The Frame-Up

Inside Luyang City.

Word of what had happened last night spread like wildfire.

Most people didn't believe Feng Qi would do such a thing. If he didn't want to hand out the silver, he could have simply not given it out in the first place. Why go to all that trouble—hand it out, then steal it back?

Stealing it was bad enough, but they'd done it wearing Peacekeeping Gang uniforms. And after stealing it, they hadn't even killed anyone?

It was such an obvious frame-up.

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

But this clumsy scheme, obvious to everyone, had badly shaken the public's faith in the Peacekeeping Gang. If they couldn't even protect themselves, how could they claim to protect others?

So what if people went to the Peacekeeping Gang to collect their silver? Sooner or later, someone would steal it from them anyway, and they'd get beaten for nothing. What was the point?

The Beggar's Sect, Taishan, and the other sects had spent all night investigating, but hadn't found anyone in their ranks who seemed to have been possessed by a Heavenly Demon. Once they heard 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 this was a game?

But instead of waiting for Feng Qi to investigate the culprit, they received invitations asking them to join the Peacekeeping Joint Defense.

Elder Ding of the Beggar's Sect stared at the invitation in his hands, completely baffled. "What does Feng Qi mean by this? Last night's incident was obviously the Iron Palm Sect's doing. Could he be hoping to use our strength against them?"

"Maybe that really is what he means." A filthy old beggar beside him had also read the invitation. He gave a mocking laugh. "Feng Qi has too few people he can rely on. So what if he's powerful? If people are determined to make trouble for him, his Peacekeeping Gang won't last. The Heavenly Demon is nothing special after all. Once they enter our world, they have to follow our rules."

"If these are all the tricks Feng Qi has, I'd have to give him more credit than I thought," Elder Ding said. "I still feel he can't be that simple."

"Elder Ding, you're overthinking it. Look at what he did yesterday: either used force or handed out silver. His methods really are that simple, like a little child who never thinks about the consequences. From what he says, Heavenly Demons have to act according to their attributes. That won't work in the human world; it's too easy to see through." The old beggar shook his head. "People are complicated. Straightforward people don't get far..."

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

"I think you should. He invited the other three schools and five sects, too. He can't be reckless enough to go after all of us." The old beggar said, "Watching from the sidelines in Luyang City is nowhere near as interesting as seeing it firsthand. We can also get a closer look at whether he's been weakened. Elder, we know far too little about Heavenly Demons."

"Fine, Old Lu. Let's go together." Elder Ding agreed with the old beggar. Smiling, he put away the invitation. "Let's see what tricks that little Heavenly Demon brat is up to."

The same thing happened at the other sects' strongholds.

The representatives of several sects in Luyang City got in touch with one another. After confirming they had all received invitations, they agreed to go to the Peacekeeping Gang together.

The three schools and five sects were in a different league from the Iron Palm Sect. A few remnants of the Iron Palm Sect had already given Feng Qi a terrible headache. These people were convinced that no matter how powerful Feng Qi was, he wouldn't dare offend so many sects at once.

After all, they all had a powerful force backing them.

The Azure Dragon Gang, Blood Sabre School, Snow Mountain School, and Kunlun School were too far from Luyang City to extend their influence there. To be precise, only six sects had a presence in Luyang City: the Beggar's Sect, Taishan, Huashan, Emei, Divine Fist School, and Tianshan School.

Ten representatives from the six sects came. They sat in the Peacekeeping Gang's Council Hall, chatting and trading opinions about Heavenly Demons. None of them took Feng Qi's invitation seriously.

Before long,

Du Ge, two others, and Liu Cheng walked in from outside.

Du Ge and the others looked composed. Only Liu Cheng seemed uneasy; his nervousness was plain to see. But the representatives' attention was fixed on Du Ge and the other two, so no one paid much attention to a minor figure like Liu Cheng.

Even if they had noticed, it would have made no difference. He was a minor hall leader who had just betrayed his former master. It was only natural that he would feel anxious after discovering his new master wasn't reliable.

"Feng Qi, leader of the Peacekeeping Gang, offers his greetings to all the seniors." Du Ge smiled broadly and cupped his fists in salute. "You represent the three schools and five sects. The Peacekeeping Gang has only just been formed, so I should have visited each of you in person. But I'm sure you've all heard about the recent events. This is my first time running a sect, and I'm short on manpower. Dealing with all these matters has kept me terribly busy, so I had no choice but to invite you here. Please forgive my discourtesy."

"Think nothing of it." The Taoist from the Taishan Sect waved a hand dismissively. "The Peacekeeping Gang took over the Iron Palm Sect's territory, and Leader Feng became the master of Luyang City. It's only right that we come to pay our respects."

"You're too kind, Daoist." Du Ge returned the salute and looked around at the group. "I haven't yet had the chance to ask your names."

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

"Ding Wanjie of the Beggar's Sect," said the elder from the Beggar's Sect.

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

"He Yuanan of the Divine Fist School." The Divine Fist School's representative was also in his forties. He gave Du Ge a cold look.

His sect leader was close to Qiu Yuanlang, and of all the sects, theirs had the closest ties with the Iron Palm Sect. Feng Qi had swallowed up the Iron Palm Sect in the blink of an eye, which was as good as picking a fight with the Divine Fist School.

He had directly harmed the Divine Fist School's interests. How could he possibly treat Feng Qi warmly? If he weren't worried he couldn't beat Feng Qi, he would have already stepped in to save Qiu Yuanlang.

