Chapter 53 - 51: A Gift of a Treasure Pill
"..."
Dong Cheng stood tall and proud amidst the crowd, basking in the flattery of the other young wolves.
A volley of curses from inside the room came crashing down.
His expression suddenly shifted, and he instinctively shrank back.
’No wonder. So that’s why these young pups were only spouting pleasantries. Not a single one had tried to secretly offer a gift or curry favor in hopes of joining Sifang Street.’
After all, Chongyang Street was so sought after by the young wolves precisely because no Officials dared set foot there.
Sifang Street was now in a similar situation, and Master Lin seemed much more approachable than Silk Wolf. How could this pack of pups not be tempted?
Dong Cheng had been puzzled earlier.
But now, it finally dawned on him: a tiger had come from North City!
"Ahem."
Master Mo coughed dryly and averted his gaze from Lin Shu. The crowd quieted down.
Behind them, Yin Ling quietly clenched his fists, a bit of color returning to his face.
’Just as I thought. Liu Zhen was the Celestial Tiger’s most loyal dog. Now that he’s dead, the Government Office hasn’t reacted for some reason, but his master was bound to do something.’
’That damn Lin doesn’t know restraint, fighting his way from Cyan Willow Lane all the way to Sifang Street.’
’His reputation may have soared, but he’s also offended more and more people.’
’If this tiger really is here for Liu Zhen, I might be able to take back the two alleys I lost.’
’And then there’s Sifang Street. Once ignored, it’s now a hot commodity thanks to him.’
No one in the hall spoke, but the eyes of the Fierce Wolves flickered. They were clearly all thinking the same thing as Yin Ling.
"Master Lin."
After taking a moment to compose himself, Dong Cheng rubbed his face, strode over, and took a firm stand behind the young man.
’The money’s been divided, and those kids from the Martial Arts Hall have been released.’
’It won’t be so easy to wash my hands of this now.’
’Besides, a boss as generous and decisive as Greedy Wolf is nothing like this surrounding mob of opportunists.’
’I might not be much use, but I can’t let Master Lin face that tiger’s bullying alone. One more person at his back can at least make a show of force!’
"No need to worry so much," Yan Jin said softly, his expression indifferent.
Unlike the other wolves, this Silk Wolf’s face showed little fear of the tiger.
"We’re just here for a meal. What’s there to worry about?"
Lin Shu, however, showed little reaction as he strode forward.
The hall members all stared at the young man’s back, their expressions odd.
They saw none of the expected panic or nervousness in this Greedy Wolf.
’Is he playing dumb? Trying to bluff his way through?’
’He just got promoted. He probably has no idea how vicious those tigers can be.’
’With Liu Zhen’s sudden death, it would have been one thing if Xia Mingtang hadn’t shown up. But since he’s here, there’s no way he’ll swallow this insult.’
"..."
Lin Shu felt the stares on his back, but his expression remained unchanged.
He had suspected something was wrong ever since he failed to spot Bai Feng earlier.
’But what’s done is done. No sense in fearing a battle that hasn’t even begun.’
At this thought, he focused his mind, gently prodding the Essence Blood within his body and opening a portion of his five senses to Yu Sheng back home.
This young Immortal Descendant might not seem very capable...
...but her Physique, so tough it was nearly impervious to harm, and her keen perception, which had seen through Gu Nanzhi at a glance—these were two things ordinary Cultivators could only dream of.
"Whatcha doin’?" a sleepy, childish voice echoed in his mind.
"Size up this tiger for me."
Since they were here, Lin Shu wanted to gather more information, so he replied directly with a Heart Thought.
"Tiger? What tiger?" Yu Sheng yawned, probing the nearby environment through their Essence Blood connection.
Her voice quickly grew excited.
"Braised pork knuckle!"
"Let’s eat that first!"
"Tsk." Lin Shu rubbed his temples. ’What an unreliable little thing,’ he thought.
The private room was empty. The voices from before had come from an inner room off to the side.
Perhaps learning their lesson from the last banquet, they had instructed the Shopkeeper to prepare a large table of food and wine beforehand, lest they lose their appetites again.
As the group poured into the private room, the door to the inner room swung open and a square-faced man emerged.
The man wore a purple, wolf-patterned open-front robe over a dark yellow inner shirt, with a Jade Belt cinched at his waist. He looked nothing like a member of the Black Water Gang; he was the very picture of a wealthy, middle-aged merchant.
He gently closed the door, his eyes simmering with suppressed resentment and faint anger.
"Hall Master!" the Fierce Wolves greeted, cupping their fists.
This was Zhao Ang, the Hall Master of the Fierce Wolf Hall.
He turned, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before pausing for a moment on the handsome young man’s face.
’It’s because of this brat that I had to take all that crap for nothing.’
He wanted to vent his frustration, but after a moment’s hesitation, Zhao Ang seemed to hold back. With a wave of his sleeve, he said, "There are no outsiders today. Sit, no need for pleasantries. We’re all brothers of the hall here."
"No outsiders?"
The crowd remained standing, looking perplexed.
This wasn’t how they had imagined things would go.
Why wasn’t the tiger showing himself?
While they were still spacing out, they watched Lin Shu walk over to the table.
