Start your cultivation journey by allocating points to your Destiny.

Tonight, Wang Hu was besieged by the leaders of three gangs: the Black Rod Gang, the Canal Gang, and the Big Whale Gang.

If Wang Hu hadn't been close to Li Ziren and hadn't regularly bribed officials, thus securing government assistance after the attack, he would be dead by now.

However, the county constable Li Ziren and his men were government officials, not his henchmen. They came to mediate in the middle of the night only to maintain stability and prevent the people from suffering. They were unwilling to get involved in their affairs.

So they deliberately waited until he was almost beaten to death before arriving late, and they only came to drive these people away, showing no concern for his life or death.

Even if the Green Bamboo Gang changes its leader, they won't lose a single penny of the money they're owed.

Even though the Green Bamboo Gang was originally controlled by the Wang brothers, Hu and Bao, now that the Wang brothers are dead, they may receive even more money.

They didn't care about the feuds between the Green Bamboo Gang and other gangs.

The other three major gangs have already achieved their goals, so whether Wang Hu lives or dies is no longer important.

Anyway, he was beaten so badly that he wouldn't live for more than a few days.

Wang Hu stared at the masked man in front of him, frowning. His weak body hadn't made him stupid.

"I've never seen you in Shahu County before... Who are you?"

He struggled to raise his hand, straightened his clothes, tied up his blood-stained, disheveled hair, and pointed to the seat next to him: "Please sit down!"

Lu Chen was a little surprised.

This Wang Hu seemed to value etiquette very much; even when he was dying, he was still straightening his clothes when he saw me.

"Thanks!"

Lu Chen replied politely, took a fairly clean chair, and sat down opposite Wang Hu.

"Are you about to die? Could you tell me who's targeting you?" Lu Chen asked curiously.

Wang Hu forced an ugly smile, then hissed, "You still haven't told me who you are, why should I tell you?"

Lu Chen nodded: "That makes sense! But if you want revenge, I can help you! For example, the Black Gang, they should be here today, right? I can help you take them out!"

Wang Hu was not surprised; this person's ability to get all the way here clearly indicated that he was quite strong.

He didn't reply. Instead, he used his still intact right hand to support himself on the chair, stood up unsteadily, dragged his broken leg, walked to a chair next to him, lowered his head to rub the smooth back of the chair, and sighed.

"This is my brother Wang Bao's chair. He's probably... well, he should be leaving now, right? Hehe, hahaha!"

He chuckled softly twice, then burst into loud laughter, his voice filled with desolation.

"Thirty-seven years. I went from a peddler to the leader of the Green Bamboo Gang. It took me thirty-seven years! For a single cultivation technique, I spent half my life searching for countless people and spending countless sums of money, yet I could only obtain a fragmented sword technique. With my talent, if I had a cultivation technique that could be practiced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the situation would be completely different now!"

"For people like us, it's so hard to climb the ladder... cough cough... I can only risk my life, my own life, and the lives of others!"

He muttered to himself in a low voice.

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Are cultivation techniques really that hard to obtain in this world?

Given Wang Hu's status, he was clearly among the top tier in Shahu County. Yet, after spending so much time, he could only obtain a fragmented sword technique manual, which is the one he's currently practicing with the "dissecting ox knife" technique.

"So you're the one who's been secretly sowing discord and causing trouble these past few days, aren't you?"

Wang Hu sat down in Wang Bao's chair and looked at Lu Chen.

"I suspect you killed Cheng Kui, Huang Sangu, Lu San, and those others too! I've been thinking about it for a long time these past few days, and it all started when Lu San and the others got into trouble!"

He looked at Lu Chen, and another trickle of blood flowed from his mouth.

He wiped the blood away and continued, "But I still can't understand... cough cough... who could Cheng Kui possibly offend? If he's a master, he wouldn't need to resort to poison to deal with those hooligans. If he's not a master, how did he manage to outmaneuver us right under our noses?"

Lu Chen did not deny it, but stared at Wang Hu.

Wang Hu didn't ask any more questions, but chuckled, revealing teeth covered in blood.

He spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Let's make a deal!"

"What kind of deal do you want to make? What will I get in return?"

Wang Hu's head was drooping. If Lu Chen hadn't been able to see his body rising and falling and breathing, he would have almost thought he was dead.

After a while, Wang Hu finally raised his head and managed a forced smile.

"Sorry, I almost fell asleep."

He coughed a few times, as if phlegm was blocking his throat, and spat out a mouthful of solid blood.

"That feels much better!" Wang Hu laughed. "The deal is that you help me kill everyone in the Black Gang. If possible, there should still be quite a few trafficked children there. If you save them, maybe you can also accumulate some good karma for me... I don't want to be human in my next life."

Lu Chen was silent for a moment: "Then what will I get? Don't tell me it's your Green Bamboo Gang's money. Even if you die, it will still be mine."

"Hahaha! Cough cough!" Wang Hu laughed heartily, "Besides the Green Bamboo Gang's money, you'll get one more thing: information. That's all I can give you!"

"What news?"

"What I've always dreamed of! A cultivation technique, a complete and flawless technique that allows one to cultivate to the Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

When this was mentioned, the light in Wang Hu's eyes shone even brighter.

Lu Chen became somewhat interested: "You know where this cultivation technique is, why don't you take it yourself?"

"It's in the hands of Registrar Wang Xiong. Zhao Defu, the leader of the Black Stick Gang, is one of his men. Wang Xiong practices the White Ape Staff Technique, and his cultivation level is very well hidden, but I know he's at the Marrow Cleansing Realm! And Zhao Defu also uses a staff, practicing a flawed version of the White Ape Staff Technique, as does Li Mantun!"

Lu Chen was startled.

