Black Tiger Gang, Qi Refining Martial Artist!

Black Tiger Gang?

"Why are these plague gods here?"

The group of blacksmiths' faces shifted slightly at the words "Black Tiger Gang." Someone muttered quietly under their breath, and immediately everyone set down their hammers and headed outside. Su Mu followed along with the crowd.

Outside the forging room was a courtyard, used for storing materials and as the living quarters for the Li father and son. At this moment, several burly men in black robes with long blades at their waists stood inside.

These men moved with steady, forceful steps—clearly trained fighters. The leader had a face full of rough flesh and a potbelly, but carried an aura that set him apart from ordinary men.

"This man is... a Ranked Martial Artist!"

Su Mu instantly realized this man was no simple character and made his judgment.

Nearby, a few Old Masters were forcing smiles, but they dared not stop the intruders from barging into the courtyard.

"Hall Master Wu, let's all make money in peace. If you have any advice to offer, just say the word—no need for anger."

Soon, Shopkeeper Li Tie hurried over, his heart full of helplessness. He knew full well this visit was nothing but trouble, but he could only greet them politely.

The brutish man addressed as Hall Master Wu sneered at Li Tie's appearance. "Advice? Today, I've come to your Iron Shop to demand an accounting."

Behind the crowd, Su Mu's heart stirred. He had crossed paths with the Black Tiger Gang a few days ago, and both Sun Li and the thugs who had tried to kill him were likely members.

Could they be here for Sun Li?

But Sun Li was missing without a trace—they shouldn't have come knocking.

As Su Mu wondered, Hall Master Wu stepped forward aggressively. "Sun Li is nowhere to be found, alive or dead. You lot must give me an explanation."

So it was indeed about Sun Li. But hearing that Hall Master Wu was demanding answers from the Iron Shop rather than coming straight for him, Su Mu realized they had no evidence.

At this, the Iron Shop workers all froze. They knew Sun Li had gone missing, but what did that have to do with the Black Tiger Gang?

Zhou Shan stepped forward indignantly from the crowd. "Sun Li was an apprentice at our Iron Shop. Shopkeeper Li and I have already reported this to the authorities. Let the officials handle it—what business is it of the Black Tiger Gang?"

"I'll tell you what business. Sun Li wasn't just your apprentice—he was also a member of the Black Tiger Gang. He was a distant relative of our Hall Master Wu Heng, his nephew by family rank."

A Black Tiger Gang disciple behind Wu Heng stepped forward and spoke harshly.

At the first half of the statement, the Iron Shop workers showed surprise. But when "distant nephew" came out, everyone's expressions turned strange—including a few of the other Black Tiger Gang members.

Whether Sun Li was actually a Black Tiger Gang member aside, the moment that "distant nephew" title was trotted out, everyone understood clearly: the Black Tiger Gang was just looking for an excuse to cause trouble.

They were using Sun Li's disappearance as a pretext to attack.

Instantly, anger flared on the faces of the blacksmiths.

Noticing their reaction, Wu Heng's face turned cold. He suddenly stepped forward, and a gust of wind swept through the courtyard. The next second, Zhou Shan grunted and flew backward as if struck by a hammer. Several burly blacksmiths instinctively reached out to catch him, but all tumbled to the ground like rolling gourds.

Finally, the force dissipated, and someone staggered to help him up.

Wu Heng glanced over and saw it was a thin, frail-looking youth, then dismissed him without a second thought, completely unaware that the boy's lowered face held a flash of anger.

Zhou Shan was now clutching his stomach, groaning in pain. The other blacksmiths couldn't see how Wu Heng had struck, but Su Mu saw it clearly. After mastering the Five Animal Frolics, his perception had reached Modest Potential, and his five senses were far sharper than ordinary people's.

Su Mu had clearly seen Wu Heng deliver a lightning-fast palm strike. The blow to Zhou Shan's abdomen had moved faster than the naked eye could track.

And that palm carried a surge of inner force. Wu Heng was indeed a Ranked Martial Artist—a true Ninth Rank Qi Refining Martial Artist.

If Su Mu hadn't been there today, no one could have caught Zhou Shan. But Su Mu also knew he was still far from matching Wu Heng.

If the other blacksmiths hadn't absorbed part of the force earlier, Su Mu might not have been able to stop him either. Wu Heng's inner strength was many times stronger than his own.

"Old Zhou, are you alright?"

"I... I'm fine." Zhou Shan gritted his teeth and spoke through the pain.

