All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Li Chang'an searched through the old elder's body and found a secret manual.

A well-worn, yellowed thread-bound book with the words "Spring and Autumn Annals" prominently displayed on its cover.

It turns out the old man also reads the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Li Chang'an took a look and found that it was a secret manual called the Spring and Autumn Sword Technique.

Li Chang'an carried the old retainer's head back to the main hall of the water fortress. Several leaders' heads were neatly arranged on the table in the hall.

Including the head of the old retainer, the entire upper echelon of Jiangnan Water Village was purged, except for the fifth leader who had lost all his martial arts skills and was captured.

Li Chang'an threw the old retainer's head to the fifth leader, who caught it and placed it on the offering table.

Then, as agreed beforehand, the fifth leader began to address the middle-level leaders who had just flooded into the hall and were still somewhat at a loss.

"The chieftain was petty and intolerant of heroes. He has been executed today. From now on, I will be the one in charge of the Jiangnan Water Village!"

Li Chang'an's plan was to keep the Fifth Master as a puppet and then gradually let Xia Qifei take over.

The middle-level leaders in the hall were all pragmatic, and several of them immediately knelt down to pay their respects.

"I am willing to serve you, my elder brother, with unwavering loyalty!"

The situation in the hall quickly stabilized, and those who were not convinced were directly killed by the Shadow Guards.

The crowd from the water stronghold dispersed, and several secret guards, along with the new leader, went to reassure the people of the stronghold.

Subsequently, the remaining Shadow Guards brought Xia Qifei, who was naked from the waist up, into the main hall.

His back was covered with neat, deep scars, as if they had been carved there.

Upon hearing footsteps, Xia Qifei turned around, revealing a chest also covered in scars.

The knife and axe marks were clearly caused by being tied up and tortured; otherwise, they wouldn't be so neat.

Li Chang'an now realized that Ming Qingda, the young master of the Ming family, poking steel needles with his fingers was nothing special.

The Ming family of Jiangnan is truly terrifyingly powerful!

Name: Xia Qifei (Ming Qingcheng)

Age: 21 years old

Realm: Lower Seventh Rank

Talents: Martial Arts (Seventh Rank), Command (Eighth Rank), Social Skills (Seventh Rank)

Abilities: Commander (Fourth Rank), Social Skills (Fifth Rank)

Emotion: 0

Chapter 54: Subduing Xia Qifei and Setting Up the Jiangnan Water Village!

Xia Qifei was unaware that the former bandit leader of the Jiangnan Water Village admired him.

Therefore, in his eyes, the Jiangnan Water Village had captured him, and the next step was to hand him over to Ming Qingda.

Seeing the several human heads on the offering table, Xia Qifei was somewhat confused.

In the leader's chair of the stronghold sat a young man in brocade robes, behind whom sat a middle-aged man with a gloomy face, clearly a hidden master.

Xia Qifei's mind raced, and he immediately knelt down to pay his respects, "Xia Qifei, a man in dire straits, greets the leader!"

Xing Yusen stood in front of Xia Qifei, his expression serious, exuding the air of a chief constable.

"The Prince Yong's Mansion was ordered to suppress the Wu region, and the leader of the Jiangnan Water Village has been executed."

"Who are you? Why are you locked up in the dungeon? You'd better tell the truth. If you lie, you'll be considered an accomplice!"

Xia Qifei had heard of the Yongwang Mansion, which was ordered to suppress the Wu region. These people were ruthless killers who specialized in eliminating gangs that did not obey the imperial court.

The Shadow Guards under Prince Yong's command are a shadow over the martial arts world of Daqing, and no one dares to provoke them.

The Shadow Guards are known for their swarming presence, like maggots clinging to bones, always by your side! They strike fear into the hearts of countless heroes in the martial world!

When Xia Qifei heard the title "By Imperial Decree, Zhenwu" (meaning "to suppress the enemy"), sweat began to bead on his forehead.

These people are even more dangerous than the bandits in the water village. They can kill people easily and without breaking the law!

Xia Qifei bowed down again, kowtowing three times, "This humble subject, Xia Qifei, greets the esteemed Shadow Guards!"

"My name is Ming Qingcheng. I am the seventh illegitimate son of the Ming family, who is in charge of the internal treasury and sales."

“My mother died early, and the eldest son of the Ming family has been abusing me since I was a child. The scars on my body are proof of that!”

"This humble citizen has no idea what kind of mental illness Ming Qingda, the eldest son of the Ming family, has that would cause him to abuse this humble citizen."

The Dowager Lady Ming was strict and power-hungry, which made Ming Qingda somewhat abnormal.

When Ming Qingda was mentioned, Xia Qifei's voice trembled noticeably, clearly indicating deep fear and hatred.

"After the death of the Ming family patriarch, his will left a huge benefit for the common people. Ming Qingda was dissatisfied and even more unwilling to share the huge benefit with the common people."

