Chapter 99: Hong Sect

Cheng Feng knew there were still some things at the Nie Mansion; Cheng Feng was not in a hurry, intending to handle them one by one.

Cheng Feng had also finished cleaning up the scene inside that tunnel properly.

As for using it as the Hong Sect's base, with so many corpses there, Cheng Feng would never occupy it! Just living there would be hair-raising.

A crafty rabbit has three burrows; Cheng Feng had always believed in having multiple preparations and multiple paths.

The base was merely a fallback he had reserved for himself.

Ever since stepping onto this path, he had naturally prepared himself for death, but when will the cycle of vengeance end? The rule of the path is that if there is no major involvement, disaster should not reach one's family.

Cheng Feng had no interest in Nie Hu's wives, so he naturally left it to Wang Hu to handle.

He also had someone buy a place for them to live alone and left some silver for their living expenses.

Nie Hu was nearly thirty and had left behind a son and a daughter, only five or six years old.

Cheng Feng was a father himself, so he naturally would not bring himself to kill them.

After settling that, there was nothing left to worry about.

Wang Hu also led men to find a complete Bengshan Fist Manual at Nie Hu's home.

It was precisely Nie Hu's cultivation technique, which could be practiced up to the Bone Refining Realm.

Cheng Feng looked it over from the perspective of someone experienced, took out the first two levels, and said to Wang Hu, "From now on, all members of the Hong Sect will practice the Mountain Crushing Fist. After reaching Skin Refining Perfection, come to me to receive the Blood Refining Realm portion. If you have made great contributions and your realm is sufficient, you may receive the Bone Refining portion."

Cheng Feng guessed that the Mountain Crushing Fist must also have been a Martial Dao technique left by Nie Yuan for Nie Hu; otherwise, the people practicing Martial Dao in the Hutou Gang would not have had such limited strength.

In the original Hutou Gang, besides Wang Hu who was close to reaching Strength Refining Perfection, there were three others who were rogue cultivators, all at the Mid Strength Refining Realm; the rest were all ordinary people who had only practiced a few tricks and just looked sturdy.

Cheng Feng had looked as highly as possible upon the strength of the Hutou Gang, but he really hadn't expected it to be this poor.

This also let Cheng Feng understand the gold content of a Blood Refining Realm martial artist.

And Wang Tieshan had said that the upper echelons of the county town must have at least one martial artist at the Bone Refining Realm to be able to create such a large family business; without strength, it could not be held.

Cheng Feng's own strength was only one major realm away from those large families.

But thinking of Zhang Zhuo and thinking of Nie Hu, the Blood Refining Realm was so difficult to break through.

Cheng Feng became even more vigilant; his own realm must absolutely not be exposed easily.

Keeping a low profile was what Cheng Feng needed most.

Lurking and developing until his strength was sufficient to take control of the situation—this was the safest path for development.

In addition to the 120 taels of savings in the gang, more than 80 taels of silver were also found at Nie Hu's home.

A total of 208 taels of silver.

It wasn't that Cheng Feng hadn't seen money before, but having this silver in his hands was still quite exciting.

Cheng Feng knew he couldn't be like Nie Hu; what Cheng Feng needed was an organization, needing manpower to operate his plans.

The goods were already in hand, so how to sell them off would have to be discussed properly.

Cheng Feng had Wang Hu count the number of people in the Hong Sect: Fumen Wang Hu, who was close to Strength Refining Perfection; Sun Gui, Wu Jiang, and Zhou Hai at the Mid Strength Refining Realm; and twenty-eight capable and skilled core members underneath—this was the foundation of the Hong Sect.

In the past, everyone had gathered together to huddle for warmth, and only later, when Nie Hu rose abruptly and occupied territory, did their status stabilize.

There were many small gangs in South City, some with only three or five people; few could last until the next day, and without strength, one could only bow their head.

Today you kill me, tomorrow I kill you; later, with the Green Bamboo Gang, the disputes stopped. Large-scale armed fights basically wouldn't happen, though small-scale friction was naturally frequent; those who refused to submit were already rotting in the sewers.

