Hide in The Immortal Cultivation World, Strike Hard in the Martial World-Chapter 31 - 28 Giving You a Chance, You’re Useless_1

Li Baitiao, leading a group of his fishing crew, quickly explained the situation,

dragging the body of the third senior brother to the front of the deputy gang leader and the eldest senior brother:

"Deputy gang leader, the traitor is dead. Do you want to flay him?"

The deputy gang leader watched coldly as everything unfolded. By now, it had been confirmed that the third senior brother, Niu Biao, had acted against the deputy gang leader and the martial arts school's brothers,

the decoction he had prepared had caused the disciples' Vitality and Blood to circulate sluggishly, sapping their strength, and just before the incident, he had gone alone to the big ship,

these were all irrefutable evidence.

His death was deserved, not at all unjust.

Even the eldest senior brother, Shi Lei, didn't say much. Even if the man had been alive, bringing him back to the school would have surely resulted in him being beaten to death.

But the question remained, who was the inside agent for the Big Ship Gang?

It was impossible for Niu Biao to have acted alone,

if his plan had succeeded, the deputy gang leader and the other disciples of Iron Fist Hall would have all perished at sea,

he could have easily claimed he was just lucky enough to have gotten onto the big ship and avoided the calamity by partying with friends,

after all, everyone would assume they were killed by the Demon Fish, with nobody knowing they were affected by Soft Tendon Powder.

However, considering the series of strange behaviors on the big ship, the deputy gang leader was the first who wouldn't believe that Niu Biao had no one to meet with him.

The fishing crew was exceedingly familiar with the conditions in Deep Marsh; they had fished there for over a decade and had never seen any creature that weighed hundreds of pounds,

yet today, this giant eight-legged fish suddenly appeared then just as suddenly left, which couldn't be without reason.

This was something the fishing crew was surely aware of,

and the most suspicious person among them was their captain, Li Baitiao!

However, the deputy gang leader could only speculate, firstly, he had no evidence and speaking out would not convince the crowd, and secondly, he didn't know who else aboard the ship had betrayed their gang,

or more precisely, had betrayed the gang leader's faction and chosen to join the deputy gang leader's side.

Thirdly, Li Baitiao had openly taken the lead in killing the traitor and saved him; in public, he could only reward, not punish.

Humph, I'll see how long you can keep jumping around. Once I know it's you, I'll just have to keep an eye on you, and sooner or later I'll use you to fish out the big fish behind you!

The deputy gang leader's face was cold, "Leave this man to the martial arts school to deal with. Also, Li Baitiao, your fishing crew has done a good service in rescuing people, go back to the gang and claim 20 taels of silver to distribute."

Having said this, he turned his head to the eldest senior brother, "Brother Shi Lei, today's incident was caused by Niu Biao from your martial arts school, and it's your school's boats and men that were lost. I was also unharmed, so handle it yourselves. I won't get involved."

Shi Lei was in a bad mood; this was not easy to explain when he returned:

"Brother Lei Zhen, it's unlikely that my third junior brother acted alone. You have no feud with him, and he should have no intention to harm you. Brother Lei Zhen, if you trust me, you should also do a thorough check within your own gang."

"I understand, you don't need to say more." The deputy gang leader raised his hand, unwilling to dwell on this topic,

as it involved the internal affairs of the Fish and Dragon Gang and the struggle between the two gang leaders. He didn't want to spook the snake by beating the grass. Some things are better kept in mind and dealt with privately rather than announcing them in front of everyone.

Shi Lei wanted to insist further, but the deputy gang leader no longer wished to engage with him:

"This unexpected incident has caused heavy losses for Iron Fist Hall. Send a thousand pounds of fish and five big ones to Iron Fist Hall when you return. I'm going back to rest now, Xiao Wu, come with me."

After leaving his final words, the deputy gang leader headed into the inner cabin with his personal guard.

Leaving the eldest senior brother looking at the bodies of a few junior brothers, his face bitter.

"Junior Sister, what exactly happened underwater just now?" He was not convinced and turned to ask Qi Ying.

"I had just gone to look for... um, I was dragged into the water by that creature. It clung tightly to me, and I couldn't use any strength because my Vitality and Blood were not flowing well, which made it impossible to break free,

then I saw several other junior brothers in the same situation,

and just when I thought my last gasp of air was about to come out and I was going to suffocate, suddenly..."

Qi Ying glanced at Chen Yi and continued:

"Suddenly, for some unknown reason, the giant creature retreated and loosened its grip,

then Junior Brother Chen, Junior Brother Yun Hu, and I helped each other and surfaced. That's how we survived.

But the other junior brothers had been dragged under earlier, so they couldn't be saved."

Upon hearing this, the eldest senior brother frowned. How could that creature have appeared and disappeared without any signs?

He looked toward Yun Hu and Chen Yi, "You were also underwater, what did you experience?"

Yun Hu hesitated with "um" and "ah" before finally saying, "Second Senior Sister is right, we helped each other to the surface."

If helping Junior Sister breathe and kicking me counts as mutual aid.

