Xiangzi’s Record of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 93: Liu Quan’s Forbearance

The moonlight was hazy, tree shadows swaying.
The front courtyard of Harmony Rickshaw Yard lay silent.
A kerosene lamp flickered.
Fourth Master Liu sat as usual in his well-worn, glossy rosewood chair, the copper pipe in his hand glinting faintly in the dim candlelight.
Unlike his spirited daytime demeanor, the old lean tiger now bore a weary expression.
His tiger-like eyes stared fixedly into the courtyard, lost in thought.
Suddenly, he spoke, “Girl Hu, the yard’s been quiet these past few days.”
Girl Hu sat cross-legged on the kang, still in her festive red jacket, her large feet bare.
The thirty-something spinster twisted her tower-like frame and said, “Old man, since you’ve done the deed, don’t dwell on it. You’ve got Ma Liu’s yard now—what’s there to fret about?”
“If you’re still hung up on Liu Tang, I’d say let it go.
The Li family said they haven’t found his body. If he’s alive, they’ll make sure he isn’t. Would you dare protect him?
”
“Besides, Liu Tang insisted on going back to the mining district. What could the Li family do? Let him go? It’s not the old mine master calling the shots anymore. Don’t you know that young master Li’s temperament?”
At the mention of the Li family’s young master, a sharp glint flashed in Fourth Master Liu’s eyes.
The mining district affairs were orchestrated with that young master.
Even so, Liu was privately stunned by the man’s ruthlessness.
Hearing whispers from the marshal’s mansion, the young master had decisively cut ties, weaving this grand scheme to cleanly extract the Li family from the five-colored gold ore smuggling.
Ma Liu and Liu Hu hadn’t even left the police bureau before they were found hanged that very night.
Ma Liu, killing himself?
Who’d believe that?
If not for his years of ties with the old mine master, Liu had no doubt the young master would’ve targeted him next!
Such ruthless cunning—even Liu couldn’t match it!
His eyes hardened.
He, Liu, wasn’t one to be trifled with either.
If the Li family’s young master turned on him, he’d make them weigh his worth!
He was no longer the lowly Li family miner from years past.
Helping the Li family with their dirty work all these years, how could he not keep a card up his sleeve?
Suddenly, Fourth Master Liu’s gaze dimmed.
Memories of those grueling days in the Li family’s mining district flooded back, inevitably leading to the honest, foolish man—his only true brother in a lifetime.
The old lean tiger, ruthless and unflinching all his life, felt a pang of unease.
He owed that man half a steamed bun, yet couldn’t save his son.
But old brother, what could I do?
The Li family’s power was vast, their methods brutal, and Tang was just as reckless as his father.
What could I, Liu, do?
Fourth Master Liu lowered his head, a plume of smoke rising, shrouding his aged face.
At that moment, urgent footsteps echoed from the courtyard.
Liu Quan burst in with several men, shouting, “Fourth Master… trouble at Ma Liu’s yard!”
Fourth Master Liu shot to his feet!
—
In the deep night, Fourth Master Liu strode out, his face etched with ferocity, no trace of the earlier weariness or regret.
His tiger-like eyes swept over Liu Quan and the others, who froze in place.
“Fourth Master… someone broke into Ma Liu’s yard,” Liu Quan said, head bowed, his expression hidden in the shadows.
The men behind him looked uneasy, one bearing fresh red knife wounds.
Seeing the injuries, Fourth Master Liu’s expression tightened.
With Liu Hu and Liu Tang gone, he’d sent Liu Quan to hold Ma Liu’s yard.
Yet in just days, trouble had erupted?
“Don’t panic. Speak slowly—what happened?” Fourth Master Liu eyed Liu Quan, his voice calm, betraying no emotion.
Liu Quan steadied himself, clasping his fists. “Tonight, I was guarding the yard with some brothers when we heard noises…”
Fourth Master Liu listened closely, his brows knitting.
Ma Liu’s old pullers were rioting? And with knives?
He’d raised their pay by five silver yuan each—
why would these filthy pullers still cause trouble?
And in the dead of night?
There had to be someone stirring things up.
Who?
Did Ma Liu leave a hidden hand in his yard?
Or was someone in the southern city, resentful of Liu taking Ma Liu’s yard, deliberately making trouble to embarrass him?
He wasn’t interested in the answer. Having weathered storms of blood and violence, a few pullers’ antics were nothing.
His gaze swept Liu Quan, lips curling, eyelids drooping—Liu Quan had taken nearly the entire east wing yet couldn’t subdue a handful of pullers.
In the end, Liu Quan was just a Blood Energy Barrier martial artist, too weak to tame Ma Liu’s fierce pullers.
Liu’s thoughts drifted to Liu Tang.
If Tang were here, would this have happened in the middle of the night?
With a soft sigh, he shook out his hands, the sapphire-blue vest falling away.
The night breeze swept over, his silk robe clinging to his lean, sturdy frame.
“Girl Hu, go to the first-tier courtyard and round up some men.”
He paused, adding, “Bring weapons.”
Girl Hu hesitated, then said, “Fourth Master, it’s late. Let Brother Quan handle it.”
“Yes, Fourth Master, stay at the yard,” Liu Quan urged, his face anxious.
Fourth Master Liu shook his head. “We just took Ma Liu’s yard. Some unrest is expected, but this could be big or small. If we don’t squash it fast, the southern city will think Harmony’s lost its edge!”
His words were firm, leaving Girl Hu and Liu Quan no room to argue—he was acting personally to deter prying eyes.
“Liu Quan, Ma Liu’s yard is yours to lead from now on. You must learn that even a tiger hunts a rabbit with full force,” Liu said, his gaze settling on Liu Quan.
Liu Quan froze, his face showing just the right amount of deference.
Then he lowered his head, hiding his eyes in the night’s shadows.
—
Girl Hu went to the first-tier courtyard to rally men.
Footsteps stirred in Harmony Rickshaw Yard, shattering the night’s silence.
Fourth Master Liu said no more, standing tall, eyes fixed on the thick darkness outside.
After years of restraint, finally grasping Ma Liu’s yard, he wouldn’t tolerate a single misstep!
The whole southern city was watching.
If he couldn’t subdue a few pullers, who knew how many would mock him in secret—or worse, exploit Harmony’s weakened state.
He knew his own affairs. Despite these days of glory, any sign of weakness would turn today’s flattery into hidden arrows.
—
Liu Quan stood in the darkness, watching the man who raised him, his face unreadable.
Fourth Master’s words—“Ma Liu’s yard is yours to lead”—still echoed in his mind.
Years ago, he’d managed Harmony’s second-tier courtyard. Young then, he was a step from ninth-rank, needing only the bone-tempering broth.
Back then, even Liu Tang, fresh from Baolin Martial Hall, pestered him to teach real techniques.
If not for fear of failing the broth’s potency, Liu Quan might’ve joined a martial hall.
But a clash with Ma Liu’s yard injured his muscles and bones, ending his martial path.
As Liu Hu and Liu Tang rose, Liu Quan was relegated to the trivial tasks of the third-tier courtyard.
If not for their loss, his foster father would never have entrusted him with Ma Liu’s yard.
At this thought, the middle-aged man, who’d endured over a decade in the third-tier courtyard, raised his eyes sharply—
Like a sword drawn from its sheath.