Night Walk

Yang Jing smiled. "Nothing much. Yesterday, I ran into two people claiming to be from the Great Fortune Gang, and I got a little curious."

He did not go into detail about the usury loan.

Liu Maolin frowned. "Did they give you trouble? Want me to have someone look into them? My family's medical hall has a fairly wide network in the city. It wouldn't be hard to find out the background of a gang."

"It's really nothing, Senior Brother. Don't worry." Yang Jing quickly waved his hands. "I just want to learn more so I know what I'm dealing with. If it's convenient, please help me ask about their strength, what sort of business they mainly do, and the background of their gang leader. The more detailed, the better."

After hearing Liu Maolin share some information about the Great Fortune Gang, he did feel considerably relieved.

Since the Great Fortune Gang's leader was only at Bright Strength, there was room to deal with him.

But to be safe, he still had to get to the bottom of their background, lest he capsize in a gutter.

"What's inconvenient about that?" Liu Maolin readily agreed. "I'll have someone investigate when I return this afternoon. I'll give you an answer first thing tomorrow morning."

He looked at Yang Jing, his tone serious. "If you really run into trouble, don't keep it from us. We're martial brothers—there's nothing we can't talk about."

"Mm, thank you, Senior Brother." Warmth rose in Yang Jing's heart as he nodded solemnly.

Days passed one by one.

Since that day, the Great Fortune Gang had not come looking for trouble with Yang Jing again, but neither had they conveyed any intention to reconcile with him.

Yang Jing remained on guard.

The Great Fortune Gang was like a venomous snake concealed in the darkness, liable to dart out at any moment and sink its fangs into him.

Thus, Yang Jing had never let down his guard against the Great Fortune Gang.

He continued asking Fourth Senior Brother Liu Maolin to use the Liu Family Medical Hall's channels to gather information on the Great Fortune Gang.

Yet the Great Fortune Gang remained busy fighting other gangs over territory and profit, as though it had forgotten all about Yang Jing.

Besides asking Senior Brother Liu to keep an eye on the Great Fortune Gang, Yang Jing would also secretly visit the location of the gang's headquarters every two or three days. In particular, the Great Fortune Gang leader Xu Tai, who stood at the peak of Bright Strength, was almost the sole focus of Yang Jing's attention.

The Great Fortune Gang was not targeting him now because its struggle with other gangs over territory and profit had taken up too much of its energy, and because it was wary of his strength.

Once the Great Fortune Gang's disputes with the other gangs ended, it would likely be time for them to deal with him.

Yang Jing prepared for a rainy day, gathering every sort of information about the Great Fortune Gang in advance. At a critical moment, this intelligence could prove extraordinarily important.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Chengping Ward, Sun Clan Martial Arts School.

In the front courtyard, Yang Jing was lowering his stance in a horse stance, driving punch after punch into a wooden post. His fist wind carried Bright Strength that was growing fuller by the day.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the center of the distant courtyard, as though a pot had boiled over. Then the discussions of numerous disciples reached his ears.

"It's Senior Brother Lin Yue!"

"Heavens! Is it real? He broke through to Hidden Strength so quickly?"

"How could it be fake? The master said so himself!"

"I heard Senior Brother Lin Yue reached the peak of Bright Strength half a month ago. To raise his chances of succeeding in his breakthrough attempt, he waited until today to formally make the attempt—and succeeded in one stroke!"

"Damn, isn't that way too fast? He hasn't even been here for half a year, has he?"

"Ugh, comparing yourself to others really can make you mad. I've trained at the martial arts school for half a year, and I still have barely any hope of breaking through to Bright Strength. Yet Senior Brother Lin Yue has already reached Hidden Strength. That speed is terrifying!"

Yang Jing withdrew his fist and looked over. Lin Yue stood at the center of the front courtyard, handsome and dignified, with an extraordinary bearing. At that moment, a crowd had gathered around him.

"High-grade root bone really is different. We haven't even touched the threshold of Bright Strength, while he's already broken through to Hidden Strength."

"Sigh, I broke through to Bright Strength around this time last year. It's already been a year. I tried a breakthrough attempt once before, but failed and damaged my vital energy. In another two months, I should have recovered enough to make my second attempt. If I fail again, I'll go home. I can't stay at the martial arts school forever, sitting around and eating through my savings. I really envy a genius with high-grade root bone like Junior Brother Lin!"

"I heard the master specially gave Lin Yue a Body Tempering Pill. The reason he broke through to Hidden Strength so quickly probably has quite a lot to do with that pill."

"Tsk, tsk. Not only is his talent good, he has plenty of resources too. There's simply no comparing."

The discussions were filled with envy and jealousy.

Yang Jing watched the figure surrounded by the crowd, his fingers unconsciously rubbing across the knuckles of his fist.

He did not feel envious. He only felt that the calluses on his palms had grown thicker again.

Just as the other martial arts school disciples had said, Lin Yue's path was paved by talent, while his own path had to be hammered out with one punch after another.

