Suspicion

"Trouble? What kind?" Li Qi shook his head, casting aside his earlier distractions, and studied Uncle Liu carefully before him.

Uncle Liu was a veteran of the Wave-Pushing Gang, a leader respected by all. He was fair-minded, warm-hearted, and experienced, earning the unanimous trust of everyone else.

This man in his forties or fifties had graying hair and a deeply hunched back. Years of towing boats had twisted his spine, and a prominent scar ran from his neck down his back, clearly the result of long-term friction from the tow rope.

Aged boatmen often bore these physical traits, especially the conspicuous curvature of the spine.

Dragging thousand-ton vessels with raw flesh was bound to leave its marks.

"After the River Opening ends, the first team gets a reward. But wasn't the original first team supposed to be those Mighty Gang guys?" Uncle Liu said.

"What does 'supposed to' matter? The River Opening's half done now, and our first team's already pulled. The Prefect saw it with his own eyes. Can they just snatch it away? Even if they want payback later, the Mighty Gang's strength is about on par with ours. Fighting for first place has always been about skill—what's the issue?" Li Qi was baffled.

If that counted as being targeted, then the boatman gangs were constantly eyeing each other anyway.

They were rivals by nature, each relying on their own ability.

"Yeah, that's how it used to be. The Mighty Gang couldn't start a war with us over losing one River Opening. But just now, our lookout sent word—none of the Mighty Gang showed up to watch the River Opening today." Uncle Liu said.

At that, Li Qi frowned.

He sensed something was off.

"Our team's first, the Water-Horse Gang's second. There's no third, but we always have people who tire out and need replacements. The Mighty Gang's got folks who could fill in, but not a single one came?" Li Qi muttered, rubbing his chin.

By custom, anyone who joined the River Opening would get some reward in the end, even if it wasn't as good as the first or second team's. The Mighty Gang had members struggling to get by, and plugging a few injured or exhausted gaps here could let a dozen or so people snag a share of the payout.

So in the past, all three gangs fought for first place. If they missed that, they'd go for second. If they missed that too, plenty would still show up to try and get a piece.

But now, not a single Mighty Gang member came?

No wonder Uncle Liu had rushed over to discuss a plan.

When things were abnormal, there had to be a reason.

So, he clapped his hands: "Uncle Liu, I'll skip the next rotation. I'm going to check out the Mighty Gang's side."

Uncle Liu nodded: "I was thinking the same. You're sharp, strong in a fight, and you've mastered the Wave-Pushing Strength well. In the gang, you're second only to me. You're the one I trust most for this."

Maybe Li Qi really had a talent for training. In the two years since he'd gotten the Wave-Pushing Strength, he'd already surpassed most of the gang members.

Coupled with his educated, clever mind, he'd become the Wave-Pushing Gang's second-in-command, right below Uncle Liu.

"I'll head out now, then." Li Qi wasn't one to dawdle; he stood up immediately.

"Be careful. Stay safe. Your own life comes first." Uncle Liu warned.

"Don't worry." Li Qi nodded, then hurried off.

With that, Li Qi left quickly.

During the River Opening, every household in Lizhou City was preparing.

Merchants stocked goods, vendors readied food—all busy for the business that would follow the river's opening.

Once the river opened, goods and merchants from many cities in the Great Deer Kingdom would gather in Lizhou City, using the Li River to ship them everywhere.

So the River Opening was the most important event of the year in Lizhou City, more significant than the New Year.

At this time, the whole city was caught up in its own tasks. Apart from laborers hauling goods and couriers delivering messages, hardly any idle people were on the streets.

So when a man dressed as a boatman wandered through the city, many cast curious glances his way.

But mostly it was just curiosity; no one bothered to meddle.

Everyone had their own hands full—why waste time on a boatman?

As for Li Qi, he strolled around for a bit, then suddenly stopped a vendor setting up his stall: "Hey, brother, why is everyone so surprised to see me?"

The vendor rolled his eyes and glanced at Li Qi: "You're a boatman. The River Opening's on, and you're not fighting for first place, just wandering the streets. What do you think they're staring at?"

He wasn't polite about it, because boatmen ranked lower than vendors.

