Chapter 43: Helpless in the Martial World
Gu Zhan smiled, and matched with his delicate face, the smile seemed bright and sunny.
But all the martial arts big shots sitting below felt enormous pressure.
They knew, although Gu Zhan spoke nicely and claimed not to force them, he threw out a pile of files first thing—obviously threatening them.
They were already in the wrong. Even setting aside past matters, just the chaos of South City two days ago, they’d already offended Gu Zhan. If Gu Zhan pursued it thoroughly, they’d suffer more than just skin wounds.
However,
If it were just an ordinary matter, to smooth their relations with Gu Zhan, they’d agree—but now, he wanted to target South City’s greatest faction, the Celestial Water Gang—that’s the Celestial Water Gang,
one could even call it Linjiang City’s greatest gang, the Celestial Water Gang.
Leaving aside the noble families behind them, if you just compared gang powers, Celestial Water Gang really could claim to be Linjiang City’s number one gang. The only reason they didn’t tout that title was because gangs in neighboring cities all had noble families behind them.
And these South City gangs, though they also have backing, the strongest Celestial Water Gang only had a few big families behind them. No matter how powerful those family forces, they could never compare with noble families.
So, although the Celestial Water Gang’s open strength was formidable, they dared not call themselves Linjiang City’s number one gang.
But within South City, they were undoubtedly the real number one gang. Facing such a gang, one misstep meant total destruction—it wasn’t just about getting hurt.
So after a bout of silence,
someone finally steeled his resolve.
The first to speak was the Black Water Gang leader, an old martial artist already sixty or seventy, who stood and cupped his hands: "Lord Gu, this old man is of advanced age, not like young folks with their ambition. I only wish to guard my little patch and retire. The immense fortune you’ve handed down, this old man truly cannot accept."
"As for the events of the past two days, let me first apologize to you here. I was compelled, to speak frankly, all our gangs making trouble in South City were acting on the suggestion of the Hundred Households Office—we couldn’t refuse, that’s why we did it."
"I know I’ve caused you trouble, but rest assured, I will give you a satisfactory explanation. Please, Lord, show some mercy."
Gu Zhan gave a faint smile and said, "No harm done. I said I won’t force you. But if you don’t want the wealth I offer you, then the debt you owe—I will settle it to the very end."
The Black Water Gang leader took a deep breath and nodded,
He was already prepared for a painful reckoning, ready to bleed,
And, in his heart, he felt a little melancholy,
This world truly leaves one with no agency,
Originally none of this concerned them, and yet they’d been forced into it—an unprovoked disaster.
"Anyone else unwilling to accept?" Gu Zhan looked at the others and said, "Say it now. I won’t force anyone."
As Gu Zhan finished speaking,
another five or six gang leaders stood up.
Seeing Gu Zhan was not as unreasonable as rumored, they relaxed a bit, and weighed things in their minds; rather than risk being wiped out by the Celestial Water Gang, it was better to pay up, bite the bullet, suffer losses and compensate Gu Zhan.
"Lord Gu, my little faction cannot accept your generosity!"
"The same for me. As for what happened two days ago, I’ll definitely give you an explanation!"
Those five or six all refused.
Gu Zhan kept smiling, showing no sign of displeasure. He looked to the rest of the gang leaders and asked, "Anyone else?"
There was a long silence. No one spoke.
Gu Zhan smiled slightly and said, "Since that’s all, I’ll handle some private matters first, then continue discussion with everyone..."
Before he finished,
Gu Zhan suddenly drew his blade,
The candle-lit hall rang with a crisp "clang",
A streak of white light flashed,
There was a sound of blood spraying—"puchi".
[Experience Points +155]
The Black Water Gang leader crashed to the floor, clutching his neck tightly as blood gushed forth wildly, splattering the pillars and extinguishing several oil lamps.