At this moment, Liu Maolin walked over and handed him a clean cloth towel. "Junior Brother Lin's talent is the greatest among all the martial arts school's core disciples. Naturally, he is the one Master values most. Now that he has broken through to Hidden Strength, it was only to be expected."

As he spoke, Liu Maolin's gaze fell on Yang Jing. "Don't let him affect you. Your root bones are different, so a gap in progress is perfectly normal. Besides, your progress has been steady as well. It's not impossible that you may achieve Hidden Strength."

Liu Maolin encouraged Yang Jing, worried that the display from a genius like Lin Yue might affect his state of mind.

Hearing this, Yang Jing wiped away his sweat and smiled. "I know. Everyone has their own pace."

Liu Maolin was struck by how steady Yang Jing's mindset was, but he was also somewhat surprised.

The two were fairly close, so he naturally knew that Yang Jing was deeply determined to attain Hidden Strength. Otherwise, he would not arrive first and leave last every day, cultivating and training so diligently.

What he had not expected was for Yang Jing's will to be so firm.

Lin Yue had broken through two barriers in succession within half a year, attaining Hidden Strength.

Not to mention the ordinary disciples in the martial arts school—even he could not help being shaken by it.

Yet Yang Jing was still as he had always been, as though he had not taken to heart at all the fact that Lin Yue, a disciple who had entered later than him, had broken through to Hidden Strength.

After speaking with Liu Maolin, Yang Jing continued practicing the Mountain Collapse Fist.

With a thought, the System Panel appeared before his eyes—

[Mountain Collapse Fist, Minor Mastery (355/500)]

With an ample supply of meat, including some Fierce Beast Meat, Yang Jing's cultivation speed for the Mountain Collapse Fist had continued to rise at a relatively fast pace.

Though he was still nowhere near a genius with superior innate talent like Lin Yue, compared with the other Bright Strength disciples, his cultivation speed was not slow in the slightest. In fact, he was even faster than some disciples whose nutritional supply was lacking.

But for Yang Jing, his greatest advantage had never been the speed of his cultivation—it was that his martial arts had no bottlenecks!

As long as there was still a road ahead, he could keep walking forward!

"At this pace, I should be able to break through to Hidden Strength in another two months. By then, I'll count among the core disciples of the martial hall. Even across all of Yuhe County, a Hidden Strength martial artist is a rare expert in their own right."

Anticipation welled in Yang Jing's heart, lending even more drive to his punches.

If he could break through to Hidden Strength, both his stipend and privileges would rise substantially. He would certainly earn greater regard from his master in the martial hall, and even the Yang Family could be completely elevated from its status as lowly farming folk.

Three days later, in the afternoon, Chengping Ward.

When Liu Maolin found Yang Jing in the martial hall's front courtyard, Yang Jing had just finished a set of punches and was wiping away his sweat with a cloth towel.

"Junior Brother, I've got some news." Liu Maolin handed him a waterskin. "The Righteousness Gang and the Great Fortune Gang in the city had a violent clash. I heard the Great Fortune Gang suffered badly—quite a few of their men were crippled, and their gang leader, Xu Tai, was injured as well. No one knows where he's hiding now."

Yang Jing's hand paused as he accepted the waterskin. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes, but he calmly replied, "Oh? That happened?"

"Sure did." Liu Maolin spoke casually. "The two gangs were already at odds over territory, but no one knows how things got this out of hand. The Righteousness Gang recently gained a tough new fighter. I heard he's at the peak of Bright Strength and failed twice at breaking through to Hidden Strength. Together with the Righteousness Gang's original leader, the Great Fortune Gang definitely couldn't withstand them."

Yang Jing nodded and did not ask further. "Understood. Thank you, Senior Brother."

Seeing that Yang Jing's expression was perfectly normal, Liu Maolin gave it no further thought. After chatting a little more about the martial hall, he took off his shirt and began practicing punches in the courtyard as well.

Only after Liu Maolin left did the calm on Yang Jing's face gradually fade.

He gazed toward the courtyard wall, his fingers lightly tapping against the stone bench.

With the Great Fortune Gang having suffered such a devastating blow, this was the best opportunity to settle that trouble once and for all.

Dragging it out any longer would always leave a hidden danger.

Rather than wait for them to recover and strike back, it would be better to take the initiative, go straight to their door, and clean it all up in one stroke.

He clenched his fist, Bright Strength faintly surging in his palm.

The last ray of the setting sun swept over the martial hall's upturned eaves. Yang Jing withdrew his fist and stood still, the heat around his body not yet dispersed.

Liu Maolin had just finished practicing when he saw Yang Jing packing up to leave, and looked somewhat surprised. "Why are you heading back so early today? At this hour, you'd usually still be training."

Yang Jing smiled and draped the sweat towel over his shoulder. "I have some personal matters to handle. I'll be leaving first."

He offered no further explanation. With light steps, he left the martial hall and headed straight for his residence in Datong Ward.

After arriving at the courtyard and entering his room, he first got busy with the earthen pot in the corner.

