More than a hundred brawny men of the Golden Tiger Gang suddenly came to their senses. Curses erupted in an unbroken stream as they chased after Li Feng and his companions. Yet many Golden Tiger Gang members still had their heads full of fog. "Didn't that bitch beat up the Third Gang Leader? Why are we listening to her orders now? Those Golden Dragon Gang people may have had plenty of grudges with us in the past, but at least they helped us today... Strange, strange... Ah, I get it! That little bitch is the White Emperor Sect's Second Miss—doesn't that make her our backer? No wonder."
Li Feng and the others fled madly ahead, with over a hundred cursing, fist-waving Golden Tiger Gang brutes chasing behind them. It was precisely the busiest hour of the night market. More than a hundred people barreled recklessly through the streets, instantly throwing the entire avenue into chaos. Li Feng's hands and feet were swift, but his methods were especially vicious. Whenever he saw a stall selling roasted meats or fried foods by the roadside, he immediately threw down an ingot of gold or silver, then seized the owner's pot and hurled it backward.
With loud sizzling sounds, after Li Feng had thrown out seven or eight huge braising pots, oil pots, and soup pots, over thirty Golden Tiger Gang men screamed and fell to the ground. Blisters burst forth all over their faces and hands, and a faint scent of cooked meat drifted through the air. Seeing how vicious Li Feng was, the Golden Tiger Gang men involuntarily slowed their pursuit. No one was stupid—who would still be willing to charge at the front?
Li Feng laughed loudly. Seeing the Golden Tiger Gang men slow down, he immediately rushed into a grocery shop, snatched over ten pounds of chili powder and pepper powder, then hurried several steps toward the Golden Tiger Gang brutes. With a burst of his internal force, he scattered the fiery powders into the air. Coughing and sneezing broke out all around. Another forty-odd Golden Tiger Gang men shrieked and stopped, their eyes burning fiercely and their noses feeling as though they were on fire. How could they keep chasing?
A Zhu grew interested as well. He grabbed a wooden stick from the roadside and charged back behind Li Feng. While the Golden Tiger Gang underlings frantically rubbed their eyes and wailed for their fathers and mothers, his stick smashed viciously onto their heads. He had practiced Iron Sand Palm for several years and truly had some skill in his palms. One blow of that stick was enough to ensure those bull-strong men immediately collapsed unconscious, unable to climb back up again.
They chased and fled all the way, knocking over who knew how many night-market stalls, until the group finally reached the gates of the Golden Dragon Gang's compound. Li Feng and A Zhu stood there calmly, watching the dozen or so foolish Golden Tiger Gang underlings who had kept chasing them. Seeing Li Feng and the others abruptly stop, the burly men were delighted for a moment—then they let out strange cries and turned to run. Curses rose from every direction as more than a hundred Golden Dragon Gang men rushed out of the surrounding alleys with wooden clubs. They surrounded the men and gave them a vicious beating, battering them until they looked like rag dolls before dragging them by the legs and tossing them into the stinking roadside ditch.
A Zhu nodded, very satisfied with the response speed of his men. He looked at Li Feng and suddenly said, "Didn't expect you to really have such good martial arts. That woman was so strong, yet someone sent her flying with one palm. A Feng, you weren't bragging after all."
Li Feng smiled and nodded. "Do you want to learn? But I'm warning you: you can't reveal that you learned martial arts from me, and you can't display it in front of others. Otherwise, I guarantee you'll have huge trouble. Very huge trouble... because the manual I learned from was stolen."
A Zhu froze. He could not understand how Li Feng had practiced martial arts for six years when the manual had apparently been stolen. But he knew an opportunity was right before him. He nodded, gritted his teeth, and shouted, "Learn? Why wouldn't I learn? But let me tell you, brat, don't hold anything back. Spit out every bit of martial arts you know." A Zhu's hand had already reached for Li Feng's neck as he said in a low voice, "You've loved holding something back ever since we were kids. Huh? After you disappeared, once I recovered from my injuries, I felt around in that cellar where you hid your money. There were over two hundred taels of silver! You never told me about it, yet you cried poverty in front of me all day long. Wasn't that you?"
