Encircling the Five Lakes Association

Wind God Leg was a Peerless Martial Art, and its first stance, Catching Wind and Shadows, was also one of the peerless Lightness Skills. With it being nighttime and Huang Shaojie keeping his distance, the shadow naturally failed to notice that someone was following him.

The shadow leaped and darted all the way to an estate west of Suzhou City.

The estate covered several dozen acres and contained over a hundred rooms.

A plaque hung above the towering vermilion gates, bearing three gilded characters: "Five Lakes Association."

The man in black arrived before the estate gates and strode forward.

"Who goes there?"

Four burly men in fitted outfits, patrolling through the night, drew the steel blades at their waists and blocked the man in black's path, shouting loudly.

The man in black reached up and tore off the face covering over his face, revealing the gaunt features of a man in his fifties.

Upon seeing him, the Five Lakes Association disciples hurriedly sheathed their blades and cupped their fists in salute.

"Greetings, Elder Xiao."

"Be more vigilant on night patrols these days. Don't let the Imperial Guard's hounds sneak in to scout the place."

Elder Xiao swept his gaze over the Five Lakes Association disciples and spoke coldly.

With that, he entered the estate.

In the distance, Huang Shaojie hid behind a camphor tree more than a hundred meters away, watching everything unfold.

So this assassin is actually an elder of the Five Lakes Association. That means the tax silver was taken by the Five Lakes Association.

Huang Shaojie pondered inwardly, hesitating over whether to sneak inside and investigate. But he quickly restrained himself.

The Five Lakes Association was a somewhat renowned major gang, with several hundred members and considerable strength.

Though his Lightness Skill was exceptional, the Five Lakes Association was a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers lurked. There was no guarantee he would not be discovered.

Besides, now that he knew the tax silver had been taken by the Five Lakes Association, there was no need to investigate further. Tomorrow, he could report it to Commander Niu and directly lead men to encircle and arrest the Five Lakes Association.

With that thought, Huang Shaojie no longer lingered and quietly departed.

The next day.

Huang Shaojie arrived at the Imperial Guard office. After signing in, he went straight to find Xiao Qiuyue.

"Huang Shaojie, where did you go last night?"

Seeing Huang Shaojie appear before her safe and sound, Xiao Qiuyue could not help but let out a breath of relief. Yet she kept a stern face as she asked coldly.

Huang Shaojie cupped his fists. "Reporting to Battalion Commander Xiao, this subordinate went after that assassin last night."

"Why didn't you notify us? Why did you act on your own?"

With her hands clasped behind her back, Xiao Qiuyue kept her cold expression and questioned him in a deep voice.

Huang Shaojie said, "There was no time to notify you two, my lords. Besides, this subordinate feared that too many people would alert the assassin to someone tracking him."

Xiao Qiuyue raised her delicate brows. "And you alone could track that assassin?"

Huang Shaojie said, "Exactly. This subordinate secretly followed that assassin all the way back to an estate last night."

"You really tracked that assassin?" Xiao Qiuyue's beautiful eyes lit up as she asked in delight, "Quickly, tell me—which estate did that assassin flee to?"

Huang Shaojie spoke three words. "Five Lakes Association."

"The Five Lakes Association? Then the bandits were very likely members of the Five Lakes Association?" Xiao Qiuyue's eyes widened.

"That's right. That assassin returned to the Five Lakes Association's estate and removed his face covering. The disciples on night patrol addressed him as Elder Xiao, so the people who stole the official silver must be from the Five Lakes Association."

Huang Shaojie nodded with complete certainty.

"Come. Let's report this to Commander Niu."

The two came to the main hall. After they announced themselves, Niu Ren arrived.

"Greetings, Commander Niu." Huang Shaojie and Xiao Qiuyue cupped their fists and bowed to Niu Ren.

"You two came to see me so early in the morning. Did you discover something last night?"

Seeing his two subordinates looking for him first thing in the morning, Niu Ren guessed they must have clues to report.

