Chapter 15

Seeing Quan Guanqing's unfriendly words and sensing the unusual demeanor of the other members, Jiaofeng asked, "Where are the two elders in charge of passing on skills and enforcing rules?"

Quan Guanqing replied, "I haven't seen the two elders today."

Jiaofeng asked again, "Where are the leaders of the Ren, Xin, Yong, and Li divisions?"

Quan Guanqing turned his head to a seven-bag disciple in the northwest corner and asked, "Zhang Quanxiang, why isn't your division leader here?"

Zhang Quanxiang said, "Um... um... I don't know."

Seeing Zhang Quanxiang's guilty expression and his hesitant speech, and that he wouldn't meet his eyes, Jiaofeng shouted, "Zhang Quanxiang, did you kill the leader of your division, Fang?"

Zhang Quanxiang was greatly alarmed and hurriedly said, "No, no! Leader Fang is fine, he's not dead, not dead! This... this has nothing to do with me, I didn't do it."

Jiaofeng sternly asked, "Then who did it?"

His voice wasn't very loud, but it was filled with authority. Zhang Quanxiang couldn't help but tremble all over and looked at Quan Guanqing.

Jiaofeng sighed deeply, turned to the four elders, and asked, "What has happened, Elders?"

The four elders looked at each other, remaining silent for a moment.

Seeing this, Jiaofeng knew the four elders were also involved. He smiled slightly and said, "In our gang, everyone values righteousness and loyalty..."

As he spoke, he suddenly took two steps back, each step covering several feet. After two steps, he was only three feet away from Quan Guanqing. Without turning around, he reached back with his left hand and grabbed, and with his right hand, he seized, precisely hitting the "Zhongting" and "Jiutail" acupoints on Quan Guanqing's chest.

Quan Guanqing's martial arts were no less strong than those of the four elders, but he couldn't even counter one move and was seized. His knees went weak, and he involuntarily knelt down.

Everyone was shocked, and everyone was in a panic, not knowing what to do.

Jiaofeng turned around, lightly patted Quan Guanqing on the shoulder with his left hand, and said, "Since you have admitted your mistake, there's no need to kneel. The crime of rebellion cannot be forgiven, but we can discuss it later." He lightly extended his right elbow, hitting Quan Guanqing's mute point.

Jiaofeng controlled Quan Guanqing, making him kneel with his head down, and loudly said to Zhang Quanxiang, "You lead the way and guide Leader Jiang of the Yi division to invite the elders in charge of passing on skills and enforcing rules, and others to come here. If you follow my orders, your punishment can be reduced. The rest of you, sit down where you are and do not stand up without permission."

Zhang Quanxiang was both surprised and delighted, and responded, "Yes, yes!"

Leader Jiang of the Yi division had not participated in the rebellion. Seeing Quan Guanqing and others dare to rebel, he was extremely angry, his face red with rage, and he was panting heavily. It wasn't until Jiaofeng ordered him to follow Zhang Quanxiang to rescue the others that he calmed down a bit. He said to the more than twenty members of his division, "Our gang has unfortunately fallen into chaos. This is the time for everyone to show their loyalty to the leader. Everyone must protect the leader and follow his orders without fail."

He was afraid that the four elders and others would immediately attack, although the Yi division was far outnumbered, the leader wouldn't be alone.

Jiaofeng said, "No, Brother Jiang, take all your brothers with you. Rescuing them is a major task, and there must be no mistakes."

Leader Jiang dared not disobey and replied, "Yes!" He added, "Leader, be careful, I'll return as soon as possible."

Jiaofeng smiled slightly and said, "Everyone here has been through life and death with us for many years. It's just a temporary disagreement, nothing serious. Go with peace of mind." He added, "Send someone to inform the 'First-Class Hall' of Western Xia that the meeting at Huishan is postponed by seven days."

Leader Jiang bowed and led his division away.

By now, it was gradually getting dark, the dusk was settling, and a thin mist was swirling around the apricot grove. Jiaofeng, worried about further trouble, wanted to shift everyone's attention.

He glanced at Li Wuchang and Duan Yu and said, "Brothers, I am very happy today. I have made two new good friends, Brother Lengxue and Brother Duan Yu. We three are like-minded and have sworn to be brothers."

Jiaofeng continued, "Brothers, let me introduce you to the key figures in our Beggar Gang."

He held Li Wuchang's hand with his left hand and Duan Yu's with his right, and walked to the elder with white hair and beard who wielded a toothed iron mace, and said, "This is Elder Song, a respected elder in our gang. When he wielded this toothed iron mace, you two weren't even born yet."

Duan Yu said, "I have long heard of you, it is a great honor to meet you today." He bowed.

Elder Song barely returned the bow.

As for Li Wuchang, he was indifferent and only nodded.

Li Wuchang didn't have a good impression of the Beggar Gang. Although there were some upright people in the gang, the bad apples made him dislike the entire gang.

Jiaofeng introduced the short and fat Elder Xi, who wielded a steel staff, and Elder Chen, who used a burlap sack. Just as he was about to introduce the red-faced Elder Wu, who wielded a ghost-head knife, he heard footsteps and a crowd coming from the northeast corner, shouting, "How is the leader? Where are the traitors?"

Some said, "We were tricked and locked up, it was so frustrating." The scene was chaotic.

Jiaofeng was delighted but didn't want to be impolite. After introducing Elder Wu, he turned around and saw the elders in charge of passing on skills and enforcing rules, and the leaders of the Ren, Yong, Li, and Xin divisions, leading a large group of members, all arriving at once.

Everyone had much to say, but no one dared to speak out of turn in front of the leader.

Jiaofeng said, "Everyone, sit down, I have something to say."

Everyone responded, "Yes!"

Some sat to the east, some to the west, each according to their rank and seniority, sitting in front or behind, to the left or right.

Seeing everyone follow the rules, Jiaofeng felt relieved and smiled, saying, "Our Beggar Gang has been respected by the martial world for over a hundred years as the largest gang. With so many people, it's inevitable that opinions will differ. As long as we explain clearly and discuss things well, we can still be good brothers. Don't take temporary disagreements too seriously."

His expression was very gentle as he spoke.

Hearing this, the tension in the room eased slightly.

A yellow-faced old beggar sitting to Jiaofeng's right stood up and said, "I would like to ask Elders Song, Xi, Chen, and Wu, why did you have us locked up in the small boats on Taihu Lake?"

"Enforcement Elder Bai Shiming, he's good at putting on a show," Li Wuchang thought coldly.

As the enforcement elder of the Beggar Gang, Bai Shiming was known for his impartiality, but he fell victim to Kang Min, showing that even the most upright can be brought down by temptation.