[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-the-proles":3,"chapter-lord-of-the-proles-lord-of-the-proles-chapter-53":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Lord of the Proles",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2290351,4478,"Chapter 53: The Order of Prozhou","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-53",53,"\u003Cp>The village was gone, and no one cared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Banfeng forcibly broke into the ticket hall, someone finally cared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world was too alien to Li Banfeng, and there was still too much to adapt to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci urged: “Savior, let’s hurry. That old woman was from the Jiangxiang Gang—she wasn’t lying about that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng turned back and asked: “What exactly is the Jiangxiang Gang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci paused, stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man was brave and cunning, clearly a seasoned veteran of the martial world—how could he not know the Jiangxiang Gang?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s better he doesn’t know—I can explain it all to him properly, teach him a few things, and make our journey smoother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Jiangxiang Gang is a major organization with disciples in Medicine King Gully, Green Water Bay, and Sea-Eating Ridge—but they never go to Belt Canyon. Anyone from Belt Canyon who sees a Jiangxiang Gang member kills them on sight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing these familiar place names, Li Banfeng grew curious: “What’s the feud between Belt Canyon and the Jiangxiang Gang?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Jiangxiang Gang has all kinds of people—plenty of bandits like the old woman who murder and rob, plenty of swindlers who set up scams. Belt Canyon doesn’t care about those things. But there’s one kind of person Belt Canyon won’t tolerate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of person?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Human traffickers. They kidnap and sell people. Belt Canyon has many Joy Cultivators. Though they cultivate through pleasure, their bodies are peculiar and rarely bear children. To bear even one child is a tremendous blessing, so Joy Cultivators cherish children above all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Human traffickers live by selling children. Joy Cultivators naturally despise them. The Jiangxiang Gang has an especially large number of human traffickers, so Belt Canyon and the Jiangxiang Gang are mortal enemies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fact that Joy Cultivators cherished children gave Li Banfeng a new understanding of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Jiangxiang Gang, Belt Canyon’s stance was entirely correct: anyone linked to human traffickers must be killed—no exceptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci warned: “Savior, be careful. When Jiangxiang Gang members find out the old woman is dead, they’ll investigate. If they trace it back to us, they’ll retaliate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng internally sighed bitterly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if I hadn’t killed her, the Jiangxiang Gang wouldn’t let me go—they want me dead!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng’s feud with the Jiangxiang Gang wouldn’t end anytime soon—he’d long prepared for this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But would the Jiangxiang Gang even care about the death of this old woman?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gang made of villains, yet bound so tightly together?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That old woman hid at home every day—would Jiangxiang Gang members even care about her?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They do,” Xiao Yeci explained patiently. “I read about it in the newspaper. Once, a Jiangxiang Gang poison cultivator hid deep in the mountains, brewing poison and kidnapping villagers below to test it on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The villagers, pushed to their limit, pooled money to hire two blade masters who climbed the mountain and killed the poison cultivator.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They thought they could finally live in peace—but the Jiangxiang Gang returned for revenge and slaughtered the entire village, leaving not a single survivor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng exclaimed in horror: “Surely someone intervened in such a case! I’ve seen men in uniforms—didn’t they do anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Men in uniforms…” Xiao Yeci pondered for a long while. “You mean the patrol officers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patrol officers?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t that term only used in the concessions?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng didn’t dwell on the terminology and pressed on: “With such a massive crime, wouldn’t the patrol officers investigate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re supposed to, but only superficially. The patrol officers serve the Border Defense Commissioner—they only act on his orders. If he tells them to visit the village, they go, take notes, and call it done.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is the Border Defense Commissioner?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Border Defense Commissioner is from outside the province,” Xiao Yeci said, studying Li Banfeng. His ignorance of basic facts surprised her further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xiao Yeci didn’t deceive Li Banfeng. Along the way, she explained countless facts about Prozhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For matters beyond the town, ask the Border Defense Commissioner. For matters within the town, watch the banners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That single sentence summarized the entire order system of Prozhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prozhou consists of many towns—how many, Xiao Yeci couldn’t say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Affairs between towns are called “external matters”; affairs within towns are called “internal matters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medicine King Gully was a large town. If its residents wished to leave legally, they must go through the Border Defense Commissioner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Border Defense Commissioner is an administrator sent from outside the province. Their duty is maintaining order, with a primary focus on controlling movement between towns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you want to go to Belt Canyon, you need a travel permit. Without it, you can’t board a train or a boat—even walking won’t get you past the checkpoints!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through Xiao Yeci’s explanation, Li Banfeng understood how to obtain a travel permit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To get a permit, you must contact both the local Border Defense Commissioner and the one at your destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only if the local commissioner approves your departure and the destination commissioner accepts you can you receive a permit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without a permit, you lack legal permission to leave Medicine King Gully—this is precisely the main duty of the Border Defense Commissioner and his patrol officers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Banfeng was chased down the street, the patrol officers might not intervene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if Li Banfeng caused trouble at the station, they would definitely act—because the station is a key area under the Border Defense Commissioner’s control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could Li Banfeng obtain a travel permit?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Xiao Yeci’s description, it seemed nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone like Li Banfeng—an outsider with no known origin—would almost never be allowed to leave by the local Border Defense Commissioner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outside province might not even allow him to return. Thus, his chances of obtaining a permit were virtually zero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Without a permit, you can’t even leave Medicine King Gully?