Two Hundred Brothers... That's It?

Capital City, Shallow Water Pier.

A dense cluster of merchant ships lined the docks, porters hauling cargo from vessel to shore. The capital's nine canals had fostered a thriving, unique dock culture born of its prosperous waterborne trade.

The Canal Gang was the undisputed local power in this tangled web of waterways.

Though not ancient in origin, the Canal Gang encompassed porters and shipping merchants across Shandong, Jiangnan, and the Two Guangs. Its reach was vast, its branches blooming everywhere, its organization bloated and unwieldy.

In the early years of the Late Emperor Yong's reign, the treasury ran dry, so he enacted the policy of melting down fees to cover shortfalls. But heavy taxes starved the people and bred chaos, so he shifted to a land-based tax system, expanded arable acreage, and prioritized agriculture.

The Late Emperor Yong, unlike Ganhuang in his early years who loved war or his later years of indulgence, deeply understood that food is the foundation of the people. He placed immense importance on farming—a true veteran of the plow.

In contrast, Ganhuang was like a whale-spending, PVP-obsessed nouveau riche. His early military glories were bought with cash, and his later years were spent throwing money at women and selecting consorts...

The Late Emperor valued agriculture. With the great push for farming, granaries were established nationwide, and grain transport routes were smoothed. Across Great Jing, rice in the south and wheat in the north had mostly traveled by land. But the empire was vast and bountiful, and land routes were arduous and risky. So the Late Emperor issued an imperial decree, calling for commoners to undertake waterborne grain transport.

The Canal Gang's predecessor was the Grain Boat Gang. It began when three brothers—Weng, Qian, and Pan—answered the decree to handle waterborne grain shipping. They became the three founders of the Canal Gang, which later split into the Weng, Qian, and Pan branches.

The largest branch, the Pan family, was in Jiangnan. Here in the capital, the Weng branch ruled, now controlling the nine canal shipping ports.

Among them, the local boss at Shallow Water Pier was Weng Deyan.

This Weng Deyan had ties to the Western Affairs Party in the court. He took their silver and used his influence over local water transport to smuggle and store Fortune-Longevity Paste.

But even though many in the court knew it, they could never find evidence of their collusion. No matter how many times the Six Fan School came, they couldn't locate the warehouse where Weng Deyan hid his Fortune-Longevity Paste.

The Canal Gang hall at Shallow Water Pier.

A burly, broad-faced rough man sat in the central chair, cracking open a large plate of crabs. This was Weng Deyan, the local snakehead of Shallow Water Pier.

Below him, a crowd of Canal Gang thugs gleefully pinned down several battered constables, their faces swollen from beatings.

In the capital, the only ones bold enough to assault Six Fan School constables—aside from the outlaw organizations already wanted by the court—were the overbearing local powers like the Canal Gang.

"Still coming to cause trouble, huh? Trouble? Like sticking your nose in? Huh? I'll give you something to stick!"

The Canal Gang brutes kicked viciously, leaving the constables bruised all over, teeth shattered and bleeding. Weng Deyan watched from the side, eating his crabs, making no move to stop them. He didn't seem worried about the yamen coming after him.

Afraid of the yamen? Don't be ridiculous. They were in the business of beheading offenses. If the yamen really came knocking, it wouldn't just be trouble—their heads would roll.

So from the start, they never sought good relations with the yamen. On the contrary, they had to intimidate them into staying away. Beating constables was done on Weng Deyan's orders. His men were told to harass any Six Fan School personnel on their turf, to scare the working constables into avoiding Canal Gang territory, forcing even those under orders from above to drag their feet.

But today, a tough nut had arrived.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Several cold swords flew down!

Weng Deyan's eyes sharpened. He stomped the ground, and a burst of qi blasted outward, scattering the clustered Canal Gang members.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The swords embedded themselves in the floor, forming a protective ring around the nearly dead constables.

If Weng Deyan hadn't acted, the flying swords might have wounded some of his men.

A figure landed—a woman in a green headscarf, a sword case on her back. She reached out, and all the swords on the ground flew back into the case.

Weng Deyan narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, finally rising from his chair. He clasped his hands and said:

"Ho, if it isn't Officer Xue Ning of the Divine Constable Hall. Heard you went to the Western Regions to hunt down some bandits. When did you get back to the capital? Didn't even give your brother a heads-up so I could prepare a feast to welcome you. Tsk, tsk, well then—look, I've got fresh sea reds from this morning's first boat. Help yourself."

