Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

Li Ping withdrew his fingers from the map, and the light in the cellar flickered in the shadows. He had been staring at it for three whole months.

March has passed in the blink of an eye, and the Jiangning Guild Hall has already taken root in the south of the city.

In the front hall, boiling water was poured into teacups, white steam rose, and the sounds of merchants using abacuses mingled with their noisy laughter.

In the backyard, Da Niu and Er Hu's whips cracked in the air as thirty new recruits gritted their teeth and practiced their horse stance; meanwhile, deep in the cellar, on Lao Mao's intelligence wall, countless slips of paper rustled in the eerie wind.

Li Ping stood on the second-floor corridor, looking at the lively scene in the courtyard below.

Qian Duo came out of the accounting room carrying the account books and rushed over to Li Ping: "Sir! Sir, where have you been again? Look at this! I've worn out my abacus three times this month—the guild's income is a whopping 40% more than last month!"

"Get to the point, where did the money come from?"

"Membership fees from merchants, the Iron Fist Gang's share of the ring revenue, and the money from selling information through the intelligence network."

Qian Duo flipped through the ledger, "The most profitable thing is still the arena; a single gold-level bet can net you three hundred taels."

Li Ping took the ledger and glanced at it. The accounts were clear and detailed, with the source and destination of every single penny written down clearly.

Qian Duo may not have many other skills, but he's an excellent accountant.

"Sir," Qian Duo lowered his voice, "something's happened! Those merchants in the south of the city who just paid their membership fees were bitten again yesterday by the Green Wolf Gang's stray dogs, and they're blocking their doors demanding an explanation. What should we do?"

Li Ping closed the ledger: "Lead the way."

They're all in the front hall, pacing anxiously.

Li Ping went downstairs

Three merchants were sitting in the front hall, all small business owners from the south of the city—one sold cloth, one made pastries, and the other ran a teahouse.

Upon seeing Li Ping enter, the three of them stood up simultaneously.

The old cloth shopkeeper spoke first: "Lord Li, you must do me justice! Those bastards from the Green Wolf Gang smashed my shop to pieces last night. I paid my membership dues on time! Is this guild's sign just for show?"

The middle-aged pastry maker also said, "My little shop was also splashed with swill, and they said if I didn't pay tonight, they'd take down my signboard!"

Li Ping asked them to sit down and poured each of them a cup of tea: "Do you know anyone from the Green Wolf Gang?"

"I know them," the teahouse owner said. "They're the same group that used to follow the bald guy, but you scattered them, and now they've reunited."

Li Ping nodded: "Understood. Go back and leave the door open. If they dare to come again tonight, just say that I, Li Ping, am inviting them for tea."

After the three left, Qian Duo approached and said, "Sir, didn't we scatter the Green Wolf Gang? How come they're like weeds, sprouting up again after we cut them down? What are we going to do?"

"Scattering them doesn't mean killing them."

"When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, but the monkeys are still here. As long as there's profit to be made, the scattered people will gather again. Tonight, let's dig up the roots of this tree."

A loud roar came from the backyard—"Lower! If you can't even get a stable stance, you'll just get beaten up on the ring!"

Li Ping walked to the backyard

Thirty new recruits were practicing horse stance; some of their legs were already trembling, but no one dared to stand up.

Da Niu paced back and forth, swinging the door bolt, knocking on anyone who seemed a bit off.

"grown ups!"

When Da Niu saw Li Ping, he grinned and said, "Come and see! These bastards I brought are as strong as stone blocks when they're in a horse stance! They're tough and can take a beating!"

Li Ping looked around and asked, "Are you ready to go on stage and fight?"

"After practicing the horse stance for half a month, I should be able to withstand a few punches."

Da Niu scratched his head, "It's just that my moves aren't good enough yet."

"The moves are all show and no substance."

Li Ping said, "To survive in Beijing, you first need to learn how not to get beaten to death. If you're tough, the knife will naturally be sharper."

Erhu ran over from the weapons rack: "Sir, when are we going to fight? My iron rod is almost rusted!"

"Soon"

Li Ping glanced outside the courtyard wall. "The south of the city is safe, but the area outside the south is not."

In a corner of the courtyard, Su Wan was practicing her sword.

She moved slightly, her left hand wielding the sword with lightning speed, the blade tracing arcs in the sunlight.

Li Ping leaned against the door frame and watched for a while.

Su Wan sheathed her sword, turned to look at him, and without saying a word, simply raised an eyebrow.

"Well done!"

Li Ping said

Su Wan sheathed her sword and said calmly, "Not enough."

After saying that, he turned around and continued practicing.

Li Ping smiled, turned around and went back to the front hall.

Just as I reached the door, the old cat came up from the secret room, holding a note in his hand.

"Sir, we just received intelligence—Manager Zhang of the rice shop in the south of the city has been cornered in the back alley, and those few escaped members of the Green Wolf Gang are starting to demand their cut again."

