Chapter 103 - 101: Battle Below Sixth Realm
After exchanging dozens of blows, A Liu felt immense pressure.
He had to admit that Song Changming was superior to him, whether it was in sword skill proficiency or the ability to maneuver with the light body skill.
As the fight continued, he increasingly fell into a disadvantageous position.
Suddenly, Song Changming’s sword momentum changed, a sinister wind emerged, and a hundred ghosts appeared, making him look like a reaper wielding a scythe.
A Liu was momentarily stunned, unable to keep up with Song Changming’s sudden shift in sword form, almost getting his head cut off.
Song Changming was also curious to see if his opponent’s neck could practice to be as sturdy as an iron pillar to withstand his decapitating strike.
After dodging, A Liu was still shaken, feeling a chill in his heart, with no previous impatience left.
"I can’t fight against him anymore!" A Liu, beaten into retreat, grabbed two gang members and threw them at the pursuing Song Changming, intending to flee.
However, as he turned, he saw a black-maned horse raising its hooves toward him.
A top-like general was on the horse, holding a long spear and charging at him.
The spear thrust like a dragon!
The power of the spear strike was earth-shattering!
The leader of the Dinghai Water Gang didn’t even have time to defend, as his abdomen was pierced by the spear and lifted into the air.
"Why are you snatching the kill..." Song Changming murmured, seeing his opponent intercepted by someone else.
However, he recognized the majestic grand general in front of him as the new captain managing the troops of Donglai Prefecture.
Having this captain personally lead the troops here showed that the governor was determined to take control of this port.
"You!" A Liu glared at the person who had gravely injured him.
Chen Yan looked indifferent, swinging the long spear again, slamming it to the ground, pinning A Liu firmly, making him unable to move.
The captain then turned his gaze to Song Changming, a little distance away, taking a few more glances at him.
Song Changming’s performance earlier was enough to catch his attention.
And Song Changming was also sizing up this new captain.
Previously, he had only seen him briefly at the Governor’s Mansion, and had never seen him in action.
Now that he saw him, there was no doubt that he was another remarkable martial tao expert.
One had to say, there was no weak military officer coming out of the Imperial Capital.
This captain, along with General Director Zhuang Ren, likely had both reached the Seventh Realm of Body Refining Realm!
For such strong individuals, reaching the perfection of body refining nine realms didn’t seem like a distant matter.
Compared to them, Song Changming appeared much more immature.
His martial arts practice time likely didn’t even reach a fraction of these two.
Afterward, two other major leaders of the Dinghai Water Gang quickly fell under the duo’s gun sword, one dead and one seriously injured.
With the leaders defeated, the remaining gang members of Dinghai Water Gang lost all ability to resist.
Some died, some were injured, some knelt to surrender, and some tried to escape by jumping into the river.
In the end, of the more than five hundred Dinghai gang members, only a few sporadically escaped with their lives uncertain, which was essentially a total annihilation.
On the other hand, the losses on the Patrol Guard and military side were not severe.
At least, they were within the range both Zhuang Ren and the captain could accept.
What followed was the battlefield cleanup phase.
The bodies scattered everywhere were searched and then thrown into the river to feed the fish. The captured gang members were searched, and all their belongings were taken.
This wasn’t much of an issue.
What was surprising, however, was the dispute and argument between Zhuang Ren and the captain over managing and transporting a large amount of spoils found on the seven gang ships and within their stronghold.
Song Changming watched from not far away and could understand.
There were several large chests of money, plus a pile of unprocessed goods and food, and weaponry equipment.
The total value of these spoils was at least ten thousand silver!
This rough estimate didn’t even account for the pile of goods and the several chests of coins yet to be inventoried.
The actual value would likely exceed Song Changming’s estimation!
Theoretically, these spoils should be handed over to the Governor’s Mansion, including those ships, which would also be confiscated.
But in this process, there was still a lot of profit to be gained.
And because of this, neither Zhuang Ren nor the captain was in a hurry to inventory the spoils and make a list, instead arguing over who would manage them and transport them back to the County City.
Significant interests were involved, so neither of the big shots was willing to let go.
Song Changming, having worked as an official for many years, was not surprised by such things.
The majority of people in this world pursued fame and fortune, and no matter how high their position or martial tao skill, they wouldn’t escape from this custom.
The General Director and the new captain from the Imperial Capital were no exception, just like Xie Shihuan and Fan Yun before them.
Truly noble and indifferent individuals were rare, and Song Changming hardly ever saw even one a year.
Even he is no exception, also pursuing fame and fortune.
Just imagine if this pile of spoils were his, then he wouldn’t say he would eat his fill of hundred-year-old wild ginseng, but he could continue with one root each month without any pressure.
