The Old Gang Leader Summons Him

Su Xinghe gave it some thought, and the general information on this escort agency surfaced in his mind.

Qingshan Escort Agency was powerful and had close business dealings with Taiguang Prefecture.

Every so often, news of recruitment would appear.

Rumor had it that in the prefectural city, it employed a Seventh Rank Attendant.

The strongest cultivator in Linshan County was likely an eighth-rank Dark Force martial artist. Under him were another five or six ninth-rank Bright Force escort masters. Even some veteran runners were quasi-martial artists whose qi and blood had entered force.

Naturally, it would not be like that old swindler, using worthless fake manuals to hoodwink his subordinates.

But the position of a runner was neither here nor there for someone with lofty ambitions like him. In essence, it could be equated with cannon fodder.

And it required leaving the city.

From what he knew, escorting goods outside the city was extremely dangerous.

Not only were there mountain bandits who blocked roads and seized cargo, but nearby there was also the Red Lotus branch of the Taiping Sect, which ate people without spitting out their bones.

He should not leave the city. Now that he had a stable way to make money, he could set this news aside for the moment.

As for the Old Madman, his circumstances were rather unusual.

When he had first arrived in this world and was searching for martial arts manuals to buy, this man had been a target he had learned of by chance.

He was suspected to be a Martial Warrior and might possess a true martial inheritance.

Su Xinghe had tried approaching him several times.

Things had been fine at first, but later, he had no idea how he offended the man. He had nearly overturned his cart and left his little life in that fellow's hands.

This man's origins were unknown, and he lived alone in a rented room in the Tube District.

Moreover, he suffered from a serious illness, which had made him withdrawn and solitary.

Alone and with little time left to live, this was someone who truly dared to draw a blade and hack people down within the city.

When his temper flared, he cared nothing for the consequences. Even Liu Laizi's gang did not dare provoke him lightly.

Back then, after probing him repeatedly, Su Xinghe had never been able to determine whether the old man still possessed a Martial Warrior's strength. He could only make long-term plans and have Little Beggar keep watch in secret.

He had originally thought the man would not last more than a few days. Who would have imagined that several months had slipped by without him noticing?

Was this time really the end for him?

Hmm...

He was out of silver. That should make him easier to handle.

But he could not rush things either. He would wait three to five days before visiting the old gentleman. If his guess was wrong, he could treat it as the neighborhood sending warmth.

"Keep a close eye on things these next few days. See if anyone else is setting their sights on the Old Madman."

"Right, have you heard anything about that old swindler?"

The youth lowered his head gloomily as the two brushed past each other.

The old swindler was the black-market seller who had sold him the "Rising Dragon Stance." Su Xinghe not only wanted an unconditional refund, he also wanted to give the old swindler a few bad reviews to his face.

Otherwise, he had already saved up a hundred taels and would soon be able to buy a Registered Disciple slot at the Martial Arts School.

Where had all these troubles come from?

Unfortunately, half a year had passed, and the old bastard had vanished from the face of the earth.

Outside the city, by the Clearwater River.

A fast boat over three zhang long sped across the water.

In the blink of an eye, it slipped into the dock of a tree-shaded estate.

Two figures in gray robes and tight-fitting outfits leaped from the boat and rushed straight toward the depths of the estate.

"Report!"

An urgent cry sounded outside the door.

Inside the training room, a middle-aged, burly man who looked like a wealthy gentleman put away his blade technique. He then took a towel from the maid at his side and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Only then did he call unhurriedly toward the door.

"Come in."

A guard beside the door gently pushed it open two feet, and the gray-robed figures appeared at the entrance.

With their heads lowered, they reported rapidly from outside the room.

"Gang Leader, our goods are gone. The other side was the Qian Family Trading House in the city. Yesterday afternoon, brothers at the docks saw their ships coming and going."

The middle-aged man's brows furrowed slightly.

"Which shipment? Why are you only reporting this now?!"

The gray-robed men outside did not dare conceal anything and answered shamefully.

"They acted very covertly this time. Not a single brother at Coldwater Bay managed to escape."

"If a disciple had not gone fishing at dawn and found several corpses in the river bend, we would probably still be kept in the dark."

Clang!

The long saber slipped from Qi Rui'an's hand.

The leader of the Fishermen's Gang, who ruled ten li of waters along both banks of the Clearwater River, had turned pale, sweat beginning to bead across his forehead.

"What... did you say..."

"Was it... that shipment at Coldwater Bay?"

After receiving confirmation, he paced around the training ground for a long while.

Only after quite some time did he give his orders in a daze.

"Go, quickly, come with me to see Third Master!"

Five fine horses galloped away, leaving dust swirling across the ground.

