North of Shuofeng City stood an ordinary little courtyard.
At dusk that day, a slightly plump, sinister-looking man led a middle-aged man of around forty through the gate.
"Steward Wang, this is where I live."
The slightly plump man led the middle-aged man into the courtyard.
After entering, the middle-aged man swept his gaze around and remarked:
"Not bad. I never expected even Fatty Zhou to be living in a little courtyard with high walls." There seemed to be a hidden barb in his tone.
Fatty Zhou was naturally that slightly plump man. Hearing this, he hurriedly explained:
"Steward Wang, please see clearly. This was all bought with the gang's rewards and the tributes from below. I would never dare embezzle anything."
"I wouldn't think you'd dare."
Steward Wang snorted coldly.
Seeing this, Fatty Zhou inwardly relaxed and hurriedly said respectfully, "Steward Wang, please come inside and sit."
"No need."
Steward Wang clasped his hands behind his back, turned to face him, and said, "I came to find you today because there is something I need you to do."
"Give the order." Fatty Zhou hurriedly bowed, putting on the appearance of someone awaiting instructions.
"Mm."
Steward Wang nodded in satisfaction, then reached into his robes. "Here are one hundred taels in silver notes. Take them to Jade Wind Hall tomorrow and say this is for the medicine expenses of the disciple the Beggar's Gang injured the day before yesterday."
"Ah?"
Upon hearing what the assignment was, Fatty Zhou's eyes bulged wide. He had been frightened.
Recently, the Beggar's Gang and Jade Wind Hall had clashed repeatedly over control of a tavern. If not for their misgivings about the City Lord's Mansion and other forces, they would have already come to blows in earnest.
It could be said that the two sides were already like fire and water.
Sure enough, disciples from the two gangs had encountered each other on the street the day before yesterday, then naturally started fighting.
Because the Beggar's Gang leader's son had been present in that battle, they had won a sweeping victory, while Jade Wind Hall's disciples had suffered terribly. He had heard that several of them had already died of grievous injuries.
So taking a mere one hundred taels to compensate them for medicine expenses now was simply an insult.
And insulting people in their own stronghold—whether he could walk back out in one piece was itself a question.
It could be said that they were sending him to his death.
"Damn it, I've always thought I hadn't offended anyone in the gang. Why would they give this assignment to me?"
As his thoughts raced, he quickly considered one possibility: the gang leader needed an excuse to start a war.
Though Shuofeng City had countless factions from all walks of life, under pressure from the City Lord's Mansion, things remained relatively stable.
Large-scale bloody clashes were rarely seen.
Making him deliver one hundred taels for medicine expenses now clearly meant using his death as an excuse.
One could imagine that when other forces came to hold them accountable, the Beggar's Gang could say: Look, we specially sent someone to apologize in person, hoping to ease the tensions.
But the other side went too far. It was one thing not to accept our goodwill, but they even killed the person we sent to their door.
They had to fight.
"What, you're unwilling?"
Seeing that Fatty Zhou had not responded for a long while, Steward Wang narrowed his eyes, exuding an aura that seized the soul.
It seemed that if Fatty Zhou said no, he would die on the spot.
Fatty Zhou's heart tightened. He could only force himself to say, "Steward Wang, you jest. Of course I'm willing."
As he spoke, he accepted the silver note with trembling hands.
"Rest easy. This is an assignment personally given by the gang leader. If you handle it well, you will naturally be rewarded. For instance, the complete Grass-Parting Cudgel Technique will be taught to you."
Seeing him accept the assignment, Steward Wang's expression improved considerably. After lightly tossing out those final words, he turned and left.
After seeing him out, Fatty Zhou collapsed onto the ground as if all the strength had been drained from his body. Then his eyes rolled, and he sprang up excitedly.
"That's right, I can have someone else do it."
Having thought of a solution, he finally let out a breath of relief. Just then, there came another knock at the door.
Fatty Zhou glanced at the sky and knew who was outside. He happened to need someone anyway, so he went to open the door.
A skinny beggar stood outside.
"Greetings, Chief. I came to deliver today's tribute."
Fatty Zhou looked at the dozen or so copper coins lying all alone in the beggar's filthy palm. He withdrew his gaze and frowned.
"Why are you the only one here today? Where's Li San?"
At his words, an odd look flashed across the beggar's face, and he hurriedly said:
"Reporting to Chief, Li San... Li San froze to death on the street last night. His body was carried to the mass grave outside the city by City Lord's Mansion soldiers this morning."
"Is that so?"
Fatty Zhou took the copper coins from the beggar's hand and examined them one by one, his tone somewhat cold. Clearly, he did not quite believe him.
"I wouldn't dare lie."
The beggar said in panic.
Fatty Zhou snorted coldly. Knowing that the other man was hiding something from him, he said:
"There's something I need you to do. Come inside first, then we'll talk."
