The Emperor's Turn to Sit

The next day.

Zhao An continued to stay in his small courtyard under the pretext of recovering from his injuries, practicing his blade work and consolidating his internal energy.

In reality, the injury on his head was basically no longer an issue. The medicine provided by the female physician was truly worth every penny; he only needed to wait another two days before he could remove the bandages and return to normal.

"Brother Zhao, I've heard from some merchant caravans entering the city recently that the war in Anxi is intensifying. The imperial court hasn't been paying the military salaries, and the garrison troops in many places have rebelled."

In the courtyard, Li Gou'er snacked on dried fruits and peanuts, mentioning it casually.

"The Moon People from the west have attacked again. It feels like there's chaos and war everywhere," Zhao Chunzi remarked upon hearing this.

"Hey, it doesn't matter. That war is still far away from our Xiding Province, nowhere near us. It only makes the local commoners suffer and scrapes the land bare; the military pay will be scraped together eventually. Hasn't it always been like this in previous years?" Li Gou'er said dismissively.

"What really makes the imperial court and that Great Wu Emperor panic are those separatist vassal kings. Those are the real roots of disaster!" Li Gou'er said word for word, acting as if he knew the inside story, leaving Zhao Chunzi stunned.

"Tell me more." After finishing his blade practice, Zhao An sat down on a chair and began wiping his upper body while speaking.

"Brother Zhao, that's all I know. I just heard it from those out-of-town merchant caravans and at the taverns." Li Gou'er scratched his head and laughed.

He really only knew the surface level; how could a street urchin like him possibly understand the grand trends of the world?

Zhao An reviewed his relevant memories and gained a rough understanding of the current Great Wu Dynasty.

The Great Wu had been founded six hundred years ago, establishing the nation through martial arts. It spanned nineteen provinces, but now it was at a moment where the grand mansion was on the verge of collapse, teetering in the wind and rain.

Internally, there were separatist vassal kings, rising aristocratic clans, and starving rebel armies; every province was in a state of total chaos.

Beyond that, there were worries about foreign enemies.

There were the Barbarian Tribe in the north, the Moon People in the west, and the Gu Witch Sect roaming the south—it could be said that nowhere was peaceful.

By comparison, Xiding Province, where Zhao An was located, was still doing relatively well. At least the banners on the city walls didn't change every month, and it remained under the control of the local government.

"Once that dog of an emperor is overthrown, I'm afraid that in the future, the throne will be passed around like a game, and it'll be my turn next year." With the doors closed, Li Gou'er began to joke without restraint.

Suddenly, he looked at Zhao An and said whimsically, "Brother Zhao, you're so fierce. Why don't you lead us to join the army, become a general, and later we can gather troops to march on the imperial city and seize that dragon throne!"

"Boring." Zhao An casually picked up a peanut and rubbed it gently, causing the shell to shatter.

"There are three thousand beauties in the imperial harem," Li Gou'er said with a lecherous grin.

Zhao An raised an eyebrow: "That's the only good thing about it."

As they were chatting, a young man with a tiger-head badge hanging from his waist kicked the door open and entered.

"Master Zhao, the Python Gang went to Two Wells Alley again today and trampled all over your territory!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi jumped up instantly.

For those like them who mixed in gangs, the most taboo and sensitive thing was having their territory snatched away.

This was also why Xu San's death last time was not unjust.

Snatching territory and crossing boundaries were just asking for trouble, and it could very easily turn into a situation of life-and-death enmity.

"Brother Zhao, I'll go grab my weapon!" Zhao Chunzi said hurriedly.

Li Gou'er, having regained his composure, gave it more thought.

"Brother Zhao, do you think it might be Xu Donglai intentionally trying to lure you over?"

"It's possible." Zhao An thought for a moment, stood up, grabbed his blade, and walked out the door.

He didn't care much about that so-called territory in Two Wells Alley. The reason he was going was, on one hand, that it was an opportunity to replenish his Soul Slave, and on the other, he wanted to test his current level of martial prowess.

In Two Wells Alley, shouts and angry rebukes echoed incessantly.

A group of Python Gang members, holding short clubs, were kicking in doors house by house, demanding protection money.

"Kind sirs, the protection money for this month has already been given to the Tiger Head Gang. We really, really don't have any money left." An old man knelt on the ground, begging for mercy with a bitter face.

"It's the Python Gang collecting money now! If you can't pay, we'll take your daughter to sell at the brothel!" A vicious thug from the Python Gang knocked the old man to the ground with a club and moved to grab the woman inside the house.

In a small, dilapidated room, a handsome young man watched the scene of the Python Gang's atrocities through the window, his expression cold.

"Don't stare, don't draw those people over here." The woman in the room whispered.

Seeing his mother trembling with fear, Shen Pan clenched his fists and comforted her: "Mother, don't be afraid."

At this moment, the wooden door was suddenly kicked open, and two Python Gang members burst in.

"Thought you'd be safe hiding in the house..." One of the Python Gang members was about to start threatening them when another member pulled him back.

His gaze fell on the plain blue training suit the young man was wearing.

"May I ask if this little brother is a disciple of Master Zheng's Academy?" The gang member asked, his attitude becoming unconsciously polite.

"Yes." Shen Pan nodded expressionlessly.

"A misunderstanding, please forgive us, little brother. Don't take offense. My name is Li Qing; I'll find you another day to share a drink and apologize." As the gang member spoke, he pulled his companion and retreated outside.

"Brother Qing, why did we..." The companion asked, confused.

"Because it's not worth it. Since he's training in fist techniques at Master Zheng's Martial Academy, we should try our best not to provoke him, lest we invite disaster for the sake of a few copper coins," Li Qing said.

They were adept at bullying the poor and downtrodden, but since the other party was also a martial practitioner, they knew that if they pushed someone too far, they might end up being killed in retaliation.

Li Qing was a veteran of the gang, well-versed in the art of picking soft targets.

Just as he finished speaking and stepped out of the dilapidated shack, a sudden whistling sound of wind erupted from the side.

Before he could even react, he was kicked flying, plunging headfirst into a water vat.

"What are you doing!" another Python Gang member roared in fury, but the next moment, he was slapped so hard he spun in mid-air before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Seeming to sense a gaze falling upon him from the nearby shack, Zhao An turned his head and locked eyes with the young man inside.

The youth was about seventeen or eighteen years old, his skin somewhat dark and sallow, yet he stood with a sturdy, upright posture and had refined features.

His hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his eyes glinting with a hint of sharpness.

Li Gou'er, who was following beside him, also noticed the martial arts training uniform Shen Pan was wearing and looked quite surprised.

"I never expected this Shen boy to get into Master Zheng's Martial Academy; he's certainly lucky."

There were many martial arts masters in Lianjiang City who ran academies to teach boxing and kicking, and as the number of disciples grew, they gradually built up considerable influence and foundation.

Among them, Master Zheng's Martial Academy was considered one of the more famous ones in the outer city.

Large and small gangs alike would not easily provoke the disciples of Master Zheng's Martial Academy.

Zhao An withdrew his gaze, not paying much attention to the youth in the dilapidated shack.

The other party was neither a red name nor a white name; he was just an unremarkable, colorless transparency that failed to pique his interest.

His gaze fell upon the roaming Python Gang members, and he discovered that these people were also just gray names.

They, too, had discovered the arriving Zhao An and immediately let out a shout.

"Zhao An is here!"