Chapter 333: Three Merits at Once

At the Sanjiang Branch Helm, with Bai Jingtang, Wang Yuehui, and the others watching over the fleet, Wangchuan felt completely at ease. Even deep into the night, he remained in his own courtyard cultivating 《Xuanwu Art》, seizing every moment to inch the experience bar forward.

It was not until someone entered carrying a carrier pigeon message from the prefectural capital that he received a piece of good news.

“Elder Zhu failed in his attempt to infiltrate the hall and assassinate his target. He was severely wounded and captured!”

The moment Wangchuan grasped the meaning of the message on the slip of paper, his eyes widened slightly and delight appeared on his face.

“Good!”

“As expected, Old Seven’s side got results!”

“It looks like the fourth-rank martial artist who crossed hands with Captain Bai was this Elder Zhu.”

“With Elder Zhu finished, the Beggar Sect in Sanhe Commandery has suffered another devastating blow. They no longer have the ability to keep threatening Sanhe Commandery or the fleet.”

At that thought, he immediately felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

The fleet was safe.

A faint smile touched his lips as he ordered his subordinate:

“Notify Deputy Branch Helm Leader Chen. At first light tomorrow, we move out at once and complete the escort mission.”

“Yes!”

The disciple accepted the order and left.

Wangchuan sank back into the water and resumed cultivating.

…

Early the next morning, the Ouyang family’s fleet set out.

The fast boats cleared the way.

Patrol boats monitored the riverbanks and maintained vigilance.

The fleet cut through the wind and waves, and all along the journey the river remained calm. They passed four dock plazas in succession before escorting the fleet to a central dock at the end of the Sanhe River waters—Jiyang Town.

The Ouyang family’s fleet needed to transfer its cargo there.

But the Caobang’s mission in Sanhe Commandery had already been completed to perfection.

Wangchuan led his men back that very same day, and by nightfall they had returned to the main-helm dock in the prefectural capital to report to Old Seven.

“Old Seven!”

“Wangchuan, you’re back?”

Old Seven’s trap had successfully taken down Elder Zhu of the Beggar Sect, and since the matter was now fully exposed, there was no longer any reason to conceal himself. He met Wangchuan directly in the council hall.

Old Seven was all smiles and in excellent spirits.

“You’ve had a hard journey. Come, have some tea.”

“Thank you, Old Seven.”

“The moment I heard that Old Seven had captured Elder Zhu, I wanted to rush back at once. I could hardly wait to see the face of this fourth-rank elder for myself.”

“No need to see him. The Beggar Sect already came and took Elder Zhu away.”

That answer made Wangchuan pause.

“Took him away?”

“The Beggar Sect still has a few hidden lines in Sanhe Commandery. That very night, they received a carrier pigeon message and learned that Elder Zhu had fallen into our hall’s hands. Before dawn, they had already arranged for the branch master from Qinghe Commandery to come in person and demand his release.”

Old Seven showed no anger as he explained with a smile:

“Elder Zhu was already crippled. Even if they took him back, he posed no further threat. Besides, the Beggar Sect paid a price. They handed over a full five thousand taels of gold, along with two 《Lesser Rejuvenation Pills》, to ransom him. That much face, we should still give them.”

Wangchuan’s eyes grew thoughtful, but he did not comment.

If it had been left to him, he likely would have handed over Elder Zhu’s corpse instead.

After all, the relationship between the Caobang and the Beggar Sect was one of irreconcilable hostility.

Old Seven seemed to read his thoughts. Smiling faintly, he said, “We of the Caobang do shipping business. What we seek is profit. We are not like the Beggar Sect… those barefoot mud-leggers rely more on intelligence dealing than anything else. In the Jianghu, even when two sides have already fought until brains are spilling out, they still have to maintain some surface courtesy.”

“When they came to ask for him, they brought ample sincerity. There was even a hint of bowing their heads in it. If we had kept the man and refused to release him, it would have triggered an all-out clash between the two great gangs.”

What Old Seven said did carry some truth.

Gazing out the doorway, he continued, “Jianghu bloodshed has always been about each side testing the other’s methods. The winner becomes king, the loser becomes a bandit. If you gamble, you must accept the loss.”

“Even if this will not ease the hostility between the two gangs, at the very least it will not inflame things further or push the situation into a full escalation.”

