Moving-Mountain Style, Binding Armor Skill

Li Xiuwen reached into Brother Ji's shattered chest, pulled out the butterfly knife, and rinsed it in the filthy water.

He then rummaged through Brother Ji's pockets and found some miscellaneous items: a lighter, cigarettes, three hundred dollars...

"Fucking poor. These punks have no sense of saving money at all. No wonder they're doing so badly."

"Wait, this pocket lining feels like there's something in it."

Li Xiuwen used the butterfly knife to slice open the lining and pulled out a scrap of cloth. Unfolded, it revealed a thin booklet of golden oil paper.

Inside were densely packed tiny characters and diagrams of little figures practicing martial arts forms.

"Moving-Mountain Style... Binding Armor Skill... Is this some martial arts school's secret manual? Never heard of it."

The stronghold alone had hundreds of martial arts schools,

not to mention Fragrant Sea and Prosperous State.

The schools of this world were countless and varied. Even experts could not possibly recognize them all, much less a novice like him.

"I'll put it away for now. I can't practice a technique with no known origin recklessly. I'll study it when I get back and see whether I can learn it."

Li Xiuwen took off his blood-spattered clothes, dragged Brother Ji's corpse through the foul drainage water, and thoroughly rinsed away his scent and fingerprints.

Soul-Crushing Powder might also let others identify the Sea Sand Style's origins, so that had to be washed away too.

There was no law in the stronghold, only certain underworld rules established by the gangs over time.

Other than Third Master, no one cared whether Brother Ji lived or died.

It was always better to be careful. There was never anything wrong with that.

As for the corpse, he had no way to dispose of it for the time being. Leaving it in the sewers was the best option.

Bodies were discovered here every day. It had long been the customary dumping ground after gang fights.

As he passed the exit, Li Xiuwen noticed a charred palm print three inches deep in the wall.

It looked as though a hand-shaped branding iron, heated to an extreme temperature, had been pressed into it.

It had clearly been there for years.

There were also bullet craters around it, left by gang shootouts,

but compared to that charred palm print, they seemed insignificant.

"One palm strike burned a huge crater into the wall... How many years of cultivation would that take? Could Old Huang do it?"

"The stronghold is full of hidden masters. I have to keep a low profile at all times."

After leaving the sewers, Li Xiuwen vanished into the night.

At the Thirteen Guardians' headquarters,

Third Master rested his chin on his hand, pretending to nap, his expression somewhat impatient. "Where's Rotten-Life Ji? He's the only one missing. He dares make me wait for him? He's got quite the nerve!"

"Third Master, A-Ji has been getting a little carried away lately," said a wiry, sharp-eyed man with triangular eyes, smiling pleasantly.

He was Venomous Snake, the Thirteen Guardians' second-in-command. His strength was about the same as Brother Ji's. He ranked second only because he had been around longer.

However, Brother Ji was more capable in business and brought in more turf money. On top of that, his background was somewhat unusual, so Third Master had valued him more highly in recent years.

"I know exactly what he's thinking. If he didn't have a cousin working under Thunder God Shed, I would've cleaned house long ago," Third Master said with a smile.

"Third Master, I'll go look for Brother Ji," volunteered a young punk, raising his hand.

Third Master waved him off. The young punk took off his shoes and waded into the sewage to leave.

Five minutes later, the young punk came running back in a panic. His entire body shook as he stammered, "Third Master... Brother Ji... is dead."

"What?!" Third Master's cloudy old eyes flew wide open, and an intimidating aura burst from him.

"Beaten to death? Where is he? Take me there!" Venomous Snake also showed a look of shock.

Brother Ji's tall body was propped against the wall, his head, smashed like a melon, hanging limply.

Third Master limped over, his face grim.

Venomous Snake had already examined the wounds. "His left chest suffered a penetrating wound. The killer ambushed him from behind. His head was shattered by a fierce palm strike."

"Hah..." Third Master let out a breath of relief. "Looks like the enemy was only at the Azure Membrane level. Otherwise, there'd have been no need for such trouble."

"I'm afraid A-Ji provoked someone he shouldn't have," Venomous Snake said. "Third Master, should we investigate?"

After considering it, Third Master said, "Investigate, but keep this matter quiet... Don't let Dao Youming find out."

The world did not know that Brother Ji had a cousin at Thunder God Shed.

Thunder God Shed was a hall under Ever Joy, similar to Hesheng Tu.

Brother Ji had originally worked under Thunder God Shed. But because of his unruly behavior and repeated violations of the rules, Thunder God Lo had nearly subjected him to the punishment of "three knives, six holes."

That meant stabbing three sharp knives through the body, leaving six holes. It was a brutal gang punishment.

Only after Dao Youming pleaded for him did the boss spare Brother Ji's life. He was expelled from Thunder God Shed and forbidden from joining any halls under Ever Joy.

Dao Youming and Third Master were old acquaintances, so he entrusted Brother Ji to Third Master.

If Dao Youming learned of Brother Ji's death, even Third Master did not know what the consequences would be.

That man was Thunder God Shed's strongest Sandal and carried considerable prestige within the gangs.

"Paper can't wrap up fire, Third Master. Dao Youming will find out sooner or later," Venomous Snake said with a headache.

"It doesn't matter. We'll only be here for another month. Once we finish this last job, we'll leave the stronghold," Third Master said with a smile.

"True. No matter how capable Dao Youming is, he can't chase us down outside the stronghold."

"Burn Rotten-Life Ji's body. If Dao Youming asks about him within the next month, say Brother Ji went outside the stronghold to have some fun, and we don't know where he is," Third Master said.

"I told A-Ji long ago to rein himself in a little. Shame his talent was too poor. He only reached Azure Membrane by stuffing himself with Fish Balls. The drug poison got into his body and muddled his mind." Venomous Snake shrugged and sneered.

"Heh. When you're in this line of work, death comes sooner or later. Rotten-Life Ji merely left before us... That's why I want to wash my hands of it all," Third Master said softly.

Ten at night,

Chen's Rice Noodle Factory,

Li Xiuwen changed into some ragged clothes he had bought in the stronghold and returned.

His aunt and uncle were still working at the factory.

"Awen, finished practicing martial arts with your friends?" his uncle asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Uncle, it's getting late. You should both get some rest," Li Xiuwen said.

"Sigh, I really can't bear to part with these machines," his uncle said.

His aunt asked expectantly, "Awen, what did your friends from the martial arts school say about our situation?"

Li Xiuwen shook his head and sighed. "No one is willing to get involved. These days, everyone just wants to stay out of trouble. Acting like a hero is an easy way to bring trouble down on yourself."

"Let's not make things difficult. In three days, we'll give all these machines to Brother Ji. Sell them cheap and spend money to avert disaster," his uncle said.

"How are we supposed to make money without the machines? They're our livelihood!" His aunt's eyes reddened, and she soon began to sob.

His uncle's heart ached. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "We'll make everything by hand. We'll earn less, that's all. We still have our brand. We'll always be able to support you two."

"We'll be fine. As long as we have food to eat, we won't starve... The problem is that Awen needs to learn martial arts. We finally had something to hope for." Her body trembled.

Then she suddenly felt a broad pair of arms wrap around her.

Li Xiuwen embraced his aunt and uncle and said, "There will always be a way. Don't panic. We still have three days, don't we?

When Brother Ji came to demand money from me a while ago, he mentioned that he seemed to have offended someone and gotten injured.

Maybe heaven will deal with that evil bastard. In a few days, perhaps some passing righteous wanderer will casually slap him to death."

His aunt said, "That's true. Once you enter this life... sooner or later, you have to pay for it."