49: Chapter 49 The Human Body (Part Two)

Canglang Water Dock, Core Courtyard.

Inside the main hall, an emergency meeting had just concluded.

Led by Dock Master, several high-ranking members of the Water Dock, managers from various docks, and guard captains filed out. Each of them wore a solemn expression and walked with hurried steps, still carrying the lingering scent of blood and the dampness of the river.

Less than an hour after Jiang Hanzhou had departed under the moonlight last night, Dock Master had acted decisively. He gathered all the elite forces of the Water Dock and set out overnight under the pretext of 'assisting the Patrol Inspection Division in maintaining order and preventing riots.' In reality, it was a lightning strike to wipe out the White Dragon Gang's vital strongholds, warehouses, gambling dens, and brothels in Flying Fish City and the surrounding docks, taking them all over.

The leaderless and decimated remnants of the White Dragon Gang were utterly incapable of resistance; they either surrendered or fled. Overnight, the colossus that had dominated the Three Rivers Estuary for twenty years collapsed. The massive power vacuum and rich legacy it left behind were swiftly carved up by various factions, led by Canglang Water Dock.

This meeting was held to distribute the spoils of war, reassure the people, and deploy follow-up plans.

Once everyone had dispersed, Dock Master walked alone to the pavilion in the courtyard and dismissed his attendants.

The morning light was faint, and dewdrops hung from the withered leaves of the lotus pond beside the pavilion; the garden was silent.

He stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at his own reflection in the pond. However, his mind uncontrollably flashed back to the earth-shattering scenes in the middle of the river last night.

Dragons Roar and Tigers Howl, clearing the three ships.

Fists suppressing the Dragon Elephant, blood staining the great river.

Especially at the end, that wild figure treading the waves and singing loudly, tossing the corpse onto the shore, and that sky-piercing, rock-shattering roar—

“My heart clears three thousand miles of turbid waves; where there are krakens, I shall slay the krakens!”

Every word was like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely against his heart.

At that time on the shore, what he felt was boundless shock and fear.

Now, calming his mind and savoring the memory, beneath that shock and fear, a sliver of yearning—one that even he found startling—had quietly sprouted.

What joy that was! What a song!

In a Martial Artist's life, what is the use of cultivation?

Is it not for the sake of one day being able to act exactly like that—using absolute power to crush all monsters and demons, to sever all shackles and constraints, and to act according to one's own heart with utter satisfaction?

Dock Master slowly clenched his fists, then slowly released them.

He was not Jiang Hanzhou, after all.

He was the Master of Canglang Water Dock, the leader upon whom hundreds of people depended, and the head of a faction in these complex waters of the Three Rivers Estuary who needed to weigh pros and cons and calculate gains and losses.

He could not afford to be so reckless.

But...

“Someone, come here,” Dock Master suddenly spoke.

A trusted guard appeared silently outside the pavilion: “Dock Master.”

“Over at the Medicinal Cuisine Hall, Jiang Hanzhou's former residence,” Dock Master paused, his tone calm but brook no argument, “keep it as it is. Clean it daily, and do not allow anyone to occupy or move anything. All expenses shall be drawn from the dock's funds as usual.”

A flash of surprise crossed the guard's eyes, but he immediately bowed: “Yes.”

Dock Master waved his hand, and the guard withdrew.

He looked back at the pond, his gaze distant.

Preserving the residence of someone who might never return seemed meaningless.

But this was the most subtle way Dock Master could express his respect and stance toward that 'fellow dock member' who had changed the landscape of the Three Rivers Estuary overnight.

It was also... a glimmer of hope left for the future.

What if?

What if that true Dragon, who had already revealed its scales and claws, grew tired of roaming the four seas one day and still remembered this small Water Dock as the place where he once lay low and underwent his transformation?

...

The setting sun dyed the ancient walls of Flying Fish City a warm orange-red.

At the west gate, the flow of people entering and leaving was sparse.

A figure wearing a wide bamboo hat, dressed in grey martial attire and disguised as an ordinary Jianghu man, led a Yellow-Maned Horse. Along with the last few commoners leaving the city, they slowly walked out of the city gate.

She reined in the horse outside the city gate, turned around, and looked up.

Her gaze beneath the bamboo hat was clear and calm. It passed over the bustling crowd and landed on the weathered 'Flying Fish City' plaque above the city gate.

The sunlight gilded the stone plaque with gold, and the three large characters were written with powerful, vigorous strokes.

Shen Hongxiu watched quietly for a moment.

She thought of the years of lurking, investigating, and struggling in this city. She thought of the bloody evidence gathered in the darkness, the glimmer of light seen in times of despair, and the earth-shaking bloodbath in the middle of the river last night that had overturned everything.

Even more, she thought of that youth in the dim basement who had come in disguise and calmly said, 'Let's just wipe them all out.'

No, perhaps he should no longer be called a youth.

Jiang Hanzhou.

From last night onward, this name was destined to be accompanied by legend and bloodshed, echoing throughout the Three Rivers.

The White Dragon Gang was gone, Bai Tianxiao had been executed, and the debt of her brother being sold had been partially repaid.

Her mission had come to a temporary close.

But her path still had to continue.

Shen Hongxiu took one last look at Flying Fish City. There was no lingering attachment in her eyes, only the relief of a burden lifted and the determination of looking toward the road ahead.

She mounted the horse with clean and agile movements.

“Hyah!”

The Yellow-Maned Horse neighed, raised its front hooves, and then galloped off along the official road toward the western horizon, which was dyed golden-red by the setting sun.

The horse's hooves kicked up light dust, and her figure gradually elongated in the evening glow before finally merging into the twilight of the distant mountains and vanishing.

Only the sunset clouds remained like blood. The river breeze carried the chants of the distant docks, mixed with the endless chatter from within the city about last night's battle and that name.

Flying Fish City remained as boisterous as ever.

The waters of the Three Rivers Estuary continued to flow eastward.

But this Jianghu was no longer the Jianghu of yesterday.

And the person who had changed it all...

Where was he now?