A Small Gathering of Fellow Townsfolk (Thanks to "Coming Up with Nicknames Is the Biggest Headache" for the leader-tier support)

The flour factory was one of his major clients, reliably paying two hundred dollars every month. Naturally, he knew all about this family of three.

Venomous Snake said, "That kid must have secretly gone off to learn martial arts. I asked around for a long time before learning that someone had seen him enter the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall."

Third Master said in a low voice, "Four Seas Martial Arts Hall... Huang Sihai is a true expert. We can't afford to provoke him."

Venomous Snake nodded. "Third Master, Huang Sihai is famously greedy. He probably doesn't pay much attention to his disciples.

If we catch the kid, then if Dao Youming comes knocking this month and we can't fool him, at least we'll have something to show for it."

Third Master frowned. "Even if he learned martial arts, he couldn't have trained for long. How could he possibly defeat Rotten-Life Ji, who had already formed an Azure Membrane?"

Venomous Snake smiled. "Rotten-Life Ji offended an expert before and got injured. On top of that, he forced his way up by taking drugs, so his blood and qi were unstable.

That body of muscles was all for show. He was only a little stronger than an ordinary person.

Besides, that kid ambushed him from behind and used a sharp weapon... It was normal for him to capsize in a ditch through carelessness."

Third Master nodded. "Still, be careful. Rotten-Life Ji has sounded the alarm for us. Investigate the kid's foundations and cultivation first. Don't act rashly."

At noon the next day,

Li Xiuwen looked back at the low, sprawling beast-like fortress city behind him, then at the skyscrapers towering into the clouds in every direction ahead.

A difference of barely a hundred feet, yet two entirely different worlds.

The tallest buildings in the fortress city were no more than fourteen stories high; otherwise, they might threaten aircraft takeoffs and landings.

This was not his first time leaving the fortress city. He had occasionally come out to look around before.

Today, he had left the city to attend a gathering of fellow townsfolk.

That period of illegal smuggling was also one of the less pleasant memories left behind by this body's original owner.

Back then, more than ten of them had crossed the sea as stowaways, only to be caught by snakeheads and dragged to the Snake Den, where they suffered endless torment.

Some had died. Some had been violated and driven mad.

Li Xiuwen had been one of the lucky ones.

Aside from a few superficial injuries, he had not suffered much. His uncle-in-law had paid to ransom him back.

In the end, only four people escaped the Snake Den.

Him, Zhao Dalong, Li Nanshu, and Ding Sheng.

Fortune Restaurant.

It was an old Sichuan restaurant, and the average bill was far from cheap.

"Zhao Dalong picked a pretty upscale place for the gathering. Wouldn't a meal here cost an ordinary person a month's salary?"

Li Xiuwen decided to eat his fill for once. He had just broken through to the Purple Membrane stage and needed to replenish his nutrition.

When he arrived at the private room on the second floor, three people were already seated at the table: one man and two women.

The man was cracking sunflower seeds. He had thick brows, big eyes, broad shoulders, and a powerful build.

He wore a suit and sunglasses, with a fashionable, dyed-haired woman in heavy makeup and a low-cut top nestled against him.

The other woman wore a standard martial arts outfit. Her long legs were pressed together as she sat upright, her exposed ankles pale and tender as fresh lotus root.

She had delicate, above-average features and a neat head of short hair.

By the standards of the day, her clothes were far more old-fashioned than those of the fashionable woman beside her.

Yet her indescribably reserved temperament surpassed the other woman's by countless degrees.

"Ah Wen, you're here!" The man took off his sunglasses, stood, and wrapped his thick arms—tattooed with a blue dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right—around Li Xiuwen.

"Zhao Dalong, no... I should call you Brother Long. Three years apart, and you're looking this grand. Did you strike it rich in a gang?" Li Xiuwen asked with a smile.

"Hardly rich. I'm just a Forty-Niner with a few Lantern Boys under me." Zhao Dalong took out a cigarette, and the woman beside him lit it for him.

"You really look the part. Just like a big brother from the movies," Li Xiuwen said with a grin.