Li Ping took the note and glanced at it: "Still the remnants of the Green Wolf Gang?"

"right"

Old Cat nodded. "They're currently hiding in an abandoned warehouse in the south of the city, there are about a dozen of them."

Li Ping folded the note and put it in his pocket, saying, "I'll take it tonight."

"Should we gather all the brothers from the guild hall?"

"Not much is needed"

Li Ping said, "Da Niu and Er Hu are enough to mentor ten newcomers—it'll be a good opportunity for them to practice."

Old Cat paused for a moment, then realized: "You mean you want the newcomers to see blood?"

"After practicing horse stance for half a month, it's time to show them what a real fight is like."

Li Ping walked into the yard and called out towards the backyard, "Da Niu!"

Da Niu ran over and replied, "Sir!"

"Choose the ten who can hold the horse stance the most steadily."

Li Ping said, "Come out with me tonight."

Da Niu's eyes lit up: "A fight?"

"Um"

"Alright!"

Da Niu turned and ran towards the backyard, shouting as he ran, "Er Hu! Pick some people! The adults are taking us out to work tonight!"

The backyard immediately erupted in chaos.

Qian Duo whispered from the side, "Sir, they're just a few beggars. Da Niu can lead the way. Why do you always have to be at the forefront yourself?"

Looking at the eager newcomers in the backyard, Li Ping said, "I'm not going there to fight. I'm going to tell them that the guild doesn't owe wages, but the guild's rules must be upheld with one's life."

That afternoon, Li Ping drew an outer circle around the guild hall's protected area on the map.

From rice shops to teahouses, from cloth stores to pastry shops—everything within this street will henceforth be under the jurisdiction of the Jiangning Guild Hall.

Li Ping didn't elaborate on these rules—he figured someone would explain them to the merchants in the front hall the next morning.

As night fell, Li Ping led Da Niu, Er Hu, and ten newcomers out of the clubhouse.

The abandoned warehouse was near the South City Wharf. Li Ping had his men surround the warehouse, and he walked to the entrance alone.

Voices could be heard coming from inside the warehouse; the remnants of the Green Wolf Gang were dividing up the money.

Li Ping pushed open the door

The wooden door creaked open, and the thirteen people inside the warehouse who were dividing the money froze simultaneously, turning around in unison.

The loose silver coins in the leader's hand fell to the ground with a clatter, and he let out a dry, labored gasp.

"Li...Li Ping!"

Li Ping didn't speak, but formed a hand seal—an earthen wall rose up at the warehouse entrance, blocking their escape route.

"Big Brother, bring the newbies in."

A loud roar came from outside the warehouse: "All of you, get on board! Today I'll show you what a real fight is!"

Ten new recruits stormed into the warehouse, and the remnants of the Blue Wolf Gang grabbed their weapons and charged at them.

Li Ping stood at the door without moving, just watching.

The newcomer was seeing blood for the first time, and his movements were clumsy, but his lower body was firmly rooted to the ground.

A newcomer was punched in the face, his mouth splitting open instantly, blood mixed with saliva spitting onto the ground. But he retaliated with a swift, powerful blow to the opponent's shinbone.

The Green Wolf Gang member screamed and rolled on the ground clutching his leg.

Da Niu was yelling from behind, telling any newcomer who got cocky to get a kick out of him.

After an incense stick's time, all thirteen remnants of the Green Wolf Gang were pinned to the ground.

Li Ping walked up to the leader, squatted down, and said, "I spared your lives three months ago, do you think you have a death wish?"

The man lay on the ground without saying a word.

"Silence is fine too."

"Go back and tell your backers, in this area of ​​the south of the city, I, Li Ping, have set the rules. Anyone who tries to interfere again will be leaving with their claws."

"I want it."

He turned and walked out, then turned back at the door: "If you want to live, behave yourself. The guild doesn't support idlers, but it also doesn't kill those who are law-abiding."

On the way back to the guild hall, Da Niu said excitedly, "Sir, this batch of new recruits is good! Although their moves aren't great, they can take a beating, just like me!"

Li Ping glanced at the ten newcomers following behind—their faces were all bruised, but each of them had a bright look in their eyes.

"Go back and have Old Cat apply the medicine," Li Ping said. "Continue practicing tomorrow."

At the entrance of the guild hall, Qian Duo waited, holding a lantern. Seeing Li Ping return, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Sir, is everything resolved? Then the south of the city is completely safe?"

Li Ping looked up at the night sky: "Peaceful? We've only just stepped into the mud. This game in the capital is far from over."

He entered the guild hall, turned to Qian Duo, and said, "Go and send invitations to the shopkeepers in the south of the city. Tomorrow morning, establish the rules in the front hall." With this first nail driven in, the wolves outside the city should be smelling the scent and coming over.