Ambush

"Wang Kun," Lu Chuan's voice grew completely cold.

"Things need to be done by the rules. Are you not afraid of ruining the Black Tiger Gang's reputation by making a scene like this?"

"Reputation?" a look of contempt appeared on Wang Kun's face.

"You think you're worthy of talking to me about reputation? I said you didn't pay, so you didn't pay!"

Right after, he gripped the long saber at his waist, his eyes revealing a fierce murderous intent.

"Hand over the money! If you babble anymore, believe it or not, I'll tear down this rundown house of yours today!"

Seeing that Wang Kun actually intended to draw his saber, numerous thoughts suddenly surged in Lu Chuan's mind.

If it were just himself, he wouldn't be afraid no matter what, but his parents were still behind him.

If he truly fell out with the Black Tiger Gang, would there still be any place for them to survive in Kaoshan Village?

At this thought, Lu Chuan suddenly calmed down.

"Wang... Brother Wang," he softened his tone.

"Why do you have to resort to a saber? Today's matter... was us not understanding the rules, and failing to grasp Brother Wang's meaning."

Wang Kun had been prepared to meet Lu Chuan's resistance, but at this moment, seeing his attitude soften, he couldn't help being stunned.

Immediately, a wave of elation mixed with disdain welled up in his heart.

He was just a wet-behind-the-ears kid who hadn't seen any storms. The moment he saw the real thing, he caved!

He threw his head back and laughed heartily, full of smugness:

"Wouldn't it have been better to be sensible so early? It would have saved me all this breath! Fine, seeing that you know what's good for you, the silver won't be doubled either. Just pay the original amount!"

Lu Danian stamped his feet anxiously, wanting to say something, but Lu Chuan had already briskly fished the silver out from his bosom.

"Brother Wang, take a count. This is one tael and two qian. Please keep it well."

Wang Kun snatched it over and tucked it into his bosom with satisfaction.

He glanced sideways at Lu Chuan, using a condescending tone:

"Consider your brat as having a bit of discernment. Your family got so many valuable prey animals, what's wrong with offering a few to your older brother?"

"Remember this, be more sensible from now on. When you bag a big catch, just hand over thirty percent. In this territory, I can also look out for you a bit."

"Brother Wang is right, little brother will remember it," Lu Chuan agreed repeatedly. "Next time I will definitely offer it on my own initiative."

"Hmph, that's more like it," Wang Kun was thoroughly pleased with himself. He waved his hand, turned around, and strode away.

Lu Chuan stood at the doorway, the smile on his face vanishing the instant Wang Kun turned around.

Naturally, Lu Chuan's household was not the only one in Kaoshan Village to be subjected to extortion.

Wang Kun specifically picked out households with slightly better prospects to visit.

The pretexts went back and forth over just those few sentences: taxes not fully paid, receipt slips incorrect, either make a supplementary payment or double it.

When encountering those who were more spirited and argued back, he would sink his face and pull his long saber from its scabbard.

By the end of the day, he had likely shaken down no less than several tens of taels of Snowflake Pattern Silver.

Wang Kun was thoroughly satisfied as he set off on the road home.

When he reached the place where Kaoshan Village and Liujia Village intersected, another underling who had gone to Liujia Village to collect money was already waiting there.

"Hey, Brother Wang!" that companion greeted him. "Looking at your bearing today, you probably hauled in no less than this amount, right?"

The two of them had done this kind of embezzlement plenty of times.

Chief Lei up top only required the people below to turn in the proper share on time, often turning a blind eye to these little tricks.

Naturally, the people underneath were also happy to make some extra pocket money this way, and superiors and subordinates understood each other without a word.

Wang Kun was even an old hand at this.

Wang Kun said smugly, "Twenty taels is only the minimum, more likely more! Today I even ran into a stubborn greenhorn, that Lu family kid from Kaoshan Village. I almost drew my saber!"

"There's still someone that blind? You didn't do it?"

"Do it?" Wang Kun sneered. "A kid who just entered the martial arts hall a few days ago, what kind of skills does he have? In the end, he obediently handed over the money without even daring to let out a fart."

As the two spoke, they walked side by side along the dirt road.

"This is great. With this money, the two of us can go to Chunxiang Tower and have a good time for a few days..." Wang Kun said smugly.