Half an hour later, the bear meat stewing in the clay pot was already bubbling away, its rich aroma filling the entire courtyard.

It was fresh stock collected from the Liu Family Medical Hall that morning. The meat was firm, bearing a healthy dark-red hue.

He served himself a large bowl and swallowed both meat and broth. Soon, a familiar warm current rose from his Dantian and slowly coursed through his meridians, washing away all the exhaustion accumulated from practicing his punches.

He patted his stomach, feeling strength fill his entire body. The Bright Strength within him circulated with exceptional smoothness.

Returning to his bedroom, he dragged out an inconspicuous wooden chest from beneath the bed. Upon opening it, he found a set of black night clothes lying quietly inside, along with a dark-green cloth mask that covered most of the face. A black short blade rested to one side.

He changed into the night clothes in a few swift motions. The fabric fit close to his body, neat and efficient, without hindering his movements.

Then he picked up the mask and tied it on, revealing only a pair of clear eyes carrying a chill.

Finally, he took the short blade from the chest and strapped it at his waist.

Time slowly passed. The sky outside the window darkened completely, with only a few sparse stars flickering faintly behind the clouds.

Yang Jing blew out the oil lamp. Like ink melting into the night, his figure silently pushed open the door.

The night was black as ink. Yang Jing's figure darted through the alleys of Yuhe County's outer city, his black clothes blending into the shadows, leaving behind only the soft whisper of wind beneath his feet.

Guang'an Ward lay on the western side of the outer city. Like Datong Ward and Chengping Ward, it belonged to the western district.

However, compared to Chengping Ward, Guang'an Ward was far more chaotic. At least three gangs had their headquarters there.

At this moment, Guang'an Ward exuded an especially unusual dead silence.

Spotting the familiar courtyard of the Great Fortune Gang from afar, Yang Jing quietly concealed himself behind an old locust tree at the street corner.

The two stone lions outside the courtyard gate had been cleaved apart, their corners broken away. The vermilion-lacquered gates had long since been smashed into splinters. Weapons scattered across the ground still bore dark-red stains, clearly evidence of a brutal battle.

The gang members who usually guarded the entrance were nowhere to be seen, and not a single voice could be heard from inside the courtyard walls. The entire compound resembled an abandoned residence. Even passersby outside its gates hurried by, clearly unwilling to have anything to do with the Great Fortune Gang.

Yang Jing frowned slightly, suppressing the urge to go forward and investigate. He remained hidden in the dark.

The more deathly silent it was, the more likely something unusual was concealed within.

He tightened his grip on the short blade at his waist. His gaze swept every corner of the courtyard walls like that of a hawk, patiently waiting for the right moment.

The night wind swept through the streets and alleys of Guang'an Ward, stirring up splinters of wood from the ground.

Yang Jing hid in the shadows at the mouth of the alley, his gaze fixed firmly on the Great Fortune Gang's ruined courtyard.

Before long, two drunkards came swaying down the alley. Judging by their clothes, they were members of the Great Fortune Gang, with bloodied strips of cloth wrapped around their arms.

The two staggered and shoved each other into the courtyard, cursing under their breath as though complaining about something. Before long, the sounds of rummaging through boxes and overturning chests came from inside, as if they were packing up belongings.

A while later, three men dressed in short martial outfits furtively slipped up to the courtyard gate. They craned their necks and peered inside for quite some time. Seeing no movement within, they hunched over and sneaked in.

Less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea after they entered, an argument broke out in the courtyard, mixed with the dull thuds of fists and feet landing. It seemed this group had run into the Great Fortune Gang members left behind to guard the place.

Yang Jing did not move from beginning to end, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the short blade at his waist.

The courtyard looked empty on the surface, but in truth, it concealed plenty of hidden tricks.

Some remnants were cleaning up the aftermath, while outsiders were taking advantage of the fire to loot the ruins. No one could say whether other watchful eyes were still lurking in the shadows.

Suddenly, a man strode out from the shadows at the mouth of the alley.

The man was solidly built, with a ring-pommel saber hanging at his waist. Its scabbard knocked against his thigh, making a dull sound.

A scar ran down his face from his brow bone to his jaw, and his gaze was sinister. He was one of the Great Fortune Gang's leaders, known as Scarface Li.

Over the past month or so, not to mention the information Liu Maolin had gathered through the Liu Family Medical Hall, Yang Jing himself had practically gone to the Great Fortune Gang every night to lie in wait and keep watch. He could be said to know the gang's affairs like the back of his hand.

Yang Jing had a particularly deep impression of Scarface Li, a Great Fortune Gang leader whose hands had claimed who knew how many lives.

Crouching in the corner, Yang Jing watched Scarface Li push open the half-closed courtyard gate as if he knew the place by heart.

A moment later, Scarface Li emerged from the courtyard with a bulging sack slung over his shoulder. It looked heavy, and as he walked, clinking and clanging sounds came from within, like gold and silver objects striking each other.

He walked in haste, glancing around from time to time, a trace of urgency on his face.

At the sight, Yang Jing's eyes lit up.