I am Steward Li of the Prince's Estate, I am... (Seeking Follow-ups)

Late night.

A courtyard in Peace Lane, the new base of the Clear Water Gang.

"Boss, staying in this place is truly stifling. There isn't even a girl to be found."

"Vice Boss, getting girls is simple enough. Among the alleys we walked through today, there were a few houses with girls who looked quite decent. Shall we go knock on their doors now?"

Cao Peng listened to his subordinates, then slammed his wine bowl onto the table. "What time do you think it is? Still thinking about that nonsense between your legs."

Seeing their boss suddenly flare up, the core members of the Clear Water Gang exchanged glances and offered sheepish smiles.

"The priority right now is to collect the 'Peace Money.' If we don't collect the full amount, you know the consequences if our backer gets angry."

As a martial artist who had completed one round of skin-toughening, Cao Peng had been able to assemble this team and seize several streets in the chaotic western part of the city not only because of his own ruthlessness, but because he had a backer supporting him from the shadows.

Yet, even his backer could not compare to the Four Seas Gang. The Four Seas Gang expanded rapidly and used brutal methods; his original territory had been squeezed until survival was impossible. Resisting head-on would only lead to death, and his backer could not protect him. With no other choice, he had been forced to bring these dozen or so brothers and slink away to this area in the north of the city.

As for defecting to the Four Seas Gang?

He dared not.

His backer might not be able to deal with the Four Seas Gang, but crushing him, Cao Peng, would be no different than crushing an ant.

Without his backer, he, Cao Peng, would never have even achieved his first round of skin-toughening. But because of that same backer, ever since he completed that first round, he had been sent to form this gang, with ninety percent of the profits handed over to his superior. This had resulted in him barely having any time to practice martial arts afterward.

"Listen to me clearly," Cao Peng said, scanning his subordinates with a gloomy gaze. "There are many people living in these alleys, and there is profit to be made, but we are new here and haven't found our footing yet."

He paused, pointing to a rough sketch of the alleyways on the table. "Follow the old rules first: go door-to-door to 'notify' them. You can collect less from those who have no money; what matters is that they accept the rule of the Peace Money and get used to paying this sum every month."

Having worked in gangs for years, Cao Peng understood the common folk at the bottom of society all too well. You could start by collecting a small amount; as long as they accepted it, you could increase the burden later, and they wouldn't dare to resist.

He gulped down some wine, his tone softening, yet carrying a deeper chill. "Once the people in this alley and the neighboring ones are used to paying us tribute every month and acknowledge our Clear Water Gang as the 'ones in charge' here, then..."

He didn't finish, but everyone present understood the subtext.

When that time came, wouldn't everything be up to them?

The girls they took a fancy to, the storefronts they coveted—there would always be a way to get their hands on them.

"The Boss is brilliant."

"The Boss is truly formidable."

The men around him chimed in with flattery. After three rounds of drinks, someone felt the urge to relieve himself and stood up to head outside.

"Why hasn't Mazi come back yet? He hasn't fallen into the latrine, has he? Boss, I'll go take a look."

Inside the room, another man with a flushed face stood up. However, the moment he reached the doorway, a cold wind struck him. Seeing the figure standing before him, his drunken stupor vanished instantly.

He was about to open his mouth to sound the alarm, but before a word could escape, a fist rapidly enlarged in his vision. Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, it smashed heavily into the center of his face!

"Bang!"

A dull thud sounded like leather being struck.

The burly man couldn't even let out a scream; his nasal bone collapsed and shattered instantly. The immense force sent him flying backward off his feet, slamming hard into the door that hadn't been fully opened. With a loud "clatter," the door swung inward, and his body slumped limply to the ground, blood pouring from his seven orifices.

"You're courting death!" Cao Peng was both shocked and furious. As a martial artist who had completed one round of skin-toughening, he had the fastest reflexes. He flipped the table to use as a shield and roared, "Grab your weapons!"

