Chapter 38: To Decide

Three months later, in the residence of Luo Zhenwu.

"Chief, you must do justice for me! Hall Master Chen is currently using three bottles of Essence Pills a month. Forget about selling the leftovers—there isn't even enough to supply the other Hall Masters and Vice Hall Masters of the gang! If this continues, my Shennong Hall won't be doing anything else; we'll be dedicated solely to refining pills for Hall Master Chen!"

Luo Zhenwu looked at the furious Hall Master of Shennong Hall before him and said in surprise

"Such a thing? Hall Master Chen uses one Essence Pill a day?"

The Hall Master of Shennong Hall looked grief-stricken and indignant as he said

"Yes! It is utterly preposterous! There is no telling how much Hall Master Chen has been embezzling! He belongs to the Hundred Weapons Hall; if he truly wants to make money, he should go to Hou Yan for it, yet he comes to take advantage of our Shennong Hall. What kind of logic is this?"

Luo Zhenwu frowned deeply and said

"This matter is indeed somewhat suspicious, but Hall Master Chen has kept himself behind closed doors for these past few months, practicing his martial arts diligently every day. He hasn't had much expenditure lately; there should be no need for him to embezzle pills."

Seeing that Luo Zhenwu was still defending Chen Yuan, the Hall Master of Shennong Hall stood up abruptly, exclaiming indignantly

"If the Chief thinks I am exaggerating, I will go and confront Hall Master Chen right now! Three bottles of Essence Pills have a market value of 1,800 taels of silver, and the cost is at least a thousand taels—all of which he has taken! Furthermore, because there are no Essence Pills for sale, our regular Gang-strength customers have all been snatched up by Jishi Hall, and the sales of other pills have also dropped significantly. We are losing at least 3,000 taels of silver every month, and our reputation is slowly being tarnished. Who will compensate for these losses? It is true that Hall Master Chen has performed great service, but he is not the only one benefiting. I will not be this sucker anymore!"

Luo Zhenwu hurriedly comforted him in a gentle tone

"Hall Master Qi, please calm down. How about this: I will go find Hall Master Chen, clarify the situation, and then give you an answer. How does that sound?"

Only then did Hall Master Qi sit back down, though he remained resentful

"It is not that I am stingy, but Hall Master Chen is brazenly embezzling pills by relying on the Chief's promise. It is simply too much! My Shennong Hall is willing to supply Hall Master Chen with two bottles of Essence Pills per month, but no more. Otherwise, if the other Hall Masters come to me demanding three or four bottles a month, how is Shennong Hall supposed to operate?"

"Rest assured, I will certainly give you an explanation..."

Luo Zhenwu offered a few more gentle words of comfort before finally soothing Hall Master Qi.

After Hall Master Qi left, Luo Zhenwu frowned deeply and fell into deep thought.

He had planted several informants among the servants of the Chen residence, so he knew the situation there like the back of his hand.

Since returning from the Chiman Mountains, Chen Yuan had kept himself indoors, practicing martial arts diligently and living a very frugal life.

Not only had he not touched the two maidservants carefully selected by his men, but his diet was also similar to that of an ordinary well-to-do family—aside from having a bit more meat, there were no delicacies from the mountains or seas.

He did not crave power, did not lust after beauty, and did not succumb to material desires.

Why would such a martial arts fanatic embezzle pills?

Luo Zhenwu's expression shifted as his thoughts churned. Suddenly, the housekeeper reported that Hou Yan had arrived for a visit.

Luo Zhenwu composed himself and rose to greet him.

But just as he stepped out of the main hall, Hou Yan approached with quick strides, his face grim.

Upon seeing Luo Zhenwu, he gave a perfunctory salute and said urgently

"Chief, I just received news that Workshop A-3 outside the city was attacked last night. Fifty-six craftsmen, ninety-four apprentices, thirty guards, and twenty-seven miscellaneous workers and cooks were all killed or wounded. Ironware worth 14,000 taels of silver has vanished without a trace!"

Luo Zhenwu's expression changed

"What exactly happened? Tell me in detail!"

"According to custom, the workshops outside the city must send someone into the city every morning to report the previous day's progress. However, the accountant from Workshop A-3 did not enter the city today. I sent Wu Ding to investigate, only to find that the workshop had been burned down and the craftsmen, apprentices, guards, and workers were all dead or wounded."

A fierce light flashed in Luo Zhenwu's eyes as he said

"Were any traces found at the scene?"

Hou Yan replied without hesitation

"None, but it must be the work of the Sanjiang Gang! The 'A-grade' workshops are all overseen by Inner Strength Deacons, and the guard teams are equipped with powerful bows and crossbows. Ordinary bandits could not have done such a clean job, and the mountain bandits in the Chiman Mountains would not come down from the mountains. Looking across Yuzhou, only the Sanjiang Gang has this kind of strength."

Luo Zhenwu nodded and said

"It is almost certainly them. Last month, we just smashed two of their gambling dens in Tianshui Alley, which resulted in over twenty deaths. It seems this is their retaliation."

Hou Yan said through gritted teeth

"It's a pity they did such a clean job; no clues could be found at the scene. Otherwise, if we reported it to the authorities, we could surely uproot them. This is a major case involving two hundred people!"

Luo Zhenwu sneered and said

"Forget it. The Sanjiang Gang has long since used silver to feed the navy on the Yongping River; how could they leave traces? It's quite possible the navy is cleaning up after them."

Hou Yan sighed deeply and said

"It was my own haste for profit that led me to build Workshop A-3 by the banks of the Yongping River, forgetting that it is the Sanjiang Gang's territory, which gave them this opportunity."

