White-Robed Chief

Chu Li brought his blade down and the table was cleaved into two.

Feng Changwen had already rolled to the windowsill and got up to break the window to escape.

Chu Li leaped towards him and slashed his blade.

Feng Changwen’s head flew out of the window while his body was left behind in the house.

“Ahhh!!!” A horrified Zhi Yan shrieked.

Chu Li turned to glance at her.

Zhi Yan stopped shrieking immediately.

Chu Li took out a gray flagon and threw it into a heap of broken dishes. Some liquor was spilled at once. Then, he picked up the same gray flagon again, turned around and departed.

Zhi Yan observed Chu Li’s actions intently. She was incapable of reacting in time, but could only gawk at him numbly.

After that, she noticed the headless corpse and screamed again.

Two Protectors from Delight Brothel ran up the stairs and discovered Feng Changwen’s body. Their expressions changed and they quickly covered Zhi Yan’s mouth. Soon, they got constables from the courthouse.

Chu Li left Delight Brothel swiftly and arrived at Three Wonders Clan.

As he was about to enter, he bumped into Feng Xi who was about to exit.

Feng Xi was short and stout. He had a round and friendly face but he had a dignified presence. It was the sort of charisma that was acquired from years of power and prestige and also from his skill in martial arts.

“Greetings, Commander Feng.” Chu Li cupped his fist and saluted Feng Xi courteously.

“Ah, Dahe…” Feng Xi smiled wanly. “How are you? Have you gotten used to Three Wonders Clan?”

“So so,” Chu Li replied.

Feng Xi said, “Luo State City isn’t Peace Town. You can’t go overboard with your actions!”

“Yes.” Chu Li cupped his fists. “Thank you for your advice, Commander Feng. I have something to discuss with Commander Zhou and I shall leave now!”

“Go.” Feng Xi looked at Chu Li and waved his arm.

He thought it was strange.

According to Feng Changwen, Zhao Dahe was obnoxious, hot-headed, lawless and often offended people. He had no qualms about snapping back at the association leader either and he simply did not care about the feelings of others.

However, judging from this encounter, the Zhao Dahe whom he met was not as brutish as he had expected. On the contrary, he was rather polite, charismatic and cultured.

He walked slowly towards Delight Brothel, followed by two middle-aged Protectors.

Feng Xi felt bored after having a meal, so he wanted to have some fun. At first, he wanted to get some companions to accompany him, but he was unable to find any. The people who shared similar interests with him had left Three Wonders Clan a long time ago, thus he could only go there alone.

He took a few steps before a brave young man rushed towards him without warning. “Commander!”

Feng Xi frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Changwen? What’s the matter?”

“The young master, he… He was murdered!” The young man lowered his head in shame.

Feng Xi replied coldly, “Someone broke into his residence and murdered him?”

“The young master sneaked out and entered Delight Brothel. Unfortunately, he was killed in the brothel!” The man explained in a low voice. “We were too late!”

“Who did it?”

“… I don’t know.”

“How did he sneak out?” Feng Xi asked in an icy manner, suppressing his rage. It was useless to lose his temper there and then.

“It was two of his maids who covered up for him and hid this from us,” The young man replied.

Feng Xi’s expression darkened. He said blandly, “Drown them in a well and look for a place to bury them! …Go find out who killed Changwen. I want to know every single detail!”

“Yes!” The brave young man uttered a reply and left hastily.

“He brought this upon himself. Good riddance!” Feng Xi harrumphed.

He could not care less if his nephew was dead, but this incident had crushed his dream of scaling the ranks. Whoever murdered Feng Changwen had become his nemesis. This vengeance had to be sought, but the people who were involved in this matter must be gotten rid of!

He thought of Chu Li, whom he met just now.

Recalling Chu Li’s earlier behavior, Feng Xi gradually came to the conclusion that the murderer was Zhao Dahe!

“Zhao Dahe!” He turned to regard the main entrance of Three Wonders Clan, then shook his head and let out a loud “hmph”.

…

Chu Li arrived at Earth Star Courtyard while Zhou Xun was having tea.

He saluted the latter with cupped fists and sat opposite him. “Thank you, Commander!”

