Chapter 2: Suspicious points

“Something happened? What’s the story?” Li Qi shook his head, clearing out his earlier杂念, and looked carefully at Uncle Six in front of him.

Uncle Six was an elder of the Paibo Gang and a respected leader. He was fair in his dealings, warm-hearted, and experienced, which earned him the unanimous trust of everyone else.

This old man, in his forties or fifties, already had graying hair and a very hunched back. Years of pulling boats had twisted his spine, and there was a clear scar from his neck to his back, obviously caused by the constant friction of the lifter's rope over many years.

Most elderly Boat Towmen had these physical characteristics, especially the twisted spine, which was very noticeable.

It was impossible to pull large boats weighing thousands of tons with one's Physical Body without developing some ailments.

“After the river opening ends, the first track will receive a reward, but wasn't the Strongmen Gang originally scheduled for the first track?” Uncle Six asked.

“What use is ‘originally scheduled’? The river opening is already halfway done, and we’ve finished pulling the first track. The Prefect saw it with his own eyes. Could they really snatch it away? Even if they seek revenge afterward, the Strongmen Gang’s strength is only on par with ours. Competing for the first track has always been about individual ability. What’s the big deal?” Li Qi was confused.

If this was considered being targeted, then several Lifter Gangs could be said to be constantly targeting each other.

They were already in a competitive relationship; it was just a matter of individual ability.

“Yes, it used to be like that. The Strongmen Gang also doesn’t have the ability to go to war with us, it’s just losing one river opening. However, we just got news from our informant that the Strongmen Gang’s people didn’t come to watch the river opening today,” Uncle Six said.

Upon hearing this, Li Qi frowned.

He sensed something was wrong.

“We’re on the first track, the Water Horse Gang is on the second, and there’s no third track. But we always have people who get exhausted, and there are spots that need to be filled. There are always people in the Strongmen Gang who can fill those spots, but not a single one of them came?” Li Qi stroked his chin, muttering to himself.

According to custom, once one participated in the river opening, even if they couldn't compare to the first or second tracks, there would still be rewards. There were also people in the Strongmen Gang who had financial difficulties, and by filling one or two injured or exhausted spots, at least a dozen people could get a share of the reward.

So in the past, the three Gangs would compete for the first track. If they couldn't get the first, they'd go for the second. If they didn't get the second either, most would still come to join the fun, trying to get a share of the reward.

But now, not a single person from the Strongmen Gang came?

No wonder Uncle Six rushed over to discuss countermeasures with him.

When things are abnormal, there must be a reason.

So, he clapped his hands: “Uncle Six, during the next rotation, I won’t go. I’ll go check on the Strongmen Gang’s side.”

Uncle Six nodded: “That’s what I was thinking too. You’re smart, and you’re good at fighting. You’re also skilled in Wave-Breaking Force, second only to me in the Gang. I’d be most at ease with you going.”

Perhaps Li Qi truly had a talent for cultivation method, for in the two years since he obtained the Wave-Breaking Force, he had already become stronger than most of the Gang members.

Coupled with his intelligent, educated mind, he had clearly become the second-in-command of the Paibo Gang, second only to Uncle Six.

“Then I’ll head over now.” Li Qi was not one to procrastinate, and he immediately stood up.

“Be careful, pay attention to safety. Protecting yourself is the most important thing,” Uncle Six reminded him.

“Don’t worry.” Li Qi nodded and then quickly left.

With that said, Li Qi quickly departed.

——————

During the river opening period, every household in Li Prefecture City was preparing things.

Merchants stocked goods, and vendors prepared food, all busy for business after the river opened.

After the river opened, goods and Merchants from many cities in Great Deer Kingdom would gather in Li Prefecture City, using the Li River to transport them in all directions.

Therefore, the river opening was the most important event of the year for Li Prefecture City, even more important than the New Year.

At this time, the entire city was busy with its own affairs, so apart from porters transporting goods and postmen delivering messages, hardly any other idlers could be seen on the streets.

So when a person dressed as a Lifter wandered through the city, many people cast strange glances at him.

However, most were merely curious, and no one came over to meddle.

They were too busy with their own affairs, why bother with a Lifter?

It was Li Qi, however, who, after wandering the streets for a while, suddenly stopped a hawker who was setting up his stall: “Excuse me, young man, why is everyone looking at me so surprised?”

The hawker rolled his eyes and glanced at Li Qi: “You, a Lifter, not going to join the first track of the river opening, but instead wandering the streets. Why do you think people are looking at you?”

He spoke rather impolitely, as Boat Towmen were not as respected as vendors.

