...
"Have you guys really seen ghosts?"
Lin Zheyu asked.
Since he came to this world, he hasn’t encountered any ghosts yet.
There was no experience of encountering ghosts in his past life’s memories either, but there were plenty of folk myths and legends about gods and ghosts.
"Of course, when you go mountain-guarding in the future, you might run into them too."
"In which mine haven’t many people died? With a lot of resentment, some spirits are bound to emerge."
Jia Yanrong casually said, "It looks a bit terrifying, a wisp of a ghost, can’t hit it, can’t touch it, and it can even drain a person’s essence."
"But we martial artists have abundant essence, so we’re fine for a few days."
"If you run into a ghost, just hurry and run towards a fire."
"These things are afraid of fire and explosives. Bringing gunpowder to where ghosts frequent, bombarding wildly, after a few rounds, nothing will be left."
Lin Zheyu: "..."
Wo Yinghe: "..."
Lin Zheyu and Mr. Wo exchanged glances, somewhat at a loss for words.
How did this thing become like trash in their mouths?
"But if you run into a zombie, then run as far as you can."
"A few years ago, when I was mountain-guarding with the former boss, someone dug out a coffin from the cave. When opened, my goodness, the body was incorruptible."
"The moment the coffin opened and made contact with living energy, the body sat up abruptly, and it would bite at the sight of a living person, really terrifying."
Jia Yanrong said with lingering fear, "This thing has skin like copper and bones like iron; it can’t be killed by gunpowder. Only a master of the Qi Blood Realm can handle it; we can only run when we see it."
"Brother Yong, your broad knowledge is truly eye-opening for me, Mr. Wo!"
Mr. Wo listened, stunned, and couldn’t help but sigh.
He had spent almost his entire life in the city and rarely ventured outside. Many of the rumors he heard came from others.
Lin Zheyu was equally amazed after hearing all this.
"There’s still a lot you haven’t experienced."
"The outside world is very chaotic, and when the chaos hits, the world will be in turmoil. Maybe even within the city, it won’t be peaceful in the future."
Xie Jiang said with a pout.
Mr. Wo thought about it and said, "I’ve heard from the old folks that whenever there’s chaos, monsters and evil beings emerge. If it keeps getting so chaotic, ghosts and demons will all come out."
"My grandma used to say that too. When I was little, she always scared me with stories of ghosts and demons," Xie Jiang said with a smile.
The group chatted idly, back and forth.
At this moment, a man came running in from outside, glanced around, and ran straight towards Lin Zheyu and the others.
"Brother Yong, Brother Jiang, Brother Yu, something bad has happened." The man, gasping for breath.
"What happened?"
Lin Zheyu handed over a cup of tea, letting him catch his breath.
"The Wuding Gang is causing trouble again, and this time it’s led by Xing Jinglong," the man said.
"That bastard Xing Jinglong is causing trouble on our Feihong Gang’s turf again!"
Jia Yanrong slapped the table and stood up abruptly, a trace of anger appearing on his face.
"Take us there."
Lin Zheyu stood up, handing a manuscript to Mr. Wo, "Mr. Wo, please find someone to substitute for today’s storytelling. Here’s the manuscript for you."
"Alright, be careful."
Mr. Wo took the manuscript; this was part of the plan he and Lin Zheyu had discussed.
To prevent any issues from arising during storytelling, Lin Zheyu had previously conferred with Mr. Wo about the strategy.
"What kind of strength does this Xing Jinglong have?"
On the way, Lin Zheyu curiously asked.
He had never been in a gang fight before, and it felt quite novel to him.
"Stronger than me; last time we dueled, I lost by a move." Xie Jiang said with some heaviness.
Jia Yanrong smirked, "Don’t flatter yourself, you lost by more than one move."
The group followed the man who brought the message all the way to the end of Hundred Flavors Street.
"It’s in there."
The man pointed to the tavern ahead; the outside was packed with a curious crowd.
"Make way, make way."
The group squeezed through the crowd and entered the tavern.
"Mr. Xing, how prestigious of you to come flaunting your power on our Feihong Gang’s turf?"
Jia Yanrong’s voice arrived before he did.
Xing Jinglong heard the voice and looked over at Lin Zheyu and the others, a cold smile on his face.
...
"What? I’m not allowed to come here to eat?"
"Can’t criticise the food at this tavern if it’s not good?"
Xing Jinglong said with a cold smile.
He was a towering man, over six feet tall, weighing an estimated over three hundred pounds, standing with an imposing presence.
Xing Jinglong wore a splendid robe, appearing younger than Lin Zheyu, as if he were a young master from an aristocratic family.
"Is it necessary to smash the place if the food’s not good?"
"And every time you come, you say the food’s bad, yet you keep coming back. That makes no sense, right?"
Jia Yanrong said with a displeased expression, surrounding the opposition with several of his brothers.
"Relying on numbers, huh?"
"I just wanted to see if their food had improved, but it turned out to be just as bad as ever."
"Food so bad even a dog wouldn’t eat it, and yet they dare to run a tavern?"
"Might as well smash this tavern."
Xing Jinglong picked up a dish and slammed it onto the ground, surveying Lin Zheyu and the others with indifference.
...
"Isn’t this guy from some big family?" Lin Zheyu asked quietly.
"Mm, he’s a young master from a branch of the Xing Family; it’s not a big deal."
Xie Jiang said.
They had dealt with Xing Jinglong several times before. This guy would make trouble whenever he was mistreated or felt unhappy somewhere else.
"I reckon he got bullied by some prince from the Xu Family, Chen Family, or Ren Family, and then came to the Feihong Gang’s turf to pick a fight, venting his anger on us."
Xie Jiang said softly.
The Xu Family, Chen Family, and Ren Family are the three families backing the Feihong Gang.
There were all kinds of messy affairs between the sons of those families, and every now and then, they’d encounter one of them coming to cause trouble because of it.
If the other party had strong backing and was a legitimate young master, they couldn’t afford to provoke them and would have to report it.
As for someone like Xing Jinglong, a young master from a branch family, they’re nothing and can be dealt with directly.
"No need to inform Lord Qiu?"
Lin Zheyu asked.
Lord Qiu, named Qiu Gaoxuan, was their direct superior, with strength at the peak of the Refining Internal Organ Realm.
"No need, just fight it out."
"Those young masters cherish their reputation. If they start trouble and lose the fight, causing more issues, they’ll be ridiculed."
"We’ve dealt with this fat Xing guy several times before, but we’ve lost more than we’ve won."
"You don’t need to step in later, let Jia Yanrong handle it; this guy has thick skin and can take a beating."
"We’ll hold off the others, make sure they don’t launch a sneak attack."
Xie Jiang said, hinting at Lin Zheyu to keep an eye on the people Xing Jinglong brought along.
"Okay."
Lin Zheyu nodded, preferring not to make a move if he didn’t have to.
Soon, Xing Jinglong and Jia Yanrong started fighting.
Xing Jinglong, despite looking young, was quite competent, having reached the Bone Forging Realm.
He grabbed a chair and swung it down at Jia Yanrong’s head.
Jia Yanrong was unfazed; he was naturally a daring brute, charging forward without concern for the incoming chair, like an aggressive bandit, fiercely unstoppable.
He swung his right fist, using the Black Death Fist, meeting the chair head-on, and shattered it with a punch.
"That guy fights really fiercely."
Lin Zheyu watched Jia Yanrong fight with a fearless, incredibly brave demeanor, feeling at a bit of a loss for words.
...