Chapter 221: Chapter 216: Seeking to Take Control of the Kaiyang Sub-Branch

In the third month, peach blossoms fluttered everywhere.

The great fire at the mountainside manor in the outskirts of Yujiang County Town raged fiercely, its blaze reflected in the evening clouds over West Mountain, echoing the fresh blood on the open ground outside the manor.

Lamentations filled the land; blood flowed like rivers.

Hoofbeats drummed—numerous Embroidered Uniform Guards and Gu Family disciples were handling the aftermath.

The setting sun hung low as its afterglow scattered down,

Gu Zhan sat atop a boulder, gently wiping the blood from his face. Before his eyes, the system interface appeared:

Player: Gu Zhan

Realm: Profound Mysterious Realm

Cultivation Technique: Profound Yang Skill (Ninth Floor 0/5 million)

Skills:

Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique (Great Success)

Creation Golden Body (Great Success)

Four Seas Unification Blade Technique (Great Success)

Lingxi Sword (Great Success)

Wangchuan Swordsmanship (Great Success)

Frost Ice Finger (Great Success)

Experience Points: 4,460,541

...

"Brother Gu!"

At this moment, Mo Beiyan walked over, sat down beside Gu Zhan, gave a thumbs up, and praised, "You were really cool today—absolutely badass!"

Gu Zhan chuckled lightly and said, "So you mean I wasn’t cool before?"

"Nah, before you were averagely cool, but today you were fucking dazzling," Mo Beiyan replied with a grin. "Especially when you killed Liu Ziyuan—damn, that was epic! If I were a woman, I’d totally throw myself at you right now."

Gu Zhan tossed the blood-soaked cloth to the ground and said, "Even if you were a woman, I wouldn’t be interested."

Mo Beiyan laughed and said, "But seriously, Brother Gu, when I saw you kill Liu Ziyuan just now, it really felt like a weight lifted from my chest. Back when I was in Canglan City, I was mainly targeted by the Liu Family. On the surface, they didn’t dare do anything to me, but in the dark, they were always trying to kill me. If it hadn’t been for Ninth Sister, I wouldn’t have survived till now."

After saying this, Mo Beiyan let out a long sigh and said, "But, Brother Gu, Liu Ziyuan was the Third Master, the direct line of the Liu Family, with high status and great influence. He was also my elder brother’s own uncle. Now that he’s died by your hand, it’s probably pissed off both my big brother and the Liu Family for real."

"Are you scared?" Gu Zhan laughed softly.

"Fuck no," Mo Beiyan said, "If you hadn’t backed me up, I would’ve gone to Canglan City last year to die already. Being able to stir up such a mess now—that’s something I’d never have dreamed of before. I’ve already made my gains. I’m just worried that I’ll drag you down, Brother Gu!"

Gu Zhan patted Mo Beiyan on the shoulder and said, "If I say I’ll cover you, I’ll absolutely have your back. Rest easy. It’s just the Liu Family—not worth worrying about. Besides, that tomato juice you coughed up wasn’t for nothing, right?"

Mo Beiyan gave a sheepish grin and said awkwardly, "You noticed?"

"Which old hand in the Martial World wouldn’t notice?" Gu Zhan replied. "But your acting when you spat up blood was pretty convincing. If I hadn’t caught the tomato juice at a glance, you might’ve fooled me too."

Mo Beiyan smiled and said, "What acting? I really was injured by Liu Ziyuan. It was because he made a move on me that all of this happened."

Gu Zhan’s gaze turned cold as he said, "Liu Ziyuan colluded with the Mang Mountain Thieves, harbored Demon Dao criminals, and got exposed. Desperate, he tried to silence witnesses; the Embroidered Uniform Guard was forced into fierce resistance, suffering heavy losses to suppress the uprising, and finally killed Liu Ziyuan. Now, there’s suspicion that the Kaiyang Sub-Branch has been infiltrated by Demon Dao; Sixth Young Master Mo Beiyan leads the Embroidered Uniform Guard for an urgent takeover, investigating traitors!"

