Chapter 87 - 86: I Want to Eliminate Lu Jing’an

Chapter 87: Chapter 86: I Want to Eliminate Lu Jing’an

Liu Zhenyue listened to Li Chongshan’s words.

He tapped his knuckles twice on the armrest of the rosewood chair, a dark light swirling in his eyes.

"The provincial connections... did you get through?"

Li Chongshan shook his head. He placed the celadon teacup in his hand on the small table, making a faint, crisp sound.

"If your Liu Family can’t pull the strings, how could my Li Family possibly manage it?"

The words were spoken calmly, but they made the atmosphere in the cabin freeze for a moment.

The Liu Family had someone in the Provincial Civil Affairs Department, and his position was not low.

This was an open secret among the Major Clans of Qingshui County—their ace in the hole.

The Civil Affairs Department handled the performance reviews and promotions of county-level officials. If even the Liu Family found the matter troublesome, then the Li Family, at least on the surface, was naturally even more powerless.

Hearing this, the corner of Liu Zhenyue’s mouth lifted into a cold smile:

"The great merit of wiping out the Black Shark Gang is enough to pin Lu Jing’an to the Director’s seat at the Water Patrol Bureau.

Barring any major screw-ups, anyone who wants to touch him will have to think twice."

He paused briefly, his fingertips unconsciously fiddling with the exquisite frog closures on his cuffs, and added:

"That old fox, Lu Huaiqian, is more cunning than anyone.

That so-called ’Escort Team’ on the Canglan River is just an empty title.

Aside from Zhao Laosuan and a handful of others who have unofficial ties to the Water Patrol Bureau, the rest have no official connection to the Bureau whatsoever.

Trying to attack the Lu Family on this point would, at most, get Lu Jing’an a reprimand. It won’t harm his tendons and bones."

Li Chongshan nodded slightly. His gaze drifted to the shimmering surface of the river outside the window, where a gull swept past in the distance.

"The Lu Family’s methods this time were indeed beyond my expectations.

When I set this in motion, I originally thought the Black Shark Gang would be a tough bone to chew.

Enough to keep them busy for a year or so. Even if they won,

it would drain most of the Lu Family’s wealth and resources, ending in a Pyrrhic victory at best.

And that would have been our time to make a move.

Who would have thought..."

He shook his head, his voice tinged with a complex mix of emotions.

"In just seven days, the Black Shark Gang vanished into thin air.

Now, we’ve ended up blocking our own path."

Liu Zhenyue didn’t respond, but the tight line of his jaw showed his feelings clearly.

This was indeed the biggest variable in their plan. One miscalculation, and now they were caught in a dilemma.

He tossed the cold dregs from his cup out the window, watching the tea stain spread across the river’s surface and disappear.

"Spare me the eulogies for the Lu Family. Tell me your plan."

Li Chongshan was just about to speak...

"You there! Stop your vessel immediately and prepare for inspection! We are the Canglan River Escort Team!"

A rough shout, amplified by a brass megaphone, pierced through the wooden planks and stabbed clearly into the cabin.

Li Chongshan’s expression darkened instantly.

"CRACK!"

The delicate white porcelain teacup in his hand had been crushed to pieces.

Shards of porcelain dug into his palm, drawing trickles of blood, but he seemed not to notice.

Two Ironclad Ships, with over a hundred armed elites flanking them.

With a force like this, never mind a motley crew of Water Bandits—

even the official troops of the Water Patrol Bureau would have to give them a wide berth.

And now, this bunch of mud-legs dared to challenge them head-on?

’They have a death wish!’

Li Chongshan’s face was as dark as water. Liu Zhenyue’s expression turned instantly sinister, killing intent flashing in his eyes before vanishing.

...

「One hour earlier.」

Zhao Laosuan had just led the Escort Team to complete a mission.

A scout rushed back to report on the Li and Liu Families’ fleet.

Two Ironclad Ships, over a hundred armed guards, fully equipped.

This was completely beyond what they could handle—a band of men relying on a few shabby Upturned Boats

and a dozen or so guns to make a show of force.

Even the Water Patrol Bureau itself would probably have to avoid a direct confrontation.

Zhao Laosuan immediately gathered all his core subordinates to discuss a plan in the swaying canopy of a boat.

The dim yellow sunlight illuminated their uncertain and fearful faces.

Most of them were timid and argued for avoiding the confrontation.

Zhao Laosuan squatted on the deck, the cheap cigarette dangling from his lips glowing and fading.

He scanned the crowd, his voice hoarse but filled with a desperate ferocity:

"The Director gave us a way to live, a way to eat. What for?

It’s for times like this!

Now is the time for us to repay him!"

He exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and continued, his words a mix of tangible temptation and a cold reminder:

"Don’t forget, you all still have the word ’bandit’ branded on your heads!

If you want to wash yourselves clean, to walk on shore with your heads held high.

If you want your parents, your wives, and your kids to be able to stand tall, you have to earn merit!

And what is merit?

This, right here, is merit!"

His eyes swept over the men.

"If we survive this, you know what the Director is like.

He’ll never shortchange the brothers who risk their lives for him.

If... we really fall here,"

He paused, his voice dropping low.

"You’ve all heard of the Lu Family’s reputation. When it comes to compensating the families of the fallen, he has never held back."

The cabin fell deathly silent, with only the mournful sound of the river lapping against the hull.

A few of the men looked at each other, a gambler’s red glint slowly appearing in their eyes.

They were all desperate men who had lived with their heads on the line, scraping out a living on the Canglan River for years.

This opportunity before them, this Celestial Ascension Ladder that they might have to climb with their lives, was probably the only chance they would ever get.

...

The river wind was biting. Zhao Laosuan gripped the cold, heavy brass megaphone, his palm slick with cold sweat.

He struggled to steady his trembling voice and roared at the two colossal Ironclad Ships once more:

"You there! Stop your vessel! Immediately! Prepare for inspection!"

After yelling, he felt his shirt was already soaked through with cold sweat.

Their few small, broken-down boats were as flimsy as paper in front of the enemy.

They wouldn’t even need to open fire. If the Ironclad Ships just rammed them, they would be crushed to pieces.

...

Inside the luxurious cabin of the pleasure cruiser.

"CRASH!"

Liu Zhenyue slammed his teacup onto the floor. The expensive porcelain shattered, and tea splashed across the patterned carpet.

"Lu Jing’an’s dogs dare to bark at us now!

If I don’t teach them a lesson today, I’ll write my surname, Liu, backward!"

Li Chongshan raised a hand and pressed down on Liu Zhenyue’s arm, which was trembling slightly with rage.

Blood seeping from the cut in his palm, where the porcelain had sliced him, stained the other man’s sleeve.

"You want to kill them all?"

"They’re just a bunch of Water Bandits. So what if we kill them?" Liu Zhenyue’s eyes were savage.

"They are ’bandits’ right now," Li Chongshan said, his voice ice-cold.

"But if you kill them, the Lu Family can turn them into ’officials’ in the next moment.

Whether they’re bandits or officials is just a matter of a single word from Lu Jing’an.

At that point, it becomes ’murdering on-duty Water Patrol Officers of the Water Patrol Bureau’.

Can you bear that crime?

Can that person behind your Liu Family bear it?"

Hearing this, Liu Zhenyue’s towering rage was doused as if by ice water, and he choked.

He instantly understood the crux of the matter.

If this charge were made to stick, it would be a major taboo in officialdom. Anyone involved would find it impossible to escape the consequences.

He glared at the figures outside, dressed in their mismatched uniforms, still shouting defiantly.

His jaw was clenched so tight it creaked.

"Are we just supposed to endure this?" Liu Zhenyue squeezed the words through his teeth.

Li Chongshan glanced out the window, then looked away. His expression had returned to one of grim calculation.

"We’ll leave first. Let the men below handle the rest."

He paused briefly and added, his tone chillingly cold,

"If they don’t know what’s good for them and dare to follow... then they’ll be asking for death."

This was the safest approach for now.

Liu Zhenyue’s chest heaved a few times. He gave a heavy, cold snort, which served as his tacit approval.

Each man gave a few quiet orders to their trusted aides waiting outside the door.

Soon, the pleasure cruiser they were on began to turn around.

It powered up and headed downstream.

The two Ironclad Ships, however, remained like a pair of steel floodgates,

spanning the center of the river and completely blocking the small boats of the Escort Team from advancing or retreating.

The intention was clear:

Retreat now, and they could pretend nothing had happened.

Take one more step forward, and they would be walking to their deaths.

Watching the pleasure cruiser disappear into the distance, Zhao Laosuan steeled his heart.

A look of determination flashed across his face as he gave a hoarse order: "After them! We can’t have come for nothing!"

Now that they had already torn all pretense, if they didn’t secure a significant enough merit,

everything they had done before, including the threat of death they were currently facing, would be meaningless.

Seeing the shabby boats actually dare to pursue them with such a death wish,

the Li and Liu Family stewards commanding the Ironclad Ships had a sharp glint in their eyes. They waved a hand and ordered, "Ram them!"

The black Ironclad Ships were like two savage behemoths. They accelerated abruptly,

ramming into the waists of the fragile Upturned Boats!

