Turmoil

"Sister Ningyue, it's been a while."

Zhou Yun greeted her. Just then, Lady Liu came out with a bowl of noodles. Seeing Zhou Ningyue, she brightened even more.

"Oh, Ningyue's here too! Come, sit down, sit down. Auntie will go make you a bowl of noodles!"

Lady Liu walked over to the rice jar and was about to scoop out another bowl of coarse noodles when she found there was only enough for half a bowl.

The middle-aged woman froze for a moment, then gritted her teeth and crouched on the floor, ready to pry up a wooden board concealing the grain.

"No need, Mother. I've already eaten at Grandpa Sun's. Give this bowl to Sister Ningyue."

Zhou Yun saw it all and pushed the steaming bowl of plain noodles toward her.

"How could that be? Yun'er practices martial arts at the hall every day, so he must have a much bigger appetite than usual..."

Zhou Ningyue instinctively refused. She had only come to share good news with Auntie Liu; she had no intention of mooching a meal.

Besides, every household had its own hardships these days. Coarse noodles could save lives. If Zhou Yun hadn't returned, Lady Liu would never have brought them out to eat.

"Sister Ningyue, go ahead and eat. Consider it my thanks for taking care of my mother all this time."

Zhou Yun said, then took an ounce of silver from his pocket and placed it in Zhou Ningyue's hand. "I earned this silver at the martial hall. Now you won't have to worry about not having a dowry."

"And this bowl of noodles can count as interest. Otherwise, my mother and I would both feel bad."

Lady Liu was surprised to hear this. Though she didn't know where her son had gotten the silver, she knew Zhou Yun's character. He would never commit murder or robbery, so she chimed in.

"Ningyue, just take the money. It's also Auntie's way of thanking you for helping our family so much."

Zhou Ningyue had still wanted to refuse. An ounce of silver for a dowry was nothing. If Zhou Yun's family hadn't taken her in back then, she would have been sold to some brothel as a prostitute in these turbulent times.

But when she saw that Lady Liu had spoken, she had no choice but to accept the money.

"That's more like it. You two take your time chatting. I'll go to the backyard and get some fresh vegetables."

Lady Liu rolled up her sleeves, looking every bit like the lady of the house, as if life had finally given her something to look forward to.

Even the crow's-feet on her face seemed to have relaxed.

"Yun'er, tell me honestly. Where did you get this money?"

Zhou Ningyue pinched the silver in her hand. Only after Lady Liu had walked away did she ask in a low voice.

Other people might not know, but she often brought Zhou Yun's tuition money, and knew that only those who had reached Bright Force could hold an official position at the martial hall and draw a salary.

Ordinary martial artists could earn a little extra on the side, but it was barely enough to keep meat on the table each month. It was hard for them to save any spare money.

And the Tiger-Wolf Gang had just run into trouble. The timing seemed a little too coincidental.

"I've reached the threshold of Bright Force and completed a fairly big job, so that's where the silver came from."

Zhou Yun didn't spell it out. His explanation was half true and half false.

"You've reached the threshold of Bright Force? Yun'er, you're really about to reach Bright Force?!"

Zhou Ningyue froze, her cheeks flushing with excitement. She instantly forgot all her other concerns.

"If you break through to Bright Force, neither the Tiger-Wolf Gang nor the Sea Whale Gang will dare come after Auntie for protection money. Their leaders are only at Bright Force... Though I think the Sea Whale Gang's leader fell from Dark Force. He seems to have suffered a lingering injury after fighting someone years ago."

Zhou Yun frowned slightly at that.

He hadn't expected Lu Meng's elder brother to have once been a Dark Force expert. Though his blood and energy had declined to Bright Force because of his old injury, he wouldn't have forgotten the martial arts techniques he'd learned.

Dark Force was the level required to venture into the Twelve Main Cities. Perhaps he'd suffered those injuries in one of the cities.

"What about the Tiger-Wolf Gang? Three months ago, I'd never even heard of it. How could a Bright Force leader dare to challenge someone who used to be at Dark Force?"

The more Zhou Yun thought about it, the more complicated the situation between the gangs seemed. Since the two gangs were right on his doorstep, he pressed her for more.

"The Tiger-Wolf Gang? I think it only appeared in the past couple of months. At first, they only dared to collect incense money on the outskirts of the Sea Whale Gang's territory, but lately they've been making bolder moves. The news just came out today that they've fallen out with the Sea Whale Gang completely."

Zhou Ningyue thought it over, then continued. "It seems the Tiger-Wolf Gang leader's sworn brother was killed by one of the Sea Whale Gang's Seven Apertures experts, which enraged him."

"Sworn brother?"

Zhou Yun thought of the young man with the pockmarked face. He looked like no more than a low-ranking underling. How could he possibly have connections to a Bright Force gang leader?

If that had really happened, the man would have said so when he was begging for mercy.

It seemed this was only an excuse for the Tiger-Wolf Gang to make a move against the Sea Whale Gang.

The two gangs' clash would take place tonight. A fight between Bright Force gangs was no small matter. By rights, the authorities should have sent people to keep watch.

But the authorities had made no move at all.

"Black Stone County is deep water..."

Zhou Yun's thoughts churned. Suddenly, a rumble of thunder sounded outside.

He turned to look. The sky had grown dark, and clouds were gathering.

Thunder rumbled as raindrops the size of beans began to fall, and a night rain enveloped the land.

"Damn it! Wang Tuozi really dares to burn his bridges!"

At the Sea Whale Gang's mountain stronghold, a burly, heavyset man smashed his wine bowl, grabbed the woman in front of him by the hair, and thrust against her.

"Gang Leader, Wang Tuozi claims one of our Seven Apertures experts killed his sworn brother. It's obviously a frame-up!"

An old man with a long beard said angrily, "Never mind where that Wang Ershu came from. All our Seven Apertures experts are inside the gang. How could they have gone and killed some rat?"

"Though there are still rumors that it was your younger brother at the Black Stone Martial Hall..."

Smack!

A muffled sound suddenly rang through the air. Lu Tianxiong raised his hand with a dark expression and slapped out sharp smacks, one after another.

"I sent someone to ask my younger brother. He was punched by Master Liang's son recently, and he's still at the martial hall nursing his face. He hasn't come back at all."

The old man with the long beard asked, "Then what does the Gang Leader intend to do?"

"Wait."

Lu Tianxiong lowered his hand. The anger on his face faded somewhat, and his expression settled into calm.

"The Tiger-Wolf Gang appeared out of nowhere on my Sea Whale Gang's territory, and they have a lot of unfamiliar martial artists with them. There must be some force backing them... Since Wang Tuozi wants to put on a show, we'll play along."

"He thinks he can bait me down the mountain with a few words? What a childish trick."

Lu Tianxiong sneered. He had spent more than twenty years fighting his way through Xiang City. What storms hadn't he weathered?

When he'd first chosen this place for the stronghold, it had been surrounded by mountains and sea on every side, with only one main road leading to the gate.

This natural fortress, easy to defend and difficult to attack, was the reason the Sea Whale Gang had been able to collect water-lamp fees for so many years.

If Wang Tuozi really was stupid enough to lead the Tiger-Wolf Gang up here in a charge, Lu Tianxiong wanted to see if they had enough lives to spare!

"Pass on my order: no one in the stronghold is to go out tonight. Stay on your toes!"

Lu Tianxiong issued the order, and the Sea Whale Gang disciples answered in unison.

"Yes!"