Handover

The clash between the two could hardly be called lightning-fast, but it was over in just a few breaths, with the victor decided. This left the members of the Fierce Tiger Gang with their jaws on the floor. In contrast, the six people from Wan Jian Peak remained as usual, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

Hall Master Xing sat on his chair, his face ashen, seemingly still recovering from the shock. Situ Liang and the others didn't step forward to comfort him. Their minds were racing. They had initially felt resigned to accepting Wan Jian Peak taking over the Fierce Tiger Gang, but upon seeing that the envoy was a young man, they naturally wanted to give him a taste of their power, to show him that the Fierce Tiger Gang wasn't to be trifled with. This would indirectly place them in a favorable position during the subsequent distribution of power by the Gang Leader. Therefore, when Hall Master Xing raised an objection, no one stopped him; they chose to watch from the sidelines. However, the outcome was far beyond their expectations. Hall Master Xing was defeated in just three moves. Recalling Qu Xiangfeng's three moves, the timing of the attacks was exquisite. Each move was one that Hall Master Xing had no choice but to meet head-on. The angles of attack weren't particularly tricky, even being broad and open. But the most crucial aspect was the force behind the strikes; the cultivation power contained within the great sword was something Hall Master Xing couldn't match. It was a display of mastery through simplicity. Anyone else from the Fierce Tiger Gang would have met the same fate.

No wonder the Fierce Tiger Gang only sent seven people; these seven individuals were worth more than half the entire Fierce Tiger Gang.

Seeing the fluctuating expressions on the faces of the Fierce Tiger Gang members, Qu Xiangfeng didn't give them much time to think. He held his great sword and announced loudly, "Everyone, if anyone else has any objections, please step forward and speak."

Situ Liang and the others exchanged glances. Elder Chu stood up and said, "Young Hero Qu, please put away your sword. We have no objections."

Seeing Elder Chu speak, Qu Xiangfeng slung the great sword back onto his shoulder. However, he didn't return to his seat. Instead, he looked at the members of the Fierce Tiger Gang and confirmed again, "Does anyone have any objections to Wan Jian Peak temporarily taking over the Fierce Tiger Gang?"

Situ Liang and the others replied in unison, "Yes, we obey the Gang Leader's orders and will follow the instructions of Young Hero Qu of Wan Jian Peak."

Then, Situ Liang invited Qu Xiangfeng to take the main seat, saying, "Please take the main seat, Gang Leader Qu. We will follow your command."

Qu Xiangfeng didn't stand on ceremony. He walked to a chair at the front of the hall and sat down, then said to the members of the Fierce Tiger Gang, "Please, everyone, be seated."

Everyone then resumed their seats.

Qu Xiangfeng said, "Everyone, please don't have any reservations. I am here on the orders of my Sword Master to temporarily take over the Fierce Tiger Gang. All affairs will be returned to the Gang Leader upon her return. Furthermore, until the Gang Leader returns, the sect's affairs will continue to be managed by Elder Chu, Hall Master Situ, and the others as usual. We will not interfere. We only ask that Hall Master Situ inform us before undertaking any actions."

Situ Liang and the others were quite puzzled. What was this supposed to mean? They occupied the Gang Leader's position but didn't exert the Gang Leader's authority, nor did they concern themselves with the sect's affairs. Hall Master Xing even looked at his cracked tiger's mouth with regret, thinking why he had bothered to compete, only to lose face. However, the others soon came up with their own explanations. The Fierce Tiger Gang was their entire world, not to be violated. But in the eyes of these people, it was merely a chicken's rib. Qu Xiangfeng probably didn't want to come either, but due to his Master's orders, he came here and decided not to interfere, letting them develop on their own.

With this thought, everyone showed a look of relief.

Seeing that everyone understood his intentions, Qu Xiangfeng didn't wish to linger in the hall. He said, "Then I entrust the future affairs of the Fierce Tiger Gang to all of you. We will temporarily reside in the accommodations arranged this afternoon. Do not disturb us while we practice our martial arts unless it is important." After saying this, he cupped his hands in farewell to the members of the Fierce Tiger Gang. The group then returned to their lodgings.

Upon returning to their lodgings, Qu Xiangfeng instructed everyone to go into their respective rooms, leaving one person to guard the door. Looking at the five people in the room, Qu Xiangfeng said with satisfaction, "Today's business with the Fierce Tiger Gang is concluded. From now on, we will stay here and await further instructions from the Sword Master. Junior Brothers Wang, you two should get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, you will go to Lu Town and keep a close watch. If any martial arts figures appear, notify us immediately." The two men cupped their fists in agreement.

Then, Qu Xiangfeng instructed the remaining individuals, "The rest of you will continue to practice martial arts according to our usual habits at Wan Jian Peak. Do not slack off."

Everyone responded in agreement and dispersed.

Situ Liang and the others remained in the hall in silence for a while. Elder Chu spoke, asking, "Little Liang, where have Young Hero Qu and his group been arranged to stay?" He did not refer to him as Gang Leader Qu.

Situ Liang replied, "They have been arranged in rooms East One to East Seven."

Elder Chu said, "Let them stay in the VIP rooms."

