Suppressing a City

"Get the hell down there."

"Damn it, I told you to stop telling this trashy story, yet you kept going."

Xing Jinglong shouted loudly, glancing sideways at Lin Zheyu and the others, his eyes filled with provocation.

"Fatty Xing, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to cause trouble on the turf of the Flying Rainbow Gang!"

Jia Yanyong couldn't hold back anymore; he slammed the table and stood up, shouting in anger.

"I paid money to listen to the storytelling. Can't I curse a few times if I think it's told poorly?" Xing Jinglong said.

"Young Master Xing, your actions are a bit excessive. If you don't like the story, just don't listen. Why make a scene?" Lin Zheyu stood up and said.

"I'm provoking you, so what?"

"Want to fight?"

Xing Jinglong goaded them, and his companions stood up as well.

Lin Zheyu held down the impulsive Jia Yanyong and said, "Let's skip the fight. As a young master of the Xing Family, openly provoking a brawl is a bit undignified."

Xing Jinglong: "???"

Xing Jinglong's face darkened. To hell with dignity; I'm just a young master from a branch of the Xing Family.

This kid is truly patient. Even with things like this, he still won't make a move.

"By the way, Lord Qiu Gaoxuan will be here soon. He quite likes this story."

"Why don't you wait a little longer, Young Master Xing? When Lord Qiu arrives, you can tell him exactly what was wrong with the storytelling."

"If you insist on provoking a fight, shall we wait for Lord Qiu and you can explain it to him?" Lin Zheyu continued.

"Qiu Gaoxuan?"

Xing Jinglong took a deep breath, feeling a bit stifled.

Qiu Gaoxuan was incredibly strong, having already reached the peak of the Organ Refining realm.

If he came, the Organ Refining martial artists he brought with him would be no match for the other side.

But damn it, he was just looking for trouble and wanting a fight; what was the point of bringing up Qiu Gaoxuan?

How did these guys suddenly become such cowards?

"Hmph!"

"A bunch of spineless wretches! Keep hiding in your shells like turtles!"

Seeing that he wouldn't get the upper hand, Xing Jinglong let out a cold snort.

Crack—

He stood up and kicked the table hard, smashing it into pieces, then left with his men.

"That bastard, he's getting more and more arrogant."

Jia Yanyong sat down, grumbling and cursing.

"There's no helping it. They have military backing in the Xing Family. When the chaotic armies strike, the Xing Family can take the opportunity to recruit soldiers and horses to strengthen their power."

"This great chaos is an excellent opportunity for the Xing Family."

Xie Jiang's eyes were grave, and his expression looked somewhat unpleasant.

After Xing Jinglong left, Steward Wu went up to apologize, sent a side dish to every table, and the storyteller returned to the stage.

"Drink, drink. Why worry about these annoying things? The Gang Leader will worry about these matters himself. We small fries should just mind our own business."

Xie Jiang raised his glass, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

The next day.

Early morning.

28 Tongquan Street, Flying Rainbow Pavilion.

Lin Zheyu sat beside Xu Jingwu, keeping him company while he watched the performance.

"I read the book; it was written quite well," Xu Jingwu said.

When Lin Zheyu sold the books to the Lu Siblings earlier, he had written a few extra copies. He gave one to Liang Song, one to Han Mo, and one to Xu Jingwu.

So much time had passed before Xu Jingwu finally finished reading it.

"I'm glad you liked it, Gang Leader," Lin Zheyu said.

Only after his own strength had risen to the Blood Energy Realm did he realize how terrifying Gang Leader Xu's strength truly was.

Beneath Xu Jingwu's refined exterior, his body contained an incredibly profound power of blood energy, held in check and not yet released.

Such a massive amount of blood energy would surely unleash a terrifying level of attack power.

Lin Zheyu felt that the Gang Leader's strength likely exceeded the first transformation of the Blood Energy Realm, though he didn't know how many transformations he had reached.

"I said it before: if the story is told well, there will be a heavy reward. I am very satisfied with the story you told."

"Luo Tian, give Lin Zheyu one hundred taels of silver," Xu Jingwu said to his subordinate.

"Thank you for the reward, Gang Leader Xu!"

Lin Zheyu said.

Gang Leader Xu was incredibly generous. He had originally thought fifty taels or so would be decent, but he hadn't expected to be given a full hundred.

"You were attacked by Xing Penghai outside the city a few days ago?" Xu Jingwu asked suddenly.

"Yes."

"At the time, Senior Brother Han was heading out to suppress bandits, so I specifically went out of the city to see him off. I didn't expect to be targeted by Xing Jinglong and his men."

