The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 440: Making Hangzhou Chaotic
Song Mu led his Beiwei Army brothers to hide on a small hill outside Hangzhou. So many people carrying long swords, who clearly had the characteristics of soldiers, would arouse suspicion if they rashly entered Hangzhou, even if they were just teenagers. After all, Hangzhou was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

While Wu Chengyu was away, Song Mu was not idle. He arranged for his brothers to hunt some wild game, then lit a bonfire. When Wu Chengyu returned, the rabbits and pheasants were already on the grill, sprinkled with seasonings, and the aroma was irresistible, with oil dripping down.

When they saw Wu Chengyu return, everyone stood up, but Wu Chengyu's face was ashen and he remained silent, so no one dared to speak.

Wu Chengyu sat on a wooden stump, recalling his conversation with the leader of the Hangzhou Beggars' Gang.

"You haven't even found a trace of Ah Ku?"

"Inspector Mo was injured at the time and used her lightness skill to escape. Our men only had time to stop the pursuers behind her. After the battle, she had already disappeared."

"Where are the people who were chasing A-Ku? Do you have any leads?"

"To my shame, there were more than thirty of these people. They appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly. They were all masked, dressed in uniform black outfits, and showed no mercy when they attacked."

Moreover, the leaders were highly skilled in martial arts. I exchanged blows with one of them and was sent flying more than ten steps, my arm breaking instantly. Countless of my men were killed or wounded. Fortunately, they weren't targeting us; after injuring us, they left without a trace.

Afterwards, based on their clothing and appearance, I sent people to search the Hangzhou area, but there was no trace of them.

"So you really didn't discover anything at all?"

"The only thing we know is that they speak with a typical Jiangnan accent when they talk to each other."

It's clear that the Hangzhou branch suffered heavy losses while rescuing A-Ku, but this also signifies their incompetence. Despite being known as the number one gang, it's understandable that they couldn't win, since the Beggars' Sect headquarters is in Hunan, and their forces here are not strong.

However, the Beggars' Sect is known for its excellent intelligence network. When their own inspectors and the sect leader's disciples were hunted down and disappeared, they could neither find A-Ku's whereabouts nor know who was lying in ambush on him.

A-Ku has been missing for over a month, and they haven't found a single clue. Even the so-called experts from Hunan who were supposed to be sending reinforcements haven't arrived. A-Ku is completely isolated and helpless.

Thinking of this, if Hong Qigong were right in front of him, Wu Chengyu would want to fight him. Once he finds Aku, he will definitely not let Aku stay in the Beggars' Sect anymore; Aku must stay by his side.

Song Mu, being a bit bolder, tore off a chicken leg and handed it to Wu Chengyu: "Master, please eat something first."

Wu Chengyu casually took it and finally spoke.

"Song Mu, I have a list here, all of them are gangs or martial arts figures from the Hangzhou area."

I've taught you all about infiltration through makeup and reconnaissance.

Divide your men into five groups and arrange them as you see fit. Go to each of them on this list one by one. If they are just poor folks sticking together for warmth, fine. But if they usually do evil and bully the good, torture them all severely.

More than thirty martial arts masters couldn't have remained silent. These Jianghu gangs would either be cooperating with them or would have known something about it. I don't believe that such a big thing could have happened without the entire Hangzhou martial arts community being aware of it.

Remember my words: do not deceive the good and kill the evil. I will make the Hangzhou area completely chaotic, muddy the waters, and make what is hidden beneath the surface come to light.

I don't care how many people you've killed, I need useful information, understand?
If you find anything, leave a mark outside the Yunlai Inn in Hangzhou, and I will come looking for you.

The entire Beiwei Army agreed, and Song Mu would make the arrangements from there, without Wu Chengyu needing to interfere. The group discussed the matter while eating something, and then left on their own.

Wu Chengyu then slipped away and re-entered Hangzhou. This time, he once again took on Su Daqiang's face and arrived at Yunlai Inn first.

This is where Lu Zhiyi stayed when he first came to Hangzhou. At that time, there was a plump landlady who flirted with Lu Zhiyi.

Years later, the proprietress is still there, but she has lost her youthful beauty, her body has become much thinner, and the wrinkles on her face have become somewhat caked with makeup.

Seeing Wu Chengyu's old face, she naturally wasn't very flirtatious; she simply mechanically opened a superior room for Wu Chengyu.

After the night had fallen and all was quiet, Wu Chengyu secretly left the inn and returned to the Hangzhou branch of the Beggars' Sect.

There were more people in the branch than during the day. The beggars sat unkempt, eating and complaining.

"Master, let the brothers rest for a few days. We've been out gathering information every day, but we haven't found any leads. The brothers are exhausted."

