Caught in a flurry of thoughts, Li Gou'er suddenly had an idea. "Brother Zhao, why don't we go ask Master Hao for help?"
"He spoke up for us back then. Maybe he'd be willing to lend us a hand now, too."
Zhao An shook his head. "There's no need to rush. If the Python Gang's leader really comes looking for us, he'll be after me. You two can lie low for a while when that happens."
"Brother Zhao, what are you saying? We're all from the same village. We agreed to make our way with you—how can we run off halfway through?" Zhao Chunzi, who had still been feeling for silver, lifted his head and said earnestly.
Li Gou'er opened his mouth, then swallowed the words on his lips. Instead, he said, "Chunzi's right. We might not be much help in a fight, but we'll do everything we can for you, Brother Zhao!
"Just tell us what you need us to do."
Hearing that, Zhao An didn't try to dissuade them any further.
"Go door to door and find out how much protection money the Python Gang extorted this time. I want it all returned."
Li Gou'er was surprised. "Brother Zhao, once money's in our pockets, why would we give it back?"
"Gou'er, don't go too far in doing evil." Zhao An glanced at the gray name above Li Gou'er's head and said calmly.
Under Zhao An's gaze, Li Gou'er shuddered. For some reason, a chill ran down his spine.
"Sure, sure thing," he answered hastily.
Zhao An looked away. His two underlings had been loyal enough to him, and he didn't want to see either of them turn into a Red Name. He was afraid that by then, he wouldn't be able to hold back the saber in his hand and would cut them down, too.
Besides, he'd never intended to drive these poor people to ruin.
How much could he squeeze out of them? Rather than leech off the poor, he'd be better off targeting wealthy, heartless Red Names.
At Old Lin's house,
Lin Xiaoxiao and Mother Lin clung to each other and wept.
They had scraped together money over the past few days to pay for Old Man Lin's leg treatment, but today, the Python Gang's men had ransacked their home and snatched it all away.
And if Zhao An hadn't shown up in time to draw the gang members away, the Lin family's young daughter might have suffered another terrible fate.
Just then, the door, propped shut with a wooden stick, was suddenly slapped open.
As if by instinct, Mother Lin pulled the girl behind her to shield her.
Li Gou'er had no intention of entering. He simply tossed a shabby bag through the crack in the door. It hit the floor with a crisp clink.
The sound of broken silver clattering together!
"The Python Gang ran wild today. My big brother's a man of honor. He got back the money they stole from you and is returning it. At least that means the protection money you've paid all this time wasn't for nothing."
After speaking, Li Gou'er went to the next house. When they had returned the money to each household, the three of them finally left.
When the residents of Two Wells Alley came outside and looked at one another, they could hardly believe it.
Even wolves sometimes spat out the meat they'd already swallowed.
Still, at least their last bit of savings hadn't been taken. They wouldn't starve to death now.
And everything was relative.
Compared to what the Python Gang had done that day, even Zhao An and his men—whom they'd always hated—suddenly seemed to have some semblance of a bottom line.
At least Zhao An and his men still followed rules.
"Mother, it's all right now. Zhao An returned everyone's money," Shen Pan said.
"Good, good." Mother Shen let out a long breath and murmured that Zhao An was still the better one.
But Shen Pan didn't care about Zhao An's actions. What concerned him most was the saber technique Zhao An had just revealed!
He had fought more than a dozen vicious men alone, escaped unscathed, and killed every last one of them!
His strength was beyond anything Shen Pan had expected.
He'd originally planned to teach Zhao An a lesson soon, or even kill him under cover of night and bring peace back to Two Wells Alley.
But now, that didn't seem like a safe bet.
Like Shen Pan, Zhao An had been hiding his true abilities!
In the end, I'm still not strong enough. I can't protect myself or my mother yet! Shen Pan clenched his fists and thought.
Not long after, several constables passed by Two Wells Alley. Seeing the corpses strewn across the ground, they couldn't help frowning.
"Those are Python Gang members. Is that Cao Li?!"
"Cao Li's dead!"
An older constable looked at Cao Li's body, chopped in two, and exclaimed in surprise.
"This is Tiger Head Gang territory. Could the Tiger Head Gang have done this?" another constable asked, exchanging a look with his companion.
"Yeah. Let's stay out of it. Go tell Xu Donglai of the Python Gang to come 'claim the bodies.'" The older constable made the decision at once.
They didn't want to investigate. The gangs could settle their own affairs.
As for the poor residents of Two Wells Alley caught in the crossfire, they cared even less.
Before long,
a crowd of Python Gang members gathered there, and their leader, Xu Donglai, arrived in person.
His face was ashen as he stared at Cao Li's corpse.
"Leader, this was probably Zhao An's doing!"
"Who'd have thought Cao Li would die at that brat's hands, too?"
"We have to avenge him!"
Several Python Gang leaders and key members shouted angrily.
But one of them noticed that Cao Li's body had clearly been cut in two by a single slash. His expression turned grave. "Leader, there's something strange about Cao Li's death."
"Mm." Xu Donglai nodded, his voice equally grave. "A Martial Master did this!"
He was a Martial Master himself, so he knew full well that an ordinary person couldn't deliver a slash with such overwhelming force.
A blow like that had to have used Internal Breath, and the saber technique was highly skilled!
At those words, the Python Gang members who had been shouting fell instantly silent.
"So Cao Li wasn't killed by Zhao An?" one of the key members asked, looking dazed.
"So many people saw it. There's no doubt Zhao An killed him," Xu Donglai said, his gaze dark.
"That brat's a Martial Master. He was hiding it well!"
"Then... are we still going to confront the Tiger Head Gang?" one of the leaders asked, swallowing hard and looking at Xu Donglai uneasily.
"Let's head back first. That bastard Zhou Hu might be waiting for us to walk right into his trap!" Xu Donglai stormed off, fuming.
He had originally intended to storm the Tiger Head Gang and avenge Cao Li.
But now that Zhao An seemed to be a Martial Master, he couldn't help having second thoughts.
Never mind any schemes or tricks: Zhou Hu of the Tiger Head Gang and Zhao An were both Martial Masters, while he was the only Martial Master in the Python Gang.
Just looking at their apparent strength, he didn't dare launch a reckless attack—not before he'd found out more about Zhao An, at least.
Meanwhile, at the Tiger Head Gang's main hall,
"What? Zhao An cut down Cao Li?!"
"He's dead?"
The leaders and key members stared in disbelief.
"Th-this Zhao An... First he killed Xu San, and now he's cut down Cao Li. Wh-what's he up to?" One of the leaders came to his senses and instinctively began criticizing him.
"I say Zhao An has his own agenda. He wants to drive a wedge between us and the Python Gang and make us mortal enemies!"
After speaking, the leader looked around.
Normally, at a time like this, someone would have chimed in to join him in putting Zhao An down.
But today, no one answered. His words fell flat.
Before you continue