Chapter 144: Chapter 144: I’ll Kill Whoever Is Noisy

WHAP.

Wang Xi remained silent, taking the plaque from the two trembling young men of the Three Rivers Gang.

Then he turned and walked toward Master Huo.

"Xizhi, what is...?"

Huo Mingchuan stood frozen, a mixture of shock and confusion in his eyes. It was as if he had never truly known this disciple of his.

In that fleeting moment, the technique his disciple had used was clearly their Huo Family’s ancestral Palm Technique, yet it also contained elements of a Fist Technique and a Leg Technique.

Huo Mingchuan couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

’How can three distinct disciplines be fused into one?’

’It’s completely impossible!’

But when his disciple executed it, there was no sense of disharmony. It was as if... as if the Huo Family’s Martial Arts were always meant to be used this way!

"Master, I’ll explain later when we have time."

Wang Xi smiled and handed the plaque to Yu Ruiyang, who was standing beside him.

"Brother Yu, hold it steady. This is our martial hall’s sign."

"...Okay."

Yu Ruiyang took the plaque dumbly, at a loss for words.

Just then, a commotion broke out outside.

"What are you looking at? Stop looking!"

"Defense Bureau business! Disperse!"

"Go, go, go! Get moving!"

A dozen or so officers in blue and black uniforms ran over, adjusting their hats and drawing their batons.

They pushed back the crowd of onlookers and surged into the martial arts hall.

"By report of the neighbors, the Huo Family Martial Arts Hall is engaged in a mass brawl! Furthermore, there are claims of vicious assault and murder! The Defense Bureau is here to investigate!"

The stout officer in the lead shouted, waving his baton.

However, anyone could see it was all bluster; he was clearly nervous.

What report?

This bunch had probably been waiting at the mouth of the alley, eating melon seeds and watching the show. They were just waiting for the Three Rivers Gang to finish wrecking the place before trotting over to put on a performance of "upholding justice."

Now that things had gone sideways, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and intervene, taking sides. They had no other option—the Black Eel Army and the Liu Family were involved, and their superiors had given them a stern lecture before these beat cops even left the station.

"That’s the man who killed Liu Mengzi!"

Seeing the Defense Bureau’s men arrive, Mao Xinrong mustered a sliver of courage. He pointed at the young man in the long black coat as he backed away.

"Hurry up and take him back to the station!"

"Y-You! Put your hands up!"

The stout officer pulled out his gun and ordered several others to aim at Wang Xi as he shouted.

"I take responsibility for my own actions. It’s true, I killed him."

Wang Xi turned, clasping his hands behind his back. Facing seven or eight dark muzzles, he spoke calmly, his expression serene.

"This has nothing to do with the martial hall. I’ll go with you."

At his words, everyone from the Three Rivers Gang members to the officers, and even Mao Xinrong, breathed a secret sigh of relief.

But then, the young man turned his head back, chuckled at Mao Xinrong, and said:

"Captain Mao, I advise you to take your men and leave. And help me pass a message to Dong Yaojie, the commander of the Qingwei Town garrison. Tell him to stay out of this. I’ll only give this chance once."

"What do you mean by that?"

Unwilling to lose face in front of everyone, Mao Xinrong could only grit his teeth and say coldly:

"Are you threatening me? Threatening Mr. Dong and the Black Eel Army? Don’t think you can be so lawless just because you know some Martial Arts—"

SWISH—

His vision blurred, and his throat was suddenly seized in a tight grip.

"GAK... GAK!" Mao Xinrong’s eyes bulged as a broken, wheezing sound escaped his throat.

In an instant, the young man had crossed a distance of seven steps, seizing his throat with one hand and lifting him off the ground like a baby chick.

"Killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant." Wang Xi’s voice was indifferent as his knuckles slowly tightened. "You think a few pathetic guns are worthy of making a fuss?"

He stared at the man’s purpling face and said softly:

"This is your only chance, too. Next time, you can take it up with King Yama."

