Ten Thousand Sword Masters

The left-hand stronghold of the common people is Blackstone Fortress.

"Something terrible has happened, Banner Master!"

A young man rushed in alarm toward the room of the flag lord, Zhong Miao.

Zhong Miao, who was reading a military treatise, looked at the young man who rushed into the room with displeasure. "Shouting and yelling like that, he has no manners."

"Flag Master, something terrible has happened! Zhong Ye's longevity tablet has shattered!" the young man said in a panic.

"What?"

Zhong Miao was shocked upon hearing this. He immediately stood up from his seat, threw down the military treatise, and hurriedly headed towards the Longevity Pavilion.

"Brother, why did you leave like this? Didn't you say that you were fully prepared this time, that you would surely succeed, and that you would come back and be promoted to banner leader just like me? Why did you just leave like this?"

Zhong Miao knelt before his younger brother Zhong Ye's shattered longevity tablet and wept bitterly.

Half a day later, Zhong Miao stopped crying, then stood up and muttered to himself with a stern expression, "I must go to Cangxi Town myself to avenge my brother."

Cangxi Town, at dusk.

"Xiaoyun, your dad's back. Come out for dinner."

Cao Fen called out, and Zhang Jianyun, who was inside the room, immediately put down the secret manual and came out.

At this moment, his father, Zhang Song, put down the load of straw sandals he was carrying and muttered something under his breath.

"Let's eat."

Cao Fen picked up her bowl and chopsticks and called out to Zhang Song. After putting down his load, Zhang Song picked up the waxed rope and began weaving straw sandals.

"I can't eat anymore, you guys eat."

Zhang Jianyun originally wanted to share his joy at obtaining the secret manual with his parents, but looking at his father's expression, he didn't dare to speak.

"What's wrong? Did you run into some thugs again?" Cao Fen asked worriedly.

"Eh."

Zhang Song sighed and shook his head.

"Could it be that the White Tiger Gang has raised the stall fees again?" Cao Fen asked in a panic.

"You were right," Zhang Song said weakly. "Chen Laosan from the White Tiger Gang came to inform us today that starting next month, the stall fee will increase to one tael of silver."

Upon hearing this, Cao Fen's expression changed. "One tael of silver? The White Tiger Gang must be crazy for money! You only earn less than 10 taels of silver a month selling straw sandals, and the White Tiger Gang wants one tael for their stall fee. Is there no law left?"

"The law? What kind of law are you talking about with these martial arts sects?" Zhang Song said irritably.

"No way! It was only 600 coins before, and now it's jumped to one tael of silver, which is 1000 coins! Absolutely not!" Cao Fen said angrily.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Song lowered his head and remained silent, quietly weaving straw sandals.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Zhang Jianyun said, "Let's eat first. No matter what, we have to eat first, otherwise the food will get cold."

"You guys eat first, I'll eat later," Zhang Song said.

Zhang Jianyun was silent for a while, then said, "Let's follow the crowd. If other stalls pay, we'll pay too. If they don't pay, then we won't pay either."

After saying this, Zhang Jianyun had the idea of ​​changing the fate of his entire family. He didn't want to see his parents worrying about a tael of silver and losing their appetite anymore.

However, his monthly salary at Nine Star Guard was only 15 taels of silver. How could he possibly change the fate of his entire family?

He picked up his bowl and chopsticks, finished a bowl of rice, and was about to get up to get more when the patterns on the back of Zhang Jianyun's hand suddenly appeared.

"Get to the base immediately."

Upon seeing Yang Changping's message, Zhang Jianyun hurriedly put down his chopsticks and bowl.

"I need to go to the base."

With that, Zhang Jianyun ran out of the house.

"Be careful," Cao Fen called out from inside the house.

Upon arriving at the residence, Zhang Jianyun went straight into the council hall and saw that Yang Changping, Du Zhong, and Liu Fei were already seated in their respective places.

Upon seeing Zhang Jianyun, Liu Fei quickly gestured for him to sit down beside him.

Then, one after another, the other four armored soldiers also arrived at the council hall.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

After all the armored soldiers had arrived, a middle-aged man strode into the council hall.

"This is Councilor Zhu Yiwen," Liu Fei whispered in Zhang Jianyun's ear.

Pavilion Master Yang Changping, Councilor Zhu Yiwen, Secretary Du Zhong, and six armored soldiers including Zhang Jianyun, along with all the staff of Cangxi Pavilion, were present.

"I've called everyone over even though it's dark, because there's something really important," Yang Changping said.

Upon hearing this, Councilor Zhu Yiwen's eyebrows twitched. "Sect Leader, what is it?"

"Old Chen's grandson, Chen Tao, was beheaded in Hongxiufang," Yang Changping said in a deep voice.

"What?! This actually happened?" Zhu Yiwen stood up abruptly, his face full of shock.

"Who is Old Chen?" Zhang Jianyun asked Liu Fei in a low voice.

