My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 80: Chapter 78: The Initiative

After a moment of deliberation, a ruthless glint appeared in Qin Fang’s eyes.

’Rather than let him get prepared and come knocking... I might as well take the initiative!’

’Wang Hu is an Anjin Martial Artist. It’ll be a hassle if he’s prepared.’

Qin Fang’s greatest advantage was his hidden weapons.

And what was the greatest advantage of hidden weapons?

...Wasn’t it to seize the initiative?

If he let Wang Hu come to him, things would get difficult.

Qin Fang had killed many people this time, but a fair number had also escaped. They were all gang members from True Martial County. Who knew if they were acquainted with anyone from the Iron Tiger Gang or had some sort of connection?

What if, by some twist of fate, word got back to Wang Hu?

He had used iron nails this time, not his usual darts... but as soon as the news reached Wang Hu, he would undoubtedly be the first person Wang Hu suspected.

...After all, according to Xu Meng, Monkey, and the others, experts in hidden weapons were relatively rare in True Martial County.

’Instead of living in constant fear, worrying about when Wang Hu might show up at his door...’

’It’s better to strike first!’

’But he is an Anjin expert, after all...’

His eyes flickered for a moment. Then he suddenly stood up and walked out.

A number of people had already gathered outside. Xu Meng was standing just beyond the courtyard, having pulled up a chair from somewhere. He was breathing heavily, his injuries clearly severe.

In the distance, Monkey and a few others were directing a group of men to carry away the bodies.

The men’s faces were grim, and though they were clearly angry, they didn’t dare to speak out. They had no choice but to help.

...Fortunately, seeing dead bodies was a common enough sight in these times. No one was so scared their legs gave out.

Qin Fang glanced over and called out, ”Brother Xu.”

Lost in thought, Xu Meng snapped back to reality. He turned, saw Qin Fang, and said with surprise, ”Brother Qin?”

Qin Fang walked over. Watching the men dispose of the bodies, he frowned and asked, ”What’s the plan for these corpses? Will this bring the Government Office down on us?”

”Don’t worry. The dead are all from the Water Dragon Gang or the Hometown Association. As long as no ordinary people were harmed, nobody’s going to report it. The Government Office won’t be bothered.”

Xu Meng said, speaking from experience.

”Disputes between gangs are never reported to the Government Office. And even if they were, the officials wouldn’t care much.”

”Especially this market... it’s basically a lawless zone.”

”The Government Office is short-staffed. They couldn’t manage it even if they wanted to.”

”Their control is really only strong inside True Martial County Town itself.”

”As for what to do with the bodies... we’d normally just dump them in the river. But with demons haunting the river surface these days, the heavy scent of blood from so many corpses might attract them, and that would be a huge problem. So, in a little while, we’ll just carry them outside the city and bury them.”

Xu Meng sounded like he had done this many times before.

Qin Fang nodded, then got to the matter at hand. ”Brother Xu, I need to ask you about something. Can we speak privately?”

Xu Meng paused for a moment, then nodded and stood up. The two of them went into the courtyard. Only after closing the gate did Xu Meng ask in a low, curious voice, ”Brother Qin, what’s wrong?”

Qin Fang got straight to the point. ”Brother Xu, can you get your hands on some potent poison?”

”Poison?”

Xu Meng stared, dumbfounded. He blinked at Qin Fang and whispered, ”Brother Qin, what do you need poison for?”

”I need to kill someone. He’s powerful, and I’m afraid I’m no match for him, so I want to use poison.”

”Powerful? Someone even *you* can’t handle, Brother Qin?” Xu Meng was stunned.

”He’s an Anjin Martial Artist.”

”An Anjin expert?!” Xu Meng was shocked.

Anjin Martial Artists were no small matter... in all of True Martial County, they were considered top-tier figures!

Xu Meng’s brow furrowed. After a moment of thought, he asked, ”Is there no other way but to kill him?”

”If I don’t kill him, he’ll kill me. I asked you to keep my darts a secret precisely so I wouldn’t alert him. But too many people got away this time. I’m afraid he’ll get word.” Qin Fang thought for a moment and decided to be direct.

Xu Meng sucked in a sharp breath, an apologetic look on his face. ”I’m sorry, Brother Qin. If it weren’t for me...”

Qin Fang shook his head. ”There’s no point talking about that. So... can you get it?”

”There is poison, yes, but common poisons... they’re fine against ordinary people. But if your target is an Anjin Martial Artist...”

Xu Meng frowned and said grimly, ”The physique of an Anjin Martial Artist is extraordinary—incredibly resilient. Their control over their own Qi Blood is far beyond that of a Mingjin Martial Artist. Even if poisoned, they can instantly seal off their Qi Blood to contain the toxin to the wound... or even force it out of their body. Killing an Anjin Martial Artist with poison... is extremely difficult.”

