Gou Zai Wu Dao Chao Shi Xing Nian Da Gong

Instead of going straight home, Zhou Fugan took a detour, took off his blood-stained old clothes and shoes, wrapped them with stones, and threw them into the moat to destroy the evidence.

Then, he went home wearing only his underwear, barefoot, and with his face covered.

He still climbed over the wall into the house through the alley behind, first washing off the blood and lime powder on his body in the yard before returning to his bedroom.

Lying on the bed, feeling the soft bedding, Zhou Fugan finally felt at ease.

He reflected on tonight's operation, noting many imperfections. For example, he hadn't been calm and collected enough, revealing his position prematurely, and had underestimated the enemy's cunning. Fortunately, in the end, it was a close call, and he achieved his objective.

"After all, it was the first time, and we lacked experience and didn't know how treacherous people can be. We'll be better in the future."

Zhou Fugan summarized his experiences and lessons learned.

Of course, there are also good experiences. For example, he grinds the lime powder into a fine powder in advance, which is more effective than the coarse lime powder used by the other party.

In addition, he had learned the Hammer Cloud Fist beforehand, which played a crucial role in this battle.

Don't be fooled by how easily he killed Zhang Shun into thinking Zhang Shun's cultivation was low. In fact, Zhang Shun's cultivation was about the same as his, and he was even slightly stronger physically. It's just that his Hammer Cloud Fist technique had reached a pinnacle of perfection, while Zhang Shun's fighting style was still rudimentary, so he was easily crushed and killed in one move.

If he hadn't practiced fighting techniques, he would probably have had a protracted battle with Zhang Shun, with the outcome uncertain.

...

"It's time to check out the spoils."

After resting for a while, Zhou Fugan got up and picked up a cloth bag. The bag was quite large and bulging.

He found this in Zhang Hu's house. At first glance, it looked like it was full of silver coins. He also put the silver coins that had been found on the three men into the house.

He opened the cloth bag, which was filled with copper coins, mixed with a few streaks of silver-gray.

"good!"

Zhou Fugan excitedly counted the money. The silver inside totaled more than five taels, which was what Zhang Hu had given to Zhang Shun. The rest of the copper coins amounted to tens of thousands, which was more than ten taels of silver. It was obviously the protection fee that Zhang Hu and his men had extorted from house to house.

"It's all the people's hard-earned money!"

Zhou Fugan looked on with pity, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, his mind flashing through images of his neighbors with sorrowful faces.

"Even if I return this money to you, I can't keep it. I'd better use it for something more important!"

He then put away the silver, but was troubled by the remaining copper coins.

Five taels of silver are easy to hide, but this big bag of copper coins is not so easy to hide.

Next, the Black Snake Gang will surely be searching everywhere for Zhang Hu's cause of death and the whereabouts of this money. This money absolutely cannot be kept at home. Otherwise, if it gets found, disaster will befall us.

Zhou Fugan had no choice but to leave home again.

Just then, shouts came from afar, and the blazing fire illuminated the night sky in the distance; Zhang Hu's house was on fire.

Zhou Fugan didn't look around much. Before the commotion alerted anyone nearby, he quickly found several secluded, abandoned houses and wastelands, buried a large bag of copper coins in different locations, and carefully disguised them before returning home.

......

"Have you heard? That damned Zhang Hu was murdered, his house was burned to the ground, and his body was reduced to ashes."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true. I heard the Black Snake Gang is furious and has vowed to find the murderer, skin him alive, tear him apart, and grind his bones to dust..."

The next day, as soon as Zhou Fugan stepped out, he heard the neighbors gossiping. News of Zhang Hu's murder had already spread throughout the area. Zhang Hu had committed numerous evil deeds, and people were secretly applauding his death.

"Father, Father, Zhang Hu has been killed by some hero. It's truly gratifying!"

Zhou Guangcheng excitedly leaned over and said.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Fugan's face darkened, and he scolded, "You better keep your mouth shut, don't gossip, and don't show even the slightest bit of joy in front of outsiders."

Why?

"Why else? Think about it, Zhang Hu has been killed. Do you think the Black Snake Gang will be finished?"

