Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Who Gave You That Illusion
"What? Yin Zisheng and Shen Taiyuan are dead?"
Hearing the latest news, Chu Mingwei, Patriarch of the Chu Family, slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his face a mask of astonishment.
"Setting Shen Taiyuan aside, Yin Zisheng was a Martial Arts Master at Inner Qi First Level Perfection! With Feng Shixian away, who could possibly kill him?"
"Patriarch, the two of them died inside the Drunken Immortal Tower. When it happened, besides themselves, only people from the Garrison Commandant’s Office were inside! Based on current information, it’s presumed that the new Deputy Commander, Chen Ping’an, killed them!"
"Chen Ping’an killed them!? According to our previous reports, his Martial Arts Realm was only the First Stage of Inner Qi. In a one-on-one fight, forget Yin Zisheng—he might not even have been a match for Shen Taiyuan! ’Could it be... was all the prior intelligence deliberately misleading, all for this moment?’" Chu Mingwei was stunned, feeling as though he were in a dream.
He had expected to watch the fire from across the river, to enjoy a good show. But who could have thought that before the show even began, one of the actors had already been forced off the stage for good!
"With the Quicksand Gang annihilated, their territory will become a vacuum of profit. The Chu Family must swallow up this share as quickly as possible!"
"Second Stage of Inner Qi? So what if he’s truly at the Second Stage of Inner Qi! When faced with the Will of my Chu Family, if he’s a dragon, he’ll coil up; if he’s a tiger, he’ll lie down!"
After a brief moment of shock, Chu Mingwei’s expression gradually returned to normal.
Second Stage of Inner Qi?
His Chu Family had one too!
He himself was a Martial Arts Master who had reached the Perfect Second Level of Inner Qi!
...
「The Blood Oath Alliance.」
At this moment, the face of Alliance Leader Luan Xiong was also filled with astonishment.
"Second Stage of Inner Qi! This Chen Ping’an certainly hid his strength well! I never thought he’d have such a card up his sleeve!"
"Indeed! To think that this new Deputy Commander is also a Martial Dao genius! To reach the Second Stage of Inner Qi at such a young age!" said an Elder of the Blood Oath Alliance, seated in the armchair to the left.
"A Martial Dao genius? In the grand scheme of things, who cares if he’s a genius! Second Stage of Inner Qi! He can only bully the likes of the Quicksand Gang. If he were in our Blood Oath Alliance, the Alliance Leader wouldn’t even need to act. I alone could suppress him!" a man built like an iron tower said with a disdainful tone.
Iron Arhat, Lu Guanghong!
The second-strongest master in the Blood Oath Alliance, a veteran master of the Second Stage of Inner Qi! He had a record of defeating another master of the Second Stage of Inner Qi! Back then, if his opponent hadn’t run fast enough, they would have likely died under his staff.
"Regardless, we should thank the Quicksand Gang for helping us probe the true depths of this new Deputy Commander. If it had been our Blood Oath Alliance, it would have caused us some trouble!"
"Haha, indeed. It’s a good thing the Quicksand Gang was wiped out! This extra piece of meat is just what we need to eat our fill!"
"Hahaha, Old Fifth, you’re being too pragmatic. Yin Zisheng just died! Aren’t you going to at least pretend to be upset? I remember you were the one who had the most fun drinking with him!"
"Upset!? Upset my ass! I’ve always thought four major gangs were too many! Now, thanks to the Garrison Commandant’s Office, isn’t it perfect that there’s one less!"
"..."
...
「The Crocodile Gang.」
Gang Leader Guan Baxian was drinking heartily with a burly man.
"Don’t worry, Little Brother Duan. With my Crocodile Gang here, the Garrison Commandant’s Office won’t dare give you any trouble! You just stay here and rest easy!"
The man drinking with Guan Baxian was none other than the Great Vajra, Duan Peng, who had escaped from the Quicksand Gang.
The Garrison Commandant’s Office had long been prepared for the operation to encircle and annihilate the Quicksand Gang. White Stone City was under heavy guard, and he couldn’t escape for the time being. After weighing his options, he decided to seek refuge with the Crocodile Gang.
He had a good private relationship with the Crocodile Gang’s leader, Guan Baxian, who had tried to recruit him several times before.
Hearing Guan Baxian’s words, Duan Peng felt a little more at ease.
