This Martial Saint is Too Cautious
Chapter 22 - 17: I am Housekeeper Li of the Prince’s Mansion, and I am...

Chapter 22: Chapter 17: I am Housekeeper Li of the Prince’s Mansion, and I am...

Late at night.

A courtyard in Peace Lane, the new base of the Qingshui Gang.

"Gang Leader, this place is so damn depressing. There aren’t even any girls."

"Vice Gang Leader, getting girls is easy. In those alleys we walked through today, a few of the families had some good-looking daughters. What do you say we go knock on their doors now?"

Listening to his men, Cao Peng slammed his wine bowl on the table. "Is this really the time for that? All you can think about is the crap between your legs."

Seeing their Gang Leader’s sudden outburst, the core members of the Qingshui Gang glanced at each other and gave sheepish grins.

"Right now, the most important thing is collecting the protection money. If we don’t get enough, you know what will happen when the Boss gets angry."

As a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist, Cao Peng had managed to build this gang and once controlled several streets in the rough-and-tumble West City. This was not only due to his own ruthlessness, but more importantly, because he had the Boss backing him.

But even his Boss couldn’t compare to the Four Seas Gang. The Four Seas Gang expanded with terrifying speed and ruthless methods. His own territory was squeezed until he could no longer survive there. Fighting back would have been suicide, and even the Boss couldn’t protect him. Left with no choice, he had to take his dozen or so brothers and retreat with his tail between his legs to North City.

As for joining the Four Seas Gang?

He didn’t dare.

The Boss might not be able to handle the Four Seas Gang, but crushing Cao Peng would be as easy as squashing an ant.

Without the Boss, he, Cao Peng, would never have even achieved Single-Time Skin Smoothing. But it was also because of the Boss that, ever since reaching that level, he’d been ordered to form a gang. Ninety percent of the money he earned went straight to the Boss, which meant he’d barely had a chance to cultivate since.

"Listen up," Cao Peng said, his grim gaze sweeping over his men. "A lot of people live on this street. There’s plenty of profit to be made, but we’re new here and haven’t established a foothold yet."

He paused, pointing to a crude sketch of the alley on the table. "We’ll start with the usual routine: go door-to-door and ’inform’ everyone. If they don’t have much money, we can take a little less for now. What’s important is that they accept the rule of paying protection money and get used to handing it over every month."

Having run a gang for several years, Cao Peng knew the common folk all too well. You start by collecting a small amount. Once they accept it, you can raise the price later, and they won’t dare to resist.

He took a gulp of wine. His tone softened, but it carried an even deeper chill. "Once the people in this alley, and the neighboring ones, get used to paying us tribute every month... once they accept our Qingshui Gang as the ones in charge here... then..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone present understood the implication.

’At that point, couldn’t they do whatever they wanted?’

’A girl they fancy, a shop they covet—there would always be a way to get them.’

"Brilliant, Gang Leader."

"Our Gang Leader’s the greatest."

The men around him began to shower him with flattery. After three rounds of drinks, one of them felt the call of nature and got up to head outside.

"Mazi’s been gone a while. Did he fall in the latrine pit? Gang Leader, I’ll go check on him."

Another man in the room, his face flushed red, stood up. But the moment he reached the door, a cold wind swept in. When he saw the figure standing before him, the alcohol seemed to vanish from his system.

He was about to shout a warning, but before he could utter a sound, a fist filled his vision. It whistled through the air and slammed into the center of his face!

"THUD!"

A muffled sound, like a fist striking leather.

The burly man didn’t even have time to scream. His nose shattered, the bone collapsing instantly. The immense force sent him flying off his feet and backward into the door. The door slammed open with a CRASH, and his limp body crumpled to the floor, blood pouring from his seven orifices.

"You’re courting death!" Cao Peng was both shocked and furious. As a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist, his reactions were the sharpest. He kicked the table over to use as a shield while roaring, "Grab your weapons!"

The last remaining gang member scrambled to grab a saber leaning against the wall.

