Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

Zhao Sheng immediately gripped his knife, his face contorted with indignation: "Those bastards from the Black Snake Gang, I've had my eye on them for ages. Let's gather our men and take them down right now!"

"I'm willing to take the lead!" Hu Cai was eager to try. He was now at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm and was only one step away from breaking through to the Bone Forging Realm. He was looking for a real opponent to practice against.

The Black Snake Gang is fine, though; none of them are particularly strong in combat.

Li Shi quickly raised his hand to stop them. He was a bit annoyed by these confidants who were always ready to fight. He turned to Lin Yuan and said, "Junior Brother Lin, you've been to school, so tell me what you think."

Lin Yuan countered, "What did the Third Steward say?"

"The Marquis's mansion agreed to give us the territory of Lishui Pavilion on the condition that we take down the Black Snake Gang's branch in Taoli Township." Li Shi used his hand as a knife, making a horizontal cut across his neck, and repeated the actions and words of the third steward.

"Is the Marquis's mansion using someone else to do their dirty work?" Lin Yuan suddenly felt something was amiss.

"The Black Snake Gang has always been notorious for its evil deeds. Eliminating one of their branches is also doing a service to the people, and it is my duty at Lishui Pavilion." Li Shi said with an upright and awe-inspiring air. "I called you here to think about what the Marquis's family is really thinking. What if we finish the job and they come back with a surprise attack?"

Zhao Sheng and Hu Cai didn't think much about the relationships and emotions at this level, and remained silent for a moment.

"I reckon it's a case of 'the birds are all gone, the bow is put away; the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked,'" Lin Yuan said after a moment's thought.

Zhao Sheng was completely bewildered: "What bird? What dog?"

"With the Carp Pavilion's territory gone, the Black Snake Gang's headquarters are useless. But they've done too much over the years and know too much, so they have to kill them to silence them," Lin Yuan speculated on one possibility.

In fact, he had another speculation, which was that it was related to Zhang Dengfeng. Since the Hou family had confiscated Zhang Dengfeng's house, they would certainly not let go of people and things related to Zhang Dengfeng. His master, Liu Tianxing, was the head of Taoli Hall, and his wife, Liu Xuniang, was Liu Tianxing's adopted daughter.

But this speculation was not something to be shared with others, so Lin Yuan added, "Since both Zhang and Li have agreed, there shouldn't be any major problems. However, we still need to prepare witnesses and testimonies before we take action, to firmly establish their crimes and leave no loose ends. Even if there's a surprise attack, we will still be enforcing the law impartially and eliminating harm for the people."

Li Shi nodded slightly: "Okay, let's do it this way!"

"Senior Brother, if we get rid of them, who will take over? We can't just leave it empty, can we?" Lin Yuan reminded him again.

"The third manager appointed the White Wolf Gang to take over, but they're all useless. Yesterday, Wu Jingang and his men beat them up, and several were killed or injured. If they weren't so weak, they wouldn't have come to me for help," Li Shi said with a mocking smile.

"I told you they weren't good enough. I don't know what the third manager was thinking," Zhao Sheng said with a smile.

Lin Yuan understood that the third steward definitely had dealings with the White Wolf Gang, but didn't want to say it outright. He turned to ask, "I've always heard that the Black Snake Gang has a hall master and eight Vajras in the Peach and Plum Hall. Who are they?"

"The sect leader, Liu Tianxing, is a crippled martial arts master. Of the Eight Vajras, only Wu Vajra and Wang Vajra are still alive. As for those who are dead, Zhao Vajra, Sun Vajra, and two other names I've forgotten..."

Li Shi gave a brief introduction to the entire Taoli Hall of the Black Snake Gang. During this period, he had planted many spies in the Taoli Hall of the Black Snake Gang, constantly looking for clues about the Black Snake Gang, so he knew the Taoli Hall very well.

"There are only six Vajra Kings," Lin Yuan said, counting on his fingers with a puzzled expression.

Zhao Sheng also thought about it, but couldn't think of anyone else: "Perhaps they died a long time ago."

"Never mind that." Li Shi waved his hand. "We just need to take care of the remaining three. Only Liu Tianxing is a tough nut to crack. I'll ask the martial arts masters from the Li family to come. I'll host a banquet and invite all three of them. You guys lie in ambush beforehand and take them all down at once."

Lin Yuan quickly stopped him, saying, "We used this trick to capture Zhao Jingang last time, we can't use it again this time. Even if we do use it, we need to ask someone else. It would be best if it were someone they couldn't refuse, preferably someone from the Zhang family."

Li Shi slapped his forehead and exclaimed with delight, "Junior Brother Lin was right! I'll find someone surnamed Zhang to invite him!"

"Shall we make our move tonight?" Zhao Sheng asked.

"No rush. Junior Brother Lin is right. I'll prepare witnesses and testimonies in advance, just in case. I finally became the village head; I don't want to be ambushed later." Li Shi had used underhanded tactics to oust the previous village head, so he had to be careful.

"Take your weapons and armor back beforehand. When you take action, you don't need to come to the pavilion to avoid anyone tipping you off. I will send someone to inform you of the specific time."

"Yes." The three accepted the order.

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai returned to the courtyard, resuming their monotonous lives.

Three days later, in the evening.

The Hu family courtyard.

