“Young Master, what do you plan to do?”
Hearing Chen Sheng’s words, Yang Hu immediately suppressed all stray thoughts, flames of revenge igniting in his eyes as he looked excitedly at Chen Sheng. Compared to avenging his father, everything else seemed insignificant.
He knew clearly that compared to fighting alone, Chen Sheng—whose status and strength were now extraordinary—was the person most likely to achieve revenge. The mere fact that the other party could kill Gao Qiheng with a single blade strike was far beyond what he could hope to match.
“First, tell me, how exactly did the Gao Family issue orders to the Seven Star Gang?”
Chen Sheng had already learned the general situation from the [Seeking Fortune and Averting Calamity] Heavenly Tome, but the details still needed verification.
“Yes.”
Although Yang Hu was slightly surprised that Chen Sheng knew the higher-ups’ movements so quickly, he didn’t ask further. He immediately repeated, from beginning to end without omission, the orders Ma Changhai had issued in the hall today.
After listening to Yang Hu’s account, Chen Sheng’s gaze grew focused, and he understood in his heart.
No wonder the Tome’s prophecy showed him ruining things through impulse.
The schemes of the Gao Family and Seven Star Gang this time were aimed at him move by move. Once the northern city fell into sustained chaos, the first person the higher-ups would hold accountable would be him, the Northern City Commander.
Even Ma Changhai wanted to frame him.
And that County Magistrate Lin Shou, who had deep ties with the local powerful families, would certainly seize the opportunity to kick him while he was down. Combined with the fact that the other party was secretly investigating his background, if he responded passively, he would only be constrained at every step and fall into the trap.
However, since he had already foreseen all of this in advance, the situation was completely different!
Either endure silently, or… strike with thunderous force, dealing the opponent a fatal blow—not only dissolving the immediate crisis but also taking the opportunity to heavily damage the Gao Family and Seven Star Gang.
“Young Master, there is one more thing this subordinate must tell you.”
“Speak.”
“The old master actually still left behind some hidden confidants. Apart from the gang leader, only my parents knew these people’s identities. After my father’s accident, my mother informed me.”
Chen Sheng was somewhat surprised hearing this. This was truly the first time he had heard of it:
“Are they still obedient?”
“They all remember the old gang leader’s kindness. After learning of my identity, they have always looked after and supported me.” Yang Hu revealed many matters one by one.
Wanting to contribute more strength to the matter of revenge.
Chen Sheng pondered for a moment. This was undoubtedly a good thing. He immediately ran rapid deductions in his mind, further optimizing and perfecting his original plan. Then he instructed in a deep voice:
“Ah Hu, next, you need to act as follows…”
Listening to Chen Sheng’s clear, methodical, and step-by-step layout, which even contained some extremely bold and ruthless schemes, Yang Hu couldn’t help showing a look of horror on his face. He interrupted:
“Young… Young Master, this… can this really work? Isn’t it… too risky? Once a certain link goes wrong, I’m afraid…”
“Rest assured.”
Chen Sheng interrupted his doubts, his tone carrying unquestionable confidence:
“You only need to strictly follow my instructions. The destruction of the Seven Star Gang is imminent. At that time, even the Gao Family won’t be able to protect them. After the matter is accomplished… you will sit in the position of Seven Star Gang Leader!”
Hearing these words, Yang Hu’s heart jumped violently.
Becoming the Seven Star Gang Leader—not only could he kill his enemies with his own hands, but he could also control a regional power. To him, the temptation was immense.
He was silent for a long time, his expression changing. In the end, his desire for revenge and trust in Chen Sheng’s abilities overwhelmed all concerns. He nodded heavily and said resolutely:
“Young Master, I’ll listen to you! I’ll do it!”
A trace of satisfaction appeared on Chen Sheng’s face. He reached out and patted his shoulder forcefully, his tone carrying encouragement and promise:
“Very good! With you and I, brothers joined in purpose, we will certainly be able to avenge this hatred. In the future… we shall share wealth and honor together!”