"BOOM! CRACK!"

The tremendous sound of splintering wood pierced the air above the river.

Faced with steel, the Upturned Boats were as fragile as children’s toys.

They were instantly smashed to pieces, and the men aboard fell into the water one after another like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

Although these veteran Water Bandits were all expert swimmers, in the face of such a violent collision and the chaotic currents that followed,

many were choked by the water and became disoriented. A few were not quick enough to dodge and were struck by broken oars or splintered planks. Their heads split open and bleeding, they sank to the bottom of the river without so much as a grunt.

The Ironclad Ships didn’t press the attack to kill them all. After destroying the boats, they slowly backed away.

They watched the chaos on the river’s surface with cold indifference.

Zhao Laosuan shot out of the murky river water.

He shook the weeds from his head. A gash had been cut on his temple, and blood mixed with river water trickled down his face.

He wiped his face haphazardly and roared toward the Ironclad Ships with all his might.

His voice echoed across the wide, empty river:

"You dare ram a Water Patrol Bureau ship! You lawless Water Bandits! Robbers!"

The people on the Ironclad Ships paid him no heed, as if they had merely crushed a few ants.

They indifferently turned their bows and followed the direction their masters had gone.

Not until the two steel behemoths had disappeared around a bend in the river did the third, backup boat that Zhao Laosuan had arranged to hide in the reeds quickly emerge.

"Quick! Save them! Pull everyone out of the water! The dead ones, too!"

Zhao Laosuan was pulled aboard by his men. Without pausing to catch his breath, he immediately shouted, his voice trembling from the cold and agitation.

...

Aboard the pleasure cruiser.

After listening to his subordinate’s detailed report about the aftermath of the collision,

Li Chongshan and Liu Zhenyue both frowned at the same time.

They truly hadn’t expected that Zhao Laosuan would actually have the guts to charge them head-on with a group of desperados.

"A bunch of worthless scum who’d rather have money than their lives!" Liu Zhenyue cursed in disgust.

But Li Chongshan didn’t echo the curse. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his mind racing:

"Even the lowest of the low are willing to bet their lives and fortunes on the Lu Family.

Brother Liu, this is not a good sign."

Hearing this, Liu Zhenyue’s expression grew even uglier.

’Yes, these ant-like fellows.’

’They’re the most adept at seeking advantage and avoiding harm, the first to know which way the wind is blowing.’

’What does it mean for them to risk their lives to show loyalty to the Lu Family?’

’It means that in their eyes, the Lu Family’s momentum is already worth betting their lives on!’

’Today it’s these lowly commoners. Tomorrow, it’ll probably be the fence-sitters in the county who are just watching from the sidelines!’

’I have to break the Lu Family’s meteoric rise!’

Liu Zhenyue turned abruptly to Li Chongshan, his tone urgent. "What exactly is your plan? We can’t let the Lu Family keep expanding like this!"

Li Chongshan watched the rapidly receding riverbank outside the window and fell silent for a moment.

Then he spoke slowly, his voice very low but each word crystal clear:

"I intend... to eliminate Lu Jing’an directly."

Liu Zhenyue’s pupils contracted sharply.

"Eliminate him directly?

Do you have any idea of the stakes involved?

Lu Jing’an is no longer the nobody he once was. He is the Director of the Water Patrol Bureau.

He’s the hero who wiped out the Black Shark Gang, with countless eyes from the province watching him!

Never mind whether we can succeed—even if we do, how would we clean up the mess afterward?

Can our two families really withstand that kind of backlash?"

"I am naturally aware of all that."

Li Chongshan cut him off. He took a clean white silk handkerchief from his robes.

He leisurely wiped the blood from his palm, but his eyes were as sharp as a blade.

"That’s why we can’t do it openly, and we can’t leave any evidence.

My people have discovered that the Lu Family has recently been secretly acquiring large quantities of ’Crimson Gold Copper’."

"Crimson Gold Copper?"

Liu Zhenyue was taken aback.

"What does the Lu Family want with that stuff?

That material is somewhat special, but it’s used in very small quantities.

It’s mostly used by unorthodox Alchemists or Cultivators just starting out in Artifact Refining, for things like refining low-level Magical Artifact bases,

or mixing it into certain special alloys. The Lu Family has no such businesses."

Li Chongshan shook his head. "The specific purpose has not yet been determined.

But the Lu Family is moving secretly, using scattered channels, and the amount they’re acquiring is truly significant.

There is definitely something strange going on."

Liu Zhenyue was still skeptical. "Even so, how can we topple, let alone eliminate, Lu Jing’an based solely on his acquisition of Crimson Gold Copper?"