The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 188 Incense and Affection

As the twelfth lunar month approaches, the flow of people and goods at Dongshuimen Wharf becomes increasingly dense.

Wang Wen, who had changed into a set of coarse cloth casual clothes, sat with Huang Xingde in a thatched teahouse by the roadside, surrounded by Qinghe Gang disciples to prevent passersby from disturbing them.

"Are you busy recently?"

Seeing Wang Wen fiddling with his teacup and lost in thought, Huang Xingde asked him curiously.

Wang Wen snapped out of his reverie and casually replied, "It's not particularly busy..."

He was just distracted by Wu Yanzu, trying to get a general understanding of the situation in western Hunan from Wan Li.

It was the Gu Master that Wang Wen had subdued in Huangshan last time. He left him and the swordsman Xu Qian, who was at the Acquired Realm, in Huangshan to do odd jobs and do things that Chen Feng and Ji Liang couldn't do themselves.

"I already told you, if you're busy, don't come."

Huang Xingde grumbled incessantly, "We could have just spoken to your senior uncle on your behalf, but you insisted on coming. What, are you trying to show off?"

Wang Wen replied with a laugh: "If I weren't in Yangzhou and didn't know that my senior uncle was coming, then so be it. But since I'm in Yangzhou and know that my senior uncle is coming, yet I remain as still as Mount Tai, what do you think my senior uncle is thinking? Oh, you had one face before you became rich, and another face after you became rich?"

Huang Xingde understood the logic in what he was saying, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Your senior uncle isn't an outsider, why would he lower himself to the level of a junior like you!"

Wang Wen rolled his eyes and pouted, too lazy to argue with this old man.

He was sure that if he tried to reason with this old man, the old man would slap him and say, "You think you can reason with me?"

Old people are like children; they need to be coaxed...

Before long, Huang Xingde's henchman Ding Lei walked into the crowd, clasped his hands, and said, "Uncle, Brother Hu, the boat has arrived."

The father and son stood up and walked out through the crowd.

People coming and going greeted the father and son with smiles and clasped hands.

The father and son nodded with smiles, their eyes fixed on the cargo ship that was moored at the dock.

As the gangplank was lowered, Jiang Jin, dressed in a blue cloak with flowing sleeves, exuding the air of a refined scholar, slowly stepped off the canal boat, surrounded by a group of elite canal gang disciples.

Huang Xingde saw him from afar, stood on tiptoe and waved, saying, "Senior Brother!"

Jiang Jin, on the other side, was stunned when she saw the smiling father and son in the crowd. A warm smile slowly appeared on her thin and cold face.

The crowd parted, and Jiang Jin strode over, with the father and son going up to her one after the other.

"Senior brother, why have you lost weight again?"

"Disciple Wang Wen greets Grand Master Uncle!"

Jiang Jin pursed her lips tightly and remained silent, her eyes filled with excitement as she patted Huang Xingde's arm vigorously.

Then he turned around, helped Wang Wen up with both hands, and sighed, "Erhu, you shouldn't have come!"

Wang Wen laughed and said, "One thing at a time."

"you……"

Jiang Jin hesitated, her clear eyes filled with shame and inner turmoil.

Wang Wen could roughly guess what he couldn't say, so he turned to the side and made a "please" gesture: "Senior Uncle, you must be tired from your journey. My father has instructed the cook to prepare a simple meal to welcome you back. If there's anything you need, we can talk about it while we eat."

Jiang Jin could only sigh silently and force a smile, "As you wish."

A moment later, the group returned to the Qinghe Gang's base.

As soon as the three of them sat down, a series of exquisitely presented delicacies from land and sea were served.

Wang Wen stood up and poured wine for Jiang Jin and Huang Xingde: "Your arrival is sudden. Senior Brother Xie went out on official business a few days ago and is on his way back. He should be back in Yangzhou tomorrow. You should stay a few more days so that Senior Brother Xie can take better care of you..."

Jiang Jin held the wine glass, looking hesitant and shy, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Wang Wenben didn't want to talk about serious matters so soon, but seeing his attitude, he knew that if he didn't get to the point, he probably wouldn't understand the meaning of the meal. So he took the initiative to speak up and said, "By the way, if I'm not mistaken, you came to Yangzhou this time on the orders of the Grand Canal Gang headquarters to talk to me about the Grand Canal tax, right?"

He brought up the matter himself, and Jiang Jin breathed a sigh of relief. He waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "At your age, you still come here to show off your old age and bully the younger generation. I'm really sorry to have made you laugh, Erhu!"

"Master Uncle, there's no need to make things difficult for you."

