Chapter 43 – The Vicious Tiger Descends from the Mountains (2/2)

A young man in embroidered robes, reeking of alcohol, leapt out of the carriage. “Laifu, what the hell are you doing?” However, all he saw was Laifu pointing at Li Qingshan, so he cursed, “You damned beggar, get away from my carriage. I’ll cut your hand off if you touch it!” He was drunk, so he missed the fact that Li Qingshan was grabbing his carriage.

“I’m not a beggar. I’m Li Qingshan.” Li Qingshan stated his name, wanting to punish this wastrel and his haughty servant.

“What Li… Qingshan!” The young man’s eyes were lost and filled with disdain, but when he reached the end, his tone suddenly changed. It was as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. He sobered up as well. “W- which Li Qingshan…”

Li Qingshan asked in bewilderment, “You know me?”

The driver wailed, “Young master, i- it’s the Descended Tiger!” His flushed face suddenly became pale-white.

“Descended Tiger? What’s that?” Just as Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, the young master dropped to his knees with a thud. “This young master, no no no, this lowlife has offended you. Please forgive me, young hero!” Afterwards, he removed the money pouch from his waist and offered it up with both hands. “Please take this money as my compensation to you!”

The bystanders had never seen the young master of the Zhang family behave in such a degrading manner. They all looked at one another, but when they heard the two words, ‘Descended Tiger’, they immediately changed the way they looked at Li Qingshan. Their gazes contained fear and admiration.

Li Qingshan weighed the money pouch. There really was quite a lot in there, enough for him to buy a proper set of clothes, eat a filling meal in the best restaurant in the city, and get some proper sleep in an inn.

But it really was strange. It’s not like I planned on killing anyone. I’ll just punch you gently once or twice. I won’t even use strength, so why’re you so afraid?

His instincts told him that all this fear did not originate from the skills he had demonstrated from stopping the carriage with a single hand. However, when he saw how the young master had been frightened out of his wits, he lost interest in teaching the fellow a lesson. He left with the pouch of money.

Only when he saw Li Qingshan walk away did the young master climb to his feet as his legs trembled. He glanced at the intersection in utter fear. That Li Qingshan was actually just standing right in front of him. He was a terrifying figure who had killed several dozen people. No matter how arrogant he was, he would never act up in front of such a person.

His face reddened from the mocking smiles of the bystanders. He turned around and saw the driver hiding to one side, so he became even more infuriated. He went up and kicked the driver. “Hmm? You’re bold enough to hide? Why don’t you keep hiding! So much for driving properly!” Although the driver possessed martial arts, he did not dare to avoid the strikes. He only grovelled and apologised quietly.

Li Qingshan carried the pouch of money and felt even more at ease inside, even though the money had come rather strangely. Suddenly, he remembered that the priority right now was to investigate and understand if anything happened involving the Black Wind stronghold. He just happened to have a fellow villager in Qingyang city who was also a member of the jianghu, so after asking several people, he arrived in front of the Iron Fist school.

At the entrance were two large, bald men who stood like iron towers. Their arms were as thick as the thighs of normal people. They watched people pass by with shining eyes. Even before pedestrians had gotten anywhere close to the entrance, they would downright avoid it, walking on the other side of the street. This was the might of the Iron Fist school.

As they watched a ‘beggar’ in rags arrive at the entrance, one of them said rudely, “Move. This isn’t a place for you to beg!”

The other man stopped his companion and studied Li Qingshan. He mocked, “Kid, you do look like a practitioner of martial arts, so how did you end up like this?” He could see that Li Qingshan’s body was sturdy and unaffected by the cold.

Li Qingshan said, “I’m looking for someone. Please help me pass on a message. His name is Li Long. You can tell him that I’m from the same village as him and that I’m Li Qingshan.”

The two men were originally unconcerned, but they only grew prudent when they heard ‘Li Long’. He was the beloved disciple of the school’s master. Once they heard ‘Li Qingshan’, both of their faces changed drastically. “The Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan!”

Only then did Li Qingshan understand that he was the ‘Descended Tiger’. He grumbled inside, What kind of nickname is that! The people of the jianghu were uncultured. He did not want to be lumped together with those wolves, tigers, and leopards.