Chapter 43
Li Qingshan didn’t return to Crouching Bull Village. The small village was safe and sound at least for now. Neither did he go to Horse Rein Village. He didn’t want to bring his own troubles to someone else. He didn’t head to the Black Wind Camp either, even more so, even if he had a blood feud with the Black Wind Camp, and even if those Black Wind mountain bandits would probably move out once spring came and raze the small village that had birthed him.
He laughed coldly in his heart. You see as an enemy, why wouldn’t I treat you bunch as enemies. He was bound to kill his way inside the Black Mountain Camp, and take the head off from the Black Wind camp master of far-reaching fame. He couldn’t give a clean death to this creature replete with vice. Only then could he feel happiness in his chest.
He cultivated the supernatural skill so bitterly. Why, it was precisely to entirely kill off those hated bandits. But he still had to make some preparations before that.
He didn’t even have any casual weapon in his hands. It was too much of a disadvantage to fight empty-handed. Even lions used all their strength to capture rabbits, not to mention that the Black Wind’s two hundred bandits weren’t two hundred rabbits. Each and every of them had human blood on their hands and they were all extremely violent.
Once he charged inside, it wouldn’t be a fight between martial artists, but almost a battlefield melee. If he still carelessly underestimated them, then there would be a problem with his head.
Suncheer City’s “Golden Spear Shop” was an extremely famous weapon shop. He planned on going there and have a look, but one had to spend money in order to buy weapons. Not only he was penniless right now, he didn’t even have any decent clothes on him.
His shabby and ragged garments exposed his chest, attracting sidelong glances from passersby. Clothing yourself like this in this kind of weather, aren’t you afraid of freezing to death?
Li Qingshan trained every day inside the deep pool, how would he feel this little chill.
But no one treated him as a beggar, because on his face there was none of the self-abasement and vulgar spirit seen on penniless people. Instead, it was brimming with strong self-confidence, as if no matter what difficulty he encountered, he could solve them with his two hands.
He watched all around as he walked on the streets, admiring this city filled with a classical flavor. He didn’t try to conceal his own village hick status.
A carriage suddenly sped along his way. The coachman brandished a whip and shouted loudly: “Get lost! Get lost!” He proudly laughed out loud as he saw the pedestrians scramble out of the way.
They were one and all filled with indignation as they watched the carriage move away, but no one dared to say anything. This was a carriage from the Zhang mansion, a great noble house in Suncheer City. Not mentioning driving pedestrians away, even if they ran over someone and killed them, it would still only be a matter of spending some money at most.
The coachman suddenly saw a figure clothed in rags in front who didn’t seem to be able to hear his voice, and didn’t know to dodge. He cursed loudly: “Scram away stinky beggar!” He didn’t try to rein the horses in and just allowed the carriage to collide past.
The passersby also shouted loudly “careful.” They saw the carriage about to hit the beggar’s body when the beggar suddenly flashed sideways and evaded it by a hair.
The coachman didn’t have any time to react yet when the carriage under him stopped abruptly. He flew out as if carried on a magic cloud like an immortal.
The carriage’s inside was even more of a mess. Sharp womanly screams rose.
The two horses dragging the carriage rose on their rear hooves and let out long neighs. The carriage seemed to have been struck by magic and was nailed to the same place, unable to advance one bit despite its creaks and groans. The coachman rose up with a “carp skip-up.” He was unexpectedly an expert, and he was about to open his mouth and throw out great curses, but then he saw the onlookers on both sides watch the rear of the carriage with big eyes and open mouths.
Li Qingshan was grabbing the carriage frame in a single hand, his two feet stamping deep into the ground, not moving one step. He didn’t move, so the horse carriage could naturally not move either.
The coachman swallowed a mouthful of spit. What kind of power was this?
A young man clothed in luxurious brocades and filled with the breath of alcohol from head to toes jumped out of the carriage: “Lai Fu, what the hell are you doing!” He saw Lai Fu point at Li Qingshan and cursed: “Stinky beggar, stay a bit farther from my carriage, if you touch it I’ll have your hand cut off!” He was intoxicated and didn’t see that Li Qingshan’s hand was clutching his carriage right now.
“I’m no beggar, I’m called Li Qingshan.” Li Qingshan informed him of his name, about to teach a lesson to this skirt-chasing second generation and that grand domineering slave.
