Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

It was still dark.

Chen Ping practiced the "Crushing Stone Force" once in the courtyard. After finishing the twelve forms, he stood still, letting the sweat stream down his back.

My mind is filled with too many thoughts; even after I've finished punching, the tension hasn't dissipated.

The gate to the courtyard rang.

He looked up and heard Hu Qian outside say in a low voice, "Young friend Chen, are you up yet?"

"Get up."

Chen Ping wiped his sweat and opened the door.

Hu Qian stood in the morning mist, his usual smiling face gone. There were faint dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't slept well the night before.

He glanced at Chen Ping and said in a low voice, "Come with me."

There was no explanation of where they were going or why.

Chen Ping took Jingye, closed the courtyard gate, and followed.

The mornings in Qingkou Town are as lively as ever, with vendors calling out their wares, shouts of loading and unloading goods at the dock, and the sound of children running across the bluestone path.

But Chen Ping hadn't gone far when he realized something was wrong.

Several idle men appeared on the street corner. They were dressed casually, but their positions were quite deliberate. They stood guard every three steps and sentry every five steps, cutting off the entire street's view completely.

The undercover agents of the Tsing Yi Society.

It happens normally, but today's density is more than twice as high as usual.

Hu Qian led him through a maze of turns, into an inconspicuous alley on the west side of the market, and stopped in front of a low courtyard gate.

The door opens from the inside.

Chen Ping followed Hu Qian inside, pausing briefly at the threshold.

The house wasn't big, but there were quite a few people.

The five stewards sat scattered around. Rouge Tiger leaned against the pillar on the left, while Ghost Hand Zhang sat with his legs spread apart against the wall on the right, shirtless.

Lu Bai, Fang Xiao, and Ding Xun stood on the right, while the rest of the red-flower sticks were scattered throughout the room, some against the wall, some sitting, and no one spoke.

Chen Ping scanned the area and memorized everyone's location.

Lu Bai was standing on the right side by the window. When he saw Chen Ping come in, he nodded to him and moved half a step to the side to make room for him.

Chen Ping walked over and stood beside him.

The atmosphere in the room was oppressive, like the sky before a storm—stuffy, heavy, and making you not want to move.

Just then, the door to the inner room opened.

Li Yuan came out.

His right hand hung down, his face was three times darker than usual, and there was a kind of fatigue in his eyes that Chen Ping had never seen before.

He stopped, glanced at everyone in the room, and remained silent for a moment.

Open up.

"Chang Shan's life has come to an end."

The room fell completely silent.

Lu Bai stood beside Chen Ping. Chen Ping caught a glimpse of Lu Bai's hand on his side, his five fingers slowly tightening into a fist, but he didn't utter a single word.

Rouge Tiger leaned against a pillar, her eyes filled with murderous intent, her voice low and barely audible, as if squeezed out between clenched teeth: "Who did this?"

Ghost Hand Zhang suddenly stood up, the chair leg scraping against the ground.

"Damn it!"

His hoarse voice blared in the room, his two calloused and scarred hands clenched into fists. "Chang Shan has followed us for so many years! Who dares to be so bold? I'll twist their head off!"

No one stopped him.

Everyone in the room felt this urge, but it was stuck in their throats with nowhere to go.

Ghost Hand Zhang cursed a couple of times, panting heavily, and sat down again with his legs spread apart.

"White Gang, or Great River Gang?"

Li Yuan shook his head and did not answer immediately. He walked from the room to the center and said, "Chang Shan secretly broke through last night and was ambushed. There were seven people in total, all of whom were masked."

He paused.

"Five hidden strengths."

Someone inside the room gasped in shock.

"Two Transformation Realm experts."

Dead silence.

The two words fell like a stone thrown into stagnant water; there was no sound, but the surface of the water trembled.

Fang Xiao suddenly raised his head, his voice somewhat out of control: "Two Transformation Realm experts? Just to target a Manifest Realm expert who is about to break through to the Dark Realm?"

