feiniaonovel Chapter 217
Chapter 217
Bound on the same rope, not a single one could escape!
Wangchuan’s men hauled everyone from the river onto the deck. Under the guidance of his subordinates, he soon noticed the suspicious transport ship not far away.
The Yulong Gang’s vessel drew alongside it. Wang Yuehui, Chen Ergou, and the others leapt across without hesitation and seized the man at the bow and the two boatmen, dragging all three over.
Inside the cabin, twenty men knelt in a neat row.
Those who were wounded had their injuries hastily bandaged. The bleeding had stopped, but from blood loss their faces were pale—like freshly castrated boars, wilted and spiritless.
The three Caobang disciples responsible for rowing were unharmed. They trembled like leaves in the wind, not daring to raise their heads to meet the gaze of Helm Leader Wangchuan.
“Zhang Cha’er… Deputy Helm Leader?”
Wangchuan sat imposingly before them. He accepted the Caobang identity token Chen Ergou had found aboard the transport ship, then tossed it at the feet of the only Second-Rank Martial Artist present.
“You came all this way to welcome me to my post? Helm Leader Zhang is truly thoughtful.”
“…”Zhang Cha’er looked like a rooster that had lost a fight. With his head drooping, he said in a muffled voice, “The victor becomes king, the loser bandit. Now that I have fallen into your hands, kill or flay me as you wish.”
Still putting on a brave front?
Wangchuan lifted his gaze and swept it around. The men behind him all wore mocking smiles as they studied the ragged captives.
Old Qiu suggested, “Zhang Cha’er is a deputy helm leader of the Caobang and your greatest rival for the helm leader seat. We might as well sink him into the river right here and be done with it.”
“No.”
Bai Jingtang’s voice was cool and resolute. “On the very day Wangchuan takes office, a deputy helm leader goes missing? It will arouse suspicion. In this matter, we hold the moral high ground. It is best to handle it openly—either hand them to the authorities or turn them over to the Caobang. Sinking them directly would be the worst choice.”
Wangchuan nodded.
“Captain Bai is right. Zhang Cha’er has delivered the evidence into our hands himself. We must make proper use of it… In that case, we will not proceed to assume office for now. Turn toward the prefectural docks and hand them over to Lord Seven for disposal.”
The moment those words fell, Zhang Cha’er—who had been so hard and unyielding a moment ago—turned ashen. Struggling, he hastily begged for mercy.
“No!”
“Brother, do not!”
“We can talk this out!”
“I was wrong! Do not hand us over to Lord Seven!”
The other Caobang disciples also began pleading in chorus.
“Yes, yes! Helm Leader Wangchuan, it was all our fault! Kill or flay us, we will not complain! But do not involve our families! Please, do not hand us over to Lord Seven!”
“If you hand us to Lord Seven, we are finished!”
“…”
Wangchuan froze.
Even Bai Jingtang had not expected Lord Seven’s deterrent power to be so great.
These Caobang disciples seemed rather be sent to the authorities than fall into Lord Seven’s hands.
Wangchuan studied their terrified expressions. They did not seem to be feigning fear—this was genuine dread of Lord Seven. His curiosity deepened as he murmured,
“Do not involve the family?”
“Does Lord Seven detest internal gang slaughter?”
At this point, one man gathered his courage and spoke.
“It is Hall Master Yin who detests it.”
“In the past, if anyone within our Caobang dared to openly incite internal strife, the instigating side would be… executed under gang law by Lord Seven.” His voice trembled. “From an eighty-year-old mother to a newborn infant in swaddling clothes—every member of the family would be sunk into the river to feed the fish, as a warning to others.”
“Since you know Lord Seven acts so ruthlessly, why did you still take such a desperate risk?” Wangchuan demanded sharply.
Zhang Cha’er had completely lost his earlier hardness.
“Helm Leader Wangchuan, you had not yet formally taken office. Strictly speaking, you were not one of our own…”
At that explanation, Wangchuan could not help but laugh.
“So that is it.”
“You believed that while I was on my way to assume office, it was the only chance to eliminate me—your rival. And now you are afraid.”
No one on the ship felt the slightest sympathy for Zhang Cha’er and his men.
All waited for Wangchuan’s decision.
Grinding his teeth, Zhang Cha’er said, “If Helm Leader will show mercy and spare our families a path to live, I am willing to hand over my entire life’s savings. Consider it the price of our lives.”
Everyone was visibly moved.
Bai Jingtang glanced toward Wangchuan.
Clearly, even she was tempted by Zhang Cha’er’s offer.
Wealth stirred the heart.
Wangchuan sighed inwardly.
“Captain Bai, I will trouble you to make the trip. See whether what he says is true.”
“Very well.”
Bai Jingtang nodded.
Seeing Wangchuan relent, Zhang Cha’er hurriedly revealed the location where he had hidden his gold and silver.
The man had secretly purchased a residence in Sanhe Prefecture. The treasure was concealed within cavities in the walls of that courtyard house—extremely well hidden.
Bai Jingtang happened to be intimately familiar with Sanhe Prefecture.
The transport ship thus moved close to the prefectural docks.
Bai Jingtang disembarked alone…
Not long afterward, she was seen striding across the water’s surface and boarding the ship once more.
Entering the cabin, she tossed a gray cloth bundle directly to Wangchuan.
“I did not expect a deputy helm leader of a branch to possess such wealth.”
All eyes converged on the bundle in Wangchuan’s hands.
He calmly opened it. Inside was a stack of one-hundred-tael gold notes, along with several silver notes.
“Heh.”
“One thousand three hundred taels of gold. Five hundred taels of silver.”
Zhang Cha’er’s face grew even paler at the loss of his wealth. Yet a trace of hope flickered in his eyes.
“The money is yours. Please spare the lives of my brothers and our families.”
“Helm Leader Wangchuan, please do not hand us to Lord Seven!”
The remaining Caobang disciples pleaded in unison.
They had already steeled themselves to be sunk into the river.
As the saying went, one’s hand grows soft after taking another’s money…
Those one thousand three hundred taels of gold suddenly felt somewhat scorching in the hand.
Wangchuan put away the gold notes and stared at Zhang Cha’er.
“In consideration of the fact that you still understand the principle of not involving the family, we will let this matter rest here… You may go.”
“…”
Zhang Cha’er stared at Wangchuan in disbelief.
Wang Yuehui, Old Qiu, Old Yuan, Zhao Heiniu, and the others all looked toward Wangchuan.
Even Bai Jingtang had not expected him to choose to release them.
But no one spoke to stop him.
Seeing Zhang Cha’er and the others bow their heads, waiting for death as though ready to be sunk into the river, a faint thread of sympathy arose in many hearts.
They were villains, yes—but even at death’s door, they clung to the code of not involving the family. They were willing to surrender their life’s savings to buy safety for their loved ones, to shoulder the consequences of Jianghu themselves and repay with their lives…
In a certain sense, that was still a form of honor.
“Send them back. Let us pretend that today’s events never occurred. Helm Leader Zhang, we have not met today.”
Wangchuan smiled faintly, rose to his feet, and instructed his men to return Zhang Cha’er and the others to the transport ship.
Only after the Yulong Gang’s great ship had gradually sailed away did Zhang Cha’er and his men come to their senses. They dropped to their knees at the bow and kowtowed heavily in the direction of Wangchuan’s departing vessel…