Daqian Martial Saint

When Chen Ping’an finished speaking, the entire private room fell deathly silent.

Everyone was dumbstruck.

The Chu Family, the Song Family, the He Family, the Iron Fist Gang, the Crocodile Gang... the representatives from all these factions were stunned by Chen Ping’an’s sudden reaction.

This was especially true for the few standing near Uncle Gu. One moment, Chen Ping’an had been amiable and all smiles; the next, he’d erupted. In a flash, his hand rose, his blade fell, and a head toppled to the ground.

Protector of the Quicksand Gang, Uncle Gu, was dead!

Cheng Renjing and his men were also stunned.

Looking at the man who had been so arrogant just moments ago, now a headless corpse, it all felt surreal.

”Elder Chu, why so quiet?” Chen Ping’an asked, holding his saber as blood dripped slowly from its blade.

Fast! It had been too fast!

Chu Dingkang’s pupils were wide with shock, his mind still reeling from the single slash Chen Ping’an had just delivered.

From drawing the blade, to striking, to sheathing it—it had all happened in an instant. Uncle Gu, a master at Qi Blood Six Layers Perfection, hadn’t even had time to react before his head hit the floor.

Chu Dingkang knew, with certainty, that he could not have delivered such a strike.

Looking at Chen Ping’an’s smiling face, Chu Dingkang felt that all his previous judgments had been wrong. He gave a couple of dry laughs and said stiffly, ”My judgment is poor, far inferior to the Lord Commander’s.”

Chen Ping’an glanced at Chu Dingkang, then ignored him. He surveyed the room and addressed the crowd. ”Thank you all for coming to my welcome banquet. As for the greeting gifts you’ve brought, I’ve accepted them. These gifts... how should I put this? They’re wonderful, but perhaps not quite suitable for me! Next time, if there’s an opportunity, I hope you’ll all think a little more carefully when choosing your gifts. Give it some proper consideration!”

”Those who know me know that I’m a very easygoing person. As long as you don’t go too far, I can turn a blind eye and let things slide. But... if you look at me and think I’m young, and you start getting other ideas, acting recklessly without considering the consequences... if you really cross the line... well, if feelings get hurt later on, please don’t take it personally.”

”As for me, well... you’ll all get to know me in time. If I don’t have to use my mouth, I won’t. I prefer to use my hands.”

”Oh, right. It’s been a pleasure meeting all of you today. But since I’m new here, I’d like to meet some new friends as well. I hope you can all carry a message for me, help me set up a meeting. We can all get together for another meal sometime.”

Chen Ping’an picked up a tablecloth and began to gently wipe the blood from his saber.

”Cheng Renjing!”

”Here!” Cheng Renjing replied loudly, his whole body jolting to attention.

”Get a few men, take his head, and deliver it to the Quicksand Gang! Ask Yin Zisheng what the hell is going on. How could this man’s head just fall off in the middle of a meal? It’s completely ruined my appetite. I didn’t enjoy this meal, so tell him to arrange another time to treat me to a proper one!” Chen Ping’an said with a smile.

”Yes, sir!” Cheng Renjing shouted in response. Seeing the Deputy Commander ready to escalate things, all his pent-up frustration vanished.

It wasn’t just Cheng Renjing; the other men from the Garrison Commandant’s Office present felt the same.

’The Lord Deputy Commander is mighty!’

”Alright, everyone, you can all go now! You know, I just wanted to enjoy a nice, quiet meal. Why is that so difficult!”

Chen Ping’an’s smile faded slightly. He sighed and walked out of the private room.

’So much for trying to live a quiet life in White Stone City. No one inside the Garrison Commandant’s Office tried to intimidate me when I arrived, but now outsiders are giving me attitude.’

’This is not a pleasant way to live!’

Chen Ping’an left, leaving behind the representatives of the various factions, who all stared at each other, speechless.

It looked like things were about to blow up.

...

Uncle Gu’s head was delivered to the Quicksand Gang that very evening.

「The Quicksand Gang Council Hall.」

SMASH!

An incredibly heavy, high-quality pearwood table was slammed into dust.

”How dare that brat! Killing a Protector of my Quicksand Gang! Does he think we have no one to stand up to him?” Shen Taiyuan, the Vice Gang Leader of the Quicksand Gang, was apoplectic with rage.

