Lethal Embrace

Jinghai Casino. After thinking it over, Za Jiu took a drag of his cigarette and said to Queya Zai, "If push comes to shove, we make our move in the dark. Bottom line, we cannot let Huang Sihai get any dirt on us. To preserve the bigger picture and keep tongues from wagging, Brother Ming will claim Lanming Ji wasn't important, acting like he doesn't care about this. But don't forget, when Lanming Ji committed that blunder, Brother Ming paid a steep price to the branch just to keep that dog's life of his. Brother Ming might be ruthless, but he values relationships and loyalty. Deep down, he still cares. If I can see this matter through, my chances of getting the Flood Dragon Great Medicine will be that much higher, and my strength can take another step forward. When that happens, you boys will rise right along with me." The underling nodded, baring a large gold tooth as he grinned foolishly. "Then I'll keep digging. If all else fails, I'll kidnap him in secret. I've already asked around. The kid's talent is nothing special; the only reason he reached Purple Membrane so fast is that he's been stuffing himself with fish balls. I reached the peak of Black Membrane long ago—I could flatten him with one hand. My bet is, the money he used to buy those fish balls came from Lanming Ji. Everyone knows Master Huang loves money. A mere first-floor disciple? Master Huang probably doesn't care that much. If you ask me, Master Jiu, you're still being too cautious. In our line of work, we dance on the edge of a blade. How can we get anything done if we're so timid?" Za Jiu flicked his underling on the forehead and snapped coldly, "Crouching tigers and hidden dragons lurk throughout the Walled City. In all things, caution comes first. Mr. Ming once said that a punk who doesn't use his brain will be a fucking punk for the rest of his life! My innate physique has the aptitude of an inferior, and my comprehension is mediocre. When I was young, I went to Night Heron Martial Arts Hall to seek apprenticeship and got kicked straight out. Out of options, I had to join the gang. Ten years have passed. Plenty of folks with middling aptitude are still Forty-Nines, yet I've made Straw Sandal. Know why? Because I'm careful and cautious! Because all my life, I've walked on thin ice! Before you lift a hand, use your brain... Learn from that!" "Right, I'll learn..." Queya Zai hurriedly flattered him, smiling as he took his leave, not taking Za Jiu's words to heart at all. If he wanted to use his brain, why the hell would he be a punk? Wouldn't getting a regular job be better? ... Time drifted by. In the blink of an eye, it was already Li Xiuwen's fourth month at Four Seas Martial Arts Hall. Only ten days remained before the contest for the second floor. Over these days, the cultivation atmosphere in the martial arts hall grew exceptionally intense. Ah Zhen looked at Li Xiuwen as he returned from buying rice noodle rolls. "Ah Wen, the tournament is right around the corner. Why have you been hanging around Night Heron Martial Arts Hall so much lately?" Li Xiuwen smiled. "Buying rice noodle rolls." "Every day?" "They're delicious." Li Xiuwen didn't just visit Night Heron Martial Arts Hall. The streets surrounding Longjin Road, the vicinity of Four Seas Martial Arts Hall, and the Kowloon Grand Arena all bore his footprints. He had also gradually deduced some rules for revealing the map in the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void. For instance, if someone's realm was too high—say, an expert of the third gate—and Li Xiuwen hadn't spent a prolonged period interacting with them as he had with Huang Sihai, they couldn't enter the realm. Master Ye from the neighboring martial arts hall was not in the realm. At present, the Illusionary Realm of the Great Void held only one third-gate expert: Old Huang. Tianhong Zai, whom he had met only once, had passed the third gate and was far beyond his reach, so he was absent as well. Once he understood these patterns, Li Xiuwen stopped wandering aimlessly and rarely visited Central District anymore. After all, even if he managed to pull every grandmaster in the world into the realm, he was in no position to fight them at his current stage anyway, so it served no purpose. Having Liu Chun and Gaojiao Qi as sparring partners was more than enough. Revealing the map every day took considerable effort, and it made him an easy target for beatings from people who mistook him for a thief casing the area. Naturally, he still made time to stroll around the Kowloon Grand Arena, as that tied into his future path to making money. ... Meanwhile, somewhere along Longjin Road, a crew-cut martial artist wearing a ghost mask peered down from the second floor, waiting for nightfall. This was none other than Za Jiu's underling, known by the boys as Queya Zai. After several days of investigating, Queya Zai had given