Martial Saint with Passives

Wang Xiufen immediately grasped Mrs. Yin’s hand, her voice filled with emotion.

”Auntie! Don’t you worry! We’ll get right on it! Shichang, go contact Lord Zhao! Hurry! You have to be quick!”

”Alright! I’m going now!” Zhu Shichang replied, turning to leave.

”Wait!” Mrs. Yin suddenly remembered something and called out weakly.

Zhu Shichang and Wang Xiufen’s hearts skipped a beat. They looked at her nervously.

With tears welling in her eyes, Mrs. Yin said, ”This is... such a huge matter... I can’t decide on my own... We have to wait for Yingying to come back... We have to tell her...”

Currently, Yin’s Cloth Shop was managed jointly by Yin Rong and Yin Yingying; Mrs. Li, in fact, wasn’t very involved.

Zhu Shichang and his wife secretly frowned, worried that Yin Yingying would cause trouble when she returned.

But they also knew that without Yin Yingying’s return, Mrs. Yin couldn’t make the decision.

However, under these circumstances, they were confident they could handle a young girl like Yin Yingying.

Wang Xiufen immediately said, ”Of course, of course! We’ll wait here with Auntie for Sister Yingying to come back! Shichang, you go and get things ready first. As soon as Yingying returns and makes a decision, you can go hire the help right away!”

”Right, right, I’ll go prepare now!” Zhu Shichang nodded repeatedly.

...

「West of the city, Old Locust Slope.」

In a courtyard, lamps blazed brightly, and the air was thick with the stench of alcohol.

Six burly men were gathered around a large iron pot, inside which huge chunks of meat stewed, the fat bubbling on the surface.

They ate with greasy mouths, periodically taking large gulps of wine. The din they made was loud enough to tear the roof off.

Their leader was a stout man with a face full of fierce, fleshy jowls.

His chest was bare, revealing a set of powerful, well-defined muscles.

This was none other than the Gang Leader of the Iron Bone Gang, Ba Hui.

He was originally a Bone Forging Realm expert from a small southern kingdom. After harming the young lady of a local Noble Family, he was hunted relentlessly, forcing him to flee to Great Chu and make his way to the Cangzhou Territory.

After arriving, he used his martial prowess and ruthless methods to quickly gather five wanted criminals who had all reached Great Success in Force Integration, forming the Iron Bone Gang.

He grabbed a bone, gnawed it clean, and casually tossed it into a corner. Tied up there were the pale-faced Yin Rong and Steward Wang.

A sycophantic underling with sharp, monkey-like features grinned. ”Boss, this Yin’s Cloth Shop is a fat sheep! This time, we have to make them cough up at least another ten thousand taels of Gold! Not a single coin less!”

Another man, who had a scar on his face, wiped the grease from his mouth and chuckled sinisterly. ”Once we get the money, are we letting this old fart go?”

Ba Hui sneered, a vicious glint in his eyes. ”Let him go? We’ll kill him on the spot! Why would we let him go? So he can run to the authorities?”

Another subordinate sidled up, lowered his voice, and gave a lecherous grin. ”Boss, I’ve done some asking around. The Yin Family has a daughter named Yin Yingying, and they say she’s a real beauty... Once the money’s in our hands, should we... you know... grab that little chick and let the brothers have some fun?”

Ba Hui waved a large hand. ”Fine! We’ll do it! Consider it a little bonus!”

The monkey-faced underling seemed to recall something, and his tone grew hesitant. ”Say, Boss, we kidnapped this guy with the surname Yin... his family’s Tributor... isn’t he a disciple of the Cangyun Sect? Named Jiang Che? Will we get into trouble for offending the Cangyun Sect?”

Ba Hui snorted with contempt. ”Trouble? What fucking trouble! He’s just some punk who’s barely reached Force Integration! I already looked into him! He’s got no background whatsoever!”

He took a swig of wine and continued, ”If he were actually in the Bone Forging Realm, or some Young Master from one of the Noble Families, then I might be a little wary. But he’s just some poor kid with no background. I heard his Root Bone is garbage, and he only took this Tributor job because he was desperate for money. A guy like that, you think he’d dare to stand up for the Yin Family? Even if he grew a spine and dared to show up, I’d cut him down with a single slash! Besides, even if he dies, you think the Cangyun Sect would go all out against us for some insignificant nobody?”

His voice rose, brimming with confidence. ”Besides! How much gold have we paid in tribute to Steward Zhao of the Taiyuan Sect? The Cangyun Sect might carry the title of one of the Three Great Sects, but what are they compared to the Taiyuan Sect!”

”The Boss is brilliant!”

”Well said, Boss!”

The underlings, their worries instantly dispelled, raised their bowls in fawning toasts.

In the back, Yin Rong and Steward Wang, who were tied up tightly, turned ashen as they listened to the conversation. Their hearts sank to the lowest depths.

’It’s over... It’s all over!’

’And Jiang Che... will he really come? Even if he does, facing this ferocious gang leader from the Bone Forging Realm, wouldn’t he just be coming here to die?’

A huge wave of regret washed over Yin Rong; he was kicking himself for his foolishness.

’I never should have... I never should have listened to Yingying and sought out Jiang Che! If only we had just spent the money to hire that genius disciple from the Profound Sound Sect in the first place...’

Just then, one of the underlings drinking in the corner suddenly slumped to the side, falling to the ground with a THUD. The wine bowl in his hand shattered into pieces.

The man next to him, his eyes hazy with drink, gave him a push. ”Hey... Monkey, your... your tolerance this bad today? You’re already... out?”

But his hand came away wet and sticky.

He looked down and saw his hand was covered in blood! Looking closer, he saw that a bloody hole had appeared in the fallen man’s chest, and blood was gushing out!

The shock sobered him up in an instant. He let out a shrill scream, ”He’s... he’s dead! Monkey’s dead!”

”What’s going on?!”

”An assassin?!”

”Who is it?!?”

The bandits descended into chaos, dropping their bowls and scrambling for their weapons.

However, before they could even see where the enemy was, it was as if a vengeful ghost had emerged from the shadows to claim their lives. With two more soft sounds, the two outermost men collapsed without a sound, fatal, bloody holes torn open in their backs.

Ba Hui, both shocked and furious, leaped to his feet. He snatched the Secret Iron Long Saber at his side and scanned the dim surroundings warily as the Qi Force of his Bone Forging Realm erupted from his body. ”Who’s there! Come out! Stop hiding and show yourself!”