Coming to the Door

"Boss. What happened to Zhao Hai? He's gone quiet too?"

Another underling's voice trembled with fear.

No matter how slow their reactions, they could all sense the strangeness of this situation.

"I don't know. Zhao Guang, is there some accomplice hiding in this room of yours?"

Luo Jian's gaze turned icy as he stared at Zhao Guang.

He suspected Zhao Guang was up to some trick.

"I'm all alone, what accomplices would I have?" Zhao Guang seemed genuinely puzzled too.

Luo Jian locked eyes with Zhao Guang, saw nothing amiss, and let out a cold Hmph: "Then I'll just have to see what's inside."

With that, he ordered the underlings to keep a tight watch on Zhao Guang, drew his long blade, and cautiously stepped into the room on the left.

The room was utterly ordinary, somewhat cramped, furnished with a bed, table, chairs, and the like.

It probably wasn't lived in regularly, carrying a faint, odd smell.

Luo Jian searched the entire room, even flipping over the bed, but found no trace of Zhao Hai or his several men.

"Strange. Such a small room—where could they have gone?"

Cold sweat beaded on Luo Jian's forehead.

This whole affair reeked of eerie, sinister wrongness.

"Let's get out of here first."

Luo Jian steadied his nerves and decided not to linger.

But the moment he stepped out of the small house, his pupils sharply contracted.

Zhao Guang and the other underling, who should have been in the courtyard, had mysteriously vanished too.

The tiny yard stood empty, desolate and uncanny.

In an instant, a chill ran down Luo Jian's spine.

He felt dense, malevolent gazes behind him, sizing him up without restraint.

No—those malicious stares seemed to be spreading. Luo Jian sensed cold, shadowy eyes watching him from every corner of the residence.

His scalp crawled, his face drained pale with terror. He pushed off the ground and bolted for the gate.

Boom~

He kicked the door open and fled Zhao Guang's estate in a panic.

Finally, he returned to the gang's stronghold.

Seeing his pale face, gang members rushed over to ask what had happened.

Luo Jian didn't want to talk about it. He waved them off, went alone to his room, and planned to rest.

When he pushed open the door, the room was pitch black.

He lit a lamp, locked the door behind him, and turned around—

His heart lurched, his body trembling with fright.

There, deep in the room, Zhao Guang stood smiling at him.

But his face was rotting, reeking of decay, with bloody tears streaming down.

"So... it was all your doing."

Luo Jian's mouth went dry. He spun around to run.

Boom~

The moment he turned, he collided with a figure and stumbled.

"You... you all?!"

Luo Jian stared at the several figures blocking his way.

They were the underlings he'd taken to Zhao Guang's house, now lined up like a human wall, wearing the same eerie smiles.

"No... no..."

A scream rang out from Luo Jian's room. Then silence.

Two months slipped by quietly.

The bitter cold was receding, the weather warming slightly.

For the poor folk of the Outer City, this harsh winter was finally nearing its end.

Laifu Restaurant opened for business as usual.

Slap slap slap~~

Shopkeeper Hu listlessly flicked the abacus beads on the counter.

The main hall was completely empty of guests, and even the waiter was slacking off, asleep with his head on the table.

Lately, the Outer City had grown increasingly chaotic, causing the tavern's business to plummet. Aside from meal times bringing in a few customers, the rest of the day was spent swatting flies.

"Shopkeeper Hu, I heard the White River Gang trashed the Da'an Inn yesterday."

"Tell me, could that fire spread to us?"

A newly hired Guard, bored out of his mind, came over to chat with Shopkeeper Hu.

"Hmph, with our young master around, does Luo Jian have the guts?!"

Shopkeeper Hu wasn't afraid at all.

He'd heard about the White River Gang's recent moves.

Take Laifu Inn's street, for example—most shops had shut down or didn't even dare open their doors.

This was all forced by the White River Gang. Word had it every shop had to hand over half its daily profits, or else they'd send people to cause trouble, even outright smashing things up.

After half a month of this, any shop that could flee had long since cleared out, or simply locked their doors.

The ones still open were basically those with strong ties to the White River Gang.

But the next second, Shopkeeper Hu was thoroughly slapped in the face.

A ferocious-looking burly man strode in with over a dozen underlings.

The two Guards stationed at Laifu Inn snapped to alertness instantly.

Shopkeeper Hu wasn't scared, though—he knew the big man. He just frowned and said, "Hall Master Li, what's with the big show? What's the meaning of this?"

This burly man was a hall master of the White River Gang, in charge of this area. Shopkeeper Hu had dealt with him many times before.

The big man said flatly, "The gang leader has his eye on Laifu Inn. He wants to buy it."

Shopkeeper Hu's face darkened. "What, your White River Gang dares to touch even our Laifu Inn?"

He'd just boasted, and now the White River Gang showed up to slap him in the face. Anyone would be furious.

Hall Master Li's eyes flashed with menace, his tone threatening: "Shopkeeper Hu, you're a smart man. You know what to do."

Shopkeeper Hu wasn't the least bit intimidated by this Hall Master Li. He sneered, "Li Yong, aren't you afraid my young master will come after you?"

Since the other side came with bad intentions, Shopkeeper Hu dropped the pretense.

At the mention of Qin Yang, Li Yong did waver a bit.

If it were any other shop, he'd have had his men trash it long ago.

But Laifu Inn was different.

The person behind it was someone he couldn't afford to provoke.

Qin Yang's fearsome reputation had spread far and wide across these streets.

Still, he had no choice but to steel himself and say, "Shopkeeper Hu, I'm just a messenger."

"Five hundred taels of silver to buy your tavern. I'll give you three days. The choice is yours."

With that, Li Yong hurriedly led his men away.

"What a piece of trash!"

Shopkeeper Hu spat after his retreating figure.

"Shopkeeper Hu, what do we do now?"

A Guard asked in a low voice.

"Go back to Qin Manor first and find Uncle Qian. Fill him in on the situation."

Shopkeeper Hu wasn't flustered at all.

With a backer behind him, he had no fear of these Jianghu gang types.

"I'm off then."

The Guard nodded and quickly headed toward Qin Manor.

Inside the Small Courtyard of Qin Manor.

Muffled thunderclaps rumbled from within the courtyard.

Boom, boom, boom~

Qin Yang's figure moved like lightning, his palms striking out in rapid succession, roaring like crashing thunder.

Boom!

He slammed his palm into a stone in the yard.

Crack!

That waist-high, solid boulder was instantly shattered into pieces by a single strike.

"Rushing Thunder Palm is finally usable."

Qin Yang was quite satisfied with the explosive power this strike had shown.

Rushing Thunder Palm was inherently about striking like lightning, using terrifying explosive force to directly shatter an opponent.

He took a moment to regulate the surging blood and qi inside his body, then casually called up the panel.

Host: Qin Yang

Turtle-Snake Art: Layer 3 (873/1000)

Po Jun Saber Technique: Great Accomplishment (566/1800)

Primordial Qi Shield: Layer 6 (794/1200)

Rushing Thunder Palm: Mastery (67/800)

As he gradually learned more martial arts, the panel could no longer accommodate them all, so it moved the perfected techniques to the bottom, requiring Qin Yang to mentally tap the ellipsis to see them.