Chapter 8

"Everything has been taken care of. I bought the bone-dissolving water for ten taels of silver, ensuring no one can find a trace. Your neighbors in the western part of the city have all been sent out of town overnight, with no one left behind!"

At this moment, Zhuang Wudao was walking on the street in the northern part of the city. By his side was the large, burly man.

This man was named Qin Gouzi in his childhood and later changed his name to Qin Feng. He was the true core leader and strategist of their small gang.

Strangely enough, although Zhuang Wudao had a delicate and feminine appearance in his youth, he was the best at combat among the group, always leading the charge in battles. On the other hand, Qin Feng, who looked like a brute, had a sharp and clever mind. He united their group of over ten brothers, acting with cunning and flexibility, earning him the reputation of a fox. His skills were also more refined and agile.

Their images were completely opposite.

At this moment, Qin Feng was speaking while casting a strange gaze up and down at Zhuang Wudao, as if a flower had grown on him.

"Ten days is probably impossible, but at least we can suppress it for three days. In my opinion, it would be simpler and easier to eliminate all these mine slaves."

Zhuang Wudao ignored him, looking around. The eastern part of the city, where the wealthy and noble lived, was not as significant as the northern part, which was the true heart of the city. Here, thousands of small mine owners and merchants resided, and the largest market in the city was located here. Brothels lined the streets, and taverns were clustered together.

Not only did the young nobles and servants from the eastern part of the city like to come to the north, but even the young mine slaves, when they had money, enjoyed coming here to broaden their horizons.

The Jade Washing Street, where the Green Robe Hall was located, was the most remote, yet it generated nearly a thousand taels of silver in revenue every day.

Zhuang Wudao's tavern and gambling house, as well as two alleys, were also on this street. The reason for the conflict was that the Green Robe Hall wanted to increase their share of the profits. When negotiations failed, they resorted to violence.

Qin Feng had recently been running the gang well, attracting several powerful figures, which led to the Green Robe Hall's vigilance and suppression.

As they walked down Jade Washing Street, they noticed that the Green Robe Hall members, who usually swaggered around, were mostly absent. The few who remained were uneasy, their gazes filled with fear and suspicion when they looked at the two of them.

Walking confidently down the street, after hiding like dogs a few days ago, naturally raised suspicions.

"Can you really do such a despicable thing? Even if you eliminate them, it won't stay hidden for long."

People at the bottom of society might be unaware of the current situation, but they were very sensitive.

If Shi Hu and Liu He didn't show up for a few days, these people would know something was wrong, and the result would be a quick dispersal.

"Zhuang Wudao is right!"

Qin Feng chuckled, then his expression turned serious: "And Wu Xiaosi's body has been properly prepared. We will use the best coffin, and he can be buried in a few days."

Zhuang Wudao frowned, thinking of his former brother who had died at his hands, a feeling of depression rose in his chest. However, after a day, he no longer felt much regret.

Reflecting on it, if he had been in the same situation, he would have done the same to Wu Xiaosi, showing no mercy.

Yesterday, when he blamed the sword spirit named Yun'er, he was actually shirking responsibility, which was somewhat hypocritical. It was just that the years of friendship made him feel uncomfortable and unable to let go.

"Can we try to contact his wife and children? We can give them a hundred taels of silver as compensation, according to the rules for brothers?"

"A hundred taels? Compensation?"

Qin Feng sneered coldly: "The silver is earned by our brothers risking their lives. We don't even have enough for ourselves, why should we give it to him? A traitor who sold out his friends, I didn't flay him alive in front of the brothers, which is already lucky for him! Why should I care about his wife and children?"

After saying this, he stared at Zhuang Wudao, his gaze like a knife, unyielding. In the end, Zhuang Wudao, feeling helpless, was the first to look away. Qin Feng then sighed: "Forget it, I know you will secretly use your share to help them. Who doesn't know that you, Zhuang Wudao, are ruthless to your enemies but always care for your brothers? You can't bear to see orphans and widows. I will arrange a job for her, ensuring she will have no worries about food and clothing. Are you satisfied?"

Zhuang Wudao smiled lightly. He recognized Qin Feng as the leader of the brothers because of his sense of justice, fairness, and the attention to detail and adaptability that others lacked.

"Very well! I am deeply grateful!"

"You and I are brothers, what's the need for gratitude? But what I find most curious is your boxing skills. When did they reach such a level? I saw Shi Hu's body. His bones were shattered to pieces, and he wasn't Shi Bao! You haven't even reached the Qi Condensation stage, and even with those gloves, it's impossible. Could it be that the Twelve Dragon Strikes have reached the Dragon Roar stage? But that's impossible, that's the Golden Armor Mystic Body!"

"Not Dragon Roar, but Dragon Roar Tiger Roar—"

Qin Feng's face froze. Dragon Roar Tiger Roar? So Zhuang Wudao had reached the first level of Dragon Roar Tiger Roar, where dragon and tiger are united, capable of matching a Qi Condensation cultivator?

