Thirty-Six Guilds: A guild president had been killed in the association's attic.
His body had then been destroyed without a trace.
The case caused an uproar throughout Ram City the next day.
Nearly every constable from the Ram City Yamen was dispatched.
However, the Great Liang Dynasty was like the setting sun.
Its grip on the Nine Provinces had long since weakened.
In Jiangnan Circuit, the prestige of the great martial sects even carried more weight than the Imperial Court.
The constables in Ram City were only scraping by.
Most had yet to enter a grade, and there were few experts among them.
At a glance, they knew this major case had been the work of a powerful martial artist.
Expecting them to hunt down the real culprit was asking too much.
They had no choice but to seek the help of the Thirty-Six Guilds and have them join the investigation.
The Thirty-Six Guilds had initially taken a keen interest in the matter and sent Attendants to investigate.
But soon, Meng Juxiang returned to Ram City.
A letter bearing the signature of Meng Juxiang, a Sixth Grade expert, was sent from the Like-Elephant Martial Hall to the Meat Trade Association.
[Zhou Zhongru of the Meat Guild schemed to seize my disciple's property.]
[He is dead, but his crime cannot be erased.]
[Apologize in person and pay tenfold compensation within three days.]
[If you fail to meet the deadline, the Meat Guild in Ram City can be replaced by another association.]
[Do not say you were not warned.]
When the letter arrived, several of Zhou Zhongru's wives and children were inside the association, weeping and complaining.
The Attendants of the Thirty-Six Guilds and the other managers of the Meat Trade Association had also gathered there.
When Meng Juxiang's letter arrived,
everyone assumed this Sixth Grade expert had come to uphold justice for them.
But when they read what was written on the letter,
the whole place fell utterly silent.
Zhou Zhongru's widows were sheltered women who had spent their lives in the inner chambers. They had always thought Zhou Zhongru was the most powerful man in Ram City.
They did not understand what a Sixth Grade martial artist like Meng Juxiang represented in Ram City.
When they saw the contents of the letter, they flew into a rage.
Hair loose and nails outstretched, they grabbed at the managers of the Meat Trade Association and the Attendants of the Thirty-Six Guilds.
"Why haven't you captured this Meng Juxiang yet?"
They spoke as though they could order anyone around.
They were used to bossing people about, and apparently still had not adjusted to their changed circumstances.
When nobody paid them any attention,
they plopped down on the ground and began wailing and making a scene.
"My husband's bones aren't even cold, and already someone's bullying us, his family!"
"Heavens, open your eyes! Strike these ungrateful, treacherous wretches dead with a bolt of lightning!"
The Attendants of the Thirty-Six Guilds had already turned pale at the sight of Meng Juxiang's letter.
Then they saw Zhou Zhongru's widows carrying on like shrews.
One of them immediately took a step back.
"Since Hall Master Meng has spoken, I can't be involved any longer. The Cloth Guild won't participate. I'll take my leave!"
"I'll take my leave too..."
"You can't leave!"
Zhou Zhongru's relatives hurried to their feet.
They grabbed at the departing men's clothes, trying to hold on to the Attendants of the Thirty-Six Guilds.
But they were all weak women who couldn't even truss a chicken. How could they hold back martial artists who had entered a grade?
Instead, they stumbled and fell to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, nearly all the martial artist Attendants of the Thirty-Six Guilds had left.
Even the Meat Trade Association's own Attendants had all taken their leave.
"Heavens above! Our master did so much for these people while he was alive, and the moment he's gone, they don't even dare show their faces!"
Zhou Zhongru's widows began cursing loudly from the floor again.
One of the Meat Trade Association's managers watched the women making a scene and shook his head as he spoke.
"These Attendants belong to other guilds among the Thirty-Six. How can you claim President Zhou supported them?"
At the same time, another influential association official stepped forward.
"Madam Zhou, do you know that Meng Juxiang is a Sixth Grade martial artist? Even Zhou Zhongru would have had to show him considerable deference in life, let alone now that he's dead."
When a wall falls, everyone pushes it over.
The Meat Trade Association's managers and officials all began to speak.
"You've offended Meng Juxiang. Unless the other heads of the Four Great Martial Halls stand surety for you, you could die and no one would ask a thing."
"Zhou Zhongru was the one at fault. The association can't be dragged down with him."
"You'll have to come up with five hundred taels and apologize in person!"
The association's managers now glared at Zhou Zhongru's wives and children like hungry wolves.
"You... you..."
"If Madam Zhou won't give us an answer on her own, then we'll have to give one on her behalf."
"Zhou Zhongru still has some houses and shops. That should be enough to cover the compensation."
Some of them made their threats outright, setting their sights on Zhou Zhongru's inheritance.
Now his wives regretted coming to the association. They should have taken all of Zhou Zhongru's wealth and left Ram City.
They had never imagined that a single page from Meng Juxiang could turn everything around.
The people who had repeatedly vowed to stand up for them now wanted to tear the flesh from their bones.
No matter how much they cried and carried on, they could no longer change the outcome.
Early the next morning, the Meat Trade Association's managers brought Zhou Zhongru's weeping widows to apologize in person.
Li Beichen had yet to leave home.
He had just finished washing up and was eating breakfast.
Then he heard a commotion outside the door.
He opened it and saw the association's managers, their faces wreathed in smiles as they bowed and scraped.
"Attendant Li, we've brought Zhou Zhongru's widows to beg forgiveness."
As they spoke, they carried up a wooden chest more than a foot wide.
They opened it in front of Li Beichen.
Neatly stacked silver ingots filled the chest to the brim.
"There are five hundred taels of silver here, taken from Zhou Zhongru's estate."
"He was insatiably greedy, and he deserved to die. This is the compensation we're offering on his behalf."
The association's men even dragged over one of Zhou Zhongru's comely concubines.
"If you're still not satisfied, Attendant Li, you may do as you please with Zhou Zhongru's concubine."
The concubine they had brought over looked at Li Beichen, a dashing and imposing man, and stopped crying at once.
Instead, a flirtatious gleam appeared in her eyes.
She had dreamed of Li Beichen taking her for himself.
The association's men wore ingratiating smiles, eager to curry favor.
"We hope Attendant Li will ask Hall Master Meng not to take his anger out on the Meat Trade Association. Everything Zhou Zhongru did was entirely his own doing and had nothing to do with the association."
"When did my master say he would take his anger out on the Meat Guild?"
Li Beichen still had no idea about the letter Meng Juxiang had sent the day before.
Seeing his confusion, they hurriedly brought out the letter.
Li Beichen read it and only then learned that Meng Juxiang had taken care of everything for him.
Not only had his troubles been settled, but he had also gained a fortune.
As he looked at the letter, a thought crossed Li Beichen's mind.
"The deterrence a Sixth Grade martial artist commands is greater than I imagined..."
Li Beichen looked at the Meat Trade Association's men and Zhou Zhongru's weeping widows.
He waved a hand.
"Leave the silver. Take these women and children with you, and get out."
"Thank you, Attendant Li!"
Hearing this, the Meat Trade Association's men were granted a reprieve. They pulled Zhou Zhongru's widows along and left immediately.
Li Beichen carried the chest of silver into the inner room with one hand and finished his breakfast.
Then he took the silver and headed for the Like-Elephant Martial Hall.
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