Chapter 261: Support

Liu Luo lay on his bed, tossing and turning, his heart filled with complex emotions. Having joined the gang for many years, he had long grown accustomed to the sordid nature of life, but tonight, the news brought by Wu Feng made it hard for him to sleep.

The Lin Mansion, a behemoth of significant influence in the Prefecture City, had actually crossed paths with them.

This made him feel unprecedented pressure and a tiny bit of excitement?

In the past, that was a major power they could never have hoped to connect with!

To think they could actually do something like this now?

Recalling his original intention for joining the Hong Sect, Liu Luo couldn't help but feel a sense of sentimentality.

From initially being a low-level thug wielding a club, to now becoming a member of the Hong Sect responsible for intelligence gathering,

Liu Luo had also watched the Hong Sect rise to glory.

Yet, in the half-year he had spent in the Prefecture City, the strength of the Lin Mansion gave Liu Luo an even more intuitive understanding.

Killing in the streets with no one to stop them, caring only for the killing and not the burial.

"Lin Mansion..." Liu Luo muttered to himself; this name felt like a giant boulder pressing down on his heart.

He knew well that the power of the Lin Mansion was not something they could easily provoke. But since things had reached this point, he could only brace himself to face it.

Fortunately, his task was only to deliver a message and did not require him to directly clash with the Lin Mansion. Thinking of this, Liu Luo's mood lightened slightly.

Liu Luo decided to leave a message for Zhao Si before departing, so that he could also be prepared to respond. Zhao Si was also a member of the Hong Sect, responsible for intelligence gathering work just like him. Although they were usually busy with their own affairs, they could always support each other at critical moments.

"It's time to go back and take a look." Liu Luo secretly made up his mind. After this mission was completed,

he must find time to go home, see his relatives and friends, and let his weary soul find a shred of comfort.

With this thought in mind, Liu Luo finally drifted into sleep. Although his dreams were still filled with the grudges and entanglements of the jianghu, at least in his dreams, he could temporarily forget the pressures and troubles of reality.

Early the next morning, Liu Luo approached the city gate, but keenly sensed an unusual atmosphere.

At the city gate, besides the routine patrolling Prefecture Soldiers, there were several suspicious-looking people. They stood or leaned against the wall, their eyes scanning the passing pedestrians from time to time, as if searching for some target.

Liu Luo's heart tightened, and he thought to himself, "No way, am I that unlucky?"

He quickly looked around, and after confirming that he hadn't attracted the attention of these people, he quietly approached an acquaintance who appeared to be a merchant and asked in a low voice, "Lao Zhang, why are there so many people at the city gate today?"

Lao Zhang looked up and saw it was Liu Luo; a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he quickly returned to normal and replied in a lowered voice, "You don't know yet? I heard that a few thieves broke into the Lin Mansion last night and stole some treasures. Now they are searching the whole city. These people are all servants sent by the Lin Mansion; they must be looking for those who escaped last night."

Hearing this, Liu Luo felt even more certain of his guess.

"Lao Zhang, thank you for the reminder." Liu Luo gave Lao Zhang a grateful look, then left the spot without changing his expression.

He knew that he had to be even more cautious now and could not afford any mistakes.

Liu Luo had already sewn the letter into his undergarments, and after confirming it would not be easily discovered, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

He composed his emotions, adjusted his pace, and walked forward as usual. Despite the nervousness in his heart, he tried his best to look as if nothing was wrong.

When he reached the soldiers, they only briefly checked the package Liu Luo was carrying and then let him pass. The whole process did not attract much attention; everything seemed so ordinary.

Liu Luo was completely dumbfounded; was all the mental preparation he had done earlier useless?

Seeing the look of disdain from the Prefecture Soldiers, Liu Luo quickly lifted his feet and left.

Hong Sect

Wei Zhuang sat by the table, his gaze deeply fixed on the two letters placed on the table, his brows slightly furrowed; clearly, the content of these two letters had drawn his high attention.

He turned his head to look at Wang Hu, who was standing to the side, and asked with a steady tone, "What do you think of this matter?"

Wang Hu said, "Our official connections only go as far as the private salt route. Sui Ran is likely backed by military officials in charge of city defense. Now that the Lin Family is making such a big fuss, the letter also speculates that the Lin Family might have connections with the Red Lotus Sect. It's really hard to say who is right or wrong in this."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhuang's eyes became even sharper, as if he had already seen through the fog of the situation and found the key to breaking the deadlock.

He said slowly, "What you mentioned are indeed issues we need to treat with caution. But in my view, the Lin Family's grand display, and their possible connection with the Red Lotus Sect, actually provide us with a rare opportunity."

Wei Zhuang's tone was filled with determination and confidence as he continued, "The Hong Sect's development in Qingxi County has already hit a bottleneck; the strength of our personnel is our greatest shortcoming. But this is also the moment for us to seek a breakthrough. According to the previous plan, we should indeed consider pulling in some official power to enhance our strength and influence."

"And this Su Family is the key to how we break the deadlock."

He paused, his gaze even more resolute: "At the same time, I believe we should take the initiative to contact Sui Ran and express our desire to develop in the Prefecture City. As a larger stage, the Prefecture City

has more resources and opportunities. As long as we can properly utilize these resources and strengthen ourselves, we will definitely be able to gain a foothold in the Prefecture City and subsequently expand our influence."

Seeing that Wei Zhuang had already made up his mind, Wang Hu probed, "Then, shall we report this to Cheng Sect Master?"

Wei Zhuang looked as if it were a matter of course: "Of course, Cheng... Sect Master has contacted me before, saying we could open a tavern in the Prefecture City, which could serve as our information contact point in the future."

Wang Hu truly admired Cheng Feng at this moment; even though he was not in the sect, he had found such a powerful and loyal Martial Artist to help manage the Hong Sect's affairs.

Ever since Wei Zhuang took charge, he had refined the Hong Sect. The super-large plot of land from the Sishui Gang had already been built into a training ground for the Hong Sect that could accommodate eight hundred people, training only newcomers and ordinary gang members.

The original Hutou Gang training ground was renovated and now only accepts Ren Men Disciples. Everything inside is built to a high standard, from the living quarters and canteen to the medicinal soups, all supplied as premium goods.

These two items alone cost the sect thirty thousand Silver. Henglian Hall is a unique hall, and Wei Zhuang also selected and gathered a group of Sword Hall experts from the Ren Men Disciples.

The strength of the people inside is basically at the level of Skin Refining, and five of them are close to Blood Refining.

And to gather the elite, Henglian Hall added people with extremely high talent, totaling eighty people.

The Sword Hall gathered a hundred experts with extremely high talent for the Sword.

This gave the Hong Sect a basic tier division: Henglian Hall and Sword Hall are in a tier of their own, Ren Men Disciples are one tier, and the ordinary external disciples of the three halls are another tier.

After all, Blood Refining is truly too difficult; even the Hong Sect could not supply it just like that.

Wang Hu had once reported Wei Zhuang's actions to Cheng Feng, but Cheng Feng just smiled indifferently and let it be. This made Wang Hu see how much Cheng Feng trusted Wei Zhuang, and it also made Wang Hu cooperate more with Wei Zhuang in administrative matters.