Chapter 17

Jiaofeng sat in a daze to one side. The traitor was bound, yet he felt no sense of victory or joy, puzzled as to why so many people had suddenly conspired to rebel.

At this moment, Bai Shijin said loudly, "Brothers, when Chief Jiaofeng succeeded the previous Chief Wang as the leader of our gang, it was not through deceit or improper means. Back then, Chief Wang tested him with three major challenges and ordered him to achieve seven great feats for the gang before passing on the Beggar's Staff. During the Mount Tai Assembly that year, our gang was besieged, and the situation was extremely perilous. It was only thanks to Chief Jiaofeng defeating nine powerful enemies in succession that the Beggar Gang turned the tide from danger to safety. Many of you here witnessed it with your own eyes. Over the past eight years, our gang's reputation has grown, and everyone knows it is due to Chief Jiaofeng's leadership. Chief Jiaofeng treats people with benevolence and fairness. We should all support him wholeheartedly. Why would anyone, with their hearts clouded by greed, dare to rebel? Quan Guanqing, speak up!"

Quan Guanqing, whose mute point had been struck by Jiaofeng, could not answer. Jiaofeng walked forward and gently patted his back twice, unblocking his acupoints. He said, "Chief Quan, if I, Jiaofeng, have done anything to wrong the brothers, you can point it out directly. There's no need to be afraid or hold back."

Quan Guanqing leaped to his feet, but his legs were still numb, and he fell to one knee. He shouted, "You haven't done anything to wrong the brothers yet, but you will soon."

After saying this, he straightened up.

Bai Shijin said sternly, "Nonsense! Chief Jiaofeng is upright and fair. He has never done anything wrong in the past and will not do so in the future. You are inciting people with baseless and absurd words, intending to rebel against the Chief. To be honest, I have heard these rumors before, but I dismissed them as nonsense. I broke the ribs of the person who spread them with one punch. Yet, there are some utterly foolish people who believed your nonsense. No matter how many times you repeat these few words, it won't change the truth. Just end it yourself."

Jiaofeng said gently, "Elder Bai, there's no need to be hasty. Let Chief Quan explain everything in detail. Even Elders Song and Xi have turned against me, so there must be something wrong with me."

Elder Xi said, "I was wrong to rebel against you. There's no need to mention it again. After the verdict, I will cut off my head and give it to you." His words were humorous, but everyone felt a deep sorrow and no one smiled.

Bai Shijin said, "As the Chief has ordered, Quan Guanqing, speak."

Quan Guanqing knew he was bound to lose, but he had to make a final effort. He shouted, "Deputy Chief Ma was murdered, and I believe it was at Jiaofeng's instigation."

Jiaofeng was shaken and exclaimed, "What?"

Quan Guanqing said, "You have always hated Deputy Chief Ma and wished to remove him. You felt that as long as he was not eliminated, your position as Chief would not be secure."

Jiaofeng slowly shook his head and said, "No. Although my relationship with Deputy Chief Ma was not very close and we did not see eye to eye, I never had any intention of harming him. Heaven and Earth can bear witness. If I had any intention of harming Ma Dachuan, may I be disgraced and destroyed, and be laughed at by all the heroes under the sun." His words were sincere, and his heroic demeanor left no room for doubt.

Quan Guanqing said, "Then why did you repeatedly collude with the enemy when we came to Gusu to seek revenge on Murong Fu?" He pointed at Wang Yuyan and the other two girls and said, "These three are Murong Fu's family members, and you protected them." He pointed at Duan Yu and said, "This person is Murong Fu's friend, and you became brothers with him."

Duan Yu waved his hands and said, "Not so, not so! I am not Murong Fu's friend. I have never met Lord Murong. These three girls can be considered his relatives, but not necessarily his family."

Quan Guanqing said, "‘Not so, not so,’ Bao Budong is the head of Jin Feng Manor, and Feng Bo'e is the head of Xuan Shuang Manor, both under Murong Fu. If you, Jiaofeng, had not intervened, one would have been hacked to pieces, and the other would have died of poisoning. Everyone saw this with their own eyes. How can you deny it?"

Jiaofeng said slowly, "The Beggar Gang has existed for hundreds of years and is respected in the martial world, not because of our numbers or martial prowess, but because of our righteousness and fairness. Chief Quan, you accuse me of protecting these three young girls. Yes, I did protect them because I cherish the gang's reputation and do not want the heroes of the world to say that the Beggar Gang's elders bullied three young and weak women. Elders Song, Xi, Chen, and Wu, each of you is a respected senior in the martial world. You may not care about the gang's reputation, but the brothers in the gang do."

Bai Shijin said, "Quan Guanqing, do you have anything else to say?" He turned to Jiaofeng and said, "Chief, there's no need to waste words on this traitor who doesn't understand the bigger picture. Punish him according to the gang's rules for rebellion."

Jiaofeng said loudly, "Chief Quan must have a very serious reason to persuade so many people to conspire and rebel. A man acts according to what is right or wrong. Brothers, if there is anything wrong with my actions, please speak up."

Wu Changfeng sighed and said, "Chief, you might be a great villain who pretends to be righteous, or a straightforward and honest hero. I, Wu Changfeng, have no ability to discern. Just kill me now."

Jiaofeng was greