Council Convenes

2024-07-31

Council Convenes

"No wonder it's a high-tier martial art. I've already seen such remarkable results just by getting started. At its highest depths, it'll surely be extraordinary."

Song Changming happily sheathed his blade.

Having mastered this Light Body Technique, he had finally made up for his weakness.

Woof woof.

Beneath the locust tree nearby, two half-grown puppies seemed to have been awakened by the noise of Song Changming practicing with his blade. They tumbled out of their nest and came running over, biting at his trouser legs.

Compared to when he had first picked them up, when their eyes had not even opened, the two puppies had grown a little and learned to recognize people.

In his excellent mood, Song Changming scooped one up in each hand and kneaded them like two balls of dough. Their feel was quite nice.

One had white fur and the other yellow, so he had simply named them Little White and Little Yellow.

"Go on, get out of here." Once he had had his fill of petting them, Song Changming immediately turned his back on the dogs and tossed them into their nest.

He then ran off to the kitchen to eat the prepared meat, replenishing what he had consumed from practicing martial arts.

Early July.

Liang Chuanshan formally summoned all the Patrol Captains.

By the time Song Changming arrived at the main hall of the headquarters, the other five Patrol Captains had already assembled, seated on chairs along either side.

The seat of honor was still empty. Liang Chuanshan had yet to arrive.

"Changming, you're the only one missing." Upon seeing Song Changming, Lu Gang beckoned to him and pointed at the vacant seat beside him at the head of the row.

That had once been Liang Chuanshan's seat when he was still a Patrol Captain. Now it was Song Changming's turn to sit there.

As for the seat at the head of the other side, Zhao Dezhi still occupied it.

Then came Qian Wen, followed by Zhang Sihai.

In the past, at gatherings and councils like this, Zhao Dezhi and Liang Chuanshan had held the greatest say, with Qian Wen and Sun Wenyen next in line.

But now, although Zhao Dezhi still sat in the seat of honor, Liang Chuanshan had taken back his authority. Sitting there no longer meant much.

Liang Chuanshan did not trust him.

Song Changming nodded. There was no need for ceremony, so he sat down directly and chatted idly with Lu Gang for a few moments.

Across from them, Zhao Dezhi watched the scene with a turmoil of mixed emotions.

The brat he had once completely dismissed now stood above him.

He had to admit that he had misjudged him completely back then.

But at this point, he could not bring himself to swallow his pride and repair relations with the Song Family.

Thus, the two families were still not particularly close.

The only one truly on good terms with the Song Family was his son, Zhao Huaiming, who had married a daughter of the Song Family.

He had once strictly prevented his son from getting close to the Song Family, but now he turned a blind eye, tacitly allowing his son to seek out Song Changming, Father Song, and Mother Song to reminisce.

On the other side, Qian Wen regarded Song Changming with cold eyes.

He looked down on this inexperienced brat. He bore resentment toward Liang Chuanshan, and that resentment made him find Song Changming particularly displeasing as well.

Of course, he would not do anything openly.

He knew very well that targeting Song Changming in the Patrol Guard Headquarters right now would only be asking for trouble.

As for Zhu Bairen and Zhang Sihai, neither of them had ever fought or scrambled for power. They were also quite friendly toward Song Changming and Lu Gang, the two new Patrol Captains, and had no objections whatsoever to Liang Chuanshan's arrangements.

In return, the two of them had seen their standing within the Patrol Guard Headquarters rise. That counted as a good thing.

After the six waited a while longer, Liang Chuanshan finally arrived at a leisurely pace.

"Director!"

The six immediately rose and bowed.

"Mm." Liang Chuanshan had now fully adapted to his position as Director. Every word and gesture carried an innate majesty, and his mysterious black official robes inspired awe at first sight. "I have summoned you all here today for one matter only."

Liang Chuanshan looked grave, even carrying a hint of solemn weight. Everyone immediately sensed that today's matter was no small affair.

Lu Gang's last trace of a smile vanished as he waited for Liang Chuanshan to continue.

Only Song Changming remained impassive. Before coming, he had already learned from Liang Chuanshan what would be discussed today and had made his preparations.

"Tonight, gather every patrol guard and wipe out the Nine Bends Society!" Liang Chuanshan declared firmly.

The Patrol Captains immediately found it hard to remain seated.

The Nine Bends Society had grown powerful. Looking back, each of the Patrol Captains had noticed the problem to some extent.

Trying to eradicate the Nine Bends Society now would undoubtedly be extremely thorny.

"Director, this matter—" Zhao Dezhi could not help speaking up.

But the moment he opened his mouth, Liang Chuanshan cut him off. "I had been considering this matter from the very beginning of my appointment, and preparations have been underway for quite some time. It is time to pull out this festering tumor."

With Liang Chuanshan speaking so, his killing intent was clearly set in stone. Zhao Dezhi had no choice but to swallow the words he had wanted to say.

The other Patrol Captains exchanged glances and understood that the matter had already been decided. They had come only to receive assignments, not to deliberate over it.

Liang Chuanshan swept his gaze around the room, taking in every Patrol Captain's expression before speaking in a deep voice.

"There is another reason to send out troops. Do you all remember the Dark Night Pavilion assassin incident from a year ago?"

Their expressions sharpened, and they vaguely guessed what Liang Chuanshan was about to say.

At this point, Liang Chuanshan had nothing left to conceal and directly revealed the matter.

"Damnable!" Lu Gang slammed a hand against the chair armrest, looking as though he wished he could crush the wood to pieces.

It was not as though they had never suspected the Nine Bends Society back then. They had simply lacked evidence and leads, and had also thought that a mere Nine Bends Society would never dare commit such an outrage that defied heaven itself.

That was why the matter had been left unresolved. They had only assumed it was the work of Tengya Mountain's bandit army.

"If that is so, then the Nine Bends Society truly cannot be allowed to remain. Their crimes deserve ten thousand deaths!" Zhu Bairen immediately stated his position through gritted teeth.

"That's right." Zhang Sihai echoed him.

At a time like this, making one's stance clear was important. They had to let Liang Chuanshan, the new Director, see that they would always support him and follow his decisions.

Whether Song Changming and Lu Gang voiced their support was not important. The two of them had already been in the same boat as Liang Chuanshan.

In the end, Qian Wen and Zhao Dezhi also had no choice but to answer the call.

"Since that is the case, everyone, speak freely about your strategies and thoughts for eliminating the enemy this time," Liang Chuanshan said, nodding in satisfaction.

The pre-battle council lasted for more than an hour before finally ending.

As dusk approached, the six Patrol Captains began making their final preparations.

Since information had been tightly sealed off during this period, they did not need to worry too much about the Nine Bends Society hearing wind of it in advance.

Even if the Nine Bends Society sensed that something was amiss at the last moment, it would still be enough to catch them off guard.

Ideally, they would establish victory from the very start.

Within the Patrol Guard Headquarters, every patrol guard gathered in their respective courtyards.

Each lit the torch in hand, their expressions solemn and grave.

The sight made Song Changming think of the campaign against the Qinghe Gang. It was almost exactly the same.

The difference was that he was now a Patrol Captain, playing the role of the lead wolf as he led his Patrol Guard Team into battle.