Zhuang Wudao chuckled, knowing that these guys had already been suspicious last night. It was impressive that they could hold back until now.

"If I say I've been hiding my strength, do you believe it?"

"I don't believe it! If you were hiding your strength, you wouldn't have been nearly crippled a month ago."

Zhuang Wudao blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed and angry. That battle was indeed dangerous, with a deep cut on his lower abdomen. But it had nothing to do with his reproductive organs.

He huffed, showing his dissatisfaction, and continued: "I recently obtained a sword. Once I achieve oneness with the sword, with the help of the sword spirit, even a Qi Condensation cultivator is no match for me."

"Is it this one?"

Qin Feng's gaze fell on the sword behind Zhuang Wudao. It was a rusty sword with a new scabbard, but the broken handle still looked unsightly.

A sneer escaped Qin Feng's lips as he looked at Zhuang Wudao with a gaze of disbelief.

"Zhuang Wudao, I think you've been reading too many supernatural stories. What sword spirit? Don't fool around!"

Zhuang Wudao, feeling helpless, knew Qin Feng wouldn't believe him, so he changed his story: "I've been practicing martial arts outside the city these past few days and suddenly had an epiphany. In yesterday's battle, with my life on the line, I somehow grasped the true meaning of Dragon Roar Tiger Roar. If you ask me to do it again today, I can't."

"Potential burst? Epiphany? That's not surprising. Shi Hu's fate was sealed. His luck was just too bad—"

Qin Feng laughed, his expression showing that he believed Zhuang Wudao. He then suddenly stopped, standing still.

In the conversation, they had already reached the gate of a large mansion. The outer wall alone occupied a third of Jade Washing Street. The gate bore a plaque with the four characters 'Lichen Academy.'

Legend had it that it was written by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, with characters as strong as iron and silver hooks, exuding a powerful aura.

This was one of the 800 academies under the Lichen Sect. Even if it was the lowest-ranked, it still had a good reputation. As for the inside, everyone in the city knew.

Qin Feng, not being a student of Lichen Academy, could only stop here. However, he casually threw two valuable silk pouches, one large and one small, to Zhuang Wudao.

Zhuang Wudao, upon touching them, knew they contained some medicine bottles and silver bills, all light and portable.

"These are the items we looted from Shi Hu's lair yesterday with a few brothers. We also found the deeds and property titles. However, these four probably have their own hidden stashes, which we can't find."

Qin Feng's expression turned serious: "I will try to recruit more brothers in the next few days. This other matter, I'll leave to you. What you have now is all our assets."

Zhuang Wudao nodded slightly. The large and small silk pouches were for him and another person, respectively.

However, he had no intention of refusing, casually waved his hand, and entered the academy gate.

Qin Feng suddenly spoke again: "We should establish a name for our group. How about 'Sword Robe Hall'? Most of our dozen or so brothers use swords—"

Zhuang Wudao, not bothered to respond, directly entered the gate. His ambition lay elsewhere, and he didn't care about the name of the gang, as long as it wasn't something ridiculous like 'Cat Hall' or 'Dog Hall.'

Lichen Academy covered a vast area. A hundred years ago, when the city was built, the first hall master, relying on the name of the Lichen Sect, occupied 600 acres of land in the city center, with seven courtyards and two 100-acre training grounds, making it a grand and impressive institution. It overshadowed all other academies in the city.

However, today, due to a lack of funds for maintenance, most of the courtyards were in a state of disrepair, maintaining only a superficial appearance.

When Zhuang Wudao entered, he saw two people standing in a horse stance at the courtyard gate, their hands held out.

Seeing him, their eyes lit up, and they winked at him.

One wore a square headband, with a scholarly air. The other was short and slender, agile like a monkey.

These two were among the dozen or so brothers waiting for him in the courtyard this morning. One was named Lin Han, who enjoyed reading and was skilled in sword techniques. Despite his calm demeanor, he used a fierce and wild sword style. The other was named Ma Yuan, whose agility was the best among the group, and he was also skilled in hidden weapons, second only to Qin Feng.

He could hit a target with a flying knife from fifty paces away without missing.

These seventeen brothers had each joined different academies to practice martial arts. Only Lin Han and Ma Yuan, like him, were students of Lichen Academy, making them fellow disciples.

Earlier, he had been hungry and needed to eat, buy a scabbard, and discuss matters with Qin Feng, which took some time.

He hadn't expected that upon returning to the academy, he would see his two brothers being punished by standing in a horse stance at the gate.

Glancing around, he immediately noticed the suspicious gazes coming from behind the windows and doors.

He smiled coldly in his heart and walked straight to Lin Han and Ma Yuan.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know the grand drill is about to start? Get up and follow me inside?"

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