Chapter 361: Turning the Tide, Return

Qinghe Commandery.

Old Seven met the man Wangchuan had sent to deliver the message.

Following Wangchuan’s warning, he discussed the matter with Hall Master Yin, then paid a visit to the Lu Family to seek an alliance against the Beggar Sect.

The Lu Family initially refused, but after a long and in-depth discussion, they ultimately agreed to the alliance.

That very night!

The Six Gates, the Lu Family, and the Caobang struck at the same time. Under the pretext of arresting great bandits, a Constable Captain of the Six Gates personally led a force to surround and slaughter the Beggar Sect sub-branch, while experts from the Lu Family and the Caobang all moved out in force, surrounding and killing more than a dozen Beggar Sect martial artists of second- and third-rank cultivation in restaurants, inns, gambling houses, brothels, and the various places where they had taken shelter.

In a single night, they killed more than one hundred people!

They captured more than three hundred!

The remaining Beggar Sect disciples scattered across the area were either wounded or fled.

The Beggar Sect’s power in Qinghe Commandery suffered a devastating blow.

When the news reached Sanhe Commandery, Wangchuan felt the gloom in his heart suddenly lift by quite a bit.

The crisis in Qinghe Commandery had been broken!

The Sanjiang Branch Helm had been preserved!

Sanjiang Studio was far from danger once more.

Those one thousand taels of gold had indeed not been wasted.

However, Hall Master Yin was transferred out of Qinghe Commandery, while the former Hall Master, who had earlier been escorted to the capital because of the enormous losses from the cargo ships, was restored to office and continued to sit in Qinghe Commandery.

That had been the condition put forward by the Lu Family.

They needed a Hall Master close to the Lu Family to continue holding Qinghe Commandery and stand with them against the Beggar Sect.

Yin Xingtian’s attempt at returning to power had failed. He returned to headquarters.

Old Seven, too, brought his men back to Sanhe Commandery after the situation in Qinghe Commandery had stabilized.

By the time Old Seven returned to the hall, five days had already passed.

In the Weapon Room, Wangchuan had spent five solid days forging Thousand-Forged Scales, and at last he had raised 《Hundred Ingenious Thousand-Forging Technique》 to Practice Makes Perfect, bringing his Strength to 79.

As for fourth-rank martial artist...

He now lacked only a single final attribute point.

In truth, all he needed was to train 《Meteor Hammer》 a little, and he could step into fourth rank!

He did not rush.

He silently raised 《Meteor Hammer》 from Entry Level 0/100 to 90/100, then began cultivating 《Star-Plucking Hand》 and 《Cloud Ladder》 until Old Seven returned with his men.

“Old Seven is back!”

“Quick, report to the two Deputy Hall Masters!”

“Old Seven’s ships are about to reach the Main Helm dock!”

A Caobang disciple from the Main Helm rushed into the hall to report.

The hall disciples immediately began sending messages.

Lin Cunxin and Wangchuan at once led men to the Main Helm dock to receive him.

Not long after, they saw five large ships returning.

More than two hundred men had gone!

Only a little over one hundred and thirty had returned!

Cui Mingjue stood at the front of the deck, high-spirited and full of vigor.

When the ship docked, Old Seven finally emerged from the cabin. His face was slightly pale, but his spirits were still good.

Wangchuan and Lin Cunxin cupped their fists and, leading a crowd of Caobang disciples, called out loudly in welcome:

“Welcome back, Hall Master!”

“Welcome, Hall Master, on your return!”

Old Seven’s gaze paused briefly on Wangchuan’s face. Smiling, he came down.

“You’ve made quite a spectacle of this.”

“Come, let’s go back and talk.”

Old Seven patted Wangchuan on the arm, then nodded to Lin Cunxin. The great crowd then returned to the hall in imposing formation.

Inside the council chamber,

Old Seven sat in the center.

Wangchuan and Lin Cunxin sat to the left and right;

only Cui Mingjue remained at the side to attend him.

“This campaign to Qinghe Commandery nearly ended with us falling into the Beggar Sect’s hands.”

“It was all thanks to you, Wangchuan. Your messages arrived in time again and again and helped tremendously. Even Hall Master Yin praised you repeatedly.”

The moment he sat down, Old Seven could not help but praise Wangchuan.