With that, he tossed Mao Xinrong to the ground like a piece of trash.

THUD!

The captain face-planted and unfortunately landed on his injured hand, letting out a miserable cry.

The surrounding officers’ hands trembled, but not a single one dared to open fire.

"Senior Brother!"

Huo Qiao’Er broke free from her adoptive mother Huo Shenglan’s grasp, rushed forward, and called out nervously.

"Don’t go, it’s dangerous."

"That’s right, Senior Brother! Liu Mengzi brought people to wreck our hall first, and they even drew guns to try and kill you... You were just defending yourself."

Zhang Fuyun chimed in quickly.

He added anxiously:

"Don’t worry, I-I’ll go find my father, and my uncles and clan elders! You’ll be fine!"

"Don’t worry."

Wang Xi smiled at his junior brother and sister.

"I’ll be back shortly."

Everyone was stunned.

’Once he’s gone, can he really come back?’

Mao Xinrong lay on the ground, one hand bleeding profusely, the other clutching his neck. A shadow of malice flickered in his eyes.

But soon, that malice turned into solemnity.

’This man is just too strange.’

’His Martial Arts are absurdly strong.’

’The Defense Bureau might not actually be able to handle him.’

’I have to get back to the barracks immediately and report this to Mr. Dong. The Liu Family needs to be informed too.’

"Let’s go."

Wang Xi clasped his hands behind his back and walked out with a straight, imposing posture.

The stout officer wiped the cold sweat from his face with a handkerchief and put on an act, shouting:

"Pack it up! Escort the murderer back to the station!"

They called it an escort, but they didn’t even dare put handcuffs on the young man... It looked more like a group of lackeys following their boss.

Suddenly, the young man stopped walking.

The stout officer following closely behind him jumped in fright, instinctively raising his baton to block in front of him.

"Wh-what do you want?!"

he blurted out, his neck stiff.

Wang Xi glanced at the stout officer but ignored him, looking back into the martial arts hall.

Master Huo, his wife, Junior Sister Qiao’Er, Brother Yu, Junior Brother Zhang, and all the other disciples of the hall had gathered at the entrance, their gazes filled with concern and worry for him.

His gaze passed over the crowd and landed on his senior sister, Huo Silin. She was staring at him, a hint of gratitude in her eyes, and mouthed a single word:

"Thanks."

...

...

「Night fell.」

A street corner near the entrance to Qingwei Town.

The lights were still on in the Defense Bureau building.

In the innermost part of the first floor were the cells for holding criminals.

They were of various sizes, all lined up in a row.

Wang Xi was sitting cross-legged on the wooden bed of a single cell, number four, practicing his Meditation Technique with his eyes closed.

The Magic Power in the Profound Mysterious World was thin, making cultivation with the Fairy Tale Card Set inefficient. Moreover, this projection lacked the "Ice Heart Curse," so his progress was even slower.

He opened his eyes and sighed inwardly.

He gave up on meditation altogether.

Just then, footsteps approached.

Looking up, he could see through the iron-barred door. Two uniformed officers were escorting an old man in a short coat and small, round glasses.

An officer held a flashlight, and as they walked, he banged on the doors of the cells they passed—BANG! BANG!—while shouting at the prisoners inside to behave.

But when they reached cell number four, where Wang Xi was held, they were clearly much more nervous and hesitant, not daring to act presumptuously.

"Mr. Wa... Wang, this is the Defense Bureau’s Master Bo. He’s here to speak with you on behalf of the Commander."

a round-faced officer stammered.

He had personally witnessed the young man kill someone today, and even catch bullets with his bare hands. He was completely in awe.

How to deal with this person was a matter for the higher-ups. He didn’t dare offend him... Heaven knew if this ruthless man would kill him right through the cell door.

"Master Bo?"

Wang Xi’s eyelids twitched upward as he asked.

The thin, wiry old man chuckled, nodding and bowing his head slightly.

