Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo'-Chapter 708 - 471: Who Wants to Destroy Jiang Xiang Gang (Additional Release for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 708: Chapter 471: Who Wants to Destroy Jiang Xiang Gang (Additional Release for Monthly Votes)

Xiao Zhenggong directly asked Shen Jingye, "Are you suggesting that we need to replace the Balancer?"

Shen Jingye still wore a gentle smile and spoke with gravity, "Zhenggong, you are overthinking it. We indeed encountered some difficulties in our work, but every difficulty has a solution. Of course, regarding some official matters, the higher-ups indeed provided some feedback. The last time you went to Wuqin Village to conduct an investigation, the higher-ups were not very satisfied with your performance."

Xiao Zhenggong frowned. "What did I do wrong in Wuqin Village? The Border Defense Envoy Liu Guocai arranged some banquets; you surely aren’t going to nitpick over such trivial matters?"

Shen Jingye shook his head. "I am not aware of any involvement you might have had with Liu Guocai. The crux of the problem is that this matter ultimately yielded no result."

"What result are you expecting?"

"The original intention of setting up a Balancer was to achieve balance in the common interests with the Inner State. However, after your visit to Wuqin Village, you made no contact whatsoever with the Inner State."

Xiao Zhenggong replied, "How can that be blamed on me? I have already explained the situation to you. At that time, there was an epidemic on Sage Peak, one spread by the Greenwater Beggar, and you might not know just how dangerous a person he is. If I hadn’t left then, I would have surely lost my life!"

Shen Jingye sighed. "The higher-ups have opinions on your work, and it’s not just this single issue. Recently, the Inner State attacked the Ink Shop; did you receive any news about that?"

Xiao Zhenggong replied, "The Inner State occasionally makes moves against Puluo State; this is something you are well aware of, aren’t you?"

Shen Jingye nodded. "We are very clear about the conflicts between the Inner State and the Master of Puluo. For the sake of balancing the needs of all parties, we are also willing to give up some of our interests in Puluo State, but we hope that the Inner State won’t always act unilaterally. It would be best to have some communication with us beforehand to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and frictions. We hope that all conflicts can be effectively resolved on Puluo State, this buffer ground. We want to avoid misunderstandings escalating these conflicts and causing direct friction between us and the Inner State."

Xiao Zhenggong seemed to understand Shen Jingye’s point. "You feel that I haven’t maintained enough contact with the Inner State?"

Shen Jingye nodded. "We do have such considerations."

Xiao Zhenggong stood up and said, "Fine, then I will make another trip to Puluo State and convey your thoughts to Sage Peak as they are, and also check on my own Gang in passing."

「Greenwater City, Lu Family Bookstore.」

Li Banfeng selected some old newspapers.

These old newspapers’ supplements all featured stories about the Flying General Camp, and Flying General Zhao Xiaowan was mentioned in them, telling tales of rooting out evil and maintaining order. There were also corresponding news reports on the front pages of the newspapers.

Most of these stories were authored by San Zhumei, and while other newspapers published similar works, the quality was somewhat inferior.

But the stories were all compellingly written, while the news articles glossed over the details.

Just like with the recently destroyed Jiang Xiang Gang’s Fallen Jade Pass Hall Entrance, the stories in the novels described the pre-battle scheming, the clash between the two sides, and the post-battle wrap-up in great detail.

But the news only mentioned it in a few sparse words.

"The Jiang Xiang Gang’s Fallen Jade Hall was destroyed, the Hall Entrance shattered, and nearly all the gang members dead or injured..."

Again, ’nearly all dead or injured.’

But exactly how many died? How many were injured? Where did the Hall Master go? Did they die or get injured? The news didn’t make any of that clear.

These details will have to be asked about at the newspaper office, and they’ll need to be investigated further.

Just as Li Qi finished selecting newspapers and was about to pay Boss Lu, he suddenly felt a vibration in his chest.

Seeing that Li Banfeng seemed preoccupied, Boss Lu quickly said, "Boss Li, I’ll send the newspapers to Xiaoyao Lodge for you later. You can go ahead if you are busy with something else."

Li Banfeng thanked him and left the bookstore, finding an alley to answer his phone.

On the other end of the phone, Luo Zhengnan said, "Seventh Master, Xiao Zhenggong is coming to Puluo State, and I think I should lay low for a couple of days."

Li Qi frowned. "Why are you hiding from him?"

"It’s not that I am afraid of him myself, but since he’s coming with the status from the Outside Provinces, I fear it might bring trouble to you..."

"What’s there to be afraid of the Outside Provinces? If you have any trouble, come to Xiaoyao Lodge and see me. I want to see if he dares to lay a finger on you."