Wang Wen put down the wine pot, sat down, and said with a calm smile, "Disciple knows that you must have your difficulties. If you had a choice, you certainly wouldn't have gone through this..."

Seeing that Jiang Jin's expression was becoming increasingly ashamed, he changed the subject and said, "In addition, I'm afraid my senior uncle doesn't know that I've already settled accounts with the headquarters of the Canal Gang regarding the matter of them assigning you to Yangzhou."

The head of the Cao Gang's Enforcement Hall arrived in Yangzhou one after the other. Even the fastest carrier pigeon couldn't deliver the news of Bai Zimo's attack on the Cao Gang's headquarters to Jiang Jin before he disembarked.

Jiang Jin was indeed taken aback upon hearing this, and asked in surprise, "Erhu, when did you go to the main altar to settle accounts? How did you do it?"

Wang Wen thought for a moment, then scratched his head and said, "What's the name of the current head of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Canal Gang? I've forgotten for a moment."

Jiang Jin immediately added, "You mean Liang Zhenbang?"

Wang Wen suddenly realized, picked up the serving chopsticks and put a chicken leg in Jiang Jin's bowl: "Yes, it's that old man. Two days ago, I learned that the Grand Canal Gang headquarters had forcibly assigned my senior uncle to Yangzhou to discuss the Grand Canal's tax with me. I was displeased, so I sent a capable henchman to the Grand Canal Gang headquarters to retrieve that old man's head. Just now, my subordinate showed me that old man's head. Sword-like eyebrows, hooked nose, a small mole on his forehead... Is that the old man?"

Jiang Jin stared at him in astonishment, her mind completely blank.

I can hardly believe that Wang Wen's temperament is so fierce, that he doesn't even hold a grudge against me.

Before he even arrived in Yangzhou, Wang Wen had already vented all his anger.

And yet, I can't believe that my old rival, with whom I've fought for most of my life, would die so suddenly and so easily.

Just like that chicken leg in his bowl...

With a bewildered expression and a strange look, he turned to Huang Xingde and said, "You've really raised a fine son!"

Huang Xingde, who had been trying hard to keep a straight face, couldn't help but chuckle and whisper when he saw that there was no anger between his brows. "What did we tell you back then? You still insisted on arguing with us, saying that this little bastard was a rough diamond, saying that he was... oh, right, an awl placed in a bag will surely show its sharpness!"

Jiang Jin stared at him in astonishment, then said with a wry smile, "You're not very broad-minded... truly, like father, like son!"

He had long forgotten about it.

Huang Xingde still remembered... Huang Xingde chuckled smugly: "I guess I'm good at judging people, huh?"

Jiang Jin: "Yes, yes, no one knows a son better than his father..."

Wang Wen pretended not to hear the two old men's chatter and even put a chicken leg in Huang Xingde's bowl.

Jiang Jin felt relieved and chatted with the father and son while eating.

After a few rounds of drinks, Wang Wen brought up the serious matter again: "Senior Uncle, I've vented my anger, and your disciples will certainly protect your reputation. As for how much of the canal commission the canal gang will give, it's up to you!"

After saying that, he picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Jiang Jin squinted at him and said with a smile, "I said it really counts? Aren't you afraid of breaking the rules of your Demon-Slaying General's Mansion?"

Wang Wen also laughed and said, "Whoever tries to break the rules will have someone die in their family. Even the Grand Canal Gang is no exception, so naturally no one else will be an exception either!"

Jiang Jin originally wanted to tease him a few more times, but hearing him keep referring to the Canal Gang, she suddenly felt uneasy. She sighed listlessly, "I can't say anything about your conflict with the gang, but it was really a foolish thing for them to insist that I come to Yangzhou this time. I told them before that my coming to Yangzhou would only backfire, but no one listened... Maybe they're afraid to see you!"

Wang Wen responded with a smile, "Perhaps."

But a thought lingered in his mind: 'I doubt it. If only the two of us suffer, we can save tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. Isn't that a great deal?'

The canal gangs were engaged in large-scale trade between the north and south, and the tribute they paid to the Huainan Transport Commissioner, the main government department, every year was an astronomical figure.

Of course, normally the canal gang shouldn't be thinking about how to save this money, but rather how to send more money to the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion.

But what could he do when Wang Wen had previously overturned the Qi King's business, and the Qi King was the current big boss of the Grand Canal Gang?

After grumbling for a moment, Jiang Jin said seriously, "Before I came here, I was instructed to ask Erhu to consider our past relationship and reduce the amount a little more so that the gang can give an explanation to both superiors and subordinates... It doesn't need to be reduced too much, just enough to make it acceptable."

Upon hearing this, Wang Wen thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

Explain?