Red Embroidery Manor, inside a brand-new study.

Qi Rui'an and his two gray-robed subordinates knelt at the entrance, their entire bodies trembling without stop.

Third Master Lu of the Lu Family, dressed like a wealthy official, sat behind the writing desk. At his side stood his yet-unwed concubine and a personal maidservant.

"Oh... so the goods meant for Qingshan Academy were lost by you..."

"Let me guess... was it Immortal's Delight, or Fairy's Smile..."

"Or perhaps, it was..."

"Hehe... look at how terrified you are. It seems I guessed correctly!"

Lu Zhengkun idly played with the jade ruyi in his hand, muttering in a careless tone.

Qi Rui'an's body shook even harder outside the door. A ring of sweat seeped slowly from his brow into the brand-new embroidered carpet.

Only those who often met Third Master knew that the more cheerfully this Lu Family's Third Master smiled, the bigger the matter was.

The woman in red behind the desk wrinkled her nose and waved a small hand toward the side.

"Drag them out and behead them!"

With a clatter, armored soldiers strode over from outside the study.

"Wait!"

Lu Zhengkun lightly tapped the jade ruyi against the desk and turned toward the woman in red beside him.

"Xiu'er, don't be hasty. As long as the goods are still in Linshan County, they cannot escape our grasp."

"Besides, our wedding is imminent. It would be unlucky to spill blood in this new estate."

The red-clad woman's bright eyes remained fixed on Lu Zhengkun without blinking. Only after a long while did she finally look away.

"Then I will listen to my husband."

Perhaps she was not accustomed to the term yet; her tone was somewhat stiff.

The back alley of Eight-Zhang Street.

After pulling off a major "business deal," many disciples were nursing their injuries, and the Great River Gang had been lying low these past few days.

The blazing sun outside the warehouse of their headquarters was like fire, heat waves steaming up from the long street.

Su Xinghe lay sprawled at the window, drowsy from the heat.

Lu Kui and the others had been called by Zhang Beard to collect protection taxes, leaving him with no one even to chat with.

But he could not truly fall asleep, because it was his turn to guard the door today.

The losses from the battle a few days ago, coupled with a whole room of wounded men behind him, made this the time when the Great River Gang's fighting strength was at its weakest. If their enemies came sniffing around, the gang could be overturned in an instant.

Though he bore the title of "temporary worker," he still possessed a basic sense of responsibility.

Fortunately, the occasional scantily clad fallen girl wandered through the alley. The enchanting sights beneath their gauze and their seductive poses were refreshing and invigorating.

Just as he was considering how likely it was that he could sell that copy of "Rising Dragon Stance" to these hurried middle-aged men, and how to make this business bigger and stronger, footsteps sounded behind him.

"Six, take over the door for him."

Before Su Xinghe could rise, a burly man in a steward's long robe pointed at him and barked the order.

Once he recognized the newcomer, he hurriedly stood and greeted him respectfully. "Hello, Brother Chun!"

This was one of the Great River Gang's higher-ups.

Unlike Lu Kui and the others, who had joined halfway as hired thugs, the man before him was part of the gang's core faction, raised within it from childhood. His combat strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, yet he was not a ranked martial artist.

Su Xinghe guessed that the man either lacked the talent and had no fate with martial arts, or had suffered severe injuries that caused his martial realm to fall.

"Kid, come with me."

Steward Zhou glanced at him. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and headed back into the warehouse hall.

Though Su Xinghe was full of confusion, he did not dare delay.

After quickly exchanging a glance with Sixth, only to find the other youth equally baffled, he could only hurry after him.

They passed through the warehouse hall, crossed the rear courtyard, then went through the back door of the shops and traversed halls and rooms until they arrived on the third floor of the Brokerage Guild on Eight-Zhang Street.

At last, they stopped before a walnut-colored folding screen.

Only then did Zhou Chun change his tone and tell him that the old gang leader had summoned him over a matter.

The Old Soldiers Brokerage had stood for more than a hundred years. It had originally been founded jointly by a group of old brothers, but as the years flowed by, only the Zhou family remained to maintain it.

The solid wood floors gleamed like mirrors, and the pillars along the connected corridors were exquisitely carved. Even every wall was built and adorned from identically sized bluestone slabs, plastered and painted into place.

Flowers bloomed in profusion along the corridors, and young maidservants occasionally moved through them. The faint fragrance of rouge and red mandarin ducks lingered in the air, while gold and jade ornaments radiated wealth and splendor.

This was also Su Xinghe's first time here.

Compared with the Brokerage Guild's shops, the warehouse headquarters of the Great River Gang was simply a pigsty.