Chapter 448: Spring Begins, The Ceremony

“Boss.”

“The convoy has successfully reached the final dock and unloaded its cargo. The spring departure mission has been completed without incident.”

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window in the Warring States Building, Su Wan reported the latest news to her new boss, Su Wangchuan:

“We’ve already sold off all of our holdings in the Capital. I’ve met up with Captain Bai with Yan Xiaobei and Madam Yan, and we can set out south at first light tomorrow and return to Sanhe Commandery.”

This spring departure just happened to be the perfect chance to bring Yan Tiannan’s family back to Sanhe Commandery.

Su Wangchuan’s eyesight was now extremely sharp. Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, he could make out Su Wan’s office in the Warring States Building, as well as her blurred figure.

He nodded and said,

“With Captain Bai looking after you on the road, I’m at ease. Once you arrive here, you can completely cut ties with all business in the Capital and focus on managing the affairs in Sanhe Commandery.”

“Yes!”

Su Wan hesitated slightly before continuing:

“I heard that you killed a Beggar Sect Inner Elder. Boss, have you already broken through to the Fifth Rank?”

“Mm.”

Su Wangchuan nodded.

“Once the Beggar Sect’s challenge was over, I no longer had any reason to hold back, so I broke through to the Fifth Rank naturally. Why? Is there some significance when a player breaks through to the Fifth Rank?”

He knew Su Wan never spoke without reason.

And sure enough—

Su Wan explained:

“Almost all of the third-tier players with clearance have already broken through to the Fifth Rank. I remember that at the time, the Center required everyone to enter the Capital... If you haven’t received any notice at all, then times may have changed. The people above may simply think there’s already enough manpower in the Capital.”

...

A thoughtful look entered Su Wangchuan’s eyes.

All players above the Fifth Rank were in the Capital?

So that was how it was.

“Of course, it’s also possible that they know your identity means you can’t leave Sanhe Commandery, so perhaps they made an exception for you,” Su Wan added.

Su Wangchuan gave a quiet grunt.

“I understand. Any other news?”

Su Wan shook her head.

“If there’s any new information, I’ll report it right away, or pass it on through Li Na.”

“Good.”

Su Wangchuan returned to spirit realm.

The failure of the Beggar Sect’s operation had already triggered a chain reaction throughout Jianghu.

The news that the Beggar Sect elder Zhuang Xuyan had led four Outer Elders to disaster at the Sanhe Commandery Hall had already spread completely, forcing all the great families and local factions in Sanhe Commandery to reassess the true strength and foundation of the hall.

Many who had previously been speculating and waiting to see whether the Beggar Sect would continue to suppress the Sanhe Commandery Hall’s shipping operations suddenly regained confidence, and orders began pouring toward the four branch helms like a flood.

Even the Ouyang Family and the Dongfang Family sent people over with congratulations and fresh orders, stating their intention to deepen cooperation.

After all, the Sanhe Commandery Hall had successfully secured the spring departure while also wiping out the Beggar Sect strike force that had stormed the hall.

And more importantly—

a Hall Master with fifth-rank strength was more than enough to hold Sanhe Commandery firmly and choke off any thoughts the Beggar Sect still had of infiltrating it.

Many factions even began to suspect that Caobang headquarters might have stationed additional fifth-rank elders in the Sanhe Commandery Hall.

The authorities were naturally standing on the Caobang’s side. The Prefect had already branded Zhuang Xuyan, Elder Lin, and the rest of that group as rebels. Not only was he pursuing accountability against the Beggar Sect, he had also sent orders to places such as Qinghe Commandery to arrest the nine men’s immediate family members and throw them all into prison for interrogation.

On top of that—

in Qinghe Commandery, the Lu Family joined forces with the Caobang hall and openly smashed the Beggar Sect sub-branch, killing more than a hundred people and arresting more than three hundred.

The Beggar Sect’s holdings throughout Qinghe Commandery and its various counties suffered a crushing blow.

Arrests!

Closures!

Investigations!

Under that barrage of measures, the Beggar Sect’s disciples were thrown into utter panic.

Aside from the old, the weak, and the crippled, any man or woman with healthy limbs was taken away.

The head of the Lu Family had truly not let Su Wangchuan down. With three days and three nights of thunderous action, he had beaten the Beggar Sect’s forces so hard they no longer dared show themselves, like rats scurrying through the streets.

Caobang headquarters received the battle report from Sanhe Commandery and sent back a delighted reply.

