Chapter 175
Chapter 175: Exterminating the Yellow Dragon Gang (III)
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Tsunami-like cheers shook the wild.
Guard Ding’s expression grew extremely dark. His martial arts were not so good, only just breaking through to Level Three. But as a man who had experienced the war, he knew the importance of morale for the army. Having been in Jiang City for so many years, he knew the Navy of Jiang City well. Since they were beaten down by the water bandits on the Luo River, their morale had been low. Both their fighting capacity and cohesion had plummeted. They feared the water bandits and had become a group of stragglers that could not compare with his Garrison Camp. If it was a month ago, he would have been sure that he was able to beat the entire navy barracks with the soldiers of his 20 Garrison Camps. Therefore, he never cared about the navy and set aside its interests when dividing River Heart Island. In fact, he would not even have given Junior Leopard the camp on River Heart Island if he had not been afraid of his martial arts. He would have even pocketed the huge treasure that the navy acquired from the water bandits on the Broken Dragon Beach. During this time, for River Heart Island, the money that Wang Cheng gave him and the Magistrate with had reached a considerable amount, but people were always greedy. While Wang Cheng gave them, they were wondering that the Water Army Camp must have reaped much more than this on the Broken Dragon Beach since they could give them so much money. Thus, psychologically speaking, he was rebellious and jealous of the actions of the Water Army Camp and that made him build up a sense of rejection to the navy.
But now, the united cheers of the Water Army Camp soldiers were clearly showing that their morale had reached the peak. There was no trace of them being stragglers or the ragtag group they were a month ago. In just one month, how did the guy do this?
Actually, Junior Leopard did nothing.
For a month, he had been hiding in the depths of the barracks. Except for suppressing the bandits on the Broken Dragon Beach, all the affairs of the camp were handled by Wang Cheng.
There were two reasons for this change. One was that he showed great strength in suppressing bandits, which convinced the navy. The other was that he was always generous to give rewards. Not only did he help the navy get back their arrears, but after suppressing bandits on the Broken Dragon Beach, he took out a large part of the seized belongings and gave them to the soldiers. This was equivalent to the sum of three years’ salary. Therefore, everyone satisfied. As the saying goes, rewards allure men to brave danger. Although just following Junior Leopard for a month, everyone felt their life had hope. Moreover, Wang Cheng had a great way of leading soldiers; otherwise, he would not have been promoted from the bottom to become the Vice Commander. In addition, he took nearly 100 qualified soldiers and imparted the Cross Training Diamond Body technique taken from the water bandits to them, which made the soldiers more grateful. With feats, money, hope, morale, and a good officer, in just one month, the whole navy had undergone earth-shaking changes. But Junior Leopard did not know anything about it. If Guard Ding knew it, he would be angry enough to vomit blood.
The smile on Junior Leopard’s face became more and more brilliant as the surrounding voices grew louder. Perhaps sensing that the momentum was enough, he raised his right hand, and then pressed it down. Breathing deeply with flushed faces, the soldiers held their weapons tightly and restrained the vigor to swallow up their enemies. It seemed that they would exterminate the whole Yellow Dragon Gang at the command of Junior Leopard.
“Your Excellency Magistrate, look, if the Yellow Dragon Gang doesn’t give us an explanation today, we won’t stop!”
“This…” The Magistrate was just a scholar who had never seen such a scene. Thus he had been frightened by the soldiers of the Water Army Camp. His face was pale, his legs were trembling and he almost peed in his pants.
Now hearing Junior Leopard’s question, though Junior Leopard smiled nicely, in the Magistrate’s eye, he was as evil as the devil. Suddenly he shuddered, subconsciously stepping back two steps. At the same time, he gave Guard Ding an appealing look, feeling that this matter was better to give to the professional.
Guard Ding scowled, scolding the Magistrate secretly. In this situation, he was extremely reluctant to come forward. But since the Magistrate had cast his eyes on him, he had no choice.
He groaned in his heart and said, “Commander Zhou, there’s evidence in your hand, but no one else has seen it except you. It’s a serious matter. I think…”
“Do you mean that this guy ruined the evidence, but I was blamed for it?” Junior Leopard asked enigmatically.
Guard Ding was angry. “Of course you are to blame. Who knows what you’re throwing. Even if it’s the official seal, you should give it to the Magistrate instead of throwing it directly to Qian Mufan. It was in your hands. You threw it to Qian Mufan and Qian Mufan shattered it. You are definitely to blame!”
