Locust Street was on the edge of the Outer City, even filthier and more chaotic than Mute Bay.
The sides of the street were crowded with ragged beggars, and children who were nothing but skin and bones rummaged through gutters for scraps of food.
The acrid stench of rot and excrement hung in the air. Occasionally, a swollen, discolored corpse could be seen lying by the roadside.
In a place like this, a person's death was less conspicuous than a rat's.
Chen Qing lay in wait in the shadows of the eaves, his eyes scanning the intricate network of narrow alleys below.
Qian Biao's death was like an invisible thorn. As long as the Jinhe Gang remained, that thorn would stay embedded in his flesh, liable to fester and rot at any moment.
Rather than wait for trouble to come knocking, it was better to strike first.
Suddenly, Chen Qing's gaze sharpened.
Two figures emerged from the mouth of the alley, moving furtively. One of them was Liu Laizi, and beside him was a shifty-eyed man.
They walked in a hurry, their expressions tense. They kept looking back over their shoulders, like startled birds.
"Brother Liu, do we really have to go out now? Those bastards from the Tiger Gang are on our heels..."
The yellow-toothed man lowered his voice, a note of unease in his tone.
"Of course!"
Liu Laizi rubbed his hands together impatiently and cursed under his breath, "My mouth tastes like garbage! Who can stand eating dry flatbread for two days? Hurry up! We buy it and we leave!"
The two of them hugged the base of the wall, quickly making their way to the other end of the alley.
A thought sparked in Chen Qing's mind. He held his breath and moved silently along the roof ridge, following them as nimbly as a leopard cat, his gaze locked onto the two figures.
Liu Laizi and his companion expertly navigated several turns, arriving at a relatively busier small intersection.
He scanned his surroundings warily for a moment before hurrying forward. He pulled out a few copper coins, grabbed some food wrapped in oil paper, and immediately turned around with the yellow-toothed man, heading back with even quicker steps.
From the roof, Chen Qing could see clearly that it wasn't a meal for just two people.
He followed without a sound, maintaining a safe distance and height.
After a series of twists and turns, Liu Laizi and his companion finally ducked into the end of an unusually secluded dead-end alley.
Before them was a dilapidated wooden door.
Liu Laizi nervously looked left and right again. Once he confirmed no one was following, he knocked quickly on the door.
The door opened with a CREAK, just a crack, and the two men quickly slipped inside. It shut immediately after.
'I'll check out the situation first.'
Chen Qing took a deep breath and climbed up the adjacent courtyard wall onto the roof.
He carefully peeked over into the courtyard.
Two or three long sabers lay on a wooden table in the courtyard. The ground was littered with torn fragments of a woman's dress. The place was a mess.
Just then, the sound of conversation came from inside the house.
Chen Qing carefully lifted a roof tile and peered down.
It was a bedroom. A messy pile of quilts was on the bed, a medicine bottle sat on the table, and blood-stained bandages were tossed on the floor.
'Not this room.' Chen Qing understood. He gently replaced the tile, crouched, and moved like a cat to the eaves of the next room, lifting another tile.
The scene in the main hall came into view. Four or five burly men sat in a circle. At the head of the table sat a cold-faced, middle-aged man in a black robe.
'It really is the Jinhe Gang!'
Chen Qing's eyes narrowed. He recognized the middle-aged man as Song Tie, the leader of the Jinhe Gang.
Rumor had it that Song Tie was an exceptional martial artist, skilled in the Saber Technique. He had carved out his territory in Mute Bay with his blade.
Chen Qing had seen him once before.
"Boss, we bought the stuff!" Liu Laizi wiped the sweat from his brow and handed over the oil-paper package.
Song Tie impatiently tore it open, glanced inside, and immediately erupted in curses. "Cornbread?! Not even a hint of grease? My mouth feels like it's being scraped with a knife!"
Liu Laizi gave a bitter smile. "Boss, in a shithole like Locust Street, we're lucky to get anything hot to eat."
"Fucking hell, what a disgrace! How long are we going to hide like this?" one of the men couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"Go out? You want to end up like Qian Biao?" another sneered. "You wouldn't even know how you died!"
A few gang members couldn't help but complain in low voices. When they mentioned the state of Qian Biao's death, their voices were tinged with fear.
