As the last town in Great Wei's northwest, Red River Town had naturally become the front line during the war. Military tents stretched endlessly along both banks of the Red River, lending the once-remote town a grim, martial air.
Outside the Binghe Escort Agency in a corner of town, several Black Bureau Constables patrolled with their hands on their sabers. Several carriages stood in the large courtyard.
Dressed as a shrewd, capable female sect leader, Pei Xiangjun stood at the agency's entrance, listening as Song Chi reported on the gang's affairs:
"The local gangs really have no sense of martial honor. I worked myself to the bone for months and finally brought people up from the south to establish our Branch Hall. I thought we'd test the waters with a couple of escort jobs, but look what happened. On a shipment from here to Wangheya, they got drugged by day and caught in a honey trap by night. They couldn't go thirty miles without running into some village bully blocking the road and demanding money.
"My disciple didn't even dare drink water carelessly. He finally made it to West Pass City by treading on eggshells and thought he'd be safe inside the city. Who would've imagined people would dare impersonate officers from the yamen and come demanding bribes?
"To smooth things over, my disciple invited those officers to dinner. One drinking session later, everyone was out cold. When they woke up the next day, they had nothing left but the clothes on their backs. Even their sabers were gone..."
Because of Ye Jingtang, Pei Xiangjun had actually held a fairly good impression of Liangzhou Jianghu. Only now that she was truly doing business here did she understand what "Nine Bandits out of Ten in Liangzhou" meant. A little helplessly, she