Nothing Happened

After arranging the bodies, everyone returned to the mine. Wang Hu and Liu Gang immediately went to report to Hall Master Li Dalong.

Entering the tent, the two men only saw a slightly pale corpse on the ground. Blood poured from its anus, clearly another masterpiece by Li Dalong.

Li Er had been like this before, and so had Zhang San.

Knowing Li Dalong's temperament, they didn't care and hurriedly reported.

"First, they colluded from the inside and outside to attack my mine, and now they've assassinated my elite gang members. The Black Wolf Gang has gone too far."

"My Poison Dragon Hall is in a dangerous situation. Liu Gang, I order you to take some men to the county town and request reinforcements from the main gang," Li Dalong said, standing up with a grim expression.

The Black Wolf Gang had really crossed the line.

There were many minor skirmishes between the two gangs, but only ordinary gang members had died. It had never escalated to the point of specifically targeting elite members like this.

Clearly, the Black Wolf Gang had a grand scheme.

"Yes!" Liu Gang accepted the order with a grim expression and retreated from the tent under Wang Hu's cold smile.

"Hoo... This is bad. The mine is a full twenty li from the county town, and who knows how dangerous the road is."

Liu Gang knew very well that Li Dalong was using him as a stepping stone.

It was called requesting reinforcements from the county town, but in reality, it was a probe against the Black Wolf Gang, a euphemism for going to his death. Yet, he had no choice.

"No, I need to find a few more people."

Helpless, Liu Gang went to the dilapidated tents of the Mine Slaves and woke up many of them.

"Everyone, I need to go back to the county town now and need some brave individuals. Is anyone willing to follow me? If we return safely and then go back to the mine, you will all be members of the Poisonous Snake Gang from now on."

The Mine Slaves looked at each other, and immediately many people stepped forward.

Everyone would sign up for a chance to climb higher.

Liu Gang's face lit up with joy, and he quickly selected his men.

He directly chose twenty of the taller Mine Slaves, leaving the others looking disappointed.

"Zhao Han, Zhao Da... you few, come with me to the county town to request reinforcements from the main gang."

Zhao Han had just gotten back to his bed and closed his eyes when Liu Gang woke him up.

With no other choice, they had to follow.

In addition to them, Liu Gang also selected three elite gang members, making a total of thirty people to head to the county town.

On the way back to the county town, they only lit one torch. The group did not take the main road but instead moved through the forest, cautiously advancing in the dark.

The Mine Slaves didn't understand why, but Liu Gang had given the order, so they had to comply.

They expected the twenty-li journey to be fraught with danger, but nothing happened until five in the morning, when the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Liu Gang's face was filled with surprise. "That's strange. Doesn't the Black Wolf Gang have anyone to set up an ambush? This shouldn't be the case!"

Liu Gang was still in a daze even when they reached the south gate of the county town.

Could it be that the Black Wolf Gang was bluffing?

Or perhaps Zhang Long and Zhao Hu weren't killed by members of the Black Wolf Gang.

Unable to figure it out, Liu Gang still proceeded according to the original plan.

"Everyone stand at attention! What are you doing here? It's three wen per person to enter the city!" The county soldiers arrogantly extorted money, letting people pass only after they paid, even if they were from a gang.

"Officer, I am Liu Gang, a leader of the Poisonous Snake Gang. Here is one qian of silver. The rest is for your tea money." Liu Gang smiled and handed over one qian of silver.

"Hmm, you know how to behave. You can go in."

The thirty people successfully entered the city and immediately headed down the main street towards the headquarters of the Poisonous Snake Gang.

It was Zhao Han's first time in the county town, and he couldn't help but look around curiously.

The others were much the same, looking around like country bumpkins entering the city.

Liangzhou's Blackwater County was merely a remote small county town with a population of 30,000, two-thirds of whom lived in the countryside.

The streets were relatively wide, but there were not many people.

Coupled with the current chaotic times, prices had soared.

An ounce of silver, which could be worth two thousand yuan on Blue Star, was now estimated to be only fifteen hundred, and it might drop to a thousand soon.

