Hungry Tiger Martial Hall

Crooked Snake Alley.

The alley twisted and turned like a nine-bend, eighteen-turn maze, with several hundred households crammed into it.

Every morning, old men pushed night-soil carts through the alley. The stench they left behind filled the entire lane and lingered for ages.

Jiang Shu had lived here for over two months already. He had long grown accustomed to it all. His expression remained unchanged as he held his breath slightly and hurried out.

This place lay at the southernmost edge of Pingling County's Outer City, under the jurisdiction of the Green Snake Gang. Anyone leaving the alley to set up a stall or find work in the county town had to pay the Green Snake Gang fifty copper coins every month.

To the lowest rung of common folk, whose monthly wages amounted to only one or two hundred copper coins, handing over fifty coins was like having flesh sliced away by a dull blade. It would not kill them, but the bleeding never stopped.

Yet no one dared resist.

Because the Green Snake Gang's leader was a true martial artist!

A Skin Grinding Realm martial artist!

"Old Man Li, heading to sweep floors at the escort agency again? That job only pays eighty copper coins a month. Why not come sweep floors for our Green Snake Gang instead? We'll give you fifty copper coins a month, and you won't have to pay the monthly fee. That's twenty extra coins every month. What, you won't agree? Do you think we won't even pay you fifty coins? Speak!"

At the entrance to Crooked Snake Alley, Green Snake Gang members who came each month to collect the protection fee cursed and shouted.

The leader was named Zhao Tai. Two months ago, his younger sister had caught the eye of one of the gang's big shots and become his concubine, earning Zhao Tai this lucrative post.

Old Man Li's legs trembled. He stammered, but did not dare say a word.

Jiang Shu frowned and strode forward. He tossed half a tael of silver into the bamboo basket holding the copper coins. The crisp clink of silver striking copper rang out, successfully drawing the attention of the Green Snake Gang members.

"Well, if it isn't Master Qin's prized student. Instead of properly reading those few worthless books of yours, you want to stand up for someone? You bookworm probably don't even know that Master Qin has caught the eye of the Gao Family in the Inner City. Next month, he'll be teaching at their private school. He's probably already too distracted to teach, packing his bags every day."

"Why not come empty chamber pots for our Green Snake Gang and keep Old Man Li company? Empty enough chamber pots, and maybe some manliness will rub off on you. Studying? What the hell is studying good for? Those brothel girls can't read anyway. You're sixteen or seventeen already—don't tell me you're still a virgin? Hahaha!"

"If Master Qin is leaving, that will be later."

Jiang Shu's voice was cold, but his foot casually nudged Old Man Li, signaling him to pay and leave quickly. When Jiang Shu had first arrived here, he had learned all sorts of information from Old Man Li. He had to remember that kindness.

Others feared Zhao Tai, but he did not.

A drunkard and lecher, with unsteady steps.

To Jiang Shu, whose Blood Qi could be sensed and whose strength had reached over three hundred jin, a man like that could not even withstand a single punch from him.

"Studying? Hahahaha..." Zhao Tai threw back his head and laughed. His original name had been Zhao Da. After gaining power, he had found an old scholar to change it. Studying was useful? If studying was useful, why had that old scholar trembled so badly when changing his name, terrified Zhao Tai would be dissatisfied?

"So what if you can write? Our Hall Master can't recognize a single character, but who dares say he isn't a real man? I think you brat ought to crawl through my crotch and feel what real manliness is. Come on, crawl through!"

Zhao Tai spread his legs apart, his gaze on Jiang Shu like a jackal in the forest toying with a rabbit.

He had been watching Jiang Shu for a long time. His skin was pale and tender. Zhao Tai did not have that particular taste himself, but Hall Master Zheng did. If he trained up this tender little prize and sent him over, earning Hall Master Zheng's favor, would he not be able to swagger sideways through this whole district?

Before, this rabbit had been Master Qin's student, wearing the hide of a tiger, and Zhao Tai had not dared go too far.

But now, Master Qin was leaving the Outer City.

With that pale, tender rabbit stripped of his backing, Zhao Tai could play with him however he wanted!

"Master Zhao, Master Zhao, Little Brother Jiang is young and doesn't understand. I'll go to the Green Snake Gang tomorrow. I'll sweep floors. Let him empty the chamber pots."

Old Man Li, who had not left, immediately sensed trouble upon hearing Zhao Tai's words. His rough, callused hand covered Jiang Shu's hand just as it was about to clench into a fist. Turning back, he begged, "Everyone is still waiting to go to work, Master Zhao. You are a great man with a heart as vast as the sea. We'll report to the hall tomorrow, and we'll definitely make you look good, Master Zhao."

"Pah! Who the hell do you think you are—"

"Master Zhao, Master Zhao, we're nothing but farts. Please let us go. Everyone is in a hurry to work. We can't delay, we really can't delay!"

