83: Chapter 83 A Marriage Certificate

The great hall fell silent for an instant.

Then, it exploded.

"What?!" Elder Zhao stood up abruptly. "The Black Tiger Gang? The Dragon Trading House belongs to the Black Tiger Gang?!"

"Where would they get the ability to do that?" Elder Sun's expression also changed. "I've heard people estimate the trading house's cash flow; it's at least... every month."

"A monthly net income of no less than eighty thousand taels of silver," Sect Master Shen Heming said calmly, taking over the conversation.

Eighty thousand taels.

This number was like a basin of cold water poured over everyone's heads.

You have to understand, the Qingqi Sect's total annual income is barely over a million taels. A subordinate Gang under our jurisdiction can bring in eighty thousand taels a month from just one trading house? That's nearly a million a year?

This is no longer a question of "raising a dog."

This is a dog wanting to bite the hand that feeds it.

"That's not all," Sect Master Shen Heming continued unhurriedly. "My people have discovered that the Black Tiger Gang has secretly recruited over three thousand men in the past year. An elite force of over a thousand is stationed in Qingsong Valley, thirty miles outside the city. They have iron armor, repeating crossbows, spears, and warhorses, all fully equipped. Furthermore..."

He paused, his gaze sharpening slightly.

"Their tribute is still three thousand taels a year. They haven't reported a single word about their troop numbers or the trading house's income."

The great hall completely erupted.

"Insolence!" Elder Wang slammed his fist onto the armrest. "What does Wei Feisen think he is! He eats the food of our Qingqi Sect, takes our territory, and then turns around and raises a private army behind our backs! He wants to defy the heavens!"

"A dog! An ungrateful wretch!"

"That's right! Who does Wei Feisen think he is? If the old Sect Head hadn't supported him back then, could he have secured the top position in the Dongzhou underground forces? Now that his wings have hardened, not only does he refuse to pay the trading house's profits as tribute, but he also dares to harbor private weapons and armor. He is simply courting death!"

"Sect Head, this cannot be tolerated! We must make an example of him!"

Sect Master Shen Heming raised his hand.

The great hall gradually quieted down.

The corners of his mouth curled into a meaningful arc.

"When I first received the secret report from the Dark Hall, I had the same reaction as all of you," Sect Master Shen Heming said with a faint smile, though there was no warmth in his eyes. "But on second thought, this might just be a great Opportunity for our Qingqi Sect."

Everyone was stunned.

"You must have all used the 'soap' and 'refined salt' from the Dragon Trading House. It's no exaggeration to say they make a fortune every day," Sect Master Shen Heming said, his gaze deep. "The Dark Hall has tried everything, but we haven't been able to obtain the specific formulas for those two items. That woman, Lin Shuangwan, has kept the secrets to the extreme. The craftsmen don't communicate with each other, and the core processes are all in her mind alone."

"Sect Head, you mean..." The Law Enforcement Elder frowned slightly.

He paused, then continued: "The Black Tiger Gang is numerous and powerful. If we kill them all, it would make our Qingqi Sect seem too tyrannical, and it would cut off this source of wealth. If we could uproot this money tree and plant it on our Tianquan Mountain, with this kind of endless financial support, why should our Qingqi Sect worry about not unifying Dongzhou, or even aiming for the Central Plains?"

"My mind is made up. Tomorrow, I will send someone to the Black Tiger Gang to deliver a marriage proposal," Sect Master Shen Heming said, looking at the young man on his left. "Let that Black Tiger Gang Deputy Gang Leader, Lin Shuangwan, marry my son Beichen. As for the Dragon Trading House and the weapons and armor privately hoarded by the Black Tiger Gang, those will be her dowry!"

Once these words were spoken, the great hall fell into a brief silence again, and then everyone's expressions varied.

Shen Beichen stood to the side, his body trembling imperceptibly, his eyes instantly erupting with unconcealable excitement and fanaticism.

In his mind, he involuntarily recalled the scene from half a month ago at the Dongzhou Trading House Alliance banquet.

That day, Lin Shuangwan was wearing a simple, elegant long dress, without any makeup, yet she was like the bright moon in the sky, instantly overshadowing all the jewelry and finery in the hall. She was just sitting there, sipping from her teacup, and that cold, noble, unique temperament that seemed to be able to contain everything yet was unattainable, made him stop breathing.

Shen Beichen considered himself to have seen countless women, but after that day, those mediocre, vulgar women could no longer catch his eye. He dreamed of pressing that high-and-mighty woman under him, tearing apart her coldness, and making her bloom only for him.

"Thank you, Father, for making this happen!" Shen Beichen suppressed the trembling in his voice, stepped forward, and bowed deeply.

"Pfft—"

An extremely discordant sneer came from the right side.

Shen Yushuang crossed her arms, her chin slightly raised, her face full of disdain. "Brother, you look so disgusting, like you've never seen a woman before. A woman who hangs around in a Gang of mud-legged peasants, who knows how many men have touched her? Is she worthy of entering our Shen family's door?"

"Yushuang, shut up." Shen Beichen's face darkened. "What do you know? She is not only stunningly beautiful but also a treasure trove. With her, our Qingqi Sect will be like a tiger with wings!"

"That's enough." Sect Master Shen Heming interrupted the siblings' argument and scanned the room below. "What do you all think?"

The Elder in charge of imparting skills stroked his beard and hesitated. "Sect Head's plan is excellent; it can capture the trading house without shedding blood. It's just... it is rumored that Lin Shuangwan has a very close relationship with Wei Feisen. Wei Feisen is a perverse character, like a mad dog. Will he agree to this marriage?"

"Agree?" Sect Master Shen Heming laughed heartily as if he had heard a joke.

The laughter stopped abruptly, and Sect Master Shen Heming's face turned cold. The pressure of a Great Grandmaster in the Late Stage poured down like a mountain, causing the Elders in the front row to choke on their breath.

"Do they have a choice?"

Sect Master Shen Heming said each word distinctly, his voice echoing in the great hall, revealing absolute dominance. "Notify Wei Feisen that our Qingqi Sect is only giving them three days. Three days later, either we see the bridal sedan chair coming up the mountain, or our Qingqi Sect's experts will trample his Black Tiger Gang headquarters to the ground!"

"Let the world see clearly that our Qingqi Sect's dogs must do their jobs as dogs. If they have other ideas, then they don't need to be alive anymore!"

The Elders looked at each other, stood up in unison, bowed with cupped fists, and said in a voice like a booming bell: "Sect Head is wise!"

...

One day later.

Dongzhou City, Black Tiger Gang headquarters.

Inside the council hall, the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like it could drip water.

"Bang!"

The fine golden nanmu table was smashed into powder with a single palm strike. A violent, dark red Protective Aura raged in the hall, blowing the armchairs on both sides askew.

"Sect Master Shen Heming... you old bastard! You are courting death!!"

Wei Feisen's eyes were bloodshot, like an enraged beast. He stared fixedly at the marriage proposal with red background and gold lettering in his hand, the veins on his forehead bulging, and his teeth gnashing and clattering.

The marriage proposal was written in high-sounding terms, talking about "fated good marriage" and "Alliance through marriage," but the signature was from the Qingqi Sect's True Disciple Shen Beichen seeking to marry the Black Tiger Gang's Deputy Gang Leader Lin Shuangwan. In the attached gift list, not only was there no bride price, but it instead clearly listed demands: a full handover of the Dragon Trading House, the disbandment and merger of the caravan guard battalion into the Qingqi Sect, and the surrender of all iron armor and repeating crossbows.

"Riiip—"