Damn it, I thought I was already one of the strongest in Shahu County now that I had reached the Blood Transformation Realm, and I even thought I could stop eating beef.

According to the information he heard from Qian Gui, only County Magistrate Hu Bufan might have undergone a blood transfusion; the others were all at or below the level of a cultivator.

These people are all so cunning, hiding their true intentions so well.

"No wonder you couldn't get it," Lu Chen said understandingly. "Where is the Black Gang hiding?"

"The underground of the constables' quarters next to the county government office in the west of the city has been hollowed out; that's their territory."

"Holy shit!" Lu Chen cursed inwardly.

Is it darkest under the lamp?

"Besides Wang Xiong, who else in Shahu County are there? I mean, those above the Blood Exchange Realm."

Wang Hu glanced at Lu Chen indifferently, a smile playing on his lips: "Hu Bufan, Marrow Cleansing Realm. Li Ziren, Blood Exchange Realm. Meng Ping, Blood Exchange Realm."

Lu Chen's eye twitched.

He cursed his neighbor, saying that all the information Qian Gui provided was fake!

So, all the people with the highest cultivation levels are these officials.

He remained calm and continued to ask, "Since they're either undergoing blood transfusions or marrow cleansing, how come they only have one cultivation technique? Could it be that they're all practicing the same one?"

A look of surprise appeared in Wang Hu's eyes.

He stared intently at Lu Chen, and in the dim light cast by the pillar, he suddenly smiled.

"Young brother, you... never mind. All you need to know is that cultivation techniques are tightly controlled by the higher-ups. The key parts are never even written down; they are only passed down orally."

"Cultivating the technique also requires medicinal herbs to temper the body. These key herbs are also controlled by them. Even if you obtain the technique, it's useless without the herbs."

"For ordinary people like us, if we want to climb up the social ladder, unless we can join the army and make great contributions, we can only become dogs for others, hoping that our masters will let a few bone fragments slip out of their mouths."

Lu Chen frowned.

"You don't look like a young master from a prominent family. You have such cultivation, perhaps you have your own opportunities, cough cough..." Wang Hu continued after catching his breath.

"I guess you probably don't have a cultivation technique that allows you to directly reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm, right?"

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't speak, Wang Hu took it as a tacit agreement.

It's very simple.

If he had come from a better background, he wouldn't be so lacking in common sense.

They wouldn't have the patience to listen to their own rambling for so long.

He said "we ordinary people" and "people like us" several times, but Lu Chen neither showed impatience nor refuted it, showing no trace of the demeanor one would expect from someone in a position of power.

That can only mean they're at the very bottom of society.

And being so young, even with his face covered, you can still see that vibrant energy; he must have had some extraordinary experience.

He was just as young back then!

His eyes lowered, and he suddenly said, "Zhao Defu shouldn't be at the Refining Realm, but rather at the Blood Exchange Realm! He's hiding his strength. If you can really kill him, you can contact Hu Bufan to handle the aftermath!"

"Hu Bufan? The county magistrate? Why him? I heard you're quite close to Li Ziren?"

Lu Chen was puzzled.

"Li Ziren? Heh, he's nothing but a dog!" Wang Hu scoffed, leaning back in his chair and coughing. "Have you also heard that Hu Bufan doesn't care about anything and is only interested in being transferred?"

"right."

"Hahaha, Hu Bufan isn't from Shahu County, or even Shanyang Prefecture. He's from Mingde Prefecture. He was transferred to Shahu County a few years ago after the county magistrate was killed by bandits. As for the other three, haven't they all been in Shahu County for over a decade? Meng Ping is even a native of Shahu County, deeply rooted here!"

"No one listens to Hu Bufan when he wants to do something. He's been sidelined. Over time, Hu Bufan has stopped interfering in things."

"Are you saying that Hu Bufan isn't part of their group, and that the Black Gang was created by a few other people?"

Wang Hu shook his head.

"They don't have the ability to support the Black Stick Gang. This gang sounds ridiculous and lacks any real power, but the Black Stick Gang in Shahu County is just a small branch. They have people all over the Great Qian Dynasty."

He scoffed.

"Didn't you say Zhao Defu was Wang Xiong's man?"

"Is there a conflict?"

Lu Chen remained silent for a long time.

This news is amazing.

The fact that an organization that traffics women and children, harvests and mutilates children to beg, can be distributed throughout the entire Daqian region is chilling.

"So, after hearing all this, do you still agree to this deal?" Wang Hu looked at Lu Chen with half-closed eyes, his voice growing weaker. "It's not easy for you to have this ability. Why not take my advice? The water is too deep. If you can't handle it, you might as well give up, go home and get married and have children."

Lu Chen's lips curled up under the black cloth.

"Of course I agree."

Seeing the light in Wang Hu's eyes gradually dim and his chest rise and fall less, Lu Chen stood up.

"I've agreed to this deal. However, you're not in a good state right now. You seem to be in a lot of pain. How about I give you a quick death? It's free."

Wang Hu's eyes widened, then he burst into laughter.

"Interesting! Then let me tell you one last piece of news, or rather, my guess... cough cough... the Flying Eagle Caravan might be from the Northwest Border Army."

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment.

Northwest Frontier Army?

Why did you come all the way to the south?

Moreover, how did the border troops become a bandit caravan?

"Why do you think my Green Bamboo Gang is being attacked by everyone?"

Wang Hu shakily stood up from Wang Bao's chair and sat back down in his own seat.

A pool of blood was left on Wang Bao's chair.

"Because the Green Bamboo Gang owns an iron mine, while the Flying Eagle Horse Gang is part of the Northwest Border Army. Zhang Dajing of the Great Whale Gang is also from the Border Army!"

Wang Hu sat upright in the chair, straightened his clothes, and closed his eyes.

"Let's get started."