Volume 1 Chapter 28: A Command and a Proclamation
Nian Yongshou laughed and said, "Old Du is very good at understanding women's minds. I wonder what clues Gang Leader Lin has seen?"
Lin Longqing asked: "Do you remember the 'Yanbo Diaosou' who was in the Jianghu more than ten years ago?"
A middle-aged woman said, "How could I not remember? His martial arts were quite good. But we lost contact with him a few years ago." The woman's surname was Lei and her given name was Runan. She had a slightly dark skin, but was very beautiful. She was the leader of the Jiannan Horse Gang and was hot-tempered. After her husband passed away, she became very strong-willed. Although she had a child less than one year old, she managed to reorganize the then-divided Jiannan Horse Gang. The Jiannan Road, which was known as "stretching for hundreds of miles with bandits every few miles", was managed by her in an orderly manner. People in the martial arts world all gave her a thumbs up and praised her as a "heroine" when they mentioned her.
Lin Longqing said: "If my guess is correct, the dead 'Hebao' is Yanbo Diaosou. Yanbo Diaosou's weapon looks like a fishing rod, but it is just to attract attention. He secretly uses the fishing line on the fishing rod. I just took a look and the man was holding a very thin fishing line coated with poison. It is said that Yanbo Diaosou is tall and thin, like a bamboo pole. His favorite thing is to hold a fishing rod to fish, so his back is slightly hunched. Hebao's figure and appearance are also very similar to Yanbo Diaosou. I'm afraid they are the same person." After a pause, he said: "See that Yunmengzhen despises Hebao very much, and told Lan'er that there are many people like Hebao in Yukousi, so..."
The man in black said, "So I'm afraid the power of the Yukou Division is far beyond our imagination. Someone like Yanbo Diaosou is just a low-ranking figure in the Yukou Division. It seems that you all need to hurry up."
Lin Hongfeng sighed, "This is the only way for now. I will send someone to post a notice in the name of Kuangyi Gang to invite the leaders of other sects to come and discuss. The abbot of Tanzong and Shaolin Temple have great connections with the court, so they will definitely not be able to help this time. If we can invite Taoist Yunmengxu to come down the mountain, half of the matter will be done. Now I have to rely on leader Nian, I will entrust the matter of gathering information to your disciples." Nian Yongshou said, "Of course." Lin Hongfeng said, "Hall Master Zhao and Hall Master Ling of our gang have already gone to Taihu Lake. It is expected that they will be able to return to the gang in a few days. We will discuss the matter of contacting Taihu Lake. You all came from a long way. If there is nothing to do in the gang, please rest in the Kuangyi Gang for a few days. Yunmengzhen left in defeat and should not attack again in the short term. It should be fine."
Du Shangqing said, "Madam Cao, you don't have to be polite, but in my opinion, such a big matter needs to be handled with a final say."
Lin Hongfeng was about to answer when he heard Lin Longqing say, "As far as I know, in the past hundred years, although many elites have emerged from various sects, they have never mentioned the matter of establishing a leader. This is because in the past, bloody battles had been fought over this false reputation, which greatly damaged the vitality of the Green Forest. It is better to postpone this matter. If someone must be chosen, I think we need to send someone to the Shushan Sect to ask Taoist Yunmengxu to come down the mountain. Besides, since Yunmengzhen is his junior brother and is endangering the martial arts world, he, as his senior brother, cannot sit idly by."
A plump old man with white hair and beard twirled his beard and said, "Well said, this is a mature and prudent word for the sake of the martial arts world. Don't try to deal with the Yukousi for the time being, otherwise you will end up fighting among your own people for a false name." This man is the leader of the Xiangzhong League, and he is the oldest among those present. His grandfather was involved in the dispute over the leader of the martial arts world and was almost wiped out. Therefore, he still has lingering fears when he thinks of the past.
The man in black said, "I wonder if Taoist Master Yunmengxu is willing to come down the mountain. I'm afraid only your Kuangyi Gang can invite him."
Lin Longqing said, "I have known him since I was a teenager and we have a pretty good relationship. If you all sign a letter together, I think he will not refuse. Besides, I have to send my adopted son home to reunite with his grandmother, so why not let me make the trip?"
Lin Hongfeng thought to herself, "I wanted to say that the Kuangyi Gang could be the leader of the martial arts world, but he pushed the blame on Shushan." Fang Zheng saw that she looked unhappy, so he walked forward and whispered to her, "If the Kuangyi Gang became the leader, wouldn't it attract jealousy and become the first gang that the Yukou Division wants to attack? The leader is right, he is thinking only about the Kuangyi Gang."
