Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

The night was dark and the wind was high; there wasn't a single pedestrian on the road.

Only the red-light districts and brothels remain brightly lit and bustling with the sounds of birdsong.

Liuhualou is a newly opened brothel by the Five Tigers Gang. Most of the women there are ordinary women who were forced to come, and it is not considered high-class.

But Guo Hu liked this kind of girl. He didn't like those glamorous, delicate women with skin so soft it looked like you could squeeze water out of them; he preferred these country girls. They were tough and could withstand hardship.

"Take care, Tiger."

The madam waved her handkerchief with a fawning expression.

Guo Hu waved casually and walked out of Liuhua Tower with a satisfied expression. Two subordinates followed behind him.

The night wind howled, carrying a hint of autumn chill.

Guo Hu shrank back, quickened his pace, and turned into a dark alley.

The alley was dark and cramped, with towering walls on both sides, creating a sense of oppression.

Guo Hu remained silent and continued on his way.

Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. Why was he the only one making footsteps? The footsteps of his two henchmen behind him had disappeared!

He suddenly turned around, and there stood a tall figure behind him.

"Ah~~"

He gasped, his skin tensed, and he opened his mouth to scream while preparing to deliver a fatal blow.

However, he had barely let out a short scream when the man grabbed his neck and twisted it gently.

Click~~

With a crisp sound, Guo Hu died before he could even unleash his full cultivation.

The man lifted Guo Hu, then two other limp figures, their weight of three or four hundred pounds feeling as light as nothing in his hands. He moved silently through the dark alleys like a nimble cat, quickly arriving at a secluded moat far from Yingzi Street.

He first searched the two men and found only a few taels of silver and a few copper coins. Then he tied the three corpses together, sandwiched a stone between them, and threw them directly into the deep moat.

A ripple spread, and Guo Hu was nowhere to be found in the world.

...

Soon, news of Guo Hu's disappearance spread.

The Five Tigers Gang members scattered, rampaging through the streets, claiming they were hunting down the murderer. They stormed into homes they didn't like, ransacking them, taking whatever they could find, and profiting from the chaos. They wreaked havoc on the entire neighborhood.

Although Zhou Sheng was present, preventing the other party from directly barging into the Zhou family's home to search, they still came to inquire multiple times.

Fortunately, Zhou Sheng handled the situation well and did not show any unusual behavior. He truly did not know that Guo Hu had disappeared.

Subsequently, the matter gradually faded away, the Five Tigers Gang got a new leader, and their methods towards the surrounding streets softened somewhat.

Things started going smoothly for the Zhou family. The new head of the family, Zhu Hongtao, paid a very friendly visit to Zhou Sheng and personally agreed to the transaction for the Hu family compound, setting the price at four hundred and eighty taels of silver. The owner of the tailor shop also took the initiative to come to them, and the deal was completed.

The rest of the Zhou family were very surprised, but Zhou Sheng silently glanced at his grandfather, his eyes showing a mixture of inquiry and relief.

Afterwards, the Zhou family quietly packed up their new house and moved. They didn't inform their original neighbors; Zhou Sheng simply hosted a banquet for a few friends from the martial arts school.

......

Black Tiger Hall!

The new head of the hall, Zhu Hongtao, stood with his hands behind his back, quietly gazing at the painting of a tiger descending a mountain on the wall.

A burly young man behind him couldn't contain his excitement and asked in confusion, "Second Brother, didn't the gang leader tell us to focus on the Zhou family? Why are you still treating them so well?"

Zhu Hongtao turned around and said slowly, "Xiaojun, you still lack patience. Dealing with the Zhou family doesn't mean you have to come knocking on their door like a madman. Sometimes, taking a roundabout approach can yield unexpected results."

"What's with all the roundabout talk? If you ask me, why don't we just go to that kid's house in the middle of the night and kill his whole family? Who would know it was us?" Zhu Hongjun shouted, looking indignant.

"Haha, you're being too reckless. If you leave any traces and get caught by Hammer Cloud Martial Arts School or the Wang family, we brothers will be in deep trouble," Zhu Hongtao laughed.

Then, his expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "Besides, the gang leader only sent us to deal with the Zhou family as a test. The real target is probably someone else. Remember, don't rush, wait patiently for them to make a mistake. Otherwise, Guo Hu will be a cautionary tale for us brothers."

"I'll remember that," Zhu Hongjun said, his expression changing. Although he was reckless, he didn't want to die.

"Does Brother mean that Zhou Sheng killed Guo Hu?" he asked, puzzled.

"No." Zhu Hongtao shook his head, pondered for a moment, and explained, "That kid has inferior physique and has only been in the Skin Membrane Realm for a short time. It's impossible for him to kill Guo Hu."

"Then it has nothing to do with him."

"Not necessarily. Just because he can't beat them doesn't mean he has no one behind him who can. If the higher-ups want to deal with someone, that person can naturally retaliate. It's like playing chess. We lost the game with Guo Hu, but we can't afford to lose here."

"I see."

......

Wang Family Compound.

A plump figure dressed in a brocade robe, with a red flower pinned to his head, walked slowly in the courtyard. From a distance, he looked like a ball covered in flowers moving on the ground.

"Greetings, Second Master!"

"Greetings, Second Master!"

The servants' respectful greetings confirmed the man's identity: Wang Xingzong, the second master of the Wang family.

"Hehe, okay, all is well."

Wang Xingzong responded to his servants with a smile, his eyes narrowed into slits, making him appear harmless.

Before long, he arrived at a study and went straight in.

Inside the study, Wang Ganwang, the head of the Wang family, looked up at him and his face immediately darkened.

"So you finally decided to come see me?"

"Brother, what are you saying? How come I didn't know to come see you?" Wang Xingzong chuckled.

"It's been so many days, why did you only come today?" Wang Ganwang questioned.

Wang Xingzong replied nonchalantly, "Didn't I say I wasn't feeling well and couldn't come? I just recovered and came right away, didn't I?"

"Hmph! If you're sick, you should see a doctor. Why are you spending all your time in brothels drinking and carousing?" Wang Ganwang sneered.

"Brother, don't slander me. You can always find a reason to accuse someone." Wang Xingzong retorted with a grin.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ganwang's eyes widened in anger, and he slammed his fist on the table, rising to his feet.

"Slandering you? Smuggling bows and armor is also slandering you? Sending Lu Xing to secretly board the cargo ship is also slandering you?"

"You know perfectly well what you've done. Second brother, are you truly determined to destroy the Wang family?"

Wang Ganwang was heartbroken.

The smile on Wang Xingzong's face gradually disappeared, and his small eyes slowly opened, revealing a fierce look.

He said in a deep voice, "Brother, you are the one who is leading our Wang family to ruin!"

"Open your eyes and take a good look. The Black Snake Gang, Wu Xiangwei, and the Shui family before them—they all worked for the Zhang family. And now? They've all been wiped out."

"You don't think our family will be an exception, do you? We've been in power for twenty years since the Shui family was destroyed. That's about enough."

Wang Ganwang's face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Don't talk nonsense. The Zhang family still relies on our forging techniques, why would they want to deal with us?"

"Haha, that's what the Shui family thought back then too."

"Alright, brother. If you're going to sit here and wait to die, I don't care. And you don't need to worry about me either."

After saying that, Wang Xingzong sneered and slammed the door shut as he left.

"You, you,"

Wang Ganwang's chest heaved uncontrollably, and he pointed at Wang Xingzong, but could not utter a word.