Chapter Eight: An Attack

Fortunately, the carriage had not been destroyed in the battle; it remained intact. Yang Ze returned to the carriage to recover his strength, while Old Xie busied himself with searching the corpses. For a man like Old Xie, who had spent years scraping by in the martial world, even though there was little of value on these bandits, every scrap counted. People like Old Xie paid close attention to such things.

Rummaging through the carriage, Yang Ze found a set of brand-new clothes prepared in his size. He’d wondered before why Old Xie had put those here; now, after a bloody fight that had left his garments stained in several places, he understood. Returning home in blood-soaked attire would surely draw attention, but with a quick change, such concerns were gone.

Setting down his blade, Yang Ze sat to practice the Heart-Sea Technique, restoring his energy. After taking so many lives for the first time, his mind had not yet fully calmed.

Old Xie finished searching the bodies without much delay, mostly because the bandits were so destitute. With the carriage reins in hand, Old Xie turned the horses back toward Yuyang City. Their first task was complete; now, it was time for the second.

As for the corpses, Old Xie had no intention of dealing with them. In these times, bandits were rampant outside the cities; killing them was of no consequence, for their lives were worthless and no one would care.

After traveling ten miles back along the road, the carriage veered off onto a side path and entered a nearby woodland, stopping at the forest’s edge as dusk began to fall.

“Young Master, let’s spend the night here. If we venture deeper and encounter danger, I fear I may not be able to protect you,” Old Xie said, the carriage not far from the main road, just at the forest’s edge.

Yang Ze, hearing this from inside, stepped out of the carriage. Gazing into the increasingly shadowed forest, he felt a chill run through him. This world, so akin to ancient times, was truly unforgiving. As the sun set and darkness crept across the land, the depths of the forest became pitch black; even outside, the light was all but gone.

“This will do. Let’s rest here for the night,” he agreed.

Old Xie leapt down, with a swift motion severed a branch from a nearby tree, and set it alight with a fire striker. Soon, a campfire was blazing, casting a warm glow around the carriage.

“Rest easy tonight, Young Master. If any beasts approach, I’ll wake you,” Old Xie said, handing Yang Ze a flatbread. He’d intended to hunt and roast some fresh meat, but seeing Yang Ze’s greenhorn performance earlier, he dared not stray far and chose to stay close in case he was needed.

Their second task outside the city was obvious: to spend the night waiting for wild beasts to appear.

From what Yang Ze had gathered, the city was relatively safe, but the wilderness was another matter—untamed and dangerous, especially after dark. Only martial artists dared travel then.

Yang Ze’s aim was to hunt a few beasts—not for profit, but to train himself. Compared to ordinary martial artists, who knew only a little unarmed combat, the strength of these wild animals was far greater; facing them would prove a more effective training.

And thus, the hours of night slipped swiftly by.

The night passed without major incident. They encountered only a single hyena, as the area was not far from Yuyang City. Yang Ze faced the beast directly, and though he struggled somewhat, he eventually dispatched it.

Not long after, dawn broke. The two changed into fresh clothes and set off for Yuyang City. This time, there was no dawdling. Old Xie cracked his whip, the horses sped up, and soon the imposing city walls loomed ahead.

Just then, Yang Ze, inside the carriage, heard the urgent pounding of hooves, clearly much faster than their own. Pulling aside the curtain, he saw a cloud of dust behind them and five fine horses racing past, galloping toward Yuyang.

“Who are those men?” Yang Ze asked, watching their retreating figures.

“They’re from the authorities. Leading them is Chief Constable Yuan from the Yamen, and the four with him are all experts. I wouldn’t be confident facing any one of them,” Old Xie replied.

Yang Ze remembered the conversation he’d overheard at the southern gate the previous day—Chief Yuan was the one investigating the strange events outside the city.

Yang Ze had long heard of Chief Yuan, a top master in the Yuyang City Yamen who had even dueled his own father, though with what outcome, he did not know.

