Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Suifeng set out from Green Stone Alley toward the Linshui Docks.
If those shopkeepers refused to cooperate today, he’d simply go door to door and collect in person.
Whoever stood between him and growing stronger was his enemy.
He hadn’t even made it out of the alley when a horse-drawn carriage pulled up at the entrance. A powerfully built middle-aged man stood beside it.
Spotting Li Suifeng approaching, the man hurried forward.
“Boss Li, my master requests the pleasure of your company.”
The man possessed peak ninth-rank cultivation, but Li Suifeng paid it no mind — the carriage’s owner was someone he knew.
“Mm.” Li Suifeng nodded and walked toward the carriage.
The curtain was lifted, revealing the face of Qian Kuan, proprietor of the Riverside Pavilion.
“Suifeng, ride with me.” Shopkeeper Qian wore a broad smile. “We can chat on the way.”
Li Suifeng nodded and climbed aboard.
Qian Kuan was also from Green Stone Alley. Building on his family’s modest legacy, he’d opened the Riverside Pavilion and spent over a decade turning it into the largest restaurant in Nanyang Prefecture — even expanding the business to several neighboring prefectures.
“Hyah!”
The middle-aged man drove the carriage toward the Linshui Docks.
The carriage interior was reasonably spacious. Li Suifeng and Qian Kuan sat across from each other, a small tea table between them.
“Uncle Qian, say what’s on your mind.” Li Suifeng looked at Qian Kuan squarely.
Qian Kuan had always looked out for him as a fellow son of Green Stone Alley.
It was Uncle Qian who’d brokered his introduction to Qi Hu in the first place. Li Suifeng owed the man a genuine debt of gratitude.
“Today, when you collect the money — don’t force the issue.”
Qian Kuan fixed Li Suifeng with a serious look. “When Chen Qi tried to collect, the Riverside Pavilion refused to pay. But now that you’re running the Linshui Docks, my share is yours — that goes without saying. The other factions, though, you’d best not cross.”
“Chen Qi’s death was likely connected to factions eyeing a slice of the waterway profits.”
“As for Qi Hu — leave him to me. I’ll smooth things over. You won’t be in any trouble from that end.”
Li Suifeng nodded.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Qian. I know what I’m doing.”
He peered through the carriage curtain toward the docks.
If those factions paid up like good boys, he had no reason to make permanent enemies. But if they refused to cooperate — then they could hardly blame him for what came next.
He had peak seventh-rank cultivation. Even if things fell apart within the Canal Gang, the world was vast enough. He could go anywhere he pleased.
Still, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art dangling from the Helmsman task was too tempting to ignore. Unless absolutely forced, he wasn’t about to abandon that quest.
Qian Kuan watched him and shook his head.
Coming here today and saying his piece was already more than his obligation required.
He had some money, sure, and a few connections.
But at the end of the day, he was just a merchant. Push too hard, and the others wouldn’t bother giving him face.
“I’ll head in first, then.”
At the docks, Li Suifeng and Qian Kuan parted ways.
The Riverside Pavilion was only a few minutes’ walk from the Linshui Docks.
Li Suifeng stepped down from the carriage, and Liu Yuan and Chen Shan immediately came forward to greet him.
“Boss Li, most of the shopkeepers have arrived,” Liu Yuan said quietly at his side. “But the owners of the major taverns and brothels all brought ranked fighters with them. Collecting today won’t be easy.”
“Should we notify the branch? Have Elder Qi send a couple of retainers?”
Li Suifeng waved the idea away.
“No need.”
“Once the deadline passes, write down whoever didn’t show. I’ll go collect from them myself.”
Rather than heading to the Riverside Pavilion, Li Suifeng walked to the small courtyard by the docks.
The appointed time hadn’t arrived yet. No reason to rush.
…
The Riverside Pavilion, fourth floor — the highest level.
Every merchant of note along Linshui Street had more or less arrived.
“Shopkeeper Song, I hear you got a new shipment in…”
“Retainer Jiang, word is you’ve got a fresh headliner at your place — a virgin, no less. You absolutely must save her for me. I’ll be the one to pop her cherry.”
“Of course, of course!”
They clinked cups and traded laughs, not a trace of concern on any face.
As though today were nothing more than a social gathering.
“Shopkeeper Qian is here!”
“Shopkeeper Qian — that green kid is your junior, isn’t he? What’s your take on all this?”
“…”
The moment Qian Kuan walked in, a crowd swarmed over.
Everyone who operated in Nanyang Prefecture knew about the connection between Li Suifeng and Qian Kuan. Green Stone Alley was too small for secrets.
Qian Kuan clasped his fists in greeting and smiled.
“Gentlemen — Suifeng is my junior, after all. I naturally have to back him. I hope you’ll all give me enough face not to make things too humiliating for the lad.”
At that, many expressions shifted.
Qian Kuan held considerable standing among the merchant class. If he took the lead in paying, a good number of others would follow suit.
“Hmph!”
Song Tianhai, the owner of the Yichun House, let out a cold snort.
“Shopkeeper Qian certainly thinks highly of his own face. One word from you, and we’re each supposed to eat a loss of over a thousand taels a year?”
Qian Kuan smiled mildly.
“I wouldn’t presume to have that kind of face. This sort of thing — I’d never dream of asking anyone to humor me.”
With that, he found himself a seat, closed his eyes, and spoke no more.
The rest of the room lost its earlier warmth. People drifted to their own corners, murmuring in small clusters.
“Boss Li has arrived!”
A quarter-hour later, an announcement rang up from below the Riverside Pavilion, cutting through the chatter upstairs.
Nearly everyone turned toward the fourth-floor entrance. Most of them had never laid eyes on this rising star of the Canal Gang and were curious what the man looked like.
TAP TAP TAP!
Footsteps echoed up the staircase.
Li Suifeng appeared at the top of the stairs with Liu Yuan behind him.
“Gentlemen — it’s been too long!”
Li Suifeng wore a broad smile, clasping his fists toward the assembled shopkeepers.
“Hmph!”
“Boss Li sure puts on airs — making us all wait here for half an hour!”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were the Helmsman of our Canal Gang’s Nanyang Branch!”
Li Suifeng’s gaze drifted to the speaker, his eyes narrowing.
Of all people, the first to challenge him was a fellow Canal Gang member — Retainer Jiang.
“Retainer Jiang has a point!”
“Still wet behind the ears and he’s already coming to collect money?”
“I’ll say it right here and now — payment stays the same as before. Ten taels a month to your Canal Gang…”
With Retainer Jiang leading the charge, voices rose from all across the fourth floor in agreement.
Even Qian Kuan shook his head. He’d already given his warning. What he hadn’t expected was for the Canal Gang’s own people to be the first ones to jump out.
Retainer Jiang was a solid mid eighth-rank fighter. Li Suifeng’s one-shot kill of Chen Heizi at the docks had been impressive, but Qian Kuan didn’t believe for a second that Li Suifeng could take on someone who’d been entrenched in the eighth rank for years.
TAP TAP TAP!
Li Suifeng strolled toward Retainer Jiang, smile firmly in place, unhurried and at ease.
Behind him, Liu Yuan was drenched in cold sweat.
Stopping directly in front of Retainer Jiang, Li Suifeng spoke:
“Retainer Jiang — got a problem with me?”