Chu Liang looked at Linbei.
Linbei looked at Chu Liang.
After a while, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward, and it was only then that Linbei awkwardly scratched his head, "Well, I mainly need to investigate the weird occurrences."
Alright.
Impressive that you still remember.
Chu Liang silently complained in his mind.
Linbei continued, "There are indeed many rumors about the haunting at Nanshan Academy. It is said that a girl named Situ Yan was initially bullied in the classroom and then committed suicide in the backmountain lake."
"Situ Yan..." Chu Liang murmured the name.
"And then, seven days later, two more students' bodies were found in the backmountain lake, and their deaths were extremely tragic and horrifying," Linbei said, "Now, it's rumored in the school that Situ Yan's ghost has turned into a vengeful spirit to seek revenge on those who bullied her."
"If it's a vengeful spirit causing this, then it's not too difficult to handle," Chu Liang nodded, "But why is Li Jue so afraid? Did he also bully Situ Yan in the past?"
He always felt that the behavior of the father and son, Li Jue, was somewhat abnormal.
"Can he bully others with that gloomy look?" Linbei sneered, "Perhaps he was the one who was bullied."
As soon as the two finished speaking, they saw Li Jue being cornered by a young man named Yan Xiaohu and his two attendants.
The so-called attendants were actually two burly men, almost eight feet tall, with fierce and menacing faces.
Li Jue was pushed into the corner by them, and without saying much, he directly pulled out a piece of silver from his pocket, which seemed quite heavy. Yan Xiaohu held it in his hand, weighed it, and then smiled, leading his two subordinates away.
It seemed to be confirming Lin Bei's words.
"Wanna help?" Lin Bei wanted to get up and stop them.
"No need," Chu Liang shook his head gently and sat there eating by himself.
"Aren't we going to do something about this?" Lin Bei said angrily.
"Judging by how skillfully Li Jue took out the money, I guess he's been bullied before," Chu Liang said. "If we intervene now, we might expose our relationship with him, and besides... we don't know much about that Yan Xiaohu yet. Let's not complicate matters and risk delaying the real business."
"Fine," Lin Bei turned back. "Just don't let them cause trouble for me... otherwise..."
Smack.
Before he could finish his sentence, he was fiercely slapped on the back of his head, and then a few dark figures surrounded him.
It was Yan Xiaohu and the two burly bookboys.
"The newcomer," the sturdy youth patted Chu Liang's shoulder. "It’s your first day here, and you don't understand the rules of Nanshan Academy, do you?"
"What rules?" Chu Liang asked.
"In order to stay safe here, you have to pay five taels of silver as a monthly fee, and my young master is responsible for protecting you," the other burly man said.
"Five taels of silver?" Lin Bei raised his head, "You might as well rob!"
Although they didn't use much gold and silver in their celestial cultivation, they knew that five taels of silver was enough for a normal household's expenses for several months, which was no small amount.
Even in Nanshan Academy, where all the students came from wealthy families, this was quite an extortionate demand.
"Don't agree?" the other burly man then patted him on the back of his head.
"I'll be damned..." Lin Bei was ready to explode.
"Hey—" Chu Liang quickly steadied him with his hand, then smiled and took out ten taels of silver, handing it to Yan Xiaohu, "Since it's the rule, it's natural to follow it. I'll pay for two months in advance. Please take care of me, brother Xiaohu, in the future."
"Well, you're reasonable," Yan Xiaohu chuckled, taking the silver and said friendly, "Rest assured, in the future at Nanshan Academy, you'll be my brother. Mention my name, Yan Xiaohu, and you can swagger around."
"Brother Xiaohu is impressive." Chu Liang complimented, then asked, "I wonder if Brother Xiaohu is still in charge in Yanjiao City outside of Nanshan Academy?"
"Don't worry about that..." the burly man in the back said, "My young master is the young master of the Black Tiger Gang. You can go and ask around. Our Black Tiger Gang is a part of the Whale Gang, you understand? Befriend my young master, and you'll have free rein in Yanjiao City."
"So it's the young master of the Black Tiger Gang, my apologies." Chu Liang pretended to be in awe.
With a few words, they happily managed to persuade Yan Xiaohu to leave.
After they left, Lin Bei rubbed the back of his head and said darkly, "Although these people have some martial arts skills, they are at most at the level of Body Tempering Realm. I could have handled them with just a few moves. Why wouldn't they let me act?"
"The situation is unclear, so let's not provoke trouble for now. This Black Tiger Gang seems to have a strong local presence. If we really attract the attention of the Whale Gang, the mission will become difficult," Chu Liang advised, "Let's first gather information and then make a move."
"Well, we haven't even received the reward for this task, and I've already lost ten taels of silver..." Lin Bei still felt a bit regretful.
"You can just claim it back from Master Li later," Chu Liang said with a light laugh.
The Whale Gang, also known as the Four Seas Whale Gang, ranks among the top ten forces and is the only faction among the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths that is not a sect but a gang, yet it can stand alongside various immortal sects, indicating its formidable strength.
Its members are spread throughout the four seas, numbering in the tens of thousands, dominating various businesses such as transportation and ports, making it a formidable force.
If the Black Tiger Gang is truly associated with the Whale Gang, it is no wonder that Yan Xiaohu is so arrogant.
However...
Back in the classroom, he still couldn't help but ask Li Jue, "Are you okay? Do you need our help with Yan Xiaohu?"
"No need," Li Jue shook his head softly and said, "I'm used to it, and besides... he won't live long anyway."
Chu Liang was about to turn around, but suddenly heard him add a sentence, which made him somewhat puzzled. He asked, "What do you mean?"
"It's nothing..." Li Jue quickly shook his head and fell silent again.
But Chu Liang's suspicions grew a little.
It was an uneventful afternoon.
When school was over, the two of them followed Li Jue from a distance, heading down the mountain towards Yanjiao City.
Lin Bei then briefed Chu Liang on the information he had gathered, "The Black Tiger Gang claims to be affiliated with the Whale Gang, but it's just a facade. It seems like they want to leverage the relationship, but I've never seen the Whale Gang involved in their activities."
"In Yanjiao City, they are indeed considered a major gang, with several dozen martial arts practitioners in the gang, mostly at the first stage, and a few hall masters at the second stage. Only the gang leader is a third-stage martial artist."
Chu Liang nodded lightly.
In a place like Yanjiao City, such a force could indeed exert its dominance.
After all, established forces and hired thugs were not the same. Although Master Li could pay a hefty sum to invite some Spiritual Realm cultivators to preside, he couldn't afford to keep them long-term. Moreover, the disciples of Shu Mountain were certainly righteous and would usually only deal with supernatural beings, and wouldn't help him with anything else.
For a gang to maintain dozens of martial arts practitioners who could be deployed at any time, and to have a high-level expert presiding, was indeed not to be underestimated.
But that's about it.
Having a clear understanding in mind, he looked around and quickly spotted Yan Xiaohu, who had just left the academy.
"Xiaohu, bro," Chu Liang greeted him with a smile, accompanied by Lin Bei.
"What's up, Little Chu?" Yan Xiaohu now thought highly of Chu Liang, considering him a clever person who could be recruited as a follower.
"Earlier, you asked me to inquire about the Black Tiger Gang. I went and gathered some information," Chu Liang said with a smile.
"Hmm? So what are you up to now?" Yan Xiaohu felt that he was smiling somewhat strangely.
Just then, Chu Liang said, "So now, I'm going to get the money back."