Protection

More than two hours later, the moon hung high in the sky.

Soaked from head to toe, Lu Cheng quietly appeared in the village.

Without slowing his steps, he followed the moonlight to his own alley.

His front gate stood wide open, and the courtyard was a complete mess.

The inner rooms were no different. The furniture, tables, and stools had all been smashed to pieces.

That much had been expected. But crucially, Old Man Ge's home next door was in the same state.

Walking into the Ge family courtyard, Lu Cheng could still see several patches of dried dark red beneath the moonlight.

In an instant, that dark red pierced his chest, and Lu Cheng's heart clenched violently.

There was no need to think about what had once happened in this courtyard.

Though he had prepared himself, Lu Cheng still could not stop his fury from surging up. His eyes immediately reddened.

"Liu Daozi. Good. Very good."

Lu Cheng clenched both hands tight, his nails nearly digging into his palms.

He suddenly turned and looked toward the fish spear lying in the corner by the courtyard wall.

He crossed the distance in two or three strides. With a flick of his toe, the fish spear seemed to come alive and flew into Lu Cheng's hand with a whoosh.

Gripping the fish spear, Lu Cheng turned and left.

Liu Daozi could be considered an old hand in the Fish Gang.

It was simply that his abilities were truly limited.

So after the Cold Willow Town leader rose in rank, the position had gone to You Lanchuang, who had joined later than him.

This had left Liu Daozi resentful, though he had never dared show it.

At last, You Lanchuang disappeared.

Liu Daozi did not believe he had run off with the money.

There was only one possibility: something had happened to You Lanchuang.

But that had nothing to do with him. All he knew was that the position had opened up.

After pulling some strings, the position that had arrived four or five years late finally landed beneath his backside.

For three days straight, Liu Daozi and several underlings celebrated excitedly through the night.

They drank through the first half of the night, then gambled through the second.

With those evil ruffians gathered together, Lu Cheng was spared some effort.

Holding his spear, Lu Cheng hid in the darkness behind the house. After waiting for a long while, one of the ruffians finally came out.

While the man was urinating, Lu Cheng swung his spear and pierced straight through his neck.

"Huh? Why hasn't that bastard Qu San come back yet? Don't tell me he fell asleep outside?"

The ruffian Lu Cheng had killed did not return for a long time, eventually drawing the attention of those inside.

Two men immediately moved to come out and look for him.

Including Liu Daozi, there were only four people in the courtyard.

Thus, Lu Cheng no longer hid himself.

Just as the two men opened the door, he burst from the shadows. His fish spear swept out, first slicing open one man's throat.

Its momentum did not stop, instead slashing across the ugly face of the man beside him.

Before his scream of pain could fade, Lu Cheng thrust out again and ended the second man's life.

Inside, Liu Daozi had already sensed that something was wrong and reached for the blade behind him.

But his drunken body would not obey. He had only just drawn the blade when a flash of cold light filled his vision, followed by searing pain.

Lu Cheng's fish spear had pierced through his wrist.

"I'm asking you. What did you do to Old Man Ge and his family?"

The intense pain instantly sobered Liu Daozi. When he saw it was Lu Cheng, his heart skipped a beat.

He could not understand how Lu Cheng had become so formidable in only four days.

Yet his desire to survive still forced down his fear, and he calmly threatened him:

"Lu Cheng, it's not too late to stop now. Kill those lackeys if you want, but I'm different. If you kill me, you'll have thoroughly offended the Fish Gang. Then you'll inevitably end up like Old Man Ge, taking a trip into the river."

Hearing that Old Man Ge had indeed been harmed, Lu Cheng's blood rushed to his head. His words squeezed out through clenched teeth:

"Different? How are you different?"

He exerted force in his hand, yanking out the fish spear with a squelch, then stabbing it into Liu Daozi's thigh.

That strike hurt Liu Daozi so badly that one Buddha ascended to heaven and another was born into the world. Tears and snot gushed out together, yet he still did not forget to threaten him:

"I belong to the Young Gang Leader! If you kill me, the Young Gang Leader won't let you off!"

Lu Cheng snorted coldly and drove the spear into his other leg.

"What a Young Gang Leader. Unfortunately, he walked ahead of you."

Liu Daozi stared at Lu Cheng in disbelief, even choking back his wails.

Lu Cheng had even killed the Fish Gang's Young Gang Leader. Naturally, he would not spare him either.

But then Liu Daozi seemed to think of something. Trembling, he burst into wild laughter.

"You're finished. You're finished."

"Our Gang Leader and the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall master are sworn brothers. He's a Body Refining Realm martial artist! You killed the Young Gang Leader, so you won't live either! You won't live either! Hahaha!"

Strangely enough, Liu Daozi had never shown any bloody courage since joining the Fish Gang, yet now he seemed like a completely different person.

At death's door, no one knew where he found the strength to pick up the short blade that had fallen beside him and hurl it at Lu Cheng.

But with his grievously injured body, how could he have any accuracy?

Lu Cheng did not even need to dodge. The blade flew away at an angle.

Lu Cheng snorted and stopped wasting words, thrusting his spear into Liu Daozi's chest.

Liu Daozi's words weighed on Lu Cheng's heart like a massive boulder.

He had originally thought the Fish Gang was merely a gang of street thugs. He had not expected it to have connections with martial artist forces behind the scenes.

"Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall. Body Refining Realm."

If they were merely at the Refining Strength level, Lu Cheng felt he would have no need to worry.

Before long, he would reach the completion of Refining Strength himself.

