The Gang Leader Ran Off

"Big Brother, shall we fight to the death?"

"When the Fish-Dragon Gang controlled the wharf, they only took half..."

Two months ago, the Fish-Dragon Gang had suffered a devastating surprise attack. Its experts had died in battle, leaving only defeated remnants hiding here and there, with no hope of recovery. The Black Flood Dragon Gang now stood unchallenged and increasingly treated the fishermen of the Seventy-Two Peaks as less than human.

"Zhang Biao has gone too far!"

"We all carry one head on two shoulders. Who's afraid of whom? Grab your harpoons and fight them!"

"Let's fight..."

Not far away, the fishermen from White Sand Island had just settled their accounts and boarded their boats when they noticed the disturbance at the wharf. They watched with sabers in hand, and some eager young men proposed taking advantage of the chaos to loot Black Sand Wharf.

"We can't fight!"

When everyone else's heads were burning with anger, someone had to keep a cool one.

"Zhang Biao alone is nothing to fear. Back in the tavern, if I'd launched a sneak attack, I had three chances to smash his skull..."

Lin Mang felt the iron chain at his waist, his gaze fierce. A man who had earned the name "Water Salamander" was certainly no spineless weakling. Everyone on the lake knew that salamanders excelled at patient restraint, but once in the water, they were as vicious as tigers.

A young man asked in bewilderment, "Then why let him throw his weight around?"

"Black Overlord, Black Softshell Turtle Head, Black-Hearted Tiger-Zhang Biao only ranks third. The Black Flood Dragon Gang has seventy or eighty fighting men, with no shortage of skilled hands. They have more money and better weapons than we do. How are we supposed to fight?"

With the stakes laid bare and their hot blood cooling, everyone fell silent.

The young man looked toward the tavern. "What a pity. Two fine men, and both will probably perish in the tiger's jaws today."

"Not necessarily."

"Could they possibly defeat that many people?"

Lin Mang had a feeling that anyone who dared step forward at a time like this was either a fool or far from ordinary.

"A fool, a complete fool... hahaha..."

"You haven't even found the door, yet you dare copy others and meddle?"

Meanwhile, after this blunder, the exchange between the three reached the Black Flood Dragon Gang's ears and drew a burst of mockery. Besides Zhang Biao, all twenty gang members stationed at the wharf had arrived. The outcome seemed settled.

"Whether I dare meddle in this affair will be decided by our hands!"

Li Yu kept watching Zhang Biao's every movement. When he suddenly saw his brows tighten and his saber-holding right hand tremble slightly, he knew the drug had taken effect. He could not give him a chance to issue orders. Pushing off with his right foot, he lunged forward.

To catch the bandits, first capture their king; to draw a bow, draw the strongest!

"You've got nerve!"

Cold light flashed as Li Yu unleashed the Returning Wind and Swaying Willow Sword Technique, thrusting straight at Zhang Biao's heart. Zhang Biao brought his saber across to block.

"Willows Sway in the Wind!"

The blue-steel sword in Li Yu's hand quivered lightly from side to side. To everyone's astonishment, a clang rang out, and he easily flicked the thick-backed iron saber away. His sword drove straight in. With a wet sound, blood blossomed as the blade sank into that small, vital spot.

"This... how is this possible..."

He withdrew his sword and stepped back.

Li Yu's movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water. The Returning Wind and Swaying Willow Sword Technique was graceful and nimble to begin with; coupled with his handsome features and exceptional bearing, even his killing resembled a whirling Hu dance. Amid its rises, falls, and turns, a formidable foe met his end.

Beneath her black veil, Qin Xiu's eyes shifted.

"You... played... dirty..."

Zhang Biao's eyes bulged. Looking at the bloody wound in his chest, he reached out and grasped at empty air, feeling all his strength drain away in an instant. He toppled forward, his legs kicking twice before a large pool of blood spread beneath him.

In the end, the Black-Hearted Tiger had had his heart gouged out.

In martial contests of the jianghu, life and death were decided in an instant, but this reversal had happened so quickly that no one had yet reacted.

"He won..." Fu Rong was a little dazed.

What left her even more dazed was what came next.

"The man who slew Zhang Biao is the new leader of the Fish-Dragon Gang!"

Holding his bloodstained sword, Li Yu swept his gaze around, cold light flashing in his eyes. No one dared meet them.

The Black-Hearted Tiger's fearsome name was known far and wide, yet he had killed him with a single thrust.

Many were secretly astonished that the Fish-Dragon Gang still had such an expert hidden away. Perhaps the outcome of the struggle between the two gangs had yet to be decided.

"Today, I kill only the chief culprit. Anyone who blocks my path dies!"