Lin Hongfeng blushed, knowing that he had been too eager to see Yin Yin take the lead, and had not thought things through. But when he heard that he wanted to take Lin Jianlan away, he was shocked. Just as he was about to step forward to stop him, he heard someone angrily say, "This is Gang Leader Lin's territory. You can leave if you want. But before you leave, can you tell us about a feud that happened a few years ago?"
Cao Shupeng slowly stood up from his seat, his face cold, and walked up to Lin Longqing and said, "Should I call you my brother-in-law, or should I call you the murderer who killed my third brother?"
Cao Shupeng came to rescue Lin Longqing today. He was very puzzled. When he entered the hall and saw him sitting alone without saying a word, he immediately realized that he would ask about the cause of Cao Shujian's death in front of all the sect leaders today. He smiled bitterly and said, "Master Cao, I really didn't kill your third brother."
When talking about the grudges from a few years ago, Lin Hongfeng was the saddest one. The tragic scene when Cao Shujian died was still vivid in her mind. After these years, the pain did not heal, but became more and more serious. Otherwise, she would not have traveled thousands of miles to seek revenge on Lin Longqing. However, blood is thicker than water. When they really met, Lin Longqing's vicissitudes made her cry sadly. Although she stabbed once, the second sword was stopped by Fang Zheng. Even so, she knew in her heart that if no one stopped her, she might not be able to stab the second sword. Today, seeing Lin Longqing was hit by Yun Mengzhen's strange flower miasma, she never thought that if Lin Longqing died like this, she would get her revenge. Instead, she kept thinking about what she would do if her only brother in the world died. After saving his life, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, and was actually a little happy. She immediately blamed herself, how could she be worthy of Shujian? Thinking of this, she was completely at a loss. She couldn't kill Lin Longqing, but she was unwilling to do so. Now her only obsession was to keep Lin Jianlan here. Although they were not biological father and son, she could let him taste the feeling of being separated from his relatives.
Just as he was daydreaming, he heard Cao Shupeng angrily say, "Mr. Lin, don't pretend. My third brother cared deeply for your subordinates, but you got jealous and were afraid that everyone would follow him, so you beat him up and poisoned him to death! If it weren't for you, why would my third brother's wife lead the hall masters to hunt down your biological brother? Today, I will expose your false face in front of these fellow martial artists!"
The Kuang Yi Gang had undergone a major change. People in the martial arts world only knew a general idea, but it turned out that there was such a secret. Everyone in the audience shook their heads and sighed in their hearts: "It turns out that Chief Steward Cao was poisoned to death by Gang Leader Lin!" Some said: "I was wondering why Cao Shupeng had followed us all the way here. It turns out that he wanted to use us to avenge his third brother."
Cao Shupeng said with tears in his eyes: "The Jade Sword Sect has become less famous, and Cao's martial arts skills are mediocre. I know that I can't avenge my third brother. I can only rely on the power of fellow martial artists to ask this ruthless person how did my third brother offend him to let him kill him?"
While Lin Longqing was hesitating, Nian Yongshou said, "Boss Lin, no matter what, Manager Cao died in the Kuangyi Gang. Although we haven't heard of any poisoning, it is true that you hit him. No one can learn that kind of strength. Since it has a great relationship with you, why don't you talk about it openly? Boss Lin is an open-minded person, and he will not hide anything, right or not?"
Lin Longqing looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him. He thought to himself, "Look at their eyes. If I don't say anything, they won't give up. What's the point of coming to help? The Kuang Yi Gang is so powerful, they have long been dissatisfied, but they still pretend to care on the surface. In their hearts, they wish the Kuang Yi Gang would become more and more chaotic." He looked up and saw Lin Hongfeng just standing there. He felt grateful and said, "Sister hates me deeply, but this time she didn't help outsiders to force me." Thinking of this, he had an idea. He gritted his teeth, took out the Kuang Yi Order from his arms, turned around and handed it to Lin Jianlan, whispered a few words, and said, "Don't delay on the way, go quickly and come back soon." Lin Jianlan took the Kuang Yi Order with a serious face. He knew that what Uncle Qing entrusted to him must be a big deal. He held it tightly in his hand and ran out.
Lin Hongfeng came to her senses when she saw Lin Jianlan taking the Kuang Yi Order away. She was shocked and asked, "How could you give the Kuang Yi Order to an outsider?" Lin Longqing said in a deep voice, "Sister, Sect Leader Cao, fellow martial artists, please wait a moment. I will ask Lan'er to take my token and find someone to come over. Only with him present can I prove my innocence." But she sighed in her heart, "Even if I am cleared of the crime, the Kuang Yi Gang will bear a more serious crime."
