Chapter 68: Ascending the Sky Fragrance Pavilion Once More

Disregarding Song Heng's farewell to his family, Chen Yushu knew very well that this matter was likely far from simple.

It was blatantly obvious that the Brocade Guard had targeted Jianfeng Mountain and intended to make an example of it. He had to make proper preparations himself, or else troubles would follow one after another.

If he were to wait until the trouble actually descended upon him before taking action, it would probably be too late.

"Lord Prefect, the Brocade Guard has already arrived in Gusu City and set a trap to make a move against Jianfeng Mountain. I implore you, for the sake of our past favors, to lend a helping hand..."

Behind Jianfeng Mountain stood the Prefect; the vast majority of the wealth they plundered on a regular basis was delivered straight into the Prefect's hands. This was precisely why Jianfeng Mountain had been able to grow and expand right under the imperial court's nose.

As long as sufficient bribes were paid, development would naturally proceed rapidly without a single person stepping in to stop it.

The losses in Gusu City were not yet enough to deal a fatal blow to Jianfeng Mountain's vitality. After all, Gusu was merely one of their larger strongholds; at worst, they would suffer a drop in income, retract their local enterprises, and as long as they could safeguard their core assets, they would still have a chance to stage a comeback.

They certainly had no way of contending with the imperial court relying solely on their own strength, which made it necessary to enlist external assistance at a time like this.

All those years of tribute might have seemed useless during ordinary times, but they could finally serve their purpose at a critical juncture.

What else had they been waiting for if not for a day like this?

...

The county yamen's arrest warrants were soon plastered all over the city, and a copy had also been placed on Red Lotus's desk.

Following Wang Qingshan's advice, Huang Wenzhong had glossed over the crucial details, directly cutting Jianfeng Mountain out of the entire affair. The three characters "Jianfeng Mountain" did not appear anywhere on the arrest warrant; it only mentioned that the chief culprit was Song Heng, accompanied by a portrait of Song Heng himself.

"How adept at dodging responsibility. This Huang Wenzhong only knows how to play petty tricks. I said all along that such a simplistic plan would never bring Jianfeng Mountain down."

Red Lotus knew this arrest warrant would certainly fail to satisfy Xu Feng.

Yet, she did not see a single trace of surprise on Xu Feng's face.

"Expectedly so. If Huang Wenzhong hadn't found a way to exonerate Jianfeng Mountain, I would have had to suspect whether he was brewing some sort of conspiracy."

"Next, we simply wait to see how Jianfeng Mountain reacts. Trust me, they certainly won't sit back and wait for their doom."

The entanglement between Huang Wenzhong and Jianfeng Mountain ran extremely deep, and Jianfeng Mountain was undoubtedly far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.

Had it not been for this, Huangfu Kai of the Six Fan Sects would never have risked his life to help Song Heng escape.

When Xu Feng first learned of this from Red Lotus, he assumed Huangfu Kai had accepted bribes from Song Heng, which was why he exerted such tireless effort to help. However, upon careful reflection afterward, something felt off; simply accepting a few material possessions probably wouldn't have been enough to make Huangfu Kai work this hard.

It must have been because Huangfu Kai feared the person behind Jianfeng Mountain that he extended a helping hand, wishing to avoid dragging himself into the mess.

There was bound to be a big fish behind Jianfeng Mountain. If they could hook and drag it out, they would have an explanation for the imperial court, and the borderlands would become somewhat more peaceful.

"What are you thinking? You surely don't want to directly lead troops to encircle and suppress Jianfeng Mountain, do you? It's not that simple, and we might not even win the fight. Jianfeng Mountain has numerous martial arts masters unless we requisition another Centurion."

Red Lotus always felt that the expression on Xu Feng's face grew more dangerous the longer she looked at it.

Prior to this, she might not have believed Xu Feng possessed such audacity, but after interacting with him for some time, she concluded that there was nothing in this world Xu Feng dared not do.

"Of course I won't be that impulsive. I still have to account for the safety and lives of the brothers under my command; how could I send them to their deaths?"

"Right now, there are no longer any factions within Gusu City capable of contending with us. The yamen dares not stretch its hands out that far, and the Six Fan Sects, having suffered an incident like Huangfu Kai's, will keep a low profile from here on out."

Regardless of the specifics, their initial objective had been achieved.

When they first entered the city, the county yamen, the Six Fan Sects, and Jianfeng Mountain had banded together into a tight rope, causing even the Brocade Guard to exercise caution. Now, those factions had been broken apart one by one.

It was time to consolidate their strength and clear out the remaining large and small gangs in the city.

Red Lotus did not understand Gusu City as deeply as Xu Feng did, but Xu Feng was well aware of how chaotic the various factions within the city truly were. Just like the Wild Dog Hall trafficking human beings in the past, who knew how many evil deeds they had committed—if you lined these people up and executed them one by one with a single blade, not a single one of them would be wronged.

Gusu City appeared calm and tranquil on the surface, but underneath, turbulent currents were surging.

After the Brocade Guard's arrival, these factions had all gone into hiding in the shadows, believing no one was paying attention to them. In reality, it was simply that Xu Feng had not yet swung his butcher's knife in their direction.

"Do you mean to say we're leaving none of these factions alive?"

Red Lotus had not expected that Xu Feng harbored such a ruthless side.

Still, that might be for the best. Gusu City would be their stronghold for a long time to come, and it had to be firmly grasped in their own hands for them to feel secure.

Moreover, according to Xu Feng, these people deserved to be sliced a thousand times over; wiping them out would serve as a proper explanation to the common folk of Gusu City.

"Then I'll arrange for Ye Ziyu and the others to handle this matter."

Red Lotus trusted Xu Feng one hundred percent, and she practically never questioned the decisions he made.

Resolving these gangs actually fell well within the duties of the Brocade Guard.

"In addition, all the remaining gambling dens and opium houses in the city must be thoroughly investigated. Every single one of them has dirt on their hands; their bottoms are thoroughly unclean. There's no need to rush too much, though, since there's no one left in the city who can contend with us anyway."

"Once these two tasks are completed, our status in Gusu City will be undisputed. We will control all the manageable power, and even if Huang Wenzhong harbors misgivings about Jianfeng Mountain, he won't dare to make any open moves."

Xu Feng's actions might have seemed erratic at first glance, striking here and there, but they actually followed a methodical system. They only looked somewhat chaotic; once pieced together from start to finish, one would realize how consummate his plan truly was.

Just as the two of them finished their discussion, Xu Feng suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure.

"Young lady, why have you come?"

The visitor was the personal maid of Lady Rong from the Heavenly Fragrance Tower. Xu Feng had crossed paths with her once before. He had not interacted with the Heavenly Fragrance Tower for some time and could not fathom why she had come knocking at this moment.

"Forgive the intrusion, Young Master Xu. My mistress extends her invitation; there is a matter she wishes to trouble Young Master Xu to assist with."

Xu Feng frowned. He had no intention of making a move against the Heavenly Fragrance Tower. Although the Heavenly Fragrance Tower was also a martial arts faction, they had always behaved strictly by the rules, engaging purely in the intelligence business without getting entangled in secular conflicts. They were one of the few factions in Gusu City capable of withdrawing unscathed from the current turmoil.

Given Lady Rong's cleverness, she should have foreseen this outcome.

Her seeking him out was most likely not driven by fear that the Brocade Guard would target the Heavenly Fragrance Tower.

"Please convey to Lady Rong that I will head over the moment I finish my tasks here."

"Thank you, Young Master Xu."

Without lingering any further, the maid delivered Lady Rong's message to Xu Feng and turned to take her leave.