Chapter 1

In Lanyue City, inside a residence by Phoenix Lake.

The Feng Lake Hall Master held a book in his hand, flipping through it while a pot of tea warmed beside him, and a maid stood by to serve him.

He appeared to be reading, but in reality, the Feng Lake Hall Master was waiting for news, estimating that the operation was nearly complete.

"Hall Master, Hall Master." Several men arrived with two wounded men. The two wounded men were in a sorry state and knelt down immediately upon seeing him. "Hall Master, Fifth Brother is gone."

Seeing his subordinates in such a disheveled state, the Feng Lake Hall Master had already guessed what happened. Hearing their words, his expression changed slightly. "What happened? You three hundred men couldn't handle a mere illegitimate son of the Chang family? Even Fifth Brother was lost?"

"Reporting to the Hall Master," one of the wounded men said immediately. "That Chang Yi is extremely timid and hired many experts… His guards are quite formidable. Fifteen guards blocked the assault of over a hundred of our gang members. Most importantly, there are three second-rate experts!"

"Three second-rate experts?"

The Feng Lake Hall Master couldn't believe it, frowning. "When did second-rate experts become so common? And how did an illegitimate son of the Chang family come to know such experts?"

Second-rate experts were still rare, each possessing extremely high skill in weaponry. Describing their power as ‘able to take on a hundred’ was an understatement of their deterrent force.

"We were also puzzled. It's rare enough for one second-rate expert to appear, but how did three emerge?" the wounded man said anxiously. "But those three are indeed very powerful. One woman is skilled with dual blades and adept at flying needle hidden weapons! She killed the most gang members. There's also a man who uses five circular wheels, also extremely bloodthirsty. And a spearman… he's the most troublesome! He broke through our formation, causing our defeat, and it was also him who killed Fifth Brother with a single spear."

"A single spear?" The Feng Lake Hall Master's expression became more solemn.

Even he himself would need several moves to kill Qin Wu.

"What are the losses?" the Feng Lake Hall Master asked.

"Not fully confirmed yet, but we estimate nearly ninety brothers died," the wounded man said. "Thirty to fifty are injured. Only Fifth Brother, a third-rate expert, was lost."

The Feng Lake Hall Master nodded slightly. "You two go back and rest first."

"Yes."

Only then did the two men retreat.

The Feng Lake Hall Master sat there, deep in thought.

"Hall Master, shall we continue the operation?" a young man in white asked.

Another burly man immediately said, "Losing a hundred men or so is something our hall can withstand. But being humiliated by that illegitimate son of the Chang family, if we don't retaliate, outsiders will think our Flowery Moon Gang is easy to bully. Other halls in the gang will laugh at us. We definitely have to take action!"

"Third Brother is right." The Feng Lake Hall Master also nodded. "We have to take action, but we must plan carefully. I admit I underestimated this Master Chang. With three second-rate experts suddenly appearing, he might have other tricks up his sleeve, like a fourth or fifth second-rate expert."

The surrounding people all nodded, appearing in agreement.

"The reputation of our Feng Lake Hall cannot be tarnished, but we must also win this battle beautifully," the Feng Lake Hall Master said. "Ninth, arrange for someone to investigate the origins of those three second-rate experts. See if there's a way to break them from within."

"Yes," the young man in white said respectfully.

"Sometimes, killing doesn't necessarily require direct fighting," the Feng Lake Hall Master said calmly. "Use poison, hidden weapons, our gang's most proficient methods."

The Flowery Moon Gang, with tens of thousands of members, has a deeper and more thorough control over the territory than the government. This terrifying control, when used for insidious methods, is difficult to defend against.

"But I fear that Master Chang will quickly sell off his family property and flee Lanyue City," a subordinate said.

"Pay attention to the government, because selling it will definitely require going to the government to transfer the ownership," the Feng Lake Hall Master said, looking down at his book. "Moreover, today's battle will make it much harder for him to sell the Chang family's property."

Seeing the Hall Master looking down at his book, the subordinates quickly took their leave.

…

Lanyue City, Blood Rain Guard garrison.

The Blood Rain Guard is the strongest official violent organization in the city. Any major event in the city will be received by the Blood Rain Guard at the first time. And 'Commander Wu' is the leader of the Blood Rain Guard in Lanyue City, and he is obviously one of the most powerful people in the city.

