Fishing in Troubled Waters

The next day.

Lu Li went to collect herbs as usual and arrived at the Huang Mansion to hand them over.

During the process, he deliberately slowed his movements and pricked up his ears, listening for news from the other herb gatherers passing by.

The Huang family's herb gatherers came from every corner of the outer city, making them very well-informed.

"The Black Tiger Gang and the Blood Wolf Gang really did start fighting on Xinping Street. I passed by there and took a look from afar; it was truly miserable—flesh and blood flying everywhere, and the wailing was deafening."

One of the gatherers spoke eloquently to an acquaintance, gesturing as he talked, looking as if he were reliving the scene.

Xinping Street... Lu Li noted the location and fell into thought.

He recalled the location of Xinping Street; it was not far from his own home.

I just don't know if Zhang Hu is among them, Lu Li thought to himself.

If he truly encountered Zhang Hu, he would definitely have to kill him to prevent future trouble!

In such a large gang, there was certainly more than one location where fighting was taking place.

After learning of several locations, Lu Li ultimately chose Xinping Street and prepared to take action.

He quickly finished handing over the herbs and headed straight for Xinping Street.

Before he even arrived, the sounds of fighting and screaming reached him from afar.

As he drew closer, he saw a group of people wielding clubs and long blades, fighting for their lives.

The surrounding residents and shopkeepers had all shuttered their doors, peeking out from within, with no one daring to step outside.

Lu Li hid behind a building and scanned the area for a moment, but he did not spot Zhang Hu; he must have been elsewhere.

Feeling a slight sense of regret, he slipped into a dark alleyway, pulled out the black robe he had hidden in his clothes, and donned a face mask, leaving only his eyes exposed.

His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, revealing a keen edge as killing intent suddenly surged.

The battle between the two sides had started long ago, and within a cup of tea's time after Lu Li's arrival, the victor had already been decided.

The Black Tiger Gang had won this skirmish; they crouched on the ground and began looting the corpses.

"Haha, I've struck gold! I found a fat fish—this guy actually had five taels of silver on him!" A burly man who appeared to be the leader exclaimed with great delight.

"Boss, your luck is truly great. I only found two taels."

"Damn it, a poor wretch; there's nothing here." Someone who had found nothing was extremely annoyed and spat on the corpse at his feet.

Lu Li's eyes darted around, observing everything and noting exactly who had found silver.

After a while, someone shouted to the residents nearby, "Come out and clean up the mess," and the group began to disperse in twos and threes.

Among them, three men were walking toward the alley where Lu Li was hiding. The leader was none other than the man who had found the five taels of silver.

Lu Li lay in wait silently, ready to strike at any moment.

"Hahaha, my luck is good today. Brothers, I'll treat you to drinks. Who knows how many more days we'll be fighting? There are plenty of opportunities, but living it up is what matters!"

"Hehe, Brother Ma is mighty! You sent those Blood Wolf Gang bastards running with their tails between their legs, crying for their mothers."

With someone singing his praises, the man called Brother Ma was clearly pleased, letting out a proud, booming laugh.

He was obviously in a very good mood.

Just as they drew near, a swish sound rang out, and a large cloud of white powder was suddenly flung into the air.

Caught off guard, lime powder coated their faces, and quite a bit even got into their mouths. A burning sensation spread across their faces and inside their mouths, forcing him to shut up immediately.

"Damn it, which blind fool is throwing lime around?" Brother Ma cursed loudly.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey." He tried to spit out the lime powder.

But just then, he felt a gust of wind howl toward him, blowing his hair and beard wildly, while a needle-like stinging pain struck his face.

A sense of terror surged instantly, spreading from within to every part of his body.

His whole body felt as if it had been electrocuted, his hair standing on end.

The alarm bells in his heart rang out, deafening and urgent.

Not good! he screamed internally, realizing he had been ambushed.

However, it was too late; Lu Li's fist had already smashed into his face.

To these small-time thugs who only knew a few clumsy tricks, Lu Li's punch was like Mount Tai crashing down. The force was so fierce and destructive that they didn't even have a chance to counterattack.

His body flew backward, slamming heavily against the wall. His head was a bloody mess, and he collapsed to the ground, motionless—dead in an instant!

A one-hit kill!

"Brother Ma, what happened to you?"

The two lackeys heard the commotion and immediately realized something was wrong. Their faces turned pale with terror, and they turned to flee in a panic.

Suddenly, however, they felt someone place a hand on their heads and lift them straight up.

The strength was like an iron vice, as if the person intended to crush their skulls, causing them both to gasp in pain.

With a sharp thud, Lu Li hoisted the two men up and slammed their heads together with brutal force.

A dull sound of flesh colliding echoed out as a spray of blood erupted; their skulls shattered instantly, brains splattering everywhere, and they breathed their last in an instant.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. To a martial artist, these ordinary men were nothing more than ants to be crushed, dispatched with ease in mere moments.

Lu Li crouched down and swiftly looted the bodies, coming away with a total of ten taels of silver.

The harvest from these three men had been quite bountiful.

Feeling the heavy silver in his palm, Lu Li was overjoyed, his entire body feeling light.

He turned and left quickly, stripping off his blood-stained black robe as he walked, folding it up and tucking it away inside his clothes.

With the gangs clashing, the local residents were terrified that the fighters would lose their minds and kill indiscriminately, so they were all cowering in their homes, not daring to step outside.

Thus, Lu Li's actions went completely unnoticed.

Even after the fighting ended, it took a long while before the nearby residents reluctantly emerged to clean up the corpses and the bloodstains on the ground.

"These gangs are truly outrageous. All they do is bully us day in and day out. Collecting protection money is one thing, but fighting in the streets and keeping everyone in a state of panic? And now they expect us to scrub the floors like we're their beasts of burden."

"Keep your voice down! If one of them hasn't gone far, you're done for!"

"Sigh, when will these days ever end?"

"Exactly. Who knows how much longer they'll keep fighting? I can't even run my business, yet I still have to pay them protection money."

"Damn it, they've been picked clean. They're wolves that don't even leave a bone behind!"

"If only I were a martial artist. What a pity—I studied for a year and learned nothing. Otherwise, would I have to live at the mercy of these gangs?"

Some were bitter, others worried; the crowd grumbled and sighed incessantly.

Lu Li emerged from another alleyway, glanced at them from afar, and shook his head to himself.

They were not martial artists; unarmed and powerless, they had no way to resist and could only be slaughtered like livestock.

When all was said and done, one had to possess real skill to stand firm!

Only by practicing martial arts could one change their station in life. Lu Li clenched his fists, his resolve firmer than ever.

Back home, Lu Li washed his bloodied clothes and took a comfortable hot bath before heading to his bedroom to look at the silver in his hands.

Truly, murder and arson lead to golden belts; the ancients never lied to me!

In just a few breaths of time, I've earned nearly a year's worth of wages!

Even so, using this to buy medicinal tonics will still leave me strapped for cash.

I can't rush the tonics. I need to nourish my body first; perhaps I should go buy some meat to replenish my nutrients and boost my blood and qi.

At the thought, Lu Li's mouth began to water. Since transmigrating, he hadn't eaten meat in ages; his palate was practically starving.

Thinking of the delicacies from his past life—crispy pork knuckles, braised pig trotters, and the like—he drooled uncontrollably.

However, carrying these silver ingots around doesn't seem very safe.

He looked at the silver in his hand, exerted force to snap it into smaller pieces, and set some aside, planning to buy meat tomorrow after he returned from gathering herbs.