Booking a Room

The alley was silent. Xiang Yang pushed off with his feet and reached the second courtyard inside Flower Alley in just a few steps. Bending down, he listened for movement beyond the door but heard nothing. Only the iron rings on the wooden gate were locked together by a rusty padlock, while the walls on either side stood more than a man's height tall—far too high for an ordinary person to climb.

But Xiang Yang had his own way. Though he had yet to learn the lightness skills of flying over eaves and walking on walls, much less riding the wind through empty air, his many days of practicing the Iron Crotch Technique had greatly increased his strength, and his jumping ability was astonishing as well.

His knees bent slightly, his hands held before his chest. Xiang Yang exerted force through his calves and shot up with a whoosh, nearly a meter high. Though he could not leap onto the wall, both hands caught its edge. His ten fingers tightened, and like he was doing pull-ups, he slowly hauled his entire body onto the wall.

With a bang, Xiang Yang rubbed his slightly numb legs and glanced around. The place was even more ramshackle than his own little courtyard, and it carried a pungent stink of urine. It was utterly unfit for human habitation.

Yet there truly was a pile of straw stacked in the eastern corner of the courtyard. Xiang Yang's heart leaped with joy. He strode over and pulled it apart, revealing a dog hole large enough for him to crawl through. Once Xiang Yang squeezed through, he had reached the rear side of Flower Alley—a small wild park lush with green grass and swaying willows.

"For a true man to crawl through a dog hole is shame and humiliation beyond all measure. But for revenge, I can no longer worry about so much."

Xiang Yang crawled back into the little courtyard, restored the straw pile to its original state, then jumped down from the wall and returned to the silent Flower Alley. A trace of hesitation flashed through his mind, then vanished. He had already done it, so what was the point of overthinking?

At that moment, a middle-aged man in brown cloth clothes entered from outside the alley. His face was long as a horse's, and though he was short and lean, he radiated a fierce, savage air from within. Seeing Xiang Yang standing suspiciously in Flower Alley, his expression turned cold.

"Kid, what are you doing? Don't you know this is Giant Bear Gang territory? Looking at your poor, shabby face, are you trying to steal something? Damn it, get over here."

The middle-aged man came over cursing, reaching to grab Xiang Yang by the collar. But Xiang Yang stopped him midway, holding his callused right hand across his chest. With a burst of tremendous force, the man's palm jolted with pain. Startled, he staggered back several steps, shook his aching, weak right hand, and looked at Xiang Yang with wariness. He was actually a trained fighter; those calluses could not be faked.

"A guest is a guest. Since your Giant Bear Gang has opened up Flower Alley, I naturally came here to have some fun. I'm renting this room for three days. I'll be entertaining a friend then, so save your best girl for me too. This is the deposit."

Xiang Yang took a gleaming silver ingot from his robes, weighing roughly five taels, and tossed it to the horse-faced middle-aged man. One hand rested behind his back while the other pointed toward the second small courtyard nearest the innermost end of Flower Alley.

At the sight of the silver, the Horse-faced Man's expression changed instantly, like a chrysanthemum bursting into bloom. The wrinkles on his forehead made for a rather comical sight.

"So this little brother came to play with women. Easy enough—we have women aplenty. But I'm afraid this room cannot be rented. Our Giant Bear Gang has an honored guest arriving these next few days, and the old gentleman dislikes having people nearby spoil his refined enjoyment. Why not choose another? The one next door will do."

Xiang Yang sighed inwardly. He had miscalculated. Yet his face remained cold as he nodded with an unconcerned air, easing much of the Horse-faced Man's suspicion.

What Xiang Yang had done carried some risk. One part was revealing his skills; another was trying to rent the little residence with the dog hole. But he had failed to rent it.

That was not entirely bad news. If he could not rent it, neither could anyone else. When the time came, he could simply climb over the wall as he had today. That would also spare him from being discovered.

And that was not all. Since Hu Qiang still did not want anyone disturbing his pleasure and entertainment, there were likely very few guards outside his door—perhaps none at all. That was even better news for Xiang Yang.

Come to think of it, Xiang Yang was now an official man, a county constable. If he informed Wang Ying, Captain Wang, or Magistrate Li, catching Hu Qiang would be far easier, and even the Giant Bear Gang might be implicated.

But the system mission would only be judged complete if he personally cut down Hu Qiang. He also had to force out the person behind the plot against Xiang Da Niu. Neither matter could be leaked, so no matter how he looked at it, acting himself was more convenient.

As Xiang Yang and the Horse-faced Man settled the room arrangements here, Hu Qiang's drinking feast with Xiong Da and Xiong Er was also drawing to a close. Little remained of the food and wine spread across the table.

"Burp." Hu Qiang let out a wine belch, set down his chopsticks, picked up a clean white cloth from beside the table, and wiped the corner of his mouth. His eyes were full of satisfaction.

There was sometimes plenty of fish and meat on the mountain too, but the cooks were merely peasant women. How could they compare with the exquisite skill of the chefs at Spring Breeze Tower? It was all meat, yet prepared differently, the flavor was utterly different as well.

"Brother Hu, shall we go to the old place in a while? Your brothers have reserved five beautiful women at Crimson Tower for Brother Hu's enjoyment. But we don't know whether your injuries will pose any problem?"

Watching Hu Qiang's expression and movements, Xiong Da nodded slightly as he spoke. Flower Alley had women in abundance, but Hu Qiang looked down on that low-grade stock. They could only spend money to reserve a place at Crimson Tower and bring the women to Flower Alley.

Hu Qiang's identity was sensitive. Only within the Giant Bear Gang's sphere of influence could he feel at ease. If he ran into constables patrolling the streets or something of the sort and was recognized, that would be troublesome.

"Easy enough. I'll listen to whatever you arrange. As for these injuries of mine, Boss Xiong, do you rely on your chest when you play with women? Hahaha."

As Hu Qiang spoke, he gently patted the bandages around his chest. The doctor had originally instructed him to recuperate properly these next few days and avoid strenuous activity, lest the wound split open again and worsen his injuries.

But he had desired the girls of Crimson Tower for far too long. Especially after the little Zhou girl had been redeemed and taken home by Zhou Fugui a few days ago, leaving the evil fire in his body with nowhere to vent, he no longer cared much about the doctor's instructions.

It was not Hu Qiang's first day down the mountain, nor was it his first time playing with women in the Giant Bear Gang's Flower Alley. He simply did not believe anyone knew his movements, much less that someone would deliberately scheme against him on Giant Bear Gang territory. Thus, he boasted without restraint.

Xiong Er raised a thumbs-up, revealing teeth with bits of vegetable stuck to them. "A real man! Then tonight, let us wish Brother Hu a fine time. Men, escort our honored guest to Flower Alley."

As his words fell, two underlings in brown clothes who had been serving nearby led Hu Qiang outside, leaving Xiong Da and Xiong Er sitting silently in the room.

"Zhao Shan and Li Qian's affair probably was not Hu Qiang's doing. Otherwise, he would not have come here so boldly and without the slightest guard. It must have been someone else. We have beaten the Little Knife Society and the Green Wolf Gang badly lately. It might have been them.

"Don't spread word of this for now. Keep Hu Qiang placated. Once we use the power of Black Wind Mountain Stronghold to wipe out the Little Knife Society and the Green Wolf Gang, we can settle accounts."

Xiong Da coldly turned the white jade thumb ring on his hand. Zhao Shan and Li Qian were just minor characters; dead was dead. Dealing with the Little Knife Society and the Green Wolf Gang was what concerned him most at present.