The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 33, The First Lesson in the Martial World

Lu Chen and his two companions walked towards the headquarters of the Han River Gang.

Two of Zhang Yong's clever henchmen first fled back to the branch headquarters to get horses. As they rode out of the town, they saw Lu Chen and his two companions heading uphill.

The two henchmen quickly bypassed the three and hurried back to the headquarters to report the news.

At the headquarters of the Han River Gang, in the "Hall of Righteousness," the leader "Overturning River Dragon" Cao Song, the second leader "Black-Clad Scholar" Shen Qingshi, and several skilled men each in charge of a branch at a dock were hosting a banquet for a "distinguished guest."

The distinguished guest was fair-skinned and plump, dressed in a fine man's robe, though it was patched in a few inconspicuous places. He also carried nine cloth bags on his back, clearly the mark of the Nine-Bag Elder of the Beggars' Sect.

Needless to say, this plump, white-haired man was none other than Elder Peng, the uncle of Shen Qingshi, the second-in-command of the Han River Gang and "Black-Clad Scholar," and one of the leaders of the Beggars' Sect's "Clean Clothes Faction."

However, Elder Peng was not particularly enthusiastic about his "nephew" Shen Qingshi.

The reason was that this nephew was only a distant cousin, and the relationship was not very close to begin with. It was only after the Han River Gang gained power that Shen Qingshi took the initiative to climb up to him and showered him with money that Elder Peng reluctantly accepted this kinship.

now.

Elder Peng sat in the center, accepting toasts from Cao Song, Shen Qingshi, and others with a forced smile. Each time he raised his cup, the wine only slightly touched his lips.

Only when Shen Qingshi presented a small wooden box filled with gold ingots did Elder Peng finally beam with joy and down a cup of wine.

Seeing Elder Peng finish his drink, Shen Qingshi and Cao Song exchanged a glance, then Shen Qingshi poured Elder Peng another cup of wine with a fawning smile before saying:

“Uncle, recently the Han River Gang’s business has been growing bigger and bigger, but they have unfortunately clashed with the Beggar Gang. A Beggar Gang hero named Yu Zhaoxing led his disciples to fight us twice, injuring many of our brothers and destroying one of our cargo ships, letting all the good goods on board escape. What do you think of this?”

Elder Peng snorted coldly, his face full of disdain:
“Yu Zhaoxing? Let me think… He’s the nephew of that snake charmer Li Sheng from Jiangdong, a disciple of the Dirty Clothes Sect. What kind of hero is he? This is easy. I’ll just inform the Dirty Clothes Sect and tell them to stop meddling in your affairs and causing you trouble.”

He was a nine-bag elder, second only to the gang leader Hong Qigong. With a single order, even Li Sheng, the "Snake King of Jiangdong" and an eight-bag disciple, had to obey him. At least on the surface, he could not disobey his orders, otherwise it would be considered insubordination. Not to mention Li Sheng's nephew.

Shen Qingshi was overjoyed and said repeatedly:
"Thank you very much, Uncle! We will repay you handsomely after this matter is resolved."

Cao Song, the River-Turning Dragon, also thanked him repeatedly. He and several skilled members of the branch offered him large bowls of wine, regardless of whether Elder Peng drank it or not. They themselves drank it all in one gulp as a sign of respect.

Just as the drinking was in full swing, a member of the gang rushed in, about to whisper something in Cao Song's ear, but Cao Song impatiently waved his hand away:

"We're all brothers, and Elder Peng is an honored guest. Why are you being so sneaky? Just say what you have to say."

The group member glanced at everyone and said with a bitter face:
"A brother from the Xiaoshi Town branch rushed in to report that our Third Leader was killed by a black-clad youth while on business in town. That youth was ruthless; besides our Third Leader, he also killed eighteen of our brothers."

"What?!" Cao Song was furious upon hearing this. "Where did this madman come from, daring to kill the third leader of my Hanshui Gang?"

Shen Qingshi frowned and asked, "Was the killer a member of the Beggars' Sect?"

The group shook their heads:

"They shouldn't be members of the Beggars' Sect. The young man in black was dressed very neatly, without any patches. His two companions were also young women. By the way, the brother who came to deliver the message also said that the young man in black and the two young women, after killing people, not only didn't run away, but instead headed towards the main headquarters!"

Upon hearing this, the people in the hall were first taken aback, and then they all sneered.

"They must have a death wish! Bringing two young ladies along, they actually dare to attack my Hanshui Gang!"