The rest were basically those who would listen.

Nie Yuan, behind Nie Hu, naturally wouldn't just sit still; most of the corpses in the cave came from that.

Wang Hu was worthy of having spent over a decade on the path, knowing all the big and small connections like the back of his hand, and the movements of the neighbors were also crystal clear.

The Green Bamboo Gang could be considered the leader of the South District, but the Green Bamboo Gang leader had no intention of unifying South City; he only needed things to be peaceful on the surface.

He naturally didn't look down upon small scuffles.

Wang Hu heard that behind the Green Bamboo Gang was the Liu Family, a sub-top-tier family under the three great families, dealing in wholesale goods and advocating for long-distance trade.

A trade with both profits and losses.

The family had strong power, and the leader of the Green Bamboo Gang was also surnamed Liu; it was unknown if there was a connection.

Cheng Feng only treated these gossip pieces as information storage.

His next actions might not necessarily run into the interests of certain people.

To prevent others from being jealous, it was better to have a foundation first.

After listening to Wang Hu's general account, Cheng Feng also had a bottom line in his heart.

They were all small gangs without anyone at the Blood Refining Realm; selling at eight hundred would definitely be no problem, but the momentum didn't need to be too aggressive.

Let's accumulate the number of people to fifty first.

If the numbers aren't enough, it would be over if someone just attacked them.

Cheng Feng couldn't keep watching here forever.

A Hong Sect that didn't even have a single person in the Skin Refining Realm really couldn't catch Cheng Feng's eye.

Cheng Feng said to Wang Hu, "Starting from tomorrow, supplement the twenty-eight gang members to fifty.

From now on, every gang member will receive one tael of silver per month, paid on the first day of each month; this is the basic salary and treatment.

From now on, the sect will provide food, three meals a day, with meat in every meal; this is the treatment for ordinary gang members.

For those who become martial artists, one tael of silver for each minor realm: Strength Refining Initial Stage gets two taels, mid-stage three taels, late-stage four taels, perfection five taels, Skin Refining Realm initial stage six taels, and so on.

As for the medicinal soup supplies for martial artists, buy them yourselves; martial artists can still eat in the sect, but they can only eat it there and cannot take it away.

This will be implemented starting next month. In the past, Nie Hu led you all in wining and dining, but from now on, none of that will exist. Those who cannot accept it can leave on their own; if you cause trouble, you can see to it yourselves."

Listening to Cheng Feng's sweeping reforms, Wang Hu was dumbfounded: "Sect Master, we only have two hundred taels of silver now; how many days can we last like this?"

Cheng Feng, who had a detailed understanding of the Fine Salt market, smiled confidently and took a small bag from his bosom: "Take a look, how much money can this thing sell for?"

Wang Hu looked at the small bag in Cheng Feng's hand, took it while still feeling suspicious, and after opening it, crystalline particles like Baisha reflected light under the sun.

Wang Hu's hand shook in disbelief, and he looked at Cheng Feng suspiciously. Cheng Feng smiled and signaled for Wang Hu to taste it. Wang Hu pinched a little with his hand, put it in his mouth to taste; there was no bitterness, no earthy smell, only a pure salty taste blooming in his mouth.

Wang Hu looked at Cheng Feng and stated with certainty, "A jin of Fine Salt of this quality is worth at least twenty taels of silver."

Cheng Feng was stunned by Wang Hu's valuation; during his previous investigation, Cheng Feng had felt that even fifteen taels was considered high.

Twenty taels, good heavens, Cheng Feng felt he was going to make a fortune.

Seeing the skeptical look in Cheng Feng's eyes, Wang Hu said, "We certainly can't fetch that price in this small place, but if it were placed in the prefecture capital, this price would have to go up even more."

Wang Hu's words broadened Cheng Feng's horizons; he really did need to go out and travel!

Staying in this small place all the time, he might truly end up with no perspective!

However, there is no need to rush; it is still better to take it one step at a time.