Showing Off

"More than a dozen people are dead!"

"Qian Ming was a vicious fighter who once cut down more than a dozen people with a single blade. And now someone's killed him."

"Who would dare provoke the Tri-Union Gang? Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"

"I heard it was the Si River Gang."

"Heard? It was the Si River Gang, all right. Other people are afraid of the Tri-Union Gang, but they aren't. After killing them, they even left a message in blood at the gang's headquarters to taunt them."

"The two gangs are probably going to war."

"Good. I hope they all kill each other."

The sun rose over the city. Usually, at this hour, most of the residents of White Stone Ward were only just getting out of bed. But today, the alleys were buzzing with talk of someone wiping out the Tri-Union Gang's headquarters.

"Keep your wits about you. If you get into trouble, just say my martial talent is exceptional, that the Huang Family values me, and that they've paid to send me to a martial arts school to train."

Before leaving, Xu Yang reminded Xu Qing.

It was unlikely anyone would trace the killings back to him, but so many people had died. The Tri-Union Gang might do anything. They could even take their anger out on innocent people.

"Be careful too, big brother. With so many people dead, things are bound to get chaotic."

"I know!"

Only after Xu Qing nodded did Xu Yang head out.

As soon as he left White Stone Ward, he heard people wailing.

Looking into the distance, he saw the families of the Tri-Union Gang members he'd killed gathered outside the gang's headquarters, weeping together. There had to be over a hundred of them.

He felt neither pity nor remorse. These people had helped the Tri-Union Gang commit evil and had ruined who knew how many families. They deserved to die.

Their families had enjoyed the money. Now they were suffering the consequences, and they had it coming.

"I hope they start fighting."

He'd deliberately left the two characters "Si River" behind to set the Si River Gang and the Tri-Union Gang against each other. Whether it would work was up to Heaven.

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance (32/100)]

[Martial Dao Longevity Points: 15]

He'd made quite a haul last night. Besides nearly ten taels of silver, he'd also received a reward of fifteen points that morning.

"From now on, I need to focus on training the Turtle-Snake Great Stance."

If he wanted to gather qi and become a martial artist this month, he had to raise his progress in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. Otherwise, it would fall behind his Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

And with last night's gains, he no longer had to worry about nutrition. He could train without holding back.

When he arrived at Wei Yuan Hall, he found that, apart from him and Lu Ren, Zhang Yong, Luo Dehu, Tang Ruiyang, and the others were all absent.

"They must've gone hunting Exotic Beasts!"

Xu Yang hadn't expected them to head into the mountains today, when they'd only brought it up with him yesterday.

"Senior Brother Xu, you were the one who took care of the Tri-Union Gang, weren't you?"

Just as Xu Yang was thinking about it, Qiu Wenjie sidled over furtively, his face full of uncertainty.

Xu Yang gave a slight nod. He'd used Muscle-Softening Powder, and any experienced coroner could detect it. It was only natural that Qiu Wenjie had guessed.

He just hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly. It had already reached the city.

"Be careful. I heard my father say that Li Sanhe has achieved Major Success in Qi Gathering. He's a real handful."

Li Sanhe was the leader of the Tri-Union Gang, a martial artist who'd been famous for years. Xu Yang could say he'd grown up under the shadow of Li Sanhe's lecherous cruelty.

Then Qiu Wenjie smiled. "Still, once you become a martial artist, with the reputation of Wei Yuan Hall behind you, he might not dare provoke you even if he knows you did it. Besides, you didn't leave any evidence."

Once he became a martial artist, it wouldn't matter whether Li Sanhe came after him or not.

"Do you think the Tri-Union Gang and the Si River Gang will start fighting?" Xu Yang asked quietly.

Qiu Wenjie shook his head. "Your scheme was a little clumsy. They probably won't fight. They might think a third party is pulling strings behind the scenes, which would only make them more cautious.

"Li Sanhe and Zhang Sishui are both crafty and cautious. They won't rush into a fight to the death over a few underlings."

Xu Yang couldn't help feeling helpless.