But for now, he did not want to bother the powerful Junior Leopard, so he had to bite the bullet and said, “Commander Zhou, you must be joking. Now, apart from these water bandits’ confession, you really haven’t any evidence, so…”
“So you can shield the Yellow Dragon Gang blatantly?” Junior Leopard sneered.
“You…” Hearing Junior Leopard’s undisguised words, even if Guard Ding had decided to lower his posture, he could not stand it. At the same time, he understood that Junior Leopard was here to find fault today. Whether there was evidence or not, he would suppress the Yellow Dragon Gang. Therefore, now he had a very good reason to doubt the truth of the evidence presented by Junior Leopard,
He even began to suspect the matter that Qian Mufan shattered the official seal. Anyway, his cultivation had reached Level Three, he could be called a little expert. Naturally, he knew that if you could control your Internal Qi well enough, it was not difficult to do that.
But the more he thought of it, the more frightened he became. He was afraid of Junior Leopard now. Now that Junior Leopard had used scoundrel means in his determination to deal with the Yellow Dragon Gang, if he stopped Junior Leopard, he would not necessarily have a good result.
So he forced down his rage that was going to erupt. Knowing that Junior Leopard was determined, no amount of persuasion would work. He sighed gently and asked, “Well, Commander Zhou, what are you going to do?”
“It’s easy. I’m going to bring Gang Master Qian back to the barrack. And them…” Junior Leopard suddenly pointed to a dozen of the Yellow Dragon Gang’s members that were armed on top of the wall and the members holding weapons in front of the gate, “they’re too aggressive! It was just a small gang that dared to defy the imperial court’s officers and soldiers. I’m wondering who gave him so much courage. I’m going to take them all back and interrogate them!”
“That depends on whether you have the strength!” Qian Mufan shouted angrily. As he shouted, his Qi Power suddenly sank and the gang members on the wall and in front of the gate also shouted.
The Yellow Dragon Gang had got a lot of Qi Power.
“Interesting!” Junior Leopard pulled up the corners of his mouth with a laugh, and Little Du beside him made a roar too. Their Qi Power was connected, in an instant, centered on them, a violent wind created.
“Hoo! Woo!”
Though the wind didn’t stir up, somehow, everyone around them seemed to see a huge, invisible wind suddenly appear between Junior Leopard and the wolf, which went straight to the Yellow Dragon Gang.
“No!” Qian Mufan looked terrible. His cultivation was high, for it had reached the peak of Level Three. His body strength had reached the peak of Skin-Toughening Realm, which was only one foot from the Bone-Forging Realm. Naturally, he knew more than ordinary people.
Seeing that Junior Leopard’s Qi Power was rising, he tried to confront him with his own Qi Power. Of course, he knew that it was unwise, because the Qi Power that Junior Leopard just released was way beyond his imagination. Therefore, he thought of a way. A way to take advantage of other’s Qi Power!
He wanted to take advantage of the gang members’ Qi Power, and connected his Qi Power with their morale to confront Junior Leopard.
It was easy for him. But because it was easy, he immediately regretted it.
Taking advantage of the gang members’ Qi Power could enhance his strength, but it meant that they must bear the pressure from Junior Leopard. How could it be so easy to bear Junior Leopard’s pressure?
Both sides’ Qi Power was rising and soon they clashed. The difference was that Qian Mufan looked more and paler, the sweat on his face dropped down like rain, while Junior Leopard was relaxed with the smile on his face getting brighter.
In terms of speed and pressure, Junior Leopard’s Qi Power was more powerful than the Yellow Dragon Gang’s. As Junior Leopard’s Qi Power was about to reach its climax, the gang members behind Qian Mufan finally could not bear the pressure.
They were either holding knives and swords or bows and arrows. If the man holding knives and swords could not bear the pressure, the weapons would fall on the ground. But if it were the men standing on the walls, the arrows would be shot out. It was not only one or two, but dozens of arrows shot outside the wall together.
Under the heavy pressure, the arrows in the hand of these gang members had lost their accuracy. As they loosened their hands, dozens of arrows shot down the field. Standing in the field was the poor Magistrate who was but a weak scholar that had never seen this kind of scene. He screamed and attempted to hide everywhere, but his butt was shot by an arrow. If Junior Leopard had not stretched his hand rapidly, perhaps the Magistrate would have been shot enough times to turn into a hedgehog.
