Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Li Suifeng left Qi Hu’s residence but didn’t head straight for the Linshui Docks. Instead, he went to the street he currently managed.
If he was taking over the docks, he needed to bring his own trusted crew.
“Boss Li!”
“Boss Li!”
Respectful greetings rang out from the shop owners lining the street.
Li Suifeng was only a peak ninth-rank small-time Canal Gang boss, but in the eyes of these ordinary merchants, he was still a man of consequence.
His street was mostly tailor shops and general stores — nothing with real money behind it.
The area around the Linshui Docks, on the other hand, was packed with brothels and taverns. The two weren’t even in the same league.
That was exactly why he wanted that territory.
Money opened doors. Money greased wheels.
Climbing to the Helmsman’s chair in the Canal Gang would take far more than peak seventh-rank cultivation alone.
“Boss!”
Li Suifeng arrived at a courtyard, where two brawny men guarding the gate spotted him and broke into grins, hurrying over to meet him.
“Is Chen Shan inside?” Li Suifeng asked.
This was their usual gathering spot. The men under his command who had no families of their own all lived here.
Chen Shan was his top enforcer and the only ninth-rank martial artist among his people.
“He’s in.”
The two men nodded eagerly.
“Good. Get Chen Shan and all the brothers together. We’re heading to the Linshui Docks.”
“Yes, sir!”
Before long, over a dozen men filed out of the courtyard. The man at the front had dark skin and was roughly Li Suifeng’s age, his expression cold — the kind of face that told strangers to keep their distance.
But the moment he saw Li Suifeng, a thin smile cracked through Chen Shan’s stony exterior.
“Let’s go.”
Li Suifeng offered no further explanation and set off toward the Linshui Docks.
“Boss, Chen Qi is dead, but his people are still around,” Chen Shan said quietly, falling into step behind him. “If we just show up… there’s going to be a fight.”
He’d followed Li Suifeng for four years and had clashed with Chen Qi’s crew more than once.
He knew full well that the men at the Linshui Docks were hostile toward them.
Even though they were all Canal Gang brothers on paper, Chen Shan and the others generally avoided stepping foot on dock territory.
Li Suifeng glanced back at him and said flatly, “It’s my territory now.”
…
The Linshui Docks sat in the eastern part of Nanyang Prefecture, not far from Li Suifeng’s current turf.
With his men in tow, it took barely half an hour to reach the docks.
By then, daylight had fully broken.
Dozens of dockworkers were already hauling cargo onto boats — men who scraped by under the Canal Gang’s umbrella.
Canal Gang disciples armed with weapons patrolled the dock perimeter.
Li Suifeng’s tall, imposing figure drew the sentries’ attention the instant he appeared, marching toward them with a squad at his back.
Nanyang Prefecture wasn’t that big. Nearly every guard on the dock recognized him.
“Quick — go tell Boss Hei!”
Someone hissed the warning under their breath.
A Canal Gang disciple darted toward a courtyard at the dock’s edge.
Moments later, a man built like a black iron tower strode out of the courtyard with over a dozen men behind him.
“Li Suifeng — what are you doing here?” Chen Heizi took one look at Li Suifeng showing up at this hour with a gang at his back and roared.
Before this, he’d been playing second fiddle to Chen Qi at the Linshui Docks. Now that Chen Qi was dead, Chen Heizi had already claimed the territory as his own. He’d been planning to send Elder Qin a little silver that very morning to make it official — and then Li Suifeng showed up.
【Ding!】
【New task available!】
【Seize the Linshui Docks — establish complete control over the Linshui Docks. Task reward: Iron Head Technique (maxed).】
Iron Head Technique?
Li Suifeng shook his head. He’d already received the maxed-out Iron Shirt — this task was trivial. A seventh-rank master who couldn’t take control of a single dock might as well lie down and die.
By now, a sizable crowd of Canal Gang members had gathered around the dock.
They were all part of the same gang, true enough, but the Canal Gang was a jianghu outfit of commoners and thugs. The organization had only existed for a few decades, and discipline was far looser than in the great martial sects.
Fighting between members was tolerated as long as nobody ended up dead.
“I’m here on Elder Qi’s orders to take command of the Linshui Docks.” Li Suifeng held up Qi Hu’s command token for all to see, his eyes narrowed. “Stand down.”
“Ha ha ha!”
Laughter erupted from the men behind the tower-like brute.
“You wave some random token around and claim Elder Qi sent you?”
Chen Heizi barely spared the token a glance before sneering. “Even with Chen Qi gone, the Linshui Docks are none of your business. Get the hell out of here.”
“Why don’t you go piss in a puddle and take a good look at your own—”
Before Chen Heizi could finish the sentence.
CRACK!
A crisp slap rang out across the docks.
Blood trickled from the corner of Chen Heizi’s mouth. Disbelief was stamped across his face.
Not just Chen Heizi — every person on the docks was stunned.
Chen Heizi was a mid ninth-rank martial artist, a man who carried some weight in the Nanyang Branch.
And Li Suifeng had just slapped him across the face in front of everyone?
“Everyone — rush him! Kill him!”
A furious bellow tore from Chen Heizi’s throat.
SHING!
His great saber cleared its sheath. Chen Heizi launched forward, both hands hoisting the heavy blade overhead, and brought it crashing down toward Li Suifeng like a mountain being split in two.
Seeing Li Suifeng make no move to dodge, triumph flashed in Chen Heizi’s eyes.
“Li Suifeng! You struck first — even if I kill you, Elder Qi can’t blame me for it!”
Li Suifeng stood his ground. One fist shot forward, arriving second but striking first.
The savage blast of fist-wind hit Chen Heizi head-on, forcing him to throw his saber up in a desperate cross-guard.
Fist met blade.
CLANG!
A sharp ring of breaking steel.
The saber snapped clean in half. Li Suifeng’s fist plowed straight through and hammered into Chen Heizi’s body.
Li Suifeng broke through?
“Pfft!”
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Chen Heizi’s lips. The thought barely had time to form before he was launched backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
He struggled upright—
“Pfft!”
Another gush of blood, and he toppled face-first into the dirt.
“Boss Hei… Boss Hei… he’s dead!” One of Chen Heizi’s men checked for a pulse, then collapsed in a heap, legs giving out beneath him.
This…
Every soul on the dock was thunderstruck.
Chen Heizi served under Elder Qin and was a late ninth-rank martial artist. Yet he hadn’t lasted a single exchange against Li Suifeng.
Li Suifeng was peak ninth-rank, sure, but that shouldn’t be enough to kill a late ninth-rank fighter in one blow.
Had Li Suifeng already opened a meridian? Stepped into eighth-rank?
Maybe even… fully broken through to eighth-rank?
The gap between eighth-rank and ninth-rank meant everything in the Canal Gang hierarchy. The entire Nanyang Branch only had five eighth-rank fighters.
Li Suifeng couldn’t have cared less what any of them were thinking. His gaze swept across the gathered faces, and his voice dropped low:
“Chen Heizi defied Elder Qi’s direct orders and spoke against him with contempt. I’ve executed him accordingly.”
“From today onward, I run the Linshui Docks.”
“Who’s in favor? Who’s opposed?”