Chapter 79 - 78: Scrambling to Turn Themselves In

Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Scrambling to Turn Themselves In

By the time Chen Xuan led his team through that stretch of water, the River’s surface had long since returned to calm.

The dim yellow light of sunset spilled across the murky river, giving it a blood-red sheen.

The reeds rustled in the evening breeze, and a faint, sharp scent lingered in the air.

It wasn’t the smell of fish, but something much heavier.

The Catfish Demon had long since vanished.

Several Iron Armor patrol boats sailed slowly by, their bows parting the fine, gold-and-crimson waves.

On deck, the Water Patrol Bureau officers gazed at the unnaturally tranquil surface of the River.

Many had looks of grim satisfaction on their faces, muttering to each other in low voices:

"Looks like the heavens have eyes after all..."

"Those heartless bastards deserved to be fed to the Catfish Demon!"

"Retribution. This is all retribution!"

Chen Xuan stood alone at the bow. He noticed a few shredded strips of black cloth snagged on the roots of the reeds.

He also saw the faint red bloom on the water’s surface, not yet fully dispersed.

’It’s too clean. Unnaturally so.’

The Catfish Demon had plagued the Canglan River for years, Devouring passing ships on at least a hundred occasions.

Today, they were on a mission to exterminate bandits, yet the demon chose this exact moment to appear, and this exact moment to vanish.

Chen Xuan could clearly sense that something was wrong, and that it had something to do with Lu Jing’an.

But he said nothing.

"Accelerate our return."

Chen Xuan turned and gave the order, his voice perfectly steady.

"Be back at the Water Patrol Bureau before nightfall."

...

At the Water Patrol Bureau, the sun had now completely sunk below the horizon. The last vestiges of light were being swallowed by the Earth, leaving only a smear of dark purple afterglow in the distant sky.

Lights were already on both inside and outside the bureau.

The electric lights shining from the windows carved dim, yellow squares into the twilight.

Three brass chandeliers hung in the main hall, but their light was not particularly bright.

Instead, they cast large, wavering shadows across the walls.

The two Black Shark Gang spies were still tied to the pillars in the center of the hall.

The ropes dug into their flesh, and their hair was a mess.

Their faces were a patchwork of bruises, and dried blood caked the corners of their mouths.

But their mouths hadn’t been idle. Their curses had simply turned to hoarse, mocking jeers:

"It’s dark already... Where are your men?"

"Weren’t you going to wipe out the Black Shark Gang? What happened? Did the Dragon King invite them to the bottom of the River for tea?"

"*Cough, cough*... It’s all an act. Just wait until the Dragon King gets here with his men. We’ll see then..."

Zhao Laosuan and his group huddled on a long bench in a corner of the hall, as if sitting on pins and needles.

Zhao Laosuan kept his hands tucked in his sleeves, his knuckles white from his tight grip.

’He suddenly felt he might have been a bit reckless.’

He had seen Director Lu’s methods firsthand, but to think he could actually destroy the Black Shark Gang... a gang that had ruled the Canglan River for more than a decade.

The sliver of hope in Zhao Laosuan’s heart was fading along with the daylight.

CREAK—

The Back Door opened.

Lu Jing’an strolled out unhurriedly, a white handkerchief in his hand.

He was methodically dabbing at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you sure you won’t eat something?"

Lu Jing’an casually tucked the handkerchief back into his pocket, his gaze sweeping over the group in the corner.

Zhao Laosuan shook his head stiffly. "Th-thank you, Director Lu. We’re not hungry."

The words had barely left his mouth when his daughter’s stomach let out a RUMBLE.

It wasn’t a loud noise, but in the quiet hall, it was exceptionally clear.

The girl instantly flushed bright red and hung her head low in embarrassment.

Lu Jing’an chuckled softly, with no trace of mockery in his voice. "Very well.

However, if more people arrive later, you all will have to bear witness for me.

It won’t be because I was being stingy, but because you yourselves were unwilling to eat."

Hearing this, one of the Black Shark Gang spies spat a mouthful of bloody saliva and cackled hoarsely:

"More people?

Hahaha... Don’t be delusional, Lu!

The only ones coming will be our Dragon King and his men, and they’ll be here to tear this dump of a bureau to the ground—"

He hadn’t finished speaking when a flurry of footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the bureau.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

It was the sound of dozens of pairs of feet running in a disorderly scramble, growing louder as they approached.

Mixed with ragged gasps and panicked cries:

"Get out of the way! Everyone, out of the way!"

"Quickly, let me in!"

"I’m here to turn myself in... to surrender!"

The few remaining onlookers scrambled to get out of the way.

In the twilight, over thirty men came scrambling and stumbling into the Water Patrol Bureau’s courtyard.

Every one of them was disheveled. Some were barefoot.

Others wore only a single shoe. Their faces were a mixture of terror, panic, and a kind of desperate madness.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The moment they were through the gate, the men scrambled to fall to their knees, their kneecaps hitting the slate bricks with dull thuds.

They all started shouting at once, their voices a chaotic jumble:

"Director Lu! I surrender! I’m Li the Third, and I’m willing to turn over a new leaf!"

