"Zheng Clan..."
No one was following the three of them, the camera zoomed in, and a square plaque came into view, the words "Zheng Mansion" shining brightly.
"A relative by marriage of Zhendong Marquis's Mansion, the head of the family 'Mixed Gold Dagger' Zheng Ye... Are they really so careless?"
Jiang Ding sighed inwardly. Even the beneficiaries of Dongling City's order were unwilling to abide by their own rules, engaging in such profitless business.
Or was it a few greedy servants taking matters into their own hands?
Gently touching the hilt of his sword, Jiang Ding fell into a light slumber, his Inner Energy flowing silently within him, warming and nurturing the ten main channels of the hand's Jueyin pericardium meridian of the secondary regular meridian.
Today, he would complete the nurturing of these ten channels and begin the third regular meridian.
At about eight or nine o'clock, Jiang Ding went out to chat with Lin Wanqiu and Jiang Yuan for a while, then returned to the backyard to meditate and nourish his spirit in the warm morning sunlight.
He wasn't used to not sleeping at first, but after adapting for a while, he discovered that cultivating Inner Energy through stillness had the effect of partially replacing sleep.
If all went well, he could eventually reduce his sleep from the usual eight hours to just four hours.
Thump thump!
An urgent knocking sound came from outside the door.
"Come in."
"Boss, trouble is here!"
Huang Deyou hurried to Jiang Ding, lowering his voice, "The leader of the Wild Wolf Gang, 'Wild Wolf Knife' Long Shi, has personally come to our door and even sent you a visitation card."
Jiang Ding, who was feigning sleep with his hand on his sword, opened his eyes, a coldness in his gaze, "Let him come."
Huang Deyou was startled and broke out in a cold sweat.
My goodness!
This was 'Wild Wolf Knife' Long Shi who made his fortune from scratch and built a massive foundation; not some small fry from a gang like Liu Qi!
His battle for fame involved leading the 'Wild Wolf Eighteen Riders' to storm into the house of the former Black Snake Gang leader, where he single-handedly slaughtered the entire household—one decisive character.
In the streets near Lanban Street, if he wanted someone dead by the third watch, they surely wouldn't live to see the fifth watch.
Huang Deyou dared not move.
Jiang Ding spared him the difficulty, flicking the hilt and scabbard of the sword on the ground, causing a fist-sized stone to leap up; then he whirled the sword scabbard and precisely touched it with the tip—a standard Point Sword Style force technique.
Whoosh!
A black dot, moving at an invisible speed to the naked eye, broke through the door, leaving a neatly-edged hole before vanishing out of sight.
Outside the grocery store, a burly man with a rough demeanor sat grandly on an armchair, with a curved blade and its scabbard deeply embedded several inches into the tough ground.
Scarred strongman Liu Qi carefully offered an apologetic smile behind him, surrounded by seven or eight Vigorously dressed martial artists with longswords at their waists, ever vigilant of their surroundings.
"You mean, his one sword strike made you vomit blood? That's not surprising."
'Wild Wolf Knife' Long Shi stroked his chin beard; this man had been his loyal brother for many years and wouldn't have been given such a cushy position otherwise.
But in terms of strength, he was merely robust and daring, nothing more.
"However, young, with fair skin, and handsome... putting all these together..." Long Shi felt troubled, like Liu Qi, he sensed there was trouble here and didn't want any part of it.
Nevertheless...
"What audacity, some nobody shopkeeper dares to act big in front of my brothers," Long Shi suddenly sneered, "Wolf One, Wolf Two, bring that mongrel out to me!"
"Yes, boss!"
The two vigorously dressed martial artists responded in unison, inverting their longswords as they stepped through the door.
Han Lin and the other shop assistants turned pale.
"Who's there!"
The two martial artists were startled by the whizzing sound and simultaneously slashed towards its source with precision, ferocity, and the expertise of battle-hardened fighters, worthy of being the 'Wild Wolf Eighteen Riders' who had killed for many years in the Wild Wolf Gang.
Clang!
A shower of dazzling sparks burst between the two blades.
Crack!