up and decided to play dirty. Damn it, Master Jiu was far too timid, too bound by rules! They were in a gang, a triad! If they found a way to beat a confession out of Li Xiuwen and made him press his thumbprint, wouldn't that be direct proof? Didn't those police inspectors out there do the exact same thing? Those living by the code of the underworld took a person and still had to look every which way, clinging to high-sounding street etiquette. These days were truly absurd. The righteous side used underworld tactics—Inspector Lei blotted out the sky with one hand and raked in five hundred million! The underworld, meanwhile, used civilized tactics, babbling about Jianghu rules and playing the pure white lotus! Pedantic fools! Queya Zai wasn't even thirty yet, still in the prime of his qi and blood with no sign of decline, a genuine peak Black Membrane expert. It was only because his aptitude was too poor, giving him a pitifully low chance of passing a gate, that he remained stuck at this stage, building his foundation. He had also mastered a basic fighting technique to near major success, and his combat skills were respectable. He was confident that at the Black Membrane stage, few of those greenhorns in the martial arts halls were his match. In his five years with the gang, he had braved a sea of blades and mountains of corpses; his practical combat experience completely blew those fledgling martial arts students out of the water. *If I pull this off, Master Jiu promised to help me attempt a gate. Then I can become a glorious Straw Sandal and marry Xiu'er from Temple Street fair and square.* Temple Street was the most bustling quarter in the Walled City, brimming with brothels and pleasure houses. ... As he waited, darkness finally fell. Queya Zai had staked out this area for days and confirmed this was the path Li Xiuwen had to take. Times were turbulent. By eight o'clock at night, pedestrians grew scarce on the street as everyone retreated indoors. At one end of the street, a young man around one point eight meters tall approached quietly. *Here he comes.* Queya Zai grinned, thinking to himself, *Sorry, kid. Master Jiu's got his eye on you, so your days are numbered.* Recalling Za Jiu's vicious methods, Queya Zai shuddered instinctively. When Li Xiuwen passed beneath the building where he lay in wait, Queya Zai leaped lightly like a leopard, dropping from a height of about ten feet. His legs snapped like shears, clamping precisely around Li Xiuwen's neck. Rolling his body, he brought Li Xiuwen crashing to the ground. A fist shot out from his sleeve, brass knuckles gleaming cold as they drove toward Li Xiuwen's abdomen. This strike wouldn't kill Li Xiuwen, but it would scatter the qi and blood in his dantian, temporarily crippling his cultivation. This ambush combo had never failed him; who knew how many so-called trained fighters he had put down with it? *Clang!* The brass knuckles felt as if they had struck a solid slab of bluestone, jarred back by an immovable force. Queya Zai felt a surge of tremendous power, and the young man beneath him let out a low roar, hoisting him up like the Overlord Lifting the Cauldron. Queya Zai tried to break free, but the young man's seemingly modest arms locked onto his legs like a bear trap, slamming him backward into a violent suplex. *Bang!* After the dull crash, Queya Zai slammed hard onto the ground, his qi and blood churning violently. Fortunately, his extensive combat experience led him to tilt his head back as much as possible, or that single impact would have cracked his skull wide open. The young man's eyes were ice-cold as he asked in a low voice, "Tong Gang?" Queya Zai ignored him. He executed a kip-up, but just as he sprang to his feet, he was met by a seemingly soft and powerless palm strike from the young man. A blast of wind carried sea sand straight into his face, pungent, stinging, and accompanied by the rank stench of sea fish. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, tearing uncontrollably as his vision blurred. He didn't dodge; relying on his peak Black Membrane cultivation, he planned to trade blow for blow and end the fight quickly to avoid catching the attention of patrolling members from the major triads. Li Xiuwen's broad palm pressed against his chest. At first, Queya Zai felt no force behind it and paid it no mind. He regained his footing, but after taking only two steps, his weathered face suddenly turned crimson, and he spat out a mouthful of thick, rancid blood. *Bang!* A muffled explosion echoed inside his chest cavity, like a gun barrel rupturing. His powerful heart tore apart, and his meridians and blood vessels snapped inch by inch. His pupils dilated, losing all light. Staring in disbelief at the young man before him, he gasped out brokenly: "You're... Black Membrane... and you fucking used concealed weapons... You didn't play by the rules..."