Merchants, under the assembly of various wealthy Merchants, also had their own Merchant associations. These associations generally unified prices in their respective industries, stifling competition. Cutlery Merchants had their own guilds, blacksmiths had their own guilds, and even porters and Merchants had organizations.

In this world, everyone clustered together for survival, centered around a cultivation method, and Boat Towmen, quite clearly, belonged to the lowest stratum.

“So that’s it. But aren’t there many Boat Towmen on the street today? Why are they only looking at me?” Li Qi scratched his head, seemingly puzzled.

“Are you possessed? Besides you, where else are there Boat Towmen on this street? Alright, if you’re not buying anything, hurry up and leave. Don’t delay my business. The river opening is about to end, people are coming, are you going to compensate me for my losses?” The hawker, seeing that Li Qi had no intention of buying anything, quickly waved his hand to send him away.

Li Qi immediately retreated, not disturbing his preparations for the stall.

He had also gotten what he wanted.

As he thought, under normal circumstances, Boat Towmen would definitely be at the river opening site, not wandering around.

So, the people from the Strongmen Gang were neither at the river opening site nor wandering the streets...

Evidently, they hadn't left their homes; they were gathered together.

Most ordinary Boat Towmen lived hand-to-mouth, working one day to eat the next, and generally had no savings. Even if they did, it wasn't much and wouldn't last for many days. Young single men like Li Qi were fine, as they only had themselves to feed and could even save a little.

If a Lifter was married, the economic pressure was even greater.

To gather together and not go to the river opening, despite such pressure, and also not wander the streets, meant there was a big problem.

In this era, what else could two hundred Boat Towmen do by gathering together? Have a party?

It wasn't Chengdu.

Li Qi decisively quickened his pace.

With so many people gathered, it was likely a morale-boosting rally or something similar; he needed to quickly go and see what was happening.

He knew the Strongmen Gang's stronghold; it was next to a tributary of the Li River within the city.

The tributaries of the Li River spread throughout the city like capillaries, resembling a water town in Jiangnan, serving as the city's vital water source.

He quickly arrived at the riverbank. The Li River tributaries, which spread throughout the city, were still frozen, but there was still ice on them.

This was exactly what he wanted.

Due to the heat island effect, the local temperature in residential areas would be much higher than by the main river.

This meant the ice here was more fragile.

He found a random tributary, stepped onto it, stomped twice, looked around, and saw no one.

Very flimsy.

Good news.

He stomped down hard, and the ice surface shattered.

He decisively dropped directly through the opening.

There were three Lifter Gangs in Li Prefecture City.

The Water Horse Gang's cultivation method specialized in endurance, claiming to be as resilient as oxen and horses, capable of pulling for three hours without stopping, and having thick skin that lifter's ropes couldn't chafe, making them even more durable.

The Strongmen Gang's cultivation method, on the other hand, specialized in increasing strength. They could pull a boat with thirty people that the other two Gangs needed fifty for.

As for the Paibo Gang’s cultivation method…

As the name suggested, the Paibo Gang specialized in water. They could pull boats in the water, without having to stand on the bank.

Li Qi took a deep breath, activated his Wave-Breaking Force, and moved swiftly under the frozen water like a fish.

The frozen ice surface provided him with almost perfect concealment. Although he couldn't breathe, with the enhancement of Wave-Breaking Force, he could stay in the water for two quarters of an hour without needing to breathe.

And he only needed five minutes to swim to the Strongmen Gang’s territory.

Soon, he reached the Strongmen Gang’s waters. This was a small alley in the city, with a tributary flowing through it.

The people living in this area were all poor. A group of tailors and the Strongmen Gang, two factions, lived here. Because of this relationship, the Strongmen Gang's clothes were much better than those of the other two Gangs.

Those tailors were not to be trifled with; they could use flying needle hidden weapons and had a very good relationship with the Strongmen Gang. After all, there was no conflict of interest between the two sides, and they lived together, so they formed an alliance and helped each other.

Upon arriving here, Li Qi became much more cautious.

He could see that some holes had been opened in the ice, with fishing hooks extending down.

They were all poor, mud-footed devils living by the water, so of course they would catch some fish to supplement their household income and have a good meal.

However, they were all fish hooks, no fishing nets.

Because using fishing nets was the exclusive right of the city's fishmonger bosses. Anyone who dared to use fishing boats and nets without permission would be an enemy of all the fishmonger bosses in the city, and those fishermen with harpoons were not to be trifled with.

This was the current state of this world: various groups and classes were clearly stratified.

Carefully dodging the fish hooks, he swam to a place near the shore where there were no holes or hooks.