Lin Cunxin looked astonished.

He had no idea what had happened.

After he pressed for details, only then did he learn that Wangchuan had not only warned them of the Five Poisons Sect disciples’ presence, but had also sent Hundred Poisons Detoxification Pills to help. As it happened, more than a dozen second-rank martial artists over there had indeed been poisoned and injured.

As for the suggestion of joining forces with the Lu Family and the Six Gates, it had given Yin Xingtian and Old Seven, who were trapped inside the situation, a direction to move in. They had voluntarily promised to recall the former Hall Master who had been punished, in exchange for the Lu Family’s full assistance, completely reversing the situation in Qinghe Commandery.

Lin Cunxin was dumbstruck. Staring at Wangchuan, he sighed again and again in admiration:

“Hall Master Wangchuan is truly capable. On this side, you wiped out the old nest of the Five Poisons Sect branch helm, and on that side, you were still able to advise Old Seven and the Hall Master. Impressive!”

This time, it was Old Seven who was stunned.

“Old Seven, you still didn’t know, did you?”

Lin Cunxin eagerly recounted how Wangchuan had led men into the mountains by night a few days earlier and annihilated the Five Poisons Sect branch helm.

Old Seven first gave Wangchuan a serious look, then burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahaha! Good! Good, Wangchuan! As expected of the Deputy Hall Master of my Sanhe Commandery hall. Compared with Zhao Jinshan... you are truly far, far more capable!”

“When we parted, Hall Master Yin specifically instructed me to reward you well! So, speak. What do you need? I’ll report it all together and request merit for you!”

“The fact that Old Seven was able to return safely already puts this subordinate greatly at ease. As for the matter of the Five Poisons Sect branch helm, compared with the great matter you handled in Qinghe Commandery, it is hardly worth mentioning.”

Wangchuan kept a modest and humble posture, but at the end he still told Old Seven about visiting the Six Gates in person and sending out one thousand taels of gold, including the promise of further repayment afterward.

Old Seven nodded and said, “Leave the Six Gates to you from now on. Old Lin, draw out two thousand taels of gold for Wangchuan.”

“Yes.”

Lin Cunxin agreed at once.

Compared with the stability of the Caobang hall, two thousand taels of gold was only a small matter.

Old Seven then said to Wangchuan, “How about this? I’ll decide it for you. We’ll count several merits together and help you request two fourth-rank martial arts manuals from above, along with one Lesser Rejuvenation Pill and two thousand taels of gold... As for the brothers under you, our hall will handle the internal rewards ourselves.”

“Good!”

Following Old Seven’s line of thought, Wangchuan said, “This includes the brothers who followed Old Seven out on this trip. They too should have their merits properly recorded and be rewarded! But recently, the brothers in all the branch helms and the hall have in truth all fulfilled their duties faithfully. My thought is that they should be rewarded together, to raise morale. After all, martial arts manuals do not cost money. At the same time, we can use this opportunity to win hearts and minds and recruit more men from outside.”

The moment they heard this, Old Seven and Lin Cunxin immediately understood that Wangchuan meant to release another batch of martial arts manuals on a broad scale to win over people.

Old Seven nodded.

“You’re in charge of the Armory Manual Vault. As long as the reason is proper, handle it as you see fit.”

Old Seven agreed at once.

This Qinghe Commandery affair had truly shaken him awake!

A perfectly good hall had suddenly collapsed into disarray and nearly been destroyed. Neither he nor Hall Master Yin had been able to control the situation, which showed clearly enough how swiftly the Jianghu changed and how dangers lurked everywhere.

So when it came to anything that could strengthen the power of their own hall, he would not stand in the way.

With both the Hall Master and Deputy Hall Master agreeing, Lin Cunxin naturally would not object.

Thus, the matter was settled.

At the end, Wangchuan added one more point.

“Old Seven!”

“At present, the four branch helms have basically stabilized. This subordinate was thinking that once this batch of martial arts manuals is released, in another month, we should hold an internal tournament within the hall. We can see whether the brothers from the Four Helms, Three Islands, and Seven Mines have truly been cultivating diligently in their daily lives, and at the same time review the overall strength of our hall.”

At once, Old Seven and Lin Cunxin were energized.