Li Feng laughed awkwardly. "Well, as they say, mend the roof before the rain comes. I had to make plans for our future. So of course I needed to save some private money." Suddenly, Li Feng sprang up and grabbed A Zhu's collar tightly. "You bastard, how did you know where I hid my silver? Huh? You took the silver too, didn't you? Spit it out! I'll charge you tenfold interest—two thousand three hundred and forty-five taels a year. What's that over six years? Including the principal, two hundred and thirty-four taels and five qian of silver. Hand it over!"
A Zhu turned and ran, cursing loudly. "No way! It was bad enough that you hid private money from me, and now you want interest too? Your fortune is already immense—why do you still want interest? Bah! Don't even dream of it."
Under the astonished gazes of a group of Golden Dragon Gang underlings, Li Feng chased A Zhu into A Zhu's room. After the two screamed and roughhoused for a while, Li Feng suddenly cursed, "What the hell was that? That bitch was the White Emperor Sect's Second Miss? What was she doing in a brothel for no reason? Did she really think she was some great figure, traveling incognito to inspect the people? She ruined my mood." With that, Li Feng plopped down onto A Zhu's bed, fell backward, crossed one leg over the other, and hummed a little tune.
A Zhu called over a maid and instructed her to prepare some late-night snacks and wine. Then he sat beside Li Feng with a somewhat grave expression. "This time, we're in a bit of trouble. You offended the White Emperor Sect's Second Miss. The White Emperor Sect is a renowned great sect in the martial world, with countless experts within it. Especially since it is the Golden Tiger Gang's backer, they're certain to stir up a storm this time and make us look bad. They may even take the chance to wipe out our Golden Dragon Gang. This is serious trouble."
Li Feng hummed unconcernedly and said, "Isn't Old Tou'er your backer? When the time comes, just file a report at the yamen and say bandits are planning to loot the Golden Dragon Gang. Wouldn't that settle it? You must have those shop owners under your control, right? Have them report to the yamen and falsely accuse those White Emperor Sect experts. Let the yamen people tangle with them. I refuse to believe White Emperor Sect people would dare raise troops in rebellion. Hmph... I've never heard of martial artists daring to have a case filed against them at the yamen. Do they really think they're invincible beneath heaven, impervious to blade and spear?"
A Zhu laughed. "But using such a method might be a little too filthy. If word gets out, the Golden Dragon Gang's reputation won't be very good."
Li Feng sneered. "So what? A bad reputation? What's so important about reputation? Real benefits are what matter... As long as no one knows, why worry about so much? And even if it gets out, so what? Once Suzhou Prefecture has only the Golden Dragon Gang left, would we still fear people spreading rumors? Who would dare?" Li Feng thought of the junior sister Wei Ziqun had killed. Could there really have been no whispers at all within the Mount Hua Sect? Yet wasn't Lord Wei Ziqun still sitting comfortably as sect leader? Had he ever suffered so much as a toothache or a fever?
Li Feng suddenly understood. "In this age, as long as you have power, influence, and strength, you can turn black into white and call white black. When those powerful people smack their lips together, who knows how many people will die... Take Gu Cangyue. His cultivation is only half what it was before, but with the title of Chief Constable of Suzhou Prefecture, wouldn't it be easy for him to drive off White Emperor Sect experts? Who would care whether it was a false accusation?"
Li Feng kept sneering, greatly pleased by his discovery. He sighed. "I finally figured out the most important thing. Ha, this young master really is clever, isn't he?"
A Zhu ground his teeth as he calculated for a while, then suddenly jumped up and strode out the door. He shouted loudly, "Men! Keep a sharp watch tonight. Don't let Golden Tiger Gang people come cause trouble. Tomorrow morning, invite Boss Jin from the silk shop over for me. Hmph... Why ask so many questions? Does a hall master's order need explaining? Go! Stop slacking off... No drinking, no gambling. If you ruin this hall master's business, watch out or your asses will blossom!"
