"Who did the Tiger and Leopard Gang send?"

Yang Xingyao said, "The Flying Thief Ren Fei. He’s said to be a Beginner Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm, and he carries Highly Poisonous Flying Sabers."

Ji Jingbei grew even more puzzled. "Don’t tell me Chen Cheng has already entered the Muscle Strengthening Realm?"

"It’s hard to say!" Yang Xingyao recounted the details of how Chen Cheng killed Ren Fei, as seen by his informant.

Ren Fei’s surprise attack on Chen Cheng failed. He then engaged Chen Cheng in close-quarters combat with a short saber, and the two were evenly matched. In the end, when Chen Cheng’s constables arrived, Ren Fei lost his nerve and chose to retreat, but at the last moment, Chen Cheng decapitated him with a single slash.

After listening, Ji Jingbei was even more shocked. He rose from his seat and began to pace back and forth in the Government Office Hall, muttering, "His strength was on par with Ren Fei’s, yet he managed to turn the tables and kill him. This Chen Cheng is truly something else.

It’s not strange that he could kill Ren Fei, but to do so without a single scratch... Chen Cheng’s true combat prowess is likely at least at the level of Small Success in the Muscle Strengthening Realm!"

Yang Xingyao’s expression was grave. He didn’t reply, but it was clear that he shared Ji Jingbei’s thoughts.

Ji Jingbei suddenly said with great solemnity, "Xingyao, I’m afraid we’ve kicked an iron plate this time. We can’t touch this Chen Cheng!

From now on, you are to stay out of the affairs of the Qingshui Pier territory, and you are to have no more dealings with the Tiger and Leopard Gang!"

There were some things he left unsaid. Namely, that since Chen Cheng was a young talent cultivated by Shen Qingshuang and possessed such combat strength, the importance she placed on him was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Regardless of whether the Zhou Family could ultimately kill Chen Cheng, if Shen Qingshuang were to discover that Yang Xingyao had tried to make a move on him, she would never let Yang Xingyao go.

...

Tiger and Leopard Gang headquarters.

Li Hu and Zhang Bao sat in the main hall, both with grim expressions.

Unlike Yang Xingyao, the two of them had witnessed Chen Cheng kill Ren Fei from a distance with their own eyes.

The strength Chen Cheng displayed far surpassed their imaginations.

"Big Brother, I’m afraid Chen Cheng is a Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm. The way he just killed Ren Fei... it was just too easy."

Li Hu nodded and said in a low voice, "You’re right! With Ren Fei’s methods, if he had ambushed the two of us, I’m afraid we wouldn’t even have known how we died.

For Chen Cheng to not only be fine after being caught completely off guard, but to then behead Ren Fei... he’s just too strong."

Zhang Bao said worriedly, "Big Brother, do you think Chen Cheng will make a move against our Tiger and Leopard Gang?"

"Our Tiger and Leopard Gang hasn’t clashed with him directly. On what grounds would he move against us? He’d need a reason to, right?" Though Li Hu spoke with bravado, he was secretly terrified.

Zhang Bao chimed in, "Right, right, right. Ren Fei is dead. There’s no way Chen Cheng can trace this back to us."

"Sigh... I’d better go see Second Master Zhou. That’ll be safer." Li Hu let out a long sigh, rose, and walked out of the hall.

...

Ren Fei’s body was brought back to the Lishui Sub-Department, causing an immediate uproar.

Chen Cheng had summarily executed the Flying Thief Ren Fei, who had been rampaging in Lishui District, and the burglary cases at Gentry Shu’s and Gentry Li’s homes in the Qingshui Pier territory were officially declared solved.

Even Chief Constable Ji Jingbei had nothing to say about this and closed the case swiftly.

In his second-floor office, Chen Cheng closed the door and took out the items he had taken from Ren Fei’s body.

A heavy brocade money pouch and a thin, yellowed paper booklet.

The brocade bag contained a good number of silver notes, gold coins, and scattered silver coins, totaling over four thousand three hundred and fifty taels of silver.

There was also an Elixir Medicine Bag, and inside it was a Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pill.

As for the booklet, it was a Mid-level Saber Technique Manual, the "Deer Cutting Saber Technique."

As for the pair of Demon Beast Hide Gloves and the five Flying Sabers, Chen Cheng paid them no mind.

’This Ren Fei fellow truly lives up to his reputation as a famous Flying Thief of many years. He was filthy rich! To think he even had a precious elixir like the Muscle Strengthening Pill. I’ve really hit a small, unexpected jackpot this time!

With so much silver, I should be able to save up enough to buy Black Gold to increase my weight training soon. Once I increase the weight, the Cultivation Progress of my Iron Armor Skill will speed up!

The future looks promising!’