“Yellow Dragon Gang, how dare you assassinate the imperial court’s official? It’s almost lawlessness! Somebody, rush in and exterminate the Yellow Dragon Gang!” Junior Leopard shouted grimly and waved his hand. The soldiers of the Water Army Camp behind him, under the guidance of Zhu Ba and others, scrambled forward one by one. In front of the gate of the Yellow Dragon Gang, except the Gang Master, Qian Mufan, the other people were groggy and unable to resist under Junior Leopard’s influence, they were all knocked down as though they were vegetables by the fierce navy.
The blood flowed like a river, and the smell filled the air.
In a moment, they rushed into the gate and immediately screams came out from inside. They met with resistance inside the Yellow Dragon Gang, but it was just a small gang with a few experts. In addition, it was a raid. A large amount of the effective strength of the gang was scattered in other parts of the city. Some were even exploring River Heart Island. Although those who remained in the gang were elites, the most elite gang members were suppressed by Junior Leopard’s powerful Qi Power outside and on the wall. Therefore, neither in quantity nor quality could they match the soldiers of the Water Army Camp. After the initial battle-cry, the sound gradually came to an end and the soldiers gradually controlled the situation.
Almost as soon as the soldiers rushed to kill the gang members beside him, Qian Mufan knew things were bad. He shouted and went to cut off the soldiers’ path with his long saber.
Of course Junior Leopard would not stand idly by, because this guy’s cultivation was high. If he really let him go on for a while, the Water Army Camp would be badly damaged.
Seeing that he was about to fight, Junior Leopard went straight to him and with his bare hands, fought with Qian Mufan who was holding a saber.
Qian Mufan was the Gang Master of the Yellow Dragon Gang. With excellent feats, he was the top two in the gangs of Jiang City. Moreover, he held a Genuine Weapon which gave him some additional power. A set of Golden Dragon Roaring to Heaven was used by him with great vigor. It flashed chilling light and enveloped Junior Leopard in the saber-light.
Junior Leopard’s fist was not easy to deal with. Seeing the saber-light coming, Junior Leopard punched Qian Mufan at the most awkward place. His fist, not quickly nor heavy, it looked very ordinary, but in the eyes of Qian Mufan, if he did not take back the saber to protect himself, Junior Leopard would hit his chest before he cut Junior Leopard. Although the fist seemed to be light, god knew how powerful it was. Only a fool would let Junior Leopard hit his chest, so he had to take back his saber.
He had beautiful postures. Golden Dragon Roaring to Heaven was admirable for its broad opening and closing along with its magnificent movements. Withdrawing the saber was defensive, but it looked like an attack. So to ordinary people, Junior Leopard was enveloped in the saber-light without punching anything and could not hurt Qian Mufan. But to discerning people, as Junior Leopard’s fist punched out, one by one, Qian Mufan’s saber movements were more and more magnificent and broad; meanwhile, he was slowly retreating. When Qian Mufan realized this, he found that he had retreated to the wall. Facing Junior Leopard’s punches, he had nowhere to dodge. It was almost impossible to withdraw back the saber to protect himself. He could only look at Junior Leopard’s fist coming closer.
“Bang!” There was a muffled sound followed by a slight crunch of bone. Junior Leopard punched Qian Mufan on the chest and the punch strength passed through his body, breaking the wall behind him. His body flew more than 100 feet in the air atop the wall before landing on the ground.
Qian Mufan fell to the ground but did not die, nor did he lose consciousness. He seemed to struggle to sit up, but he disappointedly found that he had no strength. He then tried to gather his Internal Qi, which was a bigger blow to him this time, because he was shocked to find that all of his Internal Qi was gone.
He suddenly thought of the feeling when he was hit by Junior Leopard. The punch cracked his sternum, but there was not much pain. However, the powerful hot strength that came with the punch had entered his body and was scattered towards his tendons and vessels, striking his tendons, vessels and bones. He did not feel it because he moved too fast. Now, being knocked down, he calmed down and realized that his tendons and vessels had been completely ruined by Junior Leopard’s strength. His cultivation was all ruined as well.
“You!” He glared at Junior Leopard, trying to point at him, but he could not raise his hand because there was no strength.
“Hum!” Junior Leopard responded with a sneer, and instead of looking at Qian Mufan, he turned and smiled at Guard Ding, “Your Excellency Garrison, Qian Mufan deliberately shot the imperial court official in the street. Your Excellency Magistrate has already been shot with an arrow. You have seen it. Now my soldiers have rushed in. Your Excellency Garrison, don’t you have anything to say?”
