Chapter 86

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Chapter 86: To Surrender

In the Law Enforcement Hall, a man in white stood beside a pillar, hands clasped behind his back, intently studying the patterns on the column. His white clothes were slightly wrinkled and stained with blood, but these only accentuated his resolute demeanor, highlighted by his prominent sword-like eyebrows and straight nose, revealing no signs of defeat.

As Ou Peng entered the hall, he immediately saw this man in white. The man, hearing the sound, turned his head, and their gazes collided instantly. Ou Peng stopped and the man in white froze. After a brief intense stare, they both narrowed their eyes slightly before breaking the eye contact. The man in white resumed examining the intricate patterns on the pillar, while Ou Peng continued into the hall, heading towards the chair positioned at the center.

Ou Peng sat down in the chair, silently observing the tall man in white, deep in thought. The man in white did not acknowledge Ou Peng and the atmosphere grew tense.

The Piaomiao Six Tigers also entered the hall, with only Hu Yunyin, the eldest, taking a seat next to Ou Peng. The others, including Liu Yuzhou, remained standing. After a brief silence, impatience began to show. Liu Qingyang, Fifth Elder Liu, frowned and spoke up: “You wretch, you’ve been captured by our Piaomiao sect. Why the haughty attitude? Do you need my, Fifth Elder Liu, axe to bring you to your senses?”

Ou Peng, slightly annoyed, shot a glare at Fifth Elder Liu and reprimanded: “Fifth Brother, hold your tongue.”

Fifth Elder Liu, dissatisfied, replied: “Third Brother, this scoundrel…”

Before he could finish speaking, the man in white interjected: “Since this Shui has been captured, my life or death is in your hands. Why waste more words?”

Ou Peng smiled and said: “Brother Shui, there’s no need to lower yourself to his level. Fifth Brother’s a rough man and means no harm. You don’t have to take those words to heart.”

Shui Yupeng, the man in white, snorted and remained silent.

At this point, Fourth Elder Shangguan, spoke up: “Leader Shui, do you still think this is your Luo River Gang? Now that you know you’ve been captured by our Piaomiao sect, you should have the consciousness of your status as a prisoner instead of acting so proud and righteous, as if capturing you was a stroke of luck and an insult to your martial prowess.”

Shui Yupeng glanced sideways at Fourth Elder Shangguan and said nothing.

Fourth Elder Shangguan continued: “I understand what you’re thinking, Leader Shui. Do you believe that the surprise attack of our Piaomiao Sect caught the Luo River Gang off guard, leading to your defeat? You think that if your gang had been even slightly more vigilant, it would have been us who suffered a crushing defeat, right?”

Shui Yupeng snorted again with a ‘Heng’ sound, and replied loudly: “It was merely a cunning little trick, unworthy of entering the main hall.”

Shangguan Laosi snorted in return and said sternly: “Tricks, underhanded tactics, schemes, or conspiracies, whatever leads to victory is a good strategy. In the Jianghu, there’s no need for justification or righteousness. It seems that Leader Shui has been comfortably leading the Luo River Gang for so long that he has forgotten the law of the jungle.”

Shui Yupeng replied: “No need for your concern, Shangguan. Shui naturally understands.”

Fourth Elder Shangguan continued: “Since you understand this principle, you should know that any gang that expands by devouring others will one day be devoured itself. Those who mess around will pay it back sooner or later. Surely, Leader Shui hasn’t forgotten how the Luo River Gang grew so powerful.”

At this point, Shui Yupeng’s expression wavered, and his conviction seemed to falter.

Seeing this, First Elder Hu spoke up: “Leader Shui, are you still lamenting the failed attack on the Xinrong Sect? That because of our intervention, your plan was thwarted?”

Shui Yupeng’s face darkened further as he said: “Indeed, my Luo River Gang has always relied on the Luo River for survival and had no foothold on land. For the development of the Luo River, I spent years planning to bring the Xinrong Sect under our control. However, I didn’t expect you to exploit the situation. If we hadn’t been focused on Xinrong, how could you have succeeded so easily?”

Shangguan Laosi laughed and said: “As the ancients said, ‘He who plots against others will be plotted against’. Surely, you’ve learned this lesson, Leader Shui. Moreover, the story of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, is not uncommon in the martial world. To be ambushed by us only shows that Leader Shui was too careless. If you could plot to gain a foothold on land, why wouldn’t the land-based sects plot to invade the waters?”

Shui Yupeng looked up at the heavens and sighed deeply: “Man proposes, but Heaven disposes. Heaven has forsaken me, what more can I say?”

Ou Peng, smiling, interjected: “Leader Shui, you’re mistaken. It’s not that Heaven is heartless, but rather that Heaven has opened its eyes.”

Shui Yupeng was taken aback and asked curiously: “What do you mean by that, Sect Master Ou? Are you suggesting that by swallowing up the Luo River Gang, the Piaomiao Sect has done me a great favor?”

He laughed coldly after speaking.

Seeing this, Ou Peng did not argue with him but instead asked: “Does Leader Shui know the background of Zhao Xin, the sect master of the Xinrong Sect?”

“Zhao Xin?” Shui Yupeng replied contemptuously: “Isn’t he just a mere mountain bandit who’s backed by a wealthy merchant from Yu City and survived in the cracks between the various sects? What background could he possibly have?”

“And what about Zheng Rong?” Ou Peng continued.

“Zheng Rong?” Shuiyupeng was puzzled, “Isn’t he the second-in-command of the Xinrong Sect? Isn’t he just a scholar who was robbed by Zhao Xin when he was a mountain bandit? They supposedly became friends after fighting, admired each other’s abilities, and eventually became sworn brothers. Zheng Rong then joined him in banditry.”