After issuing a string of imposing orders, A Zhu went back inside, closed the door, and said with a smile, "That is an idea. But I'm afraid the White Emperor Sect people may play dirty and ambush a few of us brothers from behind. That would be troublesome."
Li Feng said lazily, "What's there to fear? However many they send, I'll take them all. White Emperor Sect, hmph. In White Emperor City of the Three Gorges, they're the biggest—not just there, but throughout Sichuan, aside from... they must be the biggest, right? But this is Suzhou, not their territory. Would this young master care about them?" Li Feng pondered. "The Emei Sword Sect shouldn't have any ties with the White Emperor Sect, should it? One is a sect of Dao-cultivating immortals, while the other is a sect fighting for power and profit in the secular world. There shouldn't be any connection."
Before A Zhu could speak, Li Feng straightened up and said excitedly, "Didn't you say Niu Boss wants to buy himself an official military rank, and you want to become gang leader? This is the perfect opportunity. Just watch. I'll help you wipe out the Golden Tiger Gang, drive off the White Emperor Sect people, and make the Golden Dragon Gang the sole dominant force in Suzhou Prefecture. That's a heaven-sized achievement. If you don't become gang leader, who will? Add Niu Boss's influence, and if you put in a little more effort yourself, expanding the Golden Dragon Gang tenfold won't be difficult."
A Zhu's heart began pounding wildly. He developed immense interest in Li Feng's plan. He no longer cared to weigh the possible consequences of driving off the White Emperor Sect and eliminating the Golden Tiger Gang. He cared only about what he might gain. He said urgently, "Little Feng, are you serious? But the Golden Tiger Gang has some skilled fighters too. Niu Boss took a group north, and the Golden Tiger Gang people are still stronger than this batch of trash under me. Especially since the White Emperor Sect has actually sent people to Suzhou—if a conflict breaks out, I'm afraid we won't be able to withstand it."
Li Feng slapped the sandalwood table beside him. With a crisp hiss, the soft, yin force in his palm shook the entire table into powder. A perfectly good table abruptly became a pile of wood dust on the floor. A Zhu stared dumbfoundedly, then suddenly grabbed Li Feng's smooth, glossy palm without even a speck of callus and cursed, "Heavens, where's the justice? I've painstakingly practiced Iron Sand Palm for years, yet I still can't shatter this table with one strike, while you... Heaven truly has no eyes!"
There was a knock at the door. A Zhu snapped irritably, "Who is it?"
A woman's voice answered somewhat fearfully, "Hall Master, it's this servant. I've brought your late-night meal."
A Zhu rose in annoyance, opened the door to let three maids enter, then went into Li Feng's room next door and carried back a table. Once the snacks were arranged, he immediately shooed the three maids out as though driving ducks. Li Feng grabbed a braised pig trotter and gnawed on it, saying indistinctly, "Your boss is impressive. Even the three maids he found are all so pretty and fresh. Don't ruin them and then abandon them afterward... Mm, don't worry about the White Emperor Sect. Just work with Old Tou'er to drive them off. As for the Golden Tiger Gang, who cares how many skilled fighters they have? Before me, none of them are worth looking at."
As Li Feng spoke, he suddenly remembered something. He fumbled around inside his clothes with greasy hands, drew out a slice of thousand-year Purple Lingzhi Mushroom, and tossed it to A Zhu. "This thousand-year lingzhi was something I found in the mountains only after great difficulty, after narrowly escaping death nine times. Sigh, after taking such huge risks, I only stole three slices from beneath the fangs of that two-headed giant python. I ate two myself, and this one is going cheap to you... It can probably add thirty years of hard cultivation. Ha, that makes you a first-rate expert too."
Without so much as a stumble of his tongue, Li Feng spun out that entire lie. Damn thousand-year lingzhi? He had no idea how much ten-thousand-year lingzhi he had wasted. For a time, he had even used dried lingzhi as firewood when roasting venison.
But A Zhu was different. He carefully held that small slice of lingzhi, still bearing Li Feng's greasy fingerprints, and was so grateful that he nearly burst into tears. "Good brother, you finally remembered your old brother... But you definitely held some back, damn it. You said you ate two slices, so you must have eaten at least four... Don't I know what kind of person you are? Otherwise, how could you have such strong cultivation?"