In that instant,
The hall was under the grip of the Grand Array,
All the gang leaders sitting in their chairs trembled; some nearly stood instinctively, but terror kept them rooted and motionless.
Meanwhile, the six gang leaders still standing all wore expressions of shock.
"Lord Gu, what does this mean?" someone demanded.
Gu Zhan’s face was cold, his hand clenched on the knife handle, speaking in a deep voice: "I am here to settle your crimes. The blame has already been handed to you, and you dare ask what I’m doing?"
"Didn’t you say you wouldn’t force us?"
"I never promised not to force, and I never promised not to settle accounts!"
"We were all willing to compensate and explain..."
"This is the satisfactory explanation I demand!"
Suddenly, Gu Zhan flipped his long blade,
And slashed out,
The gang leader at the front was alarmed, frantically raising his blade and shouting: "Everyone, why are you just standing there, this Gu Zhan is about to—"
"Puchi"
The words weren’t even finished,
A head soared through the air.
The other five scrambled to make their moves, but just then,
Outside the hall, a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards appeared, charging in instantly.
[Experience Points +199]
[Experience Points +245]
...
In a flash, Gu Zhan had killed two gang leaders, and the other three were hacked to pieces by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
It all happened fast; the time from Gu Zhan drawing his blade to the end was barely enough for the girl singing outside to finish a single song.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards briskly dragged the corpses outside, and at the same time, Baihua Building’s guards naturally brought in wash basins, cleaning the floor efficiently, and quickly replaced the oil lamps and candles.
Gu Zhan placed his blood-dripping blade on the table, slowly raised a cup of tea, and laughed softly: "Everyone, just handled a bit of private business, delayed your time—hope you don’t mind."
All the leaders wore strange expressions.
"Lord Gu, not at all—not delayed in the least!"
"To witness your prowess, Lord, is our honor!"
"Such heroism, those fools deserved what they got!"
"Absolutely, those fools simply didn’t know what’s good for them. You offer them immense fortune, and they dared refuse—death was too good for them!"
"..."
Gu Zhan smiled faintly, beckoned with his hand,
Soon, trays of delicacies were brought in and the banquet was set.
Gu Zhan picked up his chopsticks and said slowly, "No need to be formal. Eat as we talk."
...
Late at night, Baihua Building was still boiling with activity, music and strings filling the air, and at times, some decadent melodies could be heard.
The feast in the inner courtyard had ended,
All the martial arts big shots left Baihua Building one after another.
And at the same time, out on the long street, a massacre happened quietly.
The guards brought by those seven gang leaders who refused to cooperate with Gu Zhan were all dealt with.
Yet the big shots all felt heavy, gathering together in tacit silence.
"What now?" someone asked.
"What else can we do?" someone sighed. "We don’t have any other choice. Since the moment we followed the Hundred Households Office’s orders and stirred up trouble in South City, we were dragged into this."
"The current situation in South City is totally out of our hands. It’s already obvious—Hundred Households Office versus South City Hundred Households Office; even the Celestial Water Gang is just a pawn. What else can we do?"
Another reflected, "Yeah, there’s no agency in this Martial World. We want to stay out, but can’t. Now it’s clear—either join the Hundred Households Office, or join the Hundred Households Office."
"If we side with the Hundred Households Office and win, we gain nothing, and the Celestial Water Gang only grows stronger. Before long, we’ll have nowhere in South City. Side with the Hundred Households Office and win, the Celestial Water Gang is ruined, and we really get a windfall. But if we lose...either way, no matter which side, losing means one outcome—nothing left, wiped out!"
"Since we can’t stay out now, better to take a gamble with the Hundred Households Office!"
"Sigh, I really don’t want to get involved..."
"Who wants this? But when big players play their game, do we get a choice?"
"Ever since we were forced to stir up trouble in South City, we’ve been dragged into this. We have no right to stay out, Hundred Households Office, Hundred Households Office, do we have a choice?"
"In the Martial World..."
"No agency!"