Chapter 388: Lobbying for Office

Elder Wan wore a deeply pained expression, his finger slowly tapping the Gold Notes on the tea table as he said with a troubled face,

“This time, your hall truly was at fault for not handling matters properly.”

“Although Sanhe Commandery and Qinghe Commandery did purge quite a few Beggar Sect people, destroy their sub-branch, and kill a fair number of them, thereby boosting our morale, that does not mean your Heitu Commandery and Shenyu Commandery can simply imitate them.”

As Elder Wan lectured them, the two Deputy Hall Masters immediately lowered their heads and listened obediently.

That was true enough!

After the Blood Moon Incident, every Caobang hall had suffered significant losses.

All of them had been heavily suppressed by the Beggar Sect!

After the news spread that Sanhe Commandery had killed two fifth-rank Beggar Sect traitors, and then word came that Deputy Hall Master Wangchuan had crippled three third-rank Beggar Sect martial artists during the martial tournament, it truly stirred up no small amount of impulse in the halls across the land.

Just look at how capable those people were at getting things done!

Sanhe Commandery only had two or three third-rank martial artists…

yet they still managed to kill two fifth-rank enemies, one fourth-rank enemy, and several third-rank enemies, and even wiped out the enemy’s sub-branch twice.

The Beggar Sect had been suppressed so badly in Sanhe Commandery that they could barely lift their heads.

And over in Qinghe Commandery, the counterattack had succeeded as well!

The hall joined forces with the Six Gates and the Lu Family and beat the Beggar Sect terribly.

The newly prepared sub-branch had even been personally smashed by Lu Ping’an the very next day!

All the other regions began trying to copy their example.

Heitu Commandery and Shenyu Commandery were adjacent to one another and counted as two relatively powerful Caobang halls!

They stood along the coast and on both sides of the capital waterways. They were under heavy scrutiny, and they had money and manpower alike. Their Hall Masters and Deputy Hall Masters were all fourth-rank martial artists, and each hall had over a dozen third-rank martial artists.

But the Beggar Sect was also extremely powerful there!

The moment Heitu Commandery made its move, it was immediately countered by the Beggar Sect. Its Hall Master died violently during the operation, and his severed head was hung over the river by the Beggar Sect, causing the morale of the entire hall to collapse.

Shenyu Commandery fared even worse!

They had recruited people and made plans to strike at the Beggar Sect, but the information leaked. Strong Beggar Sect fighters stormed the hall by night and shattered the Hall Master’s arms and legs, crippling him for life.

The hall also lost dozens of skilled fighters!

Now both Heitu Commandery and Shenyu Commandery had suffered grievous losses.

Wu Sanlei of Heitu Commandery and Jin Zhixian of Shenyu Commandery had rushed to headquarters overnight to ask for reinforcements. At the same time, they also hoped to use the opportunity to have their own positions formally confirmed, so they could take command of a hall.

For them, this crisis in the hall was both danger and opportunity.

“The Gang Leader is very angry right now!”

“Both of you, as Deputy Hall Masters, should have remained in your halls to steady the people and stabilize morale. Instead, you came running to headquarters… The two of you, really…”

Elder Wan truly felt that these Gold Notes were burning hot in his hands.

Wu Sanlei and Jin Zhixian hurriedly explained:

“Wasn’t it because we were afraid the Gang Leader might airdrop someone into the position?”

“Exactly! That Yin Xingtian bastard had his Hall Master position stripped away at the start of the year, and ever since then he’s been like a starving wolf, ready to pounce on any hall he can get! If they assign him over there, what chance will we brothers ever have to rise again?”

“We beg Elder Wan to help us.”

“…”

Wan Xiwen did not belong to Yin Xingtian’s faction to begin with. Hearing that, he clenched his jaw and said,

“I’ll go and plead your case for you, but how things are actually arranged will still depend on the Gang Leader.”

“Many thanks, Elder Wan!”

The two of them personally escorted Wan Xiwen out of the west wing room.

“I hope this time we can be formally confirmed without trouble.”

“For this Hall Master position, I’ve already spent several thousand taels of gold, front to back.”

“Ugh.”

“Tell me about it.”

“My pockets are clean now too. Once I get ashore, things will be better.”

As the two spoke, they heard footsteps approaching from outside and quickly fell silent, turning to look.

