Conspiracy

Somewhere.

A slightly old temple.

There were no gods or Buddhas in the temple, only a black sculpture with the body of a crow and the face of a human.

Some ragged poor people, with numb and ashen expressions, were kowtowing and praying in front of the sculpture, one after another in an endless stream. The incense burner in front of the sculpture was also constantly filled with incense.

In the corners, some Gray-skinned Rats squeaked, scurrying back and forth in the shadows.

Behind the temple, in a courtyard of moderate size, many people wearing strange black costumes were hurrying back and forth.

"Vice Leader, there's a bit of trouble."

Inside a secluded small room at the innermost part, a Black Crow Sect member dressed in black was prostrate on the ground, reporting something to a man who was also dressed in black, but with black crow feather patterns embroidered on his collar with red silk thread.

The Vice Leader sat there, opened his eyes, looked over, and said calmly, "What is it?"

"Among the people captured this time, there seems to be one who has some connection with a Yamen Runner Captain from the City Guard..."

The sect member prostrating on the ground carefully reported the situation: "It seems that the other side has already been alarmed, and that person is sending people to investigate this matter."

The Vice Leader frowned slightly and said, "Where are the people?"

The sect member whispered, "They have already been sent to the Main Altar."

Upon hearing this, the Vice Leader revealed a pensive look and said, "Then let's pretend we don't know about this matter."

The people had already been sent to the Main Altar, and there was absolutely no way they could be released. Any leakage of information from the Main Altar would be a huge problem. As for being implicated with a Yamen Runner Captain from Nine Stripes Ward... that wasn't a big deal.

Once that matter could be accomplished, not to mention a mere Yamen Runner Captain from Nine Stripes Ward, what about the Main Division of the South District?

"Alright, don't tell anyone about this matter again. You may leave."

The Vice Leader waved his hand.

The sect member responded in a deep voice and got up to leave.

Red Gold Gang headquarters.

Compared to the Thieves Guild's winding, narrow, and congested alleys, the Red Gold Gang's location was much more spacious. They occupied a large area, with several courtyards connected to each other.

When Chen Mu arrived with his men, he could even hear the shouts of some people practicing their swordsmanship and martial arts in the backyard.

The gang members outside, upon hearing Chen Mu's intentions, immediately went inside to report. After a moment, someone came out and respectfully led Chen Mu and his party into the courtyard, and all the way to the westernmost side, a small courtyard that was obviously much more exquisitely decorated.

"Lord Chen, you are indeed a talented and promising young man."

A man in a dark robe stood in the courtyard. Hearing the movement behind him, he slowly turned around. He looked to be about forty years old, with a pair of unusually bright eyes. He was none other than Yin Hong, the leader of the Red Gold Gang.

As the leader of the largest gang in Nine Stripes Ward, with hundreds of gang members under his command, his power was comparable to that of the City Guard, and he even had a background from the Inner City. His status was comparable to that of Min Baoyi.

"I have long admired Leader Yin's name."

Chen Mu walked into the courtyard, signaling Liu Song and the others to wait outside.

The Red Gold Gang was obviously also very concerned about the Black Crow Sect's affairs. Upon hearing his intentions, Yin Hong, the gang leader, personally met him, instead of sending a Vice Leader or someone else, which showed how much importance they attached to it.

Chen Mu didn't waste any words and explained his purpose in a few sentences.

After listening, Yin Hong pondered for a moment and said, "If it's not related to the Thieves Guild, and it's not something done by someone else, then it's most likely related to the Black Crow Sect. To be honest, even some of my Red Gold Gang members have gone missing in their place, and their whereabouts are still unknown."

"Oh?"

A strange glint flashed in Chen Mu's eyes.

After a brief thought, Yin Hong said, "The Black Crow Sect created some Black Crow God, deceiving the people and extorting money, which has always been despised by us. Recently, many missing person cases have been vaguely related to them. Among them, some relatives of my gang members have disappeared, and then the gang members under my command went to investigate, and then they also disappeared."

