Framing

Inside Luyang City.

What had happened the night before had spread like wildfire.

Most people did not believe Feng Qi would do such a thing. If he did not want to give out silver, he could simply have refused from the start. Why go through the trouble of handing it out only to snatch it back afterward?

Robbing them was one thing, but robbing them while dressed in Peacekeeping Gang uniforms—and not even killing anyone afterward?

It was far too obvious a case of framing someone else.

Even a three-year-old child could see the holes in it.

Yet this crude scheme that everyone could see through dealt a severe blow to the public's confidence in the Peacekeeping Gang. If they could not even protect themselves, how could they speak of protecting others?

What was the point of collecting silver from the Peacekeeping Gang? Sooner or later, it would just be stolen away again, and they would get beaten for nothing besides. Why suffer through that? The Beggar Gang, Taishan Sect, and the other sects searched through the night but found no one in their ranks suspected of being possessed by a Celestial Demon. When they learned of what had happened to the Peacekeeping Gang, they all waited to see Feng Qi make a fool of himself.

Uphold justice?

Did he really think it was some kind of game? But before they could wait for Feng Qi to investigate the culprit, they received letters inviting them to join the Peacekeeping Joint Defense.

Elder Ding of the Beggar Gang stared at the invitation in his hand, utterly baffled. "What does Feng Qi mean by this? What happened last night was obviously the work of Iron Palm Gang members. Could he be planning to borrow our strength to deal with the Iron Palm Gang?"

"Perhaps that really is what he means." An old beggar beside him, filthy from head to toe, had also read the invitation. He gave a scornful laugh. "There are too few people Feng Qi can use. So what if he is formidable? If others deliberately sabotage him, his Peacekeeping Gang will not be able to continue. A Celestial Demon is nothing special. Once he comes to our world, he has to follow our rules."

"If this is all Feng Qi has up his sleeve, then I have overestimated him," Elder Ding said. "Still, I feel he should not be so simple."

"Elder Ding, you are overthinking it. Look at what he did yesterday—either he used force or scattered silver. His methods truly are that simple, just like a child a few years old, acting without regard for the consequences. By his own account, Celestial Demons must act according to their attributes. That simply will not work in the human world; people can see through them far too easily." The old beggar said, "The human heart is complicated. A straight gut cannot travel far..."

"Elder Lu, do you think I should go?" Elder Ding asked.

"I think you should. He invited people from the other Three Gates and Five Sects as well. He should not have the nerve to lay hands on everyone." Elder Lu said, "Watching a joke unfold from within Luyang City cannot compare to seeing it firsthand. We can also observe up close whether he has truly been weakened. Elder, we know far too little about Celestial Demons."

"Good, Elder Lu. Let us go together." Elder Ding agreed with the old beggar's view and smiled as he put away the invitation. "Let us see what kind of mischief that little Celestial Demon is making."

The same scene played out at the strongholds of the other sects.

The leaders stationed in Luyang City contacted one another, confirmed that they had all received invitations, and arranged to visit the Peacekeeping Gang together.

The Three Gates and Five Sects were not on the same level as the Iron Palm Gang. A few remnants of the Iron Palm Gang had already left Feng Qi harried and overwhelmed. They firmly believed that no matter how powerful Feng Qi was, he would not dare provoke so many sects at once.

After all, each of them had a colossal force at their backs.

The Green Dragon Gang, Blood Saber Gate, Snow Mountain Sect, and Kunlun Sect were too far from Luyang City for their spheres of influence to reach this place. Strictly speaking, only six sects had a presence in Luyang City: the Beggar Gang, Taishan Sect, Huashan Sect, Emei Sect, Divine Fist Gate, and Tianshan Gate.

The six sects sent ten people in total. They sat in the Peacekeeping Gang's council hall, chatting and laughing as they exchanged their thoughts on Celestial Demons. None of them took Feng Qi's invitation seriously.

Before long.

Dug, the other two, and Liu Cheng entered from outside.

