Chapter 47: Chapter 47
The rear courtyard of the Qi residence.
Only Qi Hu and Song Ling were present.
Qi Hu’s face was iron. His voice was cold.
“Song Ling — I took you in to heal. Don’t go causing trouble.”
“If you’re exposed, I can’t protect you.”
If not for his old friendship with Song Ling’s master, he’d never have sheltered a flower thief under his roof.
What he hadn’t anticipated was that Song Ling — still carrying injuries — would go out and commit another assault.
If Song Ling was caught, Qi Hu’s reputation would be ruined.
Worse, Li Suifeng had almost certainly figured out by now that Qi Hu was behind the Manager Ma incident at headquarters. If Li Suifeng discovered a connection between Qi Hu and a notorious flower thief, he’d seize the opportunity to bury Qi Hu. Even Qi Hu’s connections at headquarters might cut ties with him.
“Uncle Qi, you worry too much.”
Song Ling was utterly unconcerned.
“The toughest man in Nanyang is Li Suifeng — a mere seventh-rank. His martial arts are decent, but his qinggong is laughable. Five Li Suifengs couldn’t catch me.”
“Besides, I hear Li Suifeng’s been making trouble for you.”
“Word is he’s got a beauty stashed at the docks. He’s not there every night. Give me one evening, and I’ll pay a visit. Consider it revenge on your behalf.”
Qi Hu felt a flicker of temptation.
Song Ling’s master, Sima Feng, had once saved his life. He knew something of Sima Feng’s qinggong — after all, a flower thief who’d committed hundreds of assaults and lived to his fifties had clearly proven his ability.
And Li Suifeng had been treating him like a nobody lately.
If Song Ling could humiliate Li Suifeng… that wasn’t the worst outcome.
“You’re sure?”
Qi Hu’s voice dropped.
“Relax.” Song Ling waved a hand. “Back in Mingzhou, only the Red Lotus Sect’s peak sixth-rank ‘Bloody-Handed Butcher’ Qiu Ming managed to wound me.”
“Once I’m healed, I fully intend to revisit a certain Red Lotus Sect woman.”
…
“Hiding this well?”
“Not even Crow has a lead.”
Li Suifeng had stayed at the branch until well past midnight before heading for the docks.
He’d even stopped by the blacksmith shop on Luoshi Alley. Crow had nothing.
The streets were empty at this hour.
Hm?
As he neared the docks, the faintest sound of feet on rooftops reached his ears.
So light that even a seventh-rank fighter might have missed it.
“Sneaking around.”
Li Suifeng’s eyes sharpened. Could it really be this convenient?
He picked up his pace.
Phantom Steps at full power — he followed the sound.
“Looking for death.”
The trail led straight to the dock courtyard. Li Suifeng’s face went cold.
This bastard was targeting his people?
He didn’t alert his quarry. Scaling the wall silently, he found a man in his mid-thirties holding a bamboo tube, preparing to blow knockout smoke into Lin Zhixu’s room.
“Tonight, I’ll find out what Li Suifeng’s woman tastes like.”
Song Ling wore a predatory grin. He was about to release the smoke when a chill crawled down his spine.
He turned — and saw a young man in blue standing three zhang away, watching him.
Impossible!
Song Ling’s heart seized.
He had absolute confidence in his qinggong. Yet this man had materialized within three zhang without Song Ling sensing a thing.
“Go!”
The only person who’d be in this courtyard at this hour was Li Suifeng. Song Ling threw himself backward.
He’d barely retreated one zhang when a devastating palm blast tore through the air. Too close — no time to dodge.
WHAM!
The force hammered into his body.
PFFT!
Song Ling vomited blood, his body catapulted several meters sideways.
CRASH!
He slammed into the courtyard wall, punching a hole clean through it — his torso half-embedded in the masonry.
PFFT! PFFT!
Two more mouthfuls of blood. Song Ling’s eyes were wide with terror.
A ranged palm strike.
Li Suifeng wasn’t seventh-rank. He was sixth.
But the damage was too severe. Song Ling couldn’t form a single word.
“Who’s there?”
“My lady?”
Lamps flickered on inside the rooms. Lin Zhixu and Willow emerged in hastily thrown-on clothes — and saw the demolished wall and Song Ling pinned in the rubble, unable to speak.
“Boss Li — what happened?”
Lin Zhixu asked softly.
“Nothing. Go back to sleep… actually, forget that. Come with me to the branch.”
Li Suifeng waved it off, though his eyes were glacial.
This piece of filth had dared target his people. If he hadn’t happened to come to the docks tonight, the man might have succeeded.
Better to move Lin Zhixu and Willow into the branch compound. Safer there.
…
Li Suifeng settled Lin Zhixu and Willow at the branch first.
Then he returned to the courtyard, hauled the barely breathing Song Ling up by the collar, and made for the blacksmith shop on Luoshi Alley.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Two raps. The door opened instantly.
“Well…”
“You actually got him?”
Crow looked at the body dangling from Li Suifeng’s fist, surprise on his face.
Song Ling was a lone wolf who moved with extreme caution. The Green Robe Tower hadn’t been able to pin down his location on short notice.
And yet — Li Suifeng had been asking about Song Ling just this afternoon, and now the man was here.
“It’s really Song Ling?” Li Suifeng asked.
Crow checked for disguise. Finding none:
“It’s him.”
He produced five thousand taels in banknotes and handed them over.
“Normally, a peak seventh-rank target would only pay three thousand. But he’s a flower thief — the bounties stack. So it’s a premium.”
Li Suifeng pocketed the notes.
CRACK!
One hand twisted Song Ling’s neck.
【Ding!】
【Host has successfully killed the flower thief Song Ling. Reward: Lion’s Roar Art (maxed). Extract now?】
Extract.
Li Suifeng gave the silent command.
A lifetime of Lion’s Roar mastery flooded his mind — as though he’d cultivated the art for countless years.
Moments later, his control of the technique had reached its peak.
…
Deep in the night.
Qi Hu paced his residence without rest.
“Get Sun Xi over here.”
Four hours had passed. Song Ling hadn’t returned. Qi Hu shouted to a servant outside.
Before long, Sun Xi arrived.
“Master Hu — what could possibly require my attention at this hour?”
Being dragged out of bed in the dead of night left Sun Xi privately irritated, though he didn’t let it show.
Qi Hu studied him.
“Send someone to the Linshui Docks. Discreetly. Find out if anything happened there tonight.”
“Use someone reliable. Make sure the dock people don’t notice.”