I Like Them with Guts

Early in the morning, Cheng Mingke, the Guanfang Envoy of Black Stone Slope, had just woken up.

The Black Stone Slope Guanfang Hall had one chief Guanfang Envoy and twenty-eight deputy Guanfang Envoy. Except for those on field duty, all other staff members of the Guanfang Hall lived and ate at the Guanfang Hall, Guanfang Envoy.

Cheng Mingke could even wash up, his secretary Tong Lingzhu, reported an emergency, "Envoy Cheng, Jiang Xiang Gang has gone missing."

"Who's out of contact?" Cheng Mingke thought his subordinate was referring to the new Hall Master, Fu Botai Fu Botai to be away from the hall these past two days, as he was going to contact the sage on Sage Peak.

But Tong Lingzhu wasn't referring to the Hall Master, Fu Botai: "The entire branch has lost contact; we can't find a single person. The two branch offices in the city have also lost contact; only the branch office outside the city still has people."

Cheng Mingke asked in surprise, "What do you mean by 'the helmsman outside the city'?"

"They know nothing."

The helmsman outside the city wasn't lying about this; their helmsman only had one Sub-Gang Leader and one henchman.

Without asking any further questions, it's easy to tell what kind of status these two people held. They were the least favored members of the gang and had been exiled to the outskirts of the city.

Although they are not well-liked within the sect, they are favored by fate. Yesterday, the sect received a message that everyone should go to the granary and contact the saint with the sect Hall Master.

This is a great opportunity to make a name for oneself. Who would think of these two people when such a good opportunity is available?

Because they hadn't thought of them, these two people actually escaped with their lives.

The Guanfang Envoy, Cheng Mingke, looked grave. He immediately ordered the closure of all external transportation to Black Stone Slope and a city-wide search for members of the Black Stone Hall.

Once the order was issued, trains and ferries ceased operation, and all border checkpoints were closed; this demonstrated the power of the Guanfang Envoy.

Pro State has boundaries everywhere, and you need Travel Permit to go out. People rarely go out, so in theory, closing the roads shouldn't have a big impact.

If this were Medicine King Gully, closing it for a period of time wouldn't be a problem at all.

But Black Stone Slope is special; it is a purely industrial city.

Products from various factories were waiting to be shipped and were all piled up at the station.

Some raw materials are not produced in Black Stone Slope and need to be transported from outside. Now that transportation has been cut off, many factories have also stopped production.

That's not the most crucial point.

Food supplies in Black Stone Slope are limited. There are several villages in the far suburbs outside the city that grow a small amount of food, which is basically enough for self-sufficiency. All the food in Black Stone Slope is bought from outside.

Once transportation was cut off, Black Stone Slope's food supply was cut off.

Such a large city, doesn't it have any grain reserves?

Yes, but these stored grains are not in the hands of the residents.

The residents of Black Stone Slope don't store food at home and usually eat in the factory canteen. When they have extra money, a group of them will go out to eat at a restaurant. But now that there is no food source, the canteen is not open and the restaurants are not open either, and many people will go hungry.

When the Guanfang Envoy Cheng Mingke arrived in Black Stone Slope, his secretary Tong Lingzhu, worried that he might not be familiar with the situation, reminded him, "Commissioner Cheng, transportation to Black Stone Slope cannot be interrupted for too long. This city is quite different from other places."

Cheng Mingke said calmly, "I know that transportation is very important to Black Stone Slope, and it is precisely because it is important that they should learn to cherish it."

An entire branch of the gang has simply vanished. I don't believe no one knows a clue, but the notices have been posted for so many days without a single response. This proves they don't Guanfang Hall seriously at all.

Tong Lingzhu dared not persuade her any further, but where were the clues so easy to find?

The Jiang Xiang Gang had little presence in Black Stone Slope and operated very secretly. Most of its members disguised themselves as charlatans, temple keepers, vegetarians, fortune tellers, and medicine sellers. How could ordinary people recognize them?

What's worse, the Guanfang Hall didn't want to get involved with Jiang Xiang Gang, so the notice was written very vaguely, only saying that Fu Botai and others had disappeared. The people looked at the photos on the notice, completely confused, and no one knew who Fu Botai was.