Li Feng yawned, rubbed his belly, and laughed. "I'm full. Ah, life in the mountains was hard. For six years, I never had a proper meal of cooked food. Heh heh... This young master cultivated diligently, this young master is talented, this young master is a genius—that's why I have such strong cultivation. Even if you don't accept it, you have to. Especially since, before that old fellow died, he gave me all the internal force he had painstakingly cultivated for over a hundred years. How could this young master not be strong?" Li Feng could make up a lie with every roll of his eyes. Remembering the tales of miraculous encounters he and A Zhu had loved hearing as children, he immediately copied their pattern and concocted one.
A Zhu was so envious his vision went dark. He shook his head repeatedly and sighed. "Heaven has no eyes, letting a sly thing like you get so many benefits. Damn it, couldn't Heaven consider that if a brat like you got such powerful martial arts, would there still be peaceful days in the martial world? Heaven truly has no eyes."
Li Feng draped an arm around A Zhu affectionately and smiled. "If this young master didn't have such powerful martial arts, how could you become the Golden Dragon Gang's leader? Mm, later I'll help you circulate your qi and lay the foundation for Qi Refining. Then familiarize yourself with the circulation path of this Little Heavenly Star Palm. This palm art has no fixed moves. As long as your cultivation is sufficient, it can naturally produce myriad methods. This is an untransmitted secret of the Mount Hua Sect. My dead master went through great trouble to steal it from the Mount Hua Sect, so don't waste such splendid martial arts."
A Zhu swallowed and asked blankly, "Little Heavenly Star Palm? The Little Heavenly Star Palm famed as the third strongest palm force in the martial world? I'm not dreaming, am I?... A Zhu, if I learn this palm art, won't it bring trouble?"
Li Feng sneered. "Trouble? What trouble? As long as you don't release your force beyond your body, who would know you're using Little Heavenly Star Palm? Are you planning to seek out the Mount Hua Sect leader and hit him with this palm force?... I'm teaching you a special skill so the future great leader of the Golden Dragon Gang doesn't get hacked to death. Where else would I find another brother?"
Li Feng quietly cautioned him, "But you absolutely cannot let even the faintest rumor leak out. Otherwise, the Mount Hua Sect really will come looking for trouble. I plan to impersonate a Mount Hua Sect disciple as I travel the martial world—I've even thought up the whole backstory. But if word leaks from your side, I'll have no choice but to either flee through the martial world or charge up Mount Hua and kill every last one of them."
A Zhu answered eagerly, "It's fine, it's fine. I'd have to be an idiot to tell anyone about this... Mm, heh heh... Is it really Little Heavenly Star Palm? I'm rich now! Damn it, if I'd known there was martial arts like this to learn, why would I have practiced this third-rate Iron Sand Palm? Iron Sand Palm—heavens, it's embarrassing just to say it. Who in the martial world doesn't shout about how powerful their Iron Sand Palm is?" A Zhu nearly drooled, and Li Feng suddenly felt that A Zhu looked so much like Little Cat at this moment... Thinking of that, Li Feng's heart ached again.
Nothing more was said through the night. Relying on the enormous True Essence he had cultivated on Qingyun Flat, Li Feng smashed through the obstructions in A Zhu's meridians with unstoppable force. Though his methods were somewhat violent, and A Zhu's screams of pain were somewhat too miserable, the work was successfully completed in the end. Then, with two spiritual pills to aid him, A Zhu consumed that slice of thousand-year Purple Lingzhi Mushroom. Under Li Feng's protection, A Zhu successfully became, overnight, a near first-rate expert with the equivalent of forty years of cultivation.
Afterward, Li Feng taught Little Heavenly Star Palm to A Zhu without holding anything back. After only a little practice, A Zhu could already unleash one-tenth of the palm art's power. After pondering for a while, Li Feng maliciously altered the Mount Hua Sect's beginner martial arts, Heavenly Gang Steps and Shattered Jade Fist, before teaching them to A Zhu.