"Damn it. Bring the brat to report tomorrow. Don't make me teach you how to do things. Get lost!"

Seeing more and more people gathering at the entrance to Crooked Snake Alley, and hearing Old Man Li's repeated pleas, Zhao Tai swallowed his rising anger and kicked out. Work really could not be delayed. The monthly fees they collected were already like cutting flesh with a dull blade. If people could not even go to work, public fury might erupt, and Zhao Tai might not be able to suppress it.

The Hall Master and the others were martial artists who had achieved Qi and Blood Great Circulation, capable of fighting hundreds or even thousands alone.

But Zhao Tai was not.

As for crawling through his crotch, he had only told them to get lost today.

Tomorrow was tomorrow's matter.

"Master Zhao is magnanimous, truly magnanimous."

Old Man Li did not dare rub where he had been kicked. Looking deeply grateful, he dragged Jiang Shu swiftly out of the crowd.

"Scholar, my ass. After all that reading, he's still useless trash anyone can bully. If it weren't for Old Man Li, I'd have made him crawl through my crotch today. Living in a place like Crooked Snake Alley, and he still wants to be some scholar? Pah!" Zhao Tai spat on the ground, kicked the bamboo basket, then sat on a stool and said, "Put your copper in one at a time. If anyone dares put in even one coin less, hmph."

One sharp-eyed gang member immediately came over to massage Zhao Tai's shoulders, flattering him, "Brother Zhao thinks too highly of him. Crawling through your crotch would be his good fortune. Is just anyone worthy of crawling beneath you? A few days ago, I saw those brothel girls in Cloud Sparrow Quarter—now that kind of charm is fit for crawling through Brother Zhao's crotch."

"Damn it. I tell you lot to read more, but you never listen. Are the women in Cloud Sparrow Quarter merely brothel girls? That's a gold-devouring den! Without a few taels of real silver in hand, you can't even get a cup of tea inside." Looking at the ignorant ordinary gang members around him, Zhao Tai's mood improved greatly. Confidence surged within him as he said smugly, "Of course, I've been to such a gold-devouring den once."

"Ah, Brother Zhao truly is wise and mighty. This little brother doesn't have Brother Zhao's abilities. I'm still a virgin even now. I only hope to save up a little money and have some fun in the alley. Brother Zhao, please enlighten me—which brothel girl is best?"

"Tch, we're all brothers. Why call it enlightenment? I know a brothel girl in Green Grass Lane, though I'm getting a little tired of her after so long. Come with me later. I'll let you, a fledgling, experience what it means for two dragons to play with a pearl."

"Brother Zhao is generous. It's just that I'm on duty at the gambling house this afternoon. By the time I get there, it'll be after the hour of Xu."

"Damn it, if you're going to the gambling house, just say you're going to the gambling house. On duty? Do you think you draw a government salary? Fine. I'll go later too. It's the third-to-last house in Green Grass Lane. I'll leave the door open for you."

The Green Snake Gang members burst into laughter, completely unaware that behind them—

Jiang Shu, whom Old Man Li had dragged out through the crowd, stood sideways nearby and lingered for quite a while, until he had heard every word of their conversation clearly.

"Little Brother Jiang, don't bear a grudge over what Master Zhao said today. Even if you do, don't show it on your face. Tomorrow, come with this old man to sweep floors and empty chamber pots at the hall. I know you're a good student and can't do such lowly work. This old man can do it. You only need to go there once. When Master Zhao asks, just say you were the one who emptied the chamber pots."

Tugging Jiang Shu's sleeve, Old Man Li lowered his voice as he rubbed his calf.

He had fled famine from another county. He had merely dozed off on the road, and when he woke, his little girl was gone.

As for his son, long before the famine had begun...

If his son were still alive, would his grandson be like Little Brother Jiang—courteous and fond of studying...

Cloudy tears could not help spilling from the corners of Old Man Li's eyes. He clearly remembered the first time he had met Jiang Shu.

That time, he had risen early as usual. The mud-brick house opposite, which had always stood empty, had its door open. A youth who plainly looked like a scholar came out and called to him, "Elder."

For a refugee like him, even the slightest scrap of respect was enough to leave an unforgettable mark.

"Elder Li, you should have left directly today. You shouldn't have stopped me."

Jiang Shu sighed.

In his eyes, Zhao Tai's endless provocations were no more than a single punch. He could kill Zhao Tai, then leave in an instant. Even if the Green Snake Gang mobilized its entire force to hunt him down, he only needed to head toward the Inner City. After twelve hours, he could safely return to Xuanxing.

But the moment Old Man Li turned back, that punch could no longer be thrown.

He could leave, but Old Man Li might very well lose his life here.

