Chapter 19: Caution Makes for a Long Journey

Lu Yan was eager to get his hands on the item, but he knew it was unrealistic. He could only restrain himself for now, withdrawing his gaze to avoid arousing Fang Xiong’s suspicion.

Meng Qi handed the large chest to Wang Lin, while he himself took the smaller chest and examined it. Satisfied, he nodded, took out the banknotes inside, pulled out one and handed it to Lu Yan, two to Wang Lin, and tucked the rest into his own robe.

Lu Yan glanced at the note he received, finding it was for a hundred taels. Without betraying any emotion, he slipped it into his clothes.

“Let’s go,” Meng Qi said, rising and walking outside. Fang Xiong escorted them all the way to the door.

Back at the Crimson Guard headquarters, Lu Yan’s mind was still preoccupied with the “treasure” Fang Xiong possessed.

“To become a gang leader, you usually need to break your limits at least four times. I wonder just how skilled Fang Xiong truly is?” Lu Yan mused.

It would be unwise to act before figuring out his opponent’s strength.

As night fell, Lu Yan disguised himself and made his way toward the Green Bamboo Gang’s headquarters.

He didn’t intend to rob them by force, but rather to gather information. If an opportunity arose to “make off” with the goods, all the better.

At night, there were still sentries patrolling the area around the Green Bamboo Gang’s headquarters, with guards posted at the entrance. But most of them were ordinary men, at best sturdy and strong, with only one or two among them having broken through their limits even once—a level that posed no threat to Lu Yan.

Avoiding the patrols, he let his blood and energy surge, pushed off with his feet, and with ease vaulted over the wall and onto the rooftops, silently slipping into the inner depths of the Green Bamboo Gang compound.

Now, the benefits of the Six Harmonies Leg technique became apparent. He could never have managed this before.

After traversing several rooftops, he faintly heard voices.

Lu Yan concealed himself atop one of the buildings and looked down, his face instantly darkening.

Fang Xiong, accompanied by a group of elite gang members, had surrounded several horse-drawn carriages.

One carriage was opened, and a gang member dragged out a child.

It was a little girl, five or six years old, dressed in patched clothing, her mouth stuffed with cloth to keep her silent.

She looked at the gang members with terror, her thin body trembling, tears streaming endlessly down her face.

“Hmm, good quality. Next,” Fang Xiong said, pinching the girl’s cheeks and examining her, before ordering his men to take her into a house.

Next, another child was dragged from the carriage.

This time it was a boy, about six or seven, also in tattered clothing—a poor child from a remote village, clearly.

Fang Xiong glanced at him as well, and had him taken away.

More children kept being taken from the carriages.

Both boys and girls, some as young as three or four, others as old as seven or eight—altogether, there were more than a dozen.

“Child trafficking,” Lu Yan thought, clenching his fists as a surge of murderous intent welled up within him.

He was no saint, unable to pity all of humanity, but he utterly despised those who trafficked in children.

Such people were the scum of the earth, deserving a thousand deaths.

Yet Lu Yan ultimately held himself back.

A reckless attack would not only fail to save anyone, but might also cost him his own life.

What if Fang Xiong had broken his limits five times?

Lu Yan was not confident even against someone with four breakthroughs; if he faced a fivefold one, it would be certain death. Besides, there were other experts in the Green Bamboo Gang.

“It seems I’ll have to use another’s hand to kill,” Lu Yan decided, having thought it over. He quietly withdrew.

Upon returning home, Lu Yan wrote a letter, detailing the Green Bamboo Gang’s involvement in child trafficking.

The next day, Lu Yan sought out Meng Qi and handed him the letter.

After reading it, Meng Qi’s face was grim.

“Lu Yan, is what you say true?” Meng Qi asked.

“It’s absolutely true,” Lu Yan replied.

“How did you discover the Green Bamboo Gang was trafficking children?” Meng Qi pressed.

“Some time ago, a villager from Little Tang Village came to me, saying children had gone missing. I investigated discreetly and discovered it was the work of the Green Bamboo Gang,” Lu Yan explained, using the excuse he’d prepared beforehand. Naturally, he would not admit it had anything to do with the Daoist text.

“Why didn’t you mention it yesterday?”

