19: Annexation

Xu Sanyan arrived at the Yelang Society's stronghold in the west of the city. A large group of saber-wielding Martial Artists were cleaning up the corpses scattered everywhere. Song Qian sat in the main hall, with a head placed on the table beside him—it was the Yelang Society's Gang Leader.

“The Deputy Gang Leader has arrived.”

“Greetings, Deputy Gang Leader.”

The surrounding Gang members bowed one after another, a hint of admiration in their eyes. This was what a Gang Leader should do, unlike Song Qian, who seemed to care about nothing all day, leaving his subordinates barely able to afford food.

After this battle, the Guanshan Saber Society was fully established in Taian City. From now on, they also had their own business.

Xu Sanyan nodded in response to everyone.

During the day, Xu Sanyan had already discussed with Song Qian that he would be the one to destroy the Yelang Society, while Xu Sanyan would handle the rest, providing the Gang with five thousand taels of silver each month thereafter.

Xu Sanyan didn't know how much profit selling smuggled salt could generate, but he figured five thousand taels would be more than enough.

Song Qian agreed; he knew even less about how much profit selling smuggled salt could generate in a month. Five thousand taels was a considerable sum, enough to maintain the Gang's daily operations and even expand into other ventures.

“Is it settled?” Song Qian stood up and asked.

“Yes, thank you, Gang Leader.” Xu Sanyan glanced at the head with wide, unseeing eyes.

Song Qian's face was brimming with an unconcealed smile as he patted Xu Sanyan's shoulder. “Hehe, good, well done. I'll send more brothers to help you.”

“Okay.” Xu Sanyan didn't refuse. He then turned and asked, “Why haven't I seen Deputy Gang Leader Song?”

Deputy Gang Leader Song was another Gang Leader of the Guanshan Saber Society. From her name, she seemed to have some relation to Song Qian, but Xu Sanyan had not yet met her.

“Oh, she has other important matters and won't be back for a while.” Song Qian didn't elaborate.

Xu Sanyan nodded and didn't ask further. “The Yelang Society should have many treasures. I only want the precious medicinal herbs; the rest can go to the Gang. How about that?”

Song Qian didn't hesitate in the slightest. “No problem. You are the great contributor to this matter, so it should be so.”

The two came to the Yelang Society's treasury, where boxes of silver were piled together, along with many jade artifacts and calligraphy scrolls.

Song Qian's heart pounded uncontrollably. With these things, the Guanshan Saber Society's strength could rise another level.

Xu Sanyan had no interest in those items. He directly picked up two wooden boxes from the counter, opened them, and found two precious medicinal herbs.

Tucking them into his embrace, he turned to Song Qian and said, “I'll head back first, junior brother. Tomorrow, I still need to discuss the specific details with Lord Zhao. The rest will be troubling for you, Gang Leader.”

Song Qian's face was full of smiles. “Good, virtuous brother, rest well.”

Xu Sanyan nodded, then turned and left.

Returning home, he swallowed the two precious medicinal herbs, and his Qi once again reached two points.

“Fourth Master, you're back?” Outside the door, the Chieftain's Wife's voice rang out.

Xu Sanyan opened his eyes. “Yes, is something wrong?”

“This concubine has found a precious medicinal herb for you.”

Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow, recalling that she had said she would help him buy one last time. He hadn't expected her to actually succeed.

“Come in.”

Creak—

The door pushed open, and the Chieftain's Wife's voluptuous figure swayed. She wore a tight-fitting corset that highlighted her proud figure, red-patterned short boots on her feet, and a light application of rouge on her face, giving her a shy appearance.

Although she was in her thirties, her face was still beautiful, and most importantly, her figure was excellent.

“Fourth Master, for you.” The Chieftain's Wife handed over a wooden box.

Xu Sanyan opened it and saw that it was indeed a precious medicinal herb.

“Hehe, Madam, you are so thoughtful. How should I reward you?”

The Chieftain's Wife whispered softly, “What do you think…?”

…

The next morning.

Xu Sanyan sat in a chair, drinking tea. Wang Laizi ran in. “Gang Leader, did you call me?”