These martial arts, which could barely have been considered first-rate techniques, were immediately reduced below second-rate after Li Feng mangled them beyond recognition. But they were more than enough for A Zhu to conceal his true strength. Even if the Mount Hua Sect's founding patriarch stood before him, he would not have been able to recognize what moves A Zhu was using.
After laboring through the night, Li Feng had hastily fashioned a martial arts expert through the strength of his own formidable cultivation. Coupled with A Zhu's extensive experience in street brawls, Li Feng believed that even if A Zhu faced a genuine first-rate expert head-on, he might not win, but his opponent would not be able to do anything to him either. At the very least, for a gang of the Golden Dragon Gang's size, having a gang leader with this level of martial arts was already absurd. A gang of the Golden Dragon Gang's scale should have been delighted to get a leader with merely second-rate skills.
Opening the door, A Zhu leaped two zhang into the air in the courtyard, then struck the ground with a palm that was all form and no substance. Watching a blue brick roughly a foot across explode entirely into more than a hundred fragments, A Zhu shouted smugly, "Hahahaha! I'm finally a true expert too! What are the Golden Tiger Gang and White Emperor Sect supposed to be?"
Li Feng shook his head repeatedly, thinking, A Zhu has martial arts now, and he's even more arrogant than this young master? Back then, I only bullied a few monkeys on Qingyun Flat. This fellow looks like he's about to go bully people. Yet he had forgotten that, back then on Qingyun Flat, he had no one else to bully—he was only ever bullied by others.
A Zhu was merrily destroying the blue bricks in his courtyard with palm after palm when several Golden Dragon Gang brutes rushed in, their faces black and blue. They shouted, "Hall Master, there's a ferocious woman outside who says she wants you to go out and speak with her... Damn it, what a fierce woman! More than fifty of our brothers were knocked down by her alone!"
A Zhu was so furious that his hair stood on end. At this moment, his divine arts had just reached great completion, and his confidence was full to bursting. Hearing that someone dared to cause trouble at his hall, he immediately let out a shriek and shouted, "Brothers, come out with me and see who's so blind as to come seek misfortune at daybreak. Brothers, bring your weapons. Get ready to beat up living people for me!"
Standing behind them, Li Feng grinned wickedly and murmured, "Interesting. Looks like that Second Miss from last night finally couldn't hold herself back—or perhaps her little maid egged her on to come seek revenge against us? Very good, very good. I was just worried I had no reason to report you to the yamen. Now you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep? Heh heh, never thought I'd have a day when I went to the yamen to accuse someone. Before, it was always other people shouting that they wanted to throw this young master into prison for life."
Li Feng smugly tossed his messy hair, then followed A Zhu out in an imposing stride, singing some unknown tune of "dong-er lang-dang qiang" through his mouth. His overbearing manner made him seem like a great general leading troops into battle. The dozen or so Golden Dragon Gang brutes following behind him, swaggering in borrowed authority, truly did have some of the air of men going to war.
At the entrance of the Golden Dragon Gang hall, in the broad plaza before the gates, a white figure darted swiftly about. Golden Dragon Gang brutes lunged at her one after another, only to be sent flying back with a single punch, unable to get anywhere near the Second Miss, who had changed into women's clothing. Beside her stood over a dozen middle-aged men, relaxed in bearing and with their true qi restrained within their bodies. Smiling, they gestured and commented, "Second Miss, that move was marvelous... Mm, this move is even better... Bashan Shushui—this move is even more nimble and ethereal. Wonderful."
Li Feng cocked his head and shouted loudly, "Someone! Go report this to the authorities for me! Is there no law anymore? They've attacked the gates of us honest common folk—has the law become useless?"
A Zhu nearly fell to the ground. The Golden Dragon Gang and honest common folk were absolutely things that could never be linked together, were they?
The Second Miss's eyes suddenly widened like bronze bells as she shouted sharply, "Brat, take my palm!" Her figure swept across ten zhang, and with the force of a maddened tiger, she struck a palm toward Li Feng.
Before you continue