Commander Wu, a middle-aged man with a pale face and a pair of eagle eyes faintly glowing with purple light, was sitting in a pavilion listening to a singer singing a ditty in the afternoon, with drizzle falling outside the pavilion.

"Commander," a personal guard came and respectfully handed a letter to Commander Wu.

A maid took the letter and placed it on the table.

Commander Wu waited until the song was over before he lifted his eyelids, picked up the letter, glanced at it, and smiled softly: "The Feng Lake Hall of the Flowery Moon Gang, three hundred people, on Xingyang Street, openly ambushed the carriage of Chang Yi of the Chang family. His subordinates were counter-killed, nearly a hundred people?"

"Chang Yi is my son, the Flowery Moon Gang is so bold!" Commander Wu glanced at his personal guard and ordered, "Centurion Teng, lead some men to Feng Lake Hall and ask them to give me an explanation!"

"Yes." Centurion Teng, who was on duty in the distance, responded immediately.

"Remember, Chang Yi is my adopted son," Commander Wu said. "So their Feng Lake Hall has to pay at least... one thousand taels! Not a penny less!"

"Commander, don't worry, I know what to do." Centurion Teng grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and then turned and left.

Commander Wu looked around and waved his hand. The singers, maids, and others quickly retreated, leaving only his personal guards.

"I heard that a few days ago, several Blood Rain Guard experts came from other places and stayed at the Fei family. Have you found out what's going on?" Commander Wu asked.

"We have been investigating," the personal guard said. "It's not very clear, but I only know... the Fei family has been recruiting experts recently."

"Recruiting experts?"

Commander Wu wondered, "That Lord Fei is the commander-in-chief of the entire Eastern Region! Now there are also Blood Rain Guard experts living in the Fei family, why is the Fei family still recruiting people?"

"This is not very clear." The personal guard said.

"Um."

Commander Wu thought, "Investigate carefully again! Lord Fei sent someone back from thousands of miles away, there must be something more important. If there is anything we can help with, we subordinates must do our best."

"Understood, we will investigate with all our strength." The personal guard responded.

The personal guard was also very distressed. The Fei family only has an old master and a young lady! He couldn't directly ask the Fei family master and miss, and other methods were also difficult to find out the real purpose of 'Lord Fei'.

…

Fei family.

"Dad." The girl looked at her father.

Master Fei looked at his daughter.

Their family was originally just an ordinary merchant in Lanyue City. Who would have thought that their son, who was wandering outside, would soar into the sky and now hold a high position in the entire vast empire. The Fei family's status naturally rose, and regardless of the Blood Rain Guard commander or the three major gang leaders, they all tried to curry favor.

After all, Fei's eldest son is now the supreme leader of the Blood Rain Guard in the entire Eastern Region of the Empire.

"Xinlan." Master Fei looked at his daughter, "I heard that you are planning to recruit a spearmanship expert."

"Dad, your news is so well-informed." Fei Xinlan showed joy.

"This time, our Fei family will be traveling together, so the recruitment of guards must be cautious." Master Fei said, "I have checked, and only found out that the spearmanship expert is called Mister Jing! As for his origin, what is his full name, I don't know anything. He should have come to Lanyue City some time ago. No one in Lanyue City knows him, so this kind of person is not suitable for recruitment."

Fei Xinlan smiled, "Precisely because he came from another place, he has no malice towards our Fei family."

"This time, the main force will be the people sent by your elder brother, and then recruit some ordinary experts to use." Master Fei said, "The most important thing for us to recruit experts is that their origins must be clear and trustworthy."

"I'm just recruiting a guard, and are the people you recruit trustworthy? It's hard to know what's in a person's heart. I think that Mister Jing is quite good." Fei Xinlan said and turned to leave.

"Xinlan, Xinlan."

Master Fei shouted a few times, but his daughter ignored him.

"Alas." Master Fei was speechless with anger, "Her wings have hardened, and she doesn't listen to her father anymore."

"Master." The housekeeper next to him said in a low voice, "In my opinion, the young lady thought that the spearmanship expert looked good before."

Master Fei's eyes widened: "That's even worse!"

"The young lady's temper..." the housekeeper said helplessly.

"It's me who spoiled her." Master Fei looked sad.