Chapter 44: What, You Want Me to Be a Hall Master?

"This little girl actually got the Zhenwu Division's wardens to patrol the streets?"

Guan Tong's eyes flashed with sharp light, his mind racing.

"Good, good, good!"

Three 'goods' in a row revealed the turmoil in Guan Tong's heart at this moment.

Chen Mu had actually established a connection with someone from the Zhenwu Division!

This excited Guan Tong even more than Chen Mu being a martial arts prodigy.

A prodigy was certainly worth cultivating, but a network of connections was more important.

No matter how you put it, the Great Saber Gang was just an underground gang, barely a small local power in Wulong Fucheng.

And the Zhenwu Division was the violent enforcement arm of the Great Zhou imperial court!

A massive force that suppressed all the jianghu sects under heaven!

The branch in Wulong Fucheng was merely a small outpost.

Yet even for a small outpost, the person in charge was a late-stage Innate expert.

If the Great Saber Gang could establish ties with the Zhenwu Division...

"Huu~!"

Guan Tong took a deep breath, calming his agitated mood.

Then, light flashing in his eyes, he made his decision.

……

……

The setting sun slanted westward, evening clouds filling the sky.

"Old Chen, this is far enough."

At the inner city gate of Wulong Fucheng, Long Tutu waved at Chen Mu. "Thanks for today. Next time you come to the inner city, I'll show you around."

"Sure." Chen Mu smiled. "When I'm free, I'll come to the inner city to find you."

"If you need anything, come find me too." Long Tutu patted her small chest. "We're friends—if you need help, don't be polite."

"Oh right."

As if remembering something, Long Tutu reached into her clothes, pulled out a wooden token, and handed it to Chen Mu.

"Old Chen, keep this little token. With it, you can walk right into the Zhenwu Division and find me."

"……" Chen Mu hesitated for two seconds, then took the token, held it in his hand, cupped his fist in salute, and said, "Thanks!"

"No need for that." Long Tutu waved her hand. "Alright, see you next time!"

With that, she turned around in a carefree manner, hands clasped behind her back, and strode into the inner city.

Chen Mu stood in place, watching Long Tutu walk away. He saw the single little braid on top of her head droop down, swaying side to side as she walked, and the corner of his mouth curved up without his realizing.

The token Long Tutu gave him was something an ordinary person couldn't get.

Although it wasn't an iron or bronze warden token, it still represented a status—an unofficial member of the Zhenwu Division!

Simply put, a temp worker.

With this hardwood token, not only could he walk into the Zhenwu Division without being announced, he could also enter the Wulong Fucheng government office freely.

If he committed an offense, the people at the government office had no authority to arrest him.

The Zhenwu Division would handle it themselves.

In short, there were many hidden benefits.

"Good people get good rewards?"

Watching Long Tutu's back disappear around the corner, Chen Mu tucked away the token and smiled faintly.

Then, he turned and left.

Stepping through the evening clouds, he returned to Changlong Fucheng, just walking through the gate of the Great Saber Gang's outpost there.

"Huzi, you're finally back. Come, come, hurry and follow me to see the gang leader."

Huang Feiyang came out to meet him and pulled Chen Mu along.

"The gang leader's looking for us? Was Sun Gang caught?" Chen Mu asked as they walked.

"Definitely." Huang Feiyang nodded. "Sun Gang didn't even make it out of the city before he was caught. But the gang leader's looking for us mainly to announce something."

"What is it?" Chen Mu was curious.

Hearing this, Huang Feiyang gave a mysterious smile. "You'll know once you get there."

Keeping it secret too?

Chen Mu fell into thought.

Soon.

The two arrived at the Great Saber Gang's headquarters.

The moment they entered the main hall, they saw that besides Guan Tong the gang leader, all the other big bosses and hall masters were also present.

"Brother Chen's here." Guan Tong stood up with a face full of smiles.

"Chen Mu greets the gang leader!"