Lin Yuan was practicing swordsmanship with Wu Yong, holding a wooden sword. The two hadn't been practicing for long and didn't dare use real swords, not even unsharpened ones, as any scratches or bumps would take several days to heal.

The wooden sword is good in every way, but the feel of it isn't great. It's barely usable, but it's enough for training and actual combat.

Wu Yong learned Wei Jiao Tou's unique sword technique, while Lin Yuan only learned the Jianghu sword technique, the Seven Slashes to Slay the Snake. Wu Yong had a higher level of physical strength and greater power, so he held back and practiced only the moves. The two fought back and forth, but Lin Yuan was clearly a step ahead.

Seeing that he could not defeat him, Wu Yong, driven by youthful impetuosity, used even more and more force.

Lin Yuan exchanged blows with him a few times, and felt his right hand go numb, but he did not admit defeat. He immediately used the Seven Steps of the Serpent to move and entangle with him, and did not confront him head-on.

Since Lin Yuan comprehended the snake-like form that makes his body tremble, he has become adept at maneuvering and fighting within a small area.

Wu Yong's blade was incredibly fierce, but he couldn't touch Lin Yuan for a while, as Lin Yuan kept dodging him and occasionally Wu Yong would launch a sneak attack.

Wu Yong could not withstand this, and without holding back, he unleashed the full power of his Bone Forging Realm attack, giving Lin Yuan no room to dodge or maneuver.

One force can overcome ten techniques; the difference in their levels of skill was too great, and they couldn't make up for it with swordsmanship. After fighting for a while, Lin Yuan took the lead in jumping out of the battle circle, clasped his fists and said, "Senior Brother Wu's swordsmanship is fierce and powerful; this junior brother is no match for him."

Wu Yong shook his head, realizing that he had only won by brute force, and his swordsmanship was inferior to his opponent's. He couldn't help but feel somewhat discouraged and said, "Why do I feel that this Wei family swordsmanship is not as good as your Seven Slashes of the Serpent?"

Hu Cai had sparred with Wu Yong many times and felt the same way, but he didn't say it directly: "Senior Brother Wu is a beginner and still needs time to hone his skills."

"You two haven't been training for very long, have you?" Wu Yong wasn't stupid; he could easily see the problem. "I've trained with several instructors before, but only with Instructor Hong did my martial arts skills improve the fastest."

After saying that, he paused for a moment, tilted his head, and said, "Perhaps it's because Coach Hong smokes so well!"

Despite the aching, numb, and painful sensation from being whipped, it was something that people both resisted and longed for.

"Why don't you ask Instructor Hong for some pointers privately, Senior Brother Wu?" Lin Yuan suggested in a low voice. "Just don't let Master Wei know. Anyway, Senior Brother Hu and I won't tell anyone."

Wu Yong hesitated for a moment, but then he got anxious when he thought about the autumn competition coming up in a few months: "It's just that I have to follow Master Wei every morning, so it's hard to make an excuse."

"Brother Wu, why don't you learn the whole sword technique, then ask Master Wei for leave and privately seek guidance from Instructor Hong?" Hu Cai suggested.

"I've learned most of it now, but I still can't quite put it into practice," Wu Yong sighed. "I'll go back and ask my mother if she can put in a good word for me and prevent Master Wei from getting angry."

"That would be best." Lin Yuan nodded immediately. So the problem was solved by giving a gift, then he didn't need to worry about it.

Just then, Zhao Sheng ran into the courtyard and, seeing all three of them there, exclaimed happily, "I was just looking for you!"

Hu Cai's eyes lit up: "There's news?"

Zhao Sheng nodded repeatedly and whispered, "We're responsible for capturing Wu Jingang, dead, not alive."

"Then hurry up!" Hu Cai was about to set off immediately.

Lin Yuan reminded him, "Is all the evidence in the pavilion ready?"

"Alright, alright!" Zhao Sheng was familiar with Lin Yuan's way of doing things and knew he would ask this question. "Wu Jingang has killed a lot of people over the years fighting for the docks and has done a lot of bad things. Just last month, a tea shop owner came to the pavilion to accuse him of stealing tea, but Pavilion Chief Zhang did nothing. That night, Wu Jingang burned down the shop and burned his mother to death. If it were really according to the 'Great Liang Law,' a hundred heads wouldn't be enough to chop him off."

"Yes, arson is as serious as murder." Lin Yuan nodded, then asked, "Is the shopkeeper inside the pavilion?"

"He's in the pavilion. If you're worried, I'll take you to see him." Zhao Sheng didn't really want to do all this, but since his uncle liked listening to Lin Yuan, he had no choice but to cater to his preferences.

"No need, I can trust my brother!" Lin Yuan shook his head, then turned to Wu Yong and asked, "Senior Brother Wu, this job doesn't pay extra. Want to come?"

"What level are they at?" Wu Yong was somewhat intrigued.

"One is a crippled entry-level martial artist, one is in the late stage of Body Tempering Realm, and one is in the middle stage of Body Tempering Realm. They are skilled in Black Serpent Fist and Black Serpent Blade Technique," Zhao Sheng introduced.

"Go! Let's leave now?" Wu Yong immediately looked for a knife.

"No rush, it's still early." Zhao Sheng quickly stopped him. "My uncle told us to lie in ambush outside Hongliu Lane and wait for his news."