"Me too! I’m Wang the Fifth! I’ve only robbed on the River a couple of times, I’ve never killed anyone!"

"Director Lu, have mercy! Give me a chance to live!"

The two Black Shark Gang spies were stunned at first, then the slightly heavier one burst into laughter:

"An act! Keep up the act!

You really went all out, Lu."

He spat out a mouthful of bloody foam and shouted toward the entrance:

"All you reporters out there, listen up!

Take a good look at how the Director of the Water Patrol Bureau fakes his results!

He hired a bunch of Water Bandits to fake a surrender! Who does he think he’s fooling?!"

Lu Jing’an didn’t look at him. He simply lowered his gaze to the men kneeling all over the floor.

The faintest hint of a smile played on his lips, but he remained silent.

His silence only made the kneeling men more frantic.

Suddenly, a man with a scar on his forehead scrambled to his feet, rushed over to the heavier spy, and kicked him!

THWACK!

The kick landed squarely on the spy’s face.

The heavier spy howled in pain, blood gushing from his nose.

He had two broken front teeth, and his mouth was full of bloody froth.

"You... You dare hit me?!"

The heavier spy’s eyes widened as he stared at the man in disbelief.

This was a minor chieftain, a man who usually had to bow and scrape before him, calling him ’Master Liu’!

But the man ignored him, turning and falling to his knees again with a THUD.

He kowtowed three times before Lu Jing’an, his forehead striking the floor with three loud THUDS:

"Director Lu! My name is Li Da!

I was blind to run with the Black Shark Gang before!

I see the error of my ways now! I beg you, give me a chance to start over!"

Seeing this, the others joined in, and the hall filled with the sounds of kowtowing and desperate pleas.

The two spies finally realized something was wrong.

Their foreheads were bleeding from kowtowing, and the terror in their eyes was too real to be faked.

This wasn’t an act.

’But how could they dare?’

’The Dragon King had issued a direct order, on pain of death...’

’Unless...’

A terrible thought surfaced in both their minds at once.

They exchanged a look and saw the same terror reflected in each other’s eyes.

’No, it’s impossible!’

’The Black Shark Gang had ruled the Canglan River for over a decade, with thousands of men under their command.’

’The Water Stockade was easy to defend and hard to attack, and the Dragon King himself was there...’

’How could it be possible?’

Just then!

VROOOM... RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

The roar of engines sounded from outside the bureau—more than one.

Headlights cut through the twilight, sweeping blinding beams across the courtyard walls.

The kneeling Water Bandits looked as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies. Their faces went deathly pale, and they trembled like leaves in a storm.

They knew all too well who was on those trucks.

It was because they had seen them that they had risked everything to take a shortcut, racing to get here and surrender first!

Zhao Laosuan also stood up, craning his neck to look outside.

His daughter clutched tightly at the hem of her father’s ragged clothes.

Lu Jing’an finally moved.

He straightened his collar and walked unhurriedly toward the entrance.

Five trucks pulled up in a line outside the Water Patrol Bureau.

The truck beds were packed with people, all of them with their hands bound behind their backs by hemp ropes, tied one to another in a long chain.

The headlights illuminated their ashen faces, some of which were still streaked with blood and grime.

The passenger-side door of the first truck opened.

Chen Xuan jumped nimbly from the vehicle and nodded to Lu Jing’an.

"Master, you’ve worked hard," Lu Jing’an said, taking two steps forward to greet him. His gaze swept over the convoy. "Did it go smoothly?"

"Smoothly," Chen Xuan replied succinctly.

"The Water Stockade has been burned to the ground. We captured one hundred thirty-six alive, including the Dragon King.

As for the rest... some died in the fighting in the reeds, some perished in the inferno, and the others..."

He paused, his gaze turning toward the pitch-black surface of the River.

"...were fed to that Catfish Demon."

Lu Jing’an nodded. "Take them to the main prison for now. We’ll hold a public sentencing tomorrow and deal with them all at once."

Chen Xuan waved his hand, and the officers began dragging the captives from the trucks.

Most of the men had deathly pale faces and staggered as they walked. Some even had to be half-carried.

The last one to be dragged down was a short, small figure.

He wore an ill-fitting silk jacket, and his limbs were oddly short, like those of a child.

But as he was dragged into the light, it revealed the wrinkled face of a man in his fifties. A centipede-like scar ran down his left cheek, stretching from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth.

"Dragon King!"

Inside the hall, the two Black Shark Gang spies cried out as if struck by lightning.

The sound was less human and more like the wail of a dying beast.

The ’Dragon King,’ being dragged across the ground, struggled to lift his head.

His face was caked with mud and grime. Those triangular eyes, which had once made countless people tremble, were now completely vacant and lifeless.

As his gaze swept over the two bound spies inside the hall, his lips twitched.

He seemed to want to say something, but all that came out was a muffled, breathy "Heh..." sound.

Then he was dragged away, toward the prison in the rear courtyard.

A wind blew in from the River, carrying the chill of the night.

It swept through the open gates of the Water Patrol Bureau, causing the chandeliers to sway gently.

Silence fell, broken only by the sound of the wind.