The two traitors within the Qixuan Sect were the kitchen manager and Jiao Long.
The manager was motivated by money, while Jiao Long had no backers and rebelled after facing severe oppression.
Instigated by the Wild Wolf Gang, Jiao Long approached the upper echelons of the Qixuan Sect, starting with Qian Duoduo.
To ingratiate himself with Qian Duoduo, he took on the assignment to assassinate Li Feiyu.
As a young member of the Qixuan Sect's upper echelon, Qian Duoduo was unlikely to be successfully recruited, as he stood to gain far more by staying within the sect.
However, since he had instigated Jiao Long to assassinate Li Feiyu, Li Feiyu had long since wanted him dead.
Killing him wasn't enough; he had to die while bearing the blame for the betrayal.
Guo Laoshi burned with righteous fury. "Qian Duoduo, no wonder you surrendered first! You're a two-faced bastard!"
A crowd of young disciples also blazed with anger, shouting one after another that they wanted to kill Qian Duoduo.
Qian Duoduo's leading the surrender just moments ago was still fresh in everyone's minds; after all, young people still had hot blood in their veins.
The other protectors were not entirely clear on these inner-sect matters, but seeing Li Feiyu cleanly dispatch Hu Bao, they naturally had no reason to doubt Li Feiyu's words.
Zhang Xiuer had just mustered the courage to kill a law enforcer, and her face was still stained with blood.
She looked up at Li Feiyu's ruthless expression, a faint sense of dread creeping over her—this situation was clearly more complicated than it seemed.
Seeing Guo Laoshi's saber already closing in on Qian Duoduo's back, Li Feiyu leaped forward and drove his blade straight through Qian Duoduo's heart.
Some karmic debts could not simply be left for others to share.
Having finished off Qian Duoduo with a single blow, Li Feiyu cast an indifferent glance at Wu Yan.
Wu Yan was not the mastermind behind hiring Jiao Long to assassinate him.
Besides, this good-for-nothing was not very bright, and keeping him around might still prove useful.
Upon seeing Li Feiyu's blood-soaked face and his chilling gaze, Wu Yan nearly dropped to his knees.
The battle near the Daoist temple was still ongoing, though the enemy numbers were dwindling.
"Ah! Taste my Fireball Spell!"
Suddenly, a cornered Daoist shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing one of his hands forward.
Subconsciously, Li Feiyu shouted to the protectors nearby, "Watch out for spells!"
As it turned out, the Daoist threw a flying dart instead...
The protectors who had him surrounded laughed and said, "Turns out the Fierce Tiger of Li is afraid of fire! Haha!"
A wave of irritation washed over Li Feiyu. In a single bound, he swept past the Daoist, and the man's head instantly hit the ground.
In Li Feiyu's hand now rested a yellow-covered book.
This was an auxiliary martial art from the Blinking Sword Technique known as the Art of Stealthy Seizing—which was, in truth, nothing more than pickpocketing.
What he had managed to pocket was an incomplete manual of foundational incantations!
Wasn't this the exact same book Old Devil Han bought at the Tainan Small Gathering, the kind of worthless, street-peddled fragment?
Was this thing even real...
A protector chuckled and said, "Tiger Li, eight out of ten things like this are frauds. The Daoist didn't manage to cast any fireball, after all."
Several of the older protectors burst into hearty laughter, amused that the merciless Tiger Li was actually scared of such street-performer tricks.
Guo Laoshi and Zhang Xiuer ran over to Li Feiyu, only to find him standing there in a daze, holding a battered old book.
Li Feiyu raised his head and tucked the book away. "Guo Laoshi did well, stepping up when it mattered most!
Zhang Xiuer was a bit lacking; if you're going to slit your throat, you need to be more decisive. Still, not crying about it is already pretty good!"
Guo Laoshi smiled sheepishly and said, "Senior Brother Li... no, Protector Li, I'll be counting on your guidance from now on!"
Zhang Xiuer, however, retorted, "Good thing I was slow about slitting it. If I'd been too fast, you'd have been the one collecting my corpse."
Li Feiyu looked at her and replied, "I never agreed... to collect your corpse."
He intentionally paused in the middle of his sentence. Zhang Xiuer, of course, knew he was referring to what happened last night.
Believing Li Feiyu was facing imminent doom, she had revealed her true feelings, but looking at it now, he had likely figured out a way to extricate himself all along.