Dug and his companions looked as calm as usual. Only Liu Cheng's expression was somewhat unsightly, and his nervousness was obvious. But the leaders of the various strongholds had their attention on Dug's group, so no one paid attention to insignificant Liu Cheng.

Even if they had noticed, it would not have mattered. A minor hall master who had only just betrayed his former master and abruptly discovered his new master might be unreliable was naturally bound to be worried.

"Feng Qi, Gang Leader of the Peacekeeping Gang, greets you, seniors." Dug wore a broad smile as he cupped his fists in salute. "You seniors represent the Three Gates and Five Sects. Now that the Peacekeeping Gang has only just been established, I ought to have visited each of you personally. But I am sure you have all heard about what is happening at present. This is my first time managing a sect, and I lack sufficient manpower. Handling these matters has inevitably left me rushed off my feet. Having no other choice, I invited everyone here. Please forgive any breach of etiquette."

"No matter." The Taishan Sect Daoist waved a hand and said blandly, "The Peacekeeping Gang has taken over the Iron Palm Gang's territory, and Gang Leader Feng has become the master of Luyang City. It is only proper that we come to pay our respects."

"You are too courteous, Daoist." Dug returned the salute, sweeping his gaze over the group. "May I ask the names of you seniors?"

"Gao Yong of Taishan Sect," said the Taishan Sect Daoist.

"Ding Wanjie of the Beggar Gang," said the Beggar Gang elder.

"Nie Nong of Huashan." The Huashan Sect representative was a middle-aged man. He glanced at Dug and gave him a perfunctory fist salute.

"He Yuan'an of Divine Fist Gate." Divine Fist Gate's representative was likewise around forty. His gaze was icy, and he did not show Dug a friendly face.

Their Sect Master had been close with Qiu Yuanlang. Among these sects, Divine Fist Gate had maintained the closest dealings with the Iron Palm Gang. Feng Qi had swallowed up the Iron Palm Gang with lightning speed, which was tantamount to provoking Divine Fist Gate.

He had directly harmed Divine Fist Gate's interests. How could he possibly give Feng Qi a pleasant look? If he had not been worried that he could not defeat Feng Qi, he would have acted long ago to rescue Qiu Yuanlang.

Han Zuo and the others were currently at his stronghold. He knew about what had happened the previous night as well. He had come this time to learn Qiu's former Gang Leader's exact situation. After Feng Qi posted such a notice, Qiu Feipeng and the others had been frantic with worry. If he had not stopped them, they would already have charged over to save their father.

"Yu Yang of Emei Sect." Emei Sect's representative was a woman, but not a nun. She was presumably a lay disciple.

"Xia Mingliang of Tianshan Gate." Tianshan Gate's representative was about the same age as the Beggar Gang elder, seemingly in his fifties. Yet his complexion was rosy and his belly round, making him look more like a merchant than a martial artist.

"Feng Qi greets you seniors." Dug cupped his fists again and made a sweeping salute to the group. He then took the seat of honor and said with a smile, "Seniors, I am sure you all saw what happened yesterday. There are too many villains in the martial world. Relying on their bit of strength, they bully the common people and ruin the reputation of us martial artists.

Though this junior is a Celestial Demon possessing a body, having come to this world, I am a person of this world. Seeing the hardships endured by the masses, I cannot help but feel pity. I wish to uphold righteousness in the martial world, but every step is fraught with difficulty. As you all saw, no sooner had I achieved a little yesterday than petty villains came to sabotage it."

He looked around at the crowd and sighed. "The martial world is so vast. Trying to uphold justice through one's own strength is harder than climbing to heaven. Yet seeing dark and evil forces run rampant, I truly cannot swallow this anger. Moreover, there are hundreds of people like me, possessed by Celestial Demons, stirring in the shadows. Thinking that the martial world could descend into chaos at any moment leaves me unable even to sleep. After much consideration, I came up with the Peacekeeping Joint Defense.

