Discussing a Grand Plan

Chen Ming discussed matters with his elder brother, Chen Rui. "The city will probably be in chaos for a while. Show Water Street is home to wealthy families, making it easy for thieves to set their sights on it. To be safe, we can't stay here any longer."

Chen Rui remained composed and asked, "Then where should we go? Leave the city?"

"That won't be necessary. Let's return to the old residence for a while. The people there are all ordinary families; thieves won't go there. Don't worry. The imperial court won't allow Qingfeng City to remain in such disorder. I believe they'll take action soon."

Chen Rui found that reasonable. "All right, we'll move back to the old residence. When do we leave?"

"The sooner the better. We'll set out now."

Chen Ming and the others brought only daily necessities and traveled light as they returned to their old residence.

It had not been vacant for long, so after a little cleaning, it was ready to live in. It was not much trouble.

Still, it was hard to go from luxury to frugality. Having moved from a grand mansion back into this little courtyard, everyone felt somewhat unaccustomed to it, even though they had only lived in the new home for barely over a month.

Chen Ming continued sending people out to gather information. By evening, he finally received definite news. It turned out that Black Flood Dragon King's men had done it.

Six Doors moved swiftly as well. By noon, they had found the pirates' hideout. Those pirates were desperadoes who had cast their lives to the wind, so naturally they would not surrender without a fight. The two sides clashed.

It was said that Six Doors lost several men and killed only one bandit, while all the rest escaped. At least they recovered quite a bit of gold, silver, and valuables.

"Even Six Doors can't beat them? Are these pirates really that fierce?" Wei Shi's face went pale. She was badly frightened.

In her eyes, it was precisely because Six Doors existed that those river-and-lake brigands did not dare cause trouble in the city. Yet now, these pirates were running rampant, and even Six Doors could do nothing against them.

That left her deeply uneasy.

At this point, the servant added, "It is said that Envoy Sun, Second Young Master's senior brother, led the team this time. He was injured as well."

Sun Shicai was injured too?

The sense of insecurity in Chen Ming's heart grew even stronger.

They were merely a group of obscure pirates, yet they had managed to injure even Sun Shicai, a Seventh Rank martial artist. This showed just how formidable these pirates, who lived precarious lives at sea, truly were.

More frightening still, these pirates had only just arrived in Qingfeng City. Unfamiliar with Six Doors' strength, they had held back somewhat and did not dare act recklessly.

Now that someone had tested Six Doors' capabilities, the pirates lying dormant would surely discover with alarm that Six Doors was nothing but a paper tiger.

What they would do next was easy enough to imagine.

Chen Ming strictly ordered everyone in the residence not to go out for the next few days. Having prepared in advance, he had stocked up that day on enough grain to feed the entire family for months.

Even the pharmacy temporarily closed its doors, planning to reopen only after this wave of unrest had passed.

That night, no one slept well. From time to time, they could hear disturbances drifting from afar, each one making their hearts pound and their flesh crawl. Only near dawn did things finally quiet down.

At long last, dawn arrived. Just as the sun rose, someone knocked on the door.

The gatekeeper yawned as he went over, lifted down the heavy door bar, and opened the gate. Seeing several of Second Young Master's senior brothers, he did not dare slight them. "You must be here to see my Second Young Master. I'll report your arrival at once."

He led the three men to the main hall, then went to find Second Young Master.

Before long, Chen Ming received the message and hurried over. "My three senior brothers have come to visit, yet I failed to welcome you from afar."

The visitors were Gu Junrong, Wang Mingkai, and Li Qingchang.

Wang Mingkai had always been impatient. Not bothering with pleasantries, he said, "Junior Brother, something big has happened."

After Chen Ming sat down, he asked, "Is Senior Brother referring to Senior Brother Sun's injury?"

Wang Mingkai gave a snort. "How is that a big matter? Do you know what earth-shaking event happened last night?"

"What was it?"

"A group of pirates attacked the Gu Family. The Gu Family suffered countless casualties. Even Gu Yanchang, that Fourth Rank expert, was severely wounded. If not for that man from Six Doors arriving in time and rescuing him, he would likely have died on the spot."

