The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Upon returning to the City God Temple, the headquarters of the incense hall, the two brothers who had accompanied him finally breathed a sigh of relief. While wiping the cold sweat from their bodies, they couldn't help but curse out, "The leader of the Jianghe Gang is truly despicable! He lured the incense master there and even arranged for an old Taoist priest from Wudang to give him a show of force!"

"Forget it, it's just some little trick, no need to overreact!"

Chapter 414 Righteous Actions (Please Subscribe)

This time, Jia Huan didn't rush to inform his superior, Zhang Jinbie, the leader of the Yuezhou branch, because he felt it was unnecessary.

The main problem is that he doesn't know that old Wudang Taoist priest!

Even though Xiangtang and the Jianghe Gang across the river successfully started trade, the leader of the Jianghe Gang deliberately avoided meeting Jia Huan.

Thus, Jia Huan never knew that the old Taoist priest from Wudang who fought him by the river without using his internal energy was actually the Wudang Sect's leader, Master Chongxu.

Once the trade with the Jianghe Gang was on track, Jia Huan and his brothers from Xiangtang got busy again.

Youth is the time to uphold justice and make a name for yourself in the martial world!

In the year and a half since Jia Huan transmigrated, he led his brothers from Xiangtang to besiege Niutou Village, a notorious stronghold in northern Hunan. Each of them used a bamboo pole to smash through the entire stronghold, killing three of the village chiefs and injuring or killing dozens of other bandits. He became famous for this battle.

His displayed peak third-rate martial arts skills earned him the approval of his superior, Zhang Jinbie.

"Not bad, not bad, Brother Jia, you're very good!"

At the branch headquarters, Zhang Jinbie's face showed a satisfied expression, and he kept saying, "I didn't expect you to have such a high level of martial arts at such a young age. It seems that you can participate in some Jianghu affairs!"

Jia Huan repeatedly expressed his disapproval and asked curiously, "What kind of江湖 (jianghu) affairs?"

"For example, wiping out the bandits in Dongting Lake!"

Zhang Jinbie said calmly, "These guys are all a menace; it would be best to get rid of them all!"

"Master, is there no intention or action from Junshan Island?"

Jia Huan was a little confused. As the saying goes, "How can one allow another to sleep soundly beside one's bed?"

Junshan Island, where the Beggars' Sect headquarters is located, is situated within Dongting Lake.

It can be said that, in the eyes of the martial arts world, the entire Dongting Lake is the core territory of the Beggars' Sect.

Now Zhang Jinbie actually says that the bandits in Dongting Lake are a menace, isn't that making a laughing stock of himself?

If they can't even clean up the bandits in their own core territory, what reason does the Beggars' Sect have to exist? Wouldn't it be more like a joke?

"Hehe, the interests involved in Dongting Lake are too vast!"

Zhang Jinbie sneered, "How could the Yuezhou government, and the surrounding landlords and gentry, not have their own ideas?"

"How could they possibly stop without drawing blood from any outside merchants who pass through?"

"These guys' energy and strength are no joke. Junshan Island is quite wary of them, so we can't use any overly aggressive countermeasures!"

Jia Huan suddenly realized, his mind as clear as a mirror.

This involves more than just the power of government officials and local gentry; it's likely that some high-ranking members of the Beggars' Sect were also involved, which explains why the Beggars' Sect turned a blind eye to the active river bandits around them!

The reason Zhang Jinbie didn't speak out was probably not only because he felt ashamed, but also because of the increasingly fierce conflict between the dirty-clothes faction and the clean-clothes faction within the Beggars' Sect.

It's likely that he didn't want Jia Huan to get involved in such internal disputes so early on.

Of course, Jia Huan wasn't very willing to get involved either.

In fact, he had already guessed the general situation. He estimated that the leader of the Clean Clothes Faction within the Beggars' Sect had colluded with the Yuezhou government and local gentry, which led to the rampant banditry on Dongting Lake.

Anyone familiar with the internal workings of the Beggars' Sect knows that the so-called Clean Clothes Faction is basically comprised of local powerful figures, and it's normal for them to have vested interests with the government and local gentry.

As for why Zhang Jinbie would intentionally clear out the bandits in Dongting Lake, it is probably related to his struggle for the position of vice leader of the Beggars' Sect. At least on the surface, it is a great contribution to the Beggars' Sect.

Jia Huan naturally gave his full support; after all, he wanted to uphold justice, and it didn't matter where he was!

He had been in contact with Zhang Jingbie for almost two years, and he had a fairly good impression of the guy.

Compared to the true heroes of the Beggars' Sect in history, he was far inferior, but Zhang Jinbie, who was only in his early thirties at the time, still had the passion in his body that had not completely cooled down, and was not a purely profit-driven creature.

It's clear that besides wanting to climb the social ladder, he also wants to do things that will benefit his reputation in the underworld and the local people.

For Jia Huan, this was enough; he couldn't ask for more.

Unexpectedly, one of the participants in this operation was Li Xiao, the "Snake Catcher," a disciple of the Four Bags Sect who was practically the deputy sect leader at Huarong Incense Hall.

Unfortunately, more than a year has passed, and this guy is still only a fourth-bag disciple. He's doing quite well in the incense hall next door, after all, he's a third-rate martial arts expert.

When they met again, the man looked at Jia Huan with a rather complicated expression and was unwilling to exchange many words with him.

