Gang Leader: I've Seen Through Everything!

The rain eased.

Inside the Locust Tree Forest, the wind was still howling.

Li Pingsheng stood beneath that old locust tree, watching the yellow muddy water on the ground.

The two puddles of yellowish-brown sludge melted by the Corpse Dissolving Powder had faded significantly under the rain's assault.

The air still hung heavy with the stench of sulfur and sour rot.

He pulled the bone whistle from his robes.

Zhao Ming's essence blood on it hadn't been washed away; it had shriveled into a dark red bead, clinging to the crevices of the bone.

The Zhao Family's Mystic Yin Technique was truly interesting.

Li Pingsheng crouched down.

Back in the limestone cave, he had listened to Zhao Zhentian explain the methods of the Mystic Yin Technique and observed the flow of blood and qi when Zhao Ming practiced it, so he had basically grasped the fundamentals of this martial art.

He extended his index finger, mimicking the circulation of the Mysterious Yin Force.

He brushed his fingertip lightly across the bone whistle.

The drop of essence blood, touched by the cold, sinister force, immediately dissolved and seeped into the patterns of the bone whistle.

The whistle emitted a green glow, and a chill was drawn out from within.

With this, the object now looked as if it had been nurtured for years by the Mystic Yin blood and qi of a direct descendant of the Zhao Family.

Li Pingsheng tossed the bone whistle to the edge of the yellowish-brown sludge.

Then, he used the tip of his shoe to nudge some dirt over half of the whistle.

He pulled a small porcelain bottle from his robes and poured a bit of Corpse Dissolving Powder onto the end of the whistle.

As soon as the powder touched the rainwater, it hissed with white smoke, etching several black spots onto the bone.

Now, the whistle looked as if it had been splashed by Corpse Dissolving Powder during a fight before falling to the ground.

Finished with these preparations, Li Pingsheng stood up.

He looked around to ensure he hadn't left any traces behind.

He then executed the Wind Treading movement technique and departed the area.

His feet hovered an inch above the ground, so the muddy water couldn't touch his soles.

He returned to change out of his night-traveling clothes and stuffed them into the stove to burn them to ash.

Li Pingsheng lay on his bed and closed his eyes.

The trap was set; now it was just a matter of seeing how the Black Water Gang would respond.

Early the next morning.

Black Water Gang headquarters, Justice Gathering Hall.

The gang leader sat on his large chair, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

On the bluestone floor below, two shattered jade tablets lay.

These were the life tablets of Ghost One and Ghost Two.

"What is the meaning of this? They're dead?"

The few men kneeling in the hall didn't dare to let out a peep.

"Ghost One and Ghost Two were trained by my own hands."

"Two Bone Refining realm death warriors sent to kill a kid who just entered the inner courtyard of the martial arts school, and they don't return for a night, and their life tablets shatter?"

The gang leader stood up.

"Gang Leader, the rain was too heavy last night, and there was no movement from the martial arts school."

"However, our eyes outside the school reported that Ghost One and Ghost Two entered the back mountain and never came out."

A steward replied.

"Two grown men, and they just vanished into thin air?"

"Let's go. Take a few men and come with me to take a look."

The rain had stopped, and the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The gang leader took a few trusted aides and followed the markers left by the death warriors all the way to the old Locust Tree Forest behind the martial arts school.

This forest was remote; no one ever came here.

He sniffed the air.

Born with a keen nose, he was particularly sensitive to the scent of blood and medicinal powders.

"Gang Leader, there are signs of a struggle here."

A trusted aide pointed to a locust tree that had been snapped in half.

The gang leader walked over and examined the fracture.

"It was a heavy-handed technique, broken with a single punch."

"The force was fierce and rigid; this is no ordinary martial art."

He crouched down and felt the muddy ground with his hand.

Soon, he discovered two pools of yellowish-brown muddy water.

Inside the mud, there were still fragments of clothing that hadn't fully dissolved.

"Corpse-Dissolving Powder."

The gang leader's expression grew even gloomier.

"Gang Leader, take a look at this!"

His trusted subordinate made a discovery in a dirt pit beside the mud and called out.

The gang leader turned his head and saw his subordinate holding something covered in mud and half-corroded.

"Bring it here."

The gang leader wiped it with his sleeve.

It was a whistle made of white bone, covered in intricate carvings.

"This is..."

Having traveled far and wide for so many years, he had seen quite a lot.

