Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Deep into the night.

Li Suifeng finally left the Cuihong Pavilion.

The five hundred taels the branch had awarded? He hadn’t kept a single coin. Half went to the dock brothers to split among themselves. The rest had been spent on a night at the Cuihong Pavilion for the entire crew.

The Cuihong Pavilion and the Yichun House were the two most upscale pleasure houses in Nanyang Prefecture.

Normally, the dock hands could only afford a trip to Fireworks Alley. Tonight, they’d seen how the other half lived.

CREAK.

He pushed open the courtyard gate — and was met with a waft of rouge and perfume.

“Hm?”

Li Suifeng frowned.

The scent was pleasant enough, but unfamiliar.

Despite the late hour, two women stood in his courtyard.

By moonlight, he recognized one of them — the green-clad handmaid he’d seen at the Yichun House. Tonight, however, she carried a long sword at her side.

The other woman was twenty-six or twenty-seven. She wore a yellow dress, her skin pale as fresh snow. A pair of phoenix eyes that could snare a man’s soul. A waist so slender it could be circled with one hand. And beneath the edge of a pale blue bodice, a figure that left nothing to the imagination.

“Youth truly is wasted on the young — they never appreciate a grown woman.”

Li Suifeng shook his head with a sigh.

This woman might not quite match Ye Qingmei in sheer beauty, but with curves in all the right places and that intoxicating air of maturity — she was something else entirely.

“How dare you speak like that!”

The green-clad handmaid’s brows shot up, her voice sharp with indignation.

“Willow.” But the woman in yellow only smiled. “Boss Li — forgive the late intrusion.”

“My name is Lin Zhixu. Boss Li is quite the rising star in the Canal Gang. It won’t be long before you hold an Elder’s seat in the Nanyang Branch. With so many eyes on you, I could only come at night. I hope you’ll understand.”

“Spring’s intent — how much is known? A lovely name.” Li Suifeng pulled the courtyard gate shut behind him. “But I don’t believe I’ve caught Miss Lin’s full title. You show up at my door in the dead of night — what exactly are you after?”

“And what’s your relationship with the Divine Fist Gate?”

“I’ve lived in Nanyang for years. I’ve never heard of anyone like you connected to the Divine Fist Gate.”

His brow furrowed. Lin Zhixu might look delicate, but her aura was seamless — no openings, no leaks. She was absolutely a martial artist.

And with her looks, there was no way she was a nobody.

Lin Zhixu blinked.

This man was different from the usual jianghu ruffians who ran in gang circles.

The Daye Dynasty’s national strength had been declining for decades. With sects and factions multiplying everywhere, few men bothered with scholarship anymore. Everyone wanted to learn a technique or two and carve out a name for themselves in the jianghu.

According to her intelligence, the man before her was likely seventh-rank.

But he’d entered the Canal Gang as a boy with no opportunity for formal education. She hadn’t expected him to catch the literary allusion in her name.

“Boss Li — you’re not quite what I imagined.”

Lin Zhixu laughed softly. “I’ve come tonight to propose an alliance.”

“An alliance?” Li Suifeng’s expression didn’t shift. “Relations between the Canal Gang and the Divine Fist Gate haven’t exactly been warm enough for alliances.”

Lin Zhixu shook her head. “Not between the Canal Gang and the Divine Fist Gate. Between you and me.”

“I need to kill someone. He’s guarded by several seventh-rank fighters. When the time comes, I need Boss Li to hold off a few of them.”

“Oh?”

Curiosity flickered in Li Suifeng’s eyes.

“Who are you planning to kill?”

“And what’s in it for me?”

“I can tell you who in your Canal Gang has been colluding with the Red Lotus Sect.”

“Qin Wuyang?”

The name left Li Suifeng’s mouth before Lin Zhixu had finished her sentence.

“You already knew?”

Surprise broke through Lin Zhixu’s composure. That revelation was supposed to be one of her key bargaining chips. She hadn’t expected Li Suifeng to already have the answer.

“How do you know?” Li Suifeng countered.

He’d only suspected Qin Wuyang. He hadn’t expected Lin Zhixu’s traitor to actually be the same man.

Lin Zhixu steadied herself. “One of my sect’s senior members happened to witness Qin Wuyang meeting with the Red Lotus Sect’s now-deceased branch master while visiting the area.”

“Since Boss Li already knows about Qin Wuyang, let me offer something else instead — the shipment you’re escorting in three days has attracted attention from the Moon Lake Eighteen Strongholds.”

What?

Li Suifeng tensed inwardly.

His expression grew serious.

The Moon Lake Eighteen Strongholds were no minor faction. Eighteen water fortresses spread across Nanzhou’s waterways, bound together in ironclad mutual defense. At their peak, their collective strength rivaled the Canal Gang’s.

On paper, the Canal Gang was still the dominant force across Nanzhou’s six prefectures — the Gang and the court jointly maintained order. But in the shadows, sects and strongholds had been growing bolder by the day.

If the Eighteen Strongholds had truly set their sights on his convoy, the journey would be dangerous.

“Relax — it’s not all eighteen. Only the Three Rivers Fortress will make a move.” Lin Zhixu smiled. “If Boss Li agrees to the alliance, I have people inside the Three Rivers Fortress. I can give you the exact time and location of their ambush.”

Li Suifeng exhaled. Just the Three Rivers Fortress — that was manageable.

The Three Rivers Fortress operated in the waters near Sanshui Prefecture, not far from Nanyang. The prefecture took its name from the convergence of three waterways within its borders.

The Moon Lake Eighteen Strongholds and the Canal Gang were old rivals.

The Canal Gang made its money through legitimate waterway commerce. The Strongholds were river pirates.

In the past, the Canal Gang had kept the Eighteen Strongholds firmly under its heel. But in recent years, the pirates had grown increasingly brazen.

“Who do you want killed?”

Li Suifeng asked.

If this woman truly had agents inside the Three Rivers Fortress, that intelligence would be invaluable down the line — especially once he took charge of the Nanyang Branch. Dealings with those river pirates would be a daily affair.

“I can’t say just yet. But it’s definitely not anyone from the Canal Gang.” Lin Zhixu smiled. “I’ll make my move within three months. When the time comes, all I need is for Boss Li to tie up two seventh-rank fighters.”

“Pin down two seventh-rank fighters — meaning your target is sixth-rank?” Li Suifeng’s brow creased.

“You’ll know when the time comes.” Lin Zhixu laughed. “The hour is late. I’ll take my leave.”

Li Suifeng watched the two women slip away into the darkness, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

“Lin Zhixu. The previous master of the Divine Fist Gate was also surnamed Lin. Interesting.”

The only sixth-rank expert in all of Nanyang Prefecture, aside from Liu Zhenhe, was the Divine Fist Gate’s master — Ba Hu. Pair that with the green-clad handmaid Willow’s earlier appearance at the Yichun House, and the pieces fell neatly into place.

“Unfortunately, I can’t follow your script.”

“I’ll need to pay the Three Rivers Fortress a visit ahead of schedule.”

Li Suifeng murmured the words into the night air.

The Three Rivers Fortress wasn’t far from Nanyang. A single day was more than enough for a round trip.