猫咪3.0

The season was deep autumn, and the mist was starting to rise at night.

At the fish market entrance, beneath the signboard, the young boy remained hanging.

To kill one to warn a hundred, to shake the hearts of the people.

“Damn it, this is really bad luck, why can those guys go and drink with Eight

Masters while we have to guard this stinking brat and drink the north wind?”

“It’s because you, lad, are also not willing to give proper tribute to Eight

Masters. These tough and dirty jobs naturally fall to poor devils like us.”

“His mother, those stinking fishermen, even if you squeeze them dry they don’t have much Silver. I got up early this morning to search Old Chu’s boat, and what do I find? A bunch of broken household stuff. After all the trouble of finding a few coins, they all went to Eight Masters, and I didn’t get a single one.”

“Be content, at least the kid only found an ordinary Fist Skill manual. If he really had picked up a Divine Skill Secret Scroll and mastered it, we’d be the ones losing our lives, just like Old Xu three years ago. Man, you don’t know how ruthless he was, that third daughter of the Goldfish Gang…”

On the small table beside them, two members of the Silver Fork Gang were grumbling.

For such matters, every gang and sect had long established a complete set of procedures.

First was surveillance, tracking unusual behaviors through various signs. If someone suddenly came into money for no reason or behaved out of the ordinary—fishermen not focusing on fishing, farmers not tilling the land as they ought, but instead sneaking around practicing Fist Skills, learning martial arts—then, without a doubt, there was a problem.

Then came the informants. The resources of the gangs were limited; they could not constantly monitor everyone. Therefore, they resorted to an informant system, with everyone watching each other, ready to report at the first sign of trouble.

Last was torture. Upon receiving a lead, they would immediately seize the person, subject them to severe interrogation, and by all means, dig out the other party’s secrets. They would also loot the person’s home, kill them, and leave no trace of trouble behind.

If nothing could be extracted, they would toss the half-dead person out as fish bait to see what they might catch.

Now, it was the “fishing” stage. They hung the Chu Family boy up here to see if they could unexpectedly reel something in.

If there were gains, so much the better, but no worries if not. After all, who wouldn’t like to undertake a no-cost all-profit venture?

It just made things tough for these minor gang members, who had to stand guard here in the chilly night, and also…

“I tell you, working in our line of business is not without risk. Do you know the Goldfish Gang? Back in the day, they were doing our kind of work, which drew in a big fish. In a single night, someone wiped out the entire Goldfish Gang, paving the way for our Silver Fork Gang to rise.”

“Really? That dangerous? Why would our gang leader still engage in such

activities, isn’t he afraid of ending up like the Goldfish Gang?”

“What do you know? Do you think our gang leader has the final say in these matters? There are so many important figures behind the scenes. That’s why, as soon as I get my Silver, I go enjoy myself immediately, better than being left with nothing when you’re dead. That would be a huge loss.”

“This…”

“Bang!”

In the midst of their conversation, a Flying Stone suddenly shot through the air, and both men fell to the ground.

Immediately after, from within the dense night mist, a person leaped into view, flicking a finger to release a stream of True Qi that snapped the rope holding the young boy. Catching the falling boy and tucking him under the arm, the stranger swiftly made an exit.

A moment later, on Dongting Lake, aboard a black-canopied boat.

“Ugh-I”

Chu He’s eyelids twitched as he slowly came to, immediately feeling intense pain throughout his body, except for a warm sensation on his back.

“Where am 1…?”

“Don’t move, I’m treating your wounds!”

Chu He was startled and wanted to get up, but he heard these words, which seemed to carry a strange power, causing him to involuntarily stop his motion.

Although he dared not move, he could still look around. Chu He rolled his eyes left and right, realizing he was sitting on a black-canopied boat, surrounded by the familiar waters of Dongting Lake.

Was he safe now?

The familiar surroundings allowed Chu He to relax a bit, but soon his heart was filled with sorrow and anger again.

He was originally just a fisherman’s son, making a living by fishing on Dongting Lake with his father, enduring oppression and living a life of extreme hardship.

One day, by chance, he stumbled upon a martial arts manual. No, it hardly qualified as a secret manual, just an ordinary Fist Skill manual.

Even though it was just an ordinary Fist Skill manual, for a fisherman’s son like him, it still represented a hope to transcend his class and change his fate.

So he kept it a secret from his father and practiced the Fist Skills from the manual in hiding. He couldn’t read, so he practiced by following the illustrations, desperately trying to develop some martial skills.

In the end, he didn’t manage to develop any martial arts skills before the Silver Fork Gang caught on.

It turned out that a fellow fisherman, Zhang San, had seen him practicing the Fist Skills in secret and reported him to the enforcers of the Silver Fork Gang.

Just the hint that someone might be secretly practicing martial arts was enough for the Silver Fork Gang. They stormed onto his family’s boat with a large group, turned the boat upside down—their only means of livelihood—confiscated the Fist Skill manual, and that wasn’t all. They smashed their belongings, stole their money, and even beat his father to death.

Still unsatisfied, these people grabbed him and tortured him, demanding that he hand over anything else he might have found.

But he had nothing else; all he found was the Fist Skill manual.

Nonetheless, the Silver Fork Gang did not care about the truth. They tortured him almost to death and then hung him up at the entrance of the fish market, clearly not intending to let him go.

Do it thoroughly or not at all; that was the way of the Silver Fork Gang.

It was at this point that Chu He realized how naive and foolish his actions had been. He not only caused his own death but also that of his father..