Wild Dog Gang

Li Xiao walked along the streets of the Outer City, deep in thought.

The shopkeeper had named several Martial Arts Halls in a row, but even the cheapest of them cost several dozen taels.

That price could already buy a decent house in the city; it was not something ordinary people could afford.

No wonder they said the poor studied literature while the rich practiced martial arts. The ancients had not deceived me!

As he walked, he came before a tavern. Li Xiao planned to buy some wine for Old Dad to taste.

Before they had fallen on hard times, Li Youde would often buy wine whenever he came into the city to sell wild game.

The Drunken Immortal Restaurant's banner swayed in the wind, while the three words on the lintel had been blackened by soot and cooking fumes.

Li Xiao lifted the door curtain and entered. A wave of heat mixed with the scent of wine and dishes rushed at his face, and rough men filled several square tables, their finger-guessing shouts shaking dust from the rafters.

"Youngster, are you buying wine or having a meal?" The Waiter, a rag draped over his shoulder, hurried over briskly.

"Fill two jin of wine." Li Xiao pointed at the wine jars in the corner. "Freshly brewed. Don't water it down."

The Waiter agreed and dipped a wine ladle into a jar. A string of bubbles rose with a glug, and when he lifted it out, the liquor shimmered with a golden gleam.

He poured it into a rough pottery wine jug, and the fragrance of wine immediately spread through the air, carrying a clean, sweet scent.

"Fresh-brewed wine isn't too strong. It goes down easy."

The Waiter tied up the wine jug with hemp rope. "Twenty cash."

As Li Xiao took out his money, he heard two men at the neighboring table chatting. One brawny man with his shirt hanging open slapped the table.

"Did you hear? A while back, an Iron Fist Hall disciple competed in fistwork with someone and cracked a wooden post as thick as a man's embrace with one punch!"

Skinny Tall Guy curled his lip.

"What's so special about that? Yesterday, I saw Martial Master Zhang at the Mad Demon Staff Martial Arts Hall. He wielded a staff like the wind itself, and three or five burly men couldn't get close to him. Now that was real skill."

Li Xiao pricked up his ears. The names of these Martial Arts Halls had all been mentioned by the Physician.

Li Xiao had barely carried the wine jug out of the tavern when the low growls of Vicious Dogs pierced his ears.

He looked up and saw several Wild Dogs darting out from the far end of the street, each one powerfully built and nearly twice the size of an ordinary house dog.

Their fur was as tangled as dead grass, saliva hung from the corners of their mouths, and hungry-wolf ferocity gleamed in every pair of eyes as they stared fixedly at their surroundings.

At that moment, two butchers happened to have meat stalls set up by the roadside, with freshly chopped meat still laid out on their chopping blocks.

Like sharks catching the scent of blood, the Wild Dogs lunged forward with astonishing speed.

Some leaped straight onto the chopping blocks, baring their fangs as they tore at the raw meat.

Others clawed at the edges of the stalls, dragging strings of dried meat onto the ground and gnawing at them madly.

The sound of fresh meat being ripped apart mixed with the Wild Dogs' low growls, making one's scalp tingle.

The two butchers turned pale at the sight, yet only shrank back. They were angry but dared not speak, not even daring to shout a rebuke.

One butcher wanted to drive them away, but his companion beside him held him back tightly, shaking his head again and again, his eyes filled with fear.

Li Xiao frowned. This situation was far too abnormal. From the look of it, these Wild Dogs clearly had something to rely on and feared nothing.

As he pondered, several passersby who had hidden far away discussed it in lowered voices.

"Those beasts from the Wild Dog Gang again..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! If those people hear you, you'll be in for it!"

"This is already the third time. Wang Butcher's meat stall is practically being ruined clean. Is no one going to do anything?"

"Do something? Who would dare? I heard the Wild Dog Gang's leader, Dog King, is a Great Martial Master. Even the big figures of the Inner City wouldn't dare offend him lightly..."

What the butchers feared was not the dogs at all, but the people behind them.