After hanging up, Li Banfeng returned to Xiaoyao Lodge, where Oil Peach had been waiting for quite a while.

"Shan Zhumei has received news that the Flying General Camp will strike at the Jiang Xiang Gang’s main hall in three days."

The Jiang Xiang Gang’s main hall was in Greenwater City. The new Hall Master was named Yao Zhiyi, a Sixth Layer Literature Cultivator, who was also said to have Dual Cultivation of the Fifth Layer of Emotion Cultivation. He had two Fifth Layer Cultivators and fifteen Fourth Layer Cultivators by his side, and a following of about a hundred cultivators with significant cultivation levels.

How did Li Banfeng know so much about this? It was because he had been planning to target the main hall himself for some time.

And now, the Flying General Camp was about to preempt him.

Oil Peach said to Li Banfeng, "This is good news. The Jiang Xiang Gang is notorious for their malevolent deeds; it’s about time they were wiped out. I told Ah Mei that if this is successful, I’ll make sure she is handsomely rewarded."

Li Banfeng pondered for a moment and then said, "It’s good news indeed, but the situation is rather peculiar."

Oil Peach asked, puzzled, "What’s peculiar about it?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and then asked, "Aside from recording events, does Shan Zhumei have any other assignments within the Flying General Camp?"

Oil Peach shook his head. "What else could she be tasked with? She’s troublesome, hot-tempered, timid, and not that high in cultivation. She couldn’t handle other kinds of tasks."

Li Banfeng said, "But how does such a seemingly unimportant person come to know so much confidential information?"

Oil Peach was taken aback, realizing upon Li Banfeng’s prompting that the situation was indeed peculiar.

For Li Banfeng, while the Jiang Xiang Gang’s main hall wasn’t exceptionally strong, it had many members and was known for its ruthless reputation. If he intended to take them down, he had to strike unexpectedly without giving them any chance to prepare.

The Flying General Camp was known for being overt in their actions, but they wouldn’t be so obvious as to let a mere scribe know about their operational plans ahead of time.

As he harbored his suspicions, Qin Tianjiu arrived at Xiaoyao Lodge.

Qin Tianjiu had now been promoted to the Silver Seal, thereby becoming a figure of some significance within the Three Heroes Gang.

He no longer needed to be covert when visiting Xiaoyao Lodge; after all, Shen Jinzhong, who bore the Great Gold Seal, had been supported by Li Banfeng, and Qin Tianjiu’s rise in the ranks was a direct result of his connection with Li Qi.

"Brother Seven, our Great Gold Seal just received news this morning. In three days, the Flying General Camp is going to attack the Jiang Xiang Gang’s main hall. Those Bird People from the Jiang Xiang Gang have long deserved death. The Great Gold Seal sent me to ask if you’d like to join in on the action?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment and then said, "Tell your Great Gold Seal to go and find out more about the origins of the Flying General Camp. After there’s news, make sure to inform me, and tell him not to rush into getting involved in this."

So, the Three Heroes Gang knew about it too?

If the matter had escalated to such an extent and the Jiang Xiang Gang still remained unguarded, that would truly be ridiculous.

Wait a minute. Xiao Zhenggong is returning to Puluo State... is it for this matter?

「After getting off the train, Xiao Zhenggong went straight to the Defense Agency.」

In terms of rank, Liao Zihui was above Xiao Zhenggong, but Xiao Zhenggong’s status as a Balancer meant that Liao Zihui naturally treated him with courtesy.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Zhenggong brought up the crisis that the Jiang Xiang Gang had been facing recently.

Liao Zihui was well-prepared and said, "Regarding the series of events that have recently happened to the Jiang Xiang Gang, we have given it high priority, established a special task force, devised a work plan, defined responsible goals, and effectively implemented various work measures..."

Xiao Zhenggong patiently listened to Liao Zihui finish his vague speech, had lunch at the Defense Agency, and then went to the main hall in the afternoon.

His return trip had caused quite a stir. It seemed like the Jiang Xiang Gang was already well-prepared. Logically, the Flying General Camp’s actions should also be postponed.

Even Shan Zhumei was somewhat worried, wondering if she should continue writing her draft.

But Xie Mengjiao sent Shan Zhumei another message stating, "The operation remains the same. Tell her to hurry up with her writing. Aim for the news to break on the day the novel is completed."

Li Banfeng found the situation more and more incomprehensible and said, "Oil Peach, stay in Xiaoyao Lodge for the next few days. Don’t go looking for Shan Zhumei."

Oil Peach asked, "Brother Bai Sha, is this Zhao Xiaowan real or fake?"

Li Banfeng raised his eyebrows and said, "I think it’s fake."