Those chosen to accompany Chief Yuan on such an investigation must also be formidable. Clearly, something urgent had happened for them to be in such a rush.

But Yang Ze quickly dismissed the matter from his mind. Whatever Chief Yuan had discovered, it was none of his concern for now. With his current strength, he had enough on his plate; his priority was to prepare for the competition two months hence.

Three hours later, the carriage rolled into Tairong Street, and Yang Ze and Old Xie returned to the Yang family estate.

No sooner had they entered than word was sent to Yang Hai.

“Disappeared for a whole day and night… How interesting. Looks like I need to take action myself, or my dear younger brother will outmaneuver me before I even realize it. Lao Du, contact the Bloodshark Gang for me.”

“The Bloodshark Gang? That’s unwise, Young Master. They failed to kill your brother before, and lost one of their Qi-Gathering experts. Now, the Bloodshark Gang bears you great enmity!” Lao Du, Yang Hai’s trusted aide—the very man who’d blocked Yang Ze’s move before—tried to dissuade him.

“Lao Du, I know what you’re worried about. The Bloodshark Gang won’t blame me for what happened. Old Xie killed their man, and it was because of Yang Ze—they know that. They’re smart enough to choose the right partner.

Besides, I never intended to kill my brother. I just want him to behave himself and never pose a threat to me. You needn’t worry.

Though our dealings are discreet, if my father wants to investigate, nothing would remain hidden. He hasn’t blamed me yet only because he knows I harbor no murderous intent.”

“That’s enough. Contact the Bloodshark Gang for me, so I can discuss the next steps with them.”

Seeing his advice was wasted, Lao Du could only sigh and withdraw. Yang Hai then summoned Yang Deyi and gave him further instructions.

While Yang Hai plotted against him, Yang Ze had already returned to his own courtyard, unaware that his elder brother was the very person who had once tried to kill him, or that after failing once, his brother was already planning another move.

The next morning, just as Yang Ze was still resting, the courtyard gates were banged upon with urgency. When he answered, two servants told him to hurry to the family hall—he was wanted for an important matter.

Yang Ze could not refuse and followed them to the Yang family council hall.

Upon entering, the two servants withdrew, leaving several figures seated inside.

At the head sat Yang Yuanzhen, the current patriarch and the only peak Qi-Gathering master in the Yang family, who regarded Yang Ze with a calm demeanor.

On either side of him were four chairs, occupied by elderly men in plain robes—the family’s four elders, all high-level Qi-Gathering experts and second only to the patriarch.

To Yang Yuanzhen’s left sat two elders who were Yang Ze’s granduncles; to his right were two guest masters retained by the family.

Other than these, the hall was empty.

Yang Ze was perplexed by this sudden summons and grew alert, sensing from the arrangement that something was amiss. He dared not be careless.

“Since Yang Ze is here, Elder Hongyi, you may proceed,” Yang Yuanzhen spoke first, breaking the tense silence.

As his words fell, the second elder to his left prepared to speak.

At that, Yang Ze’s heart sank. So it was Elder Yang Hongyi, grandfather to Yang Deyi, a man with whom he had no friendly ties. If this man was about to speak, nothing good could follow.

Yet he could only listen and see what was to come.

“Patriarch, last night, the Bloodshark Gang and the Jinghai Gang joined forces, mobilizing over a hundred men to attack one of our industries in the southern city. We suffered considerable losses.”

“Yang Ze, what do you think of this?” Yang Yuanzhen suddenly asked.

“Father, the Bloodshark and Jinghai Gangs must be mad with courage to dare strike against us. We cannot let this go unpunished; they must be taught a harsh lesson,” Yang Ze replied, knowing his father’s fondness for face and tailoring his words accordingly.

“However, neither gang is our equal, even united. For them to launch such an attack suggests something deeper. I believe the cause behind this incident must also be investigated.”