Situ Liang replied, "Understood. I will immediately arrange for the servants to handle it. At the time, I was flustered after reading the letter, which led to the improper arrangement."

Elder Chu then said, "How about this? Everyone is tired today, so let's all go back and rest. We can discuss any matters together tomorrow morning, how does that sound?"

Everyone dispersed.

Situ Liang slowly returned to his small room. The room was not lit by an oil lamp, and it was completely dark. He walked into the darkness with familiarity and, closing the door tightly, walked to his desk. He stood there, gazing out the window at the moon obscured by dark clouds, remaining still for a long time. After a while, as if his thoughts had cleared, he lit the oil lamp. The large flame quickly filled the small room with light. Situ Ping picked up paper and a brush and carefully wrote a letter in very small characters. Then, she carefully rolled it into a small paper tube, placed it in a metal ring, and then took out two empty metal rings, placing two blank paper tubes inside. She then put these three metal rings into her bosom, blew out the oil lamp, and walked out of the small room.

After leaving his room, Situ Liang did not go far but entered another, slightly larger room adjacent to his. As soon as he opened the door, he could hear the "coo coo, coo coo" of pigeons from inside. It turned out this was where the carrier pigeons were kept.

He walked familiarly to a corner at the very back and, from a pile of pigeon cages, found three slightly smaller ones. He opened them one by one and took out the metal rings from his bosom, skillfully attaching them to the ankles of three pigeons. Finally, he carried these three cages to the window, opened the window, opened one cage, and released a pigeon. The pigeon flew into the air, circled a bit, and then landed on the windowsill, seemingly unwilling to fly away. However, Situ Liang caught the pigeon and threw it into the air again. This time, the pigeon circled a bit and then flew off in one direction.

Situ Liang did not release the second pigeon immediately. He waited quietly for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Hearing no movement, he released the second pigeon. After the second pigeon flew away, he released the third one.

All three carrier pigeons flew in the same direction, carrying a mysterious mission in the dark night.

The rooms where Qu Xiangfeng and his group were staying were quite a distance from Situ Liang's room, located in different directions from the main hall. Therefore, they did not notice the commotion. The members of the Fierce Tiger Gang were accustomed to the pigeons flying out, so the sound of these three pigeons flying out did not attract anyone's attention.

After completing all this, Situ Liang returned to his small room. This time, he did not relight the lamp but went directly to the kang (heated brick bed) and slept fully clothed.

Everything in the Fierce Tiger Gang fell silent under the moonlight, with only the occasional guard on duty, their eyes hazy with sleep, walking unsteadily.

Everyone was asleep, each with their own thoughts.

In the Zhang family courtyard in Guo Village, everyone was also asleep. Only from the Maternal Grandmother's room came the sound of suppressed coughs.

The Maternal Grandmother lay on the kang, covering her mouth tightly with the quilt. She tilted her ear, constantly listening towards Zhang Xiaohua's side. Although the moonlight outside was bright, the room was still very dark, and there was no movement from Zhang Xiaohua's side. Yet, the Maternal Grandmother was genuinely worried about waking her beloved grandson and disturbing his sweet dreams. But her own frail body felt a tightness in her chest, and she couldn't suppress her coughing. She couldn't leave her room, nor did she want to disturb her grandson. What could she do?

To her relief, Zhang Xiaohua was sleeping soundly. She thought that perhaps tomorrow she would tell her son's mother to let her move to a relative's woodshed, so she could feel at ease. Just then, Zhang Xiaohua seemed to have turned over. The Maternal Grandmother quickly closed her mouth, suppressing the cough that had reached her throat. But how could such a cough be suppressed? The Maternal Grandmother's throat itched, her face felt flushed, and when she heard Zhang Xiaohua stop moving, she carefully coughed. However, because she had suppressed it for a while, the cough was much more violent, and the Maternal Grandmother even felt liquid cough onto the quilt.

The Maternal Grandmother did not sleep for most of the night. When the roosters crowed several times outside, and it felt like dawn, the Maternal Grandmother quickly got up and fumbled her way out. The courtyard was still very quiet. The Maternal Grandmother heard no other sounds, presumably Guo Sufi and Liu Qian hadn't gotten up yet either. So, the Maternal Grandmother didn't walk towards the center of the courtyard but leaned against the outer wall of the room, covering her still-coughing mouth with a towel.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, the Maternal Grandmother heard the door of the main hall creak open. Someone came out, followed by Guo Sufi's voice, "Mother, why are you up so early? It's cold outside."

Guo Sufi walked over, intending to help the Maternal Grandmother back into the room, but the Maternal Grandmother refused to go back, saying, "I keep coughing, and I'm afraid of waking Xiaohua."

Guo Sufi's eyes immediately reddened and said, "Then, Mother, come into the main hall first."

She helped the Maternal Grandmother towards the main hall. Just then, Liu Qian also got up. She was also surprised to see Guo Sufi helping the Maternal Grandmother and quickly opened the door of the main hall wide, letting them both in.

Listening to the Maternal Grandmother's continuous coughing, she couldn't help but think, "I wonder if this spring water is really effective. The Maternal Grandmother's condition is getting worse and worse."