「"I think it’s real!" In the Lu Family Bookstore, He Jiaqing picked out a stack of old newspapers and asked Boss Lu to ring them up.」

Boss Lu smiled and asked, "Why do you think this Zhao Xiaowan is real?"

He Jiaqing replied, "Because she’s attacking the Jiang Xiang Gang! The Flying General is a great hero, punishing evil and eliminating villains; it’s only reasonable. The Jiang Xiang Gang are all bad guys, robbers who steal from others. I hate robbers the most!"

Boss Lu nodded and asked, "So, have you been robbed by the Jiang Xiang Gang?"

"I have been robbed. I still hate them when I think about it. I’ll definitely get my revenge on them sooner or later!"

He Jiaqing left with the newspapers.

As he walked, he smiled.

While smiling, he muttered to himself, "Xiao Zhenggong, this grudge will be avenged very soon!"

「That very night, Li Banfeng received an invitation. Xiao Zhenggong was inviting Li Qi to a banquet at the Jiang Xiang Gang main hall the following day.」

Qin Tianjiu came to Xiaoyao Lodge specifically to warn Li Qi, "Brother Seven, you absolutely can’t go. That man Xiao has no good intentions.

"Everyone knows what the Jiang Xiang Gang is like. Now that they’re facing annihilation, they’re looking for help everywhere.

"This time Xiao Zhenggong sent out dozens of invitations. No one in Greenwater City is giving him the time of day. You don’t want to fall for his tricks, nor do you want your reputation tarnished because of him."

Li Banfeng looked at the invitation, smiled, and said, "It would be inappropriate not to go. Sect Leader Xiao and I, we’re old acquaintances, aren’t we?"

Qin Tianjiu was stunned. "Brother Seven, you knew Xiao Zhenggong before?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes, we have a life-and-death friendship!"

「In the Jiang Xiang Gang main hall, Xiao Zhenggong was perusing a roster, marking names one by one.」

Hall Master Yao Zhiyi whispered from the side, "There are two brothers who are very loyal to the gang and do their work decently. They also keep their mouths shut. I’m considering keeping them."

Xiao Zhenggong frowned and asked, "Which two?"

Yao Zhiyi pointed out two names on the roster.

Xiao Zhenggong nodded and drew a circle next to those two names.

After looking through the roster, Xiao Zhenggong walked around the Hall Entrance back and forth.

Although the Jiang Xiang Gang was a second-rate Gang, the Hall Entrance of the main hall was quite imposing, with five small buildings front and back, a lake in the middle, and even a grove by the lake. Some people even referred to this place as the Jiang Xiang Garden.

Xiao Zhenggong sighed and said, "When my father was still alive, I told him not to focus too much on the façade. Standing too tall can attract trouble, and it’s not a good thing. I told the brothers to memorize the routes well, so they don’t take a wrong turn at a critical moment."

Yao Zhiyi laughed. "Rest assured, we can’t possibly make a mistake in our own Hall Entrance."

Xiao Zhenggong followed Yao Zhiyi to a rockery by the lake, twisted a few Stone Cones in a cave, opening a door, and descended the stairs toward the underground chamber.

Xiao Zhenggong looked around the chamber and asked, "When was this set up?"

"Last night!"

Xiao Zhenggong laughed and said, "Such a large space, tucked away under the lake. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I truly wouldn’t have believed it."

Yao Zhiyi nodded and said, "I didn’t believe it either, until I saw it myself. It scared the life out of me!"

Xiao Zhenggong instructed, "When you all enter tomorrow, be sure to time it right. After this, the Jiang Xiang Gang will be no more. If you’re late, don’t blame me for not caring whether you live or die."

Yao Zhiyi replied, "Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong with this."

After making a round in the underground chamber, Yao Zhiyi slid open a secret door in the wall, and an imposing aura hit them squarely.

Yao Zhiyi couldn’t help but shudder, and Xiao Zhenggong told him to leave first and go back to the rockery to stand guard, as he had something to say to the person in the hidden room alone.

After Yao Zhiyi left, the renowned detective Da Boyins stepped out of the hidden door, approaching Xiao Zhenggong.

"Gang Leader!" Da Boyins saluted Xiao Zhenggong deeply.

Xiao Zhenggong nodded and said, "You all have had a hard time these past days."

Da Boyins bowed his head and responded, "To serve the Gang Leader is my utmost honor."

Xiao Zhenggong didn’t particularly like Da Boyins’s tone, so he called into the hidden room, "Before this matter is concluded, you’ll have to hold on for a while longer. Can you endure it?"

A woman’s voice came from inside, "The Marshal worries too much. Even when there’s no food to eat, we could survive half a year by eating wild cats. Now, with food and drink provided, there’s no reason we can’t hold on."