Chapter 43: Chapter 43
“It’s true!”
Willow was beaming. “I heard the commotion outside and asked around.”
“According to the Canal Gang brothers, Jin Buhuan of the Three Rivers Fortress and Ba Hu teamed up to kill the Canal Gang’s Helmsman, Liu Zhenhe. Then Li Suifeng — that scoundrel — killed Ba Hu!”
“Ba Hu’s body is still inside the Canal Gang compound!”
“He’s really dead?”
A dazed look settled over Lin Zhixu’s features.
Vengeance had sustained her for years. After Ba Hu’s ambush and Li Suifeng’s… indignities, she’d nearly given up hope.
And now Ba Hu was simply dead.
Li Suifeng’s image in her mind quietly shifted.
…
The next morning.
“The heavens above Nanyang are changing!”
“The Divine Fist Gate has already emptied out — not a soul left.”
“Two of Nanyang’s only three top fighters are dead in a single night. Change is coming.”
The entire city was in an uproar.
Only a relative handful had witnessed last night’s events at the compound, but after a morning of wildfire gossip, all of Nanyang knew.
The Qian residence.
Qian Kuan paced his courtyard, brow knotted tight.
“Father — Li Suifeng killed Ba Hu. Isn’t that good news?”
His son was baffled. He knew his father admired Li Suifeng. Wasn’t this the man’s moment of glory?
Why did his father look like he’d swallowed something foul?
“You know nothing!” Qian Kuan waved him off.
He maintained business relationships with several factions, but only because those factions respected the man behind him.
Behind the Divine Fist Gate stood Righteous Manor.
With Ba Hu dead at Li Suifeng’s hands, Righteous Manor would not let this stand.
And from what he’d gathered, Righteous Manor and the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers were already moving toward an alliance.
“Go invite Li Suifeng to visit… no — I’ll go myself.”
…
The Three Rivers Fortress.
Qian Long stood at the water’s edge. A wounded Jin Buhuan stood behind him.
He hadn’t expected Qian Long to show up in person.
“You shouldn’t have agreed to help Ba Hu. Now you’ve killed a Canal Gang branch Helmsman. The Canal Gang will retaliate.” Qian Long turned, fixing Jin Buhuan with a cold stare.
“Isn’t Righteous Manor allied with the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers?” Jin Buhuan kept his head down. “If Righteous Manor and the Valley are truly joined, the Canal Gang won’t have the bandwidth to worry about the Moon Lake Eighteen Strongholds.”
“Besides, our Eighteen Strongholds have always made our living on the water. Are we supposed to watch the Canal Gang’s shipping monopoly and not take a bite?”
“The Canal Gang is harder to shake than you think.” Qian Long shook his head. “The court won’t stand by and watch them fall. They’ll intervene. Our Eighteen Strongholds aren’t ready for a direct clash.”
“Leave the Nanyang Branch alone for now. Focus on finding out who killed my brother.”
“I went to Mingzhou. Ye Qingmei is traveling with Shen Huchan and Shen family guards — I couldn’t get close.”
“But the Demon Blade didn’t surface in Mingzhou. I suspect the wielder is still in Nanyang or Sanshui Prefecture. I’ll search the Sanshui area. You investigate the Nanyang side — pay special attention to Li Suifeng. I have a feeling he’s connected to the Demon Blade.”
“The Red Lotus Sect was hit at the docks, and Ye Qingmei with the Demon Blade struck the Yang compound the same night. And Li Suifeng is quite the mystery himself. There may be a link.”
Jin Buhuan kept his eyes lowered, saying nothing.
If he weren’t Li Suifeng’s man, he’d never have connected a body-hardening specialist like Li Suifeng with the single-cut-split-in-half Demon Blade.
…
Canal Gang. Nanyang Branch.
The compound was draped in white mourning cloth. Every disciple had gathered.
Helmsman Liu Zhenhe’s memorial altar stood in the main hall.
“Boss Li — I’ve already dispatched a messenger to headquarters with the news.”
Yuan Hai stood at Li Suifeng’s shoulder.
“The immediate priority is someone to lead the branch. With the Divine Fist Gate gone but Mingzhou refugees flooding in, we need leadership. Several brawls have already broken out since we sealed the compound last night.”
“The prefectural magistrate sent condolences and asked if you’d be willing to take charge of branch operations.”
Nanyang Prefecture had always been poor. With the Daye court’s waning authority — its iron grip extending only to the core provinces near the capital — the local magistrate commanded a single seventh-rank fighter of middling strength. Nowhere near enough to keep the peace among this influx of jianghu wanderers.
Qi Hu stood at a distance, eyelids drooping, seemingly half asleep. He hadn’t uttered a word.
“Indeed — Boss Li is the only person fit to lead right now.”
Lei Yun was quick to voice his support.
He’d crossed Li Suifeng before. If speaking up now could mend even a fraction of that rift, it was worth it.
“We ask Boss Li to take command!”
“We ask Boss Li to take command!”
The remaining retainers echoed the call.
The Canal Gang disciples watched Li Suifeng with open anticipation. At twenty-three, the man could kill a sixth-rank fighter.
Under his leadership, the branch might reach heights it had never seen.
“Elder Qi — what should we do?”
Sun Xi’s eyes glittered, though he kept his voice appropriately low.
The situation was clear. But if Qi Hu stirred up trouble, Sun Xi would have the perfect excuse to warn Li Suifeng — earning himself even more trust.
“Then I’ll leave matters in Boss Li’s hands.”
“This old body isn’t feeling well. I’ll take my leave.”
Qi Hu offered Li Suifeng a perfunctory salute and walked out.
Sun Xi and Zhou Chao traded a look, then followed.
“Boss Li — about what happened at headquarters—”
Yuan Hai leaned in, wanting to discuss the Manager Ma incident, but Li Suifeng waved him off.
“It’s nothing. That man can’t make waves.”
Qi Hu’s inner circle was already his. When the time was right, he’d have Jin Buhuan deal with the old fox.
Liu Zhenhe had just died. Now wasn’t the moment.
“Take this token and these funds to headquarters. Find Elder Liu. See if he can help me secure the Helmsman’s seat.”
Once the others had cleared out, Li Suifeng handed Yuan Hai a token and fifty thousand taels in banknotes.
“Boss Li… no branch has ever had a seventh-rank Helmsman.” Yuan Hai accepted the notes. “This may be difficult.”
“That’s fine.” Li Suifeng shook his head. “As long as Elder Liu is willing to push for it, there’s hope.”
“And even if he won’t — deliver the silver anyway. Build goodwill with Commander Hu and the others.”
His eyes narrowed.
He had one year to claim the Helmsman’s seat. If headquarters sent someone else to fill it, that person simply wouldn’t survive the trip.
…
The rest of the day, Li Suifeng received a steady stream of visitors at the branch.
It was evening before he finally headed for the docks.
He’d considered returning to Green Stone Alley — but then remembered a certain beauty was waiting at the docks. Green Stone Alley lost its appeal instantly.