Chapter 41: Shadow

On the training ground, Zuo Zhicheng practiced Sumeru Long Fist with a serious expression, but he still occasionally made ‘mistakes’ like bending his hands or twisting his feet incorrectly. Jiang Tianzheng, standing nearby, constantly corrected Zuo Zhicheng’s ‘errors’, then told and showed him the key points for each movement.

After about two hours, Zuo Zhicheng had learned seven forms of Sumeru Long Fist. The talent he showed was not especially eye-catching, nor was it extremely poor; it was above average.

Jiang Tianzheng nodded to himself secretly. Watching Zuo Qingcang, whose ‘limbs were sore and weak’ but still ‘clenched his teeth and persisted’, he thought to himself: ‘Above average talent, but his character is quite determined, and he has some strength.’

He naturally did not know that Zuo Zhicheng’s exhaustion was fake. After all, he did not have Spiritual Energy Vision, nor could he read minds. Zuo Zhicheng, who had mastered the Innate Primordial Breath, actually appeared thinner and weaker than an ordinary person.

So as long as Zuo Zhicheng did not unleash the power of the Innate Primordial Breath, Jiang Tianzheng naturally couldn’t just tell by looking how good Zuo Qingcang’s stamina was or how strong he was. Plus, Zuo Zhicheng intentionally hid his ability, purposely making mistakes that a beginner would make, just to present himself as a young man with ordinary talent, but a determined character and some strength.

His plan was to slowly reveal his ‘martial arts talent’ through a relatively reasonable process, allowing him to show a portion of his strength openly without drawing too much attention.

Seeing Zuo Zhicheng’s arms ‘tremble’ slightly as he threw a punch, Jiang Tianzheng nodded and said, “Alright, let’s stop here for today. I’ll teach you the remaining forms of Sumeru Long Fist tomorrow. Remember to practice hard.”

Zuo Zhicheng seized the opportunity and said, “Yes, Master.”

“Let’s go, come have breakfast with us.” Jiang Tianzheng said with a smile, not contradicting the title, then turned to Jiang Qing nearby and said, “Let’s go, Qing Qing, time to eat.”

Jiang Qing finished with a closing movement, exhaled deeply, glanced at Zuo Zhicheng without greeting him, and walked towards the dining hall.

Zuo Zhicheng looked strangely at Jiang Qing’s back: ‘Huh? Did I offend her somehow?’

He naturally didn’t know that yesterday he had left an impression on others of being overly ambitious and liking to slack off. Today’s scene of him practicing hard contradicted his ‘performance’ from yesterday, so Jiang Qing naturally thought he was being sly and putting on an act in front of her father.

In the dining hall, Zuo Zhicheng sat down. The porridge he had eaten at home in the morning had long been digested, and his stomach was growling. He saw Xiao Lan and another middle-aged woman bring out a large plate of steamed buns, soy milk, and porridge.

Zuo Zhicheng originally wanted to be a bit more polite, but as soon as the food was placed on the table, the Jiang father and daughter began devouring it ravenously. Jiang Qing, who usually looked spirited and heroic, showed no trace of a girl’s demeanor. She ate a bun in two bites, chewed a few times, took a sip of soy milk, and swallowed it all.

Jiang Tianzheng, on the other side, ate even faster. He grabbed a bun, tossed it into his mouth, swallowed it after a few chews, then lowered his head to drink porridge, making gulping sounds like an ox drinking water.

‘Truly the style of martial artists…’ Zuo Zhicheng smiled slightly. He knew that the Jiang father and daughter had high daily physical activity and practiced Authentic Transmission Martial Arts, so their ability to absorb food was particularly strong. This kind of eating manner was actually normal for them.

Jiang Qing, who had just stuffed another bun into her mouth, suddenly saw Zuo Zhicheng’s smile. Her face turned red. It was the first time a man other than her father had seen her eat like this, and a natural feminine shyness welled up inside her.

But she immediately glared fiercely at Zuo Zhicheng, took a forceful bite of her bun, and seemed to eat even faster.

Seeing the food disappearing at a visible rate, Zuo Zhicheng quickly joined in. The sight of the three of them eating like a whirlwind made Xiao Lan giggle.

“Brother Zuo, Sister Qing, eat slower, there’s more!”

“Zuo Zhicheng, eat slower. Although we provide your breakfast, if you eat this much every meal, we’d be losing money hiring you.”

“Senior Sister, I’m not eating as much as you.”

“Who’s your senior sister.”

…

In the northern part of the city, as far as the eye could see, there were pavilions, waterside towers, halls, and mansions. Compared to the slums in the southern part of the city, it was like heaven and earth.

In one of the courtyards in the northern part of the city, five corpses lay covered with white cloths, arranged in a row on the ground.

An old man with white hair but a vigorous spirit leaned on a cane, his face gloomy as he looked at the corpses on the ground. As his face darkened, the atmosphere in the small courtyard became exceptionally heavy, so oppressive it felt like water could drip from the air.

All the members of the Sea Dragon Gang lowered their heads, not daring to look at the old man, as if he were some kind of monster.

Standing in front of the old man were the other three of the Sea Dragon Gang’s Four Heavenly Kings: Qiao Zhen, Li Si, and Yi Guodong. Among them, Li Si was a young man with a wild expression. He was the only one in the entire courtyard who looked at the old man fearlessly.

Next to him, Yi Guodong was a solemn-faced fat man. The fat under his chin almost hid his neck.

The white-haired old man lifted the white cloth on the ground, revealing Liang Wu’s bluish face. He pressed his fingers against the corpse’s neck, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

“Killed with one punch, died from suffocation. Must have been done by an expert.” After saying this, he turned to Qiao Zhen beside him: “Any information?”

Qiao Zhen reported: “The scene was a remote alley. It was too late, the attack was too fast. There were no witnesses.”

Gang business was handled by the gang. The moment the incident happened, Qiao Zhen personally took action to retrieve the bodies back to the Sea Dragon Gang, prevented the families of the five deceased from reporting to the authorities, and gave them settlement money.

After hearing Qiao Zhen’s words, the old man fell into heavy silence. He then examined the remaining four corpses one by one. A steward brought warm water and a hand towel for the old man to clean his hands. As he wiped his hands, the old man said, “A Si, how is it that we control the largest port in Xinlu and monopolize eighty percent of the business?”

Li Si smiled, the black dragon tattoo on his cheek seeming to dance and twist: “Because we are ruthless. Ruthless to others, even more ruthless to ourselves. That’s why people fear us.”

The old man neither agreed nor disagreed, then asked, “A Dong, who do you think did it?”

The solemn-faced middle-aged fat man said, “I don’t know who did it either, but in the entire Xinlu Port, the only person I know of who can kill Third Brother with one punch is one man.

Xinlu Divine Fist, Jiang Tianzheng.”

“Jiang Tianzheng…” the old man said coldly. “Someone wants to fight our Sea Dragon Gang?

Then let them regret it for the rest of their lives.”

He turned and looked at Qiao Zhen with his graying temples, the wildly arrogant Li Si, and the fat Yi Guodong. He said calmly, “I leave this matter to the three of you. I don’t care how you solve it. Whoever solves it will take over all the business that was under A Wu’s control.”