Tiger-Wolf Gang

"Huzi, I'm heading home for a while. I'll be back tomorrow."

Zhou Yun packed his things and called out to Zhang Hu, who was lying in bed recovering from his injuries.

"Sure thing, Brother Yun. Take these sesame cakes home for my mother. I haven't been back in ages."

Since letting go of his obsession with breaking through to Bright Force, Zhang Hu had turned optimistic and cheerful again. He grinned.

He picked up two sesame cakes and carefully tucked them into a bundle.

"There are some medicinal herbs in there, too. I saved up to buy them. Take them to my mother as well. I left one sesame cake for you, Brother Yun."

Zhou Yun took the bundle and slung it over his back alongside his own.

"Don't worry, Brother Yun. I feel like my blood and qi flow even more smoothly now that I've let go of my obsession. I even think it won't be long before I open the Seven Apertures of the Martial Pass and touch the threshold of Bright Force!"

Zhang Hu grinned. "When that happens, don't let me leave you in the dust!"

"I'm off."

Zhou Yun waved and turned to leave the Common Dormitory.

Zhang Hu lay in bed, beaming, his eyes shining.

"Mother, just you wait. One day, your son will make sure you live a good life!"

Outside the martial hall.

Zhou Yun greeted the gatekeeper disciple, then set off with his bundle on his back.

Though he was carrying a bundle, his pace was no slower at all. If anything, he seemed to be speeding up.

Now that he had reached the threshold of Bright Force, he could freely direct the blood and qi in his body, so naturally, he moved faster.

And compared with ordinary martial artists who had opened seven apertures, he could move even faster still by using the Black Ape Movement Technique—if only he weren't trying to avoid drawing too much attention in the street.

A sparsely traveled street gradually came into view, and the surroundings grew familiar.

Along the way, Zhou Yun saw only a few stalls selling buns and sugar figurines. The street performances he remembered from childhood had disappeared.

By the roadside, an old man at a noodle stall spotted Zhou Yun and couldn't help rubbing his eyes.

"Huh? Zhou Yun, you're back from Black Stone Martial Hall?"

The wrinkles on Grandpa Sun's face bunched together. He quickly rapped the boy crouching beside him on the head.

"Why don't you hurry up and serve your Brother Yun a bowl of noodles? You spend all day here playing with crickets. Why can't you learn a thing or two from him?"

The boy yelped in pain and stood up reluctantly, but when he saw Zhou Yun, his eyes lit up at once.

"Brother Yun! You're back from Black Stone Martial Hall! Could you teach me a couple of moves? Wang Dahe and the others keep picking on me!"

Grandpa Sun's expression changed. He immediately said sternly, "I've told you not to hang around with Wang Dahe and the others. What does his father do? He's a guard at the Sky Sea Escort Agency! Your father here just sells noodles. When you run into them, keep your distance. Understand?"

"But even when I keep my distance, they still find me," the boy muttered.

"Find you? Why would they come looking for you? Have you ever considered that you might be the problem?"

Grandpa Sun grew even angrier. "If I weren't still saving up for your tuition, I'd have sent you to your Brother Yun's martial hall ages ago. Then you wouldn't be sitting here playing with crickets!"

The old man filled a bowl with noodles, set it on the wooden table, and wiped his hands. He sighed, then smiled. "Brother Yun, if only my son were half as sensible as you. It'd save me a whole lot of worry."

"Grandpa Sun, don't worry. Xiao Wu has a talent for martial arts. Sooner or later, he'll learn the real thing at the martial hall."

Zhou Yun pulled out a chair and sat down, wolfing down the noodles.

Most people on this street knew him, including the boy Sun Wu and his grandfather. Whenever Zhou Yun came back from the martial hall, he would stop here for a bowl of noodles and tell Sun Wu stories about the amusing things that happened there.

Grandpa Sun had watched him grow up, too, and was glad to have his son associate with a martial artist from Black Stone Martial Hall.

He'd heard that Zhou Yun hadn't yet reached Bright Force, but who knew? Perhaps he'd make it one day.

A bowl of noodles was a small price to pay for a connection with a martial artist who might reach Bright Force. Grandpa Sun didn't begrudge it.

"Make way! The Tiger-Wolf Gang is conducting business! Everyone, clear out!"

A bunch of vagrant ruffians, armed with a few pitchforks, knives, and swords, shouted at the crowd.

They went from stall to stall demanding payment for the ground, and the people on the street scattered as if they'd seen wolves and wild dogs.

"Grandpa Sun, time to pay the ground fee for your little stall, isn't it?"