Cheng Mingke was very confident; he firmly believed that the truth of the matter could be thoroughly investigated.

The situation in the city was tense, and the areas outside the city were also affected. Many large Lineage's businesses were inseparable from Black Stone Slope.

The Lu Family has handed over their business in Black Stone Slope to Li Banfeng and Ma Wu, but Ma Wu is not interested in managing the business right now.

He was intently cutting film in Carefree Dock.

Cutting film is a skilled job; you need to know how to cut it and how to glue it. Ma Wu wasn't exactly an expert in this area, but he had to cut this roll of film because it was the film that Li Banfeng had brought back.

The film records the entire process of the Shadow Play abducting children in Willow Pond Village and making contact with Fu Botai, the Hall Master of Jiang Xiang Gang.

That's right, this Hall Master is Fu Botai.

Ma Wu and the photo on the notice were compared repeatedly.

The reason Ma Wu edited the video himself was because he didn't want Li Banfeng's whereabouts to be revealed.

After destroying three branches of the Jiang Xiang Gang, I never expected that it was Seventh Brother who did it.

This is a bit crazy, but since we've started, Ma Wu will naturally follow Seventh Brother to the end.

After cutting the film, Ma Wu made a copy and gave it to Shen Rongqing.

Shen Rongqing looked at the film reel, and his veins throbbed.

The film was silent, but Shen Rongqing could see Fu Botai's lip movements.

"He said he can't see. Great, this time the whole of Pro State will see! The newspapers will be reprinted for the next few days!"

"Print more newspapers!" Bai Qiusheng ordered the editor of Ye Lai Xiang. "Expose Fu Botai's past misdeeds, and expose everything Jiang Xiang Gang has done over the years!"

Yuwen Qi was somewhat worried. "Now many families are almost starving. Rice prices are skyrocketing. How many people can afford to buy newspapers?"

"No money required!" Bai Qiusheng slammed the newspaper on the table. "We're giving it away for free; we have to get this straight!"

Guanfang Envoy Cheng Mingke slammed the newspaper on the table. "There really are troublemakers. Shut down this newspaper."

Tong Lingzhu quickly dissuaded him. "Envoy Cheng, we cannot interfere in this matter. There is no precedent for this in Black Stone Slope, nor in the entire Pro State."

"They need to learn to be respectful, and I will set an example for them." Cheng Mingke remained calm as he silently looked out the window.

Downstairs at the Guanfang Hall, Li Banfeng looked up at the building, lowered the brim of his hat, and quietly left.

That evening, many people in the city received a small bag of rice.

There wasn't much rice, just enough for two or three days. People were talking about who had sent the rice, and some actually saw the person who sent it.

He said his surname was En and his given name was Benefactor.

But where did this rice come from?

The next morning, before Cheng Mingke was fully awake, someone knocked on the door again.

He thought it was his secretary Tong Lingzhu, so he tidied himself up a bit before opening the door. But when he opened the door, he found it was Du Zhaohui, the deputy Guanfang Envoy in charge of logistics.

"Envoy Cheng, our canteen has been robbed."

The cafeteria was robbed?

Cheng Mingke looked at Du Zhaohui in surprise. What kind of matter was this?

"Did someone steal some food? Oh well, let it go. Just be more careful next time."

"It wasn't just a little food that was stolen; all the food in our canteen has been stolen."

Cheng Mingke was taken aback and went to the canteen's storeroom.

They didn't touch the oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar, and they didn't leave any grain for them.

An entire warehouse of grain was stolen?

Cheng Mingke was somewhat annoyed. "How did you manage to move so much grain out? What were your men doing?"

Du Zhaohui also felt wronged. "I checked the warehouse last night..."

"Stop talking, quickly send someone to purchase grain."

Du Zhaohui personally led his men to the rice shop, where the owner laughed and said, "Lord Du, you've come to buy grain? Do you eat too? That's quite a novelty."

I'm out of rice. You'll have to find somewhere else.

Du Zhaohui was very angry, but he had lived in Black Stone Slope for many years and knew that the people of Black Stone Slope were tough. Under these circumstances, he could not force a purchase, otherwise it would cause trouble.

He visited more than a dozen rice shops, but couldn't buy a single bag of rice. No matter how much he offered, each shop said they had no rice.

