A Visit

"Who on earth did this?!"

Inside the Green Bamboo Gang's branch hall, Lei Hu was flying into a rage, casually shattering the wooden table beside him with a single slap.

Several scoundrels were still standing inside the hall, all holding their breath as they stood to one side, not daring to utter a single loud sound.

When he heard during the day that Ma San had died in the alley, Lei Hu had been stunned for quite a while, especially since that alley was within the Green Bamboo Gang's jurisdiction.

Just what kind of person was so bold as to kill one of their people right inside the Green Bamboo Gang's territory!

He had gone to the scene personally to inspect the corpse.

Ma San's sternum was caved in, his neck snapped by a tremendous force, and his other two lackings had their hearts shattered by a fist from behind; the opponent's methods were ruthless, leaving not a trace of hesitation.

Who knew what kind of deep, irreconcilable hatred existed, but the heads of all three had been smashed into a messy pulp by stone pier blocks, a tragic sight to behold.

The person who killed Ma San hadn't even used a saber, beating all three to death purely with their fists.

This Ma San was also good for nothing; once he got a bit of protection money, all he knew was to go drinking and whoring, never stopping. Going was one thing, but every time he went, he drank himself blind drunk. Now it was fine-he'd been beaten to death.

Yet even though Ma San was trash, he was still a man of the Green Bamboo Gang, and this matter could by no means be left at that.

Ma San was a martial artist of the Qi-Blood First Stage, and with two lackeys on top of that, even if they ran into an ordinary Qi-Blood Second Level, unable to beat them, escaping would certainly be no problem. Out of three people, at least one should have been able to get away.

Yet judging from the marks at the scene, Ma San and the others had almost zero power to resist before being instantly obliterated in a flash!

The strength of the person who struck most likely had already reached Skin Grinding Perfection, which was the strength of the Qi-Blood Second Level, or perhaps even the Qi-Blood Third Stage!

Qi-Blood Second Level Perfection or even the Qi-Blood Third Stage...

Lei Hu's expression grew gloomy. Martial Dao experts of this caliber were rare even within their own gang, and they could by no means be nameless nobodies.

The Black Bear Gang? The Flying Eagle Gang? Or some expert Ma San offended in private?

The names of one hostile faction after another flashed through Lei Hu's mind, but he dismissed them one by one.

Among the nearby factions, only the Black Bear Gang possessed strength that could rival the Green Bamboo Gang, while the rest fell far short of them.

The incense masters and hall masters of the various major factions all knew each other well.

If the opponent was truly targeting the Green Bamboo Gang, sparing no effort to dispatch an expert of at least Qi-Blood Second Level Perfection merely to lurk in an alley and assassinate a bottom-feeder like Ma San, it completely defied logic!

What was more, although the various forces occasionally had friction over territories and interests in ordinary times, snuffing out a mere Ma San yielded no substantive benefits whatsoever, save for needlessly breeding enmity.

"Who the hell is behind this fucking hit?"

Lei Hu furrowed his brow tightly, the pent-up frustration in his chest difficult to ease.

"Incense Master Lei, Incense Master Lei!"

Just as Lei Hu was feeling vexed and disorderly, he suddenly heard shouts. Lifting his gaze, he saw several scoundrels the gang had previously dispatched out to investigate running back, covered in dirt and looking disheveled.

"Panicking and flustered, what kind of behavior is this!" Lei Hu barked, forcibly suppressing his anger. "I sent you off to investigate the matter regarding Ma San; how did it turn out? Any leads? Which faction made the hit?"

"N-Not another faction."

The leading scoundrel said tremblingly, "Incense Master Lei, the brothers went to longevity Alley just now to find out what happened, figuring that the person who clashed with Ma San during the day yesterday should bear the greatest suspicion, so we went to that kid's place, and-and the brothers got beaten up by someone!"

"Beaten up? Who's got the nerve?" Lei Hu tightened his brow. "In this jurisdiction, someone actually dares to beat our people? Who was it?"

"It... it was that Li Feng!"

"Li Feng?" Lei Hu was momentarily dazed, unable to recall for a second who this person was.

"He's that White Runner, the Li family kid who still has a heavily injured sister-in-law at home."

Hearing the scoundrel's explanation, Lei Hu finally remembered, the unremarkable and submissive figure surfacing in his mind. He asked in a cold voice, "What about him?"

The leading scoundrel continued, "Incense Master Lei, you don't know how arrogant that kid was. The brothers went by your orders to investigate with pleasant expressions and soft tones, but who would have thought that kid simply wouldn't cooperate? He even pointed right at the brothers' noses and cursed that everyone in the Green Bamboo Gang was a bunch of unranked trash, daring to come question him!"

"The brothers were furious and just about to reason with him a bit when he relied on his bit of Martial Dao cultivation to deal a ruthless blow, striking me flying several zhang away with a single hit. He even spouted wild nonsense, saying that even if you, Incense Master Lei, went over personally, he'd beat you just the same, break your legs, and toss you out of the courtyard!"

The scoundrel exaggerated with tears and mucus.

Having lingered in the gangs for many years, what kind of person had Lei Hu not seen?

Watching this scoundrel's performance, at a single glance he saw right through the exaggeration.

Could he not know what kind of trash his own subordinates were?

"Useless trash! Stop motherfucking farting in front of me!"

With a single kick, Lei Hu sent the scoundrel crashing to the ground, cursing angrily, "How could a temporary White Runner possibly have the guts to utter words like breaking my legs?"

The scoundrel immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowing and begging for mercy repeatedly, not daring to spout any more nonsense.

Even though Lei Hu could tell his subordinate was lying, he was still furious.

To beat a dog, one must still look at its master; for the Li family kid to dare beat his men meant he simply didn't regard him at all!