No one answered him.

Because everyone has already figured this out.

This is not a vendetta, nor a fight of pride; it's because we don't want the Green Robe Society to produce another master of internal strength who can dominate all the Red Flower Sticks.

Rouge Tiger's fingers slowly tightened on the pillar, digging into the wood and leaving a shallow mark.

Li Yuan continued, "Among the seven people who attacked last night, one of them was at the Transformation Realm, and his moves looked familiar."

He looked up: "It's Yan Hai."

White Gang Leader.

Rouge Tiger sneered, her laughter devoid of any warmth: "The White Gang and the Great River Gang have joined forces?"

Li Yuan glanced at her but didn't speak immediately.

All eyes in the room were on his face.

After a moment, he spoke: "If it were just the White Gang and the Great River Gang joining forces, this matter would be easier to resolve."

His voice paused slightly.

"But last night, there was another master who I didn't recognize. His moves weren't from the White Gang or the Great River Gang. I only lasted a few dozen rounds against him."

As he said this, a hint of lingering fear appeared in his voice for the first time: "If it weren't for the sect leader's intervention..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

But everyone understood the second half of the sentence.

The silence in the room was even heavier than before, pressing down on everyone's shoulders, making it hard to breathe.

Rouge Tiger's brows furrowed sharply, a chill running down her spine. She whispered, "Is someone pushing us from behind?"

Just then, the door to the inner room opened again.

A person walked out from inside.

Chen Ping raised his head.

The man was in his early forties, not very tall, wearing a faded blue long gown. He had an ordinary face and was inconspicuous in the crowd. But as soon as he came out, everyone in the room turned their attention to him, and even their breathing became slightly lighter.

He stopped in the center of the room and glanced at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan took half a step back and waited with his hands at his sides.

Lu Cheng glanced at everyone in the room and spoke, his voice calm:

"They are from a sect."

After those five words were spoken, the room fell completely silent.

Without explaining or pausing, Lü Cheng continued, "His masked journey is most likely due to personal friendship, not sectarian reasons."

He turned to Yellow Teeth: "The White Gang's undercover agents in Qingkou Town and the surrounding area have all been wiped out tonight."

Huang Ya nodded, and the silver skewer stopped between his fingers.

Lu Cheng turned to Hu Qian: "From today onwards, not a single stone of goods from Qingkou Town will be transported downstream. Go find Prefect Qian and negotiate the transfer route for the grain from the prefectural city. Use that favor and we'll use the land route."

Hu Qian replied solemnly, "Understood."

"The White Gang collects tolls at the checkpoints," Lu Cheng said calmly. "If there are fewer goods passing through, they'll get anxious."

He finally looked at all the Red Flower Gang members in the room, his gaze sweeping over each face, neither fast nor slow: "You all stay in Qingkou Town and don't leave the town unless necessary. If you encounter any Red Flower Gang members of the White Gang wandering around, kill them if you're confident you can kill them instantly. If you're not confident, come back and report to me."

He paused.

"I remember what happened in Changshan."

After he finished speaking, no one in the room said anything.

A moment later, Hu Qian was the first to get up and led the others out one after another. The sound of their footsteps gradually faded away in the courtyard.

"Chen Ping, Rouge Tiger, stay behind."

Lu Cheng spoke, his voice not loud, but enough to drown out the sound of his footsteps.

Lu Bai paused beside Chen Ping for a moment.

He didn't say anything, just patted Chen Ping on the shoulder and left.

The courtyard gate closed behind everyone.

Only Chen Ping, Rouge Tiger, and Lü Cheng remained in the room.

Rouge Tiger remained leaning against the pillar, motionless, her fingers loosening from the wood, revealing tiny wood shavings embedded in her fingernails.

Lu Cheng stood still, looking at Chen Ping, without saying a word.

Chen Ping stood very straight, without bowing his head or saying a word.

Outside, the sounds of Qingkou Town drifted in through the thin wooden walls, bustling and noisy, like another world.