With their leader abruptly lost and the enemy's swordsmanship so ferocious, the nearly twenty gang members stood bewildered and helpless. None dared obstruct them. Only after they had gone far away did someone shout, "Avenge Third Master!"

"That's right! Third Master always treated us well. We drank together and played with women together..."

"After the killer!"

His face filled with grief and indignation, the gang member who had first spoken ran a dozen paces with saber in hand. Catching sight of only two or three men following him out of the corner of his eye, he immediately deflated. He slowed down, circled partway around, and returned to the tavern, tilting his head toward the sky as though nothing had happened.

After a long while, someone came to his senses.

"The Fish-Dragon Gang's dead ashes are burning again! Hurry and report to First Master and Second Master!"

Fifteen or sixteen li northeast of Black Earth Town lay a stretch of wooded hills, lush with vegetation and dotted with plum trees. After several bouts of wind and rain, the yellow plums were fully ripe, half hanging from branches and half buried in mud, their fruity fragrance filling the air.

"We're almost there."

Deep in the woods rose a slope shaped like a folding screen. Behind it lay the Fish-Dragon Gang's hiding place.

"It's the deputy gang leader!"

"The deputy gang leader is back..."

Before they reached it, two teenage gang members ran down the slope, carrying harpoons and dressed in rags.

"You're injured? Who are these two guests?"

"We'll talk when we're back."

Leaving the gang member named Xiao San to keep watch in the woods, the four crossed the slope and walked some distance downhill. Only then did Li Yu discover five or six thatched huts clustered together beneath the cover of the luxuriant forest.

"There are sheer cliffs on several sides, with only one narrow, out-of-the-way path leading in. This place is extremely secluded. You two can rest easy."

The central thatched meeting hall had a couplet on its pillars: "Fish leap through rivers and lakes; three feet of blue steel startle the four seas. A dragon coils in the southeast; over a pot of cloudy wine, we discuss the realm."

Farther inside, a plaque hung high, bearing four large characters that danced like dragons and phoenixes.

Unlike the elegant, orderly calligraphy commonly seen south of the Yangtze, it carried the frontier spirit of golden spears and armored steeds.

Beneath the plaque stood a tiger-skin folding chair, with six hardwood folding chairs arranged on either side, extending down the hall.

"Xiao Si, summon everyone."

"Yes!"

After the teenage gang member left, only the three of them remained in the hall.

"Thank you for saving my life, Young Master Li."

Looking at Li Yu, Fu Rong walked into the center of the hall and suddenly bowed to the ground.

Though a woman, she had a resolute air about her brows. Her looks were ordinary, but her figure was full, with glimpses of white skin showing through her tattered clothes. Unlike Qin Xiu, whose voluptuousness still held a trace of unripeness, she was a thoroughly ripened yellow plum.

"Please rise."

She raised her head and gazed at Li Yu. "I... have a presumptuous request."

"Go ahead."

Fu Rong said, "I know you acted out of kindness at the wharf, Young Master Li, and that it was only a temporary expedient. But I'd like to ask you... to turn the pretense into reality!"

Beneath her veiled hat, Qin Xiu's willow-leaf brows rose slightly. "Turn the pretense into reality? How do you intend to do that?"

Fu Rong cupped her hands. "I mean... I'd like to ask Young Master Li to become our new gang leader!"

Li Yu pondered in silence, gripping the token inside his sleeve. Should I take it out now?

He asked tentatively, "Do you know where your former gang leader is?"

"I do."

Li Yu's heart jolted.

Fu Rong hesitated for a moment, then looked at the plaque hanging in the hall, which read "Fish Transform into Dragons." A bitter smile appeared on her face. Never mind fish and dragons-the change in a person could be greater than in a beast.

"We tell outsiders that our gang leader disappeared, possibly murdered by villains. But actually... he most likely ran off!"

Qin Xiu asked in surprise, "The gang leader ran off?"

That certainly was a strange tale.

Even if the leader of a gang withdrew from the jianghu, he ought to wash his hands in a golden basin.

Grief and indignation filled Fu Rong's face. "Two months ago, that bastard made off with the gold, silver, and valuables, then vanished without a trace. Everyone was thrown into a panic, giving the Black Flood Dragon Gang an opening. Our brothers suffered terrible casualties! If I ever see him again, I'll fight him to the death!"

"Gao Jingzong, oh, Gao Jingzong, you aren't fit to be called human!"

Li Yu quietly put away the black iron token inside his sleeve. With or without it, he could achieve his aim. Judging by the present circumstances, perhaps taking over the Fish-Dragon Gang would go even more smoothly if he did not mention Gao Jingzong's name.

"All right. I accept."

It might not be much of an enterprise, but even a wrecked boat still had three catties of scrap nails.

Overjoyed, Fu Rong clasped her fists. "Thank you, benefactor... no, thank you, Gang Leader."