"Old Chen is Chen Zhengsheng from our town. He retired from his position as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and returned to his hometown of Cangxi Town half a year ago. His grandson, Chen Tao, is not yet twenty years old," Liu Fei said.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianyun took a deep breath, feeling as if a major earthquake had struck Cangxi Town.

The clerk, Du Zhong, was also shocked. "Didn't Old Chen's grandson pass the selection for the Nine-Star Guard in the county? Why didn't he report for duty? How could he have been beheaded?"

"That's the problem. I only found out that Chen Tao had been beheaded after receiving a message from the county. The county said that Chen Tao was supposed to report to the county for his new job tomorrow, but his head was cut off today. They asked me to find out the cause as soon as possible," Yang Changping said seriously.

After calming down, Councilor Zhu Yiwen sat down again. "How could my Nine Star Guard interfere in the investigation of such an ordinary murder case, unless there's something strange going on?"

Zhu Yiwen's words came to an abrupt halt, stopping abruptly at the word "strange," and then he stared wide-eyed at Yang Changping.

"I went to the scene and examined the body. The knife marks were extremely intact. This kind of knife skill is not something an ordinary martial artist could possess," Yang Changping said, frowning.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yiwen's eyes darted around. "It's possible that someone from a martial arts sect was behind it, or that someone colluded with some strange entity to do it. Otherwise, how could it have been done so suddenly?"

Yang Changping remained silent for a moment after hearing this, then instructed, "Brother Zhu, you take two armored soldiers to the Green Fang Gang. Brother Du, you take two armored soldiers to the Flying Dragon Gang. Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei, you two come with me to the White Tiger Gang."

"Yes."

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei followed Yang Changping toward the White Tiger Gang.

White Tiger Gang headquarters, reception room.

"What wind has blown Pavilion Master Yang to my White Tiger Gang today?" Tang Guanshan, the leader of the White Tiger Gang, greeted Yang Changping and his group with a loud laugh.

"I, Yang, would not come here without a reason. Does Chief Tang know anything about Chen Tao's matter?" Yang Changping said, staring intently into Tang Guanshan's eyes.

Tang Guanshan was taken aback. "Chen Tao? Who is Chen Tao? What happened to him?"

Seeing that Tang Guanshan didn't seem to be faking it, Yang Changping slowly said, "Chen Tao was Old Master Chen's grandson, and he was murdered in Hongxiufang today."

Upon hearing the name "Old Chen," Tang Guanshan's expression immediately changed: "Someone actually dares to mess with Old Chen?"

Tang Guanshan's eyes darted around as he spoke, and he said sarcastically, "Since when did the Nine Star Guards start handling murder cases?"

"Normal murder cases are generally not my concern, but if they involve the supernatural, don't blame me for being ruthless," Yang Changping said.

Upon hearing this, Tang Guanshan's expression changed, and he said unhappily, "Sect Leader Yang, what do you mean by that? You come to my White Tiger Gang late at night to say these things, are you implying that my gang is colluding with monsters to harm people?"

"I hope I'm just being paranoid," Yang Changping said casually.

boom!

Tang Guanshan slammed the cup in front of him to pieces. "Yang Changping, although my White Tiger Gang is just a small faction in the martial arts world, we still know the greater good of humanity. If you dare to smear my gang again and say that my gang is colluding with the supernatural, then I, Tang Guanshan, will fight you, the Nine Star Guards, to the death."

"Chief Tang, you flatter me. I, Yang, had no intention of framing the White Tiger Gang. If Chief Tang can say that, then my visit today is unnecessary. Chief Tang, I'll drink this cup in one gulp." Yang Changping said, downing the wine in his cup in one go.

"The Pavilion Master has a good capacity for alcohol. May I ask who these two heroes are, and why they have remained silent?" Tang Guanshan said, glancing at Zhang Jianyun and Liu Fei.

"These two are armored soldiers from my Cangxi Pavilion, Liu Fei and Zhang Jianyun," Yang Changping introduced.

Upon hearing this, Tang Guanshan sized up Zhang Jianyun and said, "This young man is quite handsome. I didn't expect him to be a soldier of Cangxi Pavilion."

"Zhang Jianyun is a newly recruited soldier of my Cangxi Pavilion. Today is his first day on the job," Yang Changping said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Tang Guanshan raised his glass. "Truly a promising young man. Come, let's have a drink."

"You flatter me, Chief. I think you are a generous person. I just don't know why the White Tiger Gang suddenly raised the stall fee on Phoenix Street to one tael of silver," Zhang Jianyun said casually.

A hint of surprise flashed in Tang Guanshan's eyes upon hearing this. "How did you know I helped raise the stall fees on Phoenix Street?"

"My father runs a stall on Phoenix Street," Zhang Jianyun said.

"Oh, what's your father's name?" Tang Guanshan asked.

"Zhang Song," Zhang Jianyun replied.

"Someone come here."

Tang Guanshan suddenly shouted, and then a man in black clothes entered.

"Tell Chen Laosan to waive Zhang Song's stall fee on Phoenix Street," Tang Guanshan ordered.

Seeing this, Zhang Jianyun was delighted and raised his glass: "Then thank you, Chief."