Young Gang Leader of the Ninth Grade Realm

Chen Guilan's heart warmed.

But in the next instant, her mouth was full of bitterness.

Ever since her eldest son had returned after quitting his job at the beginning of the year, he had seemed possessed, obsessively devoted to martial arts.

At first, seeing how diligent and hardworking he was, everyone had been full of hope. But half a year had passed, and that dream had been ruthlessly shattered.

Yet the money had been spent, and things had come to this. Now, she would be satisfied so long as he could work steadily at Lu Family Wharf.

"Cough, cough... I'll sleep after I finish rolling this batch."

Su Xinghe nodded at her words.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a large hundred-cash coin from his clothes.

"This is what I've saved over the past few days. Take it first, Mom. There's another ship leaving from the wharf tonight, so I need to head out again later."

Chen Guilan lowered her head and did not take it right away.

The family was struggling, but they had not yet reached the point where they could not keep food on the table. After all, there were three able-bodied laborers in the household. If they tightened their belts and saved for three to five years, it would be enough to marry a wife into the family.

What she feared was that her husband and two sons would wear their bodies out first.

"You're... going again tonight?"

Her voice trembled, and her unfocused eyes held worry that could not be dissolved.

"Actually... cough, cough..."

"Actually, you don't need to put so much pressure on yourself..."

Su Xinghe crouched down and gently patted his mother's back. He also placed the money into her hand.

He wanted to say something, but every word felt pale and powerless.

He was the one who had squandered the silver, yet everyone was enduring the hard days together. In this household, he was the least qualified to complain about pressure.

Feeling the thick coin in her palm, a full size larger than the usual cash coins, Chen Guilan clenched her fist.

"Why is there so much?! Aren't you keeping any on yourself?"

In the Zhou Martial Sage Dynasty, a thousand copper cash equaled one tael of silver.

One large hundred-cash coin was worth one hundred cash.

Even a strong laborer at the wharf would need nearly a month to earn that much.

Could my son have gone down the wrong path?

The last time he gave money to the family was less than half a month ago...

Seeing his mother's worried yet nervous expression, Su Xinghe reassured her.

"No need. I still have some."

"Third Master Lu has recently taken a concubine and is expanding a manor outside the city. I'm strong, so there's plenty of work at the wharf."

From today's battle, he had made more than three hundred cash from looting bodies.

But he had no way to reveal this unaccountable income to his family.

And it was far from stable.

In truth, before becoming a martial artist, Su Xinghe had always resisted risking his life. That was irresponsible toward both himself and his family. Yet in order to earn silver and become a martial artist as quickly as possible, he had no choice but to fight others to the death.

For the past half year, he had fought for every sliver of hope.

"Fortune is sought amid danger..."

Feeling the faint ache from the wound on his back, he sighed silently to himself.

He returned to his room.

He pulled a small cloth bundle out from beneath his bed.

After taking stock of today's spoils, he stored them away together, leaving only a few small coins on himself for emergencies.

Rustle, rustle. Something wriggled around his collar.

A white bat the size of a matchbox poked its head out and crawled free.

Su Xinghe held it in his palm and teased it with a few strokes of his finger. The little fellow stared with huge pitch-black eyes, its tiny mouth rooting about everywhere.

It looked just like a kitten searching for milk, innocent and adorable.

After playing with it for a while, he took a short dagger from beside the bed.

He lightly sliced his palm.

"Squeak, squeak..."

The moment it caught the scent of his blood, Little White Bat buried its head against the wound.

"Gulp, gulp~"

Its white body slowly turned red.

This White Bat was a mutant strain. It could help him evade the Sky-Patrolling Ravens of the Martial Dao Bureau's Inspection Bureau.

Whenever it sensed a natural enemy, it would sweat all over. The scent would cause the Sky-Patrolling Ravens to mistake it for the aura on a Travel Pass Talisman.

It had been captured in the Outer Realm and bred by the upper ranks of the Peaceful Heaven Sect, specifically for certain higher-ups to conceal their identities.

The one Su Xinghe had was left behind by the original owner of this body.

However, the original owner had not been a high-ranking member of the Peaceful Heaven Sect, but a temporary keeper at the Breeding Cave.

Or, perhaps he could be called a blood slave.

The only reason Su Xinghe had not thrown this White Bat away was to save himself the cost of buying a Travel Pass Talisman.

Any civilian entering or leaving the city, or going out at night, might be watched by the elusive Sky-Patrolling Ravens.

These ravens were also mutant creatures from the Outer Realm.

After being trained, they could distinguish the colorless, odorless aura on Travel Pass Talismans.

Without the special scent emitted by a Travel Pass Talisman, the Sky-Patrolling Ravens would screech, drawing the street-patrolling constables of the Public Security Office.

Or even experts from the Inspection Bureau.

Wasn't it just feeding it a little blood every night? He possessed the Unyielding fate trait.

He only had to eat a few more mouthfuls of food to make up for it.

The night was deep as water, and a fresh breeze scattered the summer heat.

The people living in Tongzi Ward were mostly the bitterly poor at the bottom of Lin County's social ladder. Their nightly entertainment was monotonous and uniform.

Either they squatted by their own doorways chatting to cool off, or they hid in their rooms rocking the bed to make babies.

