Breakthrough in the Heat of Battle

At dawn, the sun rose, and the thick stench of blood was blown away. Golden Sand Valley returned to its usual peace.

Many people had died that night. The invading bandits had either been slain or captured, while Golden Sand Valley itself had suffered grievous casualties. The interest group led by Qian Wen had been nearly uprooted. Yet the moment the sun rose, order once again settled over Golden Sand Valley, and the anticipated chaos never came.

Jiang Chen had actually prepared for this day long ago. His aim was to gain the ability to take over Golden Sand Valley in its entirety, not simply destroy it. What had happened last night could be called both an invasion and a purge.

Zhao Meng had led the Quicksand Bandits to loot Golden Sand Valley in order to erase the traces of his embezzlement of the golden sand. Jiang Chen, meanwhile, had intended to use this chance to swallow up the golden sand and eliminate those who needed eliminating, making Golden Sand Valley wholly his private possession.

Within a courtyard on South Slope, Jiang Chen carefully examined the spoils before him. They had been taken from the three Quicksand Bandits. Aside from three distinctive Quicksand masks, there were the three men's weapons and the medicines they carried. There were no banknotes or secret manuals.

Just then, Skinny Monkey entered from outside. He looked exhausted, but his spirits were high.

"Chief, everything has been dealt with. Also, Xiong Li is dead. He died in bed. Qian Wen was quite skilled with poison—he poisoned that concubine and used her to poison Xiong Li to death."

Lowering his head, Skinny Monkey could not help showing a trace of wistfulness when Xiong Li was mentioned.

Wealth and beauty were what men desired, all the more so for bandits like them. In his view, greed for money and women was not really wrong. He liked those things as well, and he had even wavered before. But he believed even more firmly in Jiang Chen's extraordinary nature and had staked everything on him, so he had ultimately restrained his desires.

Xiong Li, however, had been different. He had failed to truly see the situation for what it was, and so he had died upon a bed, in a woman's arms, falling on the eve of dawn.

Jiang Chen's expression did not change upon hearing of Xiong Li's death.

"What is Wang Yuan doing?"

His gaze fell on Skinny Monkey as Jiang Chen changed the subject.

"Reporting to the Chief, Wang Yuan is still in the dungeon and has not come out. Should I go find him? Qian Wen knows quite a bit of information. It would be a shame to let him die just like that."

Raising his head, Skinny Monkey secretly studied Jiang Chen's expression. After what had happened last night, his awe of Jiang Chen had risen to another level.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen pondered briefly, then shook his head.

"No need. Let him vent for now. He did render meritorious service this time. As for Qian Wen, if he dies, then he dies. I already know everything I need to know."

"Once he comes out, though, go find him and tell him to arrange the accounting matters as quickly as possible. That is what he is best at."

Jiang Chen's words were calm as he made his decision.

Skinny Monkey bowed and acknowledged the order.

"Chief, Golden Sand Valley is now completely under our control, so nothing major should happen. But with such a huge disturbance last night, it will be impossible for us to completely block the news. How should we explain this to Wooden Fish Island?"

A trace of concern surfaced on Skinny Monkey's face as he asked the question that troubled him most. Now, he truly did not want anything to happen to Jiang Chen.

"Send someone to make a trip with this Quicksand mask. Say that Qian Wen colluded with the Quicksand Bandits and looted Golden Sand Valley."

With a meaningful look, Jiang Chen handed Skinny Monkey the Quicksand mask that had belonged to Swift Sword Li San.

Skinny Monkey immediately understood.

Not long afterward, news reached Wooden Fish Island that Qian Wen had colluded with the Quicksand Bandits to loot Golden Sand Valley, that all its golden sand had been plundered, and that it had suffered severe casualties. The bandits were thrown into an uproar.

"When the Quicksand Bandits were on the verge of completely destroying Golden Sand Valley, Jiang Wang actually broke through into the first rank, drove back the Quicksand Bandits, and saved Golden Sand Valley. If I did not know better, I would think I was reading a storybook."

Inside a residence, Second Chief Zhou Quan smiled as he looked over the report his subordinate had delivered.

