Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Assassination
In a dim alley.
From the shadows, two figures slithered forward like vipers, closing in fast.
Fang Xing staggered onward, looking as if he could collapse at any moment.
"BLECH..."
Suddenly, Fang Xing stopped, leaned against a wall, and doubled over, letting out a dry heave.
"A perfect chance!"
Seeing this, the two men’s eyes lit up. They exchanged a look, then lunged out from the darkness, the cold glint of steel flashing.
Each clutched a dagger, stabbing toward Fang Xing.
But in the instant their daggers were about to find their mark, Fang Xing, who had been leaning against the wall, suddenly spun around.
CLANG! CLANG!
His hands moved like lightning, swatting their daggers away with incredible speed.
The two men stumbled back, their arms numb and their faces pale from the shock.
"A Martial Artist! How is this possible?!"
An astonished cry rang out, but before they could react, an intense feeling of suffocation overwhelmed them.
A pair of hands, like iron tongs, had clamped down on their necks.
His eyes were cold and grim, like those of a man-eating beast. Not a trace of his earlier drunkenness remained.
The intense pressure instantly left the two men feeling dizzy and starved for air.
Gripping the necks of the two men in black, Fang Xing’s voice was as cold as ice. "Who sent you?"
From the terror on their faces, Fang Xing could guess that they were probably not Yang Bo’s men.
’If they were Yang Bo’s men, he wouldn’t have sent two ordinary people like this.’
’But if not Yang Bo, then who could it be?’
’I can’t remember having a grudge with anyone.’
"A misunderstanding... This is... a misunderstanding,"
one of them managed to choke out, his face flushed red.
CRACK!
The words had barely left his mouth when Fang Xing twisted his neck. The man’s eyes went wide. Fang Xing released his grip, and the body fell to the ground, lifeless.
"My patience is limited," the cold voice sounded again as Fang Xing stared at the remaining man.
Seeing his companion lying motionless on the ground, the other man couldn’t help but tremble. "I’ll... I’ll talk. It... it was our boss who sent us."
"Who is your boss?" Fang Xing asked, watching him.
"Our boss is the leader of the Black Tiger Gang."
’The Black Tiger Gang...’ Fang Xing’s eyes narrowed as his mind quickly sifted through the relevant information.
’A third-rate gang.’
’Though they’re third-rate, the Black Tiger Gang Leader is a Bright Force Martial Artist.’
From what he recalled, the Black Tiger Gang had only emerged in the last two months.
But its expansion had been rapid. Although it was still a minor, third-rate gang, it had gained a certain reputation.
’But... why would the Black Tiger Gang target me?’
The Black Tiger Gang was a power in North City, but he’d had no dealings with them.
The areas he used to patrol weren’t within the Black Tiger Gang’s sphere of influence either.
’I just got promoted today, and now I’m being assassinated by the Black Tiger Gang. No matter how I think about it, something is wrong here.’
’The news of my promotion probably hasn’t reached these gangs yet, but for a minor power to send assassins after a Government Office official... has the Black Tiger Gang gone insane?’
The thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning. Fang Xing looked at the man and said, "Why did the Black Tiger Gang target me?"
"I... I... I don’t know. The boss just said if we took care of it, we’d get fifty taels of silver,"
the man said with great difficulty, his face flushed.
"What else? Your boss didn’t give you a reason?" Fang Xing pressed.
"I... I don’t know. Th-the boss didn’t say," the man stammered.
"Is that so?" Fang Xing’s gaze was sharp, his eyes like daggers.
But further questioning yielded none of the answers he was looking for.
These two clearly had no idea what the real motive was.
Seeing that the interrogation was fruitless, Fang Xing applied pressure, snapping the man’s neck. With an expression of resentment and terror, the man collapsed before him.
In the dark of the night, two corpses lay on the ground. Staring at them, Fang Xing felt none of the fear he’d had the first time he killed. On the contrary, he was extremely calm.
He scanned the bodies and patted them down, finding only some broken silver.
Then, he immediately grabbed both corpses and vanished into the night.
