Elimination

Two days later.

In his courtyard in Willow Tree Alley, Zhao Feng took out a slip of paper. Someone from the Three Harmonies Gang waiting outside had pressed it into his hand when he left the Martial Arts School that day.

He unfolded it and read it, his eyes narrowing slightly. Then he held the slip beside the oil lamp and burned it to ashes. It was time to erase another name from the little ledger in his mind.

Night fell over a secluded courtyard in East Archway Alley in the Inner City.

Dressed in black night clothes with his face covered, Zhao Feng slipped soundlessly up to the courtyard wall and peered through a crack. The narrow yard was quiet, while dim yellow light shone from the main room, where he could faintly hear a woman's teasing laughter.

What's going on? Zhao Feng frowned. Instead of climbing over the wall, he surveyed his surroundings, then climbed onto the courtyard wall across the alley and hid behind an upturned eave to watch the courtyard opposite.

According to the Three Harmonies Gang's information, Feng Second Tiger is hiding here. There had been no news of Feng Second Tiger for several days, and Zhao Feng had thought he had left town. To think he had been hiding here instead.

Recovering from his injury? All he suffered was a cracked shinbone. It wasn't that serious. And why is there a woman here? Zhao Feng wondered whether there had been a mistake, or whether the Three Harmonies Gang was playing him.

Before long, the main room's door creaked open, and a voluptuous woman stepped out, fastening her skirt.

A muscular young man followed her out. It was none other than Feng Second Tiger. He slipped an arm around the woman's waist, his large hand rubbing her shapely backside.

"Second Master, don't be so impatient. I'll be right back once I've bought some wine and meat," the woman said coyly.

Only then did Feng Second Tiger chuckle and release her. She shot him a reproachful look before swaying her hips as she left.

Instead of hurrying out of town, you came to meet your lover. You've chosen your own road to death. Zhao Feng quietly took the stiff horn bow off his back.

From behind the eave, the courtyard was less than seventy paces away. He could make the shot!

From Zhao Feng's vantage point, he watched Feng Second Tiger stretch his limbs in the courtyard after the woman left.

Only after the woman disappeared around the mouth of the alley did he turn to go back inside. I told you-you've chosen your own road to death. Zhao Feng held his breath, nocked an arrow, and drew his bow. The bow curved like a full moon; the arrow flew like a shooting star!

Whoosh! A faint twang rang through the night, and almost simultaneously, Feng Second Tiger dropped into a roll.

Crack! An arrow buried itself firmly in the spot where he had just been standing. Feng Second Tiger rolled to his feet and immediately lunged toward the door. His reactions were undeniably fast, honed by years of licking blood off a blade's edge in Prefecture City.

Once he was inside, the bow and arrows could do nothing to him. If he could get his saber, he would have a fighting chance. He did not know who his attacker was, but the Patrol Squad kept fairly good order in the Inner City. As long as he could hold out until they arrived, his opponent would naturally retreat.

Just as his upper body made it into the main room, his lower leg went numb, followed by a surge of agony. An arrow had pierced his calf.

That archery... Feng Second Tiger was horrified. Fortunately, he had already rolled into the room by then, but a figure rushed into the courtyard like a whirlwind. Feng Second Tiger seized his saber's hilt, drew it, and turned to slash at the charging figure, trying to keep his opponent outside the door.

But his wounded calf slowed him by half a beat. The enemy had already charged inside!

"Iron Mountain Lean!"

"Overlord Breaks the Reins!" Zhao Feng neither dodged nor retreated, forcing his way into the flashing blade. His hands pressed downward as though gripping reins, instantly catching his opponent's wrist.

Iron Claw Locks the Dragon! Feng Second Tiger immediately turned sideways, dropping his saber to reverse the hold and seize Zhao Feng's wrist. But the pain and numbness in his leg slowed him by half a beat once again.

Almost simultaneously, there came a thud.

Pain struck his lower abdomen. His opponent's knee had slammed into him.

Although he had already concentrated his power in his lower abdomen to resist the blow, the impact still left him in agony. Hidden force penetrated his body. He spat out a mouthful of bloody froth and hurriedly retreated.