Even though the rice hadn't been bought, Cheng Mingke wasn't worried. "Tonight, we'll send out canned food and biscuits. A train carload of grain will arrive at the station early tomorrow morning. I'll send someone to deliver the grain back, and have your people keep an eye on the warehouse."

At eight o'clock in the morning, a train pulled into the station, which had been closed for many days.

The train was carrying grain, coal, and medicine, all specially prepared for the Guanfang Hall.

Li Banfeng disguised himself as a stevedore and, relying on his often-overlooked talent for House Cultivator, hid in a corner of the platform, waiting for the right moment to strike.

This is a message that Luo ZhengNan sent to Li Banfeng. He had just found out yesterday that a batch of supplies was to be sent to Black Stone Slope.

Li Banfeng had been waiting at the station last night, but he didn't expect the train to arrive at this hour.

Previously, when stealing food from the canteen, it was at night. Li Banfeng sneaked into the warehouse, had his gloves unlock it, and delivered the food to Portable Abode, easily taking it out.

It is now broad daylight, and the area around the station is under heavy security.

The Small Train was waiting at the station entrance. After the train unloaded its cargo on the platform, the loaders loaded it directly onto the Small Train and transported it to the Guanfang Hall.

Once the grain is delivered to the Guanfang Hall, it will be much harder to steal it. The other side has learned its lesson once and will definitely be well-prepared this time.

Whether to take action at the platform or during transport, Li Banfeng needs to make a decision as soon as possible.

He was observing the situation when he realized something was wrong with the train.

Steam Train are not easy to brake, so the train should have slowed down long before entering the station.

But the train was moving very hard, chugging along with a series of loud thuds, as if it had no intention of stopping.

Where are we headed?

Not only Li Banfeng couldn't understand it, but the other platform staff also couldn't understand it.

The flag bearer kept waving the flag, signaling the driver to stop.

The driver was terrified and kept waving at the platform from the cab.

The train has gone out of control!

Near the platform were several repairmen sent by the Guanfang Hall. One of them, a burly man, jumped onto the tracks in two steps, roared, and his body doubled in size. He supported himself on the engine with both hands, trying to force the train to stop.

"That's quite powerful," someone said to Li Banfeng. "It's a bear."

Who is it?

Li Banfeng was startled.

How did he suddenly appear beside me?

Judging from his appearance, the man was around forty years old, and judging from his clothes, he looked like a technician.

He raised his eyebrows at Li Banfeng, indicating that he didn't need to worry.

His judgment was correct; the burly man who rushed onto the tracks was a cultivator, and indeed, he was a bear.

The burly man glided for dozens of meters, but the train not only didn't stop, it didn't even slow down.

The burly man jumped off the tracks; he couldn't hold on any longer.

With both arms broken, if he continued to support himself, he would be run over by the train.

The train pulled out of the station, and the middle-aged man and Li Banfeng quietly left.

Once outside the station, the middle-aged man and Li Banfeng chased after the train, and the two of them leaped onto the train one after the other.

Sitting in the carriage, the middle-aged man said to Li Banfeng, "Young man, you must be my Benefactor."

Li Banfeng did not answer.

He didn't know the other person's identity, but he could tell that this was a senior with no ill intentions. If the other person had any ill intentions, Li Banfeng would already be dead.

The middle-aged man laughed and said, "I know that Benefactor' is not your real name. I should call you Night Boss."

He knew about this identity too?

Li Banfeng was even more surprised, and then he heard the middle-aged man say, "My surname is Tang, and my name is Tang Shijiang. I like men with guts. If you think highly of me, call me Brother Tang."

As they were talking, the train had already traveled seven or eight miles, which was unlike the speed of Steam Train.

Tang Shijiang pulled out a handful of screws from his pocket. Each screw was movable and screwed into a sack of grain, carrying the sack out of the carriage and flying far away on the railway tracks.

He's distributing the grain.

Li Banfeng said, "Brother Tang, this grain belongs to the Guanfang Hall. They will definitely investigate it one by one. If you just throw the grain away like this, without even exchanging the sacks, who would dare to pick it up?"

"Go ahead and do it!" Tang Shijiang laughed. "Everyone in my territory has guts. If you don't dare to pick them up, you don't deserve to live in Black Stone Slope!"