“What Li…Qingshan!” The young man’s eyes were confused and filled with contempt. But after some thoughts, his tone suddenly changed, as if someone had squeezed his neck. He also woke up from his drunken stupor: “It’s…it’s…that Li Qingshan….”
Li Qingshan felt weird and said: “You know me!”
The coachman howled in anguish: “Noble son, it’s…it’s the Tiger Descending the Mountains!” His originally bright red face had suddenly turned pale white.
“Tiger Descending the Mountains? What thing is that?” While Li Qingshan was frowning, brother noble son knelt down with a “putong.” “This noble son, no no no, this lowly self has caused much offenses, please young hero spare a life!” Then he untied the purse from his waist and proffered it in both hands: “This money is the humble self’s compensation to the young hero as an apology!”
When had the onlookers seen the noble son of the Zhang family with such a servile attitude. They raised their eyebrows one and all, but when they heard the four words “Tiger Descending the Mountains,” the crowd’s gaze on Li Qingshan immediately changed, admiration mixed with fear within.
Li Qingshan weighed the purse. There was truly quite a bit of money inside, enough to buy him some decent clothes, eat his fill in the best restaurant and have a good sleep at the inn.
However he couldn’t make head nor tail of it. I wasn’t even going to kill anyone, at most I’d hit you with two punches real light. I don’t even dare use too much strength, why are you so scared like this.
He could instinctively feel that the reason the other side was so afraid of him wasn’t because of his skills at stopping the horse carriage with one hand. But seeing the other’s terrified attitude as if pee was going to flow on his ass, he also didn’t have any interest in teaching them a lesson anymore. He took the purse and walked away.
Seeing Li Qingshan leave in the distance, this brother noble son climbed up from the ground with soft feet, glancing at the mouth of the street while trembling in fear. That Li Qingshan was actually just in front of his eyes. This was indeed a frightening character who’d killed several dozens of people. No matter how arrogant and despotic he was, he still didn’t dare to stir up any trouble in front of this kind of man.
His face flushed red at the onlookers’ mocking smiles. He turned his face around and saw the coachman hiding at one side. His anger was big enough to give him big guts, and he kicked madly as he went forward. “Eh, you still dare to hide, let’s see you hide! Let’s see you not drive the carriage carefully!” Although the coachman was pregnant with martial learning, he didn’t dare even slant his body, and only begged for forgiveness in a low voice.
Li Qingshan’s heart was steadier as he carried the purse, although it had come a bit inexplicably. He suddenly remembered his top priorities, he had to inquire about the news and understand the changes in the Black Wind Camp. And there just happened to be an old fellow villager in Suncheer City, someone from the martial world to boot. He asked many people and arrived in front of the Iron Fist Gate.
There were two big bald fellows in front of the gates, standing like two iron towers, their arms as thick as ordinary people’s thighs crossed together, their bright eyes sweeping through the pedestrians passing by. Before even coming near the gate entrance, the passersby were already detouring far away, walking on the other side of the street. The Iron Fist Gate’s prestige was obvious to see.
Seeing a “beggar” in ragged clothes come to the gate, one of the burly fellows rudely said: “Get lost, this isn’t the place for you to beg.”
The other burly man stopped his companion. He examined Li Qingshan from head to toes and said with a mocking smile: “Looks like you kid are also an expert, how did you degenerate into such an appearance!” He could see that Li Qingshan’s physique was sturdy and he didn’t fear the cold.
Li Qingshan said: “I’m looking for someone. The two sirs please pass on the message, he’s called Dragon Li, tell him I’m an old fellow villager of his, called Li Qingshan!”
The two tall burly men were originally indifferent. They only became careful when they heard the two words “Dragon Li,” after all this was the gate master’s disciple. But their expressions greatly changed when they heard the two words “Li Qingshan.”
“Tiger Descending the Mountains Li Qingshan!”
Li Qingshan understood only then that “Tiger Descending the Mountains” indicated himself. He complained in his heart: “What kind of lame nickname is that!” Men of the martial world lacked culture, but he had no desire to be bunched together with those jackals wolves tigers and panthers.
“Atchoo!” Inside Horse Rein Village, Sick Yellow Tiger let out a giant sneeze.