A tall, thin young man with a pockmarked face walked over, his tone unfriendly.

"Son, I'm only running a small business. I paid the ground fee just a few days ago. You remember that!"

Grandpa Sun hadn't even had time to pack up his stall. He pleaded desperately. "Please, take pity on me. I still need to save for my son's tuition at the martial hall. I've always paid what I'm supposed to..."

"Now that you mention it, I'd forgotten. This time, we're not collecting the ground fee. We're collecting incense money."

The young man with the pockmarked face snorted. "It's an offering for the local earth god at the temple. You wouldn't dare show the earth god disrespect, would you?"

"Th-this..."

Grandpa Sun didn't know what to do. He glanced at the wooden table beside him and realized Zhou Yun had already disappeared.

He gritted his teeth and prepared to take some money from the stall's cash jar.

"Wait."

A cool, detached voice sounded in front of the noodle stall.

A man dressed in black stood there, wearing a bamboo hat and a black cloth over his face. Black boots covered his feet, and his frame was tall and straight.

It was Zhou Yun, his face concealed.

"Who are you? The Tiger-Wolf Gang is conducting business. You'd better—"

The young man with the pockmarked face reached out to grab Zhou Yun's shoulder. In a flash, a large hand seized his arm and wrenched hard at the joint.

"Ah!!"

His arm was dislocated. The young man with the pockmarked face cried out in agony, snot and tears streaming down his face as he fell to one knee.

"When did the Tiger-Wolf Gang get to run wild on the Sea Whale Gang's turf?"

Zhou Yun spoke in a low voice. Dressed all in black, he radiated an air of authority without even trying.

"Y-you're with the Sea Whale Gang! Brothers, get him!"

The young man with the pockmarked face fought through the pain and called to the ruffians behind him, who were still hesitating. They charged forward as one.

The Tiger-Wolf Gang members had been wavering, but the moment they heard the words "Sea Whale Gang," they seemed to get a shot of chicken blood. They hurriedly grabbed their weapons and rushed at Zhou Yun.

"Fools."

Zhou Yun swept his gaze over them and immediately used the Black Ape Movement Technique. He darted through the eight or nine men, his punches fierce and sharp. Almost every blow dropped a member of the Tiger-Wolf Gang.

Someone else might not have managed to dispatch them as efficiently as Zhou Yun, but with this movement technique, he had an edge over other martial artists who had opened seven apertures, whether attacking his foes or making a getaway.

"He's a martial artist! Everyone, attack together!"

The young man with the pockmarked face clutched his arm, but his feet involuntarily shuffled a few steps backward.

The remaining four or five men immediately huddled together, giving Zhou Yun no chance to pick them off one by one, then charged all at once.

Zhou Yun dodged with a few quick sidesteps. His brows furrowed slightly. He was about to use his boxing to create an opening when the sound of a stick slicing through the air suddenly rang out behind him.

Thwack!

A cudgel struck Zhou Yun squarely on the back of the head. It was a short young man who had been lurking on the outskirts from the very beginning.

He'd hidden himself among the crowd. Anyone who didn't know better would have taken him for an ordinary passerby, but he was also a member of the Tiger-Wolf Gang.

"A-Shui! Nice work!"

The young man with the pockmarked face couldn't help shouting. Even a martial artist who had opened six apertures would have fallen to the ground after taking a blow like that to the back of the head.

As for someone who'd opened seven apertures? Could he really shift his blood and qi to the Heaven Gate point at will and block the blow?

How could that be possible!

Did they think seven-aperture martial artists were a dime a dozen? Most people had to work for a living. They might cut corners or pull a few tricks, but how much time would they have left to practice martial arts?

The seven-aperture martial artists in these gangs could be counted on two hands!

"Brother Rat, that makes me the one who did the most this time!"

The young man named A-Shui panted heavily, excitement showing on his fierce face.

Three days ago, the Tiger-Wolf Gang's leader had issued an order: anyone who killed a member of the Sea Whale Gang would receive a hundred copper coins, regardless of the victim's rank. If the victim was a martial artist who had opened their apertures, the reward would be anywhere from half a string to six strings of copper coins.

That one blow would keep him fed and watered for months!

He might even get to spend a few days at the Peach Blossom Kiln!

Just as A-Shui was thrilled beyond words and about to go over and land a few more blows to finish off the man in black—

He saw the masked man before him slowly turn around.

Not far away, Wang Ershu had been dragging his dislocated arm and preparing to rush in for another attack. Now, his feet stopped dead.

"Damn it, he really has opened all seven apertures!"