Chapter 188 - 186: To Capture, First Let Go

After nightfall, Xu Feizhou summoned Yang Zhicai again.

"I can't command the men of the Zhenwu Hall in Kaiping Prefecture. I'll have to try a different approach."

Xu Feizhou said with a dark expression, "Lord Yang, I must trouble you to personally take me to a few of Kaiping Prefecture's Jianghu forces. I want to persuade them to pay an eighty-percent tax myself."

"You're going to use force?" Yang Zhicai was slightly surprised.

'This Xu Feizhou doesn't seem like the tough sort. Could he have been provoked into acting personally this time?'

Xu Feizhou shook his head. "What's the point of using force? Even if I can wipe out one family or sect, the other forces still won't listen obediently, will they?

"That Chen Jiutian used brute force to suppress some Jianghu forces before. There must be people among the powers in Kaiping Prefecture who are dissatisfied with him. After all, those like Celestial Star Ranch who are willing to be his lapdogs and attack dogs are in the minority.

"I plan to secretly persuade some Jianghu forces. On the surface, I'll collect an eighty-percent tax and have them take the lead in abiding by the rules and paying their taxes.

"After the taxes from the other forces come in, not only will I return the full eighty percent they paid, but I'll also give them an extra forty percent on top of that!

"With such benefits on the table, I refuse to believe they won't be tempted!"

Yang Zhicai was slightly surprised.

'This Xu Feizhou is certainly ambitious but incompetent, but that doesn't mean he's brainless.'

'This method could actually be quite useful.'

Yang Zhicai knew that not every Jianghu force in Kaiping Prefecture was truly subservient to Lord Chen.

Back then, Lord Chen had directly dealt with Guan Zhenshan, and it was Guan Zhenshan who stepped forward to suppress those Jianghu forces. In truth, they also harbored resentment toward Lord Chen in their hearts.

It was just that Lord Chen didn't need them to be won over; he only needed them to be afraid and obedient.

Putting other things aside, this Xu Feizhou had a silver tongue.

Coupled with such a tempting offer, it was actually possible he could persuade some Jianghu forces.

"A brilliant plan, Lord Xu!"

Xu Feizhou let out a slightly smug, cold snort. "Such methods are indeed not exactly honorable, but things have come to this, so I have no choice but to use some tricks.

"Lord Yang, you're familiar with Kaiping Prefecture. I'll be relying on you to lead the way. Let's deal with these Jianghu forces as quickly as possible."

Yang Zhicai nodded repeatedly and led Xu Feizhou to these Jianghu forces of Kaiping Prefecture.

Furthermore, the ones he chose were all Jianghu forces that were dissatisfied with Chen Yuan and had secretly slandered him quite a bit.

This way, with these Jianghu forces already unhappy with Chen Yuan, combined with Xu Feizhou's silver tongue and tempting offer, he actually managed to win over four or five of them.

Xu Feizhou returned to the Inspectorate's Mansion, brimming with self-satisfaction. Only then did Yang Zhicai immediately go find Lu Li and Cui Guan.

"Old Yang, how have the past few days been, sticking by the new Lord Inspector? You look pretty happy. Already become his trusted confidant so quickly, have you?"

Lu Li looked at Yang Zhicai and teased him.

Yang Zhicai grabbed the teapot in front of Lu Li and poured it directly into his mouth.

After drinking, he let out a long breath and said, "Don't you slander me, you brat. How could that swine even compare to a single hair on Lord Chen's body?

"I volunteered to be a mole, you know? It takes a lot of acting skill, you understand?

"Could you do it? You'd probably break out laughing right away. If Lord Cui went, Xu Feizhou probably wouldn't even dare accept his pledge of loyalty!"

Yang Zhicai snorted lightly and said, "But the guy does have some brains. No wonder he could coax someone as stingy as the Hall Master into adopting him as a son and assigning him so many White Tiger Guards."

As he spoke, Yang Zhicai recounted Xu Feizhou's actions from that evening to Cui Guan and Lu Li.

Cui Guan immediately said in a cold voice: "Insolent fools! They're courting death! Lord Chen should never have left them alive. He should have just killed them all!"

Yang Zhicai shook his head. "There was no just cause. Besides, Lord Chen isn't the type to kill the innocent indiscriminately.

"But this time, we've flushed out some of the guys who have been secretly slandering Lord Chen. It's a perfect opportunity to solve the problem once and for all.

"But we shouldn't act ourselves. Go tell Master Guan and let him handle it.

"Then, mobilize all the Jianghu forces of Kaiping Prefecture to besiege the Prefecture City and demand justice from Xu Feizhou.

"In short, to outsiders, it must look like Xu Feizhou alone is responsible for the chaos erupting in the Kaiping Prefecture Jianghu.

"We tried to advise him, but he stubbornly insisted on his reckless course of action. He can't blame us."

Cui Guan glanced at Yang Zhicai. This fellow's strength wasn't much to speak of, but he was truly skilled at plotting and scheming.

'Lord Chen truly has a knack for judging people. Of all the Captains in Kaiping Prefecture back then, he happened to pick this guy, Yang Zhicai.'

In reality, it wasn't that Chen Yuan had a knack for judging people, but that Chen Yuan was willing to delegate authority and give Yang Zhicai a chance.

Kaiping Prefecture had no shortage of talent, but there weren't many Inspectors willing to give their subordinates a chance.

The news quickly reached Guan Zhenshan. Looking at the list, a cold glint appeared in his eyes.

The current Celestial Star Ranch had already absorbed the Flying Horse Pavilion, and after the incident with the Xu Family, Guan Zhenshan knew he had to increase his strength.

Thus, during this period, Guan Zhenshan had been recruiting Guests on a large scale and expanding his power. The current Celestial Star Ranch was already several times stronger than before.