Weng Deyan, his hands greasy with crab oil, held up a crab claw to Xue Ning.

Ding! A cold sword flashed out and back, the blade's shadow unseen. The crab claw had already snapped in two.

Weng Deyan bared his teeth and cursed:

"Bitch, you don't know when you're well off."

Ding! Ding! Ding! Clang!

Blades and swords clashed in a sudden flurry. Weng Deyan now held a Muddy Water Staff, parrying three of Xue Ning's strikes in quick succession. He retreated ten paces, a fresh cut on his face.

As for Xue Ning, she still stood with her hands behind her back, not a step moved, her sword already sheathed. It was all too fast—ordinary eyes couldn't track her movements.

"As expected of the Six Fan School's top fighter. Though we're both peak experts with a century of cultivation, I can't even block three of your strikes. Among the peak ranks, you're truly number one."

Weng Deyan's face twisted into a manic grin:

"But so what? You still haven't crossed that step to Grandmaster. No matter how strong you are, you're no match for a Grandmaster."

Xue Ning's face was a frozen mask of indifference. She hadn't spoken a single word. As she was about to unleash her next strike, someone spoke up.

"Stop. Let's take our wounded brothers back."

Zhuifeng appeared abruptly in the hall. No one saw where he came from—peerless lightness skill, shadowless and traceless. He hoisted an injured constable, glanced at Weng Deyan, and said to Xue Ning:

"Just got an urgent report. A Canal Gang Grandmaster has arrived in the capital. Already entered the city."

Xue Ning's brow furrowed slightly. Her sword stayed in its sheath.

Seeing Xue Ning hold back, Weng Deyan breathed a silent sigh of relief. He planted his Muddy Water Staff and relaxed his stance, but his face remained arrogant.

"Officer, you really don't know how to be polite. I offer you crabs, and you come to my place smashing things."

Zhuifeng sneered: "Weng Deyan, your men beat my Six Fan School brothers. Your gang smuggles Fortune-Longevity Paste. I ought to invite you to the Ministry of Justice's prison today for a taste of jail food."

Weng Deyan laughed at that: "Aiyo, Officer, let's not talk nonsense. You say I smuggle Fortune-Longevity Paste—got any evidence? Where did I ship it? No evidence, and you want to pin a crime on me? Isn't that just bullying the common folk with your rank?"

"Weng Deyan." Zhuifeng's voice turned cold. His steel-boned Elegant Fan snapped shut, pointing at Weng Deyan like a blade's tip.

"Don't think we're leaving you alone because the Canal Gang has a master backing you. We're just following procedure. But one of our Six Fan School brothers died on your Shallow Water Pier, and I haven't forgotten that. Once the Fortune-Longevity Paste case is closed, I'll personally see you off."

"Ha, what an impressive show of authority. What do I care if someone from the Six Fan School died? Isn't it because they're too useless?"

Weng Deyan let out a wild laugh, pointing at the several constables on the ground who had just been beaten bloody.

"Today I'll make it clear to you Six Fan School: my Shallow Water Pier has two hundred Canal Gang brothers, every one of them a top-notch fighter. If you dare come looking for trouble, we'll beat you back every single time..."

Weng Deyan had heard that the Canal Gang's master had finally arrived in the Capital City, and his confidence swelled. Today, he was determined to provoke the Six Fan School and humiliate them. But just then, a Canal Gang member rushed in frantically from outside the hall, shouting:

"Boss, it's bad! Our brothers got beaten up!"

Weng Deyan frowned and clicked his tongue. He was in the middle of confronting the Six Fan School—where did this wet blanket come from?

"Then take some brothers and hit them back!"

"We went. Couldn't win."

"If you can't win, call more men! We've got two hundred brothers—why didn't you call for backup?!"

"We went. All two hundred brothers went."

"Then what the hell are you yelling about? Get lost."

"All two hundred... all of them got taken down!"

"What?!" Weng Deyan jolted in shock, then roared in fury: "What kind of expert dares to attack my Canal Gang?!"

"It's, it's, it's..."

This Canal Gang member stammered for a long time, but his memory seemed hazy, as if he couldn't recall the terrifying figure who had brutally crushed the two hundred Canal Gang brothers. Deep in his eyes, a vast golden sea rippled, and he muttered strange words under his breath:

"Forgot... just remember a stretch... a stretch of Yellow Millet Land..."