Vendors, organized under various wealthy merchants, had their own guilds. These guilds usually set unified prices in their trades and stifled competition—scissors-and-knife merchants had their guild, blacksmiths had theirs, even porters and traveling traders had organizations.

In this world, everyone clustered around a single cultivation method to survive, and boatmen were clearly at the bottom.

"I see. But aren't there plenty of boatmen on the streets today? Why single me out?" Li Qi scratched his head, feigning confusion.

"Are you out of your mind? Besides you, where are there any boatmen on these streets? Alright, if you're not buying anything, get lost. Don't waste my time. The River Opening's ending soon, and people will be flooding in. You gonna cover my losses?" The vendor, seeing Li Qi had no intention to buy, waved him off and sent him away.

Li Qi stepped back immediately, not disturbing his stocking and setup.

He'd gotten what he needed.

Just as he'd thought—under normal circumstances, boatmen would all be at the River Opening site, not loafing around.

So the Mighty Gang members hadn't gone to the River Opening site, nor were they on the streets...

That meant they hadn't left their homes; they were holed up together.

Most ordinary boatmen lived hand-to-mouth, earning for the day and eating for the day. They rarely had savings, and if they did, it wasn't much—enough for a few days at most. A young single guy like Li Qi could manage, since one person fed meant the whole family was fed, and he could even save a bit.

But for a married boatman, the financial pressure was immense.

To bear that kind of pressure and still gather together, skipping the River Opening without even wandering the streets—that spelled serious trouble.

In this era, what else could two hundred boatmen be doing gathered together? Throwing a party, perhaps?

This isn't Chengdu.

Li Qi quickened his pace without hesitation.

So many people gathered in one place—it might well be a rally or something. He needed to get there and scope out the situation.

He knew where the Mighty Gang's turf was, right beside one of the Li River's branches inside the city.

The Li River's tributaries spread through the entire city like capillaries, much like the water towns of Jiangnan, serving as the city's lifeline for water.

He hurried to the riverbank. The frozen branches of the Li River that crisscrossed the city were still sealed in ice, but the layer was thin.

That was exactly what he wanted.

Thanks to the heat island effect, the temperature in residential areas was much higher than by the main river.

That meant the ice here was weaker.

He found a random tributary, stepped onto the ice, stomped twice, and looked around. No one in sight.

Very thin.

Good.

He stomped down hard, and the ice shattered.

Without hesitation, he dropped straight through the crack.

There were three boatman gangs in Lizhou City.

The Water-Horse Gang's technique specialized in endurance—they claimed to be as tough as oxen and horses, able to pull for three straight Chen without rest, with skin thick enough that tow ropes couldn't wear it down, making them last longer.

The Mighty Gang's technique focused on raw strength. What the other two gangs needed fifty men to haul, they could move with just thirty.

As for the Wave-Pushing Gang's technique...

You could tell from the name. The Wave-Pushing Gang excelled in water. They could pull boats while swimming, without needing to stand on the shore.

Li Qi took a deep breath, activated Wave-Pushing Strength, and moved swiftly beneath the frozen surface like a fish.

The ice sheet gave him near-perfect cover. Though he couldn't breathe, with Wave-Pushing Strength sustaining him, he could stay underwater for up to two ke without needing air.

And he only needed five minutes to swim to the Mighty Gang's territory.

Soon, he reached their waters. This was a small alley in the city, with a tributary running through it.

The people living here were all poor—a group of tailors and the Mighty Gang shared this area. Because of that connection, the Mighty Gang's clothes were far better than those of the other two gangs.

Those tailors weren't to be trifled with either. They used flying needle hidden weapons and had a good relationship with the Mighty Gang. Since they had no conflicting interests and lived together, they'd formed an alliance, helping each other out.

Once there, Li Qi became much more cautious.

He could see holes cut in the ice, with fishing hooks dangling down.

All poor bastards living by the water—of course they'd catch some fish to supplement their meals and treat themselves.

But they were just hooks, no nets.

Because using fishing nets was the exclusive right of the Fish Market Bosses in the city. Anyone who dared use a boat or net privately would be making enemies of every Fish Market Boss in town. Those spear-wielding fishermen were no joke.

That was the reality of this world—every group, every class, clearly layered and defined.

Carefully dodging the hooks, he swam to a spot near the shore with no holes and no hooks.

He pressed his ear to the ice and listened.