"For this reason, I personally went to negotiate with the Black Crow Sect, but they brushed me off. For the sake of the stability of Nine Stripes Ward, it is really inconvenient for me to fight them head-on, after all, I don't have any evidence here."

Yin Hong said with some shame.

Chen Mu naturally only listened to half of Yin Hong's words. What stability of Nine Stripes Ward, what no evidence, was pure bullshit. It was nothing more than not wanting to fight the Black Crow Sect to the point of mutual destruction, and being taken advantage of by others.

Speaking of this, Yin Hong looked at Chen Mu with burning eyes and said, "This Black Crow Sect is so bold that they even dare to touch the people of the City Guard. I suspect they have a bigger conspiracy behind them. Master Chen can report this matter to Min Yamen Director, and if the City Guard comes forward, then my Red Gold Gang will definitely be willing to cooperate in the investigation."

The intention of this sentence was very obvious.

What disappearance, what conspiracy, were most likely nonsense. Yin Hong wanted to take the opportunity to join forces with the City Guard to wipe out all the territory occupied by the Black Crow Sect in Nine Stripes Ward.

After all, the power of the Black Crow Sect extends to multiple 'wards', and its power on the surface is greater than that of the Red Gold Gang. Although the Red Gold Gang has a so-called Inner City backing, it is just some domestic dogs cultivated by the big shots in the Inner City at will. They are only used when needed, and they are too lazy to look at them when they are not needed. If the Red Gold Gang wants to seek development, Yin Hong can only rely on himself.

If they could take advantage of this opportunity to instigate the City Guard to take the lead, then their Red Gold Gang could naturally follow along calmly and beat the Black Crow Sect severely, throwing them out of Nine Stripes Ward.

"A conspiracy is not necessarily the case."

Chen Mu naturally knew Yin Hong's purpose. He was not so easily instigated by Yin Hong's few words to become the Red Gold Gang's gun. He said in a flat tone, "It's just a matter of trafficking in some people. How can a mere small sect become a climate?"

After hearing this, Yin Hong chuckled and said, "Master Chen is in the City Guard, so the news may not be as well-informed as ours. Master Chen may not have noticed that recently, there have been many more Gray-skinned Rats in this city for no reason?"

Hmm?

When Chen Mu heard Yin Hong's words, a strange look appeared in his eyes.

As Yin Hong said, he had indeed encountered a lot of Gray-skinned Rats these past few days. Not only were there many, but they were also very large, fierce in nature, and dared to attack people, which was very abnormal. However, he had not associated this matter with the Black Crow Sect.

Yin Hong's eyes were deep as he said, "Although the people I sent out have all disappeared for no reason, they still managed to find out a little bit of news. In addition to worshiping the Black Crow God, there is also an unknown 'Guardian God' in this Black Crow Sect, and the image of this Guardian God is that of a Gray-skinned Rat!"

This sentence finally made Chen Mu's eyes flash.

Missing person case,

Guardian God,

Gray-skinned Rat,

Yin Hong's information was mostly true. If only one or two things were related to the Black Crow Sect, it wouldn't be anything, but encompassing the missing person case, the Gray-skinned Rats appearing everywhere, and the hidden so-called Guardian God, all kinds of signs and clues gathered together, it did give people a vaguely ominous feeling.

Especially when it came to Gray-skinned Rats, Chen Mu had seen them with his own eyes, and he understood even more the harm of this kind of thing. In his previous life, it was the source of countless kinds of plagues and disasters.

If the Black Crow Sect wanted to use this kind of Gray-skinned Rat to do something, it would definitely be a very bad event.

Investigating Zhang Youying's disappearance unexpectedly involved such a thing, which also made Chen Mu become more serious than ever before. After a brief thought, he immediately cupped his hands at Yin Hong and said, "I will report all the situation to Yamen Director, so I will take my leave first."

Yin Hong also raised his hand and smiled, "Then I will wait for the good news. Please also inform Min Yamen Director that as long as there is any action from the City Guard, I will definitely comply."