Chapter 34: Sacrifice

July 7th, the River God Festival.

Today was the annual grand event of Gaolin County.

Every household hung mugwort and calamus in front of their doors to ward off evil and pray for blessings.

The cries of street vendors and the faint, rhythmic sounds of gongs and strings from distant opera stages were incessant.

Temporary stalls sprouted like mushrooms after rain, crowding both sides of the streets in dense rows.

The crowds were like a floodgate being opened, surging from the riverbanks into the narrow alleys of the city, creating a scene of extraordinary bustle.

As a River Patrol officer, Chen Qing naturally had no leisure. At this moment, he was patrolling the South River Wharf with a saber slung at his hip, guarding against potential stampedes or those looking to cause trouble amidst the surging crowds.

As he patrolled toward an old teahouse by the river, the clamor seemed to be somewhat muffled by the bamboo structures.

Chen Qing lifted the door curtain and stepped inside, finding an empty corner to sit down. He called out loudly, "Waiter, a bowl of large flower tea!"

"Coming right up! One bowl of large flower tea!"

A waiter with a cloth draped over his shoulder responded briskly, and before long, he brought over a bowl of flower tea.

As Chen Qing picked up the bowl, a familiar voice called out, "Junior Brother Chen!"

"Senior Brother Sun?"

He looked toward the voice and saw Sun Shun and Zhou Yu standing at the entrance of the teahouse. Sun Shun had changed out of his training uniform and was wearing a navy blue robe.

Beside him, Zhou Yu had changed into an elegant, pale pink *ruqun*. A simple wooden hairpin was tucked into her cascading black hair, which only served to further accentuate her clear and beautiful features.

Following closely behind Zhou Yu was another female disciple of the Zhou Academy, Li Rongrong. She wore a brand-new canary yellow *ruqun* and was exquisitely made up; though she was pretty, she was overshadowed by Zhou Yu's presence.

Li Rongrong had been at the academy for over a year and possessed *Mingjin* (Bright Strength) cultivation. While she was on good terms with Zhou Yu, she had little interaction with Chen Qing.

"Senior Brother Sun, Senior Sister Zhou? You are here as well?"

Chen Qing set down his tea bowl, stood up, and greeted them with a smile. "Come in and sit, tea is on me."

Sun Shun sat down. "It's the River God Festival today; none of the brothers and sisters in the academy have the heart to practice martial arts. Everyone has run out. Junior Sister and I don't like the crowds, so we're just wandering around."

Zhou Yu gave Chen Qing a slight nod, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "Then we thank you, Junior Brother Chen."

Li Rongrong also nodded reservedly, her gaze lingering briefly on Chen Qing's simple River Bureau uniform.

Chen Qing called the waiter over to add two more bowls of flower tea.

The teahouse was filled with the roar of voices, but their corner remained quite peaceful.

Li Rongrong picked up her coarse ceramic bowl and sipped the tea in small gulps. Her eyes drifted over Chen Qing as she asked, "Junior Brother Chen, are you holding a post at the River Bureau?"

"Yes," Chen Qing replied.

Li Rongrong set down her bowl, her tone carrying a hint of casual inquiry. "Have you never thought about seeking a post elsewhere? The River Bureau is leisurely, certainly, but that salary... I'm afraid it's barely enough to buy even a single Blood Qi Powder, isn't it?"

Chen Qing smiled, his tone calm. "With my current strength, the places I can go are limited. The River Bureau is stable, which is suitable enough."

"Actually, there is a good opportunity right now," Sun Shun said with a smile. "Junior Brother Chen, haven't you noticed lately? All the major factions in the county are scrambling for people. The entry requirements have been lowered significantly."

"Oh?" A flicker of doubt crossed Chen Qing's eyes.

Sun Shun lowered his voice. "You heard about the Commandant's victory banquet a few days ago, right? On the surface, it was a celebration, but in reality, it was a way to win hearts and recruit young talents."

"There are rumors that the Commandant's Manor intends to expand its forces. Whether it's true or not is hard to say, but once the word got out..." He paused, his voice dropping even lower. "The other factions panicked. Especially the Five Great Clans; they reacted the fastest, offering higher and higher prices, desperately trying to recruit experts from all walks of life."

"It's not just the Five Great Clans," Li Rongrong interjected, her tone carrying a hint of pride in her insider knowledge. "The Wangyuan Escort Agency, the blacksmith shops in the Inner City, and old establishments like Renhe Hall are all scrambling for people. Currently, the market rate for posts in the county is skyrocketing. For a *Mingjin* martial artist, the monthly salary has already reached eight taels of silver! As for *Anjin* (Dark Strength) experts..."

She deliberately emphasized her words, her gaze sweeping over Chen Qing. "The starting rate is thirty taels. And that's just the visible monthly salary; the extra provisions like medicinal supplements, weapons, and armor are incredibly generous!"

Hearing this, Chen Qing was secretly astonished.

A starting salary of thirty taels for an *Anjin* expert? Could he get thirty taels a month just by doing nothing?

One had to remember that even with the Han family working themselves to death weaving fishing nets, they only earned five or six taels a year.