Qin Fang’s brow furrowed. ”Not even if I hit him in the head with a hidden weapon?”

Xu Meng froze for a second before it dawned on him. ”Oh, right. I almost forgot you’re an expert in hidden weapons, Brother Qin. If you hit him in the head... it’s not entirely impossible.”

He thought for a moment before continuing, ”Still, to be safe, common poisons like arsenic or aconite probably won’t cut it. You’ll need something stronger.”

He paused, then took a deep breath. ”Leave it to me. I’ll find you a poison that can kill in a single strike.”

He looked at Qin Fang, shouldering the responsibility.

Qin Fang was taken aback. ”Won’t this be too much trouble for you?”

”I’ve been wondering how to repay you for saving my life, Brother Qin. Now you finally have a use for your big brother here. You think I can’t even handle a small thing like this? Don’t worry about it. When do you need it by?”

Xu Meng said with a smile.

Qin Fang replied, ”The sooner, the better, of course. I’m afraid if this drags on, he’ll hear about what happened.”

”Alright. How about tomorrow? I’ll bring it to you in the morning,” Xu Meng said.

Hearing this, Qin Fang thought for a moment and nodded.

...’Even though some people escaped, a delay of one or two days shouldn’t be a problem.’

’After all, with the river surface being impassable, those who fled would have to travel by land.’

’That’s much slower than traveling by water.’

’So the news about me won’t spread that quickly.’

They exchanged a few more words, and then Xu Meng said he would get on it right away before leaving the small courtyard.

Qin Fang let out a soft breath. He glanced at the sky; it would still be a while before dawn. After a night of killing, he was tired. He simply went back to his room and slept.

When he woke, it was already broad daylight.

Qin Fang went into the courtyard to stretch, then began his daily training...

’I was almost out of Qi Blood Pills, but now I have another half-month’s supply... Still, I need to figure out how to turn this money into more Qi Blood Pills later.’

’My training is progressing too slowly. I might not even gain a single point of proficiency in a day or two.’

’If I want to train faster, Qi Blood Pills are essential.’

He trained all day. As evening approached, Qin Fang was in the courtyard, sharpening his darts.

’Since I’ve decided to go after Wang Hu, I can’t use nails... they just don’t have the same stopping power as darts.’

’And since I’m taking the initiative, there’s no longer any need to hide my methods.’

After honing all five darts until they were gleaming and razor-sharp, Qin Fang was about to make dinner.

Just then, Monkey showed up at his door.

”Master Qin, the boss invites you over for dinner.”

Monkey said respectfully.

”Dinner?” Qin Fang paused.

”The boss said that if it wasn’t for you yesterday, we’d all be dead today. He insists on treating you to a meal to show his gratitude. He’s cooking himself and can’t step away, so he sent me to fetch you.”

Monkey said with a smile.

Qin Fang considered for a moment and accepted. It was a good opportunity to ask about the poison, and it would save him the trouble of making his own dinner.

After tidying himself up, he left with Monkey.

The fish market was still deserted today, but the market on the shore was quite lively. As evening fell, however, it too had quieted down considerably.

”So the Fish Dragon Gang has taken over all of Fisherman City now?” Qin Fang asked Monkey casually.

”Yes.” Hearing the question, Monkey’s face lit up with excitement.

”Before, the Water Dragon Gang controlled the shore and the Fish Dragon Gang controlled the fish market. There was always friction between us.”

”But now, the Water Dragon Gang has been wiped out, and most of the Hometown Association guys are dead too. So, naturally, the Fish Dragon Gang has taken over their territory.”

”Last night, when we had the merchants come out to collect the bodies, we also informed them that the Fish Dragon Gang is in charge here from now on...”

”None of the merchants had any objections.”

”...Anyone who might have had an objection lost it when faced with seventy or eighty corpses.”

”We might be short-handed right now, but Xu Meng is still alive. With a Mingjin Martial Artist like him holding things down, we still have control.”

”As for manpower...”

”...we can just recruit more over time.”

”Now that the entire Fisherman City is Fish Dragon Gang territory, we have more turf, so we can support more men.”

”This is all thanks to you, Master Qin. If it weren’t for you... we’d be homeless strays right now, if not dead already.”

Monkey sighed, his expression one of heartfelt respect.

Qin Fang suddenly asked, ”Monkey, do you know where Pingze City is? And how far is it from here?”

He clearly remembered what his senior brother had said... For the past few months, Wang Hu had been in Pingze City.