But he knew it was Chen Yi who had saved him, and seeing that the second senior sister had no intention of pushing Chen Yi into the spotlight, he didn't want to cause trouble for Chen Yi either.

Chen Yi whispered from behind, "Second Senior Sister is right."

"This is quite strange indeed. Where did this monster come from, and where did it go?

Alas, aside from Niu Biao, I'm afraid no one else can make sense of it.

Forget it, forget it, let's go back and prepare to accept our punishment."

The eldest senior brother seemed somewhat dispirited for a moment.

However, Chen Yi then asked another question, "Shopkeeper Li, may I ask under what circumstances did my Third Senior Brother try to escape and get killed?"

Li Baitiao briefly described how Niu Biao, when he saw that his cover was blown, managed to break away from his teammates' interference and was about to jump off the boat, but he accidentally got his head chopped off from behind by Li's knife.

Chen Yi then carefully examined the corpse of his Third Senior Brother, looked at the wound on the neck, and observed the frozen expression on his face,

He already had a rough guess in his heart. It would have been impossible not to guard against an attack from behind while escaping, and his Third Senior Brother was a Mingjin martial artist. Judging from the sharpness of the knife wound, he estimated that Li Baitiao was merely a Mingjin martial artist as well,

If he was on guard, there was no way his Third Senior Brother could have had his head chopped off with a single strike, and his face would not have shown such an expression of disbelief.

Unless the truth was as he had guessed, his Third Senior Brother was stabbed in the back by someone he trusted.

If so, then this Li Baitiao was quite terrifying.

After a brief examination, Chen Yi went back and explained,

"Hmm, I just wanted to understand the situation better. The master will definitely ask about it in detail when we get back."

"Right, right, the more you understand, the better. The master will surely ask," the eldest senior brother quickly said, as if something came to his mind.

On the way back, Chen Yi kept pondering how to kill Li Baitiao. If his guess was correct, he was at least a middle to late-stage Mingjin martial artist and also a master with the knife,

If they faced each other head-on, he might not come out on top.

Forget it, I'll wait a bit longer. Once I level up a few more times with the help of the Immortal Cultivation World, I'll come back and snuff him out for sure.

Why take the risk now?

Half a day later,

at the Iron Fist Martial Hall,

Master Shi Zhenshan was thunderously furious, smashing a beloved tea table:

"That damn Cheng Jiu! How outrageous! I stay out of their affairs, yet they dare to meddle with mine,

If I do not avenge this, I am less than human!"

It seemed that Master Shi was aware of some insider information and directly pinned the blame on Cheng Jiu.

As for Niu Biao's matter, Shi Zhenshan only sent people to check his background and family heritage. If found, they were to exterminate his entire family, nothing more.

"Shi Lei, as the eldest senior brother, you bear the fault of negligence and lack of vigilance. Punish yourself with ten lashes and confine yourself for ten days,"

"I accept the punishment," Shi Lei bowed his head in admission of guilt.

"Qi Ying, not bad. In a time of crisis, you managed to preserve your strength and save yourself and others. Reward with 50 jin of catfish, and you may take other fish as you please."

Qi Ying opened her mouth, wanting to explain that Chen Yi had saved her, but then she remembered his instructions and reluctantly swallowed her words, accepting the reward.

"Yun Hu did well, too. Your cultivation level isn't high, but you seem to have some luck. At a critical moment, several of your senior brothers with higher cultivation levels died, yet you managed to survive. There's no need to explain in detail,

From now on, you will be one of my direct disciples, Qi Ying's junior. The task of concocting the decoction and distribution will be yours. Are you willing?"

Yun Hu was overjoyed, "Thank you, Master. I am willing!"

He didn't argue because Chen Yi had already told him he could take the credit for the deed,

He thought to himself, Junior Brother Chen, you saved me and even gave the credit to me. I, Yun Hu, will remember this great kindness and generosity. If I have a bite to eat, there will be a bite for you, Junior Brother Chen!

And now that I am in charge of this important task with the decoction, resources for enrichment will no longer be scarce. Moreover, having entered the ranks of the direct disciples, reaching Anjin is just within reach!

Yun Hu was extremely exhilarated.

"Your name is Chen Yi? You've come here paying silver to learn martial arts? And you're still alive? Impressive,"

Master Shi Zhenshan glanced at Chen Yi, "Now that the martial arts school has many vacancies, I'll give you another chance. Do you wish to become my disciple and enter the Inner Gate?"

"I am honored by Master's recognition, but as a disciple, I really do not like conflicts. I just want to practice martial arts and fish, living an ordinary life, so..." Chen Yi feigned the demeanor of a simple and honest fisherman.

"Forget it, I gave you a chance, and you're useless. You may go back now!"

Shi Zhenshan waved his large hand, dismissing Chen Yi from the room.

"Humph, he's just a disciple at the beginning stages of Mingjin with little talent. My martial arts school may be short on people, but we're not desperate for someone who relies on luck without talent,

I gave him a chance, and perhaps in his lifetime, he could reach the threshold of Mingjin Great Success,

Without that chance, he can just wobble through the Entrance of Mingjin for the rest of his life!"