Chapter 10: A Changed Man

"Since you're so stubborn, I'll send you off early, you old bastard. You won't be waiting for that little bastard Li Xiaofei to come back," snarled Zhong Yuanbo, the First Hall Master, his face twisted in a vicious sneer as he held the steel sword.

"Ah..." Zhong Ling wanted to scream, but Zhong Yang swiftly covered her mouth.

"If you don't want to die, slut, you should be quiet."

The sixteen-year-old boy had a venomous expression as he threatened his sister. Zhong Ling was just a pampered schoolgirl and had never witnessed such a bloody scene. She completely lost her composure, trembling with fear as tears streamed down her face.

Zhong Yuanshan's limbs convulsed, his eyes wide with anger, until he finally breathed his last. His body lay on the bed, eyes refusing to close even in death. Blood slowly soaked through the sheets. The second most skilled fighter in the slums never imagined that his beloved youngest son and his most loyal nephew would conspire against him. Unfortunately, Zhong Yuanshan couldn’t wait for Li Xiaofei, the successor he had chosen, in his final moments.

"Rest assured, sister, I won't kill you," Zhong Yang sneered. "I'll keep you alive to be presented to the young master of the Blackblood Gang in three days. You should obediently serve him, and your brother's position as the head of the gang will be secure. Don't utter a single word about anything else. Say one more word, and I'll have someone beat you to death. Understand?" Zhong Yang threatened his sister viciously.

Zhong Ling's heart trembled. It dawned on her that her brother had likely been in cahoots with the Blackblood Gang for a long time. It was all a premeditated conspiracy. It was over. Everything was over. Even Li Xiaofei’s return wouldn't be enough to salvage anything. She collapsed, paralyzed with terror, on the ground. She could only choose to cooperate obediently. The room fell silent.

After a moment, Zhong Yang and Zhong Yuanbo walked into the courtyard with sorrowful expressions.

Zhong Yang spoke loudly as he faced the other leaders of the gang. "My father has passed away. But he passed the position of president to me before his death. I will be calling the shots from now on. My father also told me that Li Xiaofei harbored rebellious intentions and that we need to swiftly clean the gang of him."

"I testify that everything Yang said is true." The First Hall Master, Zhong Yuanbo, also chimed in.

At the same time, he released the oppressive aura of his own third stage strength as he scanned the crowd. The leaders exchanged glances. Those with sharper minds had already vaguely understood what was happening. But no one dared to speak in the face of the dominant hall master. Zhong Yang nodded in satisfaction, as did Zhong Yuanbo. The latter looked at Zhong Yang as if he were looking at an exemplary puppet.

***

Boom!

The engine roared. Li Xiaofei’s heavy motorcycle roared as he charged into the courtyard. He saw the already set-up white mourning hall at a glance, and his heart trembled.

This isn't good. Has my master already departed?

"Li Xiaofei, where the hell have you been? You didn't answer your damn phone, and you’re only back now?" Zhong Yang burst out of the mourning hall, taking the lead in confronting Li Xiaofei as he started swearing at him.

Li Xiaofei ignored him and strode into the mourning hall. He saw his master, the former second strongest of the slums, Zhong Yuanshan, now dressed in funeral clothes. His face was pale as he lay quietly in the white jade coffin. His eyes were forever closed.

A nineteen-year-old girl knelt in front of the coffin. The girl had snow-white skin and picturesque features. Her appearance was exceptionally delicate and beautiful. Her slender figure gave her a rare beauty among the women of the slums.

She wore a full set of white mourning clothes. Tears soaked through the fabric, making her look even more pitiful. She was none other than Zhong Yuanshan's eldest daughter, Zhong Ling.

Zhong Ling looked up, tears welling in her eyes as she glanced at Li Xiaofei. She wanted to speak, but she hesitated. Li Xiaofei nodded to her. He knelt in front of the white stone coffin, offering incense and wine, and solemnly knocked his head on the ground three times.

"Master, rest assured, I will definitely kill Dugu Que and avenge you," he said solemnly. One should return one’s favors when one is indebted. The debt of killing one's master must be repaid.

"Avenge him? Just you?" Zhong Yang's arrogant and icy laughter rang out, "Li Xiaofei, who do you think you are? Do you think you're qualified to boast in this mourning hall?

Li Xiaofei slowly stood up and bowed respectfully to the elderly person sleeping in the coffin.

He turned and asked calmly, "When will the funeral of the former president be held?"

"None of your damn business," Zhong Yang said, not hiding his arrogance, "This old man is my father, not yours. I'll bury him whenever I want..."

But before he could finish his sentence...

Smack.

Li Xiaofei slapped him. Caught off guard, Zhong Yang spun clockwise in place from the force of the blow. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose.

"You... How dare you hit me?" He was stunned as he looked at Li Xiaofei in disbelief.

"This slap is to teach you that it's disrespectful and indecent to use foul language and show disrespect in the mourning hall while your father's body is still warm," Li Xiaofei said calmly.

Zhong Yang fumed, "Who the hell do you think you are? You're just a dog raised by my Zhong family..."

Smack.

Li Xiaofei backhanded him with another slap, sending Zhong Yang spinning counterclockwise.

"This slap is to teach you to respect your senior brother," Li Xiaofei said calmly, "If you dare to curse one more time, I'll break your mouth."

Zhong Yang froze as he finally felt fear. He covered his face, looking at Li Xiaofei with a mix of shock and anger.

What's going on? Li Xiaofei seems like a different person. In the past, he wouldn't retaliate even if he was cursed at, let alone hit back.

"Li Xiaofei, you're too arrogant and domineering." A bald middle-aged man walked into the mourning hall and accused, "The former president hasn't even been laid to rest, and you're laying hands on his most beloved adopted son in the mourning hall. Do you still regard me as the head of this hall?"

Li Xiaofei furrowed his brow. His previous memories told him that this man was Zhong Yuanbo. He was the nephew of the former president, a third stage cultivator, and the First Hall Master of the Cloudy Sky Gang. He was also an ambitious person.

The former president had been able to restrain him while he had been alive, but as soon as the former president died, he couldn't wait to cause trouble.

"What's wrong with disciplining a junior brother as a senior brother?" said Li Xiaofei, countering his words. He was Zhong Yuanshan's disciple, so he could be considered Zhong Yang's senior brother.

"Even if you're a senior brother, you shouldn't resort to violence in the mourning hall. Little Yang is the child your master painstakingly raised," Zhong Yuanbo sneered coldly, not mincing his words, "I see you clearly intend to rebel after seeing the president's death... Guards!"

Footsteps echoed. Thirty or forty elite swordsmen, who had long since been waiting, appeared both inside and outside the mourning hall. The blades gleamed and the air turned chilly.

Li Xiaofei's expression remained unchanged. To be honest, he was surprised at how quickly he had adapted to this dog-eat-dog world. When he first crossed over, scenes like this might have made his legs weak. But now? He couldn't be intimidated anymore.

Zhong Yang became arrogant again when the situation turned against Li Xiaofei.

"Li Xiaofei, you didn't expect this, did you? We were prepared long ago." He gloated, laughing heartily, "Haha, now kneel and beg for my forgiveness, otherwise, I'll let you die a miserable death under these blades."

"Kneel now," Zhong Yuanbo also shouted sternly.

Clang clang clang.

More than thirty swordsmen raised their swords to point at Li Xiaofei. Cold light flashed in the grand mourning hall, and the air was filled with a menacing aura.