Zhang Hu's Reward

Long-Abundance Mountain.

Lu Li wove between towering ancient trees, changing direction as he went, his gaze sweeping constantly over his surroundings.

Soon, his eyes sharpened. He spotted a medicinal herb, went straight over, and picked it in a few quick motions.

The whole thing took no more than a single breath.

In just half a day, the basket on Lu Li's back was already packed full of herbs.

After taking up martial arts, Lu Li no longer feared the cold. He didn't shiver in the biting wind as he once had, and his eyesight and hearing had also improved tremendously, becoming far sharper.

This had greatly increased his efficiency at gathering herbs.

In just half a day, he had filled a whole basket with herbs.

Before, it would probably have taken him until night had spilled ink across the sky to barely finish.

Lu Li turned and headed down the mountain, making for the Huang Family.

He wasn't worried that anyone would suspect him of gathering so many herbs. These herbs weren't worth much; the valuable ones were the rare medicinal plants deep in the mountains and forests.

It wasn't unusual to gather this many in half a day if you were lucky.

What surprised Lu Li was that, as soon as he arrived at the Huang Family's place, he found quite a few people already there. Their herb baskets weren't nearly as full as his.

That left Lu Li rather puzzled.

Weren't they afraid of having their wages docked?

"Well, Lu Li, you've had a good haul," Uncle Zhao said with a smile when he saw Lu Li walk in.

Lu Li smiled and nodded in reply, then asked in confusion, "Uncle Zhao, why are there so many people here today? Aren't they gathering herbs anymore?"

At that, Uncle Zhao sighed, his face clouding with helpless worry. "The Black Tiger Gang and the Blood Wolf Gang are fighting more and more fiercely. Everyone's on edge."

"They used to hold back somewhat, but now it's a fight to the death. They've gone completely blood-mad."

"Yesterday, the Black Tiger Gang took one of the Blood Wolf Gang's strongholds. It was a bloodbath. They slaughtered every last one of the Blood Wolf Gang's men, leaving heads scattered everywhere. They even shook the yolks loose in the eggs."

"Yesterday, some drunken hooligan went to watch the spectacle and got cut down by the Black Tiger Gang in a single stroke. Word's already spread."

"Ah, what's gotten into those two gangs? They've had their clashes before, but they've never fought like this."

Lu Li shook his head to show that he didn't know.

Uncle Zhao gave him a solemn warning, speaking earnestly. "Try to come back early for a while. If you run into them, be careful. They might be so blood-mad they'll kill you on sight."

"By the way, didn't Zhang Hu come looking for you a while ago?"

Lu Li nodded. There was no point hiding it; all his neighbors knew.

After all, dragging a corpse along to threaten and tempt him had made quite a scene.

So Lu Li told Uncle Zhao what had happened.

Uncle Zhao sighed, gave Lu Li a sympathetic look, and patted him on the shoulder.

"I've let your father down."

That was how it was for people at the bottom of the ladder: they had no say in their own fate.

Lu Li's father had asked him to look after his son.

But facing a big shot like Master Wang, who sat high above the clouds, he was just a lowly peasant, not even worthy of touching the man's clothes. How could he possibly protect Lu Li?

He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

Then he handed Lu Li a string of copper coins—five hundred in all.

He carried that much money on him. It seemed he'd prepared it in advance.

Lu Li froze and hurriedly refused. "Uncle Zhao, I appreciate the thought, but I can't take this. Your wife and children are waiting for you to bring money home."

Ignoring Lu Li's protests, Uncle Zhao forced the money into his arms. "Take it and buy yourself something to eat."

"Zhang Hu showed great bravery yesterday. I'm afraid his martial arts are about to break through. You..."

Uncle Zhao shook his head and walked away, his expression dark.

If he'd still been alone, if Zhang Hu had tried to take Lu Li away, he would've dared to draw his blade and fight Zhang Hu to the death!

But now that he had a family, even with an old friend's dying request weighing on him, he no longer dared risk his life over something like this.

All he could do was help as much as he could.

Watching Uncle Zhao's retreating figure, Lu Li furrowed his brows, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"About to break through to the Martial Artist realm?"

The Black Tiger Gang.

