Recruitment (please keep reading)

Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.

"You two talk. I'm leaving." Huang Sihai left after bringing her inside.

A mere Straw Sandal wasn't important enough for him to stay and entertain. Had she been a Red Pole, he would have shown her some courtesy.

"That's me. What can I do for you, boss?" Li Xiuwen asked with a polite smile.

He often sparred with Longlegs Seven in the [Grand Void Illusory Realm], so he was very familiar with the presence of a Second Gate expert.

This young woman was about Longlegs Seven's age, but her presence surpassed even his. Her talent was unquestionably that of a superior physique.

In most martial arts halls across the Enclave, she would have been among the best, someone her master focused on nurturing.

The fact that she had become a Straw Sandal in Hesheng Tu at her age was proof enough.

"Handsome, interested in joining Hesheng Tu?" Little Loudspeaker asked with a streetwise swagger.

Li Xiuwen asked, "What would I be doing?"

His cultivation expenses were enormous now, averaging a hundred and fifty a day.

The money left in Third Master's private stash was gradually running out.

Granted, at the lower stages, he could also train the hard way and grind out progress slowly.

But after getting used to the good life, he didn't want to downgrade his spending.

Little Loudspeaker smiled. "You're at Purple Membrane, and at your age, you'd start at the bottom as a Four-Nine. A Zhen and Big Silly Qiang from your martial arts hall are Four-Nines."

"What's the pay like?"

"Depends on your performance that month. Guarding establishments, selling discs, fighting-all of those pay... but you're guaranteed at least five hundred a month as your cut."

Li Xiuwen fell silent. Five hundred really wasn't enough to interest him anymore.

The gang wouldn't give him that much work, but it would still interfere with his training to some extent.

Not to mention that he might end up making powerful enemies.

Five hundred wasn't worth it.

"I heard Liu Chun is a Reserve Straw Sandal and gets a thousand a month," Li Xiuwen said.

Little Loudspeaker smiled. "She reached Black Membrane ages ago, and her martial constitution is better than yours. She'll probably reach the Second Gate someday. Naturally, she gets more."

Li Xiuwen asked, "Then if I reach Black Membrane, can I become a Reserve Straw Sandal?"

Little Loudspeaker shrugged. "I don't know. You'd have to ask Sister Buddha. I work under her.

"You've only been at Purple Membrane for two months, and you already want to reach Black Membrane? Unless you stuff yourself with fish balls, there's no other way.

"The gang doesn't really like people who advance by stuffing themselves with fish balls. We'd rather you take longer and train your way up."

Li Xiuwen asked, "Why?"

Little Loudspeaker shook her head. "Cultivation gained through fish balls is flimsy. Your qi and blood are unstable, so you effectively drop a level when you fight someone. You're not much use."

I have the Incense Burner, Li Xiuwen thought. Once I attain something, it's mine for good. How could my cultivation be flimsy?

Li Xiuwen smiled. "Let me think it over."

Little Loudspeaker stared at him and smiled. "Handsome, is that your way of politely turning me down?"

"More or less," Li Xiuwen said. "My time is valuable. I don't want to be a Four-Nine."

"Isn't your family pretty hard up?" Little Loudspeaker asked, puzzled.

"My uncle-in-law does own a factory, after all. He can still afford to support me for now," Li Xiuwen said.

"Pass this up, and you won't get another chance. Think carefully." Little Loudspeaker leaned in and spoke into his ear.

"Thanks for letting me know." Li Xiuwen stepped back with a smile.

Little Loudspeaker whistled. The young Four-Nines accompanying her cleared the way, and she strode off with her hands in her pockets.

Huang Sihai came out and asked, "You didn't agree?"

"They offered too little. It wasn't worth it," Li Xiuwen said.

Huang Sihai smiled. "Looks like you really have made a fortune lately."

"Not me. My uncle-in-law," Li Xiuwen said.

Inside Graffiti Tower,

Lion-Head Buddha sat in the Electrified Chair, letting silvery arcs of electricity dance across his skin.

Every strand of his afro stood on end, making him look like a golden lion.

Little Loudspeaker leaned against the wall, looking frustrated. "Sister Buddha, that Li Xiuwen actually turned me down."

"Oh?" Lion-Head Buddha was surprised. "Not enough money?"

"From the look of it, he wants the same treatment as Liu Chun," Little Loudspeaker said helplessly.

