Chapter 63 Infiltration

Benefiting from the cover of night, Chen Mu moved swiftly along the shadows beside the street.

Bolstered by his surging vigor, the soles of his feet felt as though they were gliding across ice—fast and utterly silent.

Following the route described by the black-nosed informant, he soon located a warehouse situated in Xiuren District, by the banks of the Luo River.

A secluded dock was hidden within the willow grove behind the warehouse.

At this late hour, the small warehouse still held the dim, bean-sized glow of an oil lamp.

Four bare-chested ruffians were gathered around a square table, eating, drinking, and chatting idly.

Though they appeared relaxed at first glance, they were actually in a state of high alert.

Two men were stationed in the shadows by the entrance as lookouts. Most of the meat and vegetables on the table had been consumed, but none of them had touched the wine in their cups.

Chen Mu arrived not far from the warehouse, cast a blank glance at the shadows by the door, and strode directly toward the main entrance.

"Who goes there?!"

Scarcely had he taken two steps when a man emerged from the shadows by the door and barked fiercely.

"Here to deliver a gift." Chen Mu did not break his stride.

"Come back during the day! The accountants have all gone home for the night; no one's here to record your tribute." The man looked thoroughly impatient.

Chen Mu: "……"

Recording tribute?

Had delivering bribes actually evolved into a formalized industry chain?!

"Are you deaf? Get lost!" the man shouted impatiently.

Chen Mu glanced at him and strode on toward the warehouse doors.

"Hah?! You've got a stubborn streak, haven't you!" The man stepped forward to meet Chen Mu, raising a fist to smash straight at his face.

Chen Mu's figure vanished abruptly. In the fleeting instant they brushed past one another, a hidden sword slid out from his sleeve and instantly retracted.

Splat!

A stream of fresh blood spurted from the man's throat.

He slumped heavily to the ground, twitched twice, and quickly fell still.

"Sigh… another person dead."

"I just wanted to live in peace. Why must you wicked wretches keep coming to provoke me!"

Chen Mu stood with his back to the corpse, gazing coldly into the interior of the warehouse.

The four men at the table had long been drawn by the commotion at the door. Seeing one of their own cut down in the blink of an eye, they sprang to their feet.

Their leader was a bald, cross-eyed brute wearing a brown sleeveless short-jacket, with leather bracers strapped around his wrists.

Seeing the gatekeeper fall dead, not only was he unafraid, but a smile actually bloomed on his face. "I thought guarding the dock was a miserable chore, but who knew there'd be an unexpected bonus? Truly a windfall dropped from the heavens!"

He casually rotated his wrists, his calloused fingers clenching and unclenching at intervals. As they brushed and rubbed against one another, they produced a sound like sandpaper scraping over wood, chilling one to the bone.

"That lot of bastards went off with the Hall Master to ransack a house, exhausting themselves to the bone. And here we are, sitting eating meat and drinking wine, while merit just wanders right up to our doorstep. Haha…"

The other three roared with laughter. They pulled short blades from the small of their backs, spinning the weapons in their grips. Under the moonlight, the steel flashed brilliantly.

"You're one of Hall Master Left's men, aren't you?"

"Trying to sabotage the fast boats and cut off our retreat? Hah. Your little tricks were seen right through by our Hall Master!"

The bald brute chuckled. "Rest easy, I won't kill you."

"I'm going to snap your four limbs and let Hall Master Left come claim you in person. That sight ought to be utterly delightful."

"Take him down!"

With grim grins, all four lunged at Chen Mu.

The bald brute took the lead, stamping his feet fiercely into the ground as his body lunged forward like a hunting leopard.

His palms curled into claws, striking outward with a low whistle.

Like a raptor baring its talons, carrying a lethal aura, he tore straight for Chen Mu's throat.

The other three flanked him rapidly, their blades sweeping in bright arcs, aiming straight for Chen Mu's legs.

Splat!