Cupping his fist in salute, Chen Mu also cupped his hands toward the others.

"Haha, no need for such ceremony, Brother Chen."

Guan Tong smiled and raised his hand.

Two gang members standing in the corner immediately each carried a wooden box, came to the center of the hall, and opened the boxes and set them down.

The moment the lids were lifted, a human head and a severed hand were revealed.

The head was Sun Gang's head!

The palm was...

"This hand is Cheng Dongfeng's." Guan Tong said with a smile. "Cheng Dongfeng broke the rules, and we caught him in the act. This hand is the price he paid!"

Among the underground gangs, there were quite a few rules.

Overstepping one's territory was fine—as long as one could escape, fight one's way out.

But if caught, then sorry, one had to submit to the rules.

Cheng Dongfeng cheated at the gambling house—off with his hand!

As for Sun Gang, getting his head chopped off was what he deserved.

"Thank you, Gang Leader!"

Huang Feiyang bowed gratefully.

Chen Mu followed behind, bowing as well.

"We're all on the same side, what's there to thank." Guan Tong raised a hand, sighing. "It was my oversight that gave Sun Gang the chance. Fortunately, it wasn't too late, and it's been resolved."

"No, no, this has nothing to do with the Gang Leader, it's all Sun Gang bringing it on himself." Huang Feiyang hurriedly said he wouldn't dare accept credit.

"It's my fault, I admit it." Guan Tong smiled. "Alright, let's put this behind us, no more talk of it."

"Calling you two brothers here this time is mainly to announce something."

Guan Tong's smile faded. Looking at Chen Mu, he said solemnly, "That is, Brother Chen's strength has stepped into the Fourth Layer of Post-Heaven, enough to take on the position of Hall Master."

"I hereby announce that, from today on, Brother Chen Mu is the new Hall Master of our Great Saber Gang's External Affairs Hall!"

What??

Chen Mu was stunned.

Make him a Hall Master?

"Congratulations, Hall Master Chen!"

"Haha, Hall Master Chen is impressive."

"Congratulations, Hall Master Chen!"

"..."

The others present had already learned the news. Now they rose one after another, faces beaming with smiles, cupping their fists in congratulations.

Including Huang Feiyang, flushed with excitement, deeply moved.

A Hall Master!

How long had Chen Mu been an Inspector?

And now he'd taken the seat of Hall Master!

This speed of promotion was probably the first among all the gangs in the entire city!

"..."

While Huang Feiyang and the others offered congratulations, Chen Mu remained very calm.

Make him a Hall Master?

Defeating Cheng Dongfeng publicly and revealing the strength of the Fourth Layer of Post-Heaven was deliberate on Chen Mu's part.

Strength decides everything.

His true realm of the Seventh Layer of Post-Heaven, if exposed, would do more harm than good.

The Fourth Layer of Post-Heaven was just right.

However, that wasn't Guan Tong's reason for giving him the Hall Master position.

Just like the position of Big Head, a Hall Master was the same—one radish, one hole, there was never any extra!

As if knowing Chen Mu's thoughts, Guan Tong explained, "Our Great Saber Gang has a total of four halls: the Punishment Hall, the Supervisory Hall, the Diligent Affairs Hall, and the Merit Transmission Hall."

"This was the original division. However, circumstances change. I've decided to split the Diligent Affairs Hall, dividing it into the Internal Affairs Hall and the External Affairs Hall—two halls."

"The duties of the Internal Affairs Hall remain the same as before, still handling internal matters. The main focus is the External Affairs Hall!"

"The duty of the External Affairs Hall is external—gathering intelligence on other outside forces and establishing an information network!"

"A new hall is being established, with many matters to attend to. Hall Master Chen may pick one hundred people from any hall within the gang to enter the External Affairs Hall. I'll give you one hundred thousand taels of silver as startup funds."

"Hall Master Chen, do you have the confidence to lead the new hall and establish a firm footing?"