Luo Zhenwu waved his hand and said

"It is not your fault. Workshop A-3 can use water power for bellows and has a built-in pier. Iron materials transported from Lanzhou and Xingzhou can be unloaded directly at the workshop, saving a great deal of effort. The finished iron weapons can also travel down the Yongping River to be sold in distant provinces, earning a lot of silver for our gang. If it were me, I would have chosen this location as well..."

As he spoke, his tone gradually became murderous

"The Sanjiang Gang is becoming more and more arrogant. Relying on their connection to Prefect Jia, they snatched away the shipping business on the Yongping River and have now inserted their hands into the medicinal herb trade. Now that Prefect Jia has been transferred elsewhere, they are still not satisfied; they have reached into Yuanpingjing and are even eyeing the iron smelting business of our Fuhu Gang!"

"This is the foundation of our Fuhu Gang; how can we allow others to covet it! Since the Sanjiang Gang is so ungrateful, we need not hold back anymore. Let them see who truly calls the shots in Yuzhou!"

Hou Yan's face lit up with joy as he said

"The Chief is wise! Prefect Jia is a thing of the past; now Prefect Yan is in charge. Although he is not from Yuzhou, he has served here for a long time and has a deep friendship with the Chief. He will surely stand up for us."

Luo Zhenwu shook his head and said

"Matters of the martial world should be settled within the martial world; taking it to the officials is a low blow. I will write a letter in a moment. You take three thousand taels of silver and deliver them to Prefect Yan's manor together. He only needs to turn a blind eye; we will handle the rest ourselves."

"I shall follow the Chief's orders!"

Hou Yan took the letter and left. Luo Zhenwu pondered for a moment before heading out of the residence.

...

When the housekeeper found Chen Yuan, he was practicing martial arts in the backyard.

Upon learning that Luo Zhenwu had come to visit, Chen Yuan reluctantly finished his training and followed the housekeeper to the reception hall.

Over the past four months, he had practiced his martial arts diligently every day, rarely leaving his house and often forgetting to eat or sleep.

With a sufficient supply of Essence Pills, Chen Yuan's progress had been extremely rapid; he had already reached the peak of the Gang-strength stage, with his true qi filling his dantian.

He only needed a few more days of refinement to attempt a breakthrough to the Hua-jin stage.

To go from the initial stage of Gang-strength to its peak in just half a year was unheard of in the martial world.

At this critical moment, Luo Zhenwu's sudden visit interrupted Chen Yuan's process of refining the true qi within his body, so he was naturally somewhat dissatisfied.

However, before he reached the peak of Hua-jin, he still required the pill supply from the Fuhu Gang, so he could not afford to show any attitude toward Luo Zhenwu.

By the time he reached the reception hall, Chen Yuan had already put on a smiling face and bowed with his hands clasped

"Erniu greets the Chief. I was practicing martial arts in the backyard just now and failed to greet you personally. Please forgive my negligence."

Luo Zhenwu's expression was solemn as he said

"No need for such formalities. I am the one disturbing your training, but a major incident has occurred within the gang. The situation is urgent, which is why I had to make this trip."

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed as he asked

"I wonder what has happened in the gang that involves me?"

Luo Zhenwu gave a bitter smile

"This matter has nothing to do with you, but it concerns the reputation of our gang..."

He explained the attack on Workshop A-3 in detail. Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan struck the table in anger

"This is outrageous! The Sanjiang Gang is pushing us too far. We must not allow them to continue acting willfully and harming the lives of our gang's disciples!"

Luo Zhenwu said

"That is exactly what I am thinking, which is why..."

"Chief, I believe we should mobilize the gang's elites and give the Sanjiang Gang a harsh blow in return—an eye for an eye! Hall Master Hou possesses profound strength and exquisite martial arts; if he were to take action personally, it would surely be a simple matter!"

Before Luo Zhenwu could finish, he was interrupted by Chen Yuan.

His righteous and indignant manner left Luo Zhenwu somewhat stunned.

But he quickly regained his composure and said

"There is something you do not know. Hall Master Hou suffered an internal injury in his younger years and has not fought anyone for a long time. The two Vice Hall Masters are personally traveling with the convoys, and Hall Master Qi and Hall Master Liu each have their own responsibilities. Even if I wanted to retaliate, I have no manpower."

Chen Yuan showed a look of regret and said helplessly

"Then we can only let the Sanjiang Gang remain triumphant for a while. Once the two Vice Hall Masters return, we shall avenge our fallen brothers."

Luo Zhenwu frowned slightly, staring at Chen Yuan, and finally stopped being evasive

"If we wait for them to return before acting, who will still respect our gang? I want to entrust this matter to you. What do you think?"

Chen Yuan was startled, then smiled and said

"My strength is meager; I fear I cannot shoulder such a heavy responsibility. The Chief should seek someone more capable."

A sharp light flashed in Luo Zhenwu's eyes as he stared at Chen Yuan and smiled

"Hall Master Chen possesses divine strength and can contend with a demon tiger. The Sanjiang Gang is nothing but a rabble; how could they possibly be your match? Or is it... that Hall Master Chen is unwilling to contribute to the gang?"

Chen Yuan lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying

"If the Chief commands it, I dare not disobey. I only ask the Chief to see clearly: I know that several Hall Masters and Vice Hall Masters have doubts about me. That is why I offered the Six Yang Technique and focused solely on martial arts without participating in gang affairs—to avoid misunderstandings, not to evade my responsibilities."