The guys storming out of the private room were all part of the Century Garden security team. Useless punks, really—spent every day tagging behind Shi Youfu, bullying others under the Jiang family's name like they were something special. Now, seeing their boss down and bleeding, they swarmed me with fists flying like a pack of street thugs.
"Get him! Beat him till he can't walk!"
Shi Youfu, who I'd knocked down with a bottle, was groaning on the floor, hands clutched over the bleeding back of his head. His drunken swagger was gone, replaced by a face twisted in fury.
"Trying to flex just 'cause you've got the numbers, huh? Baiqi!"
I wasn't afraid in the slightest, shouting for my backup—but there was no sign of that majestic yellow blur.
When the thugs closed in, I glanced back—and there was that dumb mutt, drunk out of his mind, hugging an empty Royal Salute bottle and wobbling behind a planter like a total idiot.
"You gotta be kidding me!"
Thanks to his stunt, I was about to get my face caved in. Seven or eight guys with makeshift weapons charged, faces twisted with murder.
"You laid hands on our boss? You came in on your feet, but you're going out on a stretcher!"
I scooped up the drunken idiot and ran.
"Is there a back door?"
As I left, I stomped down hard on Shi Youfu's belly—he coughed up blood. Some of the fury I'd been holding in since my shop got trashed finally eased.
"There's a small door in the kitchen—it leads outside!"
"Alright then. The rivers run long, the mountains stay green—see you next time."
No time to look back. I bolted for the kitchen. No point trying to be a hero when reinforcements hadn't shown up yet. Once Ergou got here, we'd settle the score.
With a crew chasing close behind, I tore down the alley behind Blue Note Bar in a full sprint.
"Stop right there!"
"Listen up! Whoever catches him first gets a thousand yuan in cash!"
That offer worked like adrenaline. The thugs came at me like they'd just shot up speed.
I didn't know these alleyways, and I was lugging around Baiqi, who might look just slightly bigger than an average stray but weighed like a bag of bricks. After barely a hundred meters, my shoulders were screaming.
"Drinks like a beast, fights like a corpse—what a liability."
Gasping, I flung the bottle-hugging mutt aside and grabbed a loose brick from the ground, turning to face the oncoming pack.
"Keep running, I dare you! You're not leaving this alley without a hospital visit!" one of them shouted.
Just when they were about to jump me, two second-hand Wuling vans came screeching into the alley like divine reinforcements.
"Gao Bro! You good?! Sorry we're late!"
About ten guys jumped out, all masked and capped, carrying bats and rods.
Leading them was a dude with a yellow mop of hair and a cast on his right arm—Ergou.
"Who the hell laid a hand on my bro Gao Jian? Beat the hell out of them!"
The tables turned in an instant. I laughed and tossed my brick. "Perfect timing, bro. Couldn't have been better!"
The security guys were now trapped in the middle of the alley. That fat bastard Shi Youfu, still clutching a bloody towel to his head, tried to keep a straight face.
"Think twice! We're with the Jiang family. You really want to ruin your future in Jiangcheng?"
"The Jiang family? Please. Not even the Jade Emperor could save you tonight."
Ergou's crew might've been young, but every one of them went in hard. No hesitation. No mercy.
"You want it the easy way? Too late. I'm calling backup!"
Shi Youfu scrambled for his phone.
"Mr. Gu, we're behind Blue Note Bar! We're outnumbered—please hurry!"
As soon as the call ended, he smirked, emboldened.
"Lucky for us Mr. Gu came to the party tonight. You lot are about to beg for death."
"You're outnumbered two to one and still talking big?" Ergou sneered. "Want me to start bleeding you out one by one?"
I stopped him. "Hold up. That Mr. Gu sounds dangerous."
Shi Youfu licked his bloodied lips, drunk or not. "Too late to be scared now. Mr. Gu's a Miao shaman, brought here personally by Young Master Jiang to take you out, Gao Jian. Should've stayed down when you had the chance. Next time, check your horoscope before picking a fight."
"So Jiang Chen hired him just to deal with me?"
I thought back to the wedding livestream, where I exposed him and crippled his pet ghost. He must've taken me for some Daoist master and brought in a Miao sorcerer to handle me.
I knew Jiang Chen would retaliate—but to go as far as poison and Gu worms? That was cruel.
"He plays the gentleman, but he's ruthless underneath. Classic Jiang Chen."
The bar's back door opened with a creak, and a man in black robes stepped into the alley.
"Mr. Gu! Over here!"
Shi Youfu shouted like salvation had just walked through the door.
The figure didn't even look his way—just strolled down the alley, face hidden beneath his hood like some mysterious master.
"Stop right there! This alley's closed!"
Two of Ergou's guys moved to block him.
He paused. Five seconds passed. He didn't move, didn't speak—
—and both of Ergou's men collapsed, clutching their arms and writhing in pain.
Their skin darkened, their limbs convulsed.
"Ha! What did I say? That's the power of Mr. Gu!"
"Zhongsheng! Liu Bro!" Ergou rushed forward, but I yanked him back.
"Let me handle this."
"Be careful, bro. That guy's giving me some serious bad vibes."
I gave him a nod, though honestly, I wasn't feeling great myself. But this was my mess. I had to take responsibility.
The black-robed man drifted toward us like we were already dead. Not a single word wasted—he barely acknowledged we existed.
I gripped the brick tighter. I could guess how those two guys went down—poison bugs, most likely.
"Just one bite and it's over," I reminded myself. But spotting venomous insects in a dark alley? Not happening.
Then—sting. Sharp, sudden.
I looked down.
A palm-sized, flower-patterned snake had sunk its fangs into my calf.
I yanked it off. The snake spasmed a bit, then went stiff. Dead.
Two small punctures. But otherwise—I felt fine. A little numb, maybe even more alert than before.
"You're tough. You're the first I've seen bitten by a Seven-Step Snake and still standing."
His voice was calm, maybe even impressed.
"So you're not mute after all?"
Honestly, my leg didn't hurt. Felt like it helped my circulation.
"Still got energy to talk? Let's see how long that lasts."
He opened his palm. A few tiny, bedbug-sized insects flitted into the air.
"These are San-Tu Bugs. Gu like that is wasted on small fry like you," he muttered, shaking his head like a disappointed artist.
I froze. No idea what those bugs did, but it couldn't be good.
Time passed. Nothing happened.
I peeked down—there were a few bugs twitching weakly on my shoe, half-dead.
"They look like San-Tu Bugs, but… do they self-destruct or something?"
Honestly, I'd been intimidated by his whole presence—the mysterious entrance, the way he dropped two guys with a wave. I thought he was terrifying. But so far, all he'd done was monologue and strike poses.
Was this some kind of delayed poison? Was I going to drop dead at midnight?
"Oh? My San-Tu Bugs can't penetrate your aura? Then I guess I have to get serious."
He smirked, like this was all beneath him.
A sealed clay jar appeared in his hand.
"Let me show you real Gu craft."
He pricked his finger, letting a drop of blood fall into the jar.
A monstrous insect crawled out—centipede-like, with thirty-three pairs of legs.
"Miao clan secret art—Thousand-Legged Gu!"
He waved his sleeve. The centipede raced along his arm and dropped to the ground, moving faster than I could track.
Cold sweat soaked my back. I scanned the shadows, gripping the brick, heart pounding.
"You really think mortal eyes can fight a thousand-year Gu technique? What a joke."
His words had barely landed when I felt a chill on my arm.
It was already on me.
"Shit!"
I tried to shake it off—but too late. The centipede had bitten down on my forearm.
Poison spread instantly, the veins beneath my skin turning a sickly black.