Xiao Zhenggong pushed aside the two women beside him and walked out of the swimming pool.
He was very excited. The weather was frigid, but he didn’t even want to bother with a bath towel. "Old Luo, I knew you were reliable. Take the brothers from your Hall Entrance and head to Iron Gate Fort to retrieve the item."
Old Luo touched the antenna on his head and, after a moment of silence, said, "Gang Leader, where did you just say to take my men? My signal isn’t too good; I didn’t hear clearly."
Xiao Zhenggong repeated, "I told you to go to Iron Gate Fort and bring back the item!"
"Gang Leader, I can’t hear clearly, Gang Leader..." Luo Zhengnan pulled the antenna out of his head.
Luo Zhengnan wiped the antenna and put it in its box, then gave a bitter chuckle.
"Old Luo, Old Luo!" The line went dead. Xiao Zhenggong redialed, and an automated voice responded: "The number you have dialed is not in service."
"This useless trash! I gave him a chance to prove his worth, and he couldn’t even seize it!" Xiao Zhenggong slammed down the phone. After a moment of vexation, he called the Hall Master of Loess Bridge.
Normally, there are only two ways to contact Puluo State from the Outside Provinces: one is to send letters; the other is to use Peeping Cultivation to establish a hook. Other means of communication, especially those involving electricity, are unreliable.
For such an urgent matter, sending letters would definitely be too late; it seemed only a hook would work.
Every Hall Entrance of the Jiang Xiang Gang had a Peeping Cultivator, but Xiao Zhenggong didn’t want to leak this matter. Coincidentally, the Loess Bridge Hall Master was in the Outside Provinces on business, so contacting him was the best choice.
The call connected, and Xiao Zhenggong asked the Loess Bridge Hall Master to hurry over to Yuezhou.
The Hall Master arrived that very evening.
Xiao Zhenggong dismissed everyone else and disclosed the matter to him in private. "Put the business in the Outside Provinces on hold for now. Take your brothers from the Hall Entrance, and also the men from the Black Stone Slope Hall Entrance, and go to Iron Gate Fort to retrieve an item for me."
The Loess Bridge Hall Master responded, "Gang Leader, what item?"
"A Long Spear."
"What model?"
"It’s not a firearm; it’s a cold weapon."
"Is it a Magical Treasure?"
Xiao Zhenggong was momentarily stunned.
He knew that He Jiaqing had been searching for Zhao Xiaowan’s Soul, and he also knew that Zhao Xiaowan’s Soul had possessed a Long Spear.
"Just treat it as a Magical Treasure. This Long Spear has the power to awe thousands of soldiers. Once you have it in hand, you’ll be able to tell if it’s genuine. This item is in the possession of Zhou Anju, the Fortress Lord of Iron Gate Fort. Tell Zhou Anju that if he’s willing to hand it over, we can pay for it. Let him name his price. If he refuses, then resort to forceful means. This item must be retrieved. If you succeed, I will promote you to elder."
The Loess Bridge Hall Master, Han Jinwei, had just taken office this year. In his early thirties, he was full of drive.
Upon hearing the Gang Leader’s promise of a hefty reward, Han Jinwei responded in a resonant voice, "Gang Leader, leave this to me. There’s no need for the men from Black Stone Slope to go."
Xiao Zhenggong frowned. "Jinwei, Iron Gate Fort is no ordinary place. Your Hall Entrance alone might not be enough."
Han Jinwei was very confident. "I know Iron Gate Fort is easy to defend and hard to attack, but we have our own methods. I guarantee I will bring the item back to you."
"Good!" Xiao Zhenggong praised. "If you need men or money, just let me know. But there’s one condition: this matter must not be known to outsiders. When you send the brothers to Iron Gate Fort, they must also move separately and avoid attracting attention."
"Gang Leader, you don’t need to worry about these things. Just wait for my news," Han Jinwei said, setting off that very night back to Puluo State.
Xiao Zhenggong felt increasingly certain that he hadn’t misjudged the man. This was the kind of person who could achieve great things!
「...」
On Flying Eagle Mountain, Fort Master He Zhenlei was still waiting for news from Ma Dingfu.
Zhou Anju was dead, and all the brothers on the mountain who had supported him were also dead, leaving only Little Mazi.
Ma Dingfu wanted to be the Fortress Lord, and He Zhenlei had agreed.
He couldn’t have disagreed; Iron Gate Fort had already recognized Ma Dingfu as its Fortress Lord, and it was too late to send anyone else to interfere.
Yet Ma Dingfu had promised that as soon as he became Fortress Lord, he would send He Zhenlei ten thousand Ocean Dollars.
Understanding the stakes, He Zhenlei wasn’t too anxious about matters concerning Iron Gate Fort. However, something that truly did make him anxious soon arrived.
The dozen or so subordinates he had sent down the mountain to collect grain had been ambushed. Only one had made it back alive.
This man, named Chen Zhuyu, was a minor leader on the mountain. His right ear had been cut off. Kneeling on the ground, he wailed incessantly, "Lord Lei, those bastards from Iron Gate Fort! They launched a treacherous attack on our brothers!"