“Ah?”
It was too sudden. The fight between Junior Leopard and Qian Mufan was only a couple of dozen movements, and only lasted a few breaths of time. Hearing Junior Leopard’s words, he realized at once that Junior Leopard was being friendly. The Yellow Dragon Gang had been in this city for many years, their property would not be less than Li Sanbao in the Broken Dragon Beach. Most of their property should be here within their headquarters. Now the situation was very clear, the Yellow Dragon Gang would be wiped out. Apart from anything else, on the basis of the fact that they shot an arrow at the Magistrate’s bottom, their criminal charge of rebellion was confirmed. In such circumstances, it would be foolish and he even ran the risk of being implicated if he continued to protect them. But if he was on the side of Junior Leopard, to strike the Yellow Dragon Gang, he would benefit a lot. Even a fool could figure out such a simple arithmetic, let alone him, a Garrison commander. Hence, he turned dignified and waved his hand, “Brethren, follow me, exterminate the rebel bandits!” Saying this, he rushed forward first.
“You, you!” Seeing this, Qian Mufan opened his eyes wide, glancing at Guard Ding bitterly. He gave out a cry, tossed his head back, and made no more sound. The poor Gang Master of Yellow Dragon Gang, with cultivation at the peak of Level Three, was not beaten to death by Junior Leopard, but he was put to death by the banditry of Junior Leopard and Guard Ding.
As for His Excellency Magistrate, at this time, he had already fainted because of pain. He was unable to care about what had happened.
In this battle, the Yellow Dragon Gang, who had been in Jiang City for many years, that had a good relationship with the County Administration and the Garrison Mansion, was exterminated by the Navy of Jiang City and the Garrison Mansion because they colluded with the water bandits and tried to rebel. The soldiers seized plenty of goods, and also found evidence of Yellow Dragon Gang colluding with the water bandits, which made the Yellow Dragon Gang no room to turn around.
The remnants of the Yellow Dragon Gang outside were also exterminated by the soldiers from Garrison Mansion and the navy, which included the gang members that were exploring River Heart Island.
With the fall of the Yellow Dragon Gang, the ownership of River Heart Island’s port had become a new topic in Jiang City. Once again, every influence was ready to please the County Administration and the Garrison Mansion with all their efforts to fight for it. But almost at the same time, the Seneschal, the Great Master and several supervisors of the Wu Family’s branch in Jiang City, took action to visit the biggest influences, the docks and the merchants in Jiang City. Their actions had silenced the battle for River Heart Island’s port. Besides, these influences also recommended that, for security’s sake, River Heart Island should be directly governed by the Navy of Jiang City, because the water bandits were rampant on the Luo River, and although Li Sanbao was dead, there were still a dozen gangs. What was more, River Heart Island pinched the throat of Jiang City.
These actions made Guard Ding, along with the Magistrate, who was still lying prone on the bed, so angry that they could not say anything.
They were informed, so they knew the action of the Wu Family’s branch in Jiang City. But what could they do? They were just helpless!
Various influences in Jiang City may have had some ideas for River Heart Island, but with the example of the Yellow Dragon Gang, no one could be sure whether Junior Leopard would suppress them after they got it. Moreover, the condition that Junior Leopard gave them was not the best, yet it could be regarded as a win-win situation. In the world, whether businessmen, or the men in Jianghu, people drew on advantages and avoided disadvantages. Who would take big risks for a little profit?
“How about just let soldiers of the Garrison Mansion station there?”
“No!”
The drill ground of the navy was near the port. He heard that Junior Leopard had moved his barrack there. If there was any conflict, the soldiers of the Garrison Camp would suffer great losses. Guard Ding would not bring trouble down on himself. Therefore, after a round of haggling, the Navy of Jiang City got River Heart Island’s port.
As soon as it was decided, through the Wu Family’s branch in this city, Junior Leopard announced to every influence in the city that the Navy of Jiang City was responsible for the security of River Heart Island’s port and would crack down on the water bandits and maintain the order of the Broken Dragon Beach. Besides, for the vessels of all parties to pass through River Heart Island, the Navy of Jiang City would not block them or charge additional fees.
For this reason alone, the merchants in the city cheered and praised Junior Leopard. Instantly, Zhou Bao was famous throughout the city.