“Yes, I plan to hand over Lord Zhao's business to you to manage. Any problems?” Xu Sanyan took a small sip of tea.

“Ah? Me?”

Wang Laizi was stunned for a moment, then reacted, his heart pounding wildly, unable to believe that such immense fortune could fall to him.

Xu Sanyan raised his eyelids. “Problem?”

“No, no problem! This lowly one will definitely do it well for you, without the slightest mistake.” Wang Laizi quickly patted his chest in assurance.

“Good, go find Lord Zhao. He will arrange someone to liaise with you.”

“Yes.” Wang Laizi suppressed his inner excitement and turned to leave.

Xu Sanyan thought for a moment, then said to Big Yellow Tooth, who was nearby, “You go with him too.”

“Alright, Fourth Master.”

Big Yellow Tooth naturally knew what he was going there for: Fourth Master didn't trust Wang Laizi and was sending him to keep an eye on things.

Xu Sanyan rotated the teacup in his hand, planning his next move. Eliminating the Yelang Society was only the first step. He needed to let Song Qian taste the sweetness and establish his prestige within the Gang before proceeding to the next step.

Next, he planned to act against Wangyue Tower, but it would require a bit of effort.

The Yelang Society and Zhao Zhongyang only had a cooperative relationship. As long as the business didn't suffer, Zhao Zhongyang wouldn't care if a different partner took over.

But Wangyue Tower was different. It was the private property of a certain important figure. Touching it would be tantamount to openly declaring war on the person behind it.

Xu Sanyan was not afraid. As far as he knew, the person behind Wangyue Tower was the Secretary, a ninth-rank official, the lowest tier in the bureaucratic system.

However, his power was not small; in Taian City, he was considered the third in command, managing the city's accounts, assisting the county magistrate in his duties, and also concurrently handling some patrol matters.

The reason he chose to act against him was because he had no military force.

The officials in Taian City, except for the County Lieutenant, were all civil officials. Their own cultivation was limited, and they had no soldiers under their command. As long as the County Lieutenant was properly dealt with, there would be no problems.

In contrast, the White Horse Gang had Gang Leader Bai, who was about to enter the Tianren Realm, and the Ginseng Society also had several Inner Qi Realm Martial Artists. If they were truly pushed to their limits, Xu Sanyan might not be able to stop them.

After much thought, only Wangyue Tower was the most suitable target.

As for him stopping, that was absolutely impossible. Xu Sanyan needed precious medicinal herbs and even more, he needed to improve his cultivation.

If he had Foundation Establishment cultivation at this moment, he would be able to refine the Blood Demon hidden in Dafeng Town, and everything would be much simpler. Alas…

In the afternoon,

Xu Sanyan walked towards the west of the city. The former Yelang Society stronghold had now become a branch of the Guanshan Saber Society, with many burly men crowded inside, making noise.

As Xu Sanyan stepped through the main gate, the courtyard immediately fell silent. Everyone cupped their hands and greeted him,

“Deputy Gang Leader!”

“Greetings, Deputy Gang Leader.”

…

Xu Sanyan nodded, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. He saw the bearded man from before among them, and pointed at him. “What's your name?”

“This subordinate is Wang Gang.” The bearded man stepped forward.

Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow. Such a familiar name, he seemed to have heard it somewhere…

“You come with me.”

Wang Gang cupped his fist. “Yes.”

The two walked down the street. Xu Sanyan said, “Take me to the County Lieutenant's mansion.”

“Yes.”

Wang Gang didn't ask further, simply walked ahead to lead the way.

The County Lieutenant was the second-in-command of Taian City, in charge of the city's soldiers and constables. His power was second only to the county magistrate, but the two were not subordinate to each other; it was just that the county magistrate's rank was half a level higher than his.

The imperial court would not allow one person to manage both civilian affairs and military administration.

Arriving at the County Lieutenant's mansion, Wang Gang stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a moment, a voice called out from inside,

“Who is it?”

Xu Sanyan calmly said, “Guanshan Saber Society, Xu Sanyan. I'm here to discuss some business with Lord Zhu.”