No one spoke in the lobby at this time, the silence was eerie. Everyone felt the atmosphere was so depressing that they didn't want to stay any longer, but they were extremely curious about Cao Shujian's death, so they all held their breath and waited silently.
About half an incense stick of time passed, and the sound of running footsteps came from outside the house. Lin Jianlan ran in with a red face, and came to Lin Longqing, and handed the Kuang Yi Order in his hand back to him. Lin Longqing took it in his hand, but felt that it was already very wet from Lin Jianlan's small hand, and asked slowly: "Lan'er, is that person coming?" Lin Jianlan nodded and said: "He said he would fall down soon, but he had to go and get another person."
Cao Shupeng sneered, "Mr. Lin, it's useless to delay time. Let this kid go out and run around. Find someone and then find another person. Who would believe this?" He felt a figure flash outside the door and quickly came in front of him. He heard Lin Longqing shout, "Don't be rude." The figure retreated to the door. Everyone looked closely and saw that it was an old man with eye mucus hanging from the corners of his eyes. There was a dry water stain on his chest, which was very dirty. Lin Hongfeng was shocked and said, "Dad Lin? You..."
When the man surnamed Tang saw the old man, he immediately came up to him, knelt down respectfully and said, "Disciple greets Master." The old man waved his hand, helped him up and said, "Don't do this in the future. You are already the new leader of the Black Team. In our Black Team, there are only leaders and brothers, no masters and apprentices, fathers and sons..." After he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something sad and could not continue.
Everyone in the Kuangyi Gang was surprised. The Black Team was a secret team in the Kuangyi Gang that could only be dispatched with the Kuangyi Order. No one else knew the composition of the team and the gang leader seldom used them. It was a very mysterious team in everyone's mind. Unexpectedly, this man with less than 20 people was actually the leader of the Black Team. It was even more unexpected that the old man who basked in the sun and caught lice at the door of the inner house every day with drooling mouth was the master of this man. His identity had long been revealed and he must be the previous leader of the Black Team without a doubt!
Father Lin walked up to Lin Longqing and saluted, saying, "What's the big deal that the gang leader used the Kuang Yi Order to transfer me here?" Lin Longqing did not answer, but slowly walked up to Lin Hongfeng, called her "sister", and slowly pulled up Lin Hongfeng's hand, spreading it on his palm. He remembered that they often played like this when they were young, and saw how much bigger his palm was than his sister's palm, and his heart ached. Concentrating his mind, Lin Longqing placed an object in Lin Hongfeng's palm. Lin Hongfeng looked at it carefully, and the object was crystal clear, round, and green, and it was the token of the Kuang Yi Gang - the Kuang Yi Order.
Lin Hongfeng opened his eyes wide and looked up, but his eyes were full of confusion. Lin Longqing just smiled, turned around and walked to Old Man Lin and said, "Old Man Lin, Brother Tang, from now on, you don't have to listen to my orders, and don't call me the leader anymore. Listen to my sister's orders. She is the new leader of the Kuangyi Gang. You do whatever she tells you to do. Remember that?" He turned back to Lin Hongfeng and said, "Sister, if you want to know anything, just ask Old Man Lin."
Not only were the two of them puzzled, but everyone in the hall was also startled. However, they saw that Old Man Lin had returned to normal. He was already very old and was used to seeing several generations of changes in the gang. He walked up to Lin Hongfeng and said, "The Black Team has always seen orders as people. I wonder if Madam Cao wants to know something. As long as I know, I will do my best to answer."
Lin Hongfeng bit her lip, holding the Kuang Yi Order tightly in her hand, her face pale, and she hesitated for a long time. She only needed one sentence to find out the cause of Shujian's death, but she was a little scared. After a moment, she asked in a deep voice: "Father Lin, I want to know why Cao Zongguan died four years ago? Why did my brother slap him that day and poison him afterwards?"
Old Man Lin said slowly, "The gang leader and Manager Cao knew each other when they were young and they share the same ideals. Manager Cao is the third child in the family. Even though he is ambitious and intelligent, and can use the Jade Thirteen Swords much better than his two brothers, he is not eligible for the position of leader. Manager Cao, am I right?" Cao Shupeng nodded, but his face was very embarrassed.
Father Lin added, "Because of this, Manager Cao was willing to do his best to help the leader succeed. He was involved in most of the major events in the gang. Later, when he became the manager, he worked even harder. The leader treated him like a brother, and he was the leader's brother-in-law, so the leader trusted him very much. One day, at a general meeting of the entire gang, he said that seeing him was like seeing the leader, and he also said that there was no need to show the Kuang Yi Order, and the Black Team could be mobilized at his command. I'm sure all the hall masters and protectors in the gang still remember these words."
