Slaughter

As the gang leaders fell one after another, the killing in the courtyard gradually drew to a close until it finally subsided completely.

Of the nine Nine Bends Society leaders, six were ultimately killed, while the remaining three were wounded and captured.

Most of the core gang members were wiped out. Some were captured, while a small number escaped by climbing over the walls.

As for the several hundred ordinary gang members outside the compound, they were merely a rabble driven by profit and held little loyalty to the gang.

Seeing the gang's كبار shots either dead or captured, they too scattered like birds and beasts.

And so, the battle came to an end.

However, although the Patrol Guard Headquarters had won, it was just as everyone had anticipated.

The Nine Bends Society was simply too tough a bone to chew. Forcing their way through it had inevitably cost them two teeth.

The Patrol Guard Headquarters had also paid a considerable price in this battle.

At least twenty patrolmen had died.

Another dozen or twenty had suffered severe injuries, losing arms or legs and likely needing to retire from service.

There were countless others with comparatively minor injuries.

Those numbers alone were enough to show that the Patrol Guard Headquarters had been badly battered this time.

The compensation Liang Chuanshan would have to pay out alone would amount to no small sum.

"Brother Zhou, I truly have to thank you for tonight. Another day, I'll certainly prepare gifts and visit your residence." Liang Chuanshan found Zhou Sixin and stepped forward to offer his thanks.

"It's nothing. After tonight, I'm afraid Brother Liang will have plenty to deal with." Zhou Sixin waved a hand, looking somewhat exhausted.

The thirty Capital City Patrolmen he had brought with him were all still accounted for after the battle. At most, some had been wounded; none had died.

It was clear that, when it came to controlling casualties, the Capital City Patrolmen surpassed the district Patrol Guard Headquarters. Deaths among them did not come easily.

"Also, that little brother Song under your command is far stronger than I expected. His future prospects are limitless. I was blind before—when I was his age, I was far inferior to him."

Zhou Sixin turned to look at Song Changming, who was sitting on the ground resting, and could not help sighing again.

Tonight, Song Changming had truly astonished him.

"As long as this boy doesn't grow arrogant or impatient and continues patiently honing his martial path, if he gets an opportunity in the future, he'll surely soar into the heavens and reach heights even I can only look up to!"

"I think so too." Liang Chuanshan nodded, deeply agreeing.

He had thought highly of Song Changming from the beginning and recruited him under his command. In just two years, he had cultivated him into a trusted subordinate at his side.

Even if Song Changming no longer worked under him in the future, the favor of this support would be enough to keep him tied to Liang Chuanshan, and their relationship would not grow distant.

"I'm taking the brothers for a drink before going back to rest. Tonight has worn us out." Zhou Sixin smiled, said his farewells, and left with his men.

The work of clearing the battlefield would naturally be left to Liang Chuanshan. Zhou Sixin understood the rules—having already taken his reward, he would not overstep his bounds.

Elsewhere, Wang Xianwen was already unable to sit still.

Until the battle with the Nine Bends Society ended, he had never found another chance to harm Lu Gang.

Lu Gang was no fool. After realizing Wang Xianwen's malicious intentions, he had kept a close watch on him and gathered his patrolmen around himself.

Only after seeing Song Changming finally kill Scarface did he relax. He immediately withdrew with his injuries to Liang Chuanshan's side, giving Wang Xianwen no chance to make a move against him.

By now, Wang Xianwen even wanted to flee outright, escaping without a trace like those Nine Bends Society members who had run away.

But people always harbored a bit of wishful thinking.

What if Lu Gang had no concrete evidence? What he had done was subtle, and Liang Chuanshan was short of manpower now. Perhaps he would not punish him too severely.

As long as he weathered this crisis, he could remain in the Patrol Guard Headquarters and make plans for the future.

In the end, he still did not want to give up the position he had finally attained.

Wang Xianwen's eyes flickered, but he ultimately held himself back and made no move for the time being.

By the latter half of the night, the corpses on the ground had been cleared away and carted to the morgue by the city gate. Then, box after box of goods seized from the Nine Bends Society compound was placed before Liang Chuanshan.

A compiled inventory was presented along with them.

Song Changming looked over and saw several large chests of money, some filled with copper coins and others with silver.

The amount was enormous.

Besides that, there were many antiques, jade artifacts, porcelain, and valuable calligraphy and paintings.

There were also large quantities of medicinal herbs used for Practicing Martial Arts. Their total value might even exceed that of the chests of money and silver.

It was hard to imagine how much dirty money the Nine Bends Society had made over the past two years, that even after supporting so many gang members, they still possessed so many valuables.

Liang Chuanshan swept his eyes across the goods. After reading the items and string of figures on the inventory, his furrowed brow immediately relaxed.

It was obvious that he was highly satisfied with this substantial haul.

Before long, everything was loaded onto carts and transported back to the Patrol Guard Headquarters.

The entire compound, along with every business under the Nine Bends Society's name, was sealed overnight with official notices and orders.

Watching this series of practiced procedures, Song Changming sometimes could not help but think further.

On the surface, the Patrol Guard Headquarters maintained local order and stability, yet it also shared a tacit understanding with gang forces, setting rules and keeping each side from crossing the line.

In secret, most previous Patrol Captains had colluded with those gang forces, engaging in all manner of petty scheming.

It looked harmonious on the surface, but it was like raising pigs and sheep.

The gangs were pigs and sheep. Once the pigs and sheep had been fattened, the Patrol Guard Headquarters would slaughter them and confiscate their homes when the time was right, reaping a hefty harvest of money and merit.

The former Qinghe Gang and the current Nine Bends Society were strikingly alike.

And the feed that raised one pig and sheep after another to such size seemed inexhaustible.

Where did that feed come from?

Most people probably understood. It certainly did not come from the Patrol Guard Headquarters or the government.

Understanding was one thing, but that was simply how the world worked. Whether in prosperity or decline, peace or war, it was always the same class of people at the bottom who suffered.

At its root, this world was one where the strong devoured the weak, where big fish ate little fish.

To avoid being oppressed, one could only strengthen oneself and constantly seek ways to climb upward.

Climb higher than everyone else, and no one would be able to bully you.

Back then, Father Song had been unwilling to accept such a life of poverty. In his early years, he had resolutely left the village and gone to the Prefecture City to struggle and build a life for himself, seeking change and opportunities, determined to revive the Song Family.

Later, his eldest and second sons had joined the army for the same reason: to change their fates.

Yet whether it was Father Song or Song Changming's two elder brothers, all of them had ultimately failed in their pursuit of change.

Those who succeeded were always few. Far more often, the road was paved with the remains of failures.

Song Changming's entry into the Patrol Guard Headquarters was also another attempt by the Song Family to change their fate.

This time, after Song Changming became a Patrol Captain, the result was undoubtedly a successful turnaround.

He had moved the Song Family from Baiyi Street to Houli Street, truly achieving a leap in social standing. At the very least, they had escaped the very bottom and were no longer people anyone could bully.

Song Changming passed no judgment on the various practices of the Patrol Guard Headquarters, whether good or bad, nor was he arrogant enough to think he could change anything.

This phenomenon and social climate were not unique to Donglai Commandery City. Other cities and towns, and likely even the entire imperial dynasty, were no exception.

The people who truly needed to worry about such matters were high officials and powerful figures, as well as renowned scholars and righteous heroes who cared for the world. Only they had the power to do anything about it.