Chapter 183: The Reluctant Opportunist

Li Yutang was a renowned merchant in Lin Yuan City.

His largest business operated three mines and had once maintained close ties with the White Tiger Hall.

But lately, his days had not been easy.

With Jia Simou's downfall and the White Tiger Hall's destruction, he had become a thorn in their side.

And it had all happened too quickly; by the time Li Yutang realized what was happening, it was already too late.

Fortunately, he had an advantage: his late father had been a classmate of Ma Yunfeng's in private school.

So, leveraging that connection, he planned to swiftly shift his status and allegiance to secure his survival.

Navigating both sides, bribing up and down—that was his method of holding his ground.

Li Yutang was a juren, held a nominal official title, and his family was one of the great clans of Lin Yuan City.

He had never failed to offer regular gifts to Jia Simou and others.

Jia Simou and his kind were greedy, but they dared not drive Lin Yuan's great clans to the brink.

These great clans had operated in Lin Yuan for generations, with networks extending far beyond the city—even into the capital.

If pushed too far, they would fight to the death, and Jia Simou would suffer dearly.

Better to cooperate and expand the pie together—easy, efficient, and profitable.

"Greetings, Elder Master, Young Master Chu." As soon as Li Yutang arrived, he bowed to Ma Yunfeng, then greeted Chu Danqing.

"Have you eaten breakfast? Come, join us." Ma Yunfeng invited again.

Fortunately, Li Yutang was no fool—he knew how to be polite.

"I've already eaten," Li Yutang replied respectfully.

"Sit." Ma Yunfeng gestured to an empty seat, then continued: "I understand your purpose."

"The mines have been your Li family's private property since the founding emperor's time—the court will not touch them."

"But the accounts must still be audited."

"If you make up the back taxes from past years, I'll turn a blind eye."

Ma Yunfeng knew who his enemies were, who to court, and who to eliminate—he carried a list in his mind.

Li Yutang could be killed—or spared; if he showed good faith and cooperated, sparing him was no great loss.

"Thank you, Elder Master, thank you!" Li Yutang hurried to say, his words blunt, his heart finally easing.

He had feared Ma Yunfeng would dance around the issue with vague words—that would have been deadly.

"I hear you also sold iron ore alongside the Black Tortoise Gate," Ma Yunfeng suddenly changed tone and demanded.

"Elder Master, you misunderstand," Li Yutang's heart pounded—he knew this was Ma Yunfeng's move to eliminate Lin Yuan's last remaining nuisance.

The Black Tortoise Gate was involved in mining, but also controlled forestry, fishing, and more.

"The Black Tortoise Gate bullied me—they forced me to sell my family's iron ore at less than one-tenth the market price," Li Yutang said bitterly.

The facts were true; he wasn't afraid of the audit.

But it wasn't forced purchase—he sold at low prices to transfer profit as tribute, to ensure his Li family's safety.

Refusing would only invite worse harassment later.

The profit flowed through the Black Tortoise Gate, then laundered into Jia Simou's hands—efficient, two birds with one stone.

Li Yutang was grateful Jia Simou used this method—it allowed him to escape cleanly.

Ma Yunfeng, seasoned in office, understood the game perfectly—he simply chose not to pursue it.

"I see. Then the Black Tortoise Gate must be eliminated," Ma Yunfeng readily agreed, recognizing Li Yutang's cooperation: "But recently, I must pilot reforms for the Emperor here in Lin Yuan."

"I'm stretched too thin—I need your assistance, Master Li."

Hearing this, Li Yutang's heart sank—he knew he was being asked to pay.

"Elder Master, command me as you will," Li Yutang could only agree.

"I admit my own incompetence—money troubles even heroes," Ma Yunfeng sighed: "Other matters are manageable, but I lack land and silver for the school."

"I ask you, Master Li, to assist me—host a banquet tonight, invite the wealthy clans. I need their donations."

At these words, Li Yutang fell silent.

Ma Yunfeng wanted more than he'd imagined.

Not just land—he intended to strike at every wealthy clan in Lin Yuan.

Worse, he was using Li Yutang's name to do it.

Agree, and he'd be bound to Ma Yunfeng's faction—forced to join.

Refuse, and when Ma Yunfeng moved against the Black Tortoise Gate, he'd be caught too.

Of course, for Lin Yuan's wealthy clans, there was a silver lining: if they paid up obediently, they'd be spared Ma Yunfeng's purge.

"Elder Master, no need for formalities—we're family," Li Yutang smiled: "I'll invite everyone tonight. Don't you dare break your word."

His family's lives outweighed his reputation in Lin Yuan—no contest.

Besides, Ma Yunfeng had already won; switching sides wasn't a loss.