Chen Ming sucked in a cold breath.

The Gu Family was Qingfeng City's foremost aristocratic family. Although, with the rise of maritime trade, the Seven Great Merchants had long since surpassed the Gu Family in both influence and power.

Still, the Gu Family had been passed down for centuries. Its strength and foundations were beyond question. With a Fourth Rank expert guarding it, it had nevertheless nearly been wiped out.

He asked in shock, "Who did it?"

Gu Junrong said gravely, "I fear it was Dragon King Zheng's adopted sons. Only they possess such strength."

Dragon King Zheng had nine adopted sons, all bearing "Flood Dragon" in their titles: White Flood Dragon King, Green Flood Dragon King, Black Flood Dragon King, and so on.

Several of them possessed Fourth Rank cultivation. If several joined forces, the Gu Family truly would be unable to withstand them.

"These pirates are truly too rampant."

Chen Ming muttered.

He had never expected these pirates to be so bold. Others picked the softest persimmons to squeeze, but they had gone straight for the hardest bone to chew.

Wang Mingkai said, "I heard the Gu Family estate was looted clean. Tsk, that was wealth the Gu Family had amassed over several centuries."

Chen Ming felt troubled. "After this, I fear everyone in Qingfeng City will be in danger."

Gu Junrong agreed. "Yes. When we came here just now, we saw quite a few carriages heading toward the city gates. They have probably been scared out of their wits and are fleeing this place."

At this moment, Li Qingchang suddenly said, "Junior Brother was still the clever one. You moved back to the old residence yesterday. The houses around here are clearly ordinary homes with no profit to squeeze out, so those pirates won't set their sights on this place."

"Earlier, we went to your new home and came up empty-handed. You don't know this, but two more households on Show Water Street were robbed last night, and people died. One of them was surnamed Zhang. I heard they had a grudge with your family."

The Zhang Family?

That was hardly surprising. On Show Water Street, their gate was the most imposing of all. It was perfectly normal for the pirates to target them.

But in a situation like this, Chen Ming had no mind to gloat over their misfortune.

Suddenly, Gu Junrong and the other two exchanged glances. Wang Mingkai was still the one who spoke. "Actually, we have an unreasonable request. We would like to bring our families here to stay with you, Junior Brother..."

The moment Chen Ming heard this, before Wang Mingkai could finish, he clapped his hands. "That would be wonderful. They can look after one another with my family."

"Junior Brother is truly righteous. Should you have any command for us in the future, we will never utter a word of refusal."

Gu Junrong and the other two solemnly thanked him.

What worried them most was their families. Huo Manor was too conspicuous a target and was instead unsafe. Chen Ming's place was not only inconspicuous, but it also had an Eighth Rank Martial Artist present. It was the safest place they could think of.

That very day, all three brought their families over.

Fortunately, the Chen Family residence was large enough. After clearing out the reception hall and other areas and squeezing in a little, they could barely fit everyone.

Two more days passed. The pirates grew ever more rampant, and unrest continued throughout the city. All sorts of news came in, and it was truly three scares a day. The city's wealthy households lived in constant terror.

Under such circumstances, someone finally could not sit still any longer.

That morning, someone came knocking again. This time, Zhang Mingyu came in person, bringing four or five others, all carrying weapons.

The moment he saw Chen Ming, he delivered a bombshell. "Baofeng Bank was robbed last night."

Chen Ming sighed. "They have finally made their move against the Seven Great Merchants."

Baofeng Bank was a bank jointly established by three of the great maritime merchants.

It was clear that the pirates had finally been unable to resist plundering the Seven Great Merchants.

In Qingfeng City, the Seven Great Merchants were undoubtedly the fattest sheep. Calling them rich enough to rival a nation might have been an exaggeration, but the wealth of those seven families far surpassed that of everyone else in the city.

Even the Gu Family's accumulation over centuries was nowhere near comparable.

No one understood better than these pirates just how immense the profits of maritime trade were.

"Therefore, in the middle of last night, Manager Qian of the Four Seas Trading Company sent someone to contact me. He said they wanted to gather all the martial artists in the city to discuss a grand plan for dealing with the pirates."