…
Inside the Northern City Military Camp, with the previous lesson of Gao Qiheng’s blood splattering the drill grounds, coupled with the implicit hints from Chief Military Commander Chu Yueshan, Vice Commander Cheng had long since completely extinguished any thoughts of opposing Chen Sheng, becoming incomparably deferential.
The former troublemakers in the camp were even more terrified into silence; no one dared to stick their neck out and court disaster at this time.
Therefore, the actions of reorganizing and eliminating the old and weak, carried out according to Chen Sheng’s instructions by Yan Ming, proceeded rather smoothly.
Although the total troop numbers had decreased, after cutting redundancies and supplementing them with several dozen backbone members brought from the Shan Battalion, the cohesion and combat strength of the entire Northern City Military Camp were instead steadily rising.
Chen Sheng was able to firmly control this force in his hands in an extremely short time.
However, the tree craves stillness, yet the wind will not cease.
Just as the internal reorganization of the Northern City Military Camp was showing initial results, the counterattack from the Seven Star Gang arrived as expected.
Under Ma Changhai’s strict orders, the Seven Star Gang and its affiliated forces rapidly stirred up numerous incidents in the northern city region.
Gang fights, driving away refugees to create disturbances, harassing merchants, brawling in the streets… all kinds of chaos turned the originally somewhat orderly northern city into a smoky, panic-stricken mess within two or three short days.
Several other major powers in Changshan County were also secretly paying attention to this probe led by the Gao Family against the new County Lieutenant’s faction. There were even those who secretly added fuel to the flames, cooperating with the Seven Star Gang’s actions.
And just as this chaos reached a small climax, an “accident” suddenly occurred—when Seven Star Gang members were creating a disturbance, they actually “accidentally” killed a young, highly-valued direct descendant of the Huang Family!
This matter was like pouring cold water into boiling oil, instantly triggering huge waves!
The entire Huang Family was furious. The family head personally sought out Gao Yuanfeng, demanding an explanation with a severe voice.
The Gao Family was in the wrong and could only offer soothing words, promising they would definitely punish the murderer severely and give the Huang Family an explanation.
Pressure was immediately transferred to the Seven Star Gang.
Ma Changhai was utterly overwhelmed. He was just about to order the arrest of those few “accidental” gang members to atone for the crime when, unexpectedly, the leading culprit—perhaps fearing he would implicate his family—actually “committed suicide in fear of punishment” not long after the incident!
With the main culprit dead, Ma Changhai had an even bigger headache.
He could only severely rebuke Hall Master Yang Hu, who was responsible for this operation, for poor discipline. But since the man was dead, unless he handed over Yang Hu as well, there was simply no way to quell the Huang Family’s anger.
But if at this critical moment he punished a hall master to appease the Huang Family’s fury, it would inevitably cause other high-level members of the gang to panic. Who would still dare to exert themselves in the subsequent “operations” against the government?
With no other choice, the Gao Family could only personally step forward to engage in private wrangling and benefit exchanges with the Huang Family, trying to temporarily suppress the matter and buy time.
Meanwhile, news of the sustained chaos in the northern city naturally also created considerable pressure on the Northern City Military Camp. County Magistrate Lin Shou seized this opportunity, intending to issue an order of reprimand, even wanting to strip Chen Sheng of his official position.
However, Chen Sheng had already anticipated this move and reported the situation to Wu Kuang in advance.
Through Wu Kuang’s mediation in his capacity as County Lieutenant, he emphasized that the chaos was the work of gangs, and the military camp was making all efforts to maintain stability, shifting the primary responsibility toward public security management rather than the Northern City Military Camp’s dereliction of duty.
Not only that, to further deflect pressure and muddy the waters, another “accident” secretly instigated by Chen Sheng occurred—this time at the border between the northern and western cities, in a conflict “led” by Yang Hu, which accidentally implicated the family members of a certain gang leader in the western city, resulting in casualties.
Now, the influence of the chaos directly spread to the western city territory!
The Western City Commander was Lin Shou’s trusted aide. With trouble in the western city, he was equally difficult to absolve.
If Lin Shou wanted to use this to severely punish Chen Sheng, the Western City Commander’s side would first be difficult to leave unmoved. In this way, it bought Chen Sheng precious buffer time.
