The next day.
At Chen's Noodle Factory.
When Li Xiuwen got out of bed, his aunt and uncle were already up and tinkering with the machinery.
The new apartment was slightly larger than their old place, and Li Xiuwen finally had a bedroom of his own. It was up in the attic, rather than just a sleeping spot on the floor partitioned by a curtain.
Being on the top floor, it caught plenty of natural light.
Sunlight bathed their faces, bringing warmth to Li Xiuwen's heart.
In this cold, alien world, having such a cozy little home was a true blessing.
"It's so quiet here. It's been a long time since I enjoyed this kind of peace," his uncle said with a chuckle.
His aunt added, full of hope, "We need to work hard and earn money from now on, Brother Yi. We're going to stay here for good!"
His uncle was bursting with drive as well. "Right. There are no hoodlums shaking people down for protection money here—we only need to pay Hesheng Tu. Business should be much easier to run."
The couple felt deeply gratified. All these improvements had come from Ah Wen's hard work.
Four months ago, this would have been unimaginable to them.
***
A hundred paces brought him to Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.
Li Xiuwen grew fonder of their new home by the moment; it saved him a good deal of travel time for training.
As he walked into the courtyard, Big Silly Qiang and Ah Zhen, having not seen him for a day, hurried over to chat.
"Ah Wen, how's the second floor?"
"Isn't it bloody awesome?!"
Li Xiuwen smiled. "It's great. I'll be waiting for you up there, so hurry up and join me."
Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Li Xiuwen knocked on the study door and stepped inside.
The others sighed. "Ah, getting up to the second floor really is prestigious."
In a corner, Liu Chun had lost his former arrogance. He silently threw punches in practice.
He knew very well that if he didn't push himself, the gap between him and Ah Wen would only widen.
If he couldn't even beat Ah Wen, how could he talk about getting into the Academy?
***
Inside the study, Huang Sihai counted the money Li Xiuwen handed over and grinned. "Well? Was it worth the nine hundred?"
Li Xiuwen said with a smile, "Definitely! Thank you, Master."
Old Huang knew he was short on cash, so he hadn't asked for a deposit. He only required monthly rent payments of nine hundred yuan.
Li Xiuwen's small stash of funds shrank rapidly once more.
If he didn't earn some more soon, he would be forced to sell off the gold and silver he had stockpiled earlier at dirt-cheap prices.
He figured he needed to find an easier side job that wouldn't interfere with his martial arts practice.
He didn't care about making a fortune, so long as it covered the rent.
Huang Sihai yawned and said, "Thanking me isn't what matters... What matters is taking good care of the place and paying your rent on time. Tell your uncle to avoid running the machines late at night so he doesn't disturb the other tenants' sleep. Everyone in that building is renting from me."
Landlord Huang Sihai!
Li Xiuwen hardly dared imagine just how much capital Old Huang had stashed away over the years.
***
After paying his rent, Li Xiuwen headed up to the second floor.
Huang Sihai hadn't mentioned yesterday's incident to anyone else.
Ao Jiu was already drenched in sweat from his morning practice. Apart from six hours of sleep and his meals, this man spent every waking moment in bitter cultivation.
Li Xiuwen genuinely admired him. Being able to ignore the temptation of fish balls showed extraordinary willpower.
Seeing Chen Jia there, Li Xiuwen walked over. After a bit of small talk, he got down to business.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Senior Brother Chen, do you know the top brass over at Leigong Shed?"
Although both Leigong Shed and Hesheng Tu were branches under the Changle banner, they were competitors, much like two bubble tea shops on the exact same street.
With everyone running in gangs and full of youthful arrogance, friction, brawls, and turf wars broke out between the two all the time. As a Straw Sandal of Hesheng Tu, Chen Jia was very likely to know the inside scoop.
"What are you asking about them for? Did someone mess with you? With your current cultivation, just swallow it down. Don't be rash. A friend of mine who served time in prison once told me that stepping back opens up the sea and sky, and enduring for a moment keeps the wind and waves calm. I think he had a point," Chen Jia said with a chuckle. He had seen far too many hotheaded youths who lacked patience and ended up dying in underworld vendettas.
Li Xiuwen replied, "No, just curious. After all, I might want to join Hesheng Tu in the future, so getting to know the competition in advance can't hurt."
Chen Jia gave it some thought and said, "Fair enough. I'll fill you in, so you understand the layout of the underworld here in the Walled City.
"Generally speaking, the official gangs in this Walled City are divided into three tiers.
"The first tier is Changle's General Headquarters, which commands all the gangs.
"The second tier consists of Changle's four major sub-headquarters, each responsible for one of the Walled City's four major districts.
"The third tier includes our Hesheng Tu and Leigong Shed, along with all the other large and small branch halls that oversee the various streets under each district.
"Basically, every branch hall controls a handful of streets and one bustling commercial thoroughfare.
"Our Hesheng Tu is centered on Hesheng Street and branches out to the surrounding roads.
"Leigong Shed is based around Guangwang Street.
"Because of this, the strength of the Dragon Heads, Red Poles, Straw Sandals, and the like varies depending on the gang's tier.
"The martial prowess of these positions differs like night and day across the different levels.
"The Dragon Head of the General Headquarters is Mr. Ming.
"He is in a class entirely of his own, elusive and mysterious, so strong that none of us even know what realm he has reached.
"The Dragon Heads of the sub-headquarters are considerably weaker, but their realms are still far beyond what members of branch halls like us could ever dream of.
"As for the Dragon Heads and Red Poles of the branch halls, they are usually at the Tiger-Elephant level. A few exceptionally strong branches might have experts who have crossed all Three Gates, though they are rare.
"Over at Leigong Shed, there are three Red Poles: Old Leigong, Purple Electric Hand, and Xiao Fenglian.
"If you run into those three down the road, show them some respect, or you won't even know how you died.
"Below the Red Poles, the number four figure in Leigong Shed is Daoyou Ming, known as their strongest Straw Sandal.
"He's at the peak of the second gate and also practices hard qigong—supposedly the Golden Bell Cover.
"That's the foundational martial art for Roaring Tiger Golden Bell Cover, one of the three great external conditioning arts in the Walled City.
"That man once took a full blow from a Tiger-Elephant expert and survived, which made him famous.
"So even though Daoyou Ming is only a Straw Sandal, he's considered a Red Pole in reserve, and Leigong Shed is investing heavily in him.
"He has plenty of lackeys under his command. He has four Straw Sandals alone under him, giving him influence comparable to that of a weaker Red Pole.
"They are Tong Chui, Jinqianbao, Chang San, and Za Jiu...
"Those four are tight with Daoyou Ming. Back when they were young, the five of them ran together as hoodlums on Guangwang Street, calling themselves the 'Five Tigers of Guangwang Street'..."
Speaking of underworld lore, Chen Jia showed no trace of tiredness, rattling on and on.
He even casually dropped in a few of his own classic battles to subtly show off.
After listening, Li Xiuwen casually probed about the four Straw Sandals under Daoyou Ming, particularly Za Jiu.
Chen Jia said with a swagger, "Za Jiu's all right, I guess. Even though we're both in the Snake Muscle stage, I could take him out cold within a hundred moves."
Li Xiuwen knew Chen Jia wasn't bragging. He had sparred with Chen Jia in the Illusionary Realm, and the man was indeed slightly stronger than Gaojiao Qi.
After all, Chen Jia had trained longer and had a solid foundation. Anyone who made it to the second floor couldn't be lacking in talent.
Of course, given Gaojiao Qi's potential, it wouldn't be long before he surpassed Chen Jia.
Chapter 59