With a trace of lingering resentment, she said, "So you had everything under control all along. No wonder you kept mocking people with that cheeky grin."
Guo Laoshi said excitedly, "Protector Li, this battle was incredible! We killed a Purple-Robed Flag Master and over thirty core Blue-Robed Law Enforcers!"
Li Feiyu patted him on the shoulder. "Not just them—there are nine other training squads!
Though they might not all have a Flag Master, they won't have this many law enforcers.
Still, if we multiply the results here by five or six times, that should be about right!"
...
The battle concluded, and everyone was free to move about once more, as this was, after all, within the Qixuan Sect's sphere of influence.
The Wild Wolf Gang members had all sneaked in secretly and dared not come out in the open.
In the center of Qinglong Town, the Chunhui Pharmacy.
Li Feiyu had inherited the original owner's memories, and since he was passing through Qinglong Town, he naturally had to pay a visit.
The moment he reached the entrance, he heard people talking inside.
"Manager Li, then it's settled. In a couple of days, I'll send people over to handle the handover with you."
An elderly voice replied, "Miss Zhang, since this is an arrangement agreed upon by Elder Li and Deputy Sect Master He, naturally there's no problem at all.
However, trading a restaurant for a pharmacy—I'm afraid you're taking a loss."
The woman was none other than Zhang Xiuer. She smiled lightly and said, "They're all properties of the Qixuan Sect. What loss could there be?"
"Clang!"
The Yajie Saber was placed on the table right in front of Zhang Xiuer, and Li Feiyu sat down directly beside her.
Zhang Xiuer very naturally picked up the Yajie Saber. A trace of blood lingered on the golden beast pattern, and she carefully and gently wiped it away with a handkerchief.
Seeing this, Li Feiyu thought to himself that this young lady certainly didn't treat herself as an outsider.
Coldly, he said, "The personal weapon of Tiger Li—you wipe it just because you want to? Don't you know that a tiger's backside shouldn't be touched!"
Zhang Xiuer had also worked up her courage to wipe it; since Li Feiyu didn't stop her, it meant he didn't refuse.
Blinking her large eyes, she said with a teasing smile, "A flashy fire-tiger playing the peacock—so arrogant and fond of showing off, who knows how many people are plotting to touch its backside?
Rather than letting someone else beat me to it, I might as well make the first move myself."
Li Feiyu let out a cold laugh. What a self-righteous woman!
Meanwhile, the proprietor of the pharmacy had been staring at Li Feiyu ever since he stepped through the door. Seeing Zhang Xiuer wipe away the blood with her handkerchief,
and hearing the moniker "Tiger Li," he had already formed a suspicion.
Now, with his eyes darting about nervously, he stammered, "You're... Sheng'er?"
"Shut your mouth, my name is Li Feiyu!"
Back then, Li Feiyu hadn't even had a name, and these so-called clansmen had bestowed upon him such an insulting one.
They had left him to fend for himself, growing up eating meals provided by a hundred different households, until he met Zhang Wentian, who finally gave him his current name.
The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and said tremblingly, "Hero Li..."
Zhang Xiuer corrected him, "Manager Li, he is an inner-sect protector now."
The manager hurriedly changed his tune. "Protector Li! This old man's eyes are failing me. After all, we're of the same clan.
Back then, I was just muddle-headed, and that's why..."
"Slap!"
The scabbard of the Yajie Saber pressed against the old man's neck.
Li Feiyu had no intention of settling old scores with them, but the original owner's karmic debts had to be brought to a conclusion.
"The Chunhui Pharmacy should rightfully be mine, but I have no heart for running it.
We'll proceed with the handover as you said, but it's not an exchange—you will relinquish it unconditionally!"
The old man found this hard to accept. "Protector Li, we are family after all..."
"You and I are not family! If you don't do as I say, your head will part ways with your shoulders right now."
With a forceful press of the scabbard, the old man's shoulder dislocated, and he instantly dropped to his knees.
"Protector Li, I agree! I agree!
It's just... what about Deputy Sect Master He..."
Seeing that Li Feiyu was about to lose his temper again, and knowing why he had come here,
Zhang Xiuer hurriedly chimed in, "You don't need to worry about Deputy Sect Master He.
A pharmacy like this isn't a major matter, and it originally belonged to Protector Li's family anyway. Elder Li will handle the explanation.
What you told me earlier about Protector Li's parents—repeat it to him now."