Of course, Chen Sheng understood clearly that this method of leveraging force and diverting calamity was ultimately just a stopgap measure, unable to solve the problem from the root.
What he was truly waiting for was the final news from Prefecture City. Only when the Prefecture City side explicitly expressed support for Wu Kuang’s rectification of the local situation could Wu Kuang thoroughly make up his mind, let go, and no longer hesitate in every move.
During this period, the sustained chaos in the northern city remained a huge test for the Northern City Military Camp.
Vice Commander Cheng chose to preserve himself wisely, ignoring the matter completely.
Meanwhile, Yan Ming repeatedly approached Chen Sheng, anxiously requesting to dispatch troops to suppress the disturbances, because the gang chaos had already affected many soldiers’ family members, and resentment was gradually growing in the camp.
If they still did nothing, once the situation expanded further, all of them would be hard-pressed to escape the blame of dereliction of duty.
Inside the government office, Chen Sheng still sat cross-legged, immersed in cultivating his stance training, completely ignoring Yan Ming’s requests for battle. His mind sank into his body, paying attention to the changes on the panel:
【Basic Saber Technique: Perfection (100/2000)】
【Golden Bell Body Tempering Method: Great Success (52/1000)】
【Toad-Angling Force Secret Technique: Minor Success (10/500)】
【Demon-Subduing Three Absolute Sabers: Minor Success (90/500)】
Several days of bitter cultivation had steadily improved his cultivation, with various martial skills making progress.
However, this speed still couldn’t satisfy Chen Sheng. If he possessed absolute strength sufficient to suppress everything right now, why would he need to be so step-by-step, enduring and scheming?
He would have long since been able to break through all schemes with raw power and take revenge as he pleased!
He might even have simply acted with absolute impunity.
“Commander, it’s already the fourth day. Outside is a complete mess. Are we really just going to sit here and watch?” Yan Ming truly couldn’t restrain himself, his tone carrying incomprehension and restlessness.
Previously, when Chen Sheng dealt with Gao Qiheng, he was so decisive in killing. Why, when facing the chaos outside the city, did he instead become so enduring, even somewhat… timid?
“What’s the hurry?” Chen Sheng finally opened his eyes, his gaze calm and rippleless. “The time is not yet ripe.”
In his view, some reprimands were irrelevant. As long as he didn’t commit any substantive major fault, with Wu Kuang holding the line above, Lin Shou still couldn’t move him for the time being.
Moreover, he wasn’t completely inactive. Under his strict orders, although the military camp soldiers hadn’t mobilized on a large scale to suppress the chaos, they had strengthened patrols and were doing their utmost to maintain basic order.
“Commander Chen!” Right at this moment, a personal soldier who had been transferred to Wu Kuang’s side walked quickly into the government office, respectfully reporting: “County Lieutenant Wu urgently summons you!”
Chen Sheng’s eyes suddenly flashed with sharp light. The signal he had been waiting for had finally arrived!
He nodded slightly, then suddenly stood up, his gaze instantly becoming sharp as a blade. Looking at Yan Ming, who was still in a daze beside him, he issued a series of commands in a steady and rapid voice:
“Yan Ming, the time has come! Immediately do three things: First, take my token and order Vice Commander Cheng to immediately assemble all combat-ready troops of the Northern City Military Camp, fully armored with weapons in hand, and await orders at the drill ground!
“Second, personally take a team to the Chief Military Camp. In the joint name of County Lieutenant Wu and myself, requisition ten Wind-Splitting Heavy Crossbows and related bolts, and transport them back quickly!
“Third, send an absolutely reliable brother, change into plain clothes, and immediately go to White Water Lane. Find a residence of the Mu family with a locust tree at its door, find a man named Yang Hu inside, and tell him…”
Chen Sheng’s tone paused, cold light bursting from his eyes, “He can make his move!”
Looking at Chen Sheng’s instantly transformed aura and incomparably solemn expression, Yan Ming’s heart turned cold. He vaguely realized that a true storm was approaching. He didn’t dare to be the slightest bit negligent. He immediately straightened his body, cupped his fists to accept the order, and said in a bright voice:
“Yes! This subordinate obeys!”
——
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