"Mr. Xizhi, this old man won’t beat around the bush. Let’s get straight to the point..."

"Strictly speaking, the entire Defense Bureau is nominally under Mr. Han’s jurisdiction. The various families in Qingwei Town just contribute some money and grain. That gentleman is far away in the Provincial City, well beyond our reach, so in reality, the Commander is the one who calls the shots here."

"The Liu Family has some connections with Mr. Han in the Provincial City, and the Black Eel Army and the Defense Bureau are practically brothers-in-arms... The Commander never had a high opinion of that rabble from the Three Rivers Gang, but that Patriarch Tian somehow managed to latch onto the great tree of the Liu Family. He even brought in the Black Eel Army for support, so the Commander has to show him some respect."

"The Commander has already heard about your situation, sir."

The old man paused for a moment, then lowered his voice:

"A Grandmaster such as yourself is respected wherever you go. The Commander doesn’t wish to make things difficult for you, it’s just..."

"He wants me to work for your Commander, and in return, he’ll make this problem go away?"

Wang Xi said, a half-smile on his face.

The skinny old man adjusted his glasses and grinned, a smile that said, ’It’s so much easier talking to a smart person.’

"Precisely," he said in a low voice. "Not only that, but the Commander will also guarantee that the Huo Family Martial Arts Hall will no longer be troubled by the Three Rivers Gang. What do you say?"

"Hah." Wang Xi remained seated cross-legged, his face hidden in the shadows, and let out a low chuckle. "After all this waiting, I thought your Commander was an intelligent man... I didn’t expect him to be so unbelievably foolish."

Hearing this, the old man’s face darkened.

The two officers behind him exchanged a look, their expressions changing slightly, but they didn’t dare to even breathe loudly.

"Sir, why would you say such a thing?"

Master Bo asked coolly.

"If your Commander truly understood the situation, he would have compiled all the intelligence on the Three Rivers Gang and the Black Eel Army’s town garrison into a dossier and had you deliver it to me."

The voice drifted eerily from the cell.

"If he genuinely wants my help, he shows no sincerity. He doesn’t dare take a risk himself, yet he sends an old man to be his lobbyist..."

"Mr. Xizhi." Master Bo, seemingly worldly-wise, didn’t argue with Wang Xi’s words. Instead, he admonished, "You have achieved the rank of Grandmaster at such a young age, and you fear neither firearms nor blades. But you don’t understand... in this world, you can’t accomplish anything by fighting alone."

"Forget it."

Wang Xi sighed disinterestedly.

"Continuing this conversation is a waste of breath. I’ll just go find him myself."

"?!"

Master Bo was startled.

Just as the two officers were about to blow their whistles to sound the alarm, they saw the young man stand up from the bed and walk to the cell door.

"Shh." Wang Xi raised an index finger. "Whoever makes a noise, I’ll kill."

The two officers instantly froze like statues, not daring to move.

Wang Xi reached out and grabbed the arm-thick iron bars. He casually bent them aside as if tearing a stalk of sugar cane, ripping a large hole in the cell door with a piercing screech of twisting metal.

The three men present stared wide-eyed, their mouths agape and speechless.

"Where is your Commander?"

Wang Xi strolled out of the cell and asked.

Master Bo gritted his teeth and said nothing.

But the two officers behind him were still young and afraid of death. With trembling hands, they both pointed upward in unison.

"Th-Third floor. Command room."

"Mm."

Wang Xi hummed in thought and, with his hands clasped behind his back, strode briskly away.

Only then did the two officers feel like they had just escaped death’s door.

「A few moments later.」

The lights on the third floor of the Defense Bureau suddenly went out.

The main door swung open with a CLANG.

A figure sauntered out—it was the young man in the long black coat, carrying a kraft paper folder in his hand. His steps were leisurely, as if he were just taking an after-dinner stroll.

He found his direction and set off into the night.

muttering to himself:

"Guess I’ll head to the Three Rivers Gang first."

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