Physical immortality begins with Bajiquan

Chapter 21 Turmoil

Evening, outside Songxuan Martial Arts Hall.

After bidding farewell to his fellow disciples, Qin Heng walked alone towards Yuhuo Bay.

As usual, he pushed open the door of his shop and went inside.

"Xiao Heng, you're back."

Qin Ting was sitting behind the counter, holding a rag in her hand, but she didn't move for a long time.

Hearing the noise, she suddenly looked up, her usual smile gone, and her voice trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Qin Heng closed the door behind him and quickly walked to her side: "Sister, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Xiao Heng, something's happened to the Black Wave Gang!"

Qin Ting stood up, quickly walked to his side, glanced subconsciously out the window, and lowered her voice to say:

"Everyone in the neighborhood is saying that last night they went to raid the Tiger Claw Gang's territory, but they were ambushed and lost more than twenty of their best men, including the second leader. They also lost their stronghold on Da Cang Street. I heard the Tiger Claw Gang will be attacking them soon!"

She paused, her fingers unconsciously gripping the hem of her clothes, her face pale: "This morning, a man from the Black Wave Gang came, looking fierce and menacing. He said they were going to take all the shops in this area. He also said that he came specifically to discuss buying our shop for five taels of silver because of you, and that we had three days to move out, or else it would all belong to them."

Upon hearing this, Qin Heng's gaze darkened.

The Black Wave Gang had been entrenched in Fishing Bay and Da Cang Street for many years, bullying and exploiting the locals. They were usually so arrogant, but unexpectedly, they were defeated so quickly by the newly emerged Tiger Claw Gang.

The most chaotic time in the neighborhood is usually when old and new gangs are changing hands. Judging from the current situation, the Black Wave Gang is probably backed into a corner, which is why they are acting desperately and disregarding everything else.

"How many of them came?" Qin Heng asked his sister.

"There was only one. He was incredibly arrogant and said that if we didn't move, he would smash up our shop and hurt us too," Qin Ting said, her eyes slightly red. "I argued with him for a bit, and he raised his hand to hit me. Luckily, Brother Zhou from next door happened to come over and chased him away."

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock on the door, accompanied by Zhou Ping's slightly hurried voice: "Tingmei, Heng, are you home?"

Upon hearing the sound, Qin Heng opened the door, stepped aside to let Zhou Ping in, and then closed the door tightly behind him.

As Zhou Ping entered, he said breathlessly, "Qin Heng, you're finally back. Did your sister tell you about the Black Wave Gang?"

Qin Heng nodded, turned around and poured him a glass of water: "I just heard from my sister. Is the Black Wave Gang really going to take over all the shops in this area?"

"Absolutely true." Zhou Ping took the water glass and drank it all in one gulp. "They want to take over my family's clinic too. Someone came during the day to say that, and they gave us the same three-day deadline. My dad got anxious as soon as he heard that, so he went to argue with them, but they pushed him and he fell, bumping his head and getting a bump. He's still lying at home now."

He wiped his face, pulled over a bench, and slumped down, his tone full of resentment: "My father said we should pack our things and move out as soon as possible. The Black Wave Gang is really desperate now; they're capable of anything. They still have three Ming Jin Hall Masters, and the gang leader is a peak Ming Jin expert. It's not worth it for our two families to confront them head-on right now. Let's hand over the shop first and figure out how to get it back later."

"How can we get it back if it's lost?" Qin Heng pulled up a bench and sat down, his tone calm. "It's not coming back. The Black Wave Gang will take over the shop and will definitely sell it to someone else, or use it themselves. By the time the Tiger Claw Gang arrives, the shop will have already changed hands. They took it by force, how could they possibly return it to us?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping's face grew even more worried, and he clutched his hair with both hands: "I know! But what can we do if we don't move? Are we supposed to fight them? The two of us combined are only two Ming Jin level cultivators, but they have four Ming Jin level cultivators, not to mention dozens of thugs under their command. How can we fight them?"

"Will we be able to survive if we move?" Qin Heng looked at him, his tone becoming more serious. "You and I both practice martial arts at the martial arts school, and Zhou An is even taking the imperial examination in the prefectural city. Which of our families isn't struggling to make ends meet? Handing over the shop is equivalent to cutting off an income source, not to mention having to spend extra money to rent a place to live."

Standing up, Qin Heng sat down next to Zhou Ping. "Brother Zhou, the martial arts exam is just over a month away. If things get this messed up, will you still be able to focus on your studies? Not to mention, there will be gangs in the new place too, so it might not be as peaceful as here."

"Then what do you want to do?" Zhou An suddenly looked up and stared intently at Qin Heng.

Qin Heng didn't respond immediately, but turned to look at Qin Ting first, softening his voice: "Sister, can you boil some water for me? I'm all sweaty after training all day, I need to take a shower."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ting gave a soft "hmm," glanced quickly at Qin Heng and Zhou Ping with worry in her eyes, but asked nothing and got up to go to the kitchen.

Only when the crackling sound of firewood came from the kitchen did Qin Heng turn his gaze to Zhou Ping, his tone extremely calm:

"I want to kill someone."

Zhou Ping was immediately shocked, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Ah Heng..." Zhou Ping's voice was a little hoarse, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he subconsciously glanced towards the kitchen. "You want to take down the entire Black Wave Gang?"

He quietly raised his right hand and made a gesture as if to chop horizontally towards his own neck.

"Killing four is enough." Qin Heng looked at Zhou Ping and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Once the four leaders of Ming Jin are dead, their rabble will naturally scatter like birds and beasts."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping's expression changed drastically, and he shook his head violently: "Ah Heng, are you crazy! Four Ming Jin! Even if it's a sneak attack, the two of us might not succeed. Once we're entangled, we won't even be able to escape!"

"You don't need to lift a finger." Qin Heng raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Don't you know Liu Yu, a minor leader of the Tiger Claw Gang? I don't believe the Tiger Claw Gang doesn't know where those four are. Go and find out tomorrow, and let me know before dark. I'll handle the rest myself."

Zhou Ping was stunned. He hadn't expected Qin Heng to be so bold, even arrogant, as to actually intend to take down an entire gang by himself.

He looked at Qin Heng with a complicated expression, then couldn't help but advise:

"Ah Heng, if it really comes down to it, just hand over the shop. The Tiger Claw Gang will eventually drive the Black Wave Gang away anyway, we don't need to..."

"But by the time the Tiger Claw Gang arrives, the shop won't be ours anymore." Qin Heng interrupted him, his tone as cold as iron: "When I first entered the Ming Jin realm, I promised my sister that from now on, I would never let her be bullied by anyone again. If we don't do this, the Black Wave Gang can rob us once, and the Tiger Claw Gang will dare to rob us a second time. Relying on anyone else is not as good as relying on ourselves."

He paused, his eyes cold yet clear: "Don't worry, I'm not crazy enough to take on four Ming Jin cultivators by myself. They can't be tied together day and night."

Zhou Ping fell silent.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his chest heaved violently.

Yes, what he handed over was not just a shop, but also the home he had lived in for twenty years.

It was built brick by brick by my grandfather, and it has been passed down to his father for more than seventy years. Why should we just hand it over to someone else?

After a long while, he suddenly raised his head.

"I'll go with you!"