"Child, if I hadn't stopped you and you refused to crawl through his crotch, Master Zhao really would have beaten you. They use leather whips soaked in salt water to lash people. You don't know—you've never seen it. How could your tender flesh endure such a vicious beating?"

Having lived in Crooked Snake Alley for so many years, Old Man Li knew all too well what the Green Snake Gang was like.

When such things happened to others, he would cower and pretend not to see. That was simply the way of the world. What could an old refugee like him do?

But Little Brother Jiang... the kindness he had shown over these past two months was real.

Not a trace of disdain, and every so often, Jiang Shu would bring him wine and food from the Outer City.

How could he bear to let someone like Little Brother Jiang empty chamber pots for those filthy people?

He only needed to go himself.

It was not as if he came from a good background anyway. He had done things like this more times than he could count.

Feeling the concern in Old Man Li's voice, Jiang Shu stood there. In the end, many words never left his lips.

"Child, if you don't want to go to the Green Snake Gang, then don't. Go study and read. Each day you have left with Master Qin is one day less. You must cherish them."

"Alright."

Old Man Li did not take his usual route to the escort agency.

Jiang Shu watched Old Man Li leave. He cast one long, deep look back toward the entrance of Crooked Snake Alley before walking toward the Inner City.

Pingling County was divided into an Inner City and an Outer City.

The Outer City was Pingling County's slum, populated mostly by county townsfolk and refugee outsiders. The County Government and wealthy households could not be bothered with such meager mosquito flesh, so they simply handed the entire Outer City over to the gangs.

The Inner City was the true county town of Pingling County.

A heavy city wall, built entirely from solid blue bricks, rose high like a crouching beast. Outside the walls ran a moat fully ten meters wide, clearly separating it from the Outer City.

It was now the hour of Chen.

Jiang Shu moved swiftly, crossing the drawbridge and entering the Inner City.

Unlike the narrow, filthy alleys of the Outer City, the Inner City's streets were paved with stone bricks, broad and clean. Small vendors had already set up their stalls along both sides of the long streets, selling all manner of daily necessities and rare curiosities seldom seen in the Outer City.

Looking into the distance, Jiang Shu saw a vast square at the far end. In its center stood an enormous stone wall, engraved with every major event that had occurred from Pingling County's founding to the present day.

He paused, but instead of reading about the county's great events, he looked toward one corner of the stone wall, where a simple map of the Inner City had been carved.

After getting his bearings, he headed east.

Jiang Shu had learned of seven martial halls in the Inner City. Each had its own specialty.

White Crane Martial Hall taught the White Crane Breathing Method and the White Crane Entering Clouds Stance. With long practice, one's bearing became light and graceful, one's form misty as a crane.

Spinning Turtle Martial Hall taught the Spinning Turtle Breathing Method and the Spinning Turtle Carrying Mountain Stance. With long practice, one's breath became deep and enduring, with life-nurturing effects.

Antelope Martial Hall taught the Antelope Breathing Method and the Antelope Leaping Ravine Stance. With long practice, one became swift as the wind, with astonishing leaping ability.

Unlike Xuanxing's Martial Dao, the stance training here was paired with Breathing Techniques, allowing one to cultivate force more quickly and step into the true Martial Dao.

White Crane, Spinning Turtle, and Antelope were all excellent martial halls.

The Breathing Techniques and stance training they taught should all surpass the Horse Stance he was currently practicing.

White Crane and Spinning Turtle in particular—one was ethereal, with an Immortal air; the other might extend one's lifespan by several years.

But no matter how fine the image, no matter how long the lifespan—

How could they compare to true methods of slaughter?

Old Man Li's staggering steps as he left flashed through Jiang Shu's mind, along with the sight of Old Man Li nearly kneeling beneath Zhao Tai to beg for mercy. Jiang Shu narrowed his eyes and quickened his pace.

After crossing three streets and alleys, he reached a small square.

At its easternmost end, a sprawling single-story courtyard came into view.

Even from over twenty steps away, waves of fierce training cries already rang out.

"Ten taels of silver to join the martial hall."

A boy of around ten stood at the entrance.

Eight words were written on a strip of white cloth hung from a black pole.

Beside it stood a scale, ready to weigh the silver brought by applicants.

Jiang Shu glanced at the four characters on the courtyard's plaque. Once he confirmed them, he pieced together several scattered bits of silver from inside his padded jacket.

The boy took them, weighed out a full ten taels of broken silver, then took out a certificate and waited for Jiang Shu to sign and leave his mark.

Jiang Shu accepted the brush, dipped it in ink, and signed with practiced ease.

Then he stepped into the martial hall.

Hungry Tiger Martial Hall.

It taught the Hungry Tiger Breathing Method and the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance. With long practice, one's breath surged like a torrent, and one's fists and kicks became fierce and savage.