Chapter Forty-Two: Gang Leader Zhao, Tonight I'll Send You on Your Way! (Please Follow Along!)

The start of autumn had come. The pagoda trees in Qingyun County were turning yellow, one leaf, then another, before drifting soundlessly to the ground.

Metalworking Street, Weapon Forging Workshop.

A burly, middle-aged man with thick brows and large eyes furrowed his brow. In the two letters he'd received, his junior fellow apprentice had praised a young man named Su Mu to the skies. He knew his junior fellow apprentice was quiet and dependable, not the sort to boast.

And because his junior fellow apprentice had once helped Wu Lie, he'd taken the matter seriously and spent the past few days lingering outside the Weapon Forging Workshop.

Today was the final day of the autumn deadline, yet Su Mu still hadn't come to the Weapon Forging Workshop.

"Could he have given up?"

"Father, Mother told me to call you in for dinner. Stop looking. That boy probably isn't coming. He must be trying to fool you again."

"Qiao'er, mind your tongue. Don't be so disrespectful. That man is your Martial Uncle Li. And he's not 'that boy'—his name is Su Mu, and he's a year older than you."

"Hmph. It's been like this so many times over the years. They're all useless connections, and not one of them has had what it takes to stay here with you, Father."

At her words, Wu Lie frowned again. His daughter had always been cheeky and irreverent, but what she said seemed to make some sense.

"He doesn't even have the courage to show his face at the Weapon Forging Workshop... Maybe my junior fellow apprentice was wrong about him this time."

The setting sun was blood-red. A cool breeze scattered the last lingering warmth of summer, carrying it away to the far end of the street.

Night fell, and autumn's chill crept in.

Seventy li south, in Qingshui Town, the young man returned to the inn and rested with his eyes closed. When night came, he slowly opened them. "Time to meet the number one man in Qingshui Town."

Su Mu had always felt that the Black Mountain Army's attack on Qingshui Town had something to do with the Black Tiger Gang.

Gang Leader Zhao Xuan was no good man, either. The Black Tiger Gang had ruled the area around Qingshui Town for over a decade, committing no shortage of extortion and robbery. Su Mu absolutely refused to believe that Zhao Xuan, the gang leader, knew nothing about it.

At their first meeting, that Smiling Tiger had given Su Mu a sense of danger. After Zhou Shan's death, Su Mu's temperament had quietly changed. He had become much colder and more severe.

Even Su Mu himself hadn't noticed the change. In any case, killing someone like Zhao Xuan would leave him with no qualms whatsoever.

Su Mu left his room and had barely walked out of the inn when someone called out to him.

"Young friend, stop a moment."

Su Mu turned and took a closer look. With his unfailing memory, he quickly recognized the old man as one of the herb gatherers he'd rescued from the Black Mountain Army in the forest.

Had the man recognized him, or was it a coincidence?

And in his eagerness to take revenge that day, Su Mu hadn't even noticed that one of the herb gatherers was a Qi Refining Martial Artist.

A herb gatherer?

Su Mu's thoughts raced. He immediately compared the man before him with the portrait of Pharmacist Lin that the Young Physician had shown him at the clinic. The man's build bore some resemblance, but his features were completely different.

Looking more closely, there was nothing unusual about the man's face. He didn't seem to be wearing a disguise. This man wasn't Pharmacist Lin.

Keeping his composure, Su Mu asked, "Elder, what do you need?"

"Young friend, I've finally found you. I'll never forget how you saved my life in the forest that day..."

Su Mu was startled. The man had seen through his identity. He immediately shook his head and cut the old herb gatherer off.

"Elder, you've mistaken me for someone else. I haven't been to any forest these past few days."

The old herb gatherer stepped closer and scrutinized him with cloudy eyes. Then he chuckled. "I see. My old eyes must have played tricks on me. I mistook you for someone else."