He didn’t dispose of the bodies carefully, simply dumping them in a patch of weeds in North City.
Anyone passing by during the day would easily spot them.
’These two bodies will be the bait. I’ll use them to investigate the Black Tiger Gang.’
The Black Tiger Gang may be a third-rate power, but its leader was a Bright Force Martial Artist.
He wasn’t confident he could kill a Bright Force Martial Artist.
’However, using my current official status to investigate might uncover something.’
He had never offended the Black Tiger Gang, yet they had sent men after him.
’There has to be a reason.’
Other than his run-in with Yang Bo today, he couldn’t think of any other possibilities.
’But in all likelihood, this has nothing to do with Yang Bo.’
’Still, I can’t completely rule it out. It’s a possibility.’
He had only just stepped into the Bright Force realm; otherwise, he would have taken care of this himself.
But he didn’t want to take risks when he wasn’t absolutely certain of victory.
After all, a Bright Force Martial Artist was not someone to be taken lightly.
He only knew that the Black Tiger Gang’s Li Hu was a Bright Force Martial Artist; he was completely in the dark about his actual strength, Martial Arts, and so on.
Assaulting them alone was too risky. Although his Grapple Hand cultivation had reached the Peak of Perfection, it was still just a Basic Martial Arts technique.
When it came to soloing another Martial Artist, factors like their Martial Arts, experience, and so on were all crucial.
"Tomorrow, I’ll test the waters..."
Gazing at the bright moon in the sky, a glint flashed in Fang Xing’s eyes, and he quickly left the area.
...
After returning home, Fang Xing resumed his Grapple Hand cultivation as usual.
With this incident involving the Black Tiger Gang, he felt an urgent need to increase his strength.
However, cultivation couldn’t be rushed; he could only proceed step by step.
He was currently accumulating Enhancement Points. Only with enough Enhancement Points could his strength increase faster.
Fang Xing practiced late into the night before finally stopping.
He rinsed off and went into his room to sleep.
「The next morning.」
Fang Xing was up early.
After eating breakfast, he went out.
But today, he didn’t take his usual route. Instead, he headed to the spot where he had dumped the bodies last night.
As he passed by, Fang Xing saw that a crowd had already gathered, murmuring amongst themselves.
"Two of them... don’t know how they died. They look young, though. What a shame..."
"A shame? What’s there to be ashamed of? I’ve seen these two before. They’re from the Black Tiger Gang. They deserved to die."
"Members of the Black Tiger Gang? Then they probably died in some kind of fight..."
...
Listening to the onlookers’ chatter, a faint smile appeared on Fang Xing’s face.
’Just as I expected.’
’Now that their identity as Black Tiger Gang members has been exposed, I have a legitimate reason to lead men to the Black Tiger Gang to "investigate the situation."’
Without lingering, Fang Xing continued on his way to the County Yamen.
Upon arriving at the County Yamen and changing into his Official Uniform, Fang Xing told Xu Zhengxiong about the incident he had "encountered" on his way.
After listening to Fang Xing’s report, Xu Zhengxiong frowned. "Sounds like a squabble between gangs. For this kind of thing, just go through the motions. You can handle it as you see fit."
"Rest assured, Chief." Having gotten Xu Zhengxiong’s approval, Fang Xing nodded and immediately set off with several Constables.
’He was the one who killed them!’
’But he had to pin the blame on the Black Tiger Gang.’
’Using this "bait," he had to investigate. It was also a perfect opportunity to confront the Black Tiger Gang directly.’
...
Soon, Fang Xing, along with Xu Le and four or five other Constables, arrived at the "crime scene."
Looking at the two bodies, Fang Xing glanced over and said, "Investigate. First, confirm their identities."
He already knew, of course, but he still had to go through the proper procedures.
Soon enough, the specific identities of the two men were "investigated" from the mouths of the surrounding crowd.
With their identities clear, Fang Xing immediately ordered his men to handle the corpses and have them transported away. At the same time, he led several Constables toward the Black Tiger Gang’s headquarters.
