Annihilating a Clan for Wealth? No, This Was Robbing the Rich to Aid the Poor!

Huang Rong also came over with her sword in hand, looking at the Beggars' Sect disciples who were exchanging uneasy glances:

"Surely you won't conceal Elder Peng's collusion with the Hanshui Gang and his many misdeeds from your Gang Leader? Or were you involved in the Hanshui Gang's crimes as well?"

Seeing Lu Chen's gaze turn cold, the Beggars' Sect disciples broke out in cold sweat and hurriedly shook their heads.

"We were only temporarily assigned to protect Elder Peng on his way to the banquet. We knew nothing of what he had done, and we certainly never colluded with the Hanshui Gang in evil!"

They actually did know what Elder Peng had been doing. But the Nine-Bag Elder had used his status to suppress them. What could they do?

Besides, they truly had not participated in the Hanshui Gang's crimes. Even if they reported Elder Peng to the Gang Leader, at most they would be punished for failing to report what they knew. They might be demoted and beaten, but their lives would not be in danger.

But if they clashed with these three fiends—especially the Little Sword Demon, who had defeated Elder Peng with a single sword strike—they would lose their lives on the spot.

Dying for Elder Peng and the Hanshui Gang simply was not worth it. Naturally, the Beggars' Sect disciples were unwilling.

"Very good. You may leave. Remember to take Elder Peng's corpse with you and tell your Gang Leader clearly about the evil he committed."

Huang Rong kept a straight face and spoke in a solemn tone.

"We're so young, yet our martial arts are already this strong. You should understand that our backgrounds are far from ordinary. Our elders can speak directly with the Beggar Gang Leader! If you fail to report this truthfully, then the consequences will be... hmph hmph..."

In truth, she did not know the Beggar Gang Leader at all. She had grown up on an island and had only recently entered the martial world, so naturally she did not know any of its senior masters.

But that did not stop her from bluffing the Beggars' Sect disciples. Besides, what she said sounded perfectly reasonable and was sure to work.

Feeling as though they had been granted a pardon, the Beggars' Sect disciples repeatedly said, "We will certainly report this truthfully to the Gang Leader," while lifting Elder Peng's corpse and fleeing in a hurry.

Li Mochou came over as well and asked, "What do we do next?"

Huang Rong snapped her fingers.

"Next, we loot the Hanshui Gang's ill-gotten wealth!"

Li Mochou's eyes lit up.

Murder, arson, annihilating a clan for wealth... No! Eliminating the strong to aid the weak, robbing the rich to help the poor. This counted as practicing the way of the righteous hero, didn't it?

The three of them then began robbing the rich to aid the poor at the Hanshui Gang's headquarters.

Under Huang Rong's lead, with her expertise in mechanisms and talent for finding hidden rooms, they uncovered a secret chamber. Inside were large amounts of Huizi, gold, silver, and debt notes. They also found an underground prison and released more than ten women from it.

The gold, silver, and Huizi together weighed only a few dozen jin, and Lu Chen could easily carry them all. Once they were done here, they could go to Xiangyang and exchange most of the gold and silver at a money house for easily carried paper notes, keeping only a small amount of gold and silver for use within the Jin Dynasty.

As for the various usury debt notes, they simply burned them all.

Some of the dozen or so women had been abducted by the Hanshui Gang. Some had been seized as repayment after the gang had set traps for their families. Others had simply been kidnapped from passing boats after the Hanshui Gang disguised themselves as river bandits at night. All were pretty young women whom the gang had intended to train before selling them to brothels for profit.

The local women who had been abducted or seized to pay debts were easy to handle. They gave each woman a sum of money and sent her home.

The few women from elsewhere were a little more troublesome.

After thinking for a moment, Huang Rong came up with an idea.

"Take them to Xiangyang and hire a reputable escort agency to send them home. Hmm, whether they're local or from elsewhere, we'll give every woman some money. That'll count as robbing the rich to aid the poor."

As she said that, she remembered something else.

"Oh, right. The Hanshui Gang has a backer, some Inspector Song. We've taken down the Hanshui Gang. If we openly take these women to Xiangyang to hire escorts, that Inspector Song may notice us. So..."

Lu Chen understood and nodded with a smile. "Root out evil completely."

In this world, true masters even dared to break into the imperial palace of the Great Song Dynasty. Huang Yaoshi's disciple Qu Lingfeng had done so, as had Hong Qigong, Ouyang Feng, and even the Prince Zhao's Manor F4 from the Jin Dynasty.

Lu Chen felt that while he was certainly no match for Hong Qigong or Ouyang Feng yet, he should be no weaker than Qu Lingfeng. He could break into the Great Song Dynasty's imperial palace if needed, so killing a mere inspector would be effortless.

That day.

The Hanshui Gang's headquarters was destroyed. The bodies of its First Boss, the River-Turning Dragon Cao Song; its Second Boss, the Black-Clothed Scholar Shen Qingshi; and many of the gang's skilled fighters were all hung before the main gate of the headquarters estate. A line of bloody words was also left on the gate:

Those who bring harm upon the people shall receive this retribution!