"Thank you for your care, Boss Guan! I never imagined my Quicksand Gang would suffer such a calamity! To think that Chen Ping’an would be so ruthless!"
To this day, Duan Peng still felt as if he were in a dream.
’The Gang Leader and Vice Gang Leader I was just talking to face-to-face... how are they dead? The great Quicksand Gang was utterly crushed by the Garrison Commandant’s Office and fell to pieces.’
Guan Baxian gave Duan Peng a displeased look. "You’re being too formal! Just call me Big Brother! If you ask me, aside from that iron lump from the Blood Oath Alliance in Bai City, you’re the one I get along with best."
"This time, I also didn’t expect that fellow named Chen to be so decisive, flipping the table and striking directly! Honestly, if the Quicksand Gang hadn’t been wiped out so quickly, I would have definitely sent men over to help! But what’s done is done. For now, you just stick with your Big Brother here in the Crocodile Gang. When the time is right, Big Brother will help you get your revenge!" Guan Baxian looked at Duan Peng with an eager gaze.
Revenge could be discussed later; the important thing was to win Duan Peng over first.
He had been coveting this Great Vajra from the Quicksand Gang for a long time. He’d always wanted to recruit him but never succeeded. Who knew such an opportunity would arise.
Duan Peng practiced Outer Sect Hard Skills. Combined with his dense Inner Qi, his defensive capabilities had long reached an absurdly high level!
His Crocodile Gang needed exactly this kind of figure to serve as its pillar.
With Duan Peng joining them, the Crocodile Gang would not only increase its strength but also gain a certain moral high ground in the upcoming struggle for benefits.
Since the Quicksand Gang was annihilated, it was time for them to spit out that piece of meat in their mouths!
Duan Peng sighed but didn’t speak.
Guan Baxian glanced at Duan Peng, knowing that recruitment couldn’t be rushed. "Come, come, Little Brother Duan, let’s not think about unhappy things for now. Drink, drink!"
Duan Peng picked up a bowl of wine, tilted his head back, and poured it into his mouth, the splashing liquor soaking the front of his robes.
...
The other powers within White Stone City were also closely watching the fall of the Quicksand Gang, calculating the Garrison Commandant’s Office’s next move and trying to determine the best time to enter the fray and reap the greatest rewards.
Within the Quicksand Gang’s headquarters, under the leadership of several Chiefs of the Patrol Office, members of the Garrison Commandant’s Office were ransacking the premises and taking inventory of their haul.
"Lord Commander!"
"Lord Chen!"
"..."
One greeting after another came from outside the door. Many of the voices held a hidden excitement.
Dressed in Fish Scale Armor, Chen Ping’an led Cheng Renjing and a group of Garrison Commandant’s Office constables, filing in one after another.
The group had just entered when everyone inside came out to greet them. Among them, Shan Qiwang, the Chief of the Patrol Office for the Central District, reported to Chen Ping’an with a joyful expression, "My Lord, we have not failed our mission!"
"Mm!" Chen Ping’an nodded and asked, "What’s the situation?"
"My Lord, of the three hundred and twelve members of the Quicksand Gang, one hundred and twenty-seven were executed on the spot. The rest, with the exception of the Great Vajra Duan Peng, have all been captured! As for Duan Peng, according to reliable intelligence, he seems to have fled to the Crocodile Gang!"
"Well done!" Chen Ping’an praised. "Send a man to the Crocodile Gang and give them until the end of the day to hand over Duan Peng. Otherwise, they will bear full responsibility for all consequences!"
"Yes, sir!" Shan Qiwang responded loudly.
Chen Ping’an’s expression turned slightly cold.
’Does this Duan Peng really think that just because he’s run to the Crocodile Gang, the Garrison Commandant’s Office can’t touch him?’
’Who gave him that delusion!?’
"How is the seizure of the Quicksand Gang’s assets going?" Chen Ping’an asked aloud.
"My Lord, the Quicksand Gang..." Shan Qiwang began to report on the details of the seizure.
Chen Ping’an listened quietly with a calm expression. Everyone present looked at him, their hearts soaring. They had thought he was just some little doll who had gotten his position through family connections, but they never expected him to be an incomparably tough, ferocious, man-eating tiger.
The deaths of the Quicksand Gang’s Leader and Vice Gang Leader, and the annihilation of their gang, caused the morale of the Garrison Commandant’s Office members to surge. It seemed as if most of the fighting spirit they had lost over the years had returned.
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