Chapter 26: Chapter 23 Being this Gang Leader_1
Meng Qi’s Residence.
Today, Meng Qi is agitated and anxious because Zuo Yi and his men seem to have vanished into thin air, without a trace.
What happened?
Logically, given the abilities of Zuo Yi and his men, killing Lu Yan should have been a sure thing. Where did things go wrong?
He sat in his study, attempting to practice his writing, but his mind could not calm down.
"Master, there’s someone outside looking for you. He claims to be from the Green Bamboo Gang."
A servant reported from outside his study.
"From the Green Bamboo Gang?"
Meng Qi’s expression shifted, he said, "Let him in."
Soon after, a sturdy man in his thirties walked in.
"Green Bamboo Gang’s Fang Gangrong, at your service, Commander Meng."
The sturdy man bowed and saluted.
Meng Qi nodded, he recognized this man; one of the core members of the Green Bamboo Gang, a first-breakthrough martial artist.
"Why are you looking for me at such a late hour?" Meng Qi asked.
"Our Gang Leader has an important message to convey. He said, things have changed,"
Fang Gangrong said softly.
Meng Qi, already anxious, changed his expression, "What exactly has changed? Speak clearly."
"The Gang Leader didn’t specify, he said he would tell you in person. Also, the other three red-clad guards are with him,"
Fang Gangrong said.
Meng Qi immediately thought of Zuo Yi, Gan Bu, and Song Jiacheng.
Why did the three of them not dare to return to the Red-clad Guard and instead mingle with Fang Xiong? What exactly happened?
Could it be that their plan has been exposed, which is why they dare not return to the Red-clad Guard?
Meng Qi felt as if a sharp blade was hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.
"Where is Fang Xiong? Take me to him,"
Meng Qi said.
"Yes, Commander, please follow me,"
Fang Gangrong said.
The two of them walked out, one after the other, gradually arriving at a remote, deserted alley.
Suddenly, Meng Qi stepped forward, grabbed Fang Gangrong’s throat, and lifted him up.
"Hon...honorable one, what...why?"
Fang Gangrong managed to say, his face turning red from the strain.
"Ever since we came into this alley, you’ve been nervous, afraid, your Qi-blood flow has been accelerated. Speak, who sent you?"
Meng Qi shouted, a clear intention to kill visible in his eyes.
"A seasoned veteran indeed, so perceptive, not easy to fool at all."
A voice came out from the dark alley, followed by the figure of a tall, muscular man slowly walking out under the faint moonlight, appearing like a towering demon.
"Lu Yan."
Meng Qi’s pupils shrunk, and he immediately scanned his surroundings.
Lu Yan hadn’t died, and was even able to get a core member of the Green Bamboo Gang to lure him here. The fate of Zuo Yi and the others was likely dire.
He didn’t believe that Lu Yan could manage this alone, there must be someone helping him.
"No need to look, it’s just me,"
Lu Yan said.
"Just you alone dare to lure me here?"
Meng Qi said, his killing intent undisguised.
He couldn’t fathom what Lu Yan could possibly do to threaten him.
He knew Lu Yan’s history inside-out, a son of a hunter who had become a fugitive, though possessing a third-rate martial art skill which he obtained from some unknown source, but all things considered, he was still only fifteen, how competent could he possibly be?
Even Liu Xingchao, the beloved son of the Liu Family, having an innate martial body, practicing first-rate martial arts, under the guidance of Martial Marquis from childhood, still didn’t have the ability to kill him.
Crack!
With a forceful squeeze of his hand, he snapped Fang Gangrong’s neck and threw the corpse aside.
Without even glancing at Fang Gangrong, Lu Yan’s Qi-blood began to surge, and his leg muscles bulged, doubling in size.
Boom!
With a heavy stomp, Lu Yan pounced towards Meng Qi like a cheetah.
"Seeking death."
Meng Qi also surged his Qi-blood, throwing a punch towards Lu Yan.
Meng Qi practiced the second-rate martial art, Vajra Fist.
With the collision of their punches, a muffled roar echoed. Meng Qi, as if struck by electricity, trembled and started retreating, disbelief filled his eyes.
Lu Yan pressed on, launching a barrage of punches and kicks like a storm, not giving Meng Qi a chance to recover.
Meng Qi’s Qi-blood was evidently not as robust as Sun Xiang’s.
Sun Xiang’s Qi-blood was almost overflowing, not far from making a breakthrough on the fifth sealed door, whereas Meng Qi fell short by a large margin, only slightly stronger than Fang Xiong. He was losing ground under Lu Yan’s onslaught.
The more Meng Qi fought, the more surprised he became, a retreat beginning to form in his intent.
In a high-level engagement, especially a fight to the death, the momentum of daring to advance fearlessly is most important. When the momentum retreats, one’s punches weaken.
When the punch weakens, one dies.
Bam!
Lu Yan’s punch, unstoppable, grasped Meng Qi’s flaw, punching him square on the chest.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed, Meng Qi’s burly body flew backwards, landing heavily on the ground.
Lu Yan made several quick steps forward, leaped into the air, his foot landing heavily on Meng Qi’s throat, shattering his neck instantly.
Lu Yan patted down Meng Qi but found nothing.
Reluctant to give up, he stealthily slipped into Meng Qi’s study and found a thousand silver tickets, but there wasn’t a trace of the Vajra Fist manual.
Not wanting to harm the innocent, Lu Yan didn’t lay his hand on anyone else while keeping his identity concealed.