“I wasn’t entirely certain yesterday. But last night, I lay in wait near the Green Bamboo Gang headquarters and saw them bring several carriages inside. Most likely, the missing children were inside,” Lu Yan said.

Meng Qi considered for a moment. “If what you say is true, to move children freely through the city gates, they must wield considerable influence.”

“Who else knows about this?” he asked.

“Only me,” Lu Yan replied.

“You’ve done well. I’ll send some men with you to keep watch on the Green Bamboo Gang headquarters—don’t let them move the children. I will immediately request the captain to send experts and wipe out the entire gang,” Meng Qi said, then summoned three men—all Crimson Guards of the Seventh Squad: Zuo Yi, Gan Bu, and Song Jiacheng.

Zuo Yi had broken his limits three times, while Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng had done so twice each.

After Meng Qi explained the situation, the four immediately departed from the Crimson Guard headquarters and headed for the Green Bamboo Gang.

“The gang has many members. If we take the main road, they’ll see us coming and might be alarmed. It’s better to take a side route and hide near their headquarters, unnoticed, until the captain arrives with reinforcements,” Zuo Yi suggested on the way.

“That’s reasonable.”

“I agree,” Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng both said.

Since the others agreed, Lu Yan had no reason to object.

“I know a secluded path; follow me,” Zuo Yi said, leading the way.

Soon, they found themselves in a deserted alley, surrounded by dilapidated, uninhabited buildings.

Suddenly, a slicing sound came from behind Lu Yan—a flash of a blade slashing at his neck.

But Lu Yan seemed to have anticipated it. He turned swiftly, drawing his sword to block the attack.

“So, you really were up to something,” Lu Yan said darkly, sweeping his gaze over the three.

Gan Bu had been the one to strike.

A moment earlier, Zuo Yi had been leading in front with Lu Yan right behind him, and Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng at the rear. Now, the three had surrounded Lu Yan.

“You seemed wary from the start. How did you know where we slipped up?” Gan Bu asked, unhurried, as if everything was under control despite his failed ambush.

And indeed, from their point of view, it was. One of them had three breakthroughs, two had two; Lu Yan only one. He couldn’t possibly escape.

Even if Lu Yan had concealed his strength and had two breakthroughs, he would still be doomed.

They were always meticulous in their work.

“The district where the Green Bamboo Gang is based has always been under my and Wang Lin’s watch,” Lu Yan replied. “This is a major case, yet Wang Lin wasn’t called in, and instead it’s just you three. Highly irregular.”

“Just because of that? You thought something was wrong with us?” Zuo Yi said.

“That alone is enough. Caution is the key to survival in these times, when life is worth less than grass. I have to be careful,” Lu Yan answered.

“Caution? Of what use? If you were truly careful, you wouldn’t have taken the side road with us,” Gan Bu sneered, his energy surging as he prepared to attack.

But Lu Yan moved first, discarding his sword and throwing a fierce punch at Zuo Yi.

It was the old strategy—eliminate the strongest first.

Zuo Yi was no fool; seeing Lu Yan’s calm demeanor, his guard was already up. As Lu Yan’s punch came, Zuo Yi struck back with his palm.

But even the cleverest could not imagine that a fifteen-year-old boy had cultivated a martial art to the level where man and technique were one.

With a crack, as fist and palm met, Zuo Yi’s arm snapped, the bone piercing the muscle and protruding visibly.

Lu Yan’s next punch landed on Zuo Yi’s chest, caving it in and driving the ribs through his heart. The body flew back nearly eight meters, eyes wide in disbelief, already dead.

Without pause, Lu Yan turned on Gan Bu and Song Jiacheng.

Neither could have imagined Lu Yan would kill Zuo Yi in two blows; they were momentarily stunned.

As Lu Yan closed in, they finally snapped to their senses, but their reactions were completely different.

Gan Bu instinctively swung his blade, while Song Jiacheng turned to flee.

Lu Yan dodged the blade, landing a punch on Gan Bu’s neck.

There was a sickening crack as Gan Bu’s cervical vertebrae shattered. His head lolled backward, and his body collapsed with a thud.

Lu Yan’s leg muscles tensed as he shot forward like a leopard, closing the distance to Song Jiacheng in a few strides.

Hearing the wind at his back, Song Jiacheng realized escape was impossible and whirled around...