Chapter 21 - Sons of Underworld
Hei had moved away from the water buffalos, but his thoughts were still focused on them. It bothered him having to leave the water buffalos in the clutches of people like that, but if he had tried to do something, he would have endangered not only the buffaloes but also the surrounding people who had no fault but that of being helpless to such cruelty.
Hei knew he couldn't take it out on them for not having intervened because, in the end, everyone already had people to take care of. After all, they were ordinary people who had to deal with everyday difficulties and were barely able to protect the little they had.
The problem of food and the search for the sect had already taken a back seat. Now Hei had to get information on that bastard merchant.
The problem was that it seemed difficult to implement: from the fragments of the spectators' discussion, he had realized that the merchant called Dong Zhen was a big shot in the city.
The mere presence of that guard at his side was clear evidence of this statement. He was also not the only guard owned by the merchant. Surely his shop was closely monitored.
Obviously, with his mother by his side, getting rid of them directly would have been child's play, but he didn't want always to have to depend on her. Not to mention that he had noticed his mother had become even more tired than usual after taking care of the bandits that night at Leaf Village.
Therefore, unless it was necessary, Hei decided that he would manage fights with his two sisters. So, finding information on the target was the first thing to do.
As he thought about how to act, Hei realized that while he was absorbed in his thoughts, he had ended up on the street outside the city center. The buildings around it looked worse, and everywhere there was a silence that made people shiver.
Suddenly, with the tails in his eye, he saw a boy running into an alley followed shortly after by two adult men chasing him.
Realizing that he had ended up in a blind alley, the boy tried to turn back but was stopped forcefully by the shoulders and thrown against the wall by one of the two men. The second man instead stood beside him and pulled out a knife that pointed at the boy's throat.
Intrigued by this scene, Hei decided to investigate to find out what was happening. Since it was an alley with only one exit/entrance, he opted to climb onto the roof of the adjacent building to observe unseen them from above.
"Well, well, what do we have here? A sewer rat who came to take a walk?" The man with the knife said as he laughed unpleasantly and then went on, "I have come to know that business is going good for you and your gang, yet I also know that you are paying nothing to Lord Dong. As you know, if you want to carry out your operations in this city, you have to pay for his blessing."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about... business, gang? I'm just a passerby who is touring the city. "
"Do you think we're stupid? Have we written fools on the forehead? "
"Well, I don't know. If you want, I can check, I can do it for free, what do you say- " then the man with the knife punched him in the stomach and then slammed the boy’s head against the wall.
"As I said, sewer rat, I advise you not to treat us like morons and behave yourself if you don't want to become a cripple. Did you really think that boss Dong Zhen wouldn't know about the thefts made by your companions? If your leader believed he could escape paying boss Dong, then he is foolish. As if a group of kids could dominate the underworld of this city. You are only sewer rats that you will live, and you will die in the sewers, nothing more. "
At these words, the boy became angry and tried to free himself only to get another punch in the stomach.
Meanwhile, Hei, hearing the name Dong Zhen, was crossed by a cold shiver. Unexpectedly, he had an opportunity to learn more about this Dong Zhen.
"Mother, I'm going to attack these two. In this way, I will be able to learn more about that merchant. I ask you to leave the fight to me, Xing and Ye, okay? If only you can tell me which stage are these two." Hei proposed with a fighting spirit; the anger inside was boiling as he remembered the poor water buffaloes. So, having someone to beat was a good thing, mainly if they were associated with that fat merchant.
‘All right, don’t worry, my little ones. Neither of them has awakened their spirit power. Incidentally, those you defeated at the bandits' attack on the Leaf Village were first stage spirit apprentice. So you won't have any problems beating these two men.’
With their mother's encouragement, the three of them lurked on the edge of the roof, ready to pounce like raptors on Dong Zhen's two unaware henchmen.
‘Big brother, leave us the one with the knife, okay?’ Xing said with a convinced tone. Usually, it was Ye who launched herself frontally at the enemy, but if Xing had advanced this proposal, it meant that she had a plan in mind.
'All right. What's on your mind?'
‘I'll go down first on the head of the one with the knife. I'll hurt him on the forehead with my legs so that the blood runs on his eyes. At that point, Ye will quickly descend towards the hand holding the weapon, biting it so that he let go of the grip, and then she will move around his neck to suffocate him while I proceed to immobilize his hands with my spider webs.
