Cleansing

2024-07-31

Cleansing

When Song Changming followed Liang Chuanshan out of the Patrol Guard Headquarters, he saw the other Patrol Captains leading their men out as well.

Clearly, they too intended to claim a share of the spoils.

The fall of an ordinary small gang would not have been enough to alarm the Patrol Guard Headquarters and prompt such a grand mobilization.

This time, however, the conflict between the Qinghe Gang and the Nine Bends Society involved the two largest gangs in the local city district. The profits were rich enough to draw the covetous gaze of several Patrol Captains from the Patrol Guard Headquarters.

Song Changming adjusted the Helmet and Hat on his head and lit the torch every man had been given.

Suddenly sensing someone watching him, he followed the gaze and found his brother-in-law, Zhao Huaiming.

Zhao Huaiming stood behind his father, Zhao Dezhi, serving as his deputy.

Seeing Song Changming look over, Zhao Huaiming smiled faintly and gestured for him to be careful.

Zhao Dezhi, whose face had remained stern all along, seemed to notice his son's movement. His cold gaze swept over Song Changming in the ranks, but he said nothing.

The Patrol Captains exchanged a few words, and their conversation remained fairly cordial, at least on the surface.

Even Liang Chuanshan and Sun Wenyen, who did not get along, did not tear off each other's masks in public. At most, they traded a few barbs wrapped in cotton.

No one wanted to spoil tonight's good fortune.

Before long, the Patrol Guard Team, nearly a hundred strong, set off at a rapid pace and finally stopped at a fork in the road.

Song Changming knew that the left road led to the Qinghe Gang's stronghold, while the right led to the Nine Bends Society's headquarters.

The night was deep and still. Other than the Patrol Guards, no one else wandered through this intersection.

Faint roars and sounds of fighting drifted over from afar.

A moment later, several fleeing gang members suddenly burst from an alley ahead.

When the torchlight abruptly fell upon them and they saw the assembled Patrol Guards waiting here, their faces changed drastically. Realizing something was wrong, they turned to rush back and sound the alarm, but several figures had already charged from the Patrol Guard Team with blades in hand.

Lu Gang and Zhao Huaiming were among them.

These Patrol Guards were all quite skilled, and their speed as they darted forward was especially swift.

Before those gang members could flee back into the alley, the Patrol Guards caught up with them and struck them to the ground.

A scout arrived with news.

The Qinghe Gang had lost.

"Go, to the Qinghe Gang." Upon hearing this, Liang Chuanshan immediately raised a hand and strode off with his Patrol Guards.

"Old Liang truly is impatient," Sun Wenyen remarked blandly, but he led his men after them as well.

"Are you certain?" Zhao Dezhi looked at the scout and pressed him for confirmation.

"There can be no mistake. The Nine Bends Society utterly defeated the Qinghe Gang. Their Nine Great Curve Stars were especially formidable, every one of them highly skilled. Even Du Yuantian, the Qinghe Gang's leader, only held on for a few exchanges before he was surrounded and slain by the Nine Great Curve Stars, his head severed from his body!

"Furthermore, the Nine Bends Society's leader still did not appear in this battle." The scout recounted the situation he had witnessed in detail.

"I never thought the Qinghe Gang, which had occupied the city district for so many years, would simply be gone like this." As Lu Gang followed the team and listened to the scout's report, he could not help sighing.

"When the old gives way to the new, nothing remains unchanged. You have only witnessed the destruction of one major gang. I have served at the Patrol Guard Headquarters for more than twenty years, rising from an ordinary Night Watchman to my current position as Patrol Captain. Gangs like the Qinghe Gang that have been wiped out before my eyes cannot be counted on one hand." Liang Chuanshan chuckled.

"This time it is the Qinghe Gang. Next time, it will be the Nine Bends Society. After enough time passes, glory is only temporary."

Song Changming listened from the rear of the formation, lost in thought.

Everything had its allotted span. From these gangs struggling to survive to the rise and fall of nations, all things would eventually meet their end.

But he alone had a chance to transcend it all!

Torchlight washed over the streets and alleys, revealing a large self-built residence surrounded by many low, flat houses erected deep within the lanes.

This was the Qinghe Gang's base.

"The Patrol Guards are here!"

Before the torchlight had even reached this deep alley, some Qinghe Gang members left behind to guard the place had already spotted the approaching Patrol Guard Team. One after another, they began to panic. "Why are the Patrol Guards here at a time like this?!"

"This is bad! Very bad! They must have caught wind of it and come to settle accounts with us!"

"The leader and the others aren't here right now. What... what do we do!"

"Damn it!"

"..."

Within the Qinghe Gang's headquarters, with its leader and other core members absent, chaos broke out among them.

Some members realized the situation was wrong and chose to flee outright, while others wanted to take advantage of the disorder to steal some of the gang's valuables.

"Hmph. A rabble of crows. Take them all down. Kill any who resist!"

Once they entered the deep alley, Liang Chuanshan and the other Patrol Captains saw the scene and gave the order.

At once, the Patrol Guards behind them surged forward like a pack of wolves released from their cage, flooding into the Qinghe Gang's territory.

"You bastards! Our Qinghe Gang paid enormous sums in tribute every year, and all of it was fed to the dogs!"

A burly man with a green headscarf was surrounded by several Patrol Guards, blade in hand. He could not help roaring in indignation as he denounced everyone in the Patrol Guard Headquarters.

"Enough nonsense. For all the crimes you have committed in the past, you can repent properly in prison." Wang Xianwen snorted coldly and advanced with his blade.

This burly man was quite skilled. Even under the combined assault of several Patrol Guards, he remained standing and even slashed two of them in return.

His figure flashed as he broke out of the encirclement and vaulted over a courtyard wall to one side. Turning back, he flung two throwing knives, hindering Wang Xianwen's pursuit.

"Damn it!" Wang Xianwen's face darkened as he watched the burly man vanish from sight.

This man was clearly a big fish, and Wang Xianwen was deeply dissatisfied that he had escaped just like that.

The burly man nimbly vaulted over the wall. Just as he was about to dash into a nearby alley and make his escape, he caught sight of a Patrol Guard's back not far away.

At that Patrol Guard's feet lay several corpses of gang members who had likewise climbed over the courtyard wall.

Weighing the three extra cloth bags in his hand, Song Changming heard coins clinking within them.

It had to be said that this operation truly offered plenty of spoils.

Perhaps because the nest had fallen and hearts had scattered, most of these fleeing gang members carried bags of money with them, intending to leave for good. The amounts were far from small.

By the time the mission was over, the spoils he received might well equal several months of salary.

At a time when he needed money most, such a mission had come along. How could he not make a killing in one go?

As Song Changming was thinking, another fleeing gang member climbed over the courtyard wall.

It had to be said that the position he had chosen to block was truly well chosen.

In just this short while, he had already reaped a rich haul.

The burly man reacted quickly as well. Before Song Changming could move to intercept him, he took the initiative and slashed at Song Changming, seizing the advantage.

"Die!"

The burly man roared, his blade carrying tremendous force without the slightest restraint.

At this point, he no longer cared about Song Changming's official status. He would cut him down first; at worst, he would become wanted and flee Donglai Commandery City.

Seeing this, Song Changming stepped forward as well, sending out a slash to meet him.