The densely packed tube buildings had practically no soundproofing, and what he heard set Su Xinghe's heart racing with wild fancies.

He hurriedly quickened his pace and fled the alley as though he were flying.

Across the Central River, the south of the city seemed like another world. Here, nightlife had only just begun. Pedestrians flowed endlessly along the roads, while street vendors' cries rose without pause.

Even young ladies from wealthy families and delicate daughters of modest households, rarely seen in daylight, took advantage of the cool evening to go out shopping and strengthen their bonds with their sisters.

This drew young men from all around as well.

The back alley of Eight-Zhang Street, the Great River Gang's headquarters.

Behind it stood rows of shops, and it served as their back courtyard warehouse.

When Su Xinghe pushed open the half-closed wooden door, a pungent mix of alcohol and greasy sweat stench rushed into his face.

Tonight's card game had not begun yet. More than twenty burly men were gathered around several tables, drinking and playing finger-guessing games.

Eating, drinking, whoring, gambling—the four great poisons. Three were right in front of him.

With this sort of environment, how could he tell his family that he was mixed up with a gang?

Among the crowd, Su Xinghe spotted several severely wounded men who had been carried back that afternoon barely clinging to life. Now, wrapped head to toe in bandages, they were guzzling wine and tearing into chunks of meat.

They really are spirited young men of the underworld. These weeds unloved by father or mother truly have tenacious vitality.

Just as he was sighing over it, a familiar voice interrupted his wandering thoughts.

"Blackie! Over here!"

Lu Kui's muffled, booming voice was highly recognizable. He waved toward the entrance.

Su Xinghe looked over and saw that the members of his squad were all gathered there.

Before he could even sit down, someone beside him shouted toward the counter, "Old Cripple, slice us half a pig's head and a set of offal, then bring five jin of yellow wine!"

"Pay first!"

Old Cripple sat behind the counter, carefully wiping the cleaver in his hand without even raising his head.

Lu Kui chuckled. "Same old rules. Put it on my brother Blackie's tab."

"You're pulling that trick again!"

Su Xinghe's mouth twitched. He dearly wished he could slap the people before him.

Why was saving a little money so difficult!

He had killed six river bandits in one go today, then helped his teammates take down more than ten others. He had been slightly slow while searching the bodies, so they must have noticed again.

Still, he was only a newcomer in the Great River Gang. Even if he argued over it, no one would likely speak for him.

Instead, they would mock him for not being loyal enough.

There were some things he could only endure for now.

Just wait another half year. Once he had saved enough money, he never wanted to see these people again.

"Brother Kui, eat less fatty meat. Otherwise, I won't be able to carry you when we have to run next time."

"Heh heh heh."

"Alright, alright... come, let's drink!"

"Next time, your brothers will help you block the blades!"

Lu Kui agreed readily, but not a word had entered his ears. If not for the armor of fat covering his body, he would have long since died in some unknown alley.

The headquarters had a kitchen, but the free "staff meals" tasted no better than pig feed. Thus, whenever they had a little spare money, everyone would pay out of their own pockets to indulge in some meat.

Naturally, Su Xinghe was the exception.

In fact, Su Xinghe had chosen the Great River Gang from among the many gangs of Lin County because it had a fairly decent reputation outside.

It had originally been the private guard force of a Brokerage Guild.

Later, for some reason, that force had been spun off.

Its main business now was collecting peace taxes, water fees, and the like from Eight-Zhang Street and the dozen or so alleys around it. Its side business was backing several merchant firms in the city.

When business required it, they would also help fellow people of the underworld settle fights.

Like today's battle on the Clearwater River—they had actually been invited there to "fish." A merchant caravan had suffered losses there and spent heavily to hire the Great River Gang to destroy the other side's hideout in revenge, while also recovering their goods.

Compared to Liu Laizi and his lot, who only knew how to bully ordinary civilians with their fists and feet, they were clearly on an entirely higher level.

This was also how gangs large and small survived within the city, under the rules of the county yamen and the Lu Family. Martial force brought prosperity and stability under a power's protection, and from that came shared interests.

For example, Su Xinghe remembered two rules most clearly.

No one other than government offices could possess firearms or gunpowder. Private possession was treated as treason.

No martial artist not registered with the Martial Dao Bureau could carry blades, swords, or other weapons within the city. Even martial arts schools, gangs, and escort agencies like theirs were no exception.

These two rules seemed simple.

Yet martial artists could easily crush ordinary people even without weapons, while ordinary people carrying weapons led to far more disputes and could even threaten the Lu Family's authority in the city.

As for the government and county yamen, they only needed to keep firearms under control. Their primary duty lay outside the city, namely the infamous Peaceful Heaven Sect.

However, that organization had always operated in the countryside, gathering to become bandits and dispersing to become civilians. The imperial court had organized several campaigns against them, but each had ultimately achieved little.

A huge basin of pig head meat was soon scraped clean, and the rest of the disciples gradually arrived as well.

Then a loud shout rang out from the crowd. "The young gang leader is here!"

"Whoosh~"

"Greetings, Young Gang Leader!"

The disciples respectfully rose from their seats, all eyes turning toward the large door deeper inside, which was slowly being pushed open.