yang's heart leaped with joy. He walked over in a few steps and pushed aside the straw, revealing a dog hole large enough for him to crawl through. After Xiang Yang crawled through, he found himself on the back of Flower Alley, a small wild park with lush green grass and swaying willows.

"A true man crawling through a dog hole is a grave humiliation, but for revenge, I can't afford to care about such things now."

Xiang Yang crawled back into the small courtyard, restored the straw pile to its original state, and jumped down from the wall, returning to the quiet Flower Alley. A flicker of conflict flashed through his mind, then dissipated. He had already done it; why overthink it?

Just then, a middle-aged man with a horse-like face, dressed in brown cloth, walked in from outside the alley. He was not tall and was thin, but he exuded a fierce and robust aura from within. Seeing Xiang Yang lurking suspiciously in Flower Alley, his expression turned cold.

"Kid, what are you doing here? Don't you know this is Giant Bear Gang territory? You look like a pauper. Are you trying to steal something? Damn it, come here."

The middle-aged man walked over, cursing, and reached out to grab Xiang Yang's collar. However, Xiang Yang blocked him midway. His calloused right hand was placed across his chest, and he unleashed his immense strength. The middle-aged man's palm stung, and he was shocked into taking a few steps back, shaking his slightly sore right hand. He looked at Xiang Yang with a hint of apprehension. It turned out he was a martial artist; those calluses were not fake.

"A guest is a guest. Since your Giant Bear Gang openly welcomes people to Flower Alley, I'm naturally here to have some fun. I'll rent this room for three days. I'm expecting a friend and want your best girl. Here's a deposit."

Xiang Yang took out a lump of gleaming silver from his huái, weighing about five taels. He tossed it to the horse-faced middle-aged man, with one hand behind his back and the other pointing to the second small courtyard closest to the end of Flower Alley.

Upon seeing the silver, the horse-faced middle-aged man's expression instantly changed, blooming like a chrysanthemum. The wrinkles on his forehead looked quite amusing.

"So, little brother is here to see the ladies. That's easy, we have plenty of women. However, this room might not be available. The Giant Bear Gang is expecting distinguished guests these days, and the elder dislikes anyone disturbing his enjoyment nearby. How about changing to another one? This one next door is available."

Xiang Yang sighed inwardly, a slight miscalculation. However, his expression remained cold and indifferent as he nodded, appearing unconcerned. This reduced the horse-faced middle-aged man's suspicion somewhat.

Xiang Yang's actions were somewhat risky. Revealing his skills was one thing, and the second was renting the small house with the dog hole, but he didn't manage to rent it.

This wasn't entirely bad news. If he couldn't rent it, neither could anyone else. Then, he could just climb over the wall like today, avoiding discovery.

Not only that, but if Hu Qiang still didn't want to be disturbed during his leisure, the guards outside would likely be few, or even nonexistent. This was even better news for him.

In fact, Xiang Yang was now an official, a constable in the county. If he had reported to Constable Wang Ying or Magistrate Li, catching Hu Qiang would have been much easier, and even the Giant Bear Gang might have been implicated.

However, the system task required him to personally kill Hu Qiang to complete the mission, and he also had to interrogate the mastermind behind the murder of Xiang Da Niu. None of this could be revealed. It seemed more convenient for him to handle it himself.

While Xiang Yang finalized the room with the horse-faced man, Hu Qiang's banquet with Xiong Da and Xiong Er was also drawing to a close, with little food left on the table.

"Hic," Hu Qiang burped, put down his chopsticks, and picked up a clean white cloth from the table to wipe his mouth, his eyes filled with satisfaction.

There was sometimes meat and fish on the mountain, but the cooks were just farm women. How could they compare to the exquisite skills of the Spring Breeze Tower's chef? It was still meat, but the different cooking methods made the taste entirely different.

"Brother Hu, shall we go to our usual spot later? My brothers have booked five beauties from Crimson Tower for your pleasure. However, I wonder if your injury will be a hindrance?"

Xiong Da nodded slightly, observing Hu Qiang's demeanor and actions. They had plenty of women in Flower Alley, but Hu Qiang disdained those low-class ones, so they had to spend money to book a venue at Crimson Tower and bring the women to Flower Alley.

Hu Qiang's identity was sensitive, and it was safer to be within the Giant Bear Gang's territory. Otherwise, if they encountered patrolling constables or someone recognized him, it would be troublesome.

"No problem, I'll do as you say. As for my injury, Xiong Da, do you rely on your chest when you play with women? Hahaha."

Hu Qiang said this, gently patting the gauze on his chest. The doctor had instructed him to rest well these days and avoid strenuous activity to prevent the wound from reopening and worsening his injury.

However, he had been looking forward to the women from Crimson Tower for too long. Especially after the Zhou family's young lady was redeemed by Zhou Fugui a few days ago, leaving him with pent-up lust with nowhere to vent, he paid little heed to the doctor's advice.

Hu Qiang was not new to coming down the mountain, nor was he new to enjoying women in the Giant Bear Gang's Flower Alley. He didn't believe anyone knew his whereabouts, nor did he think anyone would deliberately target him, especially on Giant Bear Gang territory. Thus, he spoke with bravado.

Xiong Er gave him a thumbs-up, revealing his teeth stained with vegetable leaves. "A true man. Then I wish Brother Hu a pleasant evening. Someone, escort our distinguished guest to Flower Alley."

As soon as he spoke, two subordinates in brown clothes, who had been serving them, led Hu Qiang out, leaving Xiong Da and Xiong Er sitting quietly in the room.

"The matter of Zhao Shan and Li Qian was likely not done by Hu Qiang. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here so openly and without any precautions. It must be someone else. Little Knife Society and Green Wolf Gang have been severely dealt with by us recently. Perhaps they are responsible.

Let's not spread this for now. We'll appease Hu Qiang first, and then use the influence of Black Wind Mountain Stronghold to eliminate the Little Knife Society and Green Wolf Gang before settling the score."

Xiong Da said coldly, turning the white jade thumb ring in his hand. Zhao Shan and Li Qian were minor characters; their deaths were insignificant. Dealing with the Little Knife Society and Green Wolf Gang was his current top priority.