Zhou Yu advised him gently, "Junior Brother Chen, this truly is a rare opportunity. With your *Mingjin* cultivation, it shouldn't be difficult to secure a post with some of the smaller factions."

Her voice was soft and sincere.

Chen Qing took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. I will give it serious thought."

Pies don't fall from the sky. If the major factions were willing to invest such heavy capital to recruit manpower, their demands must be significant.

Behind this seemingly generous compensation, what kind of risks and responsibilities were hidden?

Was it merely guarding a household, or would it require fighting with real blades and spears?

He needed to weigh his options calmly.

While the River Bureau's pay was meager, its advantage lay in the controllable risk.

Just then, Li Rongrong's gaze accidentally swept toward the entrance, and her expression changed slightly. "Senior Sister Zhou! Look over there... it's Gao Sheng from the Songfeng Martial Arts Academy!"

The Songfeng Martial Arts Academy?!

Hearing this, Chen Qing and Sun Shun immediately looked in the direction Li Rongrong was pointing.

At the entrance of the teahouse, four or five burly men with bulging temples were lifting the curtain to enter.

The leader appeared to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a rugged face and eyes as sharp as a hawk. He wore the signature dark green martial attire of the Songfeng Academy.

This man was none other than Gao Sheng, a skilled fighter among the younger generation of the Songfeng Academy.

"It really is him."

Zhou Yu's elegant brows furrowed, and her expression turned solemn.

Sun Shun's face also darkened. He explained quietly to Chen Qing, "Junior Brother Chen, you might not know since you joined later, but when Master first founded the Zhou Academy, he fought several martial arts academies to make a name for himself. One of them was this Songfeng Academy."

"Their academy master has always held a grudge, viewing it as a great humiliation. A few years ago, when disciples from both sides met on the street, they would often clash over the slightest disagreement. There was constant friction in private. It was only in the last two years, with Master's strict discipline and our academy gradually establishing itself, that things have quieted down somewhat."

He paused, his tone cautionary. "The Songfeng Academy is not weak; they are one of the six academies in the Inner City, and their foundation is much deeper than our martial arts academy. If you encounter people from Songfeng, try to avoid them so you don't end up at a disadvantage."

Chen Qing nodded silently, committing the name of the Songfeng Academy to memory.

Grudges between martial artists were often more about face than gang rivalries, making them even harder to resolve.

At that moment, Gao Sheng also noticed them. He took a glance and then led his men toward the depths of the teahouse to sit down, not immediately approaching to provoke a confrontation.

Chen Qing withdrew his gaze and picked up his tea bowl, though his sense of vigilance did not relax.

The clamor within the teahouse seemed to be dampened by this small interlude, but an invisible tension permeated the air.

However, this brief oppression was quickly and completely swallowed by a commotion that swept in like a tsunami.

"Something happened! Something big happened by the river!"

"Run! There's a murder!"

Like a drop of water hitting boiling oil, a massive wave of commotion erupted from the direction of the riverbank, spreading into the city with unprecedented speed.

The sound was no longer the festive clamor of a holiday, but screams filled with terror, chaos, and disbelief.

The noisy chatter and shouting within the teahouse were instantly cut short. Everyone stared in shock toward the door and the windows.

The flow of people on the street began to surge backward frantically, like a disturbed colony of ants.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

The patrons in the teahouse stood up one after another, stretching their necks to look outside, their faces etched with uncertainty and alarm.

Amidst the chaos, a panicked man squeezed through the teahouse entrance from the street and cried out, "The Commandant... the Commandant... he was assassinated during the sacrificial ceremony!"

*Boom—!*

The words exploded like a bolt from the blue within the small teahouse!

"What?!"

"The Commandant... was assassinated?!"

"How... how is that possible?!"

"Heavens! Who did it?!"

"Something terrible is coming! The heavens are changing in Gaolin County!"

The discussions flooded the teahouse like a tide, every face filled with disbelief.

Commandant Pang Qinghai was the sky of Gaolin County.

He was a ruthless man who had once killed a leader of the Waterway Gang with a single spear strike, striking fear into all directions.

For such a figure to be assassinated during the highly anticipated River God Festival ceremony?

It was simply beyond anyone's imagination.

Sun Shun was stunned. "This... how can this be?!"

Zhou Yu's beautiful face was also filled with shock and gravity.

Li Rongrong was so terrified that her face turned pale, and her entire body was trembling.

Chen Qing's heart was equally shaken.

Assassinating a Commandant?

This was by no means an ordinary martial arts vendetta. The depth of the involvement and the magnitude of the impact were enough to plunge the entire Gaolin County into a storm of blood and violence.

Images of Qin Lie participating in bandit suppression, clinging to the Commandant's Manor, and attending the victory banquet flashed through his mind, and a chill quietly crept up his spine.

At that moment, Old Li from the River Bureau stood in the chaotic street and shouted hoarsely, "A-Qing! Something terrible has happened! Follow me, quick!"

His voice was raspy, filled with an unprecedented sense of panic.

(End of Chapter)