A young man clad in full armor strode in from outside, his gait steady and vigorous, his eyes clear and bright, divine light glinting within them. When the two men looked his way, he also noticed the new neighbors in the courtyard.

Wangchuan had just finished cultivating for an entire morning.

Training in 《Star-Plucking Hand》 also required internal energy, and he had just used up most of his own. He had been preparing to log off, rest, and recover through cultivation, only to run into two unfamiliar faces.

Wangchuan halted and greeted them with cupped fists:

“Are you two here at headquarters to study and cultivate as well?”

“Indeed. Brother, you look very young, yet you’re already a fourth-rank martial artist. I wonder which hall you’re from.”

The two did not dare underestimate him and hurriedly returned the salute.

“Sanhe Commandery. Wangchuan.”

“……”

Wu Sanlei and Jin Zhixian both froze on the spot, staring at each other. The smiles on their faces stiffened at once.

Deputy Hall Master Wangchuan of Sanhe Commandery?

That fellow whose name had been repeated so many times their ears were practically calloused from hearing it?

He was the very example Elder Wan had just used to lecture them.

“So it’s Brother Wangchuan…”

“Heh heh.”

“Heitu Commandery, Wu Sanlei.”

“Shenyu Commandery, Jin Zhixian.”

The two of them had instantly lost all interest in chatting.

Wangchuan noticed their reaction. Though he found it odd, he gave it no further thought and said,

“I’ve been cultivating all morning and I’m soaked through. I’m going inside to wash up and change clothes. We’ll talk later, you two.”

“Of course!”

Once Wangchuan went inside, the two exchanged glances and left the west wing courtyard.

“Damn it.”

“How did this freak end up at headquarters too?”

“And he’s actually broken through to fourth rank.”

The moment they reached a deserted corner, both their expressions darkened, and their anxiety became plain.

“Exactly.”

“At first Yin Xingtian was our only rival. Now this Wangchuan has appeared too.”

“This brat stole all the spotlight at the martial tournament. Now the entire Caobang is talking about him, saying he’s the youngest and most talented Deputy Hall Master the Caobang has seen in years, and that he may very well become the youngest Hall Master to command a hall!”

“Damn it.”

“Our plan isn’t going to go wrong, is it?”

Both men looked miserable.

…

At the same time, Wan Xiwen had already reported the request of the two Deputy Hall Masters to compete for the Hall Master positions of Heitu Commandery and Shenyu Commandery to the Gang Leader, Luo Tiancong.

The latter flew into a rage the moment he heard it and exploded on the spot:

“These two pieces of trash!”

“The halls are unstable and the morale is shaky! As the two men in charge of manpower, instead of remaining in your halls to steady the people, they ran to headquarters! Lobbying for office?!”

“If our Jianghu gang starts relying on office-lobbying to rise, the same way those civil officials do, then what brother in the future will still dare risk his life in a fight?! Sanhe Commandery and Qinghe Commandery only just managed to win back some face from the Beggar Sect, and now these two pieces of trash have handed it right back to them. And on top of that, two more fools have appeared with no sense of the bigger picture at all!”

“And they want to be Hall Masters?!”

“They think they’re worthy?!”

Wan Xiwen waited until the Gang Leader had vented his fury, then sighed and tried to calm him down.

“Gang Leader, please calm your anger.”

“The Hall Masters of those two halls only wanted to press the advantage in one go and follow through on the momentum. Their starting intentions were good. It’s just that the Beggar Sect is powerful in those two places. Not only do they have fifth-rank experts stationed there, they even sent out a sixth-rank expert!”

“Wu Sanlei and Jin Zhixian rushed to headquarters overnight for reinforcements because they feared the hall brothers would lose heart completely. They want to sit in the Hall Master’s seat as soon as possible so they can rightfully restore morale.”

“The Hall Masters were killed, and those two halls are now sitting atop a volcano. The fact that the two of them still dare to step forward and face the danger head-on shows that they do have some ability and some awareness.”

Wan Xiwen was a skilled speaker.

He turned the dead into living, and the Gang Leader Luo Tiancong’s anger eased considerably. Then the Gang Leader shifted his tone and said,

“So Elder Wan, what you mean is that we should simply confirm them in the position? That if we do so, the crisis in Heitu Commandery and Shenyu Commandery may be eased, and the two commandery halls may be stabilized?”

“……”

Wan Xiwen hesitated.

That…

was hard to say.