And sit down right in front of the platter of pork knuckle.
’The nerve of this guy.’
’The Hall Master says not to stand on ceremony, and he actually takes him at his word.’
The Fierce Wolves’ eyelids twitched.
Seating arrangements were extremely important in the Black Water Gang.
Given Greedy Wolf’s current reputation, it was no longer appropriate for him to sit in Tian Jingyuan’s old spot. He was expected to move up.
But... he had nearly taken the seat of honor!
That spot was reserved for either a senior veteran like Master Mo or a powerhouse like Silk Wolf.
The hall members glanced around. Master Mo looked disgruntled but said nothing, and Yan Jin remained utterly expressionless.
’He’s getting a little too full of himself.’
Someone couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
What he found even more baffling was that, even if the others didn’t object, wasn’t this Greedy Wolf the least bit worried about the tiger in the other room?!
"Everyone, sit."
Seeing this, Zhao Ang was also clearly taken aback. He shook his head with a wry smile.
Still, he gestured for everyone to sit down before turning to the young man beside him. "I’ve heard about what you did. A job well done."
"Thanks."
Lin Shu offered a perfunctory thanks before picking up a glistening piece of skin from the pork knuckle and popping it into his mouth.
As the rich flavor melted on his tongue, a hint of satisfaction graced his features.
’Whatever’s going on, I’ve been short on good, greasy food lately. It’s rare to come across a decent meal, so I’ll eat first and ask questions later.’
"Whoa!" The sound of Yu Sheng smacking her lips as she "chewed" the air echoed in his mind.
She didn’t need to eat, but she had heard all about the world’s delicacies from the neighborhood servants and Gatekeepers, and had been craving them for ages.
...
In the bizarre atmosphere, the hall members stiffly exchanged toasts, their gazes drifting toward the closed door of the inner room every so often.
One glance, two glances...
Time trickled by. As Greedy Wolf rapidly polished off the food and wine, empty platters began to accumulate on the table.
That door remained shut, and not a single sound came from behind it.
Forget the others; even Yan Jin’s face took on a thoughtful expression.
It wouldn’t have been strange, ordinarily.
But with Lin Shu gorging himself without a care in the world, the situation grew stranger and stranger.
It wasn’t that the wolf didn’t fear the tiger; rather, it seemed the tiger was avoiding the wolf.
"Hah."
Lin Shu finally put down his chopsticks.
In his mind, Yu Sheng, who had been "chewing" air for a full hour, had at least gotten to taste something. She patted her imaginary belly. "Hic~ That tiger you mentioned... seems like he doesn’t really want to come out and see you."
Hearing this, Lin Shu glanced at the inner room out of the corner of his eye.
He was starting to get an idea of what was going on.
’Gu Nanzhi’s warning must have worked.’
’Just as she said, as long as I don’t offend this tiger again, he won’t come looking for trouble.’
’The reason he’s refusing to show his face is also simple.’
’After all, Liu Zhen was his dog. Now that he’s dead, his master either has to make a move to save face or avoid me altogether.’
’And that’s exactly what Xia Mingtang is doing.’
’If he hadn’t lost his composure and let slip those couple of angry remarks, no one would have even known the tiger was here.’
’But... if he isn’t here to cause trouble...’
’...then why did this tiger come all the way to West City and specifically ask for me?’
"Finished eating?" Zhao Ang asked, raising his wine cup.
This was his first meeting with the new wolf on the block.
’Forget fawning or flattery, this kid was paying less attention to me than to that platter of pork knuckle.’
’Normally, even though this Greedy Wolf had reclaimed Sifang Street for the gang, Zhao Ang should have put him in his place a little to assert the Hall Master’s authority.’
’But now, he was forcing himself to keep his emotions in check.’
’While Lin Shu had been eating, Zhao Ang could clearly sense the tiger’s anger in the other room steadily rising.’
’He didn’t know why Xia Mingtang was holding back...’
’...but he couldn’t let this brat keep provoking him. He had to get this jinx out of here, and fast.’
With that thought, he finally got down to business.
"Senior Xia prefers his peace and quiet. He asked me to relay a few instructions to you on his behalf."
Zhao Ang raised his cup to Lin Shu. "In three days, it will be his birthday. The Senior plans to add the last few primary ingredients then to refine a batch of Treasure Pills."
"You don’t need to prepare a separate gift. Just bring over the Immortal Elixir he left with the Zhao Family. When the Pill Formation is complete, one of the pills will be yours."
At these words, the expressions of everyone in the room changed once more.
Their envy and jealousy were mixed with a hefty dose of disappointment.
The tiger had actually backed down.
From now on, barring any surprises, Sifang Street would be held firmly in Lin’s grasp. No one else could even think of touching it.
Not only that, he had been promised a Treasure Pill.
As for the price...
For fuck’s sake, Liu Zhen had already prepared the damn thing! All this Greedy Wolf had to do was deliver it! What kind of price was that?!
As their thoughts churned, the hall members looked at Lin Shu with a newfound sense of fear.
To make both the Government Office and a senior from White Tiger Hall ignore Liu Zhen’s death...
...this Greedy Wolf’s background was simply too unfathomable!