Without Zhou Xun’s help, he could only rely on skills that surpassed Zhao Dahe’s abilities to kill Feng Changwen or else, he could only wait for an indefinite period.

Zhou Xun who assisted him secretly had saved him much time. Chu Li knew that Zhou Xun did this for personal gain and wanted him to join a branch of the Holy Church of Light.

Zhou Xun smiled. “How was it?”

“It’s done!” Chu Li uttered a reply. “He’s a cunning fellow and I couldn’t kill him. This time, however, he’s finally dead!”

“Excellent.” Zhou Xun nodded. “You have to be careful, too. If I can use this sort of tactic to plot against Feng Changwen, Feng Xi can use the same tactic to plot against you!”

“I’ll be careful!” Chu Li acknowledged Zhou Xun’s advice. “Or shall I run away?”

“Where to?” Zhou Xun asked.

Chu Li replied, “Far away to a place where Three Wonders Clan can’t look for me.”

“It’s pointless.” Zhou Xun shook his head. “The might of Three Wonders Clan is far beyond your imagination. You can’t escape them. There’s only one way, which is to face the challenge!”

“Alright then,” Chu Li said, “I don’t believe he can actually kill me!”

Zhou Xun smiled.

Chu Li uttered a few more words, then cupped his fists and left.

Nowadays, he was a disciple of Three Wonders Clan. When he first joined the clan, he received a settling-in allowance of one hundred taels of silver, but he still could not afford a residence with this amount. The residences in Luo State City were pricier than those in Chong Ming Town.

Zhou Xun lent a small residence of his to Chu Li. After a year, the latter could buy a residence.

There was only an elderly couple living in the small residence. They were the original residents of this place.

Both of them were good-natured and down to earth. However, their sense of taste had diminished due to their old age and their cooking skills were not that good. After eating their food twice, Chu Li gave up and often frequented the restaurants in the city.

Luo State City was exceptionally busy. There were about ten large-scale restaurants, hundreds of medium-sized ones and street hawkers. Despite living here for a year, each meal Chu Li had was full of variety.

The next morning, Chu Li came to a restaurant for breakfast.

He enjoyed having breakfast at this particular restaurant and ate there two days in a row.

When he reached the third floor, about ten tables were occupied.

He found a place and sat down. An attentive servant came over to wipe the table. His actions were swift.

Chu Li regarded him. “Are you a new employee?”

“Yes, I’m new here.” The young man nodded quickly.

Chu Li nodded in response. “No wonder you’re unfamiliar.”

The young servant replied, “Yes, please remove your blade for a while, Master.”

Thus, Chu Li held up the blade on the table.

The attentive young man bent down to wipe the table. Suddenly, the glint of an arrow could be seen as it shot out of the man’s sleeve.

“Swish!” The short arrow was rapid and his target was right in front of him. The young man would surely hit his target.

“Ting…” Chu Li’s long sword was positioned horizontally in front of his chest. The arrow was deflected and a crisp sound resounded from the blade.

The young man retreated urgently. Two blades were hurled towards Chu Li’s direction at the same time. Two young men seated nearby brandished their blades and moved to attack Chu Li. The brilliant white gleam of the blades resembled cascading waterfalls.

Chu Li kicked the table.

The table was propelled towards the young servant, which knocked him off his feet.

Chu Li waved his blade.

“Ting ting…” The gleam of the surrounding blades ceased to exist. Chu Li took out the two men and their blades were knocked away.

The two men looked like they were run over by a herd of galloping horses and were tossed out of the window.

Chu Li chased after the young servant and dealt him a blow.

The young man rolled on the floor in an attempt to evade the attack. Then, he scooted for the window.

“Swish!” With another slash of his blade, Chu Li caught up with him again.

The young man crashed through the window and escaped, leaving behind one of his arms on the floor.

Chu Li sheathed his sword and scanned his surroundings.

The people around him stayed silent and their gasps and screams ceased.

Chu Li’s gaze fell upon a few people. He snorted, then left the restaurant immediately, lest the shopkeeper demanded him to pay for the damages. He did not have much money with him now.