"Good," Ma Yunfeng, satisfied, turned back to the Black Tortoise Gate: "Have Young Master Chu accompany you back to retrieve the ledgers and lists. What do you say?"

Chu Danqing understood—Ma Yunfeng meant to strike the Black Tortoise Gate the moment they had the evidence.

Secure the proof first; the formalities could follow later.

"Then I'll be honored to accompany Young Master Chu," Li Yutang had no objection.

Chu Danqing said nothing—it was no hardship.

He was more focused on how to eliminate the Black Tortoise Gate next.

"Let's go—this must be swift," Chu Danqing said, rising immediately.

Li Yutang had hoped to bond further with Ma Yunfeng, but with Chu Danqing's urgency, he could only take his leave.

On the way to the Li residence, Li Yutang ordered servants to bring out a large chest.

Clearly, he'd prepared it in advance—waiting to hand it over.

Yet no quest had triggered—evidently, the difficulty was too low to reach A-rank.

Chu Danqing loaded the chest onto the cart and prepared to leave—he was eager to destroy the gate.

As the servants carried the chest to the gate, they noticed an arrow embedded in the Li family's front door.

There had been no arrow when Chu Danqing entered.

And tied to the arrow's tail was a letter and a silk ribbon.

"Master Li, trouble has come," Chu Danqing pulled the arrow free and handed it to him.

He'd never seen this before, but he recognized it as a kidnapping ransom.

He didn't read the letter—it was private.

Li Yutang's face turned ashen; he tore it open, scanned it, and nearly collapsed.

He staggered backward two steps; Chu Danqing caught him instantly.

"Young Master Chu, please save my daughter—I—I—" Li Yutang trembled as he handed the letter to Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing had Da Bao hold Li Yutang steady, then opened the letter.

It was indeed a ransom note: his only daughter had been taken; they demanded three thousand gold pieces.

It specified the time and location.

"Send someone to verify whether your daughter was truly kidnapped—or if this is a fraud," Chu Danqing said, skeptical.

This was too convenient.

Not because it happened to coincide with his presence—but because Li Yutang had just defected, and now his daughter was taken.

It reeked of a warning.

His first suspect: Hong Chengyue.

Who benefited most? That was the prime suspect.

Li Yutang, hearing this, immediately sent men to investigate.

"This ribbon—my daughter's favorite. She always carried it," Li Yutang said, recognizing it.

Soon, a servant returned: the young lady was missing.

Confirmed.

Chu Danqing thought a moment, then took the ribbon and had Da Bao sniff it.

"Follow the scent," Chu Danqing said, then turned to Li Yutang: "Take this to Ma Xiang. I'll find your daughter."

Though he'd defected, Li Yutang had cooperated fully.

Helping him was no great burden for Chu Danqing.

Li Yutang bowed repeatedly: "I'll escort it myself."

With that promise, Chu Danqing felt reassured.

Da Bao sniffed the scent, locked onto the trail, and Chu Danqing followed immediately.

The ribbon carried not only the daughter's scent, but also the archer's.

The culprit had fled—but Da Bao's nose was no ordinary tool.

The lingering scent formed a trail leading out of the city.

"This… is toward the Black Tortoise Gate?" Chu Danqing was surprised.

He'd assumed it was Hong Chengyue.

"Didn't they plan to flee?" Chu Danqing wondered. Logically, they should have been quietly packing gold and valuables.

Not drawing attention to themselves.

In Lin Yuan City, three of the four gangs had been wiped out by Chu Danqing; even the master of Xuanwu Gate, no matter how foolish, knew he was next.

Added to that, Jia Simou had been captured; they had already planned to flee last night, but were too terrified by Chu Danqing's destruction of Zhujue Tower to act.

"Could this be someone deliberately using me as a blade to kill?" Chu Danqing thought.

"Forget it. I'm here already—let's go through the motions before killing them."

Xuanwu Gate's deeds were truly heinous: they trafficked people through Zhujue Tower to serve as miners, lumberjacks, and more—each year, more died under their rule than under any other gang.

These trafficked victims ate the worst rations, performed the hardest labor, and received no wages.

Due to the extreme work intensity and horrific conditions, their death rate remained alarmingly high; it felt unnatural if one or two didn't die each day.

Chu Danqing had verified all of this, so slaughtering them all left not the slightest moral flaw.

As for legal procedures? Chu Danqing had no time for that. When doing good, one must be flexible—otherwise, the wicked will exploit your rigidity.

Like a clean official: you must be more cunning, more ruthless than the corrupt ones—or how will you ever defeat them?

"Da Bao, go ahead."

"First, give them a warning," Chu Danqing said.

(End of Chapter)