Chapter 7: It’s him again

Li Qi, despite being attacked, didn't make a fuss and returned home safely.

The Paibo Gang's base was also by the river, next to the shipwrights.

Similar to how the Strongmen Gang had a good relationship with tailors, the Paibo Gang also had a good relationship with the shipwrights.

The Paibo Gang often helped the shipwrights launch new boats for free, while the shipwrights would repair scrapped old boats and give them to the Paibo Gang. This mutual assistance helped the two organizations develop a good relationship.

As the second-in-command of the Paibo Gang, Li Qi was greeted by people along the way when he returned.

"Brother Li is back! The pigs have been slaughtered and brought back, and they're cooking now!"

"Boat Master is also here, and he brought wine! I heard it was given by the big figures on the ship! Brother Li, hurry up, or there won't be any left!"

The boatmen and Boat Towmen gathered together, grinning as they greeted Li Qi. Most of them had a bowl of stewed meat, slurping it down as if they wanted to eat the bowl itself.

Five fat pigs were slaughtered as soon as they were brought back. One pig weighed one to two thousand catties. After removing the bones, the remaining offal and meat added up to over a thousand catties. The two Gangs combined had only three to four hundred people, so two to three catties per person was more than enough.

For the Boat Towmen, the river opening day was like New Year's.

The Strongmen Gang, who couldn't get the qualification to open the river, basically had no meat to eat for a year.

However... Li Qi now knew that compared to a few pigs, what they wanted was the Ox Strength Technique, a true cultivation method.

And now, they already knew that he had stolen their cultivation method.

But clearly, they hadn't expected Li Qi to Cultivate the Ox Strength Technique to Major Achievement overnight.

Not to mention them, Li Qi himself hadn't expected it!

However, Li Qi already had a plan in mind.

He pretended nothing was wrong, greeting people along the way, but he deliberately showed his wet appearance, as if he had just come out of the water, his hair all soaked.

Because he had indeed just come out of the water.

Moreover, there were some bloodstains on his clothes, which he had deliberately applied.

He nonchalantly walked into the crowd, and then, he suddenly limped and fell to the ground.

"Brother Li?!" The Lifter next to him quickly put down his bowl and rushed over to help him up.

"It's nothing, I just slipped!" Li Qi immediately stood up on his own, pushed the others away, and then, under the hesitant gazes of the crowd, he quickly walked into his room and closed the door.

This left the Boat Towmen and boatmen looking at each other in dismay.

"Brother Li, seems to be injured?"

"I think I touched blood, and he didn't go into the water today, right? How is he all wet?"

"I'll go find Sixth Uncle!" One Lifter reacted quickly and immediately ran off.

And Li Qi, sitting on the bed, waited for a while.

As expected, soon, there was a knock on the door outside, and Sixth Uncle's greeting voice.

Li Qi immediately got up, opened the door, pulled Sixth Uncle in, and then slammed the door shut.

These wooden shed houses originally had no windows, so closing the door made it pitch black, so there was no worry about anyone peeking.

As for Sixth Uncle, he was originally eating meat and drinking wine, overjoyed, but suddenly someone outside said Li Qi was back and injured, which scared him so much that he immediately swallowed the meat in his mouth, drank all the wine in one gulp, and rushed over.

He knew that Li Qi had stolen the Strongmen Gang's cultivation method, so he was extra cautious.

However, as soon as he came in, he saw Li Qi full of energy, with no sign of injury.

"This is?" Sixth Uncle was a bit confused.

Li Qi made sure the door was closed, then pulled over a wooden stool to block the door, and then looked at Sixth Uncle: "Sixth Uncle, don't make a fuss yet, let's keep our voices down, listen to me."

Sixth Uncle immediately fell silent, put away his doubts, and quietly waited for Li Qi's explanation.

"On the way, I was ambushed by people from the Strongmen Gang. Two people, with wooden sticks and daggers, were going to finish me off," Li Qi said.

"Huh?! They've already found you?!" Sixth Uncle's expression became serious, and his tone rose.

"Shh!" Li Qi immediately put a finger to his lips.

Sixth Uncle immediately stopped talking and lowered his voice: "What's going on? How did they know?"

"I'm not sure, but it's clear they already know, and they even specifically found people to ambush me. I guess our base isn't safe either, but we're not to be trifled with, so they don't dare to start a full-scale war for now," Li Qi said, stating his guess.

"So, you're pretending to be injured?" Sixth Uncle pondered.

"Yes, I suspect they have someone watching our home, and they're monitoring us now," Li Qi said.

He could sneak into the Strongmen Gang's home, and the Strongmen Gang could naturally do the same. It was just that the Boat Towmen' discipline was too poor, making it difficult to maintain long-term focus, and their work was very tiring, so they really couldn't spare anyone to maintain vigilance.

"Then should we go search them out now?" Sixth Uncle suggested.

"No, don't alert the enemy. I just deliberately pretended to be injured. Sixth Uncle, you go out later and quietly spread news of my injuries to reassure the Strongmen Gang," Li Qi instructed.

"But... what's the use of this?" Sixth Uncle was a bit confused.

Indeed, pretending to be injured could paralyze the enemy, but what was the use of paralyzing them?

"Of course it's useful... We can—strike first." Li Qi clenched his fist and punched the air fiercely!

— — — — — — — — — —

The leader of the Strongmen Gang was named Lu Shan.

The Boat Towmen of the Strongmen Gang usually called him Boat Master, while other Gangs usually called him Shan Dazhuang.

True to his name, his cultivation method gave him an extremely strong body, capable of lifting two thousand catties. He alone could pull a small boat, and some strongmen in the city were not as strong as him.

However, those familiar with him knew that he not only had a strong body but also a very clever mind.

In previous years, he had almost squeezed the Paibo Gang to death, but then a person named Li Qi suddenly appeared from nowhere and pulled the Paibo Gang back.

And recently, it was this Li Qi again...

"Li Qi... Li Qi." Lu Shan rubbed his temples and then touched his bald head.

The people he had sent to intercept Li Qi, whom he had ruthlessly decided to send, had not yet returned.

Just during the day, he had received the Legacy of that big figure's divine will. The entire Strongmen Gang had received it, but there was actually an outsider present.

That person was masked, but his figure was very familiar.

He immediately rushed over but failed to catch him. That person ran very fast.

Later, the Strongmen Gang found another strongman. It was said that the person was hit by a crazy person on the road, who also tore off his mask and punched him hard in the face.

After carefully questioning that person, Lu Shan finally confirmed that the person must have been Li Qi!

It was Li Qi again!

Damn it! Always Li Qi!

This person really had no end. If it weren't for him, there would have been only one Lifter Gang in Li Prefecture City long ago!