Shen Taiyuan paced back and forth within the Council Hall, absolutely furious.

”To kill a Protector of our Quicksand Gang so openly!” Duan Peng, one of the gang’s Great Vajras, was equally furious. ”Gang Leader, I’ll go demand an explanation right now!”

”That’s right! Demand an explanation!” Shen Taiyuan roared.

”Both of you, quiet down!”

At the head of the Council Hall sat a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and large eyes. This was the Gang Leader of the Quicksand Gang, Yin Zisheng.

”Gang Leader!”

”Go and demand an explanation! And then what? Do you plan to demand a life for a life, to make the new Deputy Commander of the Garrison Commandant’s Office pay for Uncle Gu’s death with his own?” Yin Zisheng shot them a sidelong glance.

Yin Zisheng’s words immediately deflated their bravado. They mumbled, suddenly unable to speak.

Indeed, they could demand an explanation, but they couldn’t possibly make the new Deputy Commander pay with his life.

No matter how brazen they were, they wouldn’t dare to think such a thing.

The White Stone City Garrison Commandant’s Office may be weak, but it still represented the authority of the Garrison Commandant’s Office as a whole.

Besides, the Garrison Commandant’s Office Commander-in-Chief, Feng Shixian, was no pushover.

The mere thought of Feng Shixian made both men shiver. The only reason the White Stone City Garrison Commandant’s Office could still maintain its position was entirely due to Feng Shixian.

”Gang Leader, what do you think we should do then?”

Yin Zisheng glanced at them. ”I originally thought that this new Deputy Commander, being so young and new to the city, would swallow his anger and avoid an open confrontation, no matter how dissatisfied he was. As long as he didn’t blow up on the spot, any action he took later would have been a problem shared by all the other factions. But I never expected this. I miscalculated.”

”Being the first to test him had the potential for great rewards, but it also carried the greatest risk. This time, our decision was wrong, and we alone must bear the consequences.”

”Gang Leader, Uncle Gu died just like that. Are we really going to do nothing?” Duan Peng asked.

”Do nothing?” Yin Zisheng shot Duan Peng a look. ”We’re not the only ones he’s offended this time! But because the Quicksand Gang was the first to act and Uncle Gu is dead, our entanglement is the deepest! The other factions are all watching to see how we react. They’d love nothing more than for us to get bogged down over Uncle Gu’s death, to use us as their vanguard to wear down the Garrison Commandant’s Office’s prestige and power.

If we really do that, I don’t know what will happen to the Garrison Commandant’s Office. But I know the ending for our Quicksand Gang won’t be a good one. Right now, the best choice is to handle the matter of Uncle Gu’s death lightly and let it pass for the moment.

Once the matter with Uncle Gu blows over, the new Deputy Commander’s words at the banquet will unite all the other factions against a common enemy. When that time comes and they all join forces, even a slight push from each of them will be more than he can handle alone. Setting aside his title as Deputy Commander, he’s just an ordinary practitioner in the Inner Qi Realm!”

”The matter with Uncle Gu needs to be settled quickly! Demanding a life for a life is out of the question, but he killed a man of our Quicksand Gang. No matter what, he has to pay some kind of price!

What kind of price he pays will depend on how capable he really is! If he turns out to be all bark and no bite, just an empty suit, then he can’t blame me for making an exorbitant demand!”

”Tomorrow night, invite the Lord Deputy Commander to a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Tower!”

”Yes, Gang Leader, I’ll arrange it right away!”

”The Gang Leader is wise.”

Yin Zisheng lounged back in his great chair, his expression calm, looking as if victory was already in his grasp.

He saw the situation in White Stone City clearly.

As long as he didn’t clash head-on with the Garrison Commandant’s Office over this incident and stood firm with the majority of White Stone City’s factions, the Garrison Commandant’s Office wouldn’t be able to make any waves. Even with Feng Shixian around, it wouldn’t change the outcome.

The three great families, the four major gangs, and the Commerce Alliance all had their eyes on getting a piece of the Long’an Trade Route. The White Stone City Garrison Commandant’s Office wanted to balance the situation, crack down on smuggling, and control the profits—all actions that naturally put them in opposition to these factions.

Unless one side backed down, the conflict between them was fundamentally irreconcilable.

As for backing down?

As if that would ever happen!