I imagine he must have been wondering why the Demonic Sect hadn't sent anyone yet, allowing Jia Huan, a young Beggar Clan disciple, to rise from a two-bag disciple to a four-bag disciple like him in less than two years.

Moreover, he is the head of the Huarong Incense Hall, whose status is much higher than his.

As for the other disciples with four or five bags, they are basically all skilled members of the branch.

This time, Zhang Jinbie clearly wants to pull off a big heist!

After a brief exchange of martial arts skills, the five-bag disciple who participated possessed the strength of a peak third-rate martial artist, and was 'on par' with Jia Huan.

Unfortunately, Jia Huan's overall strength at this time was at most that of a good second-rate martial arts master, not even reaching the first-rate or even top-rate level.

Under such circumstances, one should naturally not act too strangely.

After all, 'he' grew up in the Beggars' Sect's Huarong Xiangtang since childhood, and his growth trajectory is traceable. His sudden transformation into a genius can be explained by an enlightenment.

However, if one's strength improves too rapidly, exceeding the comprehension of ordinary people, then that would be inappropriate.

Fortunately, the world of Swordsman is only a typical low-level martial arts world.

Even if a master has strong internal energy, outsiders cannot see what is going on unless they actually fight.

If it were a world of mid-level or high-level martial arts, where experts could see through someone's secrets at a glance, then it would be dangerous.

Zhang Jinbie gathered his trusted confidants, all third-rate martial arts experts, and did not take any grand actions, thus failing to attract much attention from the outside world.

On a dark and stormy night, the group boarded a boat and headed straight for the lair of the bandits on Dongting Lake.

The arrogant bandits of Dongting Lake had no idea that such a group of third-rate martial arts experts would be approaching.

By the time they realized what was happening, Zhang Jinbie had already taken the lead, along with Jia Huan and other trusted men, and stormed into the bandits' lair.

That night, the killing was truly exhilarating!

Jia Huan deliberately separated himself from Zhang Jinbie's group to carry out a solo and highly efficient killing spree.

With a bamboo pole in hand, it was as if it had transformed into a spear in the hands of a fierce general. Blood flew and screams echoed in his path, and almost no one could withstand a single blow from him.

Whether they were ordinary bandits or minor leaders, they were all killed instantly with a single thrust of a bamboo pole.

Even if they encountered one or two third-rate martial arts masters, they would only pretend to play around with them for a couple of moves before being killed by a bamboo pole as always!

The bandits' stronghold was quite large, with over a hundred men, each one fierce and ruthless. Even if they were caught off guard, they would react quickly and become incredibly ferocious.

Unfortunately, the bandits, unable to form a cohesive force, were no match for experienced third-rate martial arts masters, or even second-rate ones.

Not to mention, there's also Jia Huan, a killing machine, roaming around and giving us no chance whatsoever.

The battle was over by the time dawn broke.

The bandits in the water village were almost all wiped out.

Inside the water fortress, a considerable amount of gold and silver jewelry, as well as various other valuable goods, were found.

They even found more than a dozen hostages and dozens of women who had been violated.

Gold, silver, jewelry, and various valuables were distributed on the spot under the supervision of Zhang Jinbie.

Those dozen or so "hostages" would naturally be sent back to their respective homes as soon as possible.

The problem is, what to do with those dozens of women who were violated by the bandits?

Although Zhang Jinbie was the leader of the Yuezhou branch of the Beggars' Sect, he didn't own any businesses.

Well, it's probably influenced by the "dirty clothes" faction. They believe a beggar is a beggar, and should live by begging. If someone owns property, are they still considered a beggar?

Of course, not having any industry does not mean that Zhang Jinbie has no money. On the contrary, the resources he can mobilize are probably greater than those of an average medium-sized landlord family.

But there was no good way to arrange for the dozens of women who had been violated by the river bandits and who dared not or did not want to go home; they couldn't just be made to become female beggars.

If that's the case, then it's like going from one wolf's den to another tiger's mouth.

"Master, these poor women should be sent to Huarong Incense Hall. I can arrange it!"

Seeing Zhang Jingbie's predicament, Jia Huan took the initiative to speak up: "On my side, we basically no longer need the brothers of Xiangtang to rely on begging for a living. On the contrary, we still need a lot of labor!"

"These poor women can help with logistical matters, such as washing clothes and cooking. At least their survival shouldn't be a problem, and they won't be bothered by any gossip!"

This is true!

Whether it's doing manual labor or running around maintaining order in the martial arts world, the brothers in the incense hall need to be busy and constantly running, so naturally they don't have time to deal with logistical matters.

Anyway, the incense hall already supports a large number of elderly, weak, women and children, so adding a few dozen more wouldn't be a problem.

In addition, the brothers of Xiangtang came from the bottom of society, and could even be said to have rolled in the mud. How could they possibly have any prejudice against these poor women?

Who knows, in the end a few suitable couples might even be brought together!

Anyone familiar with the customs of the Ming Dynasty knows that the atmosphere of etiquette and morality there was extremely strict!

Soon, the historically famous Hai Rui, also known as Hai Gangfeng, will appear. He was someone who dared to criticize the powerful minister Yan Song, and was also a benchmark of the Ming Dynasty's etiquette.

If these women, who have been rescued and already ravaged by the river bandits, were to return home, they would likely not have a good end. This is no joke.