Seeing Zhou Quan's reaction, the gazes of several of his men shifted.

"Second Chief, do you think this was really a coincidence, or is there some hidden truth?"

One of the bandits spoke, turning his gaze toward Zhou Quan.

Hearing this, Zhou Quan shook his head.

"I don't know, and it isn't important. Jiang Wang sent over a Quicksand mask, and Third Brother has also disappeared. There is an eighty or ninety percent chance that Qian Wen's collusion with the Quicksand Bandits is true. As for when Jiang Wang broke through, I fear only he himself knows."

"Whether he was concealing his strength or it was a coincidence, the Chief will naturally deal with it. It has nothing to do with us. What we need to do is keep ourselves in line. I know Third Brother has fallen and the businesses under his command are now vacant. You all want to take a bite, and I will not stop you. But mind your table manners. This matter involves Third Brother, so the Chief cannot possibly ignore it. If you provoke his displeasure, hmph..."

Zhou Quan swept his gaze across those present and gave them a warning.

As for Jiang Chen's breakthrough in the heat of battle, Zhou Quan did not really believe it. Though stories of breakthroughs in the midst of battle had always circulated through the martial world, most involved crafty people deliberately concealing their cultivation. Those who could truly break through in battle were few and far between.

At the mention of the Chief, everyone's hearts trembled. They were all old hands among the River-Sweeping Bandits and knew full well how terrifying the Chief was. He was a true butcher.

And just as Zhou Quan had expected, this matter truly drew Ironman Tu's attention. He even made a special trip back to Wooden Fish Island from elsewhere.

"Quicksand... it seems Third Brother truly did have connections with them."

Inside a warm chamber, Ironman Tu toyed with the Quicksand mask in his hand. He sat in the seat of honor with the commanding presence of a great general, casting a vast shadow across the floor.

He had actually noticed some traces of Zhao Meng's embezzlement of golden sand before. It was precisely because of this that he had promoted a Fourth Chief and had him stationed at Golden Sand Valley. That had itself been a warning to Zhao Meng.

He had thought Zhao Meng would restrain himself after that, but he had never expected him to become even more frenzied.

"The Quicksand Bandits are indeed formidable. Their connections run deep and tangled, and even the Nanjing Kingdom's authorities find it difficult to wipe them out one by one. After all, no matter how many Quicksand Bandits are killed, as long as there is demand, new Quicksand Bandits will emerge."

"From the looks of it, Third Brother must have used the Quicksand organization to connect with certain people. That was why he wanted to amass wealth so madly, to prolong his own life. Unfortunately, he did not know that in those people's eyes, a martial brute like him was nothing. In the end, he would likely draw water with a bamboo basket and come up empty-handed."

Thinking of Zhao Meng, Ironman Tu could not help feeling somewhat wistful.

The reason he had taught Zhao Meng the Seven-Injury Fist in the first place was twofold. First, Zhao Meng dared to fight and risk his life, and his temperament suited the Seven-Injury Fist. Second, the Seven-Injury Fist could quickly produce combat strength, making it suitable for Zhao Meng, who had begun practicing martial arts relatively late. As for its drawbacks, he had clearly told Zhao Meng about them at the time.

Back then, Zhao Meng had not cared in the slightest. He had declared that without the present, where would the future come from? Rather than live in mediocrity for decades, it was better to live brilliantly for eight or nine years. Yet when he truly reached this point, his thoughts had changed.

"That batch of golden sand should already have been taken away by Third Brother. It will not be easy to recover. Still, there are some suspicious points in this matter. Third Brother made absolutely no arrangements for his wife and children, and there was not the slightest movement among the businesses under his name. It does not seem like he had prepared in advance. It seems more like a sudden impulse, to the point that the men I had arranged beforehand were unable to serve their intended purpose."

"Besides, Jiang Wang's performance has also exceeded my expectations. I did bestow Tiger-Leopard Pills upon him, but his breakthrough came far too quickly. Could he truly be one of those martial arts prodigies?"

Looking through the window toward Golden Sand Valley, Ironman Tu fell into thought.