Ambushing Li Hu

Night lay in a murky haze!

In the ruined temple on the mountain behind Li Family Village, lamplight flickered, spilling through the drafty windows.

Inside the cobweb-covered room, Li Hu sat beside an oil lamp. After taking a small sip of wine, he tossed another peanut into his mouth.

Across from him sat one of his two lackeys. The other was absent.

His name was Li Jian, and he was actually the son of Li Hu's cousin.

But to maintain his authority in the gang, Li Hu forbade him from calling him Uncle, making him call him Master Hu instead.

The mountain wind swept through the ruined temple, wailing like weeping ghosts and howling demons. Li Jian's face went pale with fear.

"Look at you, you coward. We only killed a man, didn't we? You weren't afraid of him alive, so what's there to fear now that he's dead?" Li Hu mocked him.

"He Shicai's dead, and he's still making me hide in this rotten place. If he turns into a ghost, I'll kill him all over again."

He had never intended to kill He Shicai. He had only slapped him once, but who would have thought He Shicai would be so pathetic as to die of his own anger, forcing them into hiding?

As long as no one reported it, the authorities generally ignored such matters. Ordinary people would not dare lodge a complaint against the Three Harmonies Gang either. The only concern was that He Shicai's family might do something foolish and report it.

Even if the authorities were in bed with them, they would still have to put on a show then, so they had hidden themselves away first.

Li Jian felt a little ashamed. "Master Hu, you've killed several people already, so of course you're not afraid. But this is your nephew's first time killing someone. I'm afraid his wronged ghost will come for my life."

"Wronged ghosts, my ass. If they existed, would I have lived so freely all these years?"

Li Hu reassured him, "Don't be afraid. We killed someone this time, but we also shouldered trouble for the gang. Plenty of people want to kill their way up the ranks and never get the chance. With this incident under your belts, you and Li Liang only need to put in a few more years before you can move up. This is a good thing.

"I first made a name for myself in the gang by killing someone.

"Remember, you have to be able to shoulder trouble in the gang if you want a chance to rise."

Hearing this, Li Jian felt much less afraid. "Master Hu, how much longer do we have to hide? This really isn't a place fit for people."

They had already hidden here for three days. Although they had brought plenty of food, he could not stand it anymore. Sleeping on a door plank every night was about to break his back.

"We'll wait for news from Li Liang. If He Shicai's family hasn't reported it, we can go back." Li Hu took another gulp of wine.

He had been through this sort of thing many times and was long since accustomed to it.

"What if He Shicai's family does report it?"

Li Hu smiled. "Then we finish them off. With no aggrieved party left, naturally no one will pursue it."

He sounded as though he were talking about crushing a few ants.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside.

"Who's there?"

Li Hu reacted first, drawing a dagger from his waist.

"Master Hu, it's me."

Li Liang slipped inside and smiled. "Good news. He Shicai's family hasn't reported it."

"We can go back!" Li Jian stood up.

"They didn't go looking for death. He Shicai's family knows what's good for them. Come on, let's visit your auntie first!" Li Hu gulped down some wine and led the way outside.

Their "auntie" was his mistress. She had been a widow who could not afford the residence fee, so she had paid with her body instead. One thing had led to another, and she had become Li Hu's mistress.

After hiding for several days, he was burning with pent-up lust.

Li Jian blew out the oil lamp and followed him out of the ruined temple.

The three descended the mountain, skirted Li Family Village, and headed toward Big Tree Village, where Li Hu's mistress lived.

"Master Hu, slow down!" Li Jian reached out to steady him.

Li Hu had already drunk plenty in the ruined temple and had kept drinking after coming down the mountain. Now the wine was catching up with him, and his steps were growing unsteady.

"I'm fine. This little bit of wine won't get me drunk. When I was your age, I could put away two or three catties of wine and still hack people down."

The Three Harmonies Gang had rival gangs, and clashes and assassinations were common. Li Hu generally avoided drinking when traveling at night.

But he had been in hiding these past few days, and no one knew their whereabouts, so he was not worried about trouble on the road.

Not far ahead, Big Tree Village had already come into view.

"Your auntie probably hasn't gone to bed yet. We'll have her make a few dishes, and the three of us can keep drinking. After these days on the mountain, my mouth's been so starved of flavor it could hatch a bird."

As Li Hu spoke, he seemed to remember something and added, "Right, has that brat Xu Yang brought the money?"

Li Liang shook his head. "I asked the brothers at the branch. He hasn't been there."

"Is that little bastard deliberately stalling? Tomorrow we'll go to his house and take a-"

Before he could finish saying "look," a dark figure burst out from below the field ridge ahead, swift as a tiger or leopard.

Li Hu had spent years in the gangs. He had killed several times and survived many attempts on his own life, leaving him with ample experience in responding to attacks.

Though somewhat drunk, he made the right move at once, shoving Li Liang out in front of him.

Squelch!

A sound like oxhide being pierced rang out. As he retreated, he saw a sharpened wooden pole run through Li Liang's body, tenting his clothes.

His scalp prickled, and cold sweat drenched him. Had he reacted any slower, he would have been skewered like a candied hawthorn.

Thud!

Xu Yang kicked Li Liang off the pole, lunged forward, and gripped the wrist-thick shaft with both hands, bringing it down at Li Jian's head.

He had lain in ambush outside the entrance to the village where Li Hu's mistress lived for two straight days. On the third day, Li Hu had finally appeared.

He had thought he would catch only Li Hu. He had not expected all three to be together. Killing them all would conveniently keep anyone from connecting the matter to him.

He had no suitable weapon, so he had found a sturdy, heavy wooden pole and sharpened its tip, using it as both spear and staff.

He had never learned spear or staff techniques, but with enough strength, this thing was scarcely less lethal than a blade.

Whoom!

The wrist-thick pole struck through the air with a deep, heavy sound. It even bent slightly under Xu Yang's swing-a testament to the terrifying force behind the blow.

Li Liang's death had already frightened Li Jian out of his wits, but faced with imminent death, he still reacted.

He crossed his arms above his head, vainly trying to block the fatal blow with flesh and blood.

Crack!

The sound of shattering arm bones rang out.

With his current strength, Xu Yang could lift a stone weight of a hundred and fifty catties with one arm. Wielding the pole with both hands, he delivered far more than five hundred catties of striking force.

Li Jian's arms snapped on impact. Before he could even scream, the wooden pole smashed through his defenses like splitting bamboo and struck his forehead.

With a thud, brain matter and fragments of bone flew, and Li Jian collapsed in a limp heap.

Crack!

Xu Yang had used too much force. After the successive blows, the pole snapped, making him stumble. Fortunately, he quickly stepped forward and checked his momentum before he could fall.

"Mur-"

Li Hu was already scared witless. He had even forgotten the dagger he carried.

Everything had happened in the flash of lightning, and he had only retreated three or four steps. He had not gotten far.

He opened his mouth to shout "Murder!" But he had barely made a sound when Xu Yang's broken pole flew into his back.

Li Hu's vision went dark. Before he could even feel the pain, the force of the blow trapped a breath inside him, leaving him unable to exhale.

The next instant, Xu Yang darted up behind him, seized his head with both hands, and twisted it sharply backward.

Crack!

Li Hu's neck snapped. As his head twisted around, he saw a familiar, icy face in the darkness.

Xu Yang...

The man killing him was Xu Yang!

He had only enough time for that thought before his consciousness sank into darkness.

Crack!

Xu Yang kept applying force, only letting go after twisting Li Hu's head a full three hundred and sixty degrees.