What explanation?
It was nothing more than a way of telling King Qi that their canal gang had severed ties with him, Wang Wen.

It's nothing more than a way of showing the world that the Grand Canal Gang still has face...

Everyone else had to give them the full amount they were owed.

But the canal gang was unwilling to give it up even in 80% of cases, and Wang Wen actually accepted it!
After this incident, the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion adopted an even tougher stance towards other major merchant groups and powerful forces.

The more prestigious the shipping guild was!
As the saying goes, fame brings profit.
Given the scale and influence of the Grand Canal Gang, they had countless ways to turn this prestige into real money.

"How greedy..."

Wang Wendu was almost amused by the shameless attitude of the canal gang: "Even at a time like this, they're still thinking about saving face and maintaining appearances!"

Jiang Jin was reluctant to dwell on the faults of his own gang, but he actually understood what Wang Wen meant by those words.

He immediately felt indignant for Wang Wenming... In his mind, Wang Wenming hadn't done anything wrong, and he had given his gang enough face!
It's our own gang pushing their luck!
"In my opinion, let's leave it at half-full, just enough to get the idea!"

Jiang Jin reluctantly raised her wine glass and clinked it against Wang Wen's, then prepared to drink it all in one gulp.

Wang Wen quickly snatched the cup from his hand and put it back on the table: "No way, I've already said, one thing at a time! My grudge with the Canal Gang is my business with the Canal Gang, and our friendship is our business. No matter what the reason, since you're here, as your nephew, I absolutely cannot embarrass you... Just give me 50%, I'm not short of money anyway, as long as it's enough to save face."

Jiang Jin chuckled and said, "This is the first time I've realized that my reputation is worth so much... Kid, do you know how much silver the gang pays to the Huainan Transport Bureau every year?"

Wang Wen also laughed and said, "I led people to ransack Gu Yue's house. Do you think I know how much money the Canal Gang pays to Gu Yue every year?"

Jiang Jin: "Knowing that you still asked for 25% right off the bat? That's at least 20,000 to 30,000, and sometimes 70,000 to 80,000 yuan a year! You could buy 20 or 30 houses like this in one go!"

He stamped his feet, trying to show Wang Wen exactly how much money that was.

Wang Wen firmly replied, "No amount of money can compare to the kindness and protection you showed your disciple back then!"

Jiang Jin shook his head: "No, absolutely not. Even brothers have to keep clear accounts, let alone the two of us. Besides, it's not me paying for it, it's the gang paying for it. Why are you trying to save them this money? And if word gets out, people will say that I, Jiang Jin, am even ruthless towards my own nephews and nieces."

Wang Wen: "This is not the same thing. I can kill them if I don't like them, but since you've come in person, I have to save face for you. Otherwise, people outside will say that I'm heartless and ungrateful. No, absolutely not!"

Jiang Jin: "Are you the senior master or am I? Should I listen to you or me?"

Wang Wen: "Of course you are my senior master, but I am the Demon-Slaying General. I set the rules, and I will accept whatever amount I say. Otherwise, why don't you try having the Canal Gang send the money to the yamen? Let's see who dares to send money to the yamen without my permission!"

Jiang Jin: "Listen to me, my old face isn't really worth that much..."

Wang Wen: "No, no..."

Huang Xingde: "Alright, stop arguing. Let's agree on a price, and each of us will compromise!"

Wang Wen and Jiang Jin looked over together.

Huang Xingde pondered for a moment, then said loudly, "Let's give you 66%. It's auspicious and easy to say. It will save face for the Canal Gang, and Erhu, you won't lose too much!"

Wang Wen and Jiang Jin hesitated and exchanged a glance.

Wang Wenmian said hesitantly, "Alright, 666 it is!"

Jiang Jin reluctantly agreed, "Alright, six is ​​six, so be it!"

After finishing that conversation, the three of them stopped talking about these unhappy things and instead started chatting about trivial matters in the martial arts world.

After a hearty meal, Wang Wen rose and bid farewell to the two men, explaining that he had important business to attend to the next day and instructing Huang Xingde to treat Jiang Jin well…

The two brothers, their eyes still blurry with drunkenness, waved to him, telling him to go about his business and not worry about things at home.

Wang Wen turned and walked out of the side hall. A group of demon-suppressing guards in plain clothes surged out from the left and right and quickly followed his steps.

Watching his departing figure, Jiang Jin sighed softly, "That past bond is probably completely severed now... Those old guys will regret it to the core sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xingde suddenly grinned and chuckled.

Jiang Jin glanced at him sideways, puzzled: "What are you laughing at?"

Huang Xingde was overjoyed: "Erhu said the same thing!"

(End of this chapter)