In such an environment, there were even fewer people.

"Selling candied hawthorn, free if not sweet!"

"Fine rice wine, aged for two and a half years!"

"Big white steamed buns, too big to hold in one hand!"

"Huh, they're even selling animals, and snakes too." Walking further down the street, Zhao Han's eyes lit up when he saw a snake stall.

There were colorful snakes inside, and he could buy a small snake for just fifty wen, which made Zhao Han's heart itch.

Everyone followed Liu Gang's footsteps, winding through alleys, and arrived at the Poisonous Snake Gang headquarters located in a deep alley.

The headquarters was a grand courtyard. Two stone statues of coiled snakes, one meter high, stood on either side of the entrance. Four elite Gang Members in the Skin Refining Realm stood guard at the gate, exuding an imposing aura.

"I am Liu Gang, I have an urgent matter to report to the Gang Leader!"

Liu Gang took out his identity token and handed it over.

"Leader Liu, please wait a moment." The guard took the token and quickly ran into the courtyard.

Before long, the guard came out and said, "Leader Liu, follow me. Old Six, you take the other brothers to rest across the way."

"Yes! Brothers, follow me."

Liu Gang went to see the Gang Leader, while Zhao Han and the others followed Old Six to a tightly shut courtyard opposite.

This was where the elite Gang Members of the Poisonous Snake Gang usually trained and rested. It was quite spacious, with room after room, all of them single chambers.

Under a nearby awning, Old Six smiled, "Brothers, rest here. I'll have the servants bring you water and food."

Zhao Han, Zhao Da, and the others, as well as the Mine Slaves, were quite surprised. They hadn't expected servants to be here to serve them. The treatment was really good.

Soon, several servants with bruised faces and limping legs arrived with some steamed buns and tea.

Clearly, being a servant wasn't easy either. They occasionally had to act as punching bags for the elite Gang Members.

The three elite Gang Members from the Poison Dragon Hall had clearly enjoyed this life before and began eating and drinking heartily.

The other ordinary Gang Members and Mine Slaves didn't dare to be so bold and could only watch the three of them eat.

Zhao Han didn't mind. He grabbed a steamed bun and started eating. Seeing Zhao Da's struggling expression as he swallowed, Zhao Han gave him a third of his bun.

Looking outside, it was a training ground, filled with many weapons and training equipment, such as stone piers, stone locks, millstones, wooden dummies, and so on.

With a glint in his eye, Zhao Han suddenly had an idea. He spoke to an elite Gang Member who was drinking tea:

"Brother, I've recently had some insights into Snake-Style Deft Hand. I don't know if I've broken through yet. Could you spar with me to verify?"

The Gang Member looked at Zhao Han. He knew that Zhao Han was someone Liu Gang was deliberately cultivating, so he didn't put on airs.

He smiled, "Why not?"

He immediately got up and went to the training ground, meeting Zhao Han's gaze.

The others also watched with great interest.

"Brother, I'll make the first move!" Zhao Han cupped his fists.

"Hurry up!"

"Hoo!"

Zhao Han used thirty percent of his strength and unleashed his half-baked Snake-Style Deft Hand, striking out.

The Gang Member frowned. This kid had clearly only just started learning Snake-Style Deft Hand, and he was still far from the Skin Refining Realm, yet he dared to boast.

But he wanted to teach him a good lesson and let him know the power of the Skin Refining Realm.

The two immediately engaged in combat.

"Bang!"

A snake-bite strike landed. The somewhat careless Gang Member casually prepared to end the fight with a single blow, but he found the force transmitted to be immense, pushing him back two steps.

"You..." The Gang Member was somewhat surprised.

His Snake-Style Deft Hand was clearly half-baked, so why was his strength so great?

"Brother, don't underestimate me!" Zhao Han smiled easily. Thirty percent strength was just right.

"I didn't expect your simplest moves to be unrefined, yet your strength has improved. That's quite unusual, interesting." The Gang Member grinned, then became serious.

Following that, Zhao Han and the Gang Member fought back and forth, neither able to gain the upper hand.