He Zhenlei was stunned. "Who did you say attacked you?"
"Men from Iron Gate Fort! We hadn’t gone far down the mountain when we fell into their ambush. Fifteen brothers died. I was the only one who barely escaped with my life."
Actually, even if he had risked everything, he wouldn’t have been able to escape. He had been captured alive; Li Banfeng had let him return to deliver a message.
He Zhenlei still couldn’t believe it. "You’re sure? It was really men from Iron Gate Fort? Those Home Cultivators never leave the main iron gate!"
"Lord Lei, I’m not mistaken. I’ve been to Iron Gate Fort. There’s one named Wu Yongchao; I recognize him. And another named Tang Yanning; I’ve seen her too!"
He Zhenlei’s hands trembled with rage.
"Take a few brothers and go to Iron Gate Fort. You don’t have to fight them or say much. Just see their Fortress Lord and tell Ma Dingfu that I, He, miss him!"
Chen Zhuyu took five capable fighters and immediately left for Iron Gate Fort. They departed at noon, and by evening, only he returned.
This time, his left ear had also been cut off. Kneeling on the ground, he cried inconsolably, "Boss, I took the brothers there. They told me to wait in a room to see their Fortress Lord. But I never saw the Fortress Lord. Instead, they ambushed us again! All five brothers were killed, and they cut off my other ear! Boss, you have to get justice for me!"
He Zhenlei was so furious his veins throbbed.
"Take this letter to Iron Gate Fort and read it out loud, word for word, right in front of their fortress entrance. If anyone asks where the letter came from, tell them it was personally written by Ma Dingfu. If he denies it, he can come and confront me in person!"
He Zhenlei handed a letter to Chen Zhuyu. It was indeed a letter personally written by Ma Dingfu, detailing the cause of Zhou Anju’s death and the current situation at Iron Gate Fort, along with his request to become the new Fortress Lord, hoping for He Zhenlei’s support.
The letter was crystal clear, every word of it. Today, He Zhenlei was going to pick a fight.
But Chen Zhuyu didn’t want to go. Both his ears had been cut off; if he went again, who knew what else they might cut off.
He Zhenlei cursed him and sent another man to deliver the letter to Iron Gate Fort.
This man left early in the morning, and by late night, there was still no word from him.
He Zhenlei lay in bed, unable to sleep, his mind churning.
Tossing and turning, He Zhenlei couldn’t devise a strategy. He stayed up late into the night, his mouth dry, craving water.
Li Banfeng poured him a bowl.
He Zhenlei took the bowl and was about to drink when he jolted in shock, suddenly shouting, "Who are you?"
Li Banfeng answered briefly, "Fortress Lord."
"What Fortress Lord?"
"The Fortress Lord of Iron Gate Fort."
He Zhenlei studied Li Banfeng for a moment. The man wore a top hat and had a beard, his face unidentifiable.
He Zhenlei asked, "What’s your name?"
Li Banfeng replied impatiently, "Haven’t I told you? My name is Fortress Lord. Surname Fortress, given name Lord."
Li Banfeng also had a question. "The men you sent down the mountain to rob grain, I killed them. The scoundrels you sent to Iron Gate Fort, I killed them too. The group you just sent with the letter, I killed them as well. I’ve been wondering, you’ve taken over this mountain as king; you should at least have some courage. I kill your men on sight, yet you don’t even have the guts to fight back? Are you really the Fort Master of Flying Eagle Mountain?"
He Zhenlei shouted angrily, "How did you get into my mountain stronghold?"
Li Banfeng advised him, "No need to make such a commotion. Those few lackeys at your gate are already dead. The men you previously sent to Iron Gate Fort have loose tongues; they told me all the deployments on Flying Eagle Mountain."
He Zhenlei clenched his teeth and leaped from the bed. "I’ll take your life!"
Li Banfeng stepped forward and kicked He Zhenlei, knocking out his front teeth. Another kick sent He Zhenlei flying back onto the bed. "As I said, your underlings can’t keep their mouths shut. They told me all about your cultivation level. As a Mountain King, you’re quite famous. I thought you’d surely have a Fourth Layer Cultivation. But after hearing them out, I realized you’re just a Third Layer Martial Cultivator. For someone like you to dominate a region... I truly didn’t expect that. It seems you’ve also acquired the techniques of a Deceive cultivator."
He Zhenlei clenched his teeth again, about to speak, when Li Banfeng delivered another kick, breaking his molars.
"Don’t clench your teeth; I don’t like the sound of it."
He Zhenlei, covering his mouth, mumbled indistinctly, "What do you want?"
Li Banfeng said, "Seeing your current state, I don’t want to make things too difficult for you. Tomorrow, you will lead your men to attack Iron Gate Fort. Bring everyone who can fight. As long as you go, I’ll spare your life. But if I don’t see you by morning, you can wait for someone to come and collect your corpse!"
He Zhenlei was aghast. "You want me to attack Iron Gate Fort?"
Li Banfeng backhanded him across the face. "Poor cultivation, and poor hearing too? Don’t make me repeat myself. I’ll be waiting for you at the fort tomorrow."
PS: To hone combat prowess, one must rely on actual combat!