"Indeed, following Brother Wang, there's always meat to eat!" the companion fawned flatteringly.

"When the money is spent, we'll go over to that kid's house for a tour. I saw that bow of his at home was pretty good..."

Before he even finished speaking, his voice cut off abruptly.

Wang Kun was immersed in his imagination when he suddenly felt his companion beside him halt abruptly, his mouth letting out a weird sound.

He turned his head to look, only to see his companion's eyes wide open, blood froth bubbling continuously from his mouth.

A feathered arrow pierced in from the front of his neck, the arrowhead jutting out from the back of the neck, piercing his entire throat clean through.

"Enemy attack..." Wang Kun's scalp instantly exploded, his soul fleeing in terror as his body instinctively lunged forward.

Yet his movement was still half a beat too slow.

The moment he leaped, a short, sharp whistling sound of wind suddenly rang out.

"Puff!"

The next instant, Wang Kun felt as though his body had been struck by an iron hammer, unleashing an excruciating pain.

The intense agony made him almost lose consciousness.

Lowering his head to look, a pitch-black arrow shaft was pinned right into the position of his left breast's heart.

He raised his head desperately, looking in the direction from which the arrow had been shot.

In his blurred vision, a hundred meters away, there seemed to be a figure wearing an old padded jacket, holding a large bow in their hand.

It was... that kid...

Inside Lu Chuan's room.

Looking at the Snowflake Pattern Silver placed before him, amounting to a full thirty taels and more.

Lu Chuan couldn't help uttering a remark:

"No wonder they say killing and arson bring golden belts; robbery really is the fastest way to get rich..."

After coming to this world, he had successively hunted a Red-bellied Golden Pheasant, a Black-Scaled Iron-Thread Snake, and a large Wild Boar King.

Yet all these preys combined didn't compare to this pile of silver right before him.

In this world, Lu Chuan finally understood.

You reap what you sow, and if you want to become a person above others, you have to eat people!

"Killing people is simple enough, but the Black Tiger Gang's subsequent retaliation is what's most troublesome."

Even though the corpses had already been dealt with by Lu Chuan, things could not be kept hidden forever when a long time passed.

Two gang members had gone missing for no reason, and the Black Tiger Gang would surely carry out a massive search.

And with just a little bit of investigating, they would trace it back to the people they had offended.

"Fortunately, these two weren't the only ones who collected money from my family. A careful screening will likely take time anyway."

"I can't show off in the village during this period; I'll just develop steadily."

With a massive sum of money successfully acquired, Lu Chuan didn't tell a single soul about this matter.

The next day, he brought a few taels of silver and headed to Renhetang Pharmacy.

By now, ordinary prey had very little effect on his cultivation, and he was planning to purchase a few Qi and Blood Pills to properly enhance his foundation.

Entering the gates of Renhetang Pharmacy, he caught sight of the Young Master who had previously bought his medicine, and immediately stepped forward with a cupped-fist salute.

"Brother Zhao, trust you have been well since we last met."

Hearing the voice, Zhao Xuanhe raised his head and saw it was Lu Chuan, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"It's you, Brother Lu. How long has it been... this qi and blood on your body..."

He paused slightly, speaking bluntly, "Have you taken up martial arts?"

A chill ran through Lu Chuan's heart. This Zhao Xuanhe truly had extraordinary discernment, spotting his changes at a single glance.

Not bothering to conceal it, he nodded and said:

"Brother Zhao has sharp eyes. Thanks to the money from selling medicine last time, I had the opportunity to enter Master Zheng's sect at the Mountain Splitting Saber Hall and learned some superficial skills."

"Mountain Splitting Saber Hall? Old Zheng?" hearing this, understanding dawned on Zhao Xuanhe's face.

"So that's how it is. I felt from the start that Brother Lu wasn't an ordinary person, but I didn't expect you to make such obvious progress in this short amount of time."

Even if ordinary people entered a martial arts hall, it would be difficult for them to show any major changes even after practicing for a year or a half.

"Not bad, it's all thanks to Master Zheng."

Subsequently, as if recalling something, Zhao Xuanhe asked with considerable interest:

"Right, I have something here I'd like to ask you about..."