In those brief moments, the situation had reversed. Being inside was now a disadvantage-a fatal one! He had to get back outside before he could use his leg technique to escape. Zhao Feng blocked the doorway. Gritting his teeth, Feng Second Tiger charged toward the window.

Crash! He smashed through the window and flew outside. But Zhao Feng followed right behind him, driving a fist toward him.

Damn it! An arrow had pierced his calf, and his shinbone had cracked again.

The excruciating pain left him unable to use his leg technique to open up distance and escape. Instead, he stumbled, took the punch, and was blasted several meters away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Zhao Feng seized his chance, unleashing a furious storm of close-range Eight Extremes Fist strikes. Every move targeted a vital spot.

"Brother Zhao, this is a misunderstanding! Spare me!" Feng Second Tiger now knew who his attacker was. Unable to fend him off, he took punch after punch, blood pouring from his mouth. All he could do was beg for mercy.

Regret consumed him. Seeing the cold eyes above his opponent's black face covering sent a chill through his heart. His opponent was ruthless and meticulous, clearly someone who would never rest until he achieved his goal. Why had he provoked such a vicious man? Had he known, he would never have crossed him, even if he really had killed his elder brother!

Just as that thought passed through his mind, Zhao Feng's right hand broke through his weakened eagle-claw guard like an iron vise and closed around his throat. With a crack, he crushed his neck.

"I should never have..." Feng Second Tiger's eyes bulged, and his corpse went limp.

Zhao Feng quickly dragged him back inside and found a money pouch and a small booklet on the corpse. Without examining them, he tucked them into his clothes. Then he poured lamp oil over the body, set it alight, and swiftly retreated, disappearing into the night.

Before long, thick smoke rose behind him. Even from a distance, he could hear a woman's screams.

Returning to his courtyard in Willow Tree Alley in the Outer City, Zhao Feng changed out of his night clothes and threw them, his face covering, and his soft-soled cloth boots into the kitchen stove to burn to ashes.

The string of grudges involving the Black Tiger Gang had finally come to an end. Zhao Feng regretted nothing he had done. If a potential threat arose and he had the means to eliminate it, he had to do so as soon as possible. Otherwise, how could he sleep?

He crossed Feng Second Tiger's name out of the little ledger in his mind. Then he opened the money pouch and counted its contents. There were a little over a hundred taels of silver-not much. And that was after all the money he had extorted earlier. After breaking through to hidden force in Prefecture City, Feng Second Tiger had exhausted his resources. His main reason for coming from Prefecture City to Big Stone County had been to get his hands on the Black Tiger Gang's assets.

For Zhao Feng, the greater surprise was the little booklet. The cover read "Wind God Leg Technique," clearly a leg technique. He opened it and looked inside.

A line of large characters appeared at the beginning: The Wind God Leg Technique lies in comprehending the ever-changing nature of wind. Wind rises without form, sweeping fallen leaves, swirling drifting clouds, splitting stone and piercing the sky!

Zhao Feng read several more pages, his expression growing solemn. This leg technique was not as simple as he had first imagined. Although it was also a supplementary external art, once cultivated to a certain level, the Wind God Leg Technique could sweep fallen leaves and churn drifting clouds like a wheel of wind, combining incredible speed with countless variations. It was an excellent movement technique, making it difficult for an opponent's attacks to find their mark. Whether advancing, retreating, or evading, it was highly useful. In terms of offensive leg strikes alone, however, it was comparatively weaker.

The underlying principles of this Wind God Leg Technique reach the same result by a different path as the Cloak Saber Technique. Could they be a matching set of martial arts? Zhao Feng suddenly recalled Feng Dahu's final counterattack before his death. One leg had spun rapidly like a wheel of wind, while the steel saber in his right hand flashed like a gale, forming a defense so tight that not even a drop of water could get through.

What Zhao Feng did not know was that Feng Dahu had founded the Black Tiger Gang and secured a foothold in the Outer City precisely by combining the Gale Saber Technique with the footwork of the Wind God Leg Technique. It was also this matched set of skills that had allowed him to escape the Three Harmonies Gang's encirclement back then. Had he not been injured and taken an arrow in the leg, Zhao Feng would never have caught him.