Chapter 211: Gathering

In the Qingxi County Fuya, the controllers of the three great families, four great gangs, and six great Martial Arts Halls were all gathered together.

Hosted by County Magistrate Liu, this kind of gathering was only necessary when major events occurred, requiring the joint efforts of the county's top powers.

The other leaders were all old faces; only Cheng Feng of the Hong Sect was a new face, and a very young new face at that.

The heads of the various powers could not help but take a few extra looks at Cheng Feng; although they did not speak, the disdain in their eyes was undisguised.

After all, they were all the power-holders of their respective families and naturally would not take a newcomer seriously.

However, Cheng Feng did not care about these gazes. He smiled indifferently, responding to everyone's stares.

Because he was a new power, Cheng Feng was temporarily arranged at the very end.

Yet, upon seeing his master and old acquaintance Lin Xiong sitting in front, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

After all, having someone familiar here kept him from feeling too lonely.

At this moment, County Magistrate Liu, sitting in the seat of honor, spoke up: "I presume you all already know the purpose of our gathering here today, right?"

His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Hearing this, the leaders of the various powers present nodded one after another, indicating they understood.

Then, County Magistrate Liu continued: "Ever since the Red Lotus Sect rebels rose up in the east three years ago, the common people have been displaced and living in dire misery. The Imperial Court feels deep sorrow over this, and people from the provincial government down to the county level have been contributing manpower and resources to help provide disaster relief; however, these efforts are still just a drop in the bucket.

Now, the Black Wind Stronghold on Heifeng Mountain has taken in disaster victims and gradually formed a powerful force. I have long been aware of this situation and know deep down that it will inevitably become a major hidden danger.

I originally intended to wait until after the disaster relief to wipe out the bandits, but the current situation is urgent and cannot be delayed any further. Therefore, we need each family to provide some manpower and material resources to assist in the bandit-suppression operation. Please discuss among yourselves how to coordinate this matter."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng's gaze narrowed slightly as he pondered to himself. Although he was the newly ascended Hong Sect Leader, he did not want to be the first to step forward; the Hong Sect's current way of doing things should be to keep a low profile, so he certainly could not be the first to step up, and looking at the situation, it wouldn't be his turn to lead anyway.

Lin Xiong was the Head of the Family for the Lin Family, and the Black Wind Stronghold had been constantly intercepting the Lin Family's grain routes, so he had to speak up at this time. He stood up, his voice resonant: "What Lord Liu says is absolutely correct. The threat of the Black Wind Stronghold is growing daily, and if not handled in time, it will surely lead to disaster. My Lin Family is willing to be the first to provide men and resources to fully support this bandit-suppression operation."

The others present watched with expressionless faces; who would do this kind of 'free-loading' business where you want the horse to run but won't give it any grass to eat?

Seeing this, Li Tianyun, Head of the Family for the Li Family, curled his lips into a faint smile. He stood up slowly, his gaze sweeping across the room, his voice not loud but exceptionally firm: "Fellow colleagues, this Li is untalented, but I understand the principle that 'if the skin does not exist, what can the hair attach to?' If the Black Wind Stronghold is not destroyed, where will our peace be? My Li Family is willing to fight side by side with you all to eliminate this scourge together."

After speaking, he clapped his hands lightly, and a Li Family disciple outside the hall held up a list of various weapons and grain supplies, showing them to everyone one by one. Although these supplies were not the most generous, they represented the Li Family's stance.

Seeing this, a flash of appreciation crossed County Magistrate Liu's eyes. He nodded slightly and said: "Head of the Family Li's words are reasonable. The various families, gangs, and Martial Arts Halls of our Qingxi County should naturally stand together and resist external enemies. Since everyone has this intention today, let us act according to the plan, prepare as quickly as possible, and strive to eradicate the bandit scourge of the Black Wind Stronghold soon to return a peaceful life to the people."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became strange; who didn't know that you, County Magistrate Liu, had a knack for making money, yet you were still spouting these empty, high-sounding words?

But everyone was a smart person and knew this was just a superficial gesture; no one would take it seriously. Everyone knew clearly that the purpose of this operation was to completely eradicate the Black Wind Stronghold to prevent future trouble, but asking the County Magistrate to pay? That was almost the same as taking his life.

And the most critical part of this was to get the other powers involved to share the risks. Thus, in this subtle atmosphere, everyone began to size each other up and weigh the pros and cons.

Under the signal of County Magistrate Liu's eyes, the Black Snake Gang and the Red Star Gang were the first to state their position, expressing their willingness to fully support the operation and promising to send the top Martial Artists from their gangs to participate in the battle.

Hearing this, the leaders of the other powers also chimed in one after another, expressing their willingness to provide material aid or send experts to assist.

Amidst this chorus of positive responses, a few people showed signs of difficulty, seemingly having reservations about this decision. Perhaps they were worried that their own strength would be damaged as a result, or perhaps they thought the matter was too risky; in any case, they did not agree as readily as the others.

But facing such immense pressure, they ultimately chose to compromise and reluctantly agreed to County Magistrate Liu's proposal. With this, the general situation of the meeting was settled.

Cheng Feng naturally represented the Hong Sect in contributing effort; as for money, there was no need to think about it, as there were so many Hong Sect disciples waiting to be fed, and it was a good opportunity to use the Black Wind Stronghold to train his troops and see how the Hong Sect's combat power measured up.

He sat down amidst the admiring or complex gazes of the others, secretly calculating his next layout.

The reason County Magistrate Liu went to such great lengths to set up this situation was none other than because he had already calculated that the Lin Family would definitely take a stand; with this bellwether, plus a follower, the rest of the people naturally wouldn't be able to hold their ground.

As the meeting ended, the leaders of the various powers left one after another, and Cheng Feng walked out of the Yamen side-by-side with Wang Tieshan. Along the way, the two did not say a word until they reached the entrance of the Yamen.

Only then did Cheng Feng stop, turn his head to look at Wang Tieshan, and say: "Master, I didn't expect you all to make a decision so quickly."

Wang Tieshan also looked at his Closed-door Disciple, thinking to himself that Zhao Wei's judgment was truly excellent; not long after entering the sect, Cheng Feng was already able to take a seat among the powers within the Yamen.

He curled his lips into a cold smile and said: "Hmph, County Magistrate Liu had already laid out the plan. At this critical juncture, whoever dares to say 'no' can just wait for the reckoning after the autumn harvest!"

Cheng Feng frowned slightly and asked: "Could it be that they have already reached a consensus?"

Wang Tieshan said: "Of course. County Magistrate Liu and Li Tianyun have long been in cahoots, and the two gangs from the East City and West City have also been flirting with County Magistrate Liu. Everyone has known this for a long time; I reckon you're the only one who was kept in the dark. But I saw that you were quite steady in there; you are truly worthy of being the Hong Sect Leader!"

A cold glint flashed in Cheng Feng's eyes as he pondered to himself. He knew well the collusion of interests between these people, but he was not afraid. As the Hong Sect Leader, he had his own confidence and means.

"Hmph, do they think they can control everything just like this?" Cheng Feng sneered.

Wang Tieshan looked at Cheng Feng and reminded him: "Disciple, you must be careful; don't get schemed against by them."

Cheng Feng nodded and said: "Don't worry, Master, I have it under control."

Cheng Feng understood in his heart that this game of power had only just begun; if it really came down to dirty tricks, Cheng Feng might not necessarily be a match for those old foxes.

But this was a world with extraordinary power; if all else failed, he would break through with force. Cheng Feng was confident he had the foundation for that.