In his letter, Gang Leader Luo Tiancong lavishly praised Su Wangchuan and stated that he had already arranged for Elder Wan Xiwen to personally bring the rewards south.

Elder Wan Xiwen joined the Sanhe Commandery convoy and arrived at the commandery together with Zhao Heiniu, Bai Jingtang, and the others.

On that very day, Su Wangchuan’s 《Three-Yin Qi-Circulation Art》 had already reached 296/300. He needed only one final day of hard cultivation to break through.

When he heard that the spring departure convoy had returned safely, Su Wangchuan personally led a group to the Main Helm Pier to welcome the returning force.

The result was that the very first person he saw standing on the deck in full imposing splendor was Elder Wan Xiwen.

“Elder Wan!”

“Hahahaha...” Wan Xiwen spotted him in the crowd at once as well. When he saw the young Hall Master with such commanding presence, his eyes narrowed slightly in astonishment before he burst into loud laughter.

“Hall Master Wangchuan really has broken through to the Fifth Rank!”

“What a joyous occasion!”

“Hahahaha...”

“You are now not only the youngest Hall Master in command in all of Caobang, but also the youngest fifth-rank martial artist in all of Caobang! Your future is limitless! Absolutely limitless!”

Wan Xiwen came down from the ship in an approachable tone.

Su Wangchuan smiled and cupped his fists.

“If I had known Elder Wan was personally coming south, this junior should have gone to the river boundary to receive you in person. Please forgive this discourtesy, Elder.”

“With the relationship between the two of us, saying such things makes you sound like a stranger.”

Wan Xiwen looked Su Wangchuan up and down, and the shock in his eyes was impossible to hide.

After all, when he had taken Su Wangchuan to the Capital last year, the young man had only been at the Third Rank. When he took office as Hall Master of Sanhe Commandery, he had only just advanced to the Fourth Rank...

For a young man to break through this quickly gave him the sharp feeling that the waves of the Yangtze were driving the old ones ahead of them, and that he himself was about to die on the shore.

At that moment, Zhao Heiniu, Lin Jiahe, and the others came down from the ship, stood in neat formation, and cupped their fists.

“Hall Master!”

“This subordinate and the others have not failed your expectations. We have returned safely!”

“The spring departure proceeded without a hitch!”

Their voices rang out in perfect unison, loud enough to shake the entire Main Helm Pier.

Everyone in the convoy looked toward the Hall Master with burning, expectant eyes.

Su Wangchuan turned to Wan Xiwen and said,

“Elder, since the timing is so perfect, why not have you preside over the final ceremony for this year’s spring departure of my Sanhe Commandery Hall?”

Wan Xiwen shook his head with a laugh.

“No.”

“If I remember correctly, this is the first spring ceremony Hall Master Wangchuan has personally overseen since taking office. I won’t steal your thunder.”

Then he added with an approving smile:

“Once you finish your side of the formalities, I can represent headquarters and add the final flourish by announcing headquarters’ and the Gang Leader’s rewards for your hall.”

Wan Xiwen was tactful.

Su Wangchuan nodded in understanding, then stepped forward openly and without hesitation.

A tap of his foot sent him soaring seven or eight meters into the air, and he landed atop the tallest ship.

The Caobang disciples immediately cupped their fists and dropped to one knee.

On the pier, the more than one thousand dock laborers responsible for unloading cargo all followed suit and knelt on one knee as well.

Every year’s spring departure represented the omen for the year’s shipping business. It was of the utmost importance.

Standing on the prow deck, Su Wangchuan looked down over the dense mass of people covering the dock plaza, gathered his qi into his dantian, and declared in a loud voice:

“This year’s spring departure of the Sanhe Commandery Hall has earned a total of five thousand taels of gold! The ceremony has been successfully completed!”

“I hereby announce!”

“For every dock brother who participated in the spring departure mission, each will receive two taels of silver.”

“For every disciple of the Caobang branch helms, there will be a reward of five taels of silver! For every person who participated in the escort mission, there will be a reward of twenty taels of silver! And for Deputy Hall Master Zhao Heiniu, who personally led the escort, there will be a reward of ten taels of gold!”

The amount of the ceremonial rewards was not what mattered.

What mattered was that this time, the rewards covered every single participant of the Sanhe Commandery Hall.

The moment his words fell, everyone on the dock erupted into excited cheers:

“Sanhe Commandery’s spring departure was a success!”

“May this year’s hall sail smoothly all year long!”

“Thank you, Hall Master!”

Firecrackers were lit.

The dock plaza became even livelier at once, and the festive excitement rapidly spread across the entire prefectural city.