The helmsman, Zhou Quan, looked at him with exasperation: "All you ever do is rest. Now that Grandma Mo is in trouble, the experts from the main headquarters might arrive in a few days. If you can't produce any information then, how am I supposed to explain this to them?"

Today, even Grandma Mo's brother came to our door with the gang leader's token to question us. Who knows, one day it might be Gang Leader Hong himself. If this continues, our Hangzhou branch will be completely disgraced.

After that came the task of meticulously assigning tasks. Although the beggars below complained, they dared not disobey. Wu Chengyu could see that these guys had actually done their best. They hadn't been completely inactive these days, but they hadn't gained anything.

This put Wu Chengyu in a bit of a bind. In his opinion, the Beggars' Sect, which was known for its excellent information network, was completely clueless, which meant there must be something wrong with them, so he came to investigate.

To everyone's surprise, these guys really did seem to be nothing but good-for-nothings and hadn't done anything shameful. But the more they seemed to be, the more confusing things became.

Just as Wu Chengyu was having a headache, Hangzhou descended into complete chaos.

The Flying Fish Guild in Hangzhou City controlled the business along the Qiantang River, leeching off fishermen, collecting dock taxes, and occasionally robbing visiting ships.

While it's not quite accurate to say he was utterly wicked, he did have a considerable number of lives on his hands. It's said that he made substantial contributions to the Hangzhou government every year, so no one dared to interfere with him, and he wielded considerable influence on the Qiantang River.

The Flying Fish Society has three leaders. The leader is named Jiang Xiaoyu, also known as the Flying Fish of the River. He is skilled in using the Water Splitting Spear technique and has extremely high underwater skills. On land, he is known for his lightness skills. He can be considered a second-rate master, probably slightly lower than Peng Lianhu and slightly higher than the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan.

The second leader was a fisherman by trade, possessing great strength. His usual weapon was an iron oar, which made him powerful and heavy in fights. He was arrogant and domineering, and managed the docks. The third leader was said to be a disgraced disciple of a martial arts sect, who came from the north. He was skilled in using concealed weapons, had a womanizing nature, and had bullied many respectable women.

The Flying Fish Gang's headquarters were located at the dock. As usual, the area was brightly lit at night, and the gang members drank and ate meat, having a great time. But now, disaster was imminent.

The third leader had just captured a girl from outside. The girl was crying and wailing, and he was leering at her. Just as he was about to return to the camp, he suddenly realized that dozens of figures had been following him without his knowledge.

"Who are you? If you are friends, why not come to my Flying Fish Club for drinks and girls? But if you come looking for trouble, don't blame me... ah..."

Before he could finish speaking, he let out a scream, and blood spurted out, spraying all over the girl next to him. The girl rolled her eyes and fainted.

The people following him were naturally the Beiwei Army led by Song Mu. Before the three leaders could finish speaking, Song Mu simply waved his hand, and one of the men next to him casually threw five flying knives that struck the three leaders in their limbs. The three leaders had already fallen to the ground and could not get up.

Wu Chengyu knew too many martial arts, including throwing knives and hidden weapons. On the border between Western Xia and Jin, bandits roamed freely. The young men of Beiwei Army who practiced hidden weapons were trained by feeding the lives of bandits. Their moves were lightning fast and extremely ruthless, far superior to a Jiangnan gang leader who only knew how to bully the kind-hearted.

However, this scream immediately alerted the members of the Flying Fish Gang's base. There were two or three hundred people living there on weekdays. Upon hearing the third leader's shout, a strong man carrying an iron paddle led his men out.

Song Mu only had forty men with him, including himself. It looked like he was about to fight ten against one, but these young guys had probably killed more people than these gang members and had seen far more horrific scenes, so they weren't afraid at all.

"Give me the iron paddle, the rest of you form the Crossing River Blade Formation. If you can't defeat them within an incense stick's time, you'll have to triple your training after returning to the manor."

After Song Mu gave the order, the Beiwei Army drew their long swords, all of which were thick-backed swords made of fine steel. They were one-third longer than ordinary long swords, and the back of the blade was three centimeters thick. They were extremely sharp and were very good at chopping bones.

The Hengjiang sword technique was originally an improved version of military martial arts. While the technique itself is not particularly sophisticated, it is strictly regulated and is well-suited for use in military formations. These young men train extremely hard and can form a sword formation in a few flashes, cooperating seamlessly and compensating for each other's weaknesses.

They were not greedy for merit or rash, and they advanced step by step towards the Flying Fish Gang members in an orderly manner. Although the opposing group had a large number of people, they were a disorganized mess. Not only could they not form a united force when attacking, but there were also many gaps. They even almost injured their own people in the darkness of night.

