2 Chapter 2: First Mission

Jang Li woke up in the same room he fell asleep in last night. That's a huge relief, he thought to himself. As he got up he noticed Zou Yue sitting in his room observing him. "I'm quite tired of this habit of yours. I value privacy once in a while, so leave quickly."

"That's not the reaction most men have when they find an attractive woman in their room so early in the morning Jang Li." She shifted a bit and stood up. "I'm just curious about you. In any case, let's get prepared for our mission this morning. Or do you object to this?"

"What are we doing today?" Jang Li got up and walked towards her.

"There's a shop in our territory we want to talk business with. They've been supplying rival gangs and we aren't happy about that. The boss wants us to go have a word with them." Zou Yue walked out of the room, Jang Li followed behind quickly.

Jang Li specializes in tasks like this. Though his palm is incredibly lethal, it isn't always instant, but a small dose can be a major threat to someone that doesn't know otherwise.

The trip to the shop was quiet and uneventful. Zou Yue stopped him as he reached for the door. "We are here to talk, if things get messy we are not to kill the owner. If he has some goons then we are free to do as we wish" Zou Yue smiled deviously.

"Fine with me. I only kill when necessary." Jang Li opened the door to the shop and was greeted by the sight of a dog yaoguai. This was marginally surprising to see, it isn't often that you see a yaoguai running a shop. He appeared to just sell basic cultivation items, but Jang knew that many people had underground operations hidden away from the eyes of the righteous ones.

"You are Xiong Shen correct? We represent the Brown Lotus. Our boss wanted us to come here and discuss some business terms with you. It's quite dangerous in this part of town, he thinks it would be best if you paid us a fee to keep your shop safe under our name. What do you say?" Zou Yue checked out his products along the walls.

"I'm afraid Three Dragons has already got me covered. So beat it girl. If you know what's best for you." The yaoguai pointed her towards the exit.

"Li, didn't you murder many from their gang last night?" Zou Yue laughed at the yaoguai's empty threats.

"Quite frankly, I killed 8 of them with ease. You should truly consider renouncing them and partnering with us instead Xiong Shen." Jang Li graveled out in a low tone. He didn't even bother to face the yaoguai.

"You know I can't renounce them without fear for my life." The yaoguai retorted. "You'd think I'm foolish enough for this?"

"Call upon them then."

"Zou Yue! It's only you and I, what if they send many members here? We could be in danger. Think cautiously about this." Jang Li began to sweat recalling his trouble from last night, he did not want to repeat that ordeal again.

"Are you afraid? You were ambushed last night. The circumstances will be different today. Call upon the Three Dragon Gang to protect you Xiong Shen. Tell them Brown Lotus threatens their territory. We will return tomorrow afternoon." She walked out with Jang Li hot on her trail.

"You didn't want to bother telling me that we are going to start a feud with Three Dragons? Seriously? What the hell's your problem Zou Yue?" Jang Li has begun to contemplate this partnership. This woman is insane and he's tired of her already.

"I know you broke through last night Jang Li. Don't be humble about this. You can't deceive me easily. I'm also in the qi condensing phase. Those Three Dragon chumps are complete pushovers. The only ones to worry about are the three founders. The boss was adamant that we could handle such a task. Don't disgrace us like this."

"Fine then. Let's go back to the hideout. I need to prepare for this." Jang Li huffed. It's no use arguing with her, he thought to himself.

As they arrived at the hideout Zou Yue turned to him, "Do you need me to get you any materials for your preparation? What exactly are you preparing?"

"I don't need you to bring me anything yet. Do you want a pill to enhance qi flow through your meridians? Maybe something to enhance your strength or speed, maybe even reflexes? I can create many medicines with great benefits, though if you want it to be strong there's gonna be some pain involved in the process."

"So if you can do all this, why did you take to the world of cultivation? Couldn't you just live a peaceful life as an alchemist instead? What benefit do you get from putting yourself in harm's way?" Zou Yue was puzzled by all this.

"I can't really explain my motives to you yet, but I need power, I can't just goof off and make elixirs all day. If my destiny allowed me to live a quiet life I would have." Jang Li walked back to his room and shut the door.

He pulled out some weeds from his bag, some were red tinted, and some were green. He quickly ingested them and focused his qi towards his stomach. After a few moments a yellow pill emerged from his mouth. He placed it into a small pocket within his pants. This was a secret way of alchemy passed down to only a few members of his family. There is no place where the process has been recorded. There are only 2 people alive who currently know this way of alchemy.