Han Zuo and the others were currently at his stronghold. He knew about last night's incident, too. He had come this time to learn more about Old Leader Qiu's situation. After Feng Qi posted that notice, Qiu Feipeng and the others were frantic with worry. If he hadn't held them back, they would have rushed over to rescue their father already.

"Yu Yang of the Emei Sect." The Emei representative was a woman, but not a nun. She was likely a lay disciple.

"Xia Mingliang of the Tianshan School." The Tianshan School's representative was about the same age as the Beggar's Sect elder, around fifty. But he had a ruddy complexion and a large belly, making him look more like a merchant than a martial artist.

"Feng Qi offers his greetings to all the seniors." Du Ge cupped his fists again and gave them a sweeping bow, adopting a very humble posture. Then he took the seat of honor and smiled. "Seniors, I'm sure you all saw what happened yesterday. There are too many villains in the martial world. They rely on their meager martial skills to oppress the common people and tarnish the reputation of all martial artists.

"Though I'm a Heavenly Demon who took over someone else's body, having come to this world, I'm now one of its people. Seeing the hardships of the common folk, I can't help but feel compassion. I want to uphold justice in the martial world, but I've found it difficult to make any progress. You all saw for yourselves: as soon as I made a little headway yesterday, scoundrels came along to sabotage it."

He looked around at them and sighed. "The martial world is vast. Upholding justice by oneself is as hard as reaching the heavens. But I can't stomach watching evil forces run rampant. Besides, there are hundreds of others like me who've been possessed by Heavenly Demons, all stirring in the shadows. The thought that the martial world could descend into chaos at any moment keeps me awake at night. After much thought, I came up with the idea of the Peacekeeping Joint Defense.

"The martial world belongs to everyone, and the three schools and five sects are its leaders. If we let evil forces keep doing as they please, it'll inevitably tarnish the reputation of all of us who practice martial arts. If we join forces to fight evil and nip the Heavenly Demons in the bud, we can restore a bright world to the martial realm in the shortest time possible. Then the common people will sing our praises whenever they hear our names. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

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

Who do you think you are?

You've only just seized a tiny little gang, and already you dare to take the lead on something like this. Who gave you the nerve?

Hearing Feng Qi's lofty and righteous speech, the group all laughed.

Gao Yong of the Taishan Sect was relatively mild-mannered. He glanced at Du Ge and said, "Leader Feng, the Peacekeeping Joint Defense is a matter of great importance. I'm only a minor representative in Luyang City, so I can't make that decision. If you're sincere, you can approach the Taishan Sect's leader directly. If he agrees, I'll naturally follow his orders."

"Daoist Gao is right." Nie Nong of Huashan smiled. "Leader Feng has come to the wrong people."

"If you're talking about Heavenly Demons throwing the world into chaos, then you yourself took power by illegitimate means, didn't you, Leader Feng? I haven't seen any other Heavenly Demons. I've only seen you doing evil." He Yuanan of the Divine Fist School was far less polite. He gave a cold laugh. "Everyone here knows that you took the Peacekeeping Gang from Leader Qiu. The gold and silver you handed out yesterday came from the Iron Palm Sect, too. You seized their property and killed their people. What part of that had anything to do with justice? Hearing you talk about upholding justice in the martial world is a joke. If we really want to eliminate the Heavenly Demons, we should start with you, Leader Feng..."

"Senior He." Du Ge looked at He Yuanan and sighed. "The reason I invited you here to discuss the joint defense was to give you a chance to save face. I hoped you'd see the error of your ways. But you're still stubbornly refusing to change. In that case, I won't spare you the embarrassment any longer."

"What do you mean, refusing to change?" He Yuanan frowned, instinctively assuming Feng Qi knew he was harboring Qiu Feipeng. He hurried to defend himself.

"Senior, what do you think this is?" Du Ge pulled a bundle out from under the table, untied it, and pointed to the contents.

Inside the Council Hall,

everyone looked over. The bundle contained several wrinkled Peacekeeping Gang uniforms. They exchanged puzzled glances, none of them knowing what Feng Qi was up to.

"They're just a few Peacekeeping Gang uniforms," He Yuanan said.

"They are indeed Peacekeeping Gang uniforms." Du Ge looked at him and spoke slowly. "But these uniforms were found at your Divine Fist School's stronghold by the Peacekeeping Gang, the Beggar's Sect, and the Taishan Sect working together..."

As soon as he spoke, an eerie silence fell over the Council Hall.

It was over!

Liu Cheng squeezed his eyes shut in misery. Feng Qi was determined to turn the whole world upside down!

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

"When did the Taishan Sect ever work with you?" Gao Yong of the Taishan Sect demanded.

"When did the Beggar's Sect ever work with you?" Elder Ding of the Beggar's Sect stared wide-eyed, stunned.

He Yuanan was so angry he laughed. Shaking his head, he said, "I knew you were shameless, Feng Qi, but I never thought you could be this shameless. Do you really think we're fools? Last night's incident only just happened. Even if you investigated, you couldn't have found anything this quickly. No one but a ghost would believe you..."

"I say it happened, so it happened." Du Ge looked at He Yuanan and stood up. "Today, I'll have to seek justice for the people of Luyang City who've suffered this injustice!"

With a bang,

Feng Zhong shut the Council Hall's doors.