This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 16 - 12: The Wisdom of the Reader Lords

Chapter 16: Chapter 12: The Wisdom of the Reader Lords

The door opened a crack. He slipped inside, and the courtyard gate immediately shut without a sound.

Every one of Zheng Bo’s movements was seen with perfect clarity by Lin Yan, who was hiding in the shadows.

’Even a nobody can be surprisingly clever,’ Lin Yan thought. ’That move was clearly a counter-surveillance tactic.’

Lin Yan mused to himself. Zheng Bo’s strength was negligible, but this maneuver was reminiscent of a seasoned veteran from the gang world.

If Zheng Bo had turned around just now and spotted someone in the alley, he would have likely feigned ignorance and used his key to enter the courtyard directly. His pursuer would have never guessed that Zheng Bo’s real destination was the house across the way.

Such caution piqued Lin Yan’s curiosity. He circled the courtyard Zheng Bo had entered, finally picking a corner and scaling the wall with a push of his feet.

Inside the courtyard.

"What took you so long?"

"Hall Master, I took on a job and got held up for a bit."

From the main hall within the courtyard, a big, burly man emerged. His right hand was wrapped in cloth strips, a clear sign he was nursing an injury.

"Hall Master, let me open that for you."

Zheng Bo deftly unwrapped the bundle of cooked food and personally poured a cup of wine.

"Stuck in this courtyard, my mouth is so bored I can’t taste a thing."

The man drained the cup in one go. "A job? What kind of job?"

"On the street where I live, there’s a guy named Lin Yan who trains at the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall. Someone approached me and told me to trick Lin Yan into joining our gang and signing the induction contract. If I pull it off, they’ll give me two taels of silver."

"Two taels of silver to ruin someone? The person who hired you is a real cheapskate."

"Ruin someone? Hall Master, I don’t quite understand what you mean by that."

"The head of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall forbids his disciples from joining gangs. Anyone discovered doing so will have their martial arts crippled and be expelled from the hall. The person who hired you is without a doubt another disciple from the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall. This is a feud between their own disciples."

"So that’s how it is. No wonder that person came to me with their face covered," Zheng Bo said with a fawning expression as he refilled the burly man’s cup. "You’re truly brilliant, Hall Master, to see through the trick at a glance."

The burly man downed the cup in one gulp, letting out a SLURP. "Go tell that person to offer five taels of silver, and I will personally take action and kill Lin Yan."

"Hall Master, Lin Yan is a Martial Arts Academy Disciple. If we kill him, won’t that bring an investigation from the Martial Arts Hall?"

Zheng Bo was worried, but the man was completely unconcerned. "From what you said, this Lin Yan has only been at the Martial Arts Hall for a month and hasn’t even achieved Single-Time Skin Smoothing. He’s hardly a Core Disciple. Besides, people from the Martial Arts Hall don’t know how to properly dispose of a body. For me, it’s common practice. Even if the hall investigates, they won’t find anything."

Zhou Wu was very confident. Disposing of bodies was an essential skill for a gangster.

As a Hall Master of the Black Tiger Gang and a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist, five taels of silver wasn’t much to him. The main thing was that he had been cooped up nursing his injury and had a lot of pent-up frustration. Killing someone would be a good way to vent.

This Lin Yan came from a common background yet was a disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall. The conflicting nature of these two identities in one person was something he could take some pleasure in destroying.

"If you take action, Hall Master, that person is definitely getting a bargain. I’ll go contact them right away."

Zheng Bo immediately agreed. Zhou Wu gave a sly chuckle. "You’re a black-hearted one yourself, kid. Not a shred of neighborly affection, huh?"

"You’re too kind, Hall Master. Neighbors are worth shit. In my heart, there’s only brotherhood with the gang."

"Very good. Once I’ve recovered from this injury, you can stick with me."

"Thank you, Hall Master! I will be at your beck and call!"

Zheng Bo was overjoyed. He had been in the Black Tiger Gang for three years and was still just a bottom-rung member. If he could become a trusted confidant of the Hall Master, his life would be turned around overnight.

A cup of tea’s time later, Zhou Wu had finished the cooked food, and the pot of wine was now empty. After Zheng Bo cleaned up, he spoke respectfully, "Hall Master, shall I go contact that person now?"

"Go on."

Zhou Wu waved a hand. That had been a pot of strong wine; even with his strength as a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist, he felt a bit dizzy.

However, a Martial Artist ought to drink strong wine. Ordinary wine was no different from water, completely pointless to drink.

As Zheng Bo left the courtyard, he muttered to himself, ’The Hall Master wants five taels. That means there’s nothing in it for me. No... I have to raise the price. I’ll say it costs seven taels. A Martial Arts Academy Disciple definitely won’t be short a few taels of silver.’

’As for Lin Yan, he only has himself to blame for being so stupid.’

’Going to a Martial Arts Hall to train without any backing, and on top of that, daring to offend the rich kids there? Isn’t that just rushing to his own doom?’

The thought of getting a few extra taels for himself made Zheng Bo’s heart burn with excitement.

Xiaohong from the Cuihong Building had told him last time that if he could visit for three days in a row, she would let him experience some of her impressive "Techniques."

...

THUD!

With a soft sound, Zheng Bo collapsed to the ground.

「Fifteen minutes later.」

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

"Hall Master, Hall Master..."

Zhou Wu was lying on the bed inside. Hearing the knocking, an impatient look crossed his face. Still feeling the lingering dizziness from the wine, he got up and walked toward the courtyard gate.

In his mind, it had to be Zheng Bo, returning after settling the deal with the other person.

An enemy, a rival... The thought never even crossed his mind.

If it were truly an enemy of his or the Black Tiger Gang who dared to come looking for him, they would be a Skin Smoothing Martial Artist at the very least. Wouldn’t it be much better for them to sneak into the courtyard and launch a surprise attack?

"Did you settl—"

The instant Zhou Wu pulled the gate open a few inches, his words cut off abruptly as a cloud of red mist flew into his face.

Zhou Wu’s reaction was incredibly fast. He snapped his mouth shut instantly. A Martial Artist’s instinct told him not to close the gate, but to instead power his legs and retreat backward explosively!

At the same time, he raised his left hand to shield his face, trying to wave away the unknown powder.

However, the distance was too short, the powder too fine, and it had been thrown with the wind.