Leaving Meng Qi’s mansion, he headed towards the residence of another squad leader, Wang Hai.
Wang Hai was just a martial artist who had experienced three limit-breaking events, no planning was required. Wearing a mask, Lu Yan stealthily infiltrated, struck with two punches, killed him, and then quietly departed.
Back home, Lu Yan reflected on the several battles he had fought consecutively, identifying his shortcomings and accumulating experience. Besides, he also gained clearer insights about his strength.
In conclusion, he was no less capable than Sun Xiang in a head-on confrontation but it would be tough to kill him without resorting to some special tactics.
As for Fang Xiong and Meng Qi, he should be able to triumph over them, but it wouldn’t be easy to kill them if they fought desperately.
Even if he could do it, it would come at a cost to him.
The primary reason he was able to kill several people smoothly was that they had underestimated and belittled him.
This event only served to highlight the importance of keeping his true strength hidden to Lu Yan.
Had he failed to hide his real capabilities, he would have been encircled and killed by Sun Xiang and Meng Qi, no matter how strong he was, death would have been the only outcome.
Having thoroughly recalled everything and ensured he didn’t leave any traces, he finally went to sleep soundly.
The next day, the Red-clad Guard was in an uproar.
All three leaders of the 7th squad were murdered, and three squad members had disappeared;. It sent shock waves not only through the ranks of Red-clad Guard but also to the higher-ups of the Liu Family.
Thorough investigations were commissioned.
But after a full week of investigation, they found nothing.
No one suspected the involvement of Lu Yan, a martial artist who had broken through his limits once.
The Liu Family primarily suspected the Wu Family.
But without evidence, the matter could only be left unresolved, and a limit-breaking warrior from another squad was transferred for the time being to temporarily take charge as the Captain of the seventh squad.
One day, Lu Yan disguised himself, affixed a fake beard, and visited the Green Bamboo Gang once again.
"Greetings, Gang Leader. You look more majestic than ever."
Li Quan greeted with a bow, sprinkled with flattery.
Next to him was another First-breakthrough Martial Artist named Zhang Dashan, who followed suit with a bow.
All the higher-ranked members of the Green Bamboo Gang who had broken their limits twice had been killed by Lu Yan. Among the four who had broken their limits once, one had been kicked to death by Lu Yan, while Fang Gangrong was killed by Meng Qi.
Li Quan and Zhang Dashan were the only remaining warriors who had broken their limits in the Green Bamboo Gang.
Glancing at the two of them, Lu Yan noticed the fatigue written all over their faces.
"Have the children been taken care of?"
Lu Yan inquired.
"They have. As per your orders, Boss, they were all sent home the next day,"
Li Quan answered.
"Does the Green Bamboo Gang possess any secret martial arts scripts?"
Lu Yan paused before asking another question.
Currently, he had reached the Unity of Man and Martial Arts realm in both his martial arts abilities. However, Dao Book was still absorbing half the energy from his food.
If it were just ordinary food, it wouldn’t be a problem. The crux was that even Martial Food was getting absorbed, which was quite wasteful.
A pound of Martial food cost ten silver pieces.
That’s why he was in dire need of a new martial arts skill to prevent further waste.
"No, we searched the whole gang, but we couldn’t find any martial arts script,"
Li Quan shook his head.
"What about you? What martial arts skill do you cultivate?"
Lu Yan fixed his gaze at Li Quan.
"I cultivate a Third-rate martial art called the Shattering Stone Palm,"
"Good, write down the Shattering Stone Palm in detail within three days and hand it over to me,"
Lu Yan ordered, leaving no room for argument. Li Quan could only agree.
"What about you? What martial art do you cultivate? Write yours down too,"
Lu Yan then turned to Zhang Dashan.
"Boss, I also cultivate the Shattering Stone Palm,"
Zhang Dashan replied.
"Both of you cultivate the same martial art?"
A surprised Lu Yan asked.
"Yes, our martial arts skills were taught by Fang Xiong. We started as ordinary gang members, but because of our talent and contribution to the gang, Fang Xiong taught us martial arts. In fact, most of the warriors who had broken their limits in our gang were cultivating the Shattering Stone Palm."
Li Quan explained while Zhang Dashan nodded on the side.
So that’s how it was, Lu Yan finally understood.
"If you guys have something to say, then say it,"
Seeing that Li Quan and the others were hesitant to speak up, Lu Yan directly asked.
"Gang Leader, Fang Xiong and others haven’t been seen for seven days. The other gangs are growing suspicious. These past few days, our rival gang, the Fierce Tiger Gang, keeps sending people to probe us. Both of us being First-breakthrough Martial Artists couldn’t handle them... so, we hope you could intervene."
Li Quan stated.
Lu Yan pondered for a bit, then nodded in agreement: "I can."
After thinking about several factors these days, he ultimately decided to continue as the leader of the Green Bamboo Gang temporarily.
Initially, Lu Yan didn’t have this plan in mind. He had intended to ignore the affairs of the Green Bamboo Gang after this round, leaving it to its fate.
However, the huge effect of the white stone piece altered Lu Yan’s plans.
Looking for such white stone pieces or spheres alone was like trying to find a needle in a sea-stack, depending purely on luck.
If Lu Yan hoped to find more items similar to the white stone piece, he needed external help as well.
Given that the Green Bamboo Gang had dealings with people of all sorts, it could help him find more items like the white stone piece.
"Boss, the people from the Fierce Tiger Gang are here causing trouble again,"
At that moment, a gang member came running in and reported.
