Wild Wolf

"Zheng Family..."

The drone tracked the three men, zooming in. A large, openly displayed plaque came into view, the words "Zheng Residence" gleaming brightly.

"Marquis Zhen Dong's Estate's in-laws, the family head 'Mixed Gold Saber' Zheng Ye... and they were this unparticular?"

Jiang Ding sighed inwardly. Even those who benefited from East Spirit Prefecture's order were unwilling to follow the rules they themselves had set, coming out to conduct such a business without capital.

Or were a few greed-blinded household servants acting on their own initiative?

Gently stroking his sword hilt, Jiang Ding slipped into a false sleep. Inner force flowed soundlessly through his body, nourishing the ten main meridians of the second regular meridian, the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian.

Today, he would be able to finish nourishing those ten meridians and begin on the third regular meridian.

At around eight or nine, Jiang Ding went out to chat with Lin Wanqiu and Jiang Yuan for a while. Afterward, he returned to the rear courtyard and closed his eyes to rest beneath the warm morning sunlight.

At first, he was somewhat unaccustomed to not sleeping. But after adapting for a while, he discovered that using stillness cultivation to nourish his meridians with inner force could replace part of his sleep.

If all went smoothly, he could reduce his sleep from eight hours a day to four in the future.

Knock, knock!

Urgent knocking sounded from outside the door.

"Come in."

"Boss, disaster has struck!"

Huang Deyou hurried over to Jiang Ding and lowered his voice. "The Wild Wolf Gang's leader, 'Wild Wolf Saber' Long Shi, has come in person. He even sent you a Calling Card."

Jiang Ding, who had been feigning sleep while stroking his sword, opened his eyes, coldness glinting within them. "Have him come over."

Huang Deyou froze, cold sweat breaking out.

Grandfather above!

This was 'Wild Wolf Saber' Long Shi, a man who had built such an enormous foundation from nothing—not some minor gang lackey like Liu Qi!

In the battle that made him famous, he had led the Wild Wolf Eighteen Riders into the former Black Snake Gang leader's home. With one man and one saber, he slaughtered that entire household clean. He was a man whose word was law.

In the few streets around Rotten Plank Street, if he wanted someone's entire family dead at midnight, they would never live to see the fifth watch.

Huang Deyou did not dare move.

Jiang Ding did not make things difficult for him. He flicked the sword hilt and scabbard against the ground, sending a fist-sized pebble bouncing into the air. Then he swung the tip of the scabbard and struck it with precise force—the standard exertion technique of the Point Sword Style.

Whoosh!

A black dot smashed through the gate at a speed invisible to the naked eye, leaving behind a neatly edged hole before vanishing.

Outside the general store, a burly man with a coarse, savage air sat boldly in a grandmaster's chair. A curved saber, scabbard and all, was plunged several inches deep into the hard, dry soil beside his left hand.

The scar-faced strongman Liu Qi stood behind him with a careful, ingratiating smile. Seven or eight martial artists in fitted outfits, long sabers hanging at their waists, surrounded them and watched the surroundings vigilantly.

"You said he made you cough blood with a single sword strike? That is hardly surprising."

'Wild Wolf Saber' Long Shi stroked the beard on his chin. This subordinate had been his old brother for years, otherwise he would not have let him occupy such a lucrative position.

But in terms of strength, Liu Qi could only be called sturdy and strong, someone who dared to fight and dared to risk his life.

"But young, fair-skinned, and handsome—put all that together..." Long Shi found himself troubled. Like Liu Qi, he judged that there was trouble here and had no desire to provoke it.

Yet...

"What nerve. A mere shop-opening nobody dared put on airs before my brother." Long Shi suddenly sneered. "Lang Yi, Lang Er, drag this bastard out for me!"

"Yes, Gang Leader!"

The two martial artists in fitted outfits answered in unison, entering through the gate with their long sabers held upside down.

Han Lin and the other shop hands turned deathly pale.

"Who goes there?!"

Startled by the sound of something cutting through the air, the two martial artists swung their sabers at the source in unison. Their strikes were steady, accurate, and ruthless; their combat experience was seasoned to the extreme. They truly deserved to be Wild Wolf Gang's Wild Wolf Eighteen Riders, who had fought their way through countless killings over the years.

Clang!

A spray of dazzling sparks burst between the two saber blades.

Crack!