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci shook her head: “Not everyone is blocked. Peddlers come and go freely—no one can stop them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Peddlers traveled freely across Prozhou, seemingly unrestricted by the Border Defense Commissioner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of beings were they?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And where did they get those entrance-inducing drugs?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“External matters: ask the Border Defense Commissioner.” Li Banfeng understood. But what did “internal matters: watch the banners” mean?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci explained: “Internal affairs are handled by the town’s families. Whichever family’s banner is strongest holds the most authority.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Last year, something happened in Sea-Eating Ridge. A man selling tofu pudding, surnamed Wang, and a man selling fried dough sticks, surnamed Liu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Both were poor. They shouldn’t have caused trouble—but one day, they fought over customers at the station, and it escalated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang the tofu seller beat Liu the fried dough seller. Liu couldn’t swallow his humiliation. Outside the station, he attacked Wang again.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Inside the station, under the patrol officers’ watch, they held back. Outside, with no oversight, they fought to kill. Wang the tofu seller was left critically injured.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The incident reached the attention of Sea-Eating Ridge’s powerful family: the Wang family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though Wang was poor, he was still a Wang. The Wang family sought revenge. Liu the fried dough seller was also severely injured.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Liu family had influence in Sea-Eating Ridge too. They clashed with the Wang family for a month, suffering heavy losses. Only after intervention by the Chu family of Prozhou did the conflict end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can the Chu family control the Wang and Liu families?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci said: “The Chu family is different. They’re one of Prozhou’s Four Great Families. The others are the Ma family, the He family, and the Lu family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The He family? The Lu family?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could they be He Jiaqing and Lu Xiaolan’s families?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng didn’t let his thoughts wander—he listened carefully to Xiao Yeci’s account.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Internal matters: watch the banners” referred precisely to the banners of these families, big and small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great families held influence across all of Prozhou; minor families held sway in specific regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These families exerted varying degrees of control over Prozhou’s order through their influence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was the relationship between these great families and the Border Defense Commissioner?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a relationship—but Xiao Yeci couldn’t explain it clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spoke of Prozhou’s customs for hours, her voice growing hoarse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thirty-li mountain path, muddy and treacherous, meant nothing to Li Banfeng—but for exhausted Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying, it was grueling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time they reached Ligou, dawn had broken. Li Banfeng went straight to Feng’s General Store. The door was locked. He pounded for a long time—no one answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where had Master Feng gone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afraid I’d come for revenge, did he run away?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlikely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a deal worth hundreds of thousands—he wouldn’t abandon his shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Nan, owner of the nearby Yu Cloth Shop, dressed in a qipao, holding a lady’s cigarette, took a puff and exhaled a thin plume of smoke. She approached him: “Their shop hasn’t opened for days. No one knows where they’ve gone to have fun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female shopkeeper had a long face, high nose bridge, almond eyes, a full forehead, a rounded chin, and a tight qipao that barely contained her honest heart and the curves beneath her waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as He Jiaqing had described—she was a beauty stepped straight from a calendar poster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng’s attention wasn’t on the beauty—he was thinking about Master Feng’s whereabouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gone to have fun?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could possibly be so joyful?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng turned to Xiao Yeci: “Where are you going? I’ll see you to your door.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Business demands good service.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci said: “We’re going to the He family’s ancestral home. I heard it’s somewhere along this street.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The He family’s ancestral home!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You can’t go there! Someone will die if you do!” Li Banfeng immediately warned them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The He family’s ancestral home housed Lu Xiaolan—more precisely, Lu Xiaolan, trapped by a spirit of the dwelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the strength of this mother and daughter, entering the ancestral home would make them perfect replacements for Lu Xiaolan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the ancestral home was dangerous, Xiao Yeci hesitated: “Savior, what exactly happened at the He family’s ancestral home? We traveled all this way just to get there—and now you say we can’t go…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng paused, then spoke gently: “I say you can’t go because you’ll die. Do you really want to die?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you’re that eager to die, why bother running? Death is death—wherever you die, it’s the same. I can send you on your way right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Yeci stared at Li Banfeng, speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng looked calmly at Xiao Ye Ci; he might really act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Chunying stood before Li Banfeng and said, “Savior, we won’t go. We’ll follow your advice!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Ye Ci hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew Li Banfeng meant well, and she knew the He family’s old mansion was certainly dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the purpose of this journey was the He family’s old mansion—now that we’ve come this far, how could we not go?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can we not enter, but just stand at the gate and take one look?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Ye Ci gazed earnestly at Li Banfeng, hoping he would give her more advice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Banfeng smiled faintly and said kindly, “Pay up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A thousand yuan. You think you can dodge payment?” Li Banfeng’s tone was no longer kind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: I received over two hundred messages yesterday—Sala sincerely thanks all readers for your support!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1878,"2026-06-20T03:43:13.043Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d3716940f2414350a19a7112e8ef38539b8430d48e00aefe2cf867bd65db0ed2","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-54","lord-of-the-proles-chapter-52",863,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-the-proles-cover.jpg"]