Below the large characters was a smaller line:

Be careful. The Little Sword Demon may return at any time...

This was no empty threat.

Lu Chen and Huang Rong would occasionally come to visit Condor Brother. Who knew when they might suddenly feel inspired and come here again to enforce heaven's justice?

If the Hanshui Gang lackeys who had scattered thought the storm had passed and wanted to continue preying upon the locals, they had better carefully consider whether their necks were hard enough to withstand the Little Sword Demon's sword.

And that was not all.

That very night, an inspector surnamed Song was assassinated in his home. The killer came and went without leaving a trace, and the case became an unsolved mystery. Yet those who knew of Inspector Song's connection to the Hanshui Gang naturally knew who the killer was after hearing that the Hanshui Gang headquarters had been destroyed and Cao Song's group hung outside its gates.

After all, he had announced his name: Little Sword Demon Lu Chen. Besides the few Beggars' Sect disciples, many Hanshui Gang members who had fled had heard that title at the headquarters or even witnessed him kill.

So the killer's identity had never truly been a secret.

However, what local official would dare casually provoke such a terrifying man, one whose martial arts were so formidable and who killed without hesitation?

They simply pretended not to know and let the matter slide.

Also, the day after Inspector Song was assassinated, a reputable escort agency in Xiangyang accepted an assignment to send several young women back to their respective hometowns.

The task was not difficult, and the reward was quite generous. Yet when the chief escort accepted it, he was still trembling with fear. He pounded his chest and repeatedly promised that as long as the escort goods remained, he would remain—and if the goods were lost, he would die.

It was said that the person hiring the escort merely smiled and nodded.

"The goods remain if the escort remains, and if the goods are lost, the escort dies? Well said, Chief Escort. When one travels the martial world, one must keep one's word. I'll truly remember what you said."

The chief escort had still forced himself to say that a martial artist's word was as good as a nail driven into wood, and that the honored guest could rest assured.

But the moment the client left, the chief escort began sweating like rain and nearly collapsed to the floor.

As a man in the escort trade, he naturally had to deal with "good friends" from all corners of the martial world, so his information was exceedingly well connected. Thus, the chief escort knew perfectly well who that seemingly easygoing young client with the smiling face really was.

That was the Little Sword Demon Lu Chen, a great fiend who had killed more than sixty people in a single day, including a Nine-Bag Elder of the Beggars' Sect and an inspector!

Therefore, the chief escort truly did mobilize the agency's elite afterward and personally escorted the shipment, successfully completing the assignment.

At this moment.

Inside a restaurant in Xiangyang.

Lu Chen, Huang Rong, and Li Mochou sat in a private room, drinking in celebration.

All the local women had been sent home, while the women from elsewhere had been entrusted to the escort agency. Most of the gold and silver had been exchanged for Huizi. They had also given Li Mochou a share, letting her taste the sweetness of robbing the rich to aid the poor and strengthening her resolve to act as a righteous hero.

"Brother Lu, Sister Rong'er, where do you plan to go next to uphold justice?"

Li Mochou raised a cup to Lu Chen and Huang Rong, then asked eagerly.

Huang Rong smiled. "Where does Sister Mochou plan to go?"

Li Mochou had originally heard that Dali enjoyed spring-like weather all year round and was filled with brilliant camellias, so she had planned to travel south to visit Dali.

But now she had changed her mind. She wanted to travel the martial world with Lu Chen and Huang Rong, upholding justice together.

She immediately looked at Lu Chen and Huang Rong with anticipation.

"I wish to travel with Brother Lu and Sister Rong'er. May I?"

Hearing Li Mochou's suggestion and seeing the expectant look in her eyes, Huang Rong had initially wanted to refuse.

Although Li Mochou was quite interesting, and they had worked well together when taking down the Hanshui Gang, still...

The two of them were just right together. With three people, it felt a little crowded.

But then she reconsidered. Li Mochou's Movement Technique and swordsmanship were both quite exquisite, and Lu Chen needed to collect many sword arts to improve his sword path. Perhaps Li Mochou's swordsmanship could count as one?

She immediately nodded with a grin.

"Sure! Sister Mochou, come with us."

Li Mochou was instantly overjoyed. She filled a cup of wine, raised it toward Lu Chen and Huang Rong, and drained it in one gulp without another word.

After downing the wine so quickly, a faint flush immediately spread across her fair, jade-like cheeks.

Seeing Li Mochou's delighted expression, Lu Chen's face could not help turning a little strange.

Traveling the martial world with the future notorious Crimson Armored Fairy...

Well, if Li Mochou did not head south and instead traveled north with him and Rong'er, she would not meet Lu Zhanyuan, fall in love and then suffer heartbreak, causing her temperament to change drastically until she became a twisted, darkened demoness.

So as long as Li Mochou traveled with them, that would indirectly save quite a few lives?

The not-yet-born Lu Wushuang, her entire family, and all the innocent people Li Mochou was supposed to massacre years later should at least kowtow once to Rong'er and him...