The remaining man scrambled to grab the broadsword leaning against the wall.

But the figure that had burst in was faster. Ignoring the flipped table, he shifted his feet in a strange, agile pattern, dodging the flying bowls and spilled wine, and was already upon the man reaching for the sword like a ghost.

Before the man could even lift the sword he had just grasped, the masked man's left hand clamped onto his wrist and twisted with force!

"Snap!"

The crisp sound of a wrist bone breaking was clearly audible.

"Ah!"

The excruciating pain forced a scream from the gang member, and the broadsword slipped from his hand.

The masked man caught the hilt as it fell, and with a backhanded swipe, the blade flashed like a streak of light across the man's throat.

The scream was cut short, and blood sprayed out.

From the moment the masked man smashed through the door to the moment he finished the man off, only two or three breaths had passed!

Cao Peng was now both shocked and terrified. This masked man was ruthless and decisive; he was definitely a skin-toughening expert, and he had killed before!

"Which path do you walk, friend? My Clear Water Gang has no grudge against you..." Cao Peng tried to use words to stall him while secretly gathering his strength.

Lin Yan said nothing, slashing out with the blood-stained broadsword.

Seeing the strike, a flash of joy crossed Cao Peng's eyes. The masked man's swordsmanship was amateurish; although his momentum was fierce, he had left a massive opening!

"Die!"

Cao Peng growled. He had spent years immersed in claw techniques and excelled at finding gaps to close the distance. His hands transformed into claws, fingers like hooks, and with a foul wind, he lunged directly for Lin Yan's sword-wielding wrist and his wide-open chest!

However, the moment he thrust his claws forward, Lin Yan simply let go of the sword. His Stone Waist Savage Spine erupted with power, his right arm bent, and both fists struck out like siege hammers from a cannon, slamming into Cao Peng's claws without any flair.

At the collision of fist and claw, a crisp sound of shattering bone echoed.

Cao Peng's face twisted in pain; the force behind the opponent's fists was swift and peerless, far beyond anything he could contend with.

"Spare me! Good man, spare me! The one standing behind me is..."

Cao Peng felt his courage shatter; he realized he was no match for this masked star of calamity.

Yet before he could even finish his thought, Lin Yan ghosted forward, driving an elbow strike imbued with his full strength deep into Cao Peng's chest!

"Pfft!"

Cao Peng's eyes bulged, a spray of blood mixed with visceral fragments erupting from his mouth as his chest visibly caved inward. His body flew backward, slamming into the wall before sliding slowly to the floor, the light of life rapidly fading from his eyes.

The room fell into an instant, suffocating silence, thick with the stench of blood.

Lin Yan breathed shallowly, his chest heaving as he looked at the three corpses strewn across the room, his gaze cold and devoid of ripples.

Through their handshake test earlier that day, he had already gauged that Cao Peng's blood-energy was only slightly superior to his own. He knew that by utilizing the Stone Waist Savage Spine, he could surpass his opponent, and with his mastery-level Mountain Splitting Fist, it would be more than enough.

Once he confirmed Cao Peng's strength was inferior to his own, he had already passed a death sentence upon him.

As Mencius said: "Those in gangs who lack compassion are not human; they may be killed."

With practiced ease, he began to clear the scene, though Lin Yan couldn't help but kick Cao Peng's corpse.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you lot were here for charity."

This was the poorest gang leader and the poorest gang he had ever seen—even poorer than Zhou Wu, that hall master.

The four of them combined had only thirty taels of silver on them.

Lin Yan refused to give up, searching the room for a while longer until he finally unearthed a ledger from beneath the bed.

As he flipped through it, his expression grew increasingly grave.

It recorded the various revenues of the Clear Water Gang over the years, but the vast majority of the silver flowed to a "Master," which explained why Cao Peng was so destitute.

Behind Cao Peng stood a far more powerful force; things had become troublesome.

