Linshui City was quite large. It was the seat of Linjiang Prefecture, and the Great River Gang was the foremost of Linjiang Prefecture's Three Great Gangs. It occupied territory across the four counties in the prefecture's south and competed with the other two great gangs for territory in several other counties.
In terms of territory, the Great River Gang had no advantage. It did not possess more land than the Iron Boat Gang or the Salt Gang. The key was that Linshui City, the prefectural seat, belonged to the Great River Gang. By occupying the prefectural seat, the Great River Gang held enormous advantages in finances and official connections, allowing it to suppress the other two great gangs while fighting them both at once.
With the Great River Gang's token, the four of them entered Linshui City without paying the entry tax. The first thing that greeted them was a bustling main street, its crowds as intense as flames. Shops stood in rows along both sides, with goods piled at their entrances, some even spilling into the street. Small stalls dotted the roadside, all filled with things Lin Xiao found rather interesting, such as clay figurines and candied hawthorns. What interested him most were the various street performances and acrobatics—in other words, the acrobatics of later generations, and so on.
"Now this is fun."
All four were teenagers. Xu Bing, Xu Ji, and Ji Zitao possessed the genuine mind of youth and enjoyed watching such things.
They had not gone far when Ji Zitao suddenly pointed toward a place surrounded by a crowd and shouted,
"Look, Chest Crushing Stone! Shall we go take a look?"
The three of them immediately swarmed over. Relying on skills far beyond those of ordinary people, they forced their way inside. Though Lin Xiao was no teenager, he was quite interested as well and stood at the edge to watch.
In the middle of the crowd was a long bench. A man in coarse hemp clothing lay atop it, a stone slab covering his chest. Beside him, a middle-aged man brandished a large hammer, making a show of it. Every gesture drew excited cheers from the onlookers, and people kept shouting for him to smash it already.
The middle-aged man was an old hand, highly skilled at controlling the atmosphere. He had not even begun smashing when he had already stirred up countless cheers, and some people had begun tossing copper coins.
After flourishing the hammer a few times, seeing that the atmosphere was just right, the middle-aged man finally approached the bench. He exchanged a glance with the young man lying there, shouted, and brought the hammer crashing down. The stone slab shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. The young man lay motionless on the bench, startling everyone. But in the next second, he abruptly opened his eyes, sprang up, and clasped his fists toward the surrounding spectators.
"Good!"
Cheers immediately erupted. Many people pulled out money and tossed it toward the center of the crowd, while the two performers repeatedly clasped their fists in thanks.
Lin Xiao and the others casually tossed over a few copper coins before turning to leave. Xu Bing was still clicking his tongue as he said,
"That young fellow's kung fu is pretty good. If it were me, I couldn't get smashed once and still jump around like that."
Xu Ji and Ji Zitao nodded repeatedly as well. Only Lin Xiao smiled and said nothing, choosing not to expose the trick.
The principle behind Chest Crushing Stone was very simple. The stone being used was extremely heavy, so it also possessed great inertia. Thus, when the hammer came down quickly, the stone's acceleration was very small because of its inertia, and it did not exert tremendous pressure on the person beneath it. In other words, as long as the person wielding the hammer had enough experience and struck quickly, even an ordinary person lying there would be fine.
Of course, the ancients certainly did not understand this physical principle. Even the person wielding the hammer did not understand it. It was merely the experience passed down by those who came before: knowing that it worked, but not knowing why.
Lin Xiao naturally would not expose them. This was how those people made their living, and it did not conflict with his own interests in the slightest. There was no need to smash their rice bowl.
Afterward, they wandered the streets for a while longer. Along the way, they occasionally encountered members of the Great River Gang, most of them from Bright Saber Hall. Some ignored them when they saw them, while others took the initiative to greet them. Xu Bing asked one of the people who greeted them for directions. After walking a little farther, they arrived before a three-story building facing the street. Three large characters hung over the entrance: "Tianxiang Tower."
The first floor was the main hall, the second held private rooms, and the third had private suites. Though they had just received ten taels and now possessed a little money, they had been poor for so long that they had not yet adjusted. They did not dare go upstairs and simply sat at a table in a corner on the first floor. Each of them ordered several favorite dishes and began to feast heartily.
To be honest, for Lin Xiao, who came from the Primordial Gate, the dishes could only be considered average. But after eating communal meals for three months, the comparison made them seem extraordinarily delicious, and he ate merrily alongside Xu Bing and the others.
Just as they were burying their heads in the corner and wolfing down their food, an old man and a young woman entered through the doorway, immediately drawing their attention. The old man carried an erhu, while the woman held nothing. From her clothes, however, she looked like someone who danced and sang. At a glance, they were clearly a common pair of street performers.
But what caught their eyes was not that. It was... the young woman was beautiful. Truly, astonishingly beautiful. Even with a veil covering her face, the small portion of her eyes that showed was breathtaking. One glance alone was enough to make someone want to uncover the mystery of what she looked like beneath the veil.
Lin Xiao glanced at his three companions. All of them had forgotten their food. He shook his head and lightly tapped his bowl. The crisp clinking sound brought them back to their senses, and he said in a low voice,
"Eat. Don't stare around."
Forget the plots one often saw in movies and novels. Even with the slightest bit of thought, if such a beautiful woman truly wandered the martial world, Lin Xiao would not believe for a second that she was an ordinary person. In any case, he did not dare stare recklessly. If he happened to run into some eccentric swordsman who roamed the world and had his eye poked blind with a chopstick, he would die an unjust death.
Unfortunately, his three companions did not possess such awareness. Even after his reminder, they kept looking up from time to time. Fortunately, they were still teenagers and knew enough to be shy, so they only sneaked glances.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao could not be bothered to control them. Judging by their appearance, they did not seem too strange. Taking a look should probably be fine...
Just then, a table of martial-world travelers also noticed the pair and loudly called for them to come over and perform a song. Lin Xiao raised his eyelids and saw several of those travelers grinning as they leered at the young woman's private parts. He curled his lips. With lust clouding their minds, sooner or later they would die by it.
The woman began to sing. It was a tune Lin Xiao had never heard before. Its melody was sorrowful and lingering, but her voice was beautiful enough that even he could not help turning his ear toward it.
Before long, however, the singing abruptly stopped. One of the martial travelers, apparently having had a little to drink, seized the young woman's slender wrist and said,
"Little lady, you sing so beautifully. Why don't you come with me to the inn and sing a private song for Your Lordship? If you make Your Lordship happy, there'll be no shortage of silver for you."
The old man playing the erhu hurriedly stepped forward and pleaded,
"Honored sir, my granddaughter and I only perform for a living. We don't sell ourselves."
Another martial traveler shoved the old man aside and said,
"My big brother only wants to hear a song. He's not doing anything else. Old man, don't cause trouble, or don't blame your grandfather here for being rude."
The leader pulled the young woman over and reached out to touch her face.
"Such a pretty little lady, with skin so delicate and tender. What a pity that you show your face in public every day. Your grandfather here will show mercy and cherish beauty just this once. Come with Your—ah!"
Before he could finish, he suddenly let out a scream of agony. At some point, a bamboo chopstick had been driven through the hand reaching toward the young woman, and fresh blood dripped all over the floor.
A refined young nobleman in an ice-blue silk brocade robe embroidered with elegant bamboo-leaf patterns slowly descended from the second floor. One hand was clasped behind his back, while the other waved an exquisite bamboo fan. Seven or eight attendants followed behind him.
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