Ou Peng smiled and said: “Leader Shui is correct. Later, Zheng Rong realized that robbing in the mountains wasn’t a sustainable way of life, so he played the role of a go-between and facilitated Zhao Xin’s connection with the wealthy merchant from Yu City, which allowed them to come down from the mountains and establish the Xinrong Sect between Yu City and Pingyang City.”

Shui Yupeng nodded involuntarily as he listened.

Then, Ou Peng asked: “So, Leader Shui, why do you think that merchant would choose to collaborate with a bandit with no background?”

Shui Yupeng pondered for a moment and said: “According to our intelligence, the merchant wanted to develop his own power and make a name for himself beyond just business.”

Ou Peng pressed further: “Then why didn’t the merchant seek assistance from the major sects in Yu City or even the Piaomiao Sect in Pingyang City?”

Shui Yupeng mused: “Perhaps it’s because Zhao Xin is easier to control? If they collaborated with your big sect, he might get devoured without a trace.”

Ou Peng laughed: “What you said makes sense. But, Leader Shui, why do you think, given that the Xinrong Sect is so close to our Piao Miao Sect, we’ve held off on swallowing it and instead targeted the Luo River Gang?”

Shui Yupeng chuckled: “How would I know? Perhaps you think the Xinrong Sect is just a fly, and there’s too little meat.”

Ou Peng replied: “Leader Shui is mistaken. The Xinrong Sect is strategically located between Pingyang City and Yu City. If our Piaomiao Sect could annex it, our influence would extend significantly towards Yu City. The benefits to our Piaomiao Sect would be immense.”

Shui Yupeng was also curious and asked: “Then why hasn’t Sect Master Ou take action?”

Ou Peng smiled mysteriously: “Because of Zheng Rong.”

“Zheng Rong?” Shui Yupeng was baffled.

Ou Peng continued: “Zheng Rong is an excommunicated lay disciple of Chang Geng, the Law Enforcement Elder of Daling Temple!”

[TL_Note: Lay disciple= novice monk]

Hearing this, Shui Yupeng took a breath of cold air. As a gang leader, he wasn’t lacking in strategic insight, what he lacked was information. This asymmetry in information directly led to the different judgments he and Ou Peng had about the Xinrong Sect.

Neither of them was foolish. With Ou Peng’s hint, Shui Yupeng immediately grasped the situation.

He had been about to poke a tiger’s backside.

The term “excommunicated” disciple brought many connotations. Firstly, as the saying goes, ‘You need to see the owner before beating a dog’. Even though Zheng Rong was an excommunicated disciple, he was still from Daling Temple. Just because they had cast him out didn’t mean that Dalin Temple would ignore him entirely. You taught a lesson to someone else’s abandoned disciple, aren’t you giving Dalin Temple no face? Furthermore, even if Dalin Temple ignored it, can’t the Law Enforcement Elder Chang Geng still act from a personal standpoint to show some paternal warmth? How could the Luo River Gang afford to provoke a Law Enforcement Elder from Dalin Temple? Even without considering his connections in the Jianghu, Elder Chang Geng’s disciples alone could annihilate the Luo River Gang.

Secondly, if there’s an “abandonment”, there’s bound to be a “return”. No one knows, one day the abbot of Dalin Temple might change his mind and reinstate this abandoned disciple. It’s a possibility everyone must consider. Moreover, this abandoned disciple from Dalin Temple hasn’t been publicly announced. Even Ou Peng only found out through extremely secretive channels. If one day Dalin Temple were to declare this ‘abandoned’ disciple was merely a clerical error and did not count, then wouldn’t anyone who dared harm the Xingrong Sect become an enemy of Dalin Temple?

Ah, this “abandonment” is used quite ingeniously by Dalin Temple.

Thinking of this, Shui Yupeng felt somewhat disheartened, his face inevitably showed a desolate expression.

Nevertheless, he still sarcastically said: “Even if my Luo River Gang fails to take down the Xinrong Sect, and instead, falls into the hands of Dalin Temple, it’s only the destruction of the gang, what difference does it make from today’s situation? Great Sect Master Ou, you’re merely laughing at the fifty steps after taking a hundred. Naturally, you have the right to laugh if you become the victor.”

Ou Peng smiled, refraining from rebutting him. Instead, he glanced at Li Jian, who nodded in response. Then Li Jian approached Shui Yupeng without many words, drawing his sword from his waist. Shui Yupeng thought his end had come, closing his eyes like a hero prepared to meet his fate. But after waiting for quite a while without feeling any pain, he opened his eyes strangely and looked at Ou Peng.

Ou Peng just smiled at him with the same expression as before, saying nothing.

Shui Yupeng looked at Li Jian in confusion, but soon he was stunned by the scene before him.

“This… is this Sword Radiance?” Shui Yupeng looked at the fluctuating light that stretched and retracted on Li Jian’s long sword in disbelief, exclaiming in astonishment: “Is there really such swordsmanship in this world?”

After a moment, he sighed and said: “Master Li’s martial arts have advanced to such a realm. Shui is defeated and has nothing to say.”

Then, he turned to Ou Peng again and said: “Shui originally thought being ambushed by Great Sect Master Ou was just bad luck. I was quite resentful of falling into your trap. When Sect Master Ou fought with Shui, Shui was absent-minded at the time and thought that Sect Master Ou was just so-so. But now I see that perhaps Sect Master Ou was concealing his true skills.”