The Might of a Martial Master

With his mind racing, Li Gou'er suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Brother Zhao, why don't we go ask Master Hao for help?"

"He was the one who spoke up for us in the past; perhaps he would be willing to lend us a hand now."

Zhao An shook his head upon hearing this, "There is no need to worry about this matter. If the leader of the Python Gang really comes knocking, he will be coming for me. You two can just go out and lay low for a while when the time comes."

"Brother Zhao, what are you saying? We all came from the same village, and we promised to work hard with you. How could we run away halfway through!" Zhao Chunzi, who was still counting silver, looked up with a serious expression.

Li Gou'er opened his mouth, swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, and instead said, "Chunzi is right. We might not be able to help you much when it comes to fighting, Brother Zhao, but we will definitely give it our all!"

"If you have any instructions or orders, just let us know."

Hearing this, Zhao An did not try to persuade them further.

"Go ask every household clearly how much tribute money the Python Gang extorted this time, and return it all to them."

Li Gou'er was very surprised to hear this and said, "Brother Zhao, there is no reason to return money that has already entered our pockets..."

"Gou'er, do not do evil to the end." Zhao An glanced at the gray name above Li Gou'er's head and said calmly.

Li Gou'er shuddered under Zhao An's gaze, feeling a sense of horror for no apparent reason.

"Alright, alright." He hurriedly agreed.

Zhao An withdrew his gaze. These two underlings had been quite loyal to him, and he did not want to see them turn into red names. He was afraid that when the time came, he wouldn't be able to restrain his blade and would end up killing them too.

Besides, he had no intention of driving these impoverished people to their deaths.

How much profit could he really squeeze out of these people? Instead of oppressing them, it would be better to set his sights on the wealthy, unrighteous red-named misers.

At Old Lin's house.

Lin Xiaoxiao was weeping in her mother's arms.

These past few days, they had scraped together every penny to pay for Old Man Lin's leg treatment, only for the Python Gang members to snatch it all away today.

If Zhao An hadn't appeared in time to draw the Python Gang members away, the young girl of the Lin family would likely have suffered a terrible fate.

Just then, the door, which had been propped shut with a wooden stick, was suddenly pushed open with a bang.

Mother Lin acted on reflex, shielding the young girl behind her.

Li Gou'er didn't intend to go inside; he simply tossed a tattered bag through the gap in the door. The bag hit the floor with a crisp sound.

It was the sound of clinking silver fragments!

"The Python Gang did evil today. My boss is righteous, so he took back the money they stole from you and is returning it. Consider it compensation for the tribute money you've paid over the years."

After saying this, Li Gou'er went to the next house. Only after returning the money one by one did the three of them stride away.

When the residents of Two Wells Alley came out and looked at each other, they were all in disbelief.

To think that a wolf would actually spit out the meat it had already caught.

But regardless, for them, since their last bit of savings hadn't been stolen, at least they wouldn't starve to death.

Everything is relative.

Compared to the actions of the Python Gang today, they felt that Zhao An and his men—whom they usually hated to the bone—somehow seemed to have a bottom line.

At least with Zhao An, there were rules to follow.

"Mother, it's okay now. Zhao An returned all the money to everyone," said the young man, Shen Pan.

"That's good, that's good." Mother Shen let out a long sigh of relief, muttering that Zhao An was better after all.

Shen Pan, however, didn't care about Zhao An's actions; he was most concerned about the blade technique Zhao An had just displayed!

To fight over a dozen vicious men alone, not only escaping unscathed but also killing them all!

Such strength had already exceeded his expectations.

He had originally planned to teach Zhao An a lesson before long, or even kill him in the dead of night to restore peace to Two Wells Alley.

But now it seemed that this would not be a safe move.

Like him, Zhao An had been hiding his true abilities!

In the end, my strength is still insufficient. I am not yet strong enough to protect myself and my mother! Shen Pan clenched his fists and thought to himself.

Not long after, several bailiffs and clerks passed by Two Wells Alley and saw the corpses littering the ground, causing them to frown.

"It's the Python Gang. This... is this Cao Li?!"

"Cao Li is dead!"

An older bailiff looked at the two halves of Cao Li's body and let out a startled cry.

"This is the territory of the Tiger Head Gang. Could this be the work of the Tiger Head Gang?" another bailiff asked, looking at his companion.

"Hmm, let's not get involved in this. Go notify Xu Donglai of the Python Gang and tell them to come 'collect their people'," the older bailiff said decisively.

They had no desire to investigate this matter; let the gangs resolve their own affairs.

As for the poor residents of Two Wells Alley who were caught in the crossfire, they cared even less.

Soon.

A group of Python Gang members gathered here, and their leader, Xu Donglai, had come in person.

His face was livid as he looked at the corpse of Cao Li.

"Leader, it is highly likely that Zhao An did this!"

"I never imagined that Cao Li would also die at the hands of that brat."

"This grudge must be avenged!"

Several leaders and core members of the Python Gang spoke up one after another in anger.

However, some noticed that Cao Li's body had clearly been severed by a single blade strike, and they said with grave expressions, "Leader, the way Cao Li died is strange."

"Hmm." Xu Donglai nodded, also saying in a deep voice, "This was the work of a Martial Master!"

He was a Martial Master himself, so he knew very well that an ordinary person could never deliver such a powerful and heavy blade strike.

Such a strike must have utilized internal energy, and the swordsmanship must be of a high level!

As soon as these words were spoken, the previously clamoring Python Gang members fell silent instantly.

"Does that mean Cao Li wasn't killed by Zhao An?" a core member asked, his head spinning.

"So many people saw it; there is no mistake that he was killed by Zhao An." Xu Donglai's eyes were gloomy.

"That brat is a Martial Master; he hid it well!"

"Then, are we still going to confront the Tiger Head Gang..." a leader asked, swallowing hard and looking at Xu Donglai with an unnatural expression.

"Go back first. That dog bastard Zhou Hu might just be waiting for us to deliver ourselves to his doorstep!" Xu Donglai said in annoyance before flicking his sleeves and leaving.

He had originally intended to storm the Tiger Head Gang directly to avenge Cao Li.

But now that he discovered Zhao An appeared to be a Martial Master, he could not help but feel suspicious.

Not to mention any other schemes or tricks, both Zhou Hu of the Tiger Head Gang and Zhao An were Martial Masters, while he was the only Martial Master in the Python Gang.

Based on strength on paper alone, he dared not act rashly, at least not until he had investigated Zhao An's background thoroughly.

On the other side, at the Tiger Head Gang headquarters.

"What? Zhao An hacked Cao Li to death!"

"He's dead?"

Several leaders and core members were left dumbfounded.

"This, this Zhao An, first he killed Xu San, and now he has cut down Cao Li. What, what is his intention?" One leader regained his senses and instinctively began to criticize.

"I think this Zhao An has selfish motives; he wants to provoke us into becoming mortal enemies with the Python Gang!"

After the leader finished speaking, he looked around the room.

Usually, at a time like this, someone would chime in to help him suppress Zhao An.

However, today, no one responded to him, making his words sound rather dry and hollow.