The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

Lu Jing's village had always had decent security because it was right next to the city walls of Wujiang City.

In any case, since he had come here, he had hardly encountered any serious security incidents, except for the time when a fugitive hid here, attracting the government to arrest him.

At most, there were some trivial neighborhood disputes, which the local gentry could mediate.

So, Lu Jing was quite surprised to see his house door wide open. Considering his previous financial situation, it seemed unlikely to be a robbery.

Then, Lu Jing remembered the warning that the Bai family man had given him at the charcoal kiln.

He thought to himself, he had only gone to chop a few pieces of wood, and he hadn't prevented anyone else from making money. Could he have offended someone because of this?

While thinking, Lu Jing had already walked to the door.

What he didn't expect was that the uninvited guests who had broken into his home hadn't left yet.

He saw a jar of old wine, two roast chickens, along with braised beef and peanuts, placed on his broken wooden table. Three burly men were eating heartily at the table.

However, since Lu Jing only had two chairs at home, one of the burly men had simply dismantled his bed, broken off a section, and used it as a cushion under his butt.

Just as Lu Jing was looking inside, the man facing the door also saw Lu Jing outside.

He wiped the oil from his mouth, turned his head, and shouted into the house, "Big fool, another person is here! Come and see if this is him?"

Then, Lu Jing saw an iron tower-like figure walk out from an area inside the house that he couldn't see.

When he saw who it was, Lu Jing was even more surprised, "Niu Jiu?"

The current Niu Jiu looked nothing like his energetic self when he was a porter at the docks. He was timid and hesitant, and seemed ashamed to face Lu Jing. He only glanced up once before quickly lowering his head, whispering, "It... it is him."

"Speak louder! The women in Ziling Pavilion are louder than you!" The man who spoke first threw the chicken bone in his hand at the back of Niu Jiu's head, cursing, "What a waste of this body! We brothers were willing to help you out, that's why we brought you here, but with this cowardly look, you'll only be a laborer your whole life."

When Niu Jiu was hit by the chicken bone, he clenched his fist secretly, but quickly released it, appearing very dejected.

Lu Jing frowned, coldly glanced at the three men at the table, then said to Amu beside him, "You stand here and wait for me for a while."

After speaking, he didn't look at Niu Jiu, who was standing by the door with a look of shame, and walked past him with the wooden stick.

As soon as he entered the door, Lu Jing frowned even deeper.

He now carried those more valuable items, such as the golden silk bellyband and two secret manuals, with him at all times.

As for the money he earned from working at the charcoal kiln for two days, he used a small portion to pay the rent, purchase some rice and flour, and added some household items, such as a new broom. He also bought a few bowls and dishes for eating and drinking, while the majority was deposited in the bank.

Now, apart from three bowls being used for drinking wine, the remaining dishes were smashed on the ground, with broken porcelain flying everywhere. And the key thing was that the new broom that could sweep the broken porcelain was also snapped in half.

The room was now a mess, just like a display case that had been ravaged by a mischievous child from a relative's house during the New Year.

And the perpetrators of all this were still eating and drinking at the table, seemingly without any shame.

The man who spoke first drank another bowl of wine, burped, and then squinted at Lu Jing, saying, "You're Lu Jing... I heard from someone that you haven't been to work at the docks for more than ten days. What's wrong? Are you not taking the rules of the Green Bamboo Gang seriously?"

"Oh, so Qin Xiaotou sent you here to find me?"

When Lu Jing heard this, he thought that the aftermath of the battle at the teahouse that day had finally arrived, and Qin Xiaotou was preparing to make trouble under the pretext of his absenteeism.

But he didn't expect that the man on the other side, who was gnawing on a chicken butt, sneered, "Qin Zhengyuan is nothing!" He was obviously a little drunk and said with a drunken air, "And the surname Qin is no longer a Xiaotou. From now on, you will all be under the control of Second Master Guo."

"Forgive my ignorance, but who is this Second Master Guo?"

Lu Jing searched his memory and found that there didn't seem to be such a figure among the higher-ups of the Green Bamboo Gang.

"Let me tell you, kid, your original gang leader, Xie Liancheng, offended too many martial artists because of the secret manual. Now he has disappeared, and who knows who kidnapped him to torture him, he will definitely not be coming back..."

"Our Hall Master Huang of the Three Tigers Gang pities you poor people who make a living at the docks, and with great kindness, decided to take over the Green Bamboo Gang. The thirteen Xiaotous before, those who were obedient and honest, can continue to eat meat with Hall Master Huang. As for those who don't know what's good for them, hehe..."

The speaker sneered three times, "As you can see, the surname Qin has already been kicked out. Now Second Master Guo calls the shots at Zhangjia Wharf. Second Master Guo hates people who are lazy and slippery. The first thing he did when he came to the wharf was to check the roster, and sure enough, he caught you, kid.

"Your name is clearly on the porter roster, but you haven't been working hard at the docks these days. We three brothers are here today to share the worries of Second Master Guo."

Lu Jing finally understood what was going on today.

Speaking of which, this is still a chain reaction of the secret manual incident. The Green Bamboo Gang lost Xie Liancheng, its strongest expert, and made enemies with many martial artists. Now is its weakest time, so it was targeted and annexed by other surrounding forces.

"What? Is there anything else?" Lu Jing raised his head.

"What do you think this place is, kid? Do you think you can come and go as you please in this Green Bamboo Gang?" A burly man with a mole on his left cheek scolded with a straight face.

"Haven't the porters in the gang always been able to come and go as they please?" Lu Jing was a little confused by the question.

"That's the old calendar. Now the rules have changed. Without Second Master Guo's approval, no one can quit the gang." As he spoke, the man who spoke first slammed the wine bowl in his hand on the table with a bang.