The crowd was a mix of shock and fury. Two men took Zhou Shan from Su Mu and helped him up. The rest, now enraged, turned to head back into the forging room to grab their tools. These blacksmiths swung hammers every day—they had strength and tempers to match. And this was their turf, the Iron Shop.

Wu Heng might be strong, but there were only three of them. The Iron Shop had over a dozen men.

"Hmph, fists and feet have no eyes. That palm was just a warning. Next time, it won't be so light."

Wu Heng's voice turned icy, and a wave of Sha Qi emanated from him.

"Stop! Everyone, stop!"

Li Tie shouted to hold the men back. The Black Tiger Gang was the biggest gang in Qingshui Town, and everyone knew they were backed by certain powerful figures in the county seat.

If they completely offended the Black Tiger Gang, not only would the Iron Shop struggle to stay in town, but every blacksmith here would likely face retaliation and grudges from the gang afterward. That was a result Li Tie didn't want to see.

"Hall Master Wu, everything can be discussed. No need to lose your temper."

Seeing Li Tie showing signs of backing down, Wu Heng waved his hand. A gang member stepped forward and pulled a registry book from his chest. "Take a good look, Shopkeeper Li. The Black Tiger Gang isn't here to stir up trouble for no reason today."

The gang member flipped the registry to a certain page. There, in black and white, was Sun Li's name, with an entry date of three years ago. The ink was slightly faded, and there was no fresh smell—it wasn't newly added.

After seeing the registry, Li Tie and the blacksmiths fell silent. They hadn't expected Sun Li to truly be a Black Tiger Gang member, and from the timeline, he had joined before becoming an Iron Shop apprentice.

The situation was flimsy, but as a Hall Master, Wu Heng did have a pretext to cause trouble. And now that Wu Heng had come knocking, Li Tie knew that if he didn't give some kind of explanation, the Black Tiger Gang wouldn't let this go.

"We've already reported Sun Li's disappearance to the authorities. His vanishing has nothing to do with our Iron Shop. Since he hasn't been found yet... what kind of explanation does Hall Master Wu want?"

After a moment of silence, Li Tie spoke. He wouldn't admit the Iron Shop had anything to do with Sun Li's disappearance, but he was willing to offer some compensation to smooth things over.

"I hope Hall Master Wu will be merciful."

"Merciful? Sun Li was our Hall Master's nephew. If it were your son killed by the Black Tiger Gang, and I told you to be merciful, Shopkeeper Li—what would you do?"

Just then, a Black Tiger Gang member sneered.

"What did you say?!"

A blacksmith roared in anger. Li Tie was a generous man who treated the shop's craftsmen well, so seeing someone bully him so brazenly, they were all furious.

Li Tie was angry too, but after a change in expression, he gestured for everyone to calm down. Wu Heng saw this, waved his hand, and put on a stern face to feign a scolding of his subordinate.

"Bastard, how dare you speak to Shopkeeper Li like that? Do you have any right to talk here? Get back." After the reprimand, Wu Heng shifted his tone. "But he did say one thing right—Sun Li is after all my nephew, and now he's vanished without a trace while apprenticing at your iron shop."

"Still, I trust your character, Shopkeeper Li. So here's the deal... I won't make things hard for you. Hand over two hundred taels of silver for a proper burial for my nephew. If he turns up later, my Black Tiger Gang will naturally return every last coin."

Two hundred taels, just like that. A single ten-refined blade sold for five taels. Even ignoring costs, two hundred taels meant forty blades.

The Black Tiger Gang was committing daylight robbery, and with a lion's mouth wide open.

As for the promise of a full refund if the man was found, no one believed it. Once meat entered the tiger's jaws, it never came back out.

Li Tie's heart waged a war between heaven and man. Finally, he gritted his teeth and spoke in a low voice. "Hall Master Wu, you know two hundred taels is no small sum. Our shop can't scrape that together right now. I ask that you give me a few days to raise the money."

"Fine. Shopkeeper Li is indeed a straightforward man." Wu Heng let out a light laugh. "I'll give you three days."

With that, Wu Heng pulled a token from his waist and hurled it hard to the ground. With a shink, it stabbed straight into the earth, the two characters "Black Tiger" carved on it trembling with a metallic hum.

"This is my nephew's token. In three days, I'll come to your shop for the silver."

As his words fell, Wu Heng turned with a smirk and strode off with his two Black Tiger Gang men.

Behind them all, Su Mu silently watched everything. His fists clenched tight, then slowly loosened. What happened today taught Su Mu a vivid lesson.

"Weakness in this chaotic world is the original sin. The strong devour the weak... survival of the fittest!"