"That Xing Penghai took out a black pill and tried to make me swallow it, wanting me to join the Xing Family. I didn't agree," Lin Zheyu said, not holding anything back.

The Flying Rainbow Gang held immense power; very little that happened in Songyi City could escape their eyes and ears.

"The Xing Family holds a position within the City Guard. It would be best if you didn't go outside the city alone in the future. Otherwise, if something happens out there, even I would find it difficult to handle."

Xu Jingwu said.

Lin Zheyu was merely an ordinary underling recruited by the Flying Rainbow Gang, not a member of the Xu Family. If something truly happened to him, the most likely outcome would be the Xing Family offering an apology and some form of compensation.

At most, the Flying Rainbow Gang would find an excuse to kill off a few experts from the Wuding Gang.

But that would be the extent of it.

"Understood, I will be careful."

"Are you feeling a bit disappointed?" Xu Jingwu glanced at Lin Zheyu.

"No."

Lin Zheyu shook his head.

This was simply how the world worked.

Even after joining the Flying Rainbow Gang, he only held a bit of deterrence against ordinary people. Facing the major families of Songyi City, he was essentially nothing.

No matter how good the talent he displayed was, before he had fully grown, it was merely talent.

For now, he was still just a small fry.

"The Xing Family is the greatest family in Songyi City aside from the City Lord, and their strength is formidable."

"One-third of the Songyi City City Guard is controlled by the Xing Family. If you are targeted by them outside the city, even I would find it hard to stand up for you."

Xu Jingwu said.

He represented the Xu Family and was the leader of the Flying Rainbow Gang, which was founded by a coalition of several families; he did not represent himself alone.

It was impossible for him to completely break ties with the Xing Family just for the sake of Lin Zheyu alone.

"However, you don't need to worry too much. As long as you are within the city, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble casually. After all, the City Lord is here to keep order."

Xu Jingwu said, telling Lin Zheyu not to worry too much while inside the city.

"The City Lord's surname is Chen, right? Does he come from the Chen Family?" Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

"No, the City Lord is alone. He was sent by the Great Wei palace to manage Songyi City."

"The Lord has no family or faction in Songyi City. With the City Lord's strength, one person is enough to suppress an entire city," Xu Jingwu said indifferently.

One person suppressing an entire city!

Lin Zheyu chewed on these words, feeling that they were incredibly domineering.

How powerful must one be to deserve such a description?

"I wonder what level of strength the City Lord possesses—is he a Grandmaster?" Lin Zheyu couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not sure. No one knows the City Lord's true strength; we only know that he is very, very strong."

"None of the families in the city dare to defy the City Lord's will. Anyone who has defied him has simply vanished from Songyi City," Xu Jingwu said with a hint of emotion.

He had seen several families disappear from Songyi City just like that.

Overnight, not a single soul left, silent and terrifying to the extreme.

From then on, no family dared to cause trouble within the city; everything in the city was just minor squabbling. Even if they played some tricks, they were all done outside the city walls.

Seeing that Xu Jingwu had a guarded, mysterious expression, Lin Zheyu did not continue to ask.

The atmosphere cooled.

The opera on the stage continued to play, and Gang Leader Xu hummed along every now and then.

"You aren't married yet, are you?" Xu Jingwu asked suddenly.

"I am not married."

Lin Zheyu's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad premonition, so he quickly added, "I was separated from my parents and kin, so I haven't been in the mood to think about marriage."

"Marriage is a major life event, dictated by the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers. You should wait until you find your parents and kin in the future."

"It's fine, no rush. I was just asking."

"My Xu Family has quite a few young women; I'll introduce you to some when I have the time."

"If you were to marry into the Xu Family, you would be one of us, and the Xing Family wouldn't dare do anything to you."

"There's no need to rush into marriage; just get to know each other first, and we can discuss marriage matters if you take a liking to one another," Gang Leader Xu said.

He held Lin Zheyu in high regard.

With such talent, if he had a renowned master to guide him, he might very well become another powerhouse in the Blood Energy Realm in the future.

"Many thanks, Gang Leader Xu."

Lin Zheyu replied.

Since things had reached this point, it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse.

However, it was just socializing; if he didn't take a liking to anyone, surely he couldn't be forced into marriage, right?

Lin Zheyu accompanied Gang Leader Xu to listen to a few operas before taking his leave.

Walking out of the Flying Rainbow Pavilion, he headed straight for the pharmacies in the city.

He had to visit several pharmacies in succession before he finally managed to purchase all the medicinal ingredients.

With prices rising across the board, buying the ingredients for eight doses of Blood-Nourishing Bone-Strengthening Soup cost him a full one hundred and one taels of silver.

Carrying the medicinal ingredients, he returned to his courtyard to continue his martial arts practice.