Most importantly, every single member of the Beiwei Army has mastered top-notch martial arts. Even the weakest among them are third-rate experts. Martial arts masters fight in military formations with strict discipline and unwavering orders. This kind of lethality is simply too unfair for ordinary gangs.

The moment the two sides met, the Beiwei Army swung their longswords, and dozens of lives were taken like grass being cut down. The Flying Fish Gang was thrown into chaos and collapsed at the first touch.

The second leader, seeing this, was furious. He brandished his iron paddle and charged forward, but was immediately blocked by Song Mu.

Song Mu's horse-slaying saber, forged from black iron, weighed fifty jin. Under his immense strength of several hundred jin, the second leader, who always thought himself to be born with superhuman strength, was no match for him. The moment the iron paddle and the horse-slaying saber made contact, a sound of metal breaking was heard.

The iron paddle was cut in two by Song Mu's horse-slaying sword, which also took away one of the second leader's arms. The second leader screamed and fell to the ground. Song Mu kindly used his toes to press the pressure points on the second leader's body to stop the bleeding.

In just a dozen breaths, half of the Flying Fish Gang members had been cut down. Song Mu ignored the two sides still fighting and strode towards the camp.

Suddenly, a voice came from within the camp: "Fire!" and many crossbow bolts were fired in the darkness.

Song Mu raised an eyebrow. Crossbows were strictly prohibited by law in the common people. How dare this mere gang keep them in private? However, the Flying Fish Gang was not that bold. They only had seven or eight crossbows in total.

Although his sword was heavy, he wielded it with such skill that it was impervious to water, and Song Mu instantly deflected a few crossbow bolts.

Just then, a dark figure sprang out from the camp. Under the lamplight, two water-splitting daggers gleamed and pierced straight at Song Mu's ribs. It was Jiang Xiaoyu, the leader of the Flying Fish Society.

Relying on light-footed skills to launch surprise attacks seems to be Wu Chengyu's forte, so Wu Chengyu had already conducted drills with the Beiwei Army on how to deal with such sneak attacks.

Song Mu remained calm and performed a reverse seven-star step, seemingly retreating, but suddenly flashed to the left, just in time to dodge the opponent's attack. Song Mu was there to interrogate, so he didn't intend to take Jiang Xiaoyu's life immediately. He raised his long sword and changed from slashing to slapping.

Like swatting a fly, he swung the sword at Jiang Xiaoyu. Jiang Xiaoyu's lightness skill was truly impressive; he suddenly curled up and sprang forward, avoiding Song Mu's horse-slaying saber.

By this time, most of his gang members were dead, and the rest of the Beiwei Army were heading towards their base. Jiang Xiaoyu knew that if he continued fighting, he would surely die. He steeled his heart and immediately ran towards the dock.

He is an excellent swimmer; if he can dive into the water, he will surely escape. He doesn't know who came tonight, but as long as he survives, he will have a chance to get revenge.

Song Mu was not good at light footwork. If Li Geda were here, he would be one of the few people who had learned the cat-like steps. His light footwork was far superior to Jiang Xiaoyu's, and he would definitely not let him escape more than ten feet away.

But Song Mu was prepared. Just as Jiang Xiaoyu was only two or three zhang away from the dock, he put his legs up to leap over, when he heard Song Mu behind him say, "Let go."

Song Mu's Beiwei Army had ten men lying in ambush at the dock early on, ready to capture Jiang Xiaoyu. They were all skilled archers, and when they fired ten arrows, six blocked the space around Jiang Xiaoyu, while the remaining four arrows landed squarely on Jiang Xiaoyu's limbs.

"Bring these three leaders over. The rest of you split into two teams: one to finish them off, and the other to search their territory. Don't miss out on the benefits we're entitled to."

The children of the Beiwei Army have all suffered hardships and have been taught pragmatism by Wu Chengyu. They never forget to loot the corpses after killing someone, and they have only recently learned how to ransack homes.

Soon, the three leaders of the Flying Fish Society were dragged in front of Song Mu, and they all begged for mercy.

"I've investigated everything you've done. You're all going to die tonight. Begging for mercy is useless, but sometimes death is the most painless thing in the world."

I have some questions for you. If your answers satisfy me, I'll let you leave a little unexpectedly. If they don't, you'll see the sun rise tomorrow morning, but I believe you won't want to see that."

As Song Mu spoke, he crushed all three of their knees with his feet. The three of them let out painful howls, no longer begging for mercy, but only for a quick death.

"Let me ask you, more than a month ago, someone was chasing after members of the Beggars' Clan and even fought a big battle with the Beggars' Clan's Hangzhou branch. Do you know anything about them?"

(End of this chapter)