But the intruder was faster. He ignored the overturned table, his footwork shifting bizarrely to dodge the spray of wine and broken dishes. In an instant, he was on the man like a phantom.

The man had just gripped the saber’s hilt when the masked figure’s left hand clamped down on his wrist. With a sharp squeeze and a twist...

"CRACK!"

The sharp crack of breaking bone was sickeningly clear.

"Aaargh!"

The gang member screamed in agony, the saber slipping from his grasp.

The masked man caught the falling hilt with his right hand and, with a quick backhand flick, drew a silvery arc across the man’s throat.

The scream cut off abruptly as blood sprayed through the air.

From the moment the masked man burst in to the moment he dispatched the second gang member, only two or three breaths had passed.

Cao Peng was now filled with shock and terror. This masked man’s skills were ruthless and decisive; he was undoubtedly a Skin Smoothing powerhouse, and clearly, he had killed before.

"Friend, may I ask who you are with? My Qingshui Gang has no quarrel with you..." Cao Peng tried to stall him with words while secretly gathering his power.

Lin Yan remained silent, swinging the blood-stained saber at him.

Seeing Lin Yan’s slash, a flash of glee appeared in Cao Peng’s eyes. The masked man’s Saber Technique was unrefined! His aura was fierce, but he’d left a massive opening!

"Die!"

Cao Peng let out a low roar. He had practiced his Claw Skill for years and was an expert at finding openings to close the distance. His hands formed into claws, fingers like hooks, stirring a foul wind as he struck at Lin Yan’s saber-wielding wrist and wide-open torso!

However, just as his claws shot out, Lin Yan let go of the saber. His Stone Waist Barbarian Spine Root Bone erupted with power. He bent his arm, then his fists shot out like heavy siege hammers, smashing unceremoniously into Cao Peng’s claws.

The clash of fist and claw was followed by the crisp sound of shattering bone.

Cao Peng’s face contorted in pain. The Power in his opponent’s fists was terrifyingly swift and fierce—far beyond anything he could withstand.

"Spare me! Sir, spare my life! The one backing me is—"

Cold terror gripped Cao Peng’s heart. He realized he was no match for this masked devil.

But before he could finish, Lin Yan closed the distance like a phantom and drove an elbow, backed by the full force of his body, into Cao Peng’s chest.

"PTHOO!"

Cao Peng’s eyes bulged. He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs as his chest visibly caved in. His body flew back and slammed against the wall before sliding slowly to the floor, the life fading from his eyes.

The room fell silent, the air thick with the stench of blood.

Lin Yan panted, his chest rising and falling. He looked at the three bodies strewn across the room, his gaze cold and unflinching.

’From the test handshake earlier today, I knew his Qi Blood was only slightly stronger than mine. With my Stone Waist Barbarian Ridge and Master Level Mountain-Splitting Fist, it was more than enough.’

The moment he confirmed Cao Peng was weaker than him, he had already sentenced the man to death in his mind.

Mengzi once said: "Gang members have no compassion. They are not human, and so they may be killed."

After expertly searching the bodies, Lin Yan couldn’t resist kicking Cao Peng’s corpse.

’Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were running a charity.’

This was the poorest Gang Leader of the poorest gang he had ever seen, even poorer than Hall Master Zhou Wu.

Between the four of them, there were only thirty taels of silver.

Unwilling to give up, Lin Yan searched the room a bit longer. He finally found a ledger under the bed.

He flipped through it, his expression growing more solemn with every page.

It recorded the Qingshui Gang’s various incomes over the years. However, most of the silver coins ended up flowing to the "Boss." No wonder Cao Peng was so poor.

’There’s a more powerful faction behind Cao Peng. This is getting tricky.’

Lin Yan didn’t take the ledger. Instead, he put it back under the bed, picked up the saber he had dropped, and hacked at Cao Peng’s chest.

’Of the four dead men, I killed the one who went to the latrine by breaking his neck. I killed another by slitting his throat. That left Cao Peng and the other one, who were both killed by my fists.’

