The incident in Rong County had grown into a major affair.
Early the next morning, the townspeople of Rong County all ca out to see what had happened.
The dock plaza outside the Yulong Gang hall was densely packed with corpses.
Constables and yan runners from the authorities, their faces covered with cloth masks, were carefully counting the bodies one by one and recording them into official registers.
Officials had also arrived from Sanhe Commandery.
Constable Captain Yu, who had once dealt with the Nu Tao Gang, personally led the team. As they examined the traces of battle around the Yulong Gang hall, their expressions were grave, and not a word was spoken the entire ti.
On Yang Feiyue’s side, a new Hall Master had already been swiftly promoted to take over the hall’s affairs. Dozens of Inner Disciples bustled about, arranging compensation for the fallen and preparing funeral matters for the disciples who had died.
By the ti daylight fully spread across the sky, the people from the Beggar Sect’s Sanhe Commandery Sub-Branch finally arrived.
Tap! Tap!
Tap! Tap!!
The Deputy Branch Master Zhang Ye led a large group of Beggar Sect disciples, arriving at the dock plaza with imposing montum.
The mont they approached, the Yulong Gang disciples led by He Haisheng stepped forward to block their path.
“Get lost!”
“You filthy beggars, stop right there!”
“Do you think this is a place you can barge into?!”
SHING!
Blades and swords were drawn.
The Beggar Sect side was no less defiant. They raised their own weapons in response.
For a mont, the air filled with the sll of gunpowder, and the tension was like drawn bows and cocked crossbows.
Seeing the nurous Beggar Sect corpses laid out across the dock plaza, Zhang Ye’s anger surged. He shoved aside a group of Yulong Gang disciples and strode into the plaza, shouting toward the ship in fury,
“Old bastard Yang! What have you done to our Branch Master Fu?!”
Yang Feiyue, a strip of white cloth tied around his head, descended from the ship with a saber in hand. His furious gaze locked onto Zhang Ye as he replied,
“My Yulong Gang hall in Rong County was slaughtered overnight by your Beggar Sect Branch Master ‘Fu Jundao,’ who brought n to massacre more than sixty people in my hall! And you ask what happened to him?!”
“The principle that a life must be repaid with a life! Surely your Beggar Sect understands that?”
Each word from Yang Feiyue cut like a blade.
“Or has your Beggar Sect grown so accustod to bullying others that you believe the entire world can be trampled underfoot?”
“…”
Zhang Ye’s expression changed.
The Beggar Sect disciples behind him also grew solemn.
Only then did they notice the bloodstains both inside and outside the Yulong Gang hall.
“Bullshit!”
“Our Beggar Sect would never do sothing like that!”
“Yang! You are slandering us!”
Naturally, Zhang Ye could not admit to it.
But Yang Feiyue had long been prepared.
“Fu Jundao led n to launch a night raid on my Yulong Gang hall. The people of Rong County and the authorities can all bear witness!”
“Where is Fu Jundao’s body?!”
Zhang Ye grew anxious.
A group of beggars imdiately tried to search for Fu Jundao’s corpse.
So even attempted to force their way into the hall.
At that mont, Wangchuan stepped out from the ship’s cabin.
“Caobang disciples, hear my command!”
WHOOSH!!
Dozens of Caobang elites with martial artist cultivation leapt out in perfect formation from several large ships nearby.
Wangchuan pointed at Zhang Ye and the others, his voice icy.
“Anyone who dares destroy evidence or seize a corpse connected to this case—kill them on the spot!”
“Wangchuan!”
“So it’s you!!”
Old grudges and new hatred surged through Zhang Ye’s heart. He stared at Wangchuan through clenched teeth.
“I am here to retrieve the body of the Beggar Sect’s Branch Master! You would do well not to stand in my way.”
Wangchuan’s gaze was cold.
“The Yulong Gang is a subordinate branch of the Caobang. Yet your Beggar Sect dared storm in and slaughter the hall of one of our affiliated gangs! This blood debt will definitely be settled by the Caobang!”
“You had better pray that none of this was done under your orders! Otherwise, what will be destroyed today will not only be the Beggar Sect’s sub-branch in Rong County!”
“The Sanhe Commandery Sub-Branch will not have a single survivor!”