Zhao Dalong lit a cigarette and laughed. "Not even close. I've been at it for three years and I'm still a Forty-Niner. I'm not even quite a Straw Sandal yet. When I become a Red Pole, then I'll be a real big brother!"

After exchanging pleasantries with Zhao Dalong for a while, Li Xiuwen looked toward the short-haired girl before him and smiled. "Little Shu, dressed like that... have you started practicing martial arts too?"

The short-haired girl was Li Nanshu, four years younger than him. In his memories, she had always been an introverted, gentle, quintessential southern girl.

Zhao Dalong laughed. "Tsk, tsk, so disrespectful. You should call her Sister Nanshu. Nanshu is a disciple of the Southern Sky Martial Hall now."

"Southern Sky Martial Hall?" Li Xiuwen's eyes widened.

This was one of Fragrant Sea's most renowned martial arts halls, not something an obscure place like the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall could compare to.

Its master, Ye Tiannan, was an expert of the Southern Sky Style. Rumor had it that in his early years, he had crossed the sea on a single reed to reach Fragrant Sea.

Within a year, he had challenged more than a hundred martial arts halls throughout Fragrant Sea without a single defeat, establishing his formidable reputation.

"Impressive." Li Xiuwen gave her a thumbs-up. To be able to cultivate at the Southern Sky Martial Hall, after three years, Li Nanshu's strength was likely no weaker than the Three Elites.

"She formed her Azure Membrane within a month of joining. That would be considered impressive even in our gang. Isn't that infuriating?" Zhao Dalong said gloomily.

After saying that, he did not forget to explain, "Ah Wen, an Azure Membrane means you're a trained martial artist. Taking on a whole group of those punks from the Snake Den alone wouldn't be a problem."

"And how about you?" Li Nanshu looked at Li Xiuwen and asked with a smile.

"I'm still the same... working in the fortress city, living the life of an ordinary commoner," Li Xiuwen said.

"That's good too. Peace and happiness are the happiness of ordinary people." Li Nanshu studied Li Xiuwen for a moment, then nodded with a smile without saying anything more.

Her realm was high enough that she could tell Ah Wen carried the bearing of a trained martial artist. He was not an ordinary person.

But since Ah Wen did not wish to say so, she did not expose him. The fortress city was too chaotic. Anyone with a little sense there would keep a card hidden up their sleeve.

Zhao Dalong sighed in relief. "We agreed we'd all be losers together, but Sister Shu suddenly took off. Good thing I have you, Ah Wen, to keep me from coming in last, or I'd be miserable."

"Yeah," Li Xiuwen agreed with a smile.

After the three of them ate and drank for a while, another person arrived.

His hair was slicked back, and he had handsome features. He was smartly dressed in a suit and tie, looking every bit the gentleman.

"Oh, oh, oh! Young Master Ding has graced us with his presence. Forgive us for failing to welcome you properly!" Zhao Dalong said with a laugh as he rose to greet him.

"Ding Sheng?" Li Xiuwen looked at the young man who was dressed to the nines.

Zhao Dalong sighed. "Isn't it surreal? When I contacted him a few days ago, I found out Young Master Ding has a long-lost great-grandfather... Ding Yichun."

Li Xiuwen asked in surprise, "The newspaper tycoon who founded the Spring and Autumn Daily?"

Ding Sheng nodded slightly and smiled. "That's right."

Zhao Dalong laughed. "The Snake Den that kidnapped us really capsized in a ditch this time. They provoked Young Master Ding, and he sent people to wipe the Snake Den out directly."

Li Nanshu was stunned, then laughed. "No wonder when I wanted to go back for revenge, I found the place completely abandoned... So Young Master Ding had already beaten me to it. Impressive."

Zhao Dalong raised his wineglass and said, "Who would have thought that little fishing boat of ours would produce a pair of hidden dragons and young phoenixes like Young Master Ding and Nanshu?

Everyone, this is what I'm thinking: no matter how well we're doing now, whether we're living in glory or not, we once shared bonds forged in life and death. May our friendship last forever!

I was thinking the four of us could establish a small fellow townsfolk association. In the future, we could bring in others who have gone through experiences like ours.

That way, we can support one another here in Fragrant Sea. You all know this place isn't as easy to make a living in as the foreigners advertise. What do you think?"