’I have to destroy the fatal wounds on Cao Peng and the other man. This will prevent Cao Peng’s backers from tracing the kills back to me.’

After he finished mutilating the bodies to obscure the cause of death and confirmed he had left no clues, Lin Yan vaulted over the wall and vanished into the night.

...

「The next day.」

"Is this the home of Brother Lin?"

Lin Yan was practicing his fist techniques in the courtyard. Hearing the voice, he walked to the gate and found a well-dressed, middle-aged man standing there.

"And you are...?"

"I am the housekeeper for the Wang Family of East City."

"Ah, Housekeeper Wang."

A broad smile spread across Lin Yan’s face as he enthusiastically extended both hands.

"My surname isn’t Wang. It’s Li."

Li Guiyi looked at Lin Yan’s outstretched hands and hesitated before finally extending his own right hand. Lin Yan immediately seized it. "Housekeeper Li, please, come in for some tea!"

Discreetly pulling his hand back from Lin Yan’s grasp, Li Guiyi felt the grease on his palm. He then glanced at a basin of boiled pork on the stone table in the courtyard, his heart filling with contempt.

’Truly low-born. He doesn’t have the first clue about etiquette.’

"Housekeeper Li, is the Wang Manor hiring mansion guards? Rest assured, my price isn’t high. Just twenty taels of silver a month."

Li Guiyi was taken aback. Those were supposed to be *his* lines. He had planned to use the pretext of hiring a mansion guard to probe Lin Yan’s background, but now it seemed unnecessary.

"The Wang Manor isn’t short on guards. I simply heard that a young Martial Artist had emerged in Willow Lane, and since I was passing by, I decided to pay a visit. It’s true what they say: heroes are born from the young."

The enthusiastic smile on Lin Yan’s face vanished at Li Guiyi’s words. His gaze fell to Li Guiyi’s empty hands, and he muttered, "Paying a visit, you say..."

"My apologies, Brother Lin. I came in such a hurry that I didn’t have time to prepare a proper gift. Please, accept this small token of my sincerity."

Hearing Lin Yan’s muttering, Li Guiyi reacted instantly, pulling a silver ingot worth a full two taels from his robes. "I still have matters to attend to at the manor. Farewell."

"Take care, Housekeeper Li! Come for tea anytime!" Lin Yan watched reluctantly as Li Guiyi disappeared at the end of the alley.

’If it weren’t for the Wang Manor’s reputation, I would have flayed you alive right there.’

Li Guiyi pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and frantically wiped the grease from his hand.

"Housekeeper Li, do you think this person could be the killer?"

Another young man was waiting for him at the entrance to the alley.

"That Lin Yan has only just achieved Single-Time Skin Smoothing. As useless as Cao Peng was, he’d been at that level for years. It wasn’t him."

"If it wasn’t Lin Yan, and it doesn’t seem like it was Xu Ping... then who killed Cao Peng? Should I test Lin Yan myself, just in case?"

"Go ahead and test Xu Ping if you want, but leave Lin Yan alone. He’s a disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, and its master is a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist. The county is in turmoil right now, and the Patriarch specifically warned us not to stir up unnecessary trouble."

Li Guiyi shook his head, his eyes cold. "Cao Peng couldn’t even hold onto his territory in West City. He’d lost most of his value. If he’s dead, he’s dead."

...

In the courtyard.

A smile still lingered on Lin Yan’s face. ’The moment I shook hands with Housekeeper Li, I knew Cao Peng’s Boss had to be the Wang Family.’

’His gray Martial Arts Tree showed that Housekeeper Li also cultivated the Stone-Cracking Claw.’

His Martial Arts Tree was two chi and eight cun tall, and the section for the Stone-Cracking Claw was flush with green leaves.

This was one of the best among Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists, one who had reached the Master Level in Stone-Cracking Claw.

’This man is not someone I can deal with right now. But my little performance should have lowered his suspicions.’