In moments, those Wild Dogs had gnawed the fresh meat on the chopping blocks into a scattered mess. They even used their paws to rake the remaining minced meat onto the ground.

The veins bulged on the butcher's hand gripping the boning knife, yet he only dared stamp his feet where he stood and curse. He did not dare utter a single harsh word toward the Wild Dogs.

Li Xiao was still finding it strange when several broad-shouldered, thick-waisted men turned out from the street corner. The leader had a scar across his face, solid excess flesh showing beneath his open lapels, while he toyed with an iron chain that clattered in his hand.

He gave a whistle, and only then did the Wild Dogs orderly walk over to the men and follow them away.

Li Xiao watched the scene, his gaze darkening.

The Outer City truly was a mixed bag of fish and dragons. A gang could actually let beasts run rampant like this; their arrogance was plain to see.

He weighed the wine jug in his hand, did not look any longer, and turned to head home.

In this world, without strength, one could not even protect one's own meat stall, let alone anything else.

Li Xiao had just turned around and taken fewer than two steps when a clear shout suddenly came from behind him.

"Stop!"

The voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable sharpness that pierced through the street's clamor.

Li Xiao halted and turned to look.

A young man in fitted blue clothes stood beside the meat stalls that the Wild Dogs had just harassed. He looked about eighteen or nineteen, tall and straight-backed, glaring wrathfully at the burly men who were about to leave with the Wild Dogs.

"You people allow vicious dogs to rob merchants of their property, and you think you can just walk away?"

The young man's voice rang out clearly. "Compensate these butchers!"

Li Xiao was slightly surprised.

In times like these, there were actually people who dared stand up for justice in public?

Especially when he was facing the overbearing Wild Dog Gang.

Upon hearing this, Scarface, the burly man at the head of the group, turned around and sized up the youth. A vicious grin appeared on his face.

"Where did this greenhorn come from, daring to meddle in your grandpa's business?"

"Are you tired of living?"

The iron chain in his hand rattled threateningly.

"Get lost while you know what's good for you, or we'll deal with you too!"

The other burly men also surrounded him one after another, each with a fierce expression. They clearly did not take the young man seriously.

Yet the youth showed no fear. Instead, he stepped forward, his back straight as a ramrod.

"I am Lin Yue, a disciple of the Mountain Splitting Martial Arts Hall!

"You Wild Dog Gang people dare act so recklessly in the city. Do you really think no one can deal with you?"

When Scarface heard the words "Mountain Splitting Martial Arts Hall," his eyes flickered, but he immediately gave a disdainful snort.

"So what if it's the Mountain Splitting Martial Arts Hall? Our Wild Dog Gang and your Martial Arts Hall disciples have always kept to our own waters and never trespassed on each other's territory.

"What, do you want to provoke a conflict between our two factions?"

Scarface was no fool. Since this greenhorn dared step forward, he must have something to rely on. He would first slap a huge accusation onto him.

"Whether I'm putting on airs or not, you'll know if you try."

A sharp light flashed in Lin Yue's eyes, and a steady aura suddenly burst forth from his body.

Lin Yue had also been born into a poor family. His family had suffered bullying from the Wild Dog Gang before, so he saved money to become an apprentice at the Martial Arts Hall.

Now that he had broken through to Martial Master, he naturally wanted to stand up for these people and vent the resentment in his heart.

Scarface's expression changed drastically, his pupils contracting slightly.

Though he was an elite member of the Wild Dog Gang and was used to running rampant, he had seen the auras of Martial Master experts within the gang.

The aura radiating from the young man before him was unmistakably that of a Martial Master!

"You're a Martial Master?"

Scarface's voice carried a little more disbelief, and the hand gripping his iron chain unconsciously tightened.

The Mountain Splitting Martial Arts Hall had some reputation outside the city. If Lin Yue had merely been an ordinary disciple, Scarface would not have feared him at all. But if he had broken through to Martial Master, that would be rather troublesome.