Seriously Injured and Fleeing

"Shi Zhongyu!"

Lin Xiao pulled out the long saber tucked into his waist, turned it around, and slashed at the iron anchor being hammered down. The saber shattered, and the anchor was knocked away. He shot an angry glance at Shi Zhongyu, who was looking at him coldly, then flipped over and jumped into the river. He quickly stepped on the water and rushed towards the fleet of outpost vessels that were coming to reinforce them.

From afar, he took out a waist token, tossed it, and shouted:

"I am Lin Xiao of Great River Hall, let me on board."

At this moment, a tall figure emerged from the leading large ship. It was Qi Kun, the Headquarters Guardian and Fist Swordsman who was stationed at this outpost Water Fortress. He recognized Lin Xiao and immediately let him on board, asking with a grave expression:

"Hall Master Lin, why are you so heavily injured?"

Lin Xiao pointed to the location of the central wing warship where he was and said:

"I saw the battle and rushed to support. As soon as I arrived, I was ambushed by an expert from the Iron Boat Gang wielding an anchor and a bow. Not long after, Shi Zhongyu arrived with another Iron Boat Gang expert. In the middle of it, that Iron Boat Gang expert suddenly attacked me. Not only did Shi Zhongyu not stop him, but he also made a move to kill me as I fled."

He pointed to the saber wound on his waist and said:

"Those three, one wielded an anchor, one was skilled in palm techniques, and one had excellent archery. This saber wound was thrown by him as he tried to stop me from escaping."

"This..."

Qi Kun's face was grave, and he remained silent for a moment. The information in Lin Xiao's words was too shocking. One of the heirs that the guild had painstakingly cultivated was actually a spy from an enemy guild. Without concrete evidence, he dared not speak rashly.

However, he did not ignore Lin Xiao's injuries. He sent someone to fetch ointment to apply, removed the arrow, bandaged the wound, and sent him to the ship's cabin to rest.

Lin Xiao felt somewhat relieved here. Shi Zhongyu was a traitor, but the Fist Swordsman Qi Kun certainly was not. He was an old veteran who had established the Great River Gang with the old Gang Leader. He held status and prestige within the gang, so it was impossible for him to be a traitor.

Lying in the ship's cabin, a fierce light flashed in Lin Xiao's eyes. This time, it was truly dangerous. If he hadn't fled decisively, if Qi Kun hadn't been nearby, he would have truly been finished.

To be ambushed by a native was a profound humiliation for him. However, it also revealed his lack of experience. If he had enough experience, he would have sensed something was wrong from the beginning.

But after suffering one loss, he gained experience. There would not be a second time, and he would definitely avenge this.

The possibility of the guild presiding over justice was slim. He wasn't afraid that the guild would shield Shi Zhongyu. Even if he was an heir cultivated by the guild, even if he was the Gang Leader's son, colluding with the enemy and harming his own people was a major taboo that no one would tolerate.

But the problem was that this was just his word against Shi Zhongyu's. The saber Shi Zhongyu used to harm him was a weapon of a fallen subordinate on the ground. He had merely used his foot to kick the hilt of the saber, sending it flying to pierce his waist. Even with modern technological means, his fingerprints could not be detected. There were no surveillance cameras around, and all his subordinates were engaged in battle and did not notice anything. Besides those few experts from the Iron Boat Gang.

But it was obvious that the Iron River Gang would not come forward to testify. Therefore, he had no evidence to do anything to Shi Zhongyu.

Of course, this matter would still have a certain impact on Shi Zhongyu. The fact that the three top experts of the Iron Boat Gang had surrounded Lin Xiao was hard to explain. Anyone with a little sense could smell the conspiracy, let alone the old veterans of the gang. So, even without any evidence, after this incident, Shi Zhongyu's standing in the hearts of the gang's elders would be greatly diminished.

Lin Xiao could not do anything to Shi Zhongyu for the time being, but this was only temporary. A gentleman's revenge is never too late. He wouldn't need ten years.

Five days later, Lin Xiao reappeared at the Great River Hall's headquarters. The other Headquarters Guardian, Iron Sand Palm Weng Mengxiang, and the Song'an Branch Deputy Hall Master Lin Hu personally escorted him back to the headquarters. This also conveyed a certain message to Shi Zhongyu, so the journey was very quiet.

Upon returning to the headquarters, Lin Xiao met the Great River Gang Leader Jin Haozhong again, a white-haired elder in his seventies who was still vigorous and spirited. He came to check Lin Xiao's injuries, inquired about the situation at the time, patted him, and told him to rest assured and recuperate, leaving behind a hundred-year-old wild ginseng before departing.

Lin Xiao saw the old Gang Leader frowning as he left, and he felt inexplicably happy.

"Bang!"

A vase was thrown heavily onto the floor, shattering into pieces. Young Master Peng, Shi Zhongyu, smashed the table with a furious punch:

"Damn it."

The servants outside heard the noise and hid in the corner, too scared to go in, lowering their heads even lower.

When Lin Xiao was escorted back to the headquarters by the Headquarters Guardian, Shi Zhongyu's unease grew deeper. It wasn't until this morning that a messenger brought an order from the Gang Leader at headquarters, stripping him of his direct command over his subordinates at the Song'an Branch and transferring them to the Song'an Branch.

This meant that the subordinates he had cultivated over the years at the Song'an Branch were no longer related to him from now on.

"Old man, you just wait and see."

He cursed fiercely in his heart, then suddenly turned around and saw the black-clothed woman from before. A fierce light flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly:

"You still dare to see me? Do you know how much I lost this time?"

The woman giggled and said:

"So I'm here to compensate you."

"How will you compensate me?"

The woman walked forward with a charming smile. Right in front of him, she slowly took off her clothes, revealing her shapely body. She walked step by step towards him, pressed his chin with her jade-like finger, and said:

"From now until tomorrow morning, I belong entirely to you."

He stared at her fiercely, the ferocity in his eyes melting away unconsciously. He reached out and pinched her chin, saying fiercely:

"One night isn't enough, ten nights."

"Can you handle it?"

The answer was a rough hand forcefully grabbing her chest, and then she was thrown onto the bed like a cloud, a figure pressing down on her fiercely.

Xiao Yun Courtyard, this was the name Lin Xiao gave to his residence at the headquarters. After descending for so long, he had slowly integrated into this world.

He did not use the hundred-year-old wild ginseng given by the old Gang Leader to nourish his body, but instead refined it, converting it into ten Potential Points.

The source of his attribute abilities and potential points was not just from killing; refining various heavenly treasures could also increase potential points. A hundred-year-old wild ginseng could barely be considered one.

After refining this item, as soon as his injuries improved slightly, he went to the guild's pharmacy. Using his accumulated merits, he exchanged a pile of precious medicinal herbs that could be refined into potential points from the guild.

He had originally planned to use these Great Merits to exchange for cultivation techniques later, but plans changed faster than expected. He was now in urgent need of potential points, so he decided to use them first.

When he used up all six Great Merits in one go, the potential points obtained solely from refining these precious medicinal herbs exceeded one hundred and thirty points, far exceeding his expectations.

With 136 Potential Points, he naturally had to use them to quickly convert them into combat power. His gaze swept across the many cultivation techniques on his attribute panel, finally landing on the Yang Sha Scripture and the Yin Sha Scripture.

At his current cultivation level, cultivation was more important than anything else. Once internal energy reached a certain level, even a common technique like "Black Tiger Steals Heart" could unleash immense power.