Meanwhile, big brother, you will have to descend immediately, after Ye’s attack, on the other man, taking advantage of the moment of distraction that will be created to knock him out. What do you think?'
‘I like it. I'll make him taste the power of my fangs. He won't even be able to move his hand.’
"Ok, but don't overdo Ye. We need him alive. It is good as a plan. Good job Xing, we'll do so then."
After receiving the consent from Hei and Ye, Xing was happy but then became severe to prepare herself for the attack.
The next moment, Xing went down as she had said and succeeded in wounding the enemy who, surprised and alarmed at the sight of blood, took a few steps back but then burst into a scream of pain when Ye bit him.
Meanwhile, the other henchman who was holding the boy nailed to the wall, was surprised at this scene. When he recovered and tried to do something, it was too late because Hei came upon him from above.
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Since he was afraid of causing too severe injuries if he hit him like that with a kick or punch, Hei opted for another option. When he came down from the roof, he did this in such a way as to descend into the exact position of the man. Taking advantage that the enemy was exposed and didn’t expect any sudden attack, Hei placed his left arm around his neck with his left elbow in front of the man’s adam’s apple, and with his right hand pushed the left hand upwards to increase the pressure on his neck.
‘Snake Bind, Form 3, Guillotine Snake.’
Guillotine Snake was one of the submission techniques taught by Bao Bei to Hei. This was the second time he used one Snake Bind’s forms on a human being, but this time he just had to choke him until he fainted instead of killing him.
Shortly afterward, the enemy collapsed due to a lack of oxygen and fell to the ground motionless. Although he appeared dead, if you took a closer look, you could notice that he was still alive.
At that point, Hei turned to look at his two little sisters who had finished to deal with their target. Seeing this, Bao Bei on Hei's head, smiled inwardly satisfied with how her children had gone.
Meanwhile, the boy was staring at them as if he was dazed. Since Xing's appearance, everything that happened next, in his eyes, was nothing more than a crazy dream. But then he discovered that it was real and he fell to the ground after realizing he ran away from danger, or so he hoped.
"You… who are you? Are those animals yours? Why did you help me?” The boy asked with great effort. Although they had saved him, he was afraid of that spider and that snake, not to mention that the human with whom those creatures had come also seemed to have a threatening air.
"We didn't do it to help you, it's just that I have something to ask these two," Hei replied, pointing to the bodies of the two men who fainted on the ground after taking Ye and Xing back on him.
"Those are Dong Zhen’s men, do you have something against him?" Seeing that Hei wasn’t answering, the boy added, "My name is Han, if you have something against that fat merchant, then I can give you a hand. I'm part of a group that is unhappy with that bastard. If we can help you in any way, we'll be more than happy to do it, especially the boss. So, what do you think? Certainly, you can't transport those bodies in the middle of the road, or you will do nothing but warn Dong Zhen's men. Come with me to our base. You will stay safe for the moment. "
Listening to this, Hei began to think about whether to accept Han's offer. He was a stranger, and it wasn’t wise to trust the words of strangers, but from the previous events, he didn’t seem to have friendly relations with the merchant. Maybe they could have more information about him. Finally, after talking with his mother and sisters, he nodded his head to say that he accepted the proposal.
Seeing him accept, Han immediately began to tinker with a part of the wall, and a hole soon opened. From there came out the head of another boy who looked at Han with surprise.
"Han, are you all right? When I saw Dong Zhen's henchmen were chasing you, I immediately went to call the others, but I was expecting a different sight." The guy who had just taken his head out of the hole said. Behind him, the figures of five other people could be seen.
"I was lucky. Leaving that aside, boss, there is someone you will surely like. He saved me by knocking those men out. He says he has something against that fat man. Can we take him to the out hideout?” Han turned to a young man behind the one who opened the hole.
He was a young man about 18-19 years old with short blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a tattered blue tunic, broken at various points, and he carried in his right hand a one meter-long metal stick. From the attitude that Han and the others had toward him, he had to be the boss Han had mentioned.
Without saying a word, he nodded, and with a movement of his hand, he indicated to take the bodies lying on the ground and bring them in with Hei. Then they closed the hole.