"You can't blame us for the killing, can you?"

"Of course they know we didn't kill them, but when have those people ever been reasonable? If you're happy to be seen by them, they'll definitely take the opportunity to extort money from you."

Zhou Fugan explained.

"Those damned bastards!"

Zhou Guangcheng cursed and turned to go and give instructions to his wife and children.

......

In the following days, the Black Snake Gang did not make any significant moves.

Zhou Fugan, however, remained completely at ease. He knew this might be the calm before the storm.

These local gangs are most afraid of losing their deterrent power. They have to retaliate swiftly if someone provokes them, otherwise who will be afraid of them? How can they then act arrogantly and domineeringly?

Zhang Hu was killed and his money was stolen. This was a direct slap in the face, and the Black Snake Gang would never let it go.

They're not launching any major offensives right now; they're most likely investigating powerful adversaries. In their eyes, these enemies are the prime suspects.

But once the investigation is complete, if the murderer is found, that's fine. But if the murderer isn't found, then they will inevitably turn around and make things difficult for ordinary people like them. Even if they know the people are innocent, the Black Snake Gang will still retaliate, and may even arbitrarily arrest some people and kill them as murderers to make an example of them.

"No, we must first obtain some tonics to improve our cultivation level."

Zhou Fugan felt increasingly urgent and decided to risk using the stolen silver.

Spending money nearby carries the risk of being spotted by acquaintances and having his secret revealed. Therefore, he plans to spend the money elsewhere, either in the east or north of the city, where no one will recognize him.

After making the plan, Zhou Fugan carried the tailor's box he used when he used to go from house to house and left home.

Old Zhang from the tavern across the street, seeing this, asked curiously, "Hey? Old Zhou, where are you going? Why are you carrying that old tattered box again?"

"Hey! I'll leave the house to Guangcheng and then go out to find some work, otherwise I'll really be in trouble!"

Zhou Fugan gave a wry smile and disappeared down the street with faltering steps. Anyone who saw him would know that he was someone forced to struggle helplessly by life's hardships.

.......

As evening approached, Zhou Shengxing rushed inside.

He wanted to tell his grandfather that he had learned the last few moves of Hammer Cloud Fist today, and that he had even received praise from Master Chen.

As soon as he reached the street corner, he froze and stopped in his tracks, staring blankly into the distance.

A familiar figure carrying a large box walked slowly towards them; it was none other than his grandfather.

He recognized the box; it was the tailor's box his grandfather used to carry when he went from street to street looking for work. When he was little, his grandfather would often point to the box and tell him about his early days of starting from scratch. But his grandfather hadn't used it for many years since he got older.

Unexpectedly, he picked up his tailor's trunk again today.

Needless to say, it was because his grandfather had to go out and work hard to earn money so that his son could learn martial arts.

"grandfather!"

Zhou Sheng's eyes reddened, and he quickly went to meet him, took the box from him, carried it on his back, and then reached out to support Zhou Fugan.

"Sheng'er, how did your studies go today?"

Zhou Fugan, supported by his grandson, asked with a smile.

Zhou Sheng felt increasingly distressed. His grandfather had worked so hard, yet he was still concerned about his progress in martial arts. He vowed to himself that he would study martial arts diligently so that his grandfather could live a better life in the future.

"I've learned very well. Today, Senior Brother Liu taught me the last few moves of the Hammer Cloud Fist technique. Master Chen even praised my quick comprehension," Zhou Sheng replied.

"Grandpa, don't work too hard. Once I've mastered all the fighting techniques and become more familiar with them, I can go out and earn some extra money. Senior Brother Liu said that if I go on a delivery trip with his escort agency, I can earn seven or eight hundred coins," he added.

"Hehe, Sheng'er has grown up and knows how to care for his grandpa now. But don't worry, grandpa isn't tired."

Zhou Fugan chuckled, but his expression immediately turned serious as he warned, "You're not allowed to go to that escort agency. Focus on your martial arts training. I'll take care of the money."

"grandfather,"

"Alright, let's talk about it when we get home."