Their short blades went flying. The four men's heads snapped violently backward, tumbling and somersaulting in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground, where they instantly ceased to breathe.

Peanut-sized blood holes had appeared in the foreheads of all four, from which fresh blood welled up in steady gurgles.

With an expressionless face, Chen Mu turned his head to lock eyes with the very last gatekeeper cowering in the corner.

...

Bang!

Chen Mu suddenly materialized right in front of him, grabbing the man by the throat and slamming him violently against the warehouse wall.

The man's eyes rolled back, and he instantly lost consciousness.

...

Chen Mu turned back to survey the corpses of the stout ruffians.

These were all battle-hardened, professional thugs.

The bald leader, in particular, had practiced a body-shaping technique that specialized in palm attacks.

Yet in Chen Mu's eyes, their speed was simply far too slow; a single exchange was all it took to lay them out effortlessly.

The Wandering Soul state was different, after all.

"A retreat... ransacking a house... guarding the dock..." Chen Mu turned those phrases over in his mind, deep in thought. Inevitably, his gaze drifted back to the final living captive.

...

A short while later, Chen Mu gazed down at the gray-clad man who had already breathed his last, frowning slightly.

"The White Tiger Hall is carrying out a secret operation in the middle of the night, with Lin Que leading the team in person. Are they executing a classified mission for the Soaring鸿 (Hong) Gang?"

"This is an opportunity."

Chen Mu couldn't help but look down at the gray-clad man. "Disguise myself carefully, blend in with dozens of gang members, and I should be able to sneak onto the White Tiger Hall's large boat."

Once there, he would release a puff of soul-bewitching smoke, and he would have plenty of time for a heart-to-heart chat with Hall Master Lin Que.

Chen Mu closely studied the facial structure of the gray-clad man. The muscles on his face rippled for a moment, instantly shifting into a broad, round visage.

In the pitch dark, with a similar face shape and identical clothing, coupled with the hurried haste of Lin Que's group, who could possibly spot the flaw?!

Dispose of the warehouse first. Then wait at the dock. He couldn't let Lin Que see the bodies.

Having roughly mapped out his plan, Chen Mu sprang into action.

...

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Deep in the night, on Changxia Street in Nanyang Prefecture.

Lin Que was running head down at a full hundred-meter sprint.

Along the side of his neck lingered a slick, chilling sensation. It made him instinctively eye the shadows along the roadside, terrified that another assassin might leap out.

If he hadn't shifted his torso slightly during that sudden ambush earlier, his windpipe would certainly have been slit clean through.

"Was the Breeze-Dispersing Powder a business of the Vermilion Pavilion?" Lin Que felt a pang of regret mixed with boiling resentment. *Why couldn't you just stay in the Vermilion Pavilion selling medicine? Why go meddling in the Ghost Market to peddle goods?*

Besides, a major conflict had broken out a month ago; why hadn't they sent word to alert the Soaring Hong Gang?

Had he known the Breeze-Dispersing Powder belonged to the Vermilion Pavilion, even death wouldn't have given him the guts to touch it.

"And that bastard Zhang Yun!" Lin Que utterly loathed his own brother-in-law in his heart.

*He had so many people hiding in the small courtyard and didn't notice a thing. Are the eyes of those good-for-nothing scouts blind?!*

Catching sight out of the corner of his eye of his own subordinates rushing out from a side street, a wave of relief washed over him. But when he saw their headcount, his heart went cold. They hadn't managed to salvage anything, and had lost the vast majority of their men for nothing.

What a massive loss!

With the pursuers still howling behind him, he had no mind to exchange pleasantries. He plunged headfirst into the willow grove and bolted for the dock.

Along the bank, seven or eight fast boats were lined up in order.

Squatting on one of the boats was a man dressed in gray.

...

From afar, Chen Mu had already spotted a stout fellow with a pockmarked, orange-peel-like face.

The man was running back in a miserable state, followed by a dozen or so similarly wretched men in black.