"Then forget it. A little talent for comprehension has gone to his head. He doesn't understand that martial constitution is the foundation. Let him be," Lion-Head Buddha said with a sigh.

Little Loudspeaker pouted. "Exactly. I have a superior physique, and even I started as a Four-Nine."

Inside a casino on Guangwang Street,

Za Jiu, who was missing a tooth, stood at the restroom sink, washing blood from his hands. The water in the basin was crimson.

Several martial artists lay sprawled across the floor.

Some had their bellies slit open, their intestines spilling out.

Some had their chests torn open, their hearts pulled out and left dangling.

Others had been beheaded.

Za Jiu's underlings were talking among themselves.

"These little bastards didn't even bother finding out whose casino this was before coming here to make trouble."

"Who on Wangguang Street hasn't heard of our Ninth Master?"

"Could Hesheng Tu be testing us?"

Za Jiu finished washing his hands, elegantly put on his suit jacket, and adjusted his tie without saying a word.

Only when an underling ran over did the silence break. "Ninth Master, I've got some leads on what happened to Brother Ji."

Ninth Master raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it, Gappy."

The underling grinned, revealing a large gold tooth.

"First, anyone who could kill Brother Ji and Third Master of the Thirteen Guardians without anyone noticing had to be a martial artist-and a pretty strong one.

"Lousy-Life Ji and his people always operated around Lung Chun Road. They never left, so they probably didn't offend any experts from other districts.

"Of course, there's always the remote possibility that they offended some passing hero and got killed.

"If that's the case, there's definitely nothing we can do. We'd have to find someone to pin it on so we can give Brother Ming an answer.

"So I looked into everyone from Lung Chun Road who'd learned martial arts over the years. Two people are suspects.

"One is a veteran Second Gate expert. He left the Walled Enclave long ago and is doing well as a Straw Sandal in an outside gang.

"I asked his neighbors. He hasn't come back in decades and has cut off contact with this place.

"He's a suspect, but not a likely one."

"And the other?" Za Jiu asked with a nod.

The underling smiled and took out a copy of the Ming Pao. "Look, boss. There's a guy called Li Xiuwen at Chen's Rice Noodle Factory. He's a little suspicious too.

"He smuggled himself over from Sheng and moved in with his uncle-in-law. He was timid and afraid of trouble, and I'd never heard of him training in martial arts before.

"It was only after reading the Ming Pao that I found out he'd already been training at the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall for several months.

"A little while ago, he even reached Purple Membrane. Er Tian from the Night Heron Martial Arts Hall couldn't beat him.

"Think about it.

"That Rice Noodle Factory was the Thirteen Guardians' Main Cash Cow. That family of three must have built up a bellyful of resentment over the years.

"So Li Xiuwen has plenty of motive to kill Third Master of the Thirteen Guardians... Ninth Master, just say the word, and I'll go haul him in."

Za Jiu lit a cigarette, blew a smoke ring, and asked, "Do you have any direct evidence?"

The underling gave an awkward smile. "No. It's just my own guesswork. It happened ages ago, after all, and the dead can't testify."

Za Jiu said coldly, "You want to arrest a disciple of the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall without evidence? That's showing Master Huang a bit too little respect. Go arrest him, and you'll be courting death!"

"Huh? With [Thunder God Lo] backing us, why should we fear Master Huang?" the underling asked.

Thunder God Lo was the Dragon Head of the Thunder God Shed and held a lofty position in the martial underworld.

Za Jiu sneered. "You really are stupid. Would Thunder God Lo offend Master Huang over a suspect we have no direct evidence against?

"Master Huang reached the Third Grand Arena years ago. He may be getting on in years, but he still has a chance of Crossing the Three Gates and entering an entirely new realm."

The underling lowered his head and muttered, "He's still not as strong as Thunder God Lo, though. Thunder God Lo is still at the age when his qi and blood are strongest. He has a better chance of Crossing the Three Gates."

Za Jiu said, "He isn't, but don't forget: the Four Seas Martial Arts Hall may keep a low profile, but its Three Heroes are famous. Can we afford to provoke people who got into the Learning Society?"

"Then what do we do? Just leave it alone?" the underling asked helplessly.

"We investigate," Za Jiu said with a smile. "Find an opportunity and get the facts straight first. We need proper grounds to act, understand?

"Fuck! You little bastards have followed me for so long, and you still think so rashly. You need training!

"If you live by the blade, you're bound to get cut.

"But with a little caution, you can take fewer cuts!"