The martial world belongs to everyone, and the Three Gates and Five Sects are its leaders. If dark and evil forces are allowed to continue their misdeeds, it will inevitably tarnish the reputation of us martial artists. If we unite and strike at evil together, snuffing out the Celestial Demons while they are still buds, we can surely restore a bright and clear sky to the martial world in the shortest time possible. Then whenever the people speak of us, they will praise us with one voice. Would that not be wonderful?"

If the Qiao Family had said such things, we might have considered it.

Who did he think he was?

He had only just seized a tiny, sesame-seed-sized gang, yet he dared to lead an undertaking like this? Who gave him the nerve?

Hearing Feng Qi's lofty, righteous speech, every one of them laughed.

Gao Yong of the Taishan Sect was fairly mild-tempered. He glanced at Dug and said, "Gang Leader Feng, Peacekeeping Joint Defense is a matter of grave importance. I am merely the person in charge of Luyang City and cannot make such a decision. If you are sincere, you may seek out the Taishan Sect Leader directly. Should the Sect Leader agree, Gao will naturally obey."

"Daoist Gao is right," Nie Nong of the Huashan Sect said with a smile. "Gang Leader Feng, you have come to the wrong people."

"If we are speaking of Heavenly Demons throwing the world into chaos, isn't Gang Leader Feng himself one who seized his position unjustly? This He has seen no other Heavenly Demons—only you, Gang Leader Feng, committing evil." He Yuan'an of the Divine Fist Gate was far less polite. With a cold laugh, he said, "Who here does not know that Gang Leader Feng's Peacekeeping Gang was snatched from Gang Leader Qiu? And the gold and silver divided yesterday came from the Iron Palm Gang's holdings. Murdering people and seizing their livelihoods—which one of your deeds has anything to do with justice? To hear you speak of upholding the martial world's code of honor is truly laughable. In my view, if we are to eradicate Heavenly Demons, we should begin with Gang Leader Feng..."

"Senior He." Dug looked at He Yuan'an and suddenly sighed. "The reason Feng invited everyone here to discuss joint defense was to leave Senior a measure of dignity, in the hope that you would return from the wrong path. Who would have thought Senior would remain stubbornly blind? Since that is the case, this junior need not leave Senior any dignity either."

"What do you mean, stubbornly blind?" He Yuan'an frowned. Instinctively assuming that Feng Qi had learned of his sheltering Qiu Feipeng, he retorted.

"Senior, take a look at this." Dug pulled a bundle from beneath the table, undid its fastening, pointed at the contents, and asked.

Inside the council hall.

Everyone looked over. Inside the bundle were several crumpled Peacekeeping Gang uniforms. They looked at one another, none of them knowing what Feng Qi intended to do. "They are merely a few Peacekeeping Gang uniforms," He Yuan'an said.

"They are indeed Peacekeeping Gang uniforms." Dug looked at him and said unhurriedly, "But these uniforms were found at the Divine Fist Gate's headquarters by the Peacekeeping Gang, together with the Beggar Gang and the Taishan Sect..."

The moment those words left his mouth, an eerie silence fell over the council hall.

It was over!

Liu Cheng shut his eyes in anguish. Feng Qi was dead set on poking a hole in the heavens!

"Utter nonsense!" Several voices rang out at once.

"When did my Taishan Sect join forces with you?" Gao Yong of the Taishan Sect said.

"When did the Beggar Gang join forces with you?" Elder Ding of the Beggar Gang stared wide-eyed, utterly dumbfounded.

He Yuan'an was so angered that he laughed. Shaking his head, he said, "I knew you, Feng Qi, were shameless, but I never thought you could be shameless to this extent. Do you really think we are fools? What happened last night—even if you investigated it, you could not possibly have done so this quickly. Only ghosts would believe you..."

"If I say there was, then there was." Dug looked at He Yuan'an and rose to his feet. "Today, Feng may have no choice but to seek justice for the innocent people of Luyang City who have suffered wrongful accusations!"

Bang!

Feng Zhong shut the doors of the council hall.