Walking the Ten Thousand Daos

Chapter 8: Deliberation

So, he had even steeled his heart and sent out men directly to intercept and kill him!

Killing someone was not a trivial matter.

Because overall, Li Prefecture City was still within a country with strict laws. Previously, theft had already carried great risk. The reason he dared to instruct people to steal was mainly because Li Qi had never taken out that otherworldly object.

He simply couldn't prove that strange thing belonged to him, so reporting to the authorities wouldn't yield any results. Plus, with a big shot backing him, he wasn't afraid at all.

But now it was different. Not only was murder more serious than theft, but unlike theft which left no evidence and thus wouldn't be investigated, murder was different.

If murder caused a big commotion, diviners would definitely come to investigate the clues.

He didn't want to go that far.

However, having the spell technique stolen was something he absolutely could not tolerate.

Even risking being discovered, he had to act.

So he arranged many things, repeatedly instructing his capable subordinates to keep their hands clean and make Li Qi's death as untraceable as possible.

He also had people monitor the Wave-Breaking Gang to prevent any movements from them.

He only planned to kill Li Qi who had spied on them, to prevent the spell technique from spreading, and didn't plan to make it public.

Now wasn't the time to make a big fuss. Divine will inheritance was too profound, he needed at least a year to study it. By then, when the gang members who had received divine will inheritance gathered together, they could go seize other territories!

With one spell technique, they could definitely easily overturn the entire riverside. In Li Prefecture City, there could only be one hauler gang!

The hauler gang could develop into the kind of monopolistic gang like the fishmongers' guild that controlled the entire city's business.

While not a major gang, it would definitely no longer be at the bottom tier.

Plundering the other two gang' techniques, plus adding a new spell technique, could definitely elevate the Strong-Force Gang to the next level!

For this, accepting some risks was completely acceptable.

As long as they eliminated Li Qi, then lay low and train hard for a year.

This wasn't his first time killing someone. Bottom-tier gang forces had interlocking interests and fought each other constantly. When a few people died, if it wasn't reported to the authorities, even the government was too lazy to care.

"The people don't report, the officials don't investigate" - that's how the lowest tier was. Lower-tier forces fighting each other was too normal; they couldn't manage it all.

However, if someone insisted on reporting to the authorities, the government would still intervene, because official regulations included annual evaluations, and the murder case solution rate was very important data.

For instance, if Li Qi's otherwordly object was stolen by him and he really went to report it, constables would indeed take action. Whether they could solve it was another matter, but the government would definitely handle it.

However, if the government wasn't confident about solving the case, they would generally pretend not to see the murder case, because if they couldn't solve it, it would be a big bad debt that would earn harsh criticism from superiors at year-end.

Moreover, as long as they could make the government back down from the difficulty, they didn't need to worry about the Wave-Breaking Gang filing complaints.

After all, did the Wave-Breaking Gang have few dark histories? If he reported to the authorities, others would report too. With everyone implicating each other, nobody would survive.

Breaking the rules would definitely drag in the Water-Horse Gang, even the fishmongers' guild, and the Grain Transport Army people!

That would truly be irreversible doom.

Lu Shan thought this way.

Everything was calculated precisely, there definitely wouldn't be any slip-ups.

However, he was getting somewhat anxious waiting.

The surveillance people were fine, but why weren't those sent to kill coming back?

Those were the two most skilled fighters in the gang besides himself, each with fifteen hundred catties of brute strength, able to smash boulders with a single hammer blow.

He knew Li Qi's abilities.

Wave-Breaking Force, in water, fighting one against two was easy, even capable of counter-killing.

But on land, he could at most handle one person. With two people attacking together, and ambushing him, there was absolutely no possibility of survival.

Just as Lu Shan was getting anxious, the people he was waiting for finally returned.

"Boss Shan!" A short, stocky youth rushed over from outside.

"What happened? Did something occur at the Wave-Breaking Gang?" Lu Shan stood up and quickly asked.

This person was one of the three he had sent to monitor the Wave-Breaking Gang. It looked like only one had returned, probably to report, while the other two were likely still monitoring.

"Boss Shan, Li Qi went back, but he seems injured, and the injury isn't light. The Wave-Breaking Gang is in chaos now, all discussing selling pigs to hire a doctor!" This youth said happily, his tone brimming with joy.

But Lu Shan's expression suddenly darkened.

Injured?

But those sent to kill hadn't returned?

Damn, was this Li Qi really that strong?!

"You go back first and continue monitoring the situation there. Try to figure out the specific extent of Li Qi's injuries," Lu Shan said with a dark expression.

"Boss Shan, all three of us saw clearly, when he came back, he pretended nothing was wrong, but blood was still seeping through his clothes. After walking a few steps, he even fell down. He's definitely badly injured! Don't know what he ran into, hehe, serves him right!" That short, stocky youth was overjoyed.

But this joy sounded increasingly grating to Lu Shan's ears.

"Enough, stop talking. Hurry back and continue watching. Report back if anything happens!" He suppressed his anger, waved his hand, and drove his subordinate away.

That short, stocky youth didn't understand why the boss's expression had suddenly turned dark, but he didn't want to court bad luck, so he quickly ran back.

Meanwhile, Lu Shan closed his eyes and pondered the intelligence he had just received.

Li Qi wasn't dead, but was very likely injured.

Could he be pretending?

Possibly, this guy was always crafty.

But the probability was low. He knew his abilities very well, and those two were capable subordinates with strength ranking high among the three gangs.

Li Qi's abilities couldn't possibly allow him to escape unharmed.

So it seemed Li Qi had been extremely cunning, using schemes to lure the two into the water, then fought and killed them both in the water.

This was the only possibility. Only in water, relying on Wave-Breaking Force, could he accomplish this.

Deducing these events left Lu Shan sitting in his chair with an uncertain expression, his face alternating between red and black.

"Regardless of whether he's injured or not, we can't hesitate. As long as he's not dead, he's the greatest threat. That spell technique cannot be learned by him!" Lu Shan steeled his heart and made his decision.

Although he didn't even know what that spell technique was called, divine will inheritance required self-comprehension, essentially like having a teacher in your mind, but whether you could learn it still depended on yourself.

That important personage had told him that with his talent, it might take a year to get started, and by then he would naturally know the name of this spell technique.

However, now he couldn't wait a year.

He suddenly stood up: "I'm going all in!"

Then he walked out the door and shouted loudly, summoning all the nearby haulers.

Taking advantage of the night, plus the Wave-Breaking Gang was now well-fed and definitely drowsy.

He wanted to gather his forces and launch a night attack on the Wave-Breaking Gang to kill Li Qi!

Even if the authorities investigated afterward, he could say this was retaliation after their technique was stolen.

This way, as long as he didn't kill indiscriminately, the punishment definitely wouldn't be too severe.

If the authorities wanted to investigate further, they would definitely implicate that important personage.

Although he didn't know who the other party was, anyone who could casually produce a spell technique and speak so knowledgeably about "the Way" - he was willing to believe that if that person got involved, their influence could intimidate the authorities!

He was betting everything!

(Chapter End)