Mo Beiyan froze for a moment, surprised. "Brother Gu, you want to move on the Kaiyang Sub-Branch?"

Gu Zhan replied with a cold voice: "It’s not me moving against the Kaiyang Sub-Branch, it’s you—Sixth Young Master—taking urgent control and rooting out the traitors!"

Mo Beiyan narrowed his eyes, "I get it, Brother Gu, you want to help me intervene in the successor dispute, don’t you?"

"What other choices do we have now?" Gu Zhan said, "Liu Ziyuan died here. The Liu Family and Eldest Young Master won’t let us off. Since that’s the case, we might as well take the opportunity to seize control of the Kaiyang Sub-Branch and take Pingyang Prefecture into our own hands!"

Mo Beiyan gritted his teeth, picked up a pebble, slammed it to the ground, and cursed, "Fuck them! The Liu Family bullied my mother to death and oppressed me for over twenty years. Now I’ll fight them head-on—even if they want to chew me up, I’ll break a few of their damned teeth first!"

Gu Zhan smiled.

Mo Beiyan stood up and said, "So, Brother Gu, I’ll go issue the rest order right now. Those remnant dogs from the Five Great Sects are nothing more than stray mutts; we can clean them up a bit at a time. I’ll first let the Embroidered Uniform Guard rest for two days, then head straight for the Kaiyang Sub-Branch!"

Gu Zhan shook his head and said, "There’s no time to lose. We must catch the Liu Family’s people at the Kaiyang Sub-Branch off guard before they can react. Also, we don’t need too many people—we’re not going there to fight. Don’t forget, you’re the Sixth Young Master. Strictly speaking, Beidou Bang belongs to your family!"

Mo Beiyan was taken aback, then nodded.

...

Early morning, before first light,

The docks lay shrouded in thick fog. The Kaiyang Sub-Branch was rarely this quiet; aside from patrolling members, the cargo ships hadn’t started operating yet.

Only at times like this could one see clearly: though the Kaiyang Sub-Branch was set up at the docks, in actuality, it was made up of dozens of massive ships joined together, practically encircling half the dock.

This was precisely the Nu River Water Ghost that even the Court’s Navy dreaded.

Beidou Bang mainly controlled Canglan Dao’s transport. The entire Nu River was under Beidou Bang’s command. Besides the Dragon King, what made every faction wary were Beidou Bang’s warships.

On normal days, Beidou Bang’s sub-branches and minor halls all looked pretty ordinary. But when something major happened, these branches and halls would instantly transform into warships—and because of this, Beidou Bang’s members were expert at naval warfare, earning the nickname Nu River Water Ghosts.

More than thirty years ago, when the Astronomical Bureau and Yunxi Martial World stood at odds,

The Court once tried to send troops to suppress them. In several probes, the Navy suffered heavy losses to Beidou Bang, and thus, the legend of the Nu River Water Ghost shook the world.

Mist swirled, and scattered lantern lights flickered in the haze.

A party arrived outside the Kaiyang Sub-Branch—it was Gu Zhan and Mo Beiyan, accompanied by several senior Gu Family members and Embroidered Uniform Guard officers, less than twenty in all, each riding a Red Fire Dragon Steed, racing overnight to the Kaiyang Sub-Branch.

As soon as they reached the shore, a patrol squad from the gang stopped them.

Mo Beiyan pulled out his token without hesitation and said in a cold voice, "I am Mo Beiyan, Sixth Young Master of Canglan City. Relay my orders now—summon all major Hall Masters and Stewards of the Kaiyang Sub-Branch to meet me at once!"

The patrol gang members dared not delay. They quickly went to deliver the message. Soon, a squad appeared in the darkness with torches blazing.

Leading them was the same steward who received Mo Beiyan last time he visited the Kaiyang Sub-Branch.

"Yuan Yi greets Sixth Young Master. May I ask the reason for your late-night visit? If you wish to see Squad Leader Liu, I’m afraid you’re out of luck—Squad Leader Liu isn’t at the branch."