“I will keep Old Seven’s teaching firmly in mind.”

Wangchuan clasped his fists in acknowledgment.

Old Seven’s eyes showed approval.

“I’ve already sent a carrier pigeon report to the higher-ups regarding everything that has happened recently. Your cultivation of 《Poison Sand Palm》 to draw the poison from my body, and your escort of the Ouyang family’s fleet over these past two days, have both greatly boosted the morale of our Caobang hall and cowed the petty troublemakers. Merit must be rewarded! Most especially, you killed more than a hundred Beggar Sect disciples, helped me capture Zhu Rong of the Beggar Sect, and cut off the hand they had stretched into Sanhe Commandery.”

At this point, Old Seven looked at Wangchuan with a smile.

“With three merits in one, barring any surprises, we should be able to remove the word ‘Acting’ from in front of your title of Deputy Hall Master.”

Wangchuan was startled.

“Old Seven! Isn’t that too fast?”

“I’m not ready yet.”

“You little fox.”

Old Seven gave a cold snort.

“Looks to me like the real reason is that you don’t want to give up your position as Branch Helm Leader of the Sanjiang Branch Helm.”

Lowering his head, Wangchuan protested, “Old Seven, I have served as Branch Helm Leader of the Sanjiang Branch Helm for less than half a year. I have only held the position of Acting Deputy Hall Master for a mere ten-odd days. My seniority truly is insufficient.”

The truth was, Wangchuan genuinely did not want to lose the Sanjiang Branch Helm.

Old Seven stared at him and said, “There is some truth in what you say. But your merits have all been seen by the people above. After the Blood Moon Incident, the Sanjiang Branch Helm turned the tide and stabilized the overall situation in Sanhe Commandery. You cultivated 《Poison Sand Palm》 through bitter effort to draw the poison from my body. You held the hall and steadied the men’s hearts… The people above are not blind. When merit is rewarded, you deserve another step forward.”

He paused, then continued, “Besides.”

Seeing Wangchuan’s silent, uncertain look, Old Seven said, “You are now a third-rank martial artist, and you also have the achievement of defeating Luo Laoqi. In terms of seniority and accomplishments, there is no flaw in your qualifications. You are more than capable of holding down the Sanhe Commandery hall.”

“If you truly want to keep the Sanjiang Branch Helm, that is not impossible. The arrangement of branch helm leaders is in my hands… I can use your not yet having completed a full year in office as the reason to let you continue serving concurrently as Branch Helm Leader of the Sanjiang Branch Helm.”

Old Seven’s final sentence took such a sharp turn that joy burst across Wangchuan’s face at once.

“Thank you, Old Seven!”

Wangchuan did not even try to hide it anymore.

He truly did want to keep the Sanjiang Branch Helm in his hands.

“You brat.”

Old Seven shook his head, half amused and half annoyed.

“If I hadn’t seen with my own eyes how you trained 《Poison Sand Palm》 to draw the poison from my body and save my life, I truly would have worried that you were building up your own private force and plotting to turn the heavens upside down.”

“Old Seven!”

A chill ran through Wangchuan’s heart.

“I would never dare.”

“I know you’re not that sort of man.”

Old Seven’s smile softened.

“With your ability, you could easily have quietly taken down the Yulong Gang and swallowed up the three halls in the downstream waters… Yet you brat actually risked yourself to preserve Yang Feiyue. That at least proves you are a promising young man who values loyalty and sentiment.”

The moment Old Seven said this, Wangchuan felt a coldness spread through his entire body.

Old Seven had indeed been worried that he might grow too powerful.

But because he had preserved Yang Feiyue, Old Seven had come to understand that he was not the sort of thankless wretch born with rebellion in his bones. That was why Old Seven now felt safe leaving the Sanjiang Branch Helm in his hands.

Otherwise—

He would most likely have arranged for someone to descend directly into the Sanjiang Branch Helm, cutting off all ties between Wangchuan and the branch helm, the subordinate halls, and the docks beneath it.

Wangchuan quietly let out a breath of relief.

He had never imagined that his act of preserving Yang Feiyue would, in an indirect way, preserve his own position as Branch Helm Leader of the Sanjiang Branch Helm, safeguard his most important source of income, and protect the power base he had painstakingly built within spirit realm.

That had been close.