"No matter what he said, since he dares to make a move on people of our Green Bamboo Gang, that is simply courting death!"

Lei Hu let out a cold snort. "Let's go, take me to find that kid. I want to see for myself just what he relies on to dare make a move against people of our Green Bamboo Gang!"

"Understood, Incense Master Lei!" the leading scoundrel acknowledged.

Watching Lei Hu stride out of the room full of rage, several scoundrels exchanged glances, gloating delight flashing in all their eyes.

With Incense Master Lei taking action, that fellow surnamed Li was likely in for a hard time tonight; even if he didn't die, he would be peeled to the bone.

Hmph!

It would just happen to let the surrounding people know the consequences of offending the Green Bamboo Gang! Let's see if they still dare to default on their protection money!

Zhang Qiang was strolling idly down the street when he suddenly caught sight of a commotion ahead.

He saw a dozen or so people coming aggressively, brandishing sabers and clubs, heading straight toward the direction of Li Feng's home.

Zhang Qiang was startled at first, then hurriedly pulled aside a passerby to inquire. After understanding the situation, he bloomed with joy.

So it turned out that this punk Li Feng didn't know whether he was living or dying, sticking his neck out for others and clashing with the Green Bamboo Gang, and relying on his slight Martial Dao cultivation to even beat up the Green Bamboo Gang's scoundrels.

"Serves you right! Making a show of pretense as usual, you little punk! Last time I got locked in the big prison, you couldn't help the slightest bit, yet you still came hypocritically to visit me!"

Gleefully gloating, Zhang Qiang spat a mouthful, losing even the mood to stroll, and hurried back home in high spirits.

Inside the Zhang Family Grain Shop.

Chen Yulian was greeting Zhang Maochun and Shen Xiuying, preparing to eat. Just as they finished setting the bowls and chopsticks, they saw Zhang Qiang rush in frantically, plop down in his own seat, pick up the teapot on the table, and drink straight from the spout with a large gulp.

"Fidgety and rash, what are you doing!" Zhang Maochun furrowed his brow and rebuked him with a scold.

Zhang Qiang wiped his mouth and grinned broadly. "Dad, Mom, guess what I just saw outside?"

Chen Yulian scooped a bowl of rice and handed it over, saying, "What did you see?"

"It's Li Feng, he's run into big trouble!" Zhang Qiang chuckled foolishly. "I saw with my own eyes that Incense Master Lei of the Green Bamboo Gang brought over a dozen people, acting aggressive and menacing as they went to settle scores with him!"

"Little Feng?"

Chen Yulian's expression abruptly shifted, and she anxiously said, "You child is spouting sheer nonsense. Little Feng has always been law-abiding and careful; how could he possibly provoke these gang ruffians!"

Zhang Qiang waved a hand and continued, "Mom, that's where you don't understand. Isn't there a saying that you can know a person's face but not their heart? How has he been law-abiding? I heard the Green Bamboo Gang was collecting protection money from the neighborhood residents, and one household refused to pay. He forcibly went to stick his neck out for someone else and even beat up the Green Bamboo Gang's brothers!"

"He's nothing more than a powerless, uninfluential temporary runner. Relying on having learned a bit of martial arts, he dared to run around showing off his might. This time, I'm afraid he's in for massive trouble."

Chen Yulian listened in a flurry of fear, anxious. "What is to be done about this? Those gang members don't know their own strength when they strike, in case-master, why don't we..."

Before her voice faded, Zhang Maochun cut her off. "What 'why don't we,' stop meddling in this! Those are gangs! The trouble Li Feng brought upon himself, what does it have to do with us? If you run over and provoke trouble, are we still going to keep this grain shop open or not?"

"But Little Feng, he..."

"All right, enough with the 'buts'." Zhang Maochun picked up a mouthful of vegetables. "Even though he's only a temporary runner, he's still someone from the City Guard Office no matter what; he shouldn't be beaten to death, at most just given a thrashing. Since he wants to show off his might, taking a lesson is only right-it'll just teach him to remember the lesson well."

Listening to the conversation of the several of them from the side, Shen Xiuying recalled how Sister Yulian had previously wanted to matchmake her and Li Feng, and could not help exhaling a silent breath of relief.

It was fortunate she hadn't agreed to meet back then.

This Li Feng turned out to be such a hothead. Left or right, he was nothing more than a White Runner, yet he dared to stick his neck out for others and throw his weight around. If she had truly married him back then, not only would her days have hung by a thread, but today she would also be implicated by him, effortlessly dragged into such massive trouble.

A moment later, Lei Hu led a dozen scoundrels, marching aggressively into the Li family courtyard.

At this moment, the courtyard gate stood wide open.

Li Feng had already made his sister-in-law hide inside the house, telling her not to come out no matter what happened, while he himself sat upon the stone stool directly in the middle of the courtyard. On the stone table before him, the standard-issue Constable Saber issued by the City Guard Office was also laid out.

Seeing this scene, Lei Hu couldn't help being momentarily stunned. This kid actually wasn't running, and even laid out his constable saber-what was he trying to do? Fight them to the bitter end?

Where did he get his confidence? Just from his unranked White Runner status?

After a brief astonishment, a sneer surfaced on Lei Hu's face.

Since he brought people here, backing down was out of the question.

What he represented coming over here right now wasn't merely his own face as Lei Hu, but the face of the entire Green Bamboo Gang.

Although there weren't many people around at the moment, the neighboring residents were definitely secretly observing the situation here from the shadows.

His purpose in coming here was also very simple: to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, establishing his prestige in public, and using reality to tell this group of bottom-rung commoners what the consequences of offending the Green Bamboo Gang were.