Hei followed the boss and the rest of his subordinates inside, following a series of corridors that went downwards. These were very dirty, and there was an intense smell inside, but it seemed that the others were used to it because they were walking without problems.
Hei, since he wasn’t used to it as he had always lived breathing the clean air of the forest, covered his nose with his sleeve but advanced without making a fuss. Even Ye and Xing shook their bodies slightly as they hid deeper to breathe their big brother’s smell to cover that stench.
After some time, they came to a large room where the air was cleaner and more breathable, but it couldn’t be said to be the ideal place where to live.
On the sides, there were dozens of tents while the center was occupied by a kind of table made of various wood pieces from different objects that were piled together.
Within this room, there were about twenty people who were mostly teenagers, but some smaller children could be glimpsed.
They all wore frayed clothes with patches. Their build was skinny, and their complexion was pale. However, they didn’t seem to be sad or in despair; indeed, within them, a combative light shone.
When they saw the group approaching, they crowded around them with a worried look as it was unusual for their boss to come out so suddenly armed.
"It's all right. There was a problem, but everything is solved. Come back to rest. Later we will have a banquet to welcome a new guest. I hope you will give him a warm welcome." Said the boss with a reassuring voice.
When they heard that everything was going well, the boys breathed a sigh of relief as they looked curiously at Hei, who was unknown to them.
But since their boss had told them to rest, he evidently had important things to talk about with the newcomer. Glad that there would be a feast later, the surrounding people returned to their tents.
At that point, the leader brought Hei along with subordinates with whom he had come, into a large tent isolated from the others, and motioned for them to enter while Han and the boy who had opened the door tied the two unconscious men and kept watch over them outside the tent. Once settled in, he turned toward Hei.
"My name is Kang. Thank you for saving my subordinate. Can I know your name?"
"My name is Hei. There is no need to thank me. I didn't do it because I wanted to save your subordinate but because I needed those two. "
"That doesn't change the fact that you saved him. Anyway, you need information about Dong Zhen, right? Then you come to the right place. I am the Sons of Underworld’s leader. Our group is composed mainly of children and youths who have been rejected by those who were supposed to take care of them.
Although people only regard us as sewer mice, living in the sewers, we can learn about many things that are typically hidden from people. Such as a young man who stops Dong Zhen's wagons to let his buffaloes rest and then attacks his men."
Hearing this, Hei's eyes flickered for a moment as he quickly placed his left hand behind his back to take the spear.
Seeing him do this, Kang burst into laughter and hurried to reassure him. "Calm, calm. You have nothing to fear. It was just to make you understand that I know your situation. I don't know why exactly you're doing this, but it's not my business. If I can give annoying that fat man, then I am more than happy to help you.” At that point, Kang briefly stopped as he resumed in a more serious voice.
"Even if you question those two, they can't give you what you need as opposed to me. For example, a secret passage to sneak into Dong Zhen's shop."
"Why would you do that, because I saved Han?" Hei asked, confused. Although he wanted to repay Hei, giving such information could pose a significant risk to Kang and his group.
"That also, but let's say it's more like an instinct. You don't seem at all to be a stupid or impulsive person, so if you attacked his men voluntarily, it means that you have something you can count on, even against his personal guard. The only reason he has remained in his position is thanks to that guard. If you somehow managed to get rid of him, then Dong Zhen will not remain in command for long.
If I can get a higher charge in Green City’s underworld, then I can feed even more people. Most of the ones you've seen before would have been dead for a long time if it weren't for this place, but there is a limit we can get with petty thefts. I can't put the lives of my subordinates at risk, but giving you this information isn’t a problem, as long as you really have a way to kill that guard." Kang stopped to provide Hei with the chance to think.
Hei thought for a moment as he looked at the four subordinates behind Kang. From their eyes, one could see the respect and trust they had in their leader. Evidently, they had overcome so many difficulties together. Then after he decided, Hei replied.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you the method. I still ask you to tell me the secret passage and to trust me, but I will understand if you decide not to. In the meantime, I would like to question those two while you think about it. "
"Uhmm, you don't seem to lie, but... let me think about it for a while, we'll discuss it after having eaten."
Then the people inside the tent came out, and Kang ordered his subordinates to start preparing food while Hei stood in a corner with the two henchmen to question them. He didn't know if Kang would accept, so it was better to start drawing up a backup plan.