By then, his Martial Tao strength would certainly advance by leaps and bounds, changing each year.
But unfortunately, this is just a fantasy, as this pile of goods and money is guarded layer by layer by many people at the Dinghai Water Gang. Now that they’ve become spoils, even more people are eyeing a share.
At most, he can get some benefits from it, make a small profit for his hard work in completing missions and killing enemies, without expecting more.
On the other side, after some symbolic disputes, Zhuang Ren and the Captain both unsurprisingly took a step back and jointly manage the gains.
Everyone can enjoy the profits together; there’s no need to compete anymore.
After reaching an agreement, Zhuang Ren allowed his personal guards to start taking inventory of the spoils, while the Captain also sent people to supervise, preventing any oversight.
The scene was quite harmonious.
After this battle, the entire port area was reclaimed by the government.
The Patrol Guards and troops dispersed to guard the docks, ready to receive news first if the Dinghai Water Gang dared to return.
Song Changming found himself momentarily idle, with nothing to do, so he wandered into the fish market.
The large-scale clash between the Dinghai Water Gang and the government early in the morning did not affect the local fish market’s subsequent trade.
Many local fishermen were used to facing big challenges and, after learning the Dinghai Water Gang was chased away by the government, followed the government’s rules accordingly.
If the Dinghai Water Gang were to return and dominate the port waterways, the fishermen would follow the rules of the Jianghu factions again.
This isn’t really being opportunistic; it’s just their way of survival, not offending either side, and listening to whomever is in power.
The scale of the port’s fish market is actually not small. It is called a fish market, but it also sells a variety of other strange marine products, with many categories.
Fish and seafood are just a part of it; there are also many treasures from the sea, and even stone minerals, etc.
It must be said that the treasures in the sea are not fewer than those on land, and perhaps even more.
However, human exploration of the sea is far less than that of the land, so the ocean remains mysterious and incredibly dangerous, difficult to further develop.
Occasionally, rare sights or treasures fished from the sea can leave people in awe.
Besides the local fishermen, many merchants from Donglai Prefecture also come here to purchase various seafood goods, transporting them back to county cities to sell in their stores.
Therefore, in the morning, this fish market is already quite bustling, with a significant flow of people.
Song Changming, wearing the official uniform of the Chief Patrol Guard, drew much attention along the way, with faces showing respect and awe.
Some people averted their gaze hurriedly when they met Song Changming’s eyes, fearing to offend this Patrol Guard and mistakenly be taken as a suspect.
This is the deterrence of the official uniform to ordinary people, also known as power.
Song Changming didn’t mind others’ gazes, as his eyes fell on the stalls on both sides.
Some sellers pulled their wooden carts themselves, with goods placed on the cart for sale.
Others directly spread out their goods on the ground, sitting cross-legged, waiting for buyers.
Song Changming’s gaze skipped over the ordinary fish and seafood. It was a rare visit for him, and as the largest docking port in Donglai Prefecture, he naturally wanted to see something unusual.
"A horn fish, wow, it’s actually a Silver Horn Fish!"
"Tzk, brother, what luck you have."
"..."
Song Changming suddenly heard some rather lively chatter, and his eyes followed the sound.
Only to see in front of a stall, a crowd of onlookers gathered.
As Song Changming approached, the stall owner was holding up a large fish with black scales with both hands.
The fish was about a meter long, wide, and thick, weighing over thirty pounds.
What was most unique was the silver sharp horn resembling a drill on its head, and its eyes were also silver.
Undoubtedly, this was a fish species with exotic blood, different from ordinary fish.
The stall owner, holding this fish, his coarse black face full of wrinkles, was beaming, like a blooming chrysanthemum.
No doubt, the stall owner was very pleased today.
He only needed to sell this fish in his hands, and today’s sales would reach the target, even making a small fortune.
How could he not be happy?
"Brother, how heavy is this Silver Horn Fish?" someone asked.
"Twenty-nine jin and four liang," the stall owner replied. Although this weight is not large among horn fish, it can still sell for a good price.
"Two hundred copper coins per jin, I’ll take it," a merchant directly offered, which was slightly higher than the market rate.
The stall owner was instantly tempted.
At a price of two hundred cents per jin, this Silver Horn Fish could sell for close to six thousand copper coins, which is definitely a big profit for him.
To know that the normal price for beef or mutton on the market is only fifty or sixty copper coins per jin.
By comparison, the fish meat of the Silver Horn Fish fetches such a high price mainly because it contains exotic blood. Not only is it delicious and a superior food on the wine tables, but it also has very high nutritional content.
For Martial Artists, this is considered a tasty and nutritious meal, greatly beneficial for body refinement.