Storms

"Sister Ningyue, I trust you have been well."

Zhou Yun offered a greeting just as Lady Liu emerged with a bowl of noodles. Her face lit up upon seeing Zhou Ningyue.

"Oh my, Ningyue is here too! Sit, sit, Auntie will go cook you a bowl of noodles right away!"

Lady Liu walked over to the rice jar, intending to scoop out more coarse flour, only to find there was barely half a bowl left.

The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and knelt on the floor, preparing to pry up a floorboard where she kept her hidden stash of grain.

"No need, Mother. I already ate at Grandpa Sun's place. Let Sister Ningyue have this bowl."

Zhou Yun took it all in and pushed the steaming bowl of Spring Onion Noodle toward her.

"How could I possibly do that? Brother Yun is training at the martial arts hall all month; your appetite must be much larger than an ordinary person's..."

Zhou Ningyue instinctively refused. She had only come to share some good news with Auntie Liu and had no intention of scrounging for a meal.

Besides, in these times, every household had its own struggles. This coarse flour was life-saving grain; if not for Zhou Yun's return, Lady Liu would never have brought it out to eat.

"Sister Ningyue, please, just eat it. Consider it my thanks for how you've looked after my mother these past few days."

Zhou Yun said, then pulled a piece of silver from his pocket and placed it into Zhou Ningyue's hand. "I earned this silver at the martial arts hall. Now, Sister Ningyue won't have to worry about not having a dowry."

"And this bowl of noodles, consider it interest. Otherwise, both my mother and I will feel uneasy."

Upon hearing this, Lady Liu didn't know where her son had gotten the silver.

But knowing Zhou Yun's character, he certainly wouldn't engage in murder or robbery, so she chimed in to help.

"Ningyue, just take the money. Consider it Auntie thanking you for all the great help you've given our family."

Zhou Ningyue still wanted to refuse, let alone this one tael of silver for a dowry.

If Zhou Yun's family hadn't taken her in back then, in this chaotic world, she would have long since been sold into some brothel as a comfort woman.

But seeing that Lady Liu had spoken, Zhou Ningyue had no choice but to accept the money.

"That's right. You two chat slowly; I'm going to the backyard to pick some fresh vegetables."

Lady Liu rolled up her sleeves, looking every bit the capable matriarch, as if life had finally regained some hope.

Even the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes seemed to smooth out.

"Brother Yun, tell me the truth—where did this money come from?"

Zhou Ningyue clutched the silver in her hand, waiting until Lady Liu was out of earshot before asking in a low voice.

Others might not know, but she often helped pay for Zhou Yun's tuition, so she knew that only those who reached the Bright Force realm could hold a position and receive a salary at the martial arts hall.

Any extra money an ordinary martial artist earned outside could only cover the cost of the meat they needed to eat each month; it was very difficult to save any spare cash.

Plus, with the Tiger-Wolf Gang incident having just occurred, it all felt a bit too coincidental.

"I've touched the threshold of Bright Force and took on a rather large job, so that's how I got this silver."

Zhou Yun didn't spell it out, keeping his explanation half-truth and half-fiction.

"Touched the threshold of Bright Force? Brother Yun, are you really about to reach Bright Force?!"

Zhou Ningyue was stunned, her cheeks flushing with excitement, all other concerns instantly cast to the back of her mind.

"If you break through to Bright Force, neither that Tiger-Wolf Gang nor the Sea Whale Gang will dare come to collect protection fees from Auntie anymore. Their gang leaders are only at Bright Force... though, the leader of the Sea Whale Gang seems to have fallen from Dark Force, likely due to internal injuries sustained from a fight years ago."

Zhou Yun's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

He hadn't expected that Lu Meng's boss had previously been a Dark Force expert. Even if his internal energy and blood had regressed to Bright Force due to old injuries, his past martial arts techniques wouldn't have vanished.

Dark Force was the qualification needed to venture into the Twelve Main Cities; those injuries might well have been sustained there.

"And this Tiger-Wolf Gang? Three months ago, I had never even heard of them. A Bright Force leader dares to challenge a former Dark Force expert?"

Zhou Yun felt the situation between the gangs was increasingly complex, especially since both were right on his doorstep, so he pressed for more information.

"The Tiger-Wolf Gang? It seems they only appeared in the last two months. At first, they only dared to collect protection money on the outskirts of the Sea Whale Gang's territory, but their actions have become increasingly bold lately. Just today, news broke that they have completely severed ties with the Sea Whale Gang."

Zhou Ningyue thought carefully before adding, "It seems to be because the sworn brother of the Tiger-Wolf Gang's leader was killed by a Seven Apertures expert from the Sea Whale Gang, which ignited the leader's fury."

"A sworn brother?"

Zhou Yun recalled the pockmarked youth. He looked like a small fry at most; how could he possibly be connected to a Bright Force leader?

If that were truly the case, he would have mentioned it while begging for his life.

It seemed this was merely a pretext for the Tiger-Wolf Gang to move against the Sea Whale Gang.

The clash between the two gangs was likely to happen tonight. A fight between Bright Force gangs was no small matter; by all rights, the local government should have sent people to oversee it.

But for now, the government remained completely silent.

"Black Stone County, the water here runs deep..."

Zhou Yun's thoughts were in turmoil when a sudden clap of thunder echoed outside.

He turned to look; the sky had grown heavy, and dark clouds were gathering.

The rolling thunder was accompanied by bean-sized raindrops, and a night rain began to shroud the earth.

"Damn it! That Wang Tuozi actually dared to tear off the mask!"

Sea Whale Gang, rear mountain fortress.

A burly, robust man smashed his wine bowl and grabbed the hair of the woman in front of him, shoving her head back.

"Gang Leader, Wang Tuozi claims that one of our Seven Apertures experts beat his sworn brother to death. This is purely a frame-up!"

An old man with a long beard said indignantly, "Not to mention where that Wang Ershu even crawled out from, all of our gang's Seven Apertures experts are currently within the stronghold; how could they possibly go out to kill a rat like him?"

"However, there are still rumors that it was your younger brother, Gang Leader, who is at the Black Stone Martial Hall..."

Smack!

A dull thud suddenly rang out in the air. Lu Tianxiong's expression turned gloomy as he raised his hand, clapping it rhythmically to produce a crisp sound.

"I had someone ask my brother. He was punched by that Master Liang's son recently and is still nursing his face at the martial hall; he hasn't returned at all."

The long-bearded elder asked, "Then what is the Gang Leader's intention?"

"Wait."

Lu Tianxiong stopped his hand, the rage on his face receding slightly as his expression calmed.

"This Tiger-Wolf Gang appeared out of thin air in my Sea Whale Gang's territory, and there are many unfamiliar martial artists among them; there must be some force backing them... Since Wang Tuozi wants to put on a show, we shall play along with him."

"He thinks he can goad me down the mountain with just some spit? What a childish tactic."

Lu Tianxiong sneered. He had been grinding away in Xiang City for over twenty years; what kind of storms and waves had he not seen?

When he chose this place to build the fortress, it was surrounded by mountains and sea on all sides, with only one main road leading directly to the gate.

This natural barrier, easy to defend and hard to attack, was the very capital that had allowed the Sea Whale Gang to collect water-lantern tolls for so many years.

If that Wang Tuozi were truly foolish enough to lead the Tiger-Wolf Gang up here to charge, he would love to see if those people had enough lives to throw away!

"Pass on my order: tonight, no brothers in the fortress are allowed to go out. Keep your spirits at twelve-point alertness!"

Lu Tianxiong issued his command, and the many Sea Whale Gang disciples shouted in unison.

"Yes!"