Shock surged in the eyes of Wolf One and Wolf Two, and before they could react, the sounds of their arm bones snapping rang out. A tremendous force hit them in the chest, and along with their swords, they were flung out the door, with scalding blood mixing with the dirt as it fell.
Long Shi's pupils constricted as he stood up.
He saw clearly how a fist-sized stone from nowhere had shattered the men's arm bones, leaving no chance for resistance.
He wasn't sure he could do the same.
Liu Qi felt a chill in his heart and quietly thought he had been lucky last time.
All around, there was silence. The two remaining sword-bearing guards watched the decidedly ordinary shop as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Shopkeeper, my brothers were rude first today, and for that, we've bothered you."
Long Shi made a gesture with his eyes for the people remaining to help the two seriously injured brothers. Without another harsh word, he prepared to leave.
Surviving in jianghu always required keen judgment, otherwise, you'd be long dead.
It wasn't necessarily about being unable to fight back, but without a fundamental conflict, he was not inclined to have a serious confrontation with someone of high strength.
"Come over for a chat."
A cold voice rang through the air, causing Long Shi's steps to falter.
"Shopkeeper, there's still something within our gang…"
"The Wild Wolf Gang isn't far from here."
"Good."
A flash of brutality passed through Long Shi's eyes as he gave a subtle signal, and a robustly dressed martial artist silently slipped away.
Heading into the back courtyard.
The first thing that met his eyes was a stack of square boxes, jet black at the base with gilded decoration, and bearing the Sihai Business Association's mark.
A wave of intense greed surged in Long Shi's heart.
Ginseng!
All of it several decades old!
If he swallowed all of it, he might advance from Minor Completion of Internal Qi to major completion. He'd become a noteworthy figure in Dongling City, no longer confined to just a few streets around Lanban Street.
If he could supplement the ginseng with various Spirit Grasses, maybe enough for several people to advance from Minor Completion of Internal Qi to major completion!
"Want it?"
A cold and ethereal voice drifted from the side.
"This…"
Long Shi swallowed, attempting to articulate some pleasantry.
"Take a single sword strike from me without defeat, and it's all yours."
Jiang Ding drew his gleaming silver longsword, filling the air with a hint of bloodlust.
There was definitely a mole inside the Sihai Business Association—the moment he left, the other side knew about it. Once wealth accumulated to a certain point, these people of jianghu, situated in a feudal society, had no concept of law and order.
"One sword strike?"
Long Shi's burning greed cooled instantly as he angled his broadsword and said calmly, "Young master misunderstood. I've come as the head of the household to make new friends since you've lived near Lanban Street for nearly a month."
"Everyone in jianghu knows that I, 'Wild Wolf Knife' Long Shi, love making friends and never let my friends suffer loss."
Clang!
A sword sang out, sending light scattering.
This was a notification, not an inquiry.
"Arrogant!"
Long Shi snorted coldly as Inner Qi surged, his broadsword's light spinning down like a cascading river, and the wind carried a faint howl of a wolf.
At the same time, driven by instinct, the remaining wolf guard drew his sword in unison, mimicking the leader of a wolf pack on the grasslands, surrounding and hunting fierce beasts.
The two worked in perfect harmony; over the years, at least a dozen Inner Qi Martial Artists had been defeated by them, with as many as five dead.
"Good."
The Sword-light in Jiang Ding's hand was exceedingly focused, deftly piercing the side of the broadsword's light. Although both were swinging at high speeds, it was like a nimble bird darting around the head of a bull, effortlessly and leisurely.
Ting!
The sword tip touched the side of the sword-light, and in an instant, the seemingly solid broadsword-light was easily scattered by the focused sword-light, breaking apart visibly to the naked eye.
The sword tip then twisted, piercing the gap between Long Shi's heart and blood vessels.
"Big brother!"
Langsi's eyes were about to split with rage; the Sword-light was too fast for him to follow.
There was still a chance—his knife was nearing the opponent's neck. Just one strike, just one!
Langsi fixated on that fair neck.
Sword-light flashed, a head flew, blood spurted half a meter high, and scattered on the ground.