“Outrageous!”
Zhang Ye flew into a rage and roared,
“You are rely a Helm Leader of the Caobang’s branch helm, yet you dare speak such arrogant nonsense?!”
“And you, Zhang Ye, are rely the Deputy Branch Master of a Beggar Sect sub-branch!”
Wangchuan shot back without yielding.
“Drive them out!”
At a mont like this, neither side could afford to lose face for their own gang.
With Wangchuan’s command, Chen Ergou and Zhao Heiniu led a group of Caobang martial artists. Together with He Haisheng and the Yulong Gang disciples, they shoved and forced the Beggar Sect disciples out of the dock plaza.
Although Zhang Ye possessed the strength of a Second-Rank Martial Artist, he could do nothing against the five Second-Rank experts on the Caobang’s side.
Constable Captain Yu had already rushed over after hearing the news.
Standing on the steps of the hall, he glanced at the Beggar Sect disciples who had been forced back.
Then he turned his gaze toward the bow of the large ship, where an old man and a young man stood facing the wind. He frowned slightly.
The grudges between the Beggar Sect and the Caobang had existed for a long ti. Their conflicts had never ceased.
But this ti...
Too many people had died.
The Six Gates had no choice but to intervene.
With his sharp eyes, Constable Captain Yu had long seen the truth. This ti, it had indeed been the Beggar Sect that took the initiative to attack the Yulong Gang hall, resulting in more than sixty deaths. Hall Master Qin Ming had died in battle as well.
But the Yulong Gang’s Water Stronghold was dozens of li away by river from Rong County.
Reinforcents arriving in the middle of the night should have been impossible.
There was only one explanation...
Those people had been bait, deliberately abandoned by Yang Feiyue.
The objective was obvious.
The Yulong Gang would destroy the Beggar Sect’s sub-branch.
More than two hundred Beggar Sect mbers had died.
After this battle, the Beggar Sect would never again gain a foothold in Rong County.
Moreover...
Once the Yulong Gang secured its position, every local force opposing them in Rong County would be forced to kneel.
As for disputes between gangs, Constable Captain Yu neither wanted to involve himself nor cared to.
“Captain.”
“How should we write the case report?”
“Write the truth. After all, the Yulong Gang has already prepared the evidence clearly and thoroughly for us.”
“The Yulong Gang acted in self-defense after being attacked.”
“Beggar Sect Branch Master Fu Jundao led n to commit murder. Both the principal and the accomplices deserve the death penalty!”
With that single sentence, Constable Captain Yu finalized the nature of the case.
It matched the townspeople’s speculation.
It also matched the intentions of the officials above.
And everyone who had taken money was satisfied.
Only...
Constable Captain Yu glanced at the nearly three hundred corpses arranged neatly across the dock plaza.
Most of them were wronged souls.
Once the Six Gates from the Commandery Governnt had finished their classification of the case, the County Magistrate could issue an official notice to the entire city.
Fu Jundao and his n would be declared violent criminals and bandits.
Only one detail had been omitted in the notice—the fact that Fu Jundao and the others were disciples of the Beggar Sect.
Though Zhang Ye felt boundless resentnt, he knew it was useless. Under the pointing fingers and whispers of the townspeople, he led the Beggar Sect disciples away from Rong County in disgrace.
At that point, Wangchuan knew the task that had brought him to Rong County was complete. He bade farewell to Yang Feiyue.
“Gang Leader Yang, my condolences.”
“Since the authorities have closed the case, I should return as well. Farewell.”
“Thank you, Helm Leader Wangchuan, for your tily support and for standing with us. These one hundred taels of gold are a small token for you and your n to enjoy wine and tea. I hope you will not find it insufficient.”
“Not at all.”
Wangchuan accepted the gold notes and lowered his voice.
“This ti, a Beggar Sect sub-branch has been destroyed, and more than two hundred people have died. The Beggar Sect will hate you even more now. Gang Leader Yang, you must be extra careful in the future.”
“Rest assured. I know what I am doing.”
Yang Feiyue nodded solemnly.
Wangchuan knew Yang Feiyue was a cunning old fox, so he said nothing more. He cupped his fist in farewell.
His group boarded the ship and departed from Rong County.
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