Recalling the interrogation details provided by the black-nosed fellow, the pointed-chin man, and the gray-clad dock guard,

he guessed that this orange-peel face was most likely Lin Que, the Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall.

That face was simply too distinct.

"Can't show any weakness; I need to greet him to demonstrate that I'm also a member of the White Tiger Hall," Chen Mu deliberated inwardly.

As long as he kept a slight distance from Lin Que and avoided being seen through at a single glance, passing himself off should be a breeze.

In the span of a lightning flash, Chen Mu weighed his options. He stood up confidently, raised a hand, and called out, "Big Brother, I'm right here!"

...

Lin Que vaguely remembered there being a gray-clad man stationed at the dock.

He thought to himself that this kid was quite sharp, knowing to wait on the boat to adapt to any situation.

Without hesitation, he leaped up, springing onto the man's fast boat. "Well done! When we get back, I'll reward you handsomely!"

Chen Mu: "……"

Why the hell did you have to jump up here?!

With you standing this close, how am I supposed to blend in?

Chen Mu took a deep breath. *Can't panic, can't panic, gotta keep it steady.*

*There are still a dozen or so people behind. Once the others board, I can just quietly slip into the background as a transparent nobody.*

*It's just sharing a boat with the gang leader, no big deal.*

Chen Mu gazed toward the other gang members with burning anticipation.

Then he watched with his own eyes as they leapt up, dropping like dumplings into... the boat right next to theirs.

Followed by the swift untying of the mooring lines, frantic sweeps of the wooden oars, and their fast boat shooting out onto the Luo River like an arrow.

Chen Mu: "……"

...

Standing at the prow, Lin Que stared in dumbfounded shock as his subordinates sped away, while the boat beneath his own feet remained completely motionless.

"What the fuck are you waiting for? Start rowing!" Lin Que's eyes nearly popped out of his head with rage!

Chen Mu stammered for a moment before he could only say honestly, "Big Brother, I don't know how."

Lin Que: "……"

If you don't know how, why the fuck did you call me onto the boat?!

Chen Mu wore an awkward smile.

He was in a tight spot too. He had only wanted to pose as a gang member to sneak onto the main boat.

Who could have predicted Lin Que would blindly leap straight on—and without any of his flunkies, no less.

He didn't know the first thing about rowing a boat!

Wasn't this completely fucked?

His secret infiltration had gone wrong right at step one. How was he supposed to infiltrate now?

Screw it, time to go hands-on.

Better off just beating this orange-peel face to death!

...

Lin Que cast a glance at his subordinates who had vanished from sight, then looked back at the shadowy figures rapidly closing in behind him.

"Get lost!" He lunged toward the stern, snatched up a wooden oar, and paddled frantically against the water.

Chen Mu blinked.

Could I... perhaps continue with the infiltration plan after all?

If not for the assassins hot on his heels, Lin Que would have felt a strong urge right now to kick this useless piece of trash right into the water.

"Who the hell is your boss?!" Lin Que was bursting with fury.

"舵主 Zhang Yun, your brother-in-law." Chen Mu immediately plastered on a smile, attempting to cozy up.

He even remembered to twitch his eyebrows, using his gaze to clearly signal: *We're family.*

The breath caught in Lin Que's chest, turning his pockmarked, weathered face bright red.

*It's this bastard again! He's unreliable himself, and the subordinates he recruits are just as worthless!*

He had suspected this fellow's identity earlier; now he didn't even need to wonder. With this kind of useless piece of trash, Zhang Yun was the only one in the entire Jinshui River daring enough to take him in!

"Hmph! I'm doing the rowing while you sit back and ride—you're the one and only in our White Tiger Hall!"

Chen Mu offered an awkward laugh. "Ah-heh... ah-heh... ah-hehehe..."

This stealth mission was really doing a number on his mental state.

If he had known, he should have just greeted him directly with the soul-bewitching smoke!