Inside the main hall.

Music and dancing filled the room.

The women dancing in the center wore thin gauze. Their movements were seductive, and their faces wore alluring smiles.

But up close, their eyes were vacant, devoid of life.

Their movements were graceful, but they were nothing more than mechanical responses drilled into them through endless training.

Besides, the gang members wore leering grins, and their eyes weren't even on the women's dancing.

These were pretty young women the Black Tiger Gang had rounded up from all over, using cruel and despicable methods.

Some were orphans they had collected; others were respectable girls whose families they had ruined, leaving them no choice but to sell themselves to the Black Tiger Gang to pay off their debts.

Zhang Hu was in the hall too. A scar cut a particularly savage line across his face, running from his left eye down to his right jaw.

The flesh had been torn open, exposing the bloody tissue beneath.

He'd gotten the wound yesterday, when someone slashed him during the fight.

But now, his face was wreathed in smiles.

Only hall leaders had the right to dine in the main hall and enjoy the beauty's song and dance.

His bloody efforts the day before yesterday had paid off.

At the head of the hall, Zhao Heihu stood and raised his wine cup. Everyone followed suit.

"Everyone, the Blood Wolf Gang used underhanded tactics in secret, ignoring the rules between gangs and ambushing our Black Tiger Gang brothers. I said then that we would avenge our fallen brothers and fight the Blood Wolf Gang to the death!"

"Now, we've taken one of the Blood Wolf Gang's strongholds and dealt a heavy blow to their morale."

"That counts as avenging our brothers."

"But Zhang Hu deserves the greatest credit for this battle." He looked toward Zhang Hu, his eyes full of admiration.

Then he raised his cup toward Zhang Hu. "I've decided to promote Zhang Hu to hall leader right now."

Although Zhang Hu had been allowed to dine in the main hall, and had long expected this, he still felt overwhelmed with trepidation.

A hall leader!

In the gang, that was a high-ranking position, second only to the gang leader!

Zhang Hu had never dreamed that he would one day rise so quickly through the ranks!

"Thank you, Gang Leader!" Zhang Hu hurriedly thanked him, raised his wine cup, and drained it in one go.

The gang leader nodded and continued, "You've been invaluable in this battle."

He took an object wrapped in a silk handkerchief from inside his clothes.

When he unwrapped it, it proved to be a black ginseng root about the size of his palm.

"Zhang Hu, you're on the verge of a breakthrough in your martial arts, aren't you? This Black Mountain Ginseng should give you just the boost you need."

When the Black Mountain Ginseng was unwrapped, everyone present stared at it, wide-eyed.

Zhang Hu's breathing quickened. Good fortune kept tumbling in one blessing after another, and he could barely keep up.

Zhang Hu yearned for the martial path, of course, and he recognized the root as Black Mountain Ginseng. It could greatly accelerate one's progress in martial arts and was extremely expensive; a single root cost at least fifty taels of silver!

He swallowed, stared at the Black Mountain Ginseng, stepped forward to take it, and declared, "Thank you for your favor, Gang Leader. I, Zhang Hu, will devote myself to the Black Tiger Gang until my dying breath!"

Soon, the banquet ended. With a trace of alcohol on his breath, Zhang Hu bid farewell to the hall leaders, who had been making a show of concern for him, and headed home.

He was in such high spirits that he practically floated as he walked, as though his feet were treading on clouds.

"With this Black Mountain Ginseng, I can break through to the Martial Artist realm. Heh..."

Zhang Hu's face was wreathed in smiles. "Once I sell Lu Li to Master Wang, I'll have a big pile of money. Then I can find a martial arts school and take a master, which will make it easier to break through to the next realm."

"Damn Lu Li doesn't know what's good for him. I was going to make sure he ate well and drank well, and he still wouldn't agree. Serves him right to be a poor wretch all his life."

"Oh, I forgot about Er Gou and the others. I didn't invite them along. Whatever. I'm a hall leader now, and I've got more capable underlings. What are they worth?"

"Hic!" He burped. Completely satisfied, he couldn't help humming to himself.

Little did he know that, in a dark alley, a pair of eyes brimming with murderous intent was fixed on him.