But a Body Refining Realm martial artist was troublesome.

With strength like Feng Zhan's, there was no way he could possibly defeat one.

After turning it over in his mind, the best method was surprisingly to avoid the sharp edge for now and leave Yang City.

This concerned his life. No matter how reluctant he was, he could only do so.

But before leaving, he needed to inform the Escort Agency.

If the Fish Gang could not find him, they would certainly visit the Long Wind Escort Agency. The three chief escorts needed to be prepared.

With this in mind, Lu Cheng returned to the Escort Agency and knocked on Feng Zhan's door.

"The Yang City Fish Gang truly cannot be compared to those small gangs. Not only do they have close ties with the authorities, they also deal with several martial halls in the city."

"Among them, their connections with the Azure Dragon Martial Hall, Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, White Tiger Martial Hall, and Black Tortoise Martial Hall run deepest. Beyond that, there are also the Xu Family and Huang Family, two martial lineages within the city."

"Among these forces, the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, White Tiger Martial Hall, Xu Family, and Huang Family each have a martial artist at the early Body Refining Realm."

"Though most of it is merely business dealings, the Fish Gang has money. If they scatter enough silver around, they can summon at least more than half of them."

In the second courtyard of the Long Wind Escort Agency, inside Feng Zhan's room.

Feng Zhan wore only an undershirt as he sat in a chair. After saying this, he looked at Lu Cheng.

After listening, Lu Cheng's heart grew even heavier.

What Feng Zhan said was far more detailed than Liu Daozi's account.

It seemed Yangcheng County truly could not be stayed in any longer.

Fortunately, he had just taken more than ten taels of silver from Liu Daozi.

Nothing else mattered; at least it was enough to relocate.

Just as he was about to bid Feng Zhan farewell, Feng Zhan spoke first.

"How is your Mystic Eagle Stance training coming along?"

Hm?

Lu Cheng's heart stirred. He seemed to grasp something, but could not be certain for the moment.

Looking at Feng Zhan, he saw the man staring sharply back at him, his eyes bright and spirited.

"No matter what the Fish Gang does, it is only an earthly gang. It cannot stir up towering waves."

"As for those martial halls and sects..."

Feng Zhan raised his head and straightened his back. Though he wore only an undershirt, his bearing was no less impressive than it had been in daylight.

"Though the Long Wind Escort Agency cannot suppress every one of them, if we take a harder stance, we can still make them observe some rules."

The implication was that the Long Wind Escort Agency could help Lu Cheng bear this matter, but the price they would pay would not be small.

It depended on whether Lu Cheng was worth it.

Understanding this, Lu Cheng knew that tonight, he absolutely could not hold anything back.

Not only could he not hide his abilities, he had to bring out twelve parts of his skill and demonstrate value far beyond the ordinary.

As for what value he had, had Feng Zhan not already asked?

Naturally, it was his progress in martial arts.

Lu Cheng recalled that after killing Shi Da, [Heavenly Mandate] had given him some feedback.

He had not had time to look then, and only remembered now that Feng Zhan had asked.

He immediately checked his sea of consciousness.

[Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance]

[Grade: Low-Grade Human Tier]

[Realm: Beginner (127/200)]

In his battle with Shi Da, Lu Cheng's first strike had been a full-powered attack after gathering momentum.

His second had combined borrowed force with a twist.

Both moves had employed the Mystic Eagle Stance he had practiced for so long.

The result had been excellent. It had unexpectedly raised his proficiency by twenty-five points at once.

It was neither a great nor a small surprise.

Once proficiency surpassed half, one would be half a step into minor mastery.

To enter Stance Training and reach such progress in four days could not be said to be unprecedented and unsurpassable, but in a place like Yangcheng County, there should be no one else like him.

"This disciple has already entered the gate of Stance Training. I can now circulate force through my legs, feet, arms, and all four limbs, borrow force from the ground, and transmit strength throughout my body."

Feng Zhan was instead taken aback when he heard this.

"Is that true?"

Lu Cheng first assumed a horse stance before replying to Feng Zhan.

"Please test me, Third Chief Escort!"

Seeing this, Feng Zhan already believed him by eighty percent.

He said "Good" three times in a row, extending one hand and holding his palm upright before Lu Cheng.

"Come. Throw a full-power punch."

Lu Cheng knew this concerned whether he would leave or stay tonight, so he did not dare hold back.

He took a deep breath, withdrew his right foot one step, and slowly bent downward.

His left hand stretched out before him like a black hawk spreading its wings, while his right hand formed a fist at his waist. He assumed the third form of the Mystic Eagle Stance.

Then, his right heel lifted before stamping down, while his left foot twisted outward. The counterforce surged up through his legs and feet, then he twisted his waist and drove his hips forward.

Borrowing that force, his right fist shot out like lightning.

Thud!

As fist and palm collided, Lu Cheng felt as if he had punched a boulder.

Along with the hardness came an enormous rebounding force.

Lu Cheng desperately braced his legs against the ground, yet still failed to steady himself.

His feet staggered back five steps in succession. Only when his back struck the door with a bang did he stop.

As a Body Refining Realm martial artist who also practiced the Mystic Eagle Technique, Feng Zhan was naturally familiar with Lu Cheng's force.

After that exchange, he immediately confirmed that Lu Cheng had not lied.

He had indeed reached the stage where force flowed through all four limbs.

Feng Zhan withdrew his palm and stared at Lu Cheng for a while before speaking blandly.

"Go back and sleep. Tomorrow morning, train as usual."