Horror appeared in Lang Yi and Lang Er's eyes. Before they could react, two crisp cracks of breaking arm bones rang out. A massive force slammed into their chests, sending both men and their sabers flying out through the gate. Scalding blood mixed with dust as it fell.

Long Shi's pupils contracted, and he rose to his feet.

He had seen it clearly. A fist-sized stone from nowhere had shattered both men's arm bones, leaving them without the slightest chance to resist.

He might not have been able to accomplish that himself.

A chill ran through Liu Qi's heart as he thought to himself that he had been lucky last time.

The surroundings fell silent. The two remaining saber-bearing guards stared at this utterly ordinary shop as though facing a great enemy.

"Shopkeeper, my brothers were discourteous first today. We have disturbed you."

Long Shi signaled with his eyes for the remaining men to help up the two severely wounded brothers. Without uttering a single harsh word, he prepared to leave just like that.

When wandering the martial world, the most important thing was knowing how to read the situation. Otherwise, one would have died who knew where long ago.

It was not necessarily that he could not win, but if it did not involve fundamental interests, he was unwilling to have a serious conflict with a highly skilled person.

"Come over and speak."

A cool, indifferent voice came through the wind, bringing Long Shi's steps to a halt.

"Shopkeeper, there are still matters in the gang..."

"The Wild Wolf Gang is not far from here."

"Fine."

A flash of brutality passed through Long Shi's eyes. He gave a look, and one martial artist in fitted clothes slipped away without a sound.

Upon entering the rear courtyard.

The first thing he saw was a stack of square boxes, pure black beneath gilded decorations, with the Four Seas Merchant Guild's mark upon them.

Long Shi's heart shook, and intense greed rose within him.

Ginseng!

All of it was several decades old!

If he swallowed it all, perhaps he could advance from Minor Accomplishment of Inner Qi to Great Accomplishment. Then, even in East Spirit Prefecture, he would count as someone of note, no longer confined to the few streets around Rotten Plank Street.

If they were compounded with all sorts of spiritual herbs, they might even be enough to bring several people from Minor Accomplishment of Inner Qi to Great Accomplishment!

"Want them?"

A cold, ghostly voice came from the side.

"This..."

Long Shi swallowed, wanting to offer some polite words.

"Take one sword strike from me without losing, and they are all yours."

Jiang Ding drew his bright silver longsword, traces of killing intent spreading through the air.

There was absolutely an informant for the other side within the Four Seas Merchant Guild. The moment he went out, they knew. Once wealth reached a certain level, these martial world people living in a feudal society had no real sense of law at all.

"One sword strike?"

Long Shi's blazing greed instantly turned to calm. He held his saber at an angle and said evenly, "Young Master, you misunderstand. You have been staying at Rotten Plank Street for nearly a month. As the host, I merely came to make a new friend."

"Everyone in the martial world knows that I, 'Wild Wolf Saber' Long Shi, love making friends most of all. I have never let a friend suffer a loss."

Clang!

A sword cry rang out, sword light scattering like rain.

This was notice, not a question.

"Arrogant!"

Long Shi snorted coldly. Inner qi surged, and saber radiance transformed into a long river-like ribbon that descended. Faintly, the air carried a sound like a wolf's howl in the wind.

At the same time, as if by instinct, the one remaining wolf guard drew his saber and followed. Like a male wolf on the great plains following the alpha wolf's pounce, he joined the hunt for fierce prey.

Their coordination could not have been more seamless. Over the years, at least a dozen inner qi martial artists had fallen to their hands, and as many as five had died.

"Good."

The sword light in Jiang Ding's hand condensed to the extreme. It lightly stabbed into the side of the saber radiance. Though both weapons were swinging at high speed, it was like a nimble bird flitting around a bull's head, effortless and at ease.

Clang!

The sword tip touched the side of the saber radiance. In a single exchange, the sword radiance easily shattered the seemingly dense saber radiance. The swift saber path collapsed in an instant, visible to the naked eye.

The sword tip turned again, stabbing into the gap between Long Shi's heart and blood vessels.

"Big Brother!"

Lang Si's eyes split with fury. That sword light had been too fast; he could not keep up at all.

There was still a chance. His saber had already neared the other man's neck. Just one strike—just one strike!

Lang Si stared fixedly at that fair neck.

Sword light flashed. A head flew into the air, blood spraying half a meter high before scattering across the ground.