Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World

Chapter 251: Chapter 146 Defeat and Turning Against Each Other_2

At this moment, Zhao Honglie didn’t even have the mind to issue a retreat order to his subordinates.

When the members of the Black Sand Gang saw their leader fleeing in disgrace, their expressions changed drastically, as if mourning the death of their parents. They frantically dropped their weapons and fled out of the city in a mad rush.

Their speed was much faster than when they had entered the city.

After the trio left, Ge Qing didn’t linger either and turned to leave.

With Ge Qing’s pills aiding his recovery, Liu Yuanhu’s injuries had stabilized. Just as he was about to thank Ge Qing, the man had already disappeared. Only Ge Qing’s serene voice lingered in the air.

”This old man merely prefers a bit of peace and quiet. Resume as usual in the days to come.”

After Ge Qing’s departure, Mo Chen hurried over to inquire about Liu Yuanhu’s condition.

”Brother Liu, how are you? Is the situation serious?”

As he spoke, his gaze wandered vaguely toward a certain area between Liu Yuanhu’s legs.

Liu Yuanhu shook his head and said, ”With Master Ge’s pills assisting me, my life is no longer in danger.” Looking down at the now-stopped bleeding in his crotch, he chuckled, ”At my age, whether it’s there or not doesn’t matter much. No harm done.”

”Although the bleeding has stopped, the aftereffects of the Blood Burning Pill remain. Cleaning up the aftermath of today’s mess will have to trouble you greatly, elder brother.”

As he said this, he cast a sly glance at the aristocratic families, led by the Zhao family, who had not fled with the Black Sand Gang.

”These fence-sitters will have to trouble you to handle for me. In a few days, when my appointment letter arrives, I’ll also need you to marshal your forces to help me eliminate the remaining bandits!”

Although the two were friends, Liu Yuanhu knew all too well that for people like them, friendships without mutual benefits would not last long — especially when he had to rely on someone else to clean up the aftermath this time.

Those aristocrats had plenty of wealth on them, and Liu Yuanhu clearly planned to use them as a reward for Mo Chen.

Mo Chen didn’t decline and agreed to everything one by one.

After leaving Canghe County, Zhao Honglie and the other two did not leave together. Zhao Honglie rushed back to the Black Sand Gang’s base alone, while Qian Jin and Bai Yuqi headed toward Red Cloud Prefecture.

More than ten miles outside of Canghe County, Bai Yuqi and Qian Jin finally dared to stop and rest.

The two sat on a small dirt mound, their expressions grim, and remained silent.

After a long time, Bai Yuqi raised an eyebrow, extended his hand toward Qian Jin, and said, ”Where’s the money you promised me?”

Qian Jin had promised Bai Yuqi a reward of one hundred thousand taels of silver to coax him into coming.

Now that the operation had failed, and Bai Yuqi had even lost a hand, he was clearly unwilling to suffer the loss for nothing.

Qian Jin glanced at Bai Yuqi, his face showing hesitation.

If the two were to fight each other with all their might, their strength would be evenly matched. But now that Bai Yuqi was injured by Ge Qing and no longer at full strength, Qian Jin’s chances of victory were much higher in a life-or-death struggle.

What troubled Qian Jin now was that Bai Yuqi himself wasn’t much of a threat, but his old flame was a formidable figure. Not only was she an elder of the Mad Saber Sect, but she was also a Silver Bone Realm expert. If he killed Bai Yuqi over a hundred thousand taels and the matter was exposed later, it would be hard to clean up the mess.

Qian Jin pressed Bai Yuqi’s hand down and showed a regretful expression on his face. ”Where would I have the money? Zhao Honglie only gave me empty promises! Who would have thought our good plans would be ruined by an old man?”

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuqi immediately showed an angry expression. He put his bloodied hand, pierced by Ge Qing, in front of Qian Jin’s face and demanded angrily, ”So you’re saying I got injured for nothing? That feather fan was a keepsake from Yilian to me! Not only was it expensive, but it also had great sentimental value! If she finds out you tricked me into breaking it, you won’t escape her wrath either!”

Hearing this, Qian Jin inwardly cursed Bai Yuqi for being shameless.

Qian Jin had known Bai Yuqi for years, and that fan was something Bai Yuqi had spent a fortune to buy. Its monetary value was true, but calling it a ”keepsake” was complete nonsense. Bai Yuqi was only saying this to invoke his old flame, Long Yilian, the elder of the Mad Saber Sect, to put pressure on Qian Jin.

