A New Village Beyond the Dark Willows

By the time Lu Shaolin hurried back to his doorstep, he found three men in black sitting outside his home.

Lu Shaolin frowned and, with a bang, tossed the two pheasants and one roe deer he carried in his left hand onto the ground.

The avengers had come!

Murderous intent flashed in Lu Shaolin's eyes as he stepped forward with his spear.

The three men in black spotted Lu Shaolin as well. One of them, a round-faced man, cupped his hands and called out, "Are you young brother Lu from the Lu family?"

"That's me!" Lu Shaolin nodded, the killing intent in his eyes fading. Their attitude did not look like they had come for revenge.

"Young brother Lu, we are from the Blackwater Gang. The gang's steward heard of your achievements and admires you greatly. He sent us to ask whether you would be willing to join our gang. If you do, you will be appointed directly as a minor leader!" the round-faced man said respectfully.

"Hm?" Lu Shaolin's eyes widened. This truly was a new village beyond the dark willows!

"I am willing to join your gang!" Lu Shaolin nodded heavily.

"Wonderful! Young brother, come find me at Blackwater Wharf early tomorrow morning. I'll take you to see the steward then, and he will personally bring you into the gang."

"Oh, right. My name is Wang An. Just ask around at the wharf when you arrive, and you'll find me," the round-faced Wang An said with a smile.

"Alright, many thanks, Brother Wang!" Lu Shaolin cupped his hands.

"It is getting late, and we still need to hurry back to the county town, so we shall take our leave. Young brother, do not forget to go to Blackwater Wharf tomorrow morning!" Wang An likewise cupped his hands in farewell.

"I won't!" Lu Shaolin said with absolute certainty.

"Good! Farewell, young brother." Wang An smiled, turned, and strode quickly toward the village entrance.

The other two followed close behind.

Lu Shaolin grinned, turned around, picked up the game he had thrown on the ground, and entered the courtyard.

When joy came knocking, even the spirit felt refreshed!

Now that he had joined the gang, martial arts manuals were right before his eyes.

He swiftly cleaned all three animals and chose one pheasant to stew.

Once the meal was ready, Lu Shaolin heartily devoured it.

He had wandered around the mountain all afternoon and had long since grown hungry.

After eating, he paced around the courtyard to digest his food. Then he practiced with his long spear for a while before washing up and going to bed.

He had to rise early tomorrow, so he needed to keep his spirits full!

Early the next morning, around the Rabbit Hour, Lu Shaolin opened his eyes.

He took a black Warrior Uniform from the wardrobe and put it on.

It was his only Warrior Uniform. Though it was made from coarse cloth, it still looked a little more respectable than his other clothes.

Because of the changes in his build, the Warrior Uniform stretched tightly across Lu Shaolin's body, perfectly outlining his muscles.

Lu Shaolin nodded in satisfaction, carried his spear into the courtyard, then entered the kitchen to make breakfast.

After finishing breakfast, he picked up his long spear and headed straight for Blackwater Wharf.

An hour later, Lu Shaolin arrived at the wharf.

He had thought there would be few people at such an early hour, but there were quite a lot. Most were laborers waiting for work.

Lu Shaolin looked at the tea stall. It had not opened yet, so he walked toward the nearest middle-aged man.

"Sorry to disturb you, brother. Do you know Wang An?" Lu Shaolin asked with cupped hands.

"Wang An? You mean Lord Wang of the Blackwater Gang?" The middle-aged man paused, then asked Lu Shaolin in return.

"Mm... he is indeed with the Blackwater Gang." Lu Shaolin nodded.

"Walk along the wharf. The ships with three ripples carved into their hulls belong to the Blackwater Gang. Lord Wang is usually aboard one of them." The man pointed toward the river.

"Thank you for telling me!" Lu Shaolin cupped his hands and walked onto the wharf.

Once on the wharf, Lu Shaolin swept his gaze from side to side, searching for a ship carved with three ripples.

At last, he found a black pleasure boat near the middle. Three ripples had been carved into the middle of its hull, so subtly that they were hard to notice without looking carefully.

Lu Shaolin walked toward the black pleasure boat. A man in black stood at the bow. Looking closely, Lu Shaolin recognized him as one of the men who had come to his home yesterday.

The man saw Lu Shaolin as well and called into the cabin. Wang An soon emerged from inside.

"Young brother, you came quite early. The steward has not arrived yet, so come aboard and rest for a while!" Wang An said with a smile.

"Sounds good. Then I'll trouble you!" Lu Shaolin replied with a smile. With a leap, he jumped onto the boat.

"Please come in!" Wang An gestured toward the cabin.

Lu Shaolin nodded and bent down to enter it.

The cabin was quite spacious. It held a tea table with several small plates of snacks, as well as a teapot and teacups.

"Please sit, young brother." Wang An pointed to a chair.

Lu Shaolin smiled and sat down.

The two drank tea and chatted as they waited for Steward Yu to arrive.

Through their conversation, Lu Shaolin learned that Wang An was also a minor leader at the Early Skin Tempering stage.

He also learned that upon joining, gang members would receive the Skin Tempering portion of the Reckless Bull Force manual.

Martial arts manuals were divided into four grades according to their power: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow!

Reckless Bull Force was a Yellow Grade external cultivation technique. At most, it could be cultivated to Perfected Muscle Tempering. Only after cultivating Reckless Bull Force to Perfected Skin Tempering could one receive the Tendon Tempering portion of the manual.

After some roundabout probing, Lu Shaolin also learned that the gang leader was named He Zhonglang. He was at the Intermediate Organ-Tempering Stage and cultivated the Iron Chain Across the River Formula, the only technique in the gang that could reach the Organ-Tempering Realm!

However, this technique was not passed on freely. Only someone who had rendered immense service to the gang might be taught it by the gang leader.

After chatting for about an hour, the man in black standing guard outside poked his head in and said, "Leader Wang, Steward Yu has arrived!"

Wang An quickly rose and went out to greet him.

Lu Shaolin also stood and followed behind him.

When the two reached the bow, they saw a sturdy man in brocade robes standing on shore, followed by a burly man in black.

"Steward Yu!" Wang An called, cupping his hands.

Lu Shaolin followed suit and cupped his hands as well.

"You must be young Lu of the Lu family! Truly, heroes emerge in their youth!" Yu Shan waved his hand, smiling as he looked at Lu Shaolin.

"That would be me. Thank you for your support, Steward." Lu Shaolin replied solemnly.

"Support is too much to call it. I am merely recruiting talent for the gang." Yu Shan shook his head.

"It is getting late. Come with me now to the headquarters and complete the procedures for joining the gang!" Yu Shan continued.

"Alright, Steward." Lu Shaolin nodded, turned into the cabin to retrieve his long spear, then leaped ashore.

"Wang An, we'll be going first." Yu Shan greeted Wang An, then turned toward the Water Fortress.

"Brother Wang, we'll talk again another day!" Lu Shaolin cupped his hands toward him, then followed behind Yu Shan and the burly man in black.

After walking for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the three arrived at the entrance to the Water Fortress.

Yu Shan nodded to the four burly men guarding the entrance, then led the other two into the Water Fortress.

"The headquarters Water Fortress has three levels. The first level contains the main hall, as well as the offices of the Internal Affairs Hall, External Affairs Hall, and Discipline Hall."

"The second level holds the Martial Arts Pavilion and the residences of the hall masters and deputy hall masters."

"The third level is where the gang leader and his family reside," Yu Shan introduced as they walked.