The material of this bone whistle was the brow bone of a century-old fierce beast.

Such an item could not possibly exist in the Outer City.

He circulated his blood energy and probed the bone whistle with his fingertip.

A cold, sinister force rebounded from within the whistle.

He was all too familiar with this sensation.

"Mystic Yin Technique!"

"Zhao Zhentian, Zhao Ming..." The gang leader gripped the Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle tightly.

"Gang Leader, could the energy on this whistle belong to the Zhao Family?"

A subordinate leaned in to ask.

"Besides that father and son from the Zhao Family, who else in Clear Wind City could cultivate such pure Mystic Yin blood energy?"

The gang leader connected all the clues.

"A fine Zhao Family indeed, their appetite is truly not small."

"Master Scar died under suspicious circumstances."

"He took so many men to the Outer City, only for them all to be mauled to death by demonic beasts."

"I couldn't figure out before why the demonic beasts in the Outer City specifically targeted my Black Water Gang."

"Looking at this whistle now, it's a Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle!"

"With the Zhao Family in possession of this, the beast disaster in the Outer City was clearly orchestrated by them!"

"They wanted to swallow up the industries in the Outer City at a low price, and Master Scar stood in their way, so they used this whistle to lure the beasts and wipe him out!"

The subordinate nearby asked, "Gang Leader, then Ghost One and Ghost Two..."

"Does that even need asking?"

"We all thought Li Pingsheng was the killer and sent Ghost One and Ghost Two to eliminate him."

"While Ghost One and Ghost Two were searching for Li Pingsheng, they must have run into a master from the Zhao Family."

"Ghost One and Ghost Two surely discovered ironclad proof of their collusion with demonic cultists, such as this bone whistle."

"To prevent their secret collusion from being exposed, that person killed Ghost One and Ghost Two on the spot and used Corpse-Dissolving Powder to silence them!"

"It's just that in his haste, the Zhao Family master dropped this Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle, which Zhao Ming had been using to nurture his energy!"

The more the gang leader thought about it, the more he felt this was exactly what happened.

The fresh Mystic Yin blood energy on the bone whistle could not be faked.

It carried the distinct scent of essence blood found only in the direct lineage of the Zhao Family.

"That brat Zhao Ming, caught red-handed, yet he dares to provoke our Black Water Gang like this!"

The gang leader slammed his palm against a nearby tree.

The thick trunk split open from the force of his strike.

"Gang Leader, what shall we do now? Should we go directly to Zhao Zhentian and demand an explanation?"

The subordinate asked.

"Demand an explanation? Would that old fox Zhao Zhentian ever admit to it?"

"Since they want to play dirty, I'll play along with them until the end."

"Pass the order down: call all the experts in the gang and keep a close watch on every shop the Zhao Family owns in the Inner City and Outer City. The moment any member of the Zhao Family is alone, take them out!"

"Yes!"

The men from the Black Water Gang withdrew from the Locust Tree Forest.

The sky was already bright.

Azure Cloud Martial Hall, Martial Practice Field.

Li Pingsheng stood in a corner, throwing punches of the Thunderbolt Fist one by one.

His movements were very slow; he had to stop and catch his breath after every move, his face deathly pale.

"Pingsheng, take a break. Don't push yourself too hard."

Pei Guang passed by and watched from the side.

Li Pingsheng wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I'm fine. If I practice more, my blood and qi will eventually recover."

Not far away, Zhao Ming was gathered with a few disciples.

He kept making mistakes today; even while standing in a horse stance, his body was trembling.

"Senior Brother Zhao, what's wrong? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

A disciple leaned in to ask.

"Mind your own business!"

Zhao Ming cursed.

He truly hadn't slept well.

Last night in the limestone cave, he had lost the Beast-Controlling Bone Whistle.

He assumed that due to his unstable cultivation, he had knocked the bone whistle into the Cold Spring Deep Pool.

The underground river at the bottom of that pool was extremely swift; it was impossible to retrieve anything that fell in.

He didn't dare tell his father, Zhao Zhentian, about this, so he could only fret in silence.

Li Pingsheng watched Zhao Ming from the corner.

He probably couldn't have guessed that the bone whistle was already in the hands of the Black Water Gang.

Just then, a few scouts from the Black Water Gang ran past the gate of the martial hall.

Li Pingsheng watched their retreating figures.

The plan was already half successful.

From here on out, there would be no more peace.