He listened intently.

Another half an hour passed, and Li Qi noticed that almost none of the fishing hooks had moved.

After realizing this, he simply dived down, caught a fish himself, held it with his water skill, gripped its gills, swam to the fishing hook, and hung the fish on the hook.

The fish's lip was pierced, and the fish thrashed even more wildly!

The fishing line kept extending, and finally even pulled down a rod.

In the end, no one pulled the fish up.

There was no one up there!

When Li Qi had just pressed against the ice to listen for movement, he hadn't heard anything, and at the same time, he noticed that the fishing hooks hadn't moved, which was why he decided to test.

This time, after another test, no one pulled the rod, indicating that there was no one up there at all.

He waited for a while longer, then grabbed the fishing rod that had been dragged down, pulled the fish back, removed the hook, and hung it on another fishing rod.

He reused it multiple times, as catching fish was also difficult.

This fish was hooked three times in a row, its mouth becoming a sieve, before it finally escaped the devil's grasp and fled in terror!

Killing a fish only takes one cut, but I've never seen one hooked three times!

As for Li Qi, he was finally about to burst.

The two quarters of an hour were almost up, and he was also frozen stiff in the icy water, his face blue and purple.

Even with the Wave-Breaking Force protecting him, he was nearing his limit.

After repeatedly confirming that there was no one above, he found a fishing ice hole, quickly leaped out of it, and then, without any delay, rolled and rushed towards the shore.

Originally, he had planned that if someone was stationed here, he would break the ice on the other side, create a disturbance, and lure the tiger away from the mountain.

But since there was no one, he might as well just go up.

He was very fast, and the ice was slippery, so he slid right over with a whoosh.

Entering the alley, he immediately jumped up, paying attention to his surroundings while running towards the Strongmen Gang’s stronghold.

This area was all residential, but it seemed deserted. As he had guessed earlier, their people were all gathered together, so these outlying residences were empty.

He only needed to watch out for the tailors, so he deliberately avoided their houses, trying to move through the narrow gaps as much as possible.

The streets were empty, and he was cautious, so he walked the entire way without being discovered, smoothly arriving at the plaza where the Strongmen Gang usually gathered for discussions.

Calling it a plaza was actually just an open space in front of the Strongmen Gang leader’s house, about sixty or seventy square meters, normally used for drying fish and clothes, and for gathering to discuss matters when needed.

After all, in this small alley, only this place could accommodate one or two hundred strong men.

Li Qi cautiously approached, hiding his body behind a wall, and pricked up his ears to listen to the sounds from the plaza.

There were indeed sounds on the plaza; the Boat Towmen were all gathered there.

Some Boat Towmen were talking, but they weren't lowering their voices.

After all, they were just Boat Towmen; they couldn't possibly have very good discipline. A group of people gathered together without talking—not even college students could do that, so how could Boat Towmen be expected to?

Li Qi knew this, which was why he didn't even look, but directly hid and listened intently.

Incidentally, he also took off his clothes, put them over his face, leaving only his two eyes exposed.

Some Strongmen Gang Boat Towmen who were closer were loudly discussing the day's events.

“You mean, is what that Daoist said really believable?”

“You’ve asked that four times already. The boss believes it, so what can you do if you don’t?”

“You two are really… how can you not believe what you saw with your own eyes? That was a Daoist Art! It’s so much stronger than our Body Refining cultivation method. If you have a chance to learn Daoist Arts, what are you complaining about?”

“Today is the river opening! If we don’t go to the river opening, what if that Daoist lied to us? Wouldn’t we have lost the reward for nothing?”

“Stop talking, they’re coming out, they’re coming out!”

As soon as this was said, Li Qi immediately heard the sound of many people standing up, and also the sound of a door opening and closing.

He really came at a opportune time. A Daoist… The Strongmen Gang is involved with a Daoist? And that Daoist promised to teach the Strongmen Gang Daoist Arts?

How could that be!

Li Qi was very clear about how much this world valued things like “cultivation method.”

Every cultivation method, even the crudest one, was a precious treasure sufficient to establish a family and a career!

Therefore, upon hearing this, even he couldn’t help but poke his head out from the alley and look at the open space not far away.

As expected, in the open space, a group of burly men stood, surrounded, with everyone staring intently at the two people in the center of the open space.

One burly man, Li Qi recognized, was the leader of the Strongmen Gang.

The other was a young man, whose clothes were made of cotton, completely different from the Boat Towmen’ hemp cloth.

And this young man was actually holding something Li Qi was very familiar with.

Isn't that my damn game console!? Why is half of it here!?

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