"But I do have a favor to ask. Things have been dangerous around here lately, and I'd like you to accompany me to Qingyun City. I can pay you for your trouble."

Su Mu shook his head at once. He'd promised the Young Physician he would go look for Pharmacist Lin, so he couldn't leave just then.

"Elder, tomorrow morning you can head north of town. There are ox carts that go to the county seat for two hundred wen a ride. Or you can talk to one of the merchant caravans passing through. They may be willing to take you to Qingyun County."

"I was presumptuous. Thank you for telling me, young friend."

Su Mu turned away, frowning. The old herb gatherer had surely seen through his identity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked a young fellow like him to escort him to Qingyun County for no reason.

But the old man was clearly perceptive, too. When Su Mu denied it outright, he didn't press the matter.

Su Mu quickly slipped into a narrow alley and disappeared into the shadows. A quarter of an hour later, after confirming that the old herb gatherer wasn't following him, he took a face covering from inside his robe, pulled it over his face, and headed toward the Black Tiger Gang.

On the southern side of Qingshui Street, the busiest thoroughfare in Qingshui Town, stood a magnificent residence. Two stone lions, nearly as tall as a man, flanked the entrance. Several Black Tiger Gang members in fitted clothes, long sabers at their waists, stood guard with strict vigilance.

By day, any Qingshui Town resident passing by would choose to take a detour. This was the stronghold of Qingshui Town's largest gang, the Black Tiger Gang, and the residence of Zhao Xuan, the number one man in Qingshui Town.

There was a saying in Qingshui Town: "Better to offend the authorities than Zhao Xuan."

Offend the authorities, and at worst, they'd lock you up for a few days. Offend Zhao Xuan, and you might vanish from the world by the very next day. The authorities turned a blind eye to the Black Tiger Gang's deeds.

At that moment, in a study deep within the residence, Zhao Xuan had been feeling uneasy for days.

"A pack of rabble! The Black Mountain Army are a bunch of useless trash. They couldn't even handle this simple task!"

After Wu Heng died, Zhao Xuan had made peace with the Li Family Blacksmith Shop on the surface, but behind the scenes, he'd been deeply wary of them. Then he learned that a band of Black Mountain rebels nearby had abducted a group of blacksmiths from a neighboring town, and an idea came to him.

Not long after, he secretly contacted the Black Mountain rebels and told them about the Li Family Blacksmith Shop's reputation. The two sides hit it off immediately. Zhao Xuan wanted to use the rebels to eliminate the force backing the Li Family Blacksmith Shop.

As agreed, Zhao Xuan had falsely reported that bandits were causing trouble in the mountains. Who could have guessed that the powerful figure behind the Li Family Blacksmith Shop wouldn't show up?

And the Black Mountain rebels had been completely wiped out by the Qingyun Army.

"Damn it. Was the person who killed Wu Heng that day connected to the Li Family Blacksmith Shop or not?"

The room was brightly lit by candles. The refined, scholarly face Zhao Xuan showed to the world now looked terrifyingly grim. He'd spent quite a bit of silver to stage this whole charade. His original deal with the Black Mountain bandits had been to split the loot from raiding the town, with Zhao Xuan taking three shares and them seven.

Now the Black Mountain Army had been wiped out. How could he possibly get his three shares?

"But I heard the Qingyun Army killed every last one of those rabble on the spot. No third person will ever find out."

"If you don't want people to know, don't do it..."

Just as Zhao Xuan furrowed his brow, the candle flames in the room suddenly went out. A voice dripping with murderous intent came coldly from outside.

"Who's out there?"

Zhao Xuan broke out in goosebumps, his scalp prickling with terror. His residence was heavily guarded inside and out, and yet this person had slipped right up to his study without making a sound.

If the man hadn't spoken first, Zhao Xuan might never have noticed him.

"Gang Leader Zhao, Hall Master Wu is lonely on the road to the underworld. He asked me to send you on your way tonight."