Xiao Qiuyue cupped her fists. "Reporting to my lord, we kept watch by the small lake last night. Sure enough, two men came and salvaged a chest of silver from the lake. Just as we were about to track the two bandits, another expert lying in ambush in the woods killed them..."

Xiao Qiuyue briefly recounted what had happened the night before to Niu Ren, then had Huang Shaojie describe how he had tracked the assassin.

After hearing this, Niu Ren slapped the table and snorted coldly.

"That assassin is an elder of the Five Lakes Association. In that case, this batch of tax silver was certainly stolen by the Five Lakes Association."

"The Five Lakes Sect has truly got the gall of a dog! They dared to kill five hundred government soldiers and rob three hundred thousand taels of official silver!"

"Banner Officer Huang, heed my command! Go at once to the Prefectural Governor's office and report to the Prefectural Governor. Have him dispatch three thousand troops to the Imperial Guard to assist in encircling and arresting the bandits."

Huang Shaojie cupped his fists and bowed. "Yes, my lord."

With that, he strode out the door.

Niu Ren looked at Xiao Qiuyue. "Pass down the order. All Imperial Guards are to assemble at the drill ground!"

Half an hour later.

Prefectural Governor Luo dispatched the Commander of the Infantry with three thousand soldiers, who arrived with Huang Shaojie to assemble before the Imperial Guard office.

Niu Ren also led five hundred Imperial Guards out, nearly deploying them all.

"Surround and destroy the Five Lakes Association! Move out!"

Three thousand infantrymen and five hundred Imperial Guards headed toward the Five Lakes Association estate.

After leaving the city, less than the time it took to burn an incense stick later, the five hundred Imperial Guards and three thousand soldiers arrived at an estate in the western outskirts and surrounded the Five Lakes Association estate so tightly that not even water could seep through.

Niu Ren sat astride a tall horse, raised his sword, and shouted, "Rebels of the Five Lakes Association, listen well! Come out and surrender at once, or you will be killed without mercy!"

At this moment.

Inside the Five Lakes Association's council hall.

Chang Haotian, the leader of the Five Lakes Association, paced back and forth across the hall with a gloomy expression.

The four Five Lakes Association elders and more than a dozen stewards wore varying expressions, all tense beyond measure.

"Association Leader, the Imperial Guard and several thousand government troops have surrounded the estate on all sides. They already know that we stole the official silver. What exactly should we do now?"

One steward spoke in extreme anxiety.

"Only two days have passed. How did the Imperial Guard trace this back to our Five Lakes Association so quickly?"

"An Imperial Guard hound must have followed Elder Xiao last night. That's how they learned the official silver was stolen by our Five Lakes Association."

"Elder Xiao, you were far too careless. Now we're all finished!" Another elder sighed.

"Impossible!" Elder Xiao shook his head. "I was extremely careful last night. I even made several loops through the mountains. If someone had been following behind me, there was no way I wouldn't have known."

"Elder Xiao, we know your Lightness Skill is good, but can you guarantee the Imperial Guard has no one with better Lightness Skill than yours?" a steward snorted.

Under normal circumstances, this steward would never have dared speak to an elder this way. But now that government troops had surrounded the Five Lakes Association, no one knew whether they would live or die, so any grievances were vented outright.

Elder Xiao's face turned extremely ugly, but he did not reply.

"Enough. Stop talking about such meaningless things. With a great enemy at our gates, everyone should join forces and think about how to deal with this!"

"What else is there to think about? We can only fight them! Are we supposed to let ourselves be bound and captured?"

"That's right. If we fight them, we may still have a sliver of hope. If the Imperial Guard catches us and throws us into the Imperial Prison, we'll be worse off than dead!"

Everyone spoke over one another. Most drew their blades and swords, declaring their intention to fight to the end.

Chang Haotian stopped pacing and sighed. "So be it, so be it. At this point, we can only resist arrest! Remember this well: do not fight them head-on. Focus all your strength on breaking out and escaping. We'll rendezvous in Western Shu."

With that, he waved his hand and led everyone out of the council hall.