"Hmph, he managed to kill the Third Master by sheer luck. That kid probably still thinks my Hanshui Gang is weak and easy to bully, and that he's invincible!"

"Boss, give the word! We'll gather the brothers right now and chop that brat up and feed him to the fish!"

"Brothers, please calm down."

Shen Qingshi, nicknamed "The Scholar in Black," usually liked to dress like a scholar and loved to show off his knowledge. He considered himself the strategist of the Han River Gang, and his mind was indeed much sharper than others. After frowning and pondering for a while, he said:

"He killed the third brother and still dared to attack my headquarters. That murderer is probably not so simple."

Cao Song scoffed: "So what? We have over two hundred brothers, are we afraid of just three people?"

A skilled member of the branch headquarters added:

"Two of the three are still young women!"

The group of people who came in to report quickly said:
"The two brothers who came back to report also said that the two young ladies were as beautiful as celestial beings, the finest goods they had ever seen in their lives!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingshi immediately understood why the third brother had died.

He must have set his sights on those two so-called "celestial beauties" and wanted to get his hands on them, but he didn't expect their companion to be a highly skilled and ruthless killer, which is why he lost his life in vain.

Upon realizing this, Shen Qingshi quickly bowed to Elder Peng and said:

"Uncle, what do you think of this matter?"

Elder Peng, being able to become a nine-bag elder of the Clean Clothes Sect, was certainly a man of intelligence and cunning. He knew that the young man who killed the third leader Zhang Yong and eighteen members of the Han River Gang must indeed possess some formidable skills.

However, he didn't care—no matter how high their martial arts skills were, could they be higher than his, the nine-bag elder of the Beggar Clan?

Could the third leader of the Han River Gang survive three moves against him?
As for the eighteen henchmen, they were just ordinary people who could be dealt with easily with a few punches and kicks.

Elder Peng took a sip of wine and said leisurely:

"It's alright, open the gate and let them in. I want to see which young upstart dares to kill so indiscriminately. Nineteen lives! How could he do such a thing!"

He didn't take the Han River Gang seriously, and he didn't care how many people died.

However, the Hanshui Gang was very attentive in their offerings during festivals, and Elder Peng did not want to cut off this source of income. If necessary, he planned to step in and take charge, to show the Hanshui Gang his abilities, so that they would be even more attentive in the future.

Seeing Elder Peng take full responsibility, the members of the Han River Gang felt reassured, thinking that the boy in black was doomed this time.

Although Shen Qingshi felt reassured by Elder Peng's promise, he did not let his guard down. He apologized to Elder Peng, left the Hall of Righteousness, and summoned several trusted subordinates, whispering his instructions:
"Gather the brothers and prepare fishing nets, bamboo poles, and lime powder."

Fishing nets can be used to trap skilled fighters, and bamboo poles have iron tips at the ends. Once sharpened, they can become a different kind of spear without being illegal. As a boat-based gang, it is reasonable for the Han River Gang to have more bamboo poles.

As for lime powder, which underworld gang doesn't use lime powder?

It's just that those martial arts masters are too particular and disdain using such underhanded methods.

After giving the order, Shen Qingshi went back into the Hall of Righteousness and continued to entertain Elder Peng attentively.

While the members of the Han River Gang were "confident" and waiting for Lu Chen and his two companions to arrive, the Han River Gang members were waiting for them to arrive.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen, Huang Rong, and Li Mochou were already not far from the headquarters of the Han River Gang.

Along the way, Huang Rong told Li Mochou a lot of tidbits of martial arts knowledge.

For example, many water gangs are very good at using fishing nets to deal with martial arts masters.

Dozens of people surrounded them, a dozen nets were scattered everywhere, lime powder and dark blue powder were used, and then spears and broadswords were used to stab and chop. Ordinary experts would only have one way out: death.

Li Mochou was speechless with astonishment:
"Would someone from the martial arts world resort to such despicable methods?"

Huang Rong, with a sword in one hand and the other behind her back, said leisurely:

"What does Sister Mochou think the martial world is? Martial arts masters with light swords and fast horses, carrying wine and singing wildly, settling scores with gusto? White-clad knights with their robes fluttering in the wind, coming and going freely, untouched by worldly dust? No, that's not it!"
"Where there are people, there are grudges; where there are grudges, there is the martial world; people are the martial world. Among those people are noble gentlemen and despicable villains. It is not surprising that people in the martial world, who are made up of people, would use some underhanded means."

Yes, in her words, "Where there are people, there are grudges..." was a line spoken by a villain in a story Lu Chen told her, and Huang Rong deeply agreed with it.

(End of this chapter)