The beggar was somewhat flattered. Normally, Skin-Peeler Zhou would not even allow them to set foot over the threshold, afraid they would dirty the ground.
Yet today, he was letting him enter.
Fortunately, it was because he needed him to do something.
"What are your orders, Chief?"
The beggar became even more cautious.
"Impudent!"
After closing the door, Fatty Zhou did not answer. Instead, he suddenly shouted, frightening the beggar into dropping to his knees.
"Chief, wh-what do you mean, impudent?"
"Hmph. Where exactly is Li San? Is he alive or dead, has he fled or is he hiding? Confess truthfully at once!"
Fatty Zhou had already picked up a smooth bamboo rod, his gaze icy.
Faced with the interrogation, the beggar lay sprawled on the ground. He had never expected Fatty Zhou not to believe his earlier story. Coupled with Fatty Zhou's accumulated authority, it instantly scared him out of his wits.
"Ch-Chief, I wasn't lying."
"Hmph, still talking tough? It seems if I don't make you suffer a little, you'll forget my methods."
Fatty Zhou approached with the bamboo rod in hand.
Hearing this, scenes from the past involuntarily surfaced in the beggar's mind. He grew even more panicked and no longer dared conceal anything, shouting:
"I'll talk, I'll tell you everything! Li San really is dead, but he didn't freeze to death. He was killed."
"Oh?"
Fatty Zhou stopped and frowned. "Tell me the details."
He guessed that it might be Jade Wind Hall's retaliation. If so, he would have to be more careful whenever he went out in the future.
But contrary to his expectations, Li San's death had nothing whatsoever to do with Jade Wind Hall.
It turned out that Li San and another person had spent the night in a ruined temple. There, they had unexpectedly encountered a severely injured man. Greed rose in their hearts, but the man launched a desperate counterattack before dying and killed Li San with a single palm strike.
"A man who could kill someone with one palm despite being gravely injured must be a martial arts expert."
Fatty Zhou narrowed his eyes. He had only intended to use the interrogation to cow the beggar before him, then make him wholeheartedly run errands for him. He had not expected an unexpected gain.
So he shouted again, "Speak! What did you get from that man? Hand it all over, or else..."
Knowing he could no longer hide it, the beggar could only grit his teeth and pull a thin booklet from inside his clothes. Raising it over his head, he presented it and said:
"I would not dare deceive you, Chief. This is what I got from that man."
"Just this one thing? No money or anything?"
Fatty Zhou took the booklet.
The beggar hurriedly said, "Reporting to Chief, I searched his entire body. This was the only thing. I didn't find even a single copper coin."
"I wouldn't think you'd dare deceive me again."
This time, Fatty Zhou did not doubt him much. After all, if the beggar had found a great deal of money, he would have vanished long ago and would never have come back to see him.
Thus, he did not ask further. He opened the booklet, and upon seeing the large characters written within, he was instantly overjoyed.
"Cloud Soaring Skill. It really is a martial arts manual—and a movement technique at that. Its grade has actually reached the middle human tier."
The more he flipped through it, the more delighted he became.
On the ground, hearing that the booklet he had found truly was a martial arts manual, the beggar was also excited. But then he thought of how the manual had now been taken away, with no chance of ever returning to him.
His heart clenched again.
He could only grit his teeth and say, "Congratulations, Chief, on obtaining a divine martial arts manual. From now on, you'll soar into the sky with a single leap. I only hope Chief can give this lowly one a hand up. Even if you keep me by your side as an ox or horse, it would still be better than begging for food outside all day."
After speaking, he knocked his head heavily against the ground several times, then looked at Fatty Zhou with a face full of expectation.
Fatty Zhou neither confirmed nor denied it. He merely slowly closed the booklet in his hand, then said, "Who else knows about this?"
The beggar naturally knew he was asking who else knew about the manual, and hurriedly replied:
"Only this lowly one knows. I didn't dare spread the word."
"Mm."
Fatty Zhou nodded. His gaze suddenly turned sharp, and he raised the bamboo rod in his hand, swiftly thrusting it at the beggar's throat.
Crack!
The beggar's throat instantly caved in.
"Y-you..."
The beggar's eyes widened. He wanted to say something, but no words came out. Soon, he fell over, filled with unwillingness.
"Don't blame me. You cannot imagine the value of a martial arts manual, much less one that is a middle human-tier manual. Even the gang leader would snatch it if he saw it."
Fatty Zhou's expression was casual, as though killing a person were no different from killing a chicken.
Then, without even looking at the corpse, he headed into the house. He needed to hide the manual first.
Yet the moment he stepped into the room, he felt a fierce gust of wind rush straight at his face, instantly making every hair on his body stand on end.
"Who is it?!"