Chapter 40

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Chapter 40: Handover

     

The exchange between the two couldn’t be described as lightning-fast, but it lasted only a few breaths before the victor was decided, leaving the members of the Evil Tiger Gang with dropped jaws. In contrast, the six disciples of Ten Thousand Swords Peak remained unfazed, as if this were the most normal outcome in their eyes.

     

Hall Master Xing sat on the chair, his face pale, seemingly still not fully recovered from the shock of what had just transpired. Situ Liang and the others didn’t move to comfort him. Instead, their minds were racing. Initially, they had thought that when representatives from Ten Thousand Swords Peak came to take over the Evil Tiger Gang, they would have to yield. However, seeing that the envoy was a young man, they naturally wanted to assert their authority a bit, to show him that the Evil Tiger Gang couldn’t be underestimated. This would indirectly secure advantageous positions for them in the future distribution of power within the gang. So, when Hall Master Xing voiced his objections, they didn’t intervene but chose to watch from the sidelines. However, the outcome was beyond their expectations. In just three moves, Hall Master Xing was defeated.

     

Upon careful reflection on Qu Xiangfeng’s three moves, they realized the timing of his attacks was very clever, forcing Hall Master Xing into defensive positions each time. The angles of his strikes weren’t particularly tricky, in fact, they were quite straightforward. But the crucial factor was the force behind each strike, the power contained within the broadsword, which Hall Master Xing simply couldn’t match. It was a case of skillfully applied strength. Had anyone from the Evil Tiger Gang stepped forward, the result would likely have been the same.

     

No wonder the Ten Thousand Swords Peak only sent seven people. These seven individuals could probably match the strength of more than half of the Evil Tiger Gang.

     

Seeing the uncertain expressions on the faces of the Evil Tiger Gang members, Qu Xiangfeng didn’t give them much time to ponder. He held the broadsword in his hand and spoke loudly: “If anyone still has objections to us, please step forward and speak.”

     

Situ Liang and the others exchanged glances, and then Elder Chu stood up and said: “Young Hero Qu, please put away your sword. We have no objections.”

     

Qu Xiangfeng complied, shouldering the broadsword once again. However, he didn’t return to his seat. Instead, he looked at the members of the Evil Tiger Gang and reiterated: “Do any of you have objections to Ten Thousand Swords Peak temporarily taking over the Evil Tiger Gang?”

     

Situ Liang and the others echoed: “Yes, we obey the orders of the gang leader and follow the instructions of Young Hero Qu from Ten Thousand Swords Peak.”

     

Then, Situ Liang invited Qu Xiangfeng to take a seat at the head of the table, saying: “Please, Chief Qu, take the seat of honor. We will follow Chief Qu’s commands.”

     

Qu Xiangfeng accepted the invitation without hesitation, taking a seat in one of the chairs at the front of the hall. He then addressed the members of the Evil Tiger Gang, saying: “Please, everyone, take your seats as well.”

     

With that, everyone resumed their seats.

     

Qu Xiangfeng said: “Don’t worry, I am only temporarily taking over the Evil Tiger Gang on the orders of our Sword Master. All matters will be returned to Gang Leader Situ upon her return. Moreover, until Gang Leader Situ returns, the affairs of the gang will continue to be managed by Elder Chu, Hall Master Situ, and others, without interference from us. I only ask that Hall Master Situ inform us before making any decisions.”

     

Situ Liang and the others were puzzled by the situation. What was this? Occupying the position of the gang leader without exerting the gang leader’s power, ignoring all gang affairs. It just didn’t make any sense. Hall Master Xing even regretted looking at the cracked web of his fingers. If he had known this earlier, why would he have bothered to compete and lost his face in vain? However, soon everyone had their own explanations. The Evil Tiger Gang was their entire world in their eyes, not to be trespassed upon. But in the eyes of others, it was merely a trivial matter. Qu Xiangfeng probably didn’t want to be here either, but out of respect for his master’s orders, he chose not to interfere and let them develop on their own.

     

Thinking of this, everyone revealed a relieved expression.

     

Seeing that everyone understood his meaning, Qu Xiangfeng no longer wished to stay in the hall. He said: “I ask everyone to take care of the future affairs of the Evil Tiger Gang. For now, we will stay at the place arranged this afternoon. Please do not disturb our training unless necessary.” After finishing, he cupped his hands and bid farewell to the members of the Evil Tiger Gang. The group then returned to their residence.

     

When they returned to their residence, Qu Xiangfeng instructed everyone to enter his room and left one person outside to keep watch. Looking at the five people inside, Qu Xiangfeng said with satisfaction: “Today’s matters with the Evil Tiger Gang are settled. In the coming days, we will stay here and await the Sword Master’s next instructions. Wang Brothers, you two should rest well tonight. Early tomorrow morning, head to Lu Town and keep a close watch there. Inform us immediately if any figures from the Jianghu appear.” Two of them cupped their fists and agreed.

     

Then, Qu Xiangfeng instructed the remaining people: “The rest of you should continue to follow our routines from Ten Thousand Swords Peak. Keep practicing your martial arts diligently and do not slack off.”

     

Everyone agreed in response, and then they dispersed without further discussion.

     

Situ Liang and the others were in the hall, remaining silent for a while. Elder Chu finally spoke up and asked: “Little Liang, where have Young Hero Qu and his group been arranged to stay?” He deliberately did not address him as Chief Qu.

     

Situ Liang said: “They are arranged in rooms East One to East Seven.”