Half a ke passed. Li Qi noticed that none of the hooks had moved at all.

Once he realized that, he simply dove down, caught a fish himself, held it steady with his water skill, gripped it by the gills, swam to a hook, and hung the fish on it.

The fish's lip was pierced, and it thrashed wildly!

The fishing line stretched out, and eventually even the rod was dragged down.

In the end, no one pulled the fish up.

No one was up there!

When Li Qi had pressed his ear to the ice earlier, he hadn't heard a sound. He'd also noticed the hooks weren't moving, which was why he'd tested it.

Now, with this test, no one pulled the rod either. Clearly, there was no one above.

He waited a bit longer, then grabbed the rod that had been dragged down, pulled the fish back, removed the hook, and hung it on another rod.

Reusing it—catching fish was hard work.

That fish got hooked three times in a row, its mouth turned into a sieve, before it finally escaped its torment and fled in terror!

Killing a fish takes one cut—who's ever seen it get hooked three times?

As for Li Qi, he was about to run out of breath.

His two ke were almost up, and the freezing water had left his limbs stiff and his face blue and purple.

Even with Wave-Pushing Strength protecting him, he was nearing his limit.

After confirming several times that no one was above, he found an ice-fishing hole, leaped out in one swift motion, and without a moment's delay, rolled toward the shore.

He had originally planned that if someone was stationed here, he would break the ice from the other side, cause a commotion to lure them away.

But since no one was here, he might as well just go up.

He was fast, and the ice was slippery, so he slid right across with a whoosh.

Entering the alley, he immediately jumped up, keeping an eye on his surroundings as he ran toward the Mighty Gang's base.

These were all residential houses, but they seemed mostly empty, just as he had guessed earlier—their people were all gathered together, so these outer homes had few occupants.

He mainly needed to watch out for those tailors, so he deliberately avoided their houses, moving as much as possible through the narrow gaps.

The streets were empty, and he was cautious, so he made it all the way without being discovered, smoothly arriving at the square where the Mighty Gang usually gathered to discuss matters.

Calling it a square was generous—it was really just an open space in front of the Mighty Gang leader's house, about sixty or seventy square meters, normally used for drying fish and laundry, but when something came up, they'd gather here to talk.

After all, in this cluster of alleys, this was the only place that could hold a hundred or two burly men.

Li Qi carefully approached, his body hidden behind the wall, ears pricked to catch the sounds from the square.

There were indeed voices in the square; the trackers had all gathered there.

Some trackers were chatting, not bothering to lower their voices.

After all, they were just trackers—you couldn't expect strict discipline from them. A bunch of people gathered together in silence? Even college students couldn't manage that, so how could trackers be expected to?

Li Qi knew this well, which was why he didn't even peek, just hid and listened closely.

At the same time, he took off his clothes and wrapped them around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Some of the Mighty Gang trackers nearby were loudly discussing the day's events.

"Hey, do you think that Daoist's words are really trustworthy?"

"You've asked that four times already. The boss believes him—what can you do if you don't?"

"You two, seriously. You saw it with your own eyes and still don't believe? That was sorcery! Way stronger than our body-tempering techniques. Getting a chance to learn sorcery, and you're still complaining?"

"Today's the River Opening! Skipping the River Opening—what if that Daoist is tricking us? Won't we have missed out on the reward for nothing?"

"Enough talk, he's coming out, coming out!"

At those words, Li Qi immediately heard the sound of a crowd rising to their feet, along with the creak of a door opening and closing.

He had arrived at just the right time. A Daoist... The Mighty Gang was involved with a Daoist? And that Daoist promised to teach them sorcery?

How was that possible!

Li Qi knew very well how heavily this world valued things like "cultivation techniques."

Every single technique, even the crudest one, was a precious treasure capable of establishing a family legacy!

So, upon hearing this, even he couldn't help but poke his head out from the alley and look toward the open space not far away.

As expected, the space was packed with a crowd of burly men, tightly encircling two people at the center.

One was a big man Li Qi recognized—the Mighty Gang leader.

The other was a young man, dressed in cotton cloth, completely different from the trackers' hemp garments.

And in that young man's hand, he was holding something Li Qi knew very well.

Isn't that my game console!? How did half of it end up here!?

(New book, please support—hit that bookmark!)