Long Yilian was indeed powerful, and the Mad Saber Sect she belonged to was no weaker than the Fire Worship Sect’s branch in Red Cloud Prefecture. Qian Jin couldn’t afford to jeopardize the sect’s major operations over this.

But there was no way he would cough up his own money either. After some thought, he decided that sacrificing Zhao Honglie was a better option.

Lowering his voice, Qian Jin spoke to Bai Yuqi, ”Mr. Bai, the Black Sand Gang has occupied Canghe Prefecture for years. They must have amassed a fortune. Now that Zhao Honglie has lost his power, most of his men have probably scattered. Why don’t we take this opportunity to retrieve what’s rightfully ours?”

Bai Yuqi pondered this for a moment and then broke into a grin. ”That’s how it should be! Lead the way!”

At this time, the Black Sand Gang’s base had fallen into chaos.

First, the aristocratic families had entirely separated themselves from the gang and stayed behind in the city. On the way back, some gang members, seeing that the situation was hopeless, fled with their trusted subordinates first.

The ones who had returned to the base were now frantically gathering valuables to take with them, dividing the gang’s assets, and even brawling over them in some cases.

Zhao Honglie no longer had the mental energy to deal with these matters.

Having lost the day’s battle, the Black Sand Gang had no footing left in Canghe County. Zhao Honglie was busy packing his belongings in preparation to flee.

Having risen to power from nothing, Zhao Honglie had always known to leave himself a way out.

He rummaged through a secret room, not sparing a glance at the cultivation techniques or martial arts manuals, but pulling open drawers and cabinets until he retrieved a small cloth bag.

When he opened the bag, Zhao Honglie’s expression visibly relaxed. Inside were stacks of silver notes, each with a face value of one thousand taels!

Judging by the thickness, there were at least thirty or forty notes.

This was the ”private stash” Zhao Honglie had saved over the years!

With these hundreds of thousands of taels, even if he failed to join the Fire Worship Sect, he could still start over in another Canghe County-like region during these turbulent times.

Stuffing the bag into his clothes, Zhao Honglie left the secret room and prepared to escape.

”Boss Zhao, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?”

Hearing Qian Jin’s voice, Zhao Honglie’s expression changed, and he stopped in his tracks. Turning around, he saw Qian Jin and Bai Yuqi, and his expression froze briefly.

”Lord Qian, Lord Bai, where have you two been? I’ve been looking for you all day.”

Bai Yuqi smiled grimly, ”Boss Zhao, have you forgotten something? I paid quite a price for your plans, but I haven’t seen a single coin of the reward you promised me!”

Realizing what they were after, Zhao Honglie knew these two were here for money.

Zhao Honglie understood that these two were like insatiable wolves. Given the current circumstances, he no longer held much value to the Fire Worship Sect. Qian Jin certainly wouldn’t help him anymore. If he didn’t hand over all the money he had, his end wouldn’t be pretty.

But if he gave up all the money, his future would be bleak, and he had no desire to do that either.

”Lord Qian, I spent years preparing for this. The gang’s assets were long exhausted. I’ve already given you plenty before. Now that the plan has failed, I have no extra money to give you! How about you share some of what I gave you previously with Lord Bai?”

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuqi immediately gave Qian Jin a suspicious look.

Previously, Qian Jin had told Bai Yuqi that all of Zhao Honglie’s promises were empty, and he had never delivered a single coin!

Seeing Bai Yuqi’s expression, Qian Jin inwardly panicked and shouted, ”Nonsense! When have you ever given me money?”

Then, turning to Bai Yuqi with an honest look, he said, ”Mr. Bai, don’t listen to his nonsense! He’s trying to drive a wedge between us! Look at him; he’s clearly ready to flee. I don’t believe he wouldn’t have left himself a way out after all these years! Let’s stop wasting words and just take him down — then we’ll slowly search him!”

Hearing this, Zhao Honglie felt a sinking feeling in his heart. Instinctively, he grabbed a saber lying beside him.

”Lord Qian, we’ve worked together for years. Must you really be so heartless as to drive me into a corner?”

Qian Jin, not wanting Zhao Honglie to speak further, launched an attack without hesitation.

”Enough with the nonsense! If you don’t want us to kill you, hand over the money now!”