Lin Yan did not take the ledger, instead tucking it back under the bed frame. He picked up the machete he had discarded earlier and hacked directly at the wounds on Cao Peng's chest.

Of the four dead, the one in the latrine had died from a snapped neck, another had been throat-slit, and only Cao Peng and the last man had been killed by his fists.

He had to destroy the fatal wounds on Cao Peng and the other man to ensure the power behind them couldn't trace the deed back to him.

After finishing the cleanup and confirming no clues remained, Lin Yan vaulted over the wall once more, his figure vanishing into the night.

The next day.

"Is this the home of young Master Lin?"

Lin Yan was practicing his punches in the courtyard when he heard the commotion and walked to the gate, finding a middle-aged man in proper attire standing there.

"And you are?"

"I am the steward of the Wang Family in the East City."

"Ah, Steward Li."

Lin Yan plastered a smile on his face and enthusiastically extended both hands.

"My surname is not Wang; it is Li."

Li Guiyi looked at Lin Yan's outstretched hands, hesitated for a moment, and finally extended his right hand. Lin Yan immediately gripped it. "Steward Li, please, come in for some tea."

Extracting his hand from Lin Yan's grasp without a trace, Li Guiyi felt the grease on his palm and caught sight of a basin of boiled pork on the stone table in the courtyard, feeling utter disdain in his heart.

Truly a man of low birth; he didn't understand the first thing about etiquette.

"Steward Li, is the Wang estate looking for guards? Don't worry, my price isn't high—only twenty taels a month will do."

Li Guiyi was momentarily stunned. That was supposed to be his line—using the estate's need for guards to probe Lin Yan's background—but it seemed that would no longer be necessary.

"The Wang estate is not in need of guards. I simply heard that a young martial artist had emerged in Yuliu Alley and, happening to pass by, decided to pay a visit. Truly, a hero among youths."

The enthusiastic smile on Lin Yan's face vanished at Li Guiyi's words. He looked at Li Guiyi's empty hands and muttered, "Coming for a visit..."

"My apologies, young Master Lin. I came in such a hurry I didn't prepare a proper gift. Please, accept this as a token of my sincerity."

Hearing Lin Yan's muttering, Li Guiyi didn't even think; he pulled a silver ingot worth two full taels from his robes. "I have matters to attend to at the estate. Farewell."

"Walk slowly, Steward Li. Come back for tea when you have time." Lin Yan watched with lingering reluctance as Li Guiyi vanished at the end of the alley.

"If not for the reputation of the Wang Family, I would have split you in two right then and there."

Li Guiyi pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and frantically wiped the grease from his hand.

"Steward Li, do you think this man could be the killer?"

At the mouth of the alley, another young man was waiting for him.

"This Lin Yan has only just completed his first skin-tempering. No matter how much of a waste Cao Peng was, he had been at the first skin-tempering stage for years. This man is not the killer."

"If it's not Lin Yan, and Xu Ping doesn't seem like it either, then who killed Cao Peng? Should I secretly test Lin Yan?"

"Test Xu Ping if you wish, but leave this Lin Yan be. He is a disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, and their master is a four-time skin-tempering martial artist. With the county in such a turbulent state, the Master has specifically warned us not to stir up unnecessary trouble."

Li Guiyi shook his head, a cold glint in his eyes. "Cao Peng couldn't even hold onto his territory in the West City; he had little value left anyway. If he's dead, he's dead."

In the courtyard.

Lin Yan still wore a smile on his face, but the moment he shook hands with Steward Li, he knew that the master behind Cao Peng must be the Wang Family.

The gray Martial Dao Tree revealed that this Steward Li also practiced the Stone-Splitting Claw.

A Martial Dao Tree height of two feet eight, with the Stone-Splitting Claw fully adorned in green leaves.

This was an elite among second-stage skin-tempering martial artists who had reached proficiency in the Stone-Splitting Claw.

This person was not someone he could handle at the moment, but he figured his performance just now had lowered the other party's suspicions.