Liu Laizi's eyes darted around. He said tentatively, "Boss, the Tiger Gang is on our tail... What if we try to... negotiate a truce?"
"A truce sounds good to me."
Liu Laizi's proposal immediately received agreement from many of those present.
SLAM!
Song Tie slammed his palm down on the table. The solid wooden table instantly shattered into pieces.
The room fell deathly silent. All the gang members were scared stiff.
'What incredible Power!'
On the roof, Chen Qing was also secretly alarmed.
'Song Tie's qi and blood are vigorous, even for someone at the Manifest Force realm. If I faced him head-on, I probably wouldn't come out on top, not to mention all these other Jinhe Gang members.'
Song Tie said expressionlessly, "A truce? I think you all want to take my head and surrender with it, don't you? Hmm?"
Liu Laizi trembled. "We wouldn't dare! We wouldn't dare! Please calm down, Boss!"
Song Tie's years of accumulated authority still held sway. The gang members all lowered their heads.
"Scared already? Ah Biao's revenge, the territory in Mute Bay—I will take it all back with my own hands! All of you, listen up!"
Song Tie's falcon-like gaze swept over his silent underlings. He sneered, "Ah Hu! You all remember him, right? He's coming back! Once he arrives, we'll see if there's any place left in Gaolin County for the Tiger Gang to hop around!"
"Master Hu is coming back?!" A bright light suddenly flared in Liu Laizi's eyes, and his voice trembled.
"Would I lie to you?"
Song Tie waved his hand impatiently. "Go on, get back. Don't let those bastards from the Tiger Gang catch our scent."
"Yes!"
As if granted amnesty, the men quickly bowed and retreated.
'Ah Hu?'
Doubt filled Chen Qing's mind.
'Who is this person? Why does Song Tie rely on him so much?'
He committed the name to memory.
'This is no place to linger.'
Chen Qing silently drew back, preparing to leave.
'Wait!'
Chen Qing paused. He was incredibly astute.
'Thinking back to the medicine bottle and bandages... Is that old fox injured?'
Chen Qing flattened himself again, moved over to the side room where he had spied the medicine bottle and bloody strips of cloth, held his breath, and gently widened a crack between the tiles.
Inside, as soon as Song Tie confirmed the last gang member had left, he slumped into his chair like a deflated ball.
"Pah! A bunch of treacherous bastards!"
Gritting his teeth, Song Tie poured Golden Sore Medicine onto his wound. The powder mixed with blood, congealing into a dark red scab.
As a gang leader, he knew all too well how laughable the "brotherly loyalty" written in the gang rules was. If he showed the slightest weakness, his head would be hanging from the Tiger Gang's flagpole by tomorrow.
'Good thing I was smart enough to keep an ace up my sleeve.'
As he applied the medicine, Song Tie snorted coldly. "You're all just waiting for me to fall so you can go lick a new master's boots, aren't you? ...Just you wait. Wait until I've caught my breath..."
'...That palm strike just now... it was probably a bluff, an arrow at the end of its flight.'
From the eaves above, Chen Qing saw this scene clearly.
'If I were to launch a sneak attack, this looks like a golden opportunity.'
His eyes narrowed as he began to calculate silently.
'A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. How severe are Song Tie's injuries? Does he just look bad, or is he truly spent?'
'Besides, a cornered animal will fight back. A man who could survive the treacherous gang world and become a leader would have a vicious final counterattack and hidden trump cards that couldn't be underestimated. He might have Hidden Weapons, potent poisons, or other tricks.'
'The layout of this damn courtyard is unclear. Are there other traps? Secret passages? If I make a move and can't finish Song Tie instantly, what if I cause a commotion and attract others?'
'If I fail, or if I leave him alive, my identity will be completely exposed.'
'If the sneak attack succeeds, the benefit would be getting whatever valuables Song Tie has on him. But from the looks of it, he doesn't seem to be wealthy.'
'Kill with a borrowed knife!'
An idea had formed in Chen Qing's mind.
He slid silently from the roof like a falling leaf, not even stirring up a speck of dust when he landed.
In less than a moment, Chen Qing's figure had already melted into the darkness of the alleys.
......