"Lord Chen saved my Guan Family's lives. Now is the time to repay that debt.

"Yingxing, take some men and bring me every fool on this list who's courting death."

The Jianghu forces that had agreed to Xu Feizhou's proposal were not very strong. Guan Yingxing taking a group of Guests would be more than enough.

In a matter of a few hours, Guan Yingxing crushed their Sects as if they were rotten wood, capturing their Controllers and bringing them back to Celestial Star Ranch.

The Controllers of those Sects and Families had no idea that right after they agreed to Xu Feizhou's plan, Celestial Star Ranch would show up at their door with a list.

This made them curse Xu Feizhou endlessly.

'This new Inspector is a useless piece of trash! He clearly has a traitor by his side!'

'And he wants to fight Chen Jiutian? What a joke!'

Guan Zhenshan looked at them, his expression icy. "Lord Chen gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it.

"Did you think a new Inspector could change the landscape of Kaiping Prefecture? Naive!

"Even if Lord Chen is not in Kaiping Prefecture right now, what happens in Kaiping Prefecture is still up to him!"

One of them, whose force had been wiped out, immediately snarled, "Guan Zhenshan! You are the leader of the Kaiping Prefecture Jianghu forces, yet you're willing to be Chen Jiutian's lapdog and attack dog.

"Chen Jiutian isn't even in Kaiping Prefecture anymore, and you're still so loyal to him. I don't get it, do you really love being someone's dog that much?"

Guan Zhenshan sneered, not responding. With a single slash of his blade, he beheaded the man.

Seeing this, the others immediately began to wail and beg for mercy.

"Please, Master Guan, spare our lives!

"It was Xu Feizhou who incited us with his silver tongue! We never intended to oppose Lord Chen!

"As long as Master Guan spares our lives, we will be eternally loyal to Lord Chen and obey your every command, Master Guan!"

Guan Zhenshan waved his hand dismissively. "Kill them all."

In an instant, heads rolled.

After the incident with the Xu Family, the once good-natured Guan Zhenshan's personality had become more ruthless and cold.

"Go and inform the other Jianghu forces of Kaiping Prefecture. Tomorrow, we besiege the Kaiping Prefecture Zhenwu Hall!"

「The next morning.」

Xu Feizhou arrived at the main hall of the Inspectorate Office, brimming with self-satisfaction.

He had already arranged with those Jianghu forces to come to the Zhenwu Hall Government Office today to pay their taxes and set an example.

But before he could even settle into his seat, one of the White Tiger Guards he had brought with him ran in, his face filled with terror and his appearance disheveled.

"My lord, it's terrible! There are over a thousand Jianghu people outside who have surrounded our Zhenwu Hall's Inspectorate Mansion!"

Hearing this, Xu Feizhou was instantly stunned.

For years, whether in small towns or Prefecture Cities, and whether the local Jianghu forces feigned compliance or openly disobeyed, at worst the local Zhenwu Hall would lose its authority. But never had there been a case of them directly besieging a Zhenwu Hall.

Even those families in Linyuan City who had colluded with the Blood God Sect only dared to act in secret, never daring to openly confront the Zhenwu Hall.

This was a monumental disaster. How had it fallen on him?

Xu Feizhou hurried outside, only to see a row of severed heads placed before the gates of the Zhenwu Hall.

The heads were incredibly familiar. They belonged to the Patriarchs and Sect Leaders of the Jianghu forces who had agreed to his proposal just yesterday.

Xu Feizhou's expression changed instantly. He turned and stared daggers at Yang Zhicai, who was leisurely walking out with Cui Guan and the others.

"You betrayed me!"

'Yesterday, only Yang Zhicai and I went to see them. Yet overnight, they were all killed by Guan Yingxing.'

'If Yang Zhicai hadn't tipped them off, how could the enemy have found these people so precisely?'

Yang Zhicai sneered. "I never pledged loyalty to you in the first place. How can you speak of betrayal?

"Don't blame others for your own stupidity, Xu Feizhou. Without Lord Chen's approval, no one can sit securely in the position of Kaiping Prefecture's Inspector!"

At this moment, seeing Xu Feizhou appear, Guan Zhenshan led a crowd of Jianghu people to surround them.

"The Zhenwu Hall governs the Jianghu of Ning Province, and we naturally submit. But that does not mean we will allow ourselves to be arbitrarily carved up like fish on a cutting board!"

Guan Zhenshan stared at Xu Feizhou and said in a cold voice, "Xu Feizhou, you demand an eighty-percent tax right off the bat. It's clear to me you're trying to drive us to our deaths!

"If you don't give us an explanation today, you can forget about leaving!"

Xu Feizhou's expression was grim.

'Chen Yuan collected a seventy-percent tax and they didn't dare let out a peep, but me asking for eighty percent is driving them to their deaths?'

'These Jianghu forces of Kaiping Prefecture are all rolling in it from their smuggling businesses. Even if I took ninety percent, they'd still make a profit!'

However, seeing the row of severed heads below, and with Guan Zhenshan and his men pressing closer, a sense of fear rose in Xu Feizhou's heart.

Internally, Cui Guan and the others were sitting back and watching. Externally, Guan Zhenshan was leading the Jianghu forces of Kaiping Prefecture to press in on him.

'I'm all alone. If a fight breaks out, I'll surely die!'

Xu Feizhou took a deep breath. Just as everyone thought he was about to say something, True Qi erupted from his body, and his Qi Blood began to burn furiously.

He leaped directly outside the Inspectorate Office, his figure rapidly fleeing.

He fled in disgrace, completely disregarding the White Tiger Guards he had brought with him and his status as an Inspector.

Cui Guan wanted to stop him, but Yang Zhicai held him back.