     

Elder Chu suggested: “It’s better to let them stay in the honored guests’ rooms.”

     

Situ Liang responded: “Alright, I’ll immediately arrange for the servants to handle it. At the time, I was unsettled after reading the letter, which led to the improper arrangement.”

     

Elder Chu continued: “Well then, everyone is tired today. Let’s go back and rest for now. We can discuss any matters together tomorrow morning. How does that sound?”

     

Everyone agreed and dispersed.

     

Situ Liang still unhurriedly returned to his small room. Inside, there was no oil lamp lit, and it was completely dark. He entered the darkness with familiarity and tightly closed the door behind him. He walked to his desk and stood there, gazing at the moon obscured by dark clouds outside the window, remaining still for a long time. After a while, as if he had organized his thoughts, he lit the oil lamp. The tiny flame quickly spread light throughout the small room.

     

Situ Liang picked up paper and brush and carefully wrote a letter in very small characters. Then, he meticulously rolled it into a small paper stick and placed it into a metal ring. Next, he took out two empty metal rings and inserted two rolls of blank paper sticks. He placed these three metal rings into his pocket, extinguished the oil lamp, and left the small room.

     

After stepping out of his small room, Situ Liang didn’t go far. Instead, he entered another slightly larger room adjacent to his. As soon as he opened the door, he could hear the cooing of pigeons inside, this was the place where carrier pigeons were kept.

     

Familiar with the routine, Situ Liang walked to the furthest corner of the room and selected three slightly smaller ones from a pile of pigeon cages. He opened each one and skillfully attached a metal ring from his pocket to the ankle of three pigeons. Finally, carrying these three cages, he walked to the window. Opening it, he released one pigeon from the first cage. The pigeon flew into the air, circled briefly, and then landed back on the windowsill, seeming reluctant to fly away. However, Situ Liang caught the pigeon again and released it once more into the air. This time, the pigeon circled briefly and then fluttered off in a specific direction.

     

Situ Liang didn’t release the second pigeon immediately. He waited quietly for the duration of a cup of tea, listening for any sounds, but heard none. Then, he released the second pigeon. After it flew away, he released the third one.

     

All three carrier pigeons flew towards the same destination, carrying some mysterious mission in the darkness of the night.

     

The rooms where Qu Xiangfeng and his group stayed were quite far from Situ Liang’s room, located in different directions within the residence. Therefore, they didn’t notice any activity from Situ Liang’s side. Additionally, the members of the Evil Tiger Gang were accustomed to the release of carrier pigeons, so the departure of the three pigeons didn’t attract anyone’s attention.

     

After completing all this, Situ Liang returned to his small room again. This time, he didn’t light the lamp but went straight to the kang, where he lay down fully clothed.

     

[TL_Note: kang -> heated brick bed]

     

Everything in the Evil Tiger Gang quieted down under the moonlit night, with only occasional gang members on duty staggering by with sleepy eyes.

     

As everyone drifted off to sleep, each harbored their own thoughts.

     

In the Zhang family’s courtyard in Guo Village, everyone was also asleep, except for the occasional suppressed coughing coming from Grandmother’s small room.

     

Grandmother lay on the kang, tightly covering her mouth with the blanket, her ears were turned towards Zhang Xiaohua’s direction. Despite the bright moonlight outside, the room remained dark. There was no movement from Zhang Xiaohua’s side, yet Grandmother was genuinely worried about waking her beloved grandson and disturbing his sweet dreams. However, her frail body felt very stuffy in her chest, and she couldn’t suppress the coughing. She couldn’t leave the room, nor did she want to disturb her grandson. What could she do?

     

To her relief, Zhang Xiaohua was sleeping soundly. She thought to herself that perhaps tomorrow she would talk to the child’s mother and suggest that she stay in the relatives’ woodshed, so she could have peace of mind. At that moment, Zhang Xiaohua seemed to turn over, and Grandmother quickly closed her mouth, suppressing the cough that had already reached her throat. But how could she suppress the cough? Grandmother’s throat felt itchy, her face flushed, and her ears heard Zhang Xiaohua stop moving. Then she cautiously coughed, but due to the suppression, the cough became more intense. Grandmother even felt liquid coughed onto the blanket.

     

Grandmother hadn’t slept for most of the night. When she heard the rooster crow a few times, signaling that dawn was approaching, she quickly got up and groped her way outside. The courtyard was still very quiet, and Grandmother didn’t hear any other sounds, indicating that Guo Sufei and Liu Qian hadn’t gotten up yet. She didn’t walk towards the center of the courtyard but leaned against the outer wall, using a towel to muffle her persistent cough.

     

After about a meal’s worth of time, Grandmother heard the door of the main hall creak open. Someone emerged from inside, followed by Guo Sufei’s voice: “Mother, why are you up so early? It’s cold outside.”

     

Guo Sufei approached to assist Grandmother back inside, but Grandmother refused to go back, saying: “I keep coughing. I’m afraid of waking up Xiaohua.”

     

Guo Sufei’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. She said: “Then, Mother, please come to the main hall first.”

     

She helped Grandmother towards the main hall. At this moment, Liu Qian also got up. Seeing Guo Sufei assisting Grandmother, she was quite surprised. Quickly, she swung open the door of the main hall to let them in.

     

Hearing Grandmother’s continuous coughing, she couldn’t help but think: “I wonder if the spring water is really effective. Grandmother’s condition seems to be getting worse.”

     

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