He knew the frame-up had been clumsy, but he'd never had any contact with the Si River Gang and hadn't had time to plan things out.

Still, it seemed that even if the gangs didn't end up fighting, he'd bought himself some time.

That evening, after he got home, what he heard from Xu Qing confirmed it. The Tri-Union Gang and the Si River Gang hadn't come to blows, but tensions were running high.

The Tri-Union Gang hadn't sent anyone back to its headquarters. Xu Yang didn't know if they were afraid of another incident or if they were waiting a few days.

They'd also sent people to search White Stone Ward, but aside from the silver, Xu Yang hadn't brought anything else back. The Tri-Union Gang hadn't found anything.

Time flew by. On the third day, Zhang Yong and the others returned, every one of them beaming and full of confidence.

They'd followed the Inner Courtyard senior brothers and really had managed to hunt an Exotic Beast. Everyone had received a share of the proceeds.

"Yang, it was free money! Too bad you didn't come. We just took a turn around the mountains and came away with this much."

Tang Ruiyang held up two fingers. "Two taels! You know what that means? We each got two taels!"

With money in their pockets, everyone was feeling on top of the world. At the very least, Tang Ruiyang was.

Before, he wouldn't have dared call Xu Yang "Yang." At first, he'd always called him Brother Xu.

Even after Xu Yang and Lu Ren had fallen out completely, he'd still called him Brother Xu whenever they spoke.

Although no one thought Xu Yang had a chance, deep down, the few of them all hoped he could gather qi and give them a little hope.

"What's there to regret? Give a timid person ten chances and he still won't seize one." Luo Dehu's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Now that he had money, he felt like he could become a martial artist again.

Two taels was a little on the small side, but this wasn't a one-time opportunity. If they did this two or three more times, becoming martial artists would be a sure thing.

Xu Yang wanted to tell them he'd gotten ten taels two days ago and now drank Body-Strengthening Soup every day. But after thinking it over, he decided not to show off.

"You've disappointed me," Zhang Yong said.

He'd always regarded Xu Yang as a rival and sworn to surpass him. He hadn't expected Xu Yang to lack even this little bit of grit.

Xu Yang was speechless. The reason Zhang Yong had spoken to him again was actually this?

"In a few days, we'll go into the mountains again. If you're willing, I can talk to Senior Brother Xue Fangsheng and have him let you join us. I don't want to surpass you by relying on resources."

A serious look crossed his stern face.

"I object. One more person means a smaller share for me. If you want him to join, give him your share."

Xu Yang hadn't even said a word before Qian Jiaxing objected.

They'd agreed with Xue Fangsheng to split things three-seven. The seven of them would divide up the three parts. Add another person, and eight people would have to share it.

"I object too!" Tang Ruiyang chimed in.

He was already kicking himself. If he'd known earning money would be this easy, he never would've invited so many people.

Going into the mountains with a martial artist was practically like picking money up off the ground.

"I..."

Zhang Hong was just about to speak, but Xu Yang cut him off. "I object too. Go show off to someone else. I have to train, and I don't have time to listen to you ramble."

The others immediately felt as if they'd punched thin air. It was deeply frustrating.

Xu Yang wasn't jealous at all. He wasn't even tempted.

"Keep talking tough. You'll regret it someday."

Tang Ruiyang sneered. He figured that if he hadn't objected, Xu Yang would have wanted to join. He was only pretending not to care because he knew there was no way.

Xu Yang paid them no mind.

Free money?

There was no such thing in this world.

Even Xu Laoer wanted to bleed him dry, let alone some distant relative.

He didn't know what was behind it, but he was certain Xue Fangsheng had an ulterior motive. One way or another, he'd find out eventually.

Xu Yang immersed himself in training the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. Every day, he secretly took out some copper coins and gave them to Xu Qing to buy meat, gradually spending the money he'd brought back.

Seven days later!

After spending seven days training furiously with their shares of the silver, Tang Ruiyang, Zhang Yong, and the other five went hunting Exotic Beasts in the mountains with Xue Fangsheng again.

They didn't return for three whole days.