At the execution ground, heads rolled, but An Chenyu did not attend. Only Mr. Wang, Wang Tianma, two attendants from the An Residence, and a manager were present, along with "Miss Ling, who seems to be involved in every sort of diverse affairs."

As for the eldest of the Wang brothers, Wang Tianchuan, who should have been there, he was absent due to urgent matters away from home.

When the head of the eldest son rolled off the execution platform, Mr. Wang's mind went completely blank...

What is happening?

Was it not a simple matter of seizing power with a letter from the old master?

How did it suddenly turn into collusion with bandits, and why did he get beheaded?

"Good! Good!"

"Well done on the killing!"

Clearly, among the onlookers there were those who despised bandits deeply, and now they were waving their arms, conveying the "very exhilarating" feeling of seeing bandits die.

Mr. Wang looked around, feeling the sunlight piercing to his eyes, and together with all the shouting of "Good!", he felt dizzy and thought: How am I going to explain this to the old boss?

...

...

"Good!"

"Good!!"

In the branches above, the celebratory firecrackers popped and crackled.

Amongst the faint smoke of gunpowder, bright red flowers were in full bloom.

A group of muscular men dressed in martial arts attire were gathered outside a densely flowering hawthorn grove, clapping their hands vigorously.

In the grove, where the flowers blossomed, an altar was set up with offerings of pig, cow, and sheep, not to mention fruit platters, and the bronze incense burner from Water Bird bore three sticks of incense still wafting softly.

Before the altar, two young men were bowing to the heavens, promising that from here on they would be brothers and support each other.

Once they stood up, Zhao Hua excitedly looked at Song Cheng and shouted with emotion, "Big brother!"

Song Cheng smiled and nodded, the black cloth around his eyes fluttering lightly in the breeze.

The muscular men from the martial arts hall immediately cheered again.

Old Master Zhao, Master Chen, and the older generation of the martial arts hall were quite heartened as they watched the scene before them, feeling much more at ease.

Although they were bound by a blood oath before, there was still a tiny, unsettled feeling in their hearts.

But the events of the past few days were clear to them, and now, as Zhao Hua, representing the power of the martial arts halls in the south of the city, became sworn brothers with Blind Song, it truly felt like they were bound together unto death.

Blind Song was destined to be a notable figure.

In this Chaotic World, having Zhao Hua and the martial arts halls of the city's south follow him, the elders felt like the weight on their hearts had completely lifted.

Old Master Zhao laughed until his mouth couldn't close, and seeing that it was about time, he waved his hand, and the cheering strongmen immediately stopped. Old Master Zhao turned to Song Cheng and called out, "Brother Song..."

The sound of laughter burst forth at his words, but as soon as they realized it was Old Master Zhao, they quickly covered their mouths, forcibly stifling their laughter.

Song Cheng said, "Uncle Zhao, Hua and I have sworn brotherhood; from now on, I will be calling you uncle."

Old Master Zhao felt a sudden increase in seniority and laughed heartily, "I'm just an old fool, an old fool."

Beside him, Master Chen chuckled, "Old Zhao is not muddled, just happy."

Old Master Zhao laughed and waved, "Let's go! Today at the southern city restaurant, everything is on the house, eat, drink, and be merry to your heart's content. Don't stop until you're drunk!"

Then he turned to the disciples of the martial arts hall, "Lads, eat and drink as much as you like!"

"Good!!" The disciples of the martial arts hall responded loudly.

...

...

This meal continued until the beginning of the night watch before it ceased.

Song Cheng, drunk as could be, returned to the Ruyi Commerce Chamber in the late afternoon and lay down on the bed, feeling as light as if he could fly away, all worries left behind.

Pure wine is indeed wonderful.

To be sober would also be fine.

But what a waste that would be.

Song Cheng decided to enjoy this rare moment of drunkenness, knowing that at the latest by evening there was still work to be done.

As expected, in the evening, a government official came to inform them that numerous bodies had been found near the south path out of the city, apparently belonging to the Ruyi Commerce Chamber, so they were summoned to identify them.

So, An Chenyu, Song Cheng, Mr. Wang, accompanied by a few guards, rushed there on horseback.

After some identification, the identities of the deceased were clear.

The Old Master of the An family, the Madam of the An Family, her personal maid, a Force Realm Warrior of the An family, and several bodyguards...

All wealth in the carriages had been plundered, and from the traces around, it seemed to be the work of bandits, as some government officials searched and found that the assailants had fled into the mountains after the robbery and murder.

Nowadays, with the number of refugees who survived in the Ghost Tide outside the city, it acts as a pitfall, and their population had yet to be thoroughly counted — bandit appearances were no surprise.

An Chenyu stood silently next to the corpse of the old master, her feelings complex.

She was roughly aware of the situation in the prefectural city, because she too had informants in the An Residence, not high level, but capable of exploring some developments.

She could guess the purpose of the old master's visit.

An Changsheng's collusion with bandits to kill her was likely also known to the old master.

But those who are punished, the ones at fault, and even those who deserve to die, are always her.

Why is that so?

Just because I am a woman?

Should women be sacrificed for your private interests?

Miss An murmured softly in a voice that only the young man by her side could hear.

She silently bowed her head, seemingly lost in thought. Gradually, the sorrow on her face was overshadowed by a firm frost. She bent down to gently pull the white cloth over, then took a deep breath as if to expel all the deep-seated "choking," "sentimentality," and "grief" within her.

After a long moment, she spoke softly, "Song, let's return to the Prefectural City to hold the funeral."

Song Cheng nodded and said quietly, "Sister An, the matters in the County City should be more or less settled now. The Prefectural City can wait, as there is a buffer no matter what happens."

