Thoughts

So he had even hardened his heart and sent men to intercept and kill him outright!

Murder was no small matter.

After all, Lizhou City was still part of a nation with strict laws. Theft had already carried great risk before. The reason he had dared order people to steal was mainly because Li Qi had never produced that Outer Path Artifact.

He simply had no way to prove that strange thing was his. Reporting it to the authorities would turn up nothing, and with an important figure backing him, he had nothing to fear.

But things were different now. Leaving aside the fact that murder was more serious than theft, theft came with no evidence, so no one would bother with it.

If someone was killed and the matter grew too large, diviners would certainly come to investigate the clues.

He had not wanted to go that far.

But having the technique stolen was something he absolutely could not tolerate.

Even at the risk of being discovered, he had to do it.

So he made extensive arrangements, repeatedly instructing his capable men to leave no traces and make Li Qi die without evidence.

He also had people watch the Wave-Pushing Gang, lest they make any moves.

He only intended to kill the eavesdropping Li Qi and prevent the technique from spreading. He did not intend to make a public fuss.

Now was not the time to blow things up. The Divine Will Inheritance was far too profound. He needed at least a year to study it. By then, he would gather the gang members who had received the Divine Will Inheritance and seize other territories!

With a single technique, they could absolutely overturn the entire riverside. In Lizhou City, there could only be one Boatman Gang!

The Boatman Gang could grow into a gang like the Fish Market Bosses, monopolizing business across the entire city.

They might not count as a major gang, but they would certainly no longer be at the very bottom.

After plundering the cultivation methods of the other two groups and adding a new technique, the Mighty Gang could absolutely rise to a higher level!

For that, taking some risks was entirely acceptable.

They only needed to eliminate Li Qi, then lie low and train hard for a year.

This was not his first time killing someone. The forces of the lower gangs were interlocked like dogs' teeth, constantly clashing with one another. If a few people died and no one reported it, even the authorities could not be bothered to intervene.

If the people did not report it, the officials did not investigate. That was how the very bottom worked. Struggles among low-level forces were far too normal; they could not possibly handle them all.

But if someone insisted on reporting it, the authorities would still intervene. There were annual evaluations, and the case-solving rate for murder cases was an important metric.

For example, if Li Qi's Outer Path Artifact had been stolen by him and Li Qi truly reported it, constables would act. Whether they could solve it was another matter, but the authorities would deal with it regardless.

However, if the authorities were not confident they could solve a case, they would usually pretend not to see a murder case. Failing to close it would become a massive bad debt, and their superiors would tear them apart at year's end.

And as long as he could make the authorities retreat in the face of difficulty, he would not need to worry about the Wave-Pushing Gang filing a complaint.

After all, did the Wave-Pushing Gang have any fewer dark secrets? If they reported him and others reported them, dragging each other down, then none of them would survive.

If they broke the rules, they would surely drag in the Water-Horse Gang, even the Fish Market Bosses, and those people from the Grain Transport Army!

Then it would truly be eternal damnation.

That was what Lu Shan thought.

He had calculated everything down to the last detail. There definitely would not be any slipups.

Only, he was growing somewhat anxious as he waited.

The people watching them were one thing, but why had the men sent to kill Li Qi not returned yet?

Those were the two best fighters in the gang apart from himself. Each possessed fifteen hundred jin of brute strength and could shatter a boulder with a single hammer blow.

He knew Li Qi's abilities.

With Wave-Pushing Strength, Li Qi could easily fight two opponents at once in the water, even killing them in return.

But on land, he could at most handle one opponent. If two attacked together, and did so by ambush, there was absolutely no chance of survival.

Just as Lu Shan was growing anxious, the person he had been waiting for finally returned.

"Mountain Boss!" A short, sturdy young man darted in from outside.

"What is it? Did something happen at the Wave-Pushing Gang?" Lu Shan rose to his feet and hurriedly asked.

This man was one of the three he had sent to watch the Wave-Pushing Gang. It seemed only one had returned. He was likely here to report, while the other two were probably still watching.

"Mountain Boss, Li Qi went back, but he seemed to be injured, and badly at that. The Wave-Pushing Gang is in complete chaos now. They're even discussing selling pigs to hire a doctor!" the young man said happily, his voice brimming with delight.

But Lu Shan's expression abruptly darkened.

Injured?

Yet the men sent to kill him had not returned?

Damn it, was Li Qi really that strong!?

"Go back first. Keep watching them and try to find out exactly what Li Qi's injuries look like," Lu Shan said with a dark face.

"Mountain Boss, all three of us saw it clearly. He pretended nothing was wrong when he came back, but blood was still seeping through his clothes. After taking two steps, he even fell over. He must be badly hurt! Who knows what he ran into? Hehe, serves him right!" The short, sturdy young man was beside himself with glee.

But to Lu Shan's ears, that cheerfulness only became more grating.

"Enough, stop talking. Hurry back and keep watch. Come report again if anything happens!" Suppressing his anger, he waved his hand and drove his subordinate away.

The short, sturdy young man did not know why his boss's face had suddenly darkened, but he did not want to court bad luck, so he quickly ran back.

Lu Shan closed his eyes and considered the intelligence he had just received.

Li Qi was not dead, but he was very likely injured.

Could it be an act?

It was possible. That bastard had always been cunning.

But it was unlikely. Lu Shan knew his own men well. Those two were trusted lieutenants, their strength ranked among the best of all three gangs.

Li Qi could not possibly have escaped unscathed.

Then it seemed Li Qi had been incomparably crafty, using a scheme to get the two into the water before fighting them to the death there.

That was the only possibility. Only in the water, with the aid of Wave-Pushing Strength, could he have done it.

Having reached that conclusion, Lu Shan sat in his chair, his expression shifting between light and dark, his face alternating between red and black.

"Whether he is injured or not, I cannot hesitate. Him surviving is the greatest threat. That technique cannot be allowed to be learned by him!" Lu Shan hardened his heart and made up his mind.

Though he did not even know what that technique was called. The Divine Will Inheritance required one to comprehend it personally. In truth, it was like having a teacher in one's mind instructing them, but whether one could learn it still depended on oneself.

That important figure had told him that with his talent, he might be able to enter the doorway after a year. At that point, he would naturally learn the technique's name.

However, he could not wait another year now.

He abruptly rose to his feet. "I'll stake everything on this!"

Then he strode out the door and shouted, summoning all the boatmen nearby.

Taking advantage of the night, and the fact that the Wave-Pushing Gang was now full from food and drink and surely drowsy.

He would gather his men, launch a night raid on the Wave-Pushing Gang, and kill Li Qi!

Even if the authorities pursued the matter afterward, he could say it was a counterattack after their cultivation method had been stolen.

That way, so long as they did not kill indiscriminately, their guilt surely would not be too great.

If the authorities wanted to investigate further, they would certainly implicate that important figure.

Though he did not know who the other party was, anyone who could casually produce a technique and speak of so many matters concerning the "Dao" had enough influence, once implicated, to intimidate the authorities!

He would gamble!