Chapter 447: Cleaning Up the Aftermath

At Sanjiang Studio, four ranked martial artists had died by accident.

Li Na immediately arranged for people to go and comfort them.

What those four men asked for was unexpected:

They wanted to see the boss, Su Wangchuan.

After learning of it, Su Wangchuan did not refuse.

All four first-rank martial artists were very young, all just barely in their early twenties.

“This time, when the hall was attacked, it was indeed my oversight. You were dragged into this because of me...”

Su Wangchuan understood very clearly the consequences and the pressure that came with a character dying in spirit realm, so he made them a promise.

“If you have any requests, say them. The studio will take care of your families for you.”

“Hall Master,”

one of them said,

“We know that the global rollout of spirit realm is already unavoidable.”

“Whether it’s an alien invasion or the overlap of the game world and the real world, we are not the first to die, and we won’t be the last... This time, we were simply unlucky.”

“The four of us ask for only one thing. Give us each one quota. Hand our belongings over to the people we designate... and then let them join Sanjiang Studio.”

“...”

Su Wangchuan was taken aback.

The other three immediately nodded in agreement.

“Yes.”

“The moment the Warring States Building was merged into Sanjiang Studio, we understood. Even studio bosses can die violent deaths, much less people like us.”

“Compared to that, Sanjiang Studio is already very safe.”

“There is work, there are martial arts, and the hall is safe enough as it is...”

“If our families can be brought over here, then at the very least, they’ll be safer than anywhere else.”

All four of them, without any prior discussion, had chosen to name one person each to inherit their in-game assets and take over their posts at the Sanhe Commandery Hall.

“...”

“Alright!”

“I agree.”

Su Wangchuan rose to his feet and said, “You may contact your chosen people and have them come to Sanjiang Studio to register accounts. Leave the rest to Li Na. I can also promise you that I will give your designated family members special care and provide them with all the martial arts manuals needed to reach the level of a second-rank martial artist.”

“Many thanks, Hall Master!”

The four of them stood and cupped their fists.

Su Wangchuan left everything in Li Na’s hands.

When he walked out, his mood was heavy.

Compared to the third batch, the fourth batch of studio bosses and managers no longer faced quite so brutal a situation.

The information people came into contact with every day was already enough for them to roughly understand what spirit realm really was.

But when he faced those who were about to wither away in soul, it still hurt him.

At that moment, he suddenly understood a little of Yan Tiannan’s calmness and composure.

Perhaps...

one day...

it would be his turn as well.

Once you have seen enough life and death...

perhaps you do become calmer in the face of it.

...

Su Wangchuan returned to spirit realm and to his own hall.

The air in the hall was thick with the mingled odor of blood and the heavy smell of boiling medicinal herbs.

Wang Yuehui was the hall’s financial steward, and he came immediately to report on the compensation and arrangements that had already been made:

“Hall Master.”

“The compensation for the families of all our fallen brothers has been set at fifty taels of gold each. Their personal belongings will be handed over together with that payment. This subordinate has already ordered that everything be separated and properly kept.”

“The injured brothers have all basically stabilized. Each of them has been given twenty taels of gold as a recovery allowance. But there is also a group of brothers who have been crippled. I fear they will never again be able to lift a weapon in this lifetime, and it will be difficult to place them...”

“Our brothers were wounded in order to protect the hall. Pass down the order: the hall will provide for every crippled brother for the rest of his life! From now on, they will receive monthly pay. They are still my brothers of the hall.”

With one sweep of his hand, Su Wangchuan made the decision.

A smile appeared on Wang Yuehui’s face as he cupped his fists and accepted the order.

“Yes! This subordinate obeys.”

At that moment, Li Qing came in from outside to report:

“Hall Master.”

“This subordinate has already led men in pursuit outside the city. We found the horses the Beggar Sect group left there. They came temporarily from Qinghe Commandery by land into Sanhe Commandery, and they had no other support waiting for them. At present, there should be no Beggar Sect spies or informants left in Sanhe Commandery.”

“Mm.”

Su Wangchuan nodded and said,

“This time the Dark Hall rendered meritorious service by raising the alarm. Reward each member with twenty taels of gold and one martial arts manual. Li Qing, you led your men well. Reward him with one Lesser Rejuvenation Pill.”

“Many thanks, Hall Master!”

Li Qing’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

He had long heard of the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill. It would let his 《Xuanwu Art》 rise by one realm.

At that moment, Chen Ergou came in from outside.

“Hall Master.”

“This subordinate followed your instructions and already sent brothers to Qinghe Commandery to pass word to the Lu Family and the Qinghe Commandery Hall. Before dawn, the message will certainly reach Qinghe Commandery, but whether the Lu Family and the Qinghe Commandery Hall are willing to act is another matter.”

Su Wangchuan waved a hand.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“As long as the message reaches them, that is enough.”

“Whether or not they can seize this opportunity to wipe out the Beggar Sect’s sub-branch and strongholds in Qinghe Commandery is up to them. We’ve already done all that duty and loyalty require.”

He knew that now that Zhuang Xuyan and Elder Lin’s group were dead, the Beggar Sect’s rear in Qinghe Commandery was empty. This was the perfect chance to strike. If the Lu Family and the Qinghe Commandery Hall could seize this moment to drive the Beggar Sect’s forces out of Qinghe Commandery, it would be a massive blow to the Beggar Sect.

It would also count as avenging the brothers who had died.

Chen Ergou nodded.

The Sanhe Commandery Hall was destined to remain awake all night.

Divine Physician Shen and Physician Liao’s people stayed busy through the entire night as well.

Su Wangchuan ordered Wang Yuehui to prepare a generous reward for every one of them, and at the same time to issue twenty taels of gold and one martial arts manual to every brother who had taken part in the defense of the hall.

Although the hall had suffered many dead and wounded, everyone knew that the force the Beggar Sect had sent to attack the hall had been enormous, even including a fifth-rank martial artist.

Last year, in Heitu Commandery and Shenyu Commandery, hall masters with fourth-rank cultivation had all died when faced with attacks of that scale...

The fact that Sanhe Commandery had endured it and annihilated every last invader was already a brilliant feat. So not only had morale not been damaged, everyone instead felt deeply stirred and proud.

The next day, once the news spread, everyone from the authorities to the major local powers came one after another to pay a visit.

Su Wangchuan had the nine corpses laid out in a row in the open space outside the main hall, their faces cleaned and clearly visible—Zhuang Xuyan, Elder Lin...

One Beggar Sect elder after another, all men with names in Jianghu, lay exposed before the public eye, drawing click after click of astonished admiration from many prominent visitors.

As more and more people came to call, the news gradually spread.

“Ding!”

System prompt:

“Repelled the Beggar Sect’s hall assault! Jianghu Reputation +100! Current reputation ranking: [omitted].”

“Ding!”

System prompt:

“Killed four Beggar Sect Outer Elders! Jianghu Reputation +200! Current reputation ranking: [omitted].”

“Ding!”

System prompt:

“Killed Beggar Sect Inner Elder ‘Zhuang Xuyan’! Jianghu Reputation +300! Current reputation ranking: [omitted].”

After the chain of system prompts ended, Su Wangchuan discovered that his Jianghu Reputation had leapt far beyond the twenty-thousand mark, advancing tens of thousands of places in a single night.

“An increase of 600 reputation points, and my Jianghu Reputation ranking is still beyond twenty thousand...”

“spirit realm truly is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.”

“Where exactly are all these people hiding?”