The major powers were not allowed to relocate, but Ruyi Commerce Chamber was originally a Prefectural City force, and the reason for holding a funeral for the old master was unobstructed by anyone.

As for what the two needed to do in the County City, in fact, one was to turn over Shanghe County's granary, and the other was the canal.

But just yesterday, An Chenyu had successfully donated two overseers, allowing the eldest of the Wang brothers, Wang Tianchuan, and Gao Lin to join the "canal project."

The project had already begun, and both men had left this morning to go to the canal near Shanghe County.

Thus, there was truly no reason to stay in Shanghe County.

...

...

Three days later...

One by one, the coffins were loaded onto the ox carts.

The Miss was making preparations for departure.

Song Cheng, on the other hand, accompanied the steward to the county government office to apply for a road guide.

If it were another family wishing to leave, the government office might have put up barriers, but since Ruyi Commerce Chamber had its roots in the Prefectural City, and needed to return for the funeral, they wouldn't be hindered. To what extent Song Cheng's face played a part, there was a bit.

This thing about face might not be able to assure assistance in dire straits, but it would definitely invite favors to add to one's splendor.

The steward felt that the procedures for the road guide were completed extremely quickly...

Up front, procedures were being followed.

Yet Song Cheng was taken by a government official to the back courtyard.

There in the back courtyard sat Ouyang Fei at a white stone table, smiling with amusement as he watched him come.

Song Cheng, leaning on his cane, approached, performed a salute, and then sat down with a plop.

Ouyang Fei poured tea for them both and then chuckled, "The Internal Affairs Envoy will soon arrive, and we can't drink alcohol during the day, Brother Song, please bear with this."

Song Cheng smiled, "The tea is good."

He lifted his cup, sniffed the aroma of the tea, then slowly raised it level.

Ouyang Fei clinked his cup against Song Cheng's.

The two laughed heartily and both drank all the tea in their cups.

Ouyang Fei set down his cup and pulled out a letter from his robe, pushed it across to Song Cheng and said, "These past days, I've noticed that Brother Song actually has not been much affected by his eye condition. This letter is from White Camel Estate recommending talented individuals. It bears the joint signatures and seals of me and Magistrate Chen.

Brother Song, if you wish to join the sect upon your arrival at the Prefectural City, take this letter with you, if not, just tuck it away."

Song Cheng asked solemnly, "Brother Ouyang, what would happen if I joined the sect?"

Ouyang Fei thought for a moment and began to list the details.

And so Song Cheng gradually came to understand.

White Camel Estate is not just an estate, but a block called Flower Sea Block.

The entire block together constitutes White Camel Estate.

If you officially join White Camel Estate, first your family must move into Flower Sea Block, and entry and exit are by token.

This is done firstly for greater safety; secondly, it elevates status, as others seeing that you are from Flower Sea Block will know you are rich or noble and wouldn't dare to provoke you lightly; and thirdly, to root you in place, calculating any thoughts of betrayal beforehand.

Ouyang Fei naturally didn't say the third point, but Song Cheng could easily guess it.

In White Camel Estate, the old master and the young master were revered, followed by two elders, one law enforcer, and one snake-controller; as well as four internal affairs envoys and two external affairs envoys.

All these high-ranking members had strength at least in the "Form Realm."

There were even rumors that the estate master and the elders were existences above the "Form Realm" and had also broken the limit of ordinary human lifespan of a hundred years.

Internal affairs envoys managed local affairs, such as the county magistrate and county government officers, and were their superiors. However, with the four of them taking turns on duty, grouping or forming factions became impossible and undesirable.

External affairs envoys, on the other hand, managed affairs within the Martial Arts World. Compared to the internal affairs envoys, their numbers were fewer but they were all elite.

The Law Enforcement Elder, as the name implies.

The Snake-controlling Elder was established due to the special feature of White Camel Estate.

White Camel Estate controlled a way to manipulate a peculiar kind of demon beast, which was snakes. The types of snakes were not uniform, and the specifics were unclear to Ouyang Fei, who, as an Inner Sect Disciple and County Magistrate of Shanghe County, only knew those snakes were terrifying.

Therefore, the Snake-controlling Elder was considered the strongest existence apart from the old estate master.

As for the territory...

Within the eighteen counties of Hanping Prefecture, White Camel Estate occupied five, Pearl Mountain Taoist Temple took four, and Shanhe Martial Arts Hall held nine.

This time, to keep a grip on the situation, the four internal affairs envoys of White Camel Estate, and even the Law Enforcement Elder, had all been mobilized.

All this was the basic information about White Camel Estate that Ouyang Fei knew; for other dynamics, as an inner disciple, he was not clear...

As the two were talking, a minor clerk suddenly ran to the back, but seeing Song Cheng, he hesitated to speak.

Ouyang Fei spoke up gruffly, "Just say it!"

The clerk said, "This time the Ruyi Commerce Chamber is returning to the Prefectural City with some members of the martial arts halls."

Ouyang Fei asked, "How many?"

The clerk said, "Eleven... it also includes Zhao Hua of the Water Bird Martial Arts Hall and Liu Jun... "

Ouyang Fei said, "Just eleven, and you come specifically to report this? Just handle it! Don't you know that Zhao Hua of the southern city martial halls has sworn brotherhood with my Brother Song? What's wrong with going to the Prefectural City? Not sharp enough!"

The clerk quickly excused himself and left.

As the person left, Ouyang Fei clicked his tongue and whispered, "Brother, don't come too often, at least five or six days apart. Bring fewer people each time, ideally just three or four; otherwise, it's too conspicuous, other families might make trouble. If the Internal Affairs Envoy comes and investigates, it would not be good."

Song Cheng smiled, clasped his fist in thanks, and said, "I'll bear it in mind, thanks to Brother Ouyang."

Ouyang Fei laughed and replied, "You're welcome."

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