"So, under the pretext that his illegitimate son had brought shame to the Ming family, he hunted down the common people everywhere and even paid a large sum of money to the Jiangnan Water Village to capture them."

Xia Qifei was not lying, and Li Chang'an was very satisfied with this. "The Shadow Guards only deal with matters of the martial world; we have no say in the internal affairs of the Ming family."

"However, the Shadow Guard does know some information about what you said. You're not lying, which is good."

Hearing Li Chang'an's words, Xia Qifei broke out in a cold sweat. The government officials were indeed well-informed; thankfully, they hadn't tried anything funny.

Li Chang'an continued, "Xia Qifei, I ask you, how do you intend to treat the Ming family this way?"

Xia Qifei's mind raced. The Ming family was the eldest princess's ally, and Prince Yong was the eldest princess's brother. What did it mean that Prince Yong's men were asking this question?

A wrong answer could be fatal. Xia Qifei was almost soaked in sweat and dared not answer rashly.

Human fear largely stems from a lack of transparency. Xia Qifei didn't know the relationship between Prince Yong and the Eldest Princess, or whether the Ming family would take the opportunity to kill him.

But he quickly calmed down; if that were the case, he would be killed no matter what he answered.

It might be better to tell the truth; there's still a chance to survive.

"This humble citizen wishes to reclaim the property rightfully his or hers as stipulated in the will, to manage the imperial treasury and finances for the court, and to serve the country!"

Li Chang'an nodded and said, "He has both courage and insight; I believe that day will come."

At this moment, Xing Yusen tapped his scabbard on the ground, "Have you not paid your respects to His Highness Prince Yong yet!"

Xia Qifei, who had just been frightened, suddenly looked up, glanced at the young Prince Yong, and then quickly bowed his head again.

"This humble subject pays his respects to Your Highness Prince Yong, and thanks Your Highness for saving my life!"

Xing Yusen continued, "The reason the prince asked you so many questions was to see if you were as tough as the rumors in the martial arts world say."

Xia Qifei's mind raced, and he instantly understood the meaning behind Xing Yusen's words: if Prince Yong was examining his character, there would be a reason why he needed him.

"If Your Highness has any orders, this humble subject will go through fire and water to repay your life-saving grace!"

Li Chang'an stood up and walked to Xia Qifei. "Get up."

"I want you to be the Yongwang Mansion's mole in Jiangnan. You can take over this Jiangnan water village tonight."

After Li Chang'an said something, Xing Yusen told Xia Qifei everything that had happened that night.

Ever since Li Chang'an revealed his identity, Xia Qifei's emotional value has skyrocketed, and it has now reached eighty.

Firstly, he had escaped death from a desperate situation, and Li Chang'an had saved his life.

Secondly, Xia Qifei had a strong desire to become a member of the imperial court and a spy for the Prince Yong's mansion, so he couldn't really be considered a true outlaw.

Upon hearing Li Chang'an's words, Xia Qifei knelt down again in excitement, "This humble subject is unworthy and incapable of handling the matter Your Highness has entrusted to me."

Li Chang'an said coldly, "The rules of the Yongwang Mansion are that if you don't do them right, you'll be beheaded."

"Since you have nowhere else to go anyway, why don't you settle down here and keep an eye on the martial arts sects in Jiangnan for me?"

"If you do well in the future, I will grant you an official position. Even if you don't have an official position now, you are still carrying out orders."

Xia Qifei's usefulness doesn't stop there; he will also be used to befriend the navy and raise troops in the naval camp.

He even used his position to put him in charge of the Imperial Treasury, but this depended on the situation, as Li Chang'an didn't really need the Imperial Treasury.

Of course, there's no rush to explain everything at once; we'll arrange things as Xia Qifei develops step by step.

As Xia Qifei grows stronger, Li Chang'an will gradually bind Jiangnan Water Village with Luo Wang and Wanshan Chamber of Commerce, making Jiangnan Water Village a true part of Li Chang'an's power.

Now all we need to do is plant the seeds and set up the plan; the Jiangnan Net will also be watching this place.

After making detailed arrangements for Xia Qifei, Li Chang'an left with his Shadow Guards with peace of mind.

Once the support and military threat from the Luo Wang are in place, Xia Qifei will surely submit to their will soon.

Several days later, at Tianqiong Mountain Villa outside Suzhou City.

This is the stronghold of the Jiangnan Luowang (a secret police organization), and more than 300 people are gathered in the huge courtyard of the villa.

They were all talents discovered by Li Chang'an in Jiangnan, and each possessed a certain talent that placed them in the upper three ranks.

Politics, martial arts, business, carpentry, winemaking, and many other fields—they will gradually grow under the selection and training of the Jiangnan Network.

These people are all from the lower classes, and they will be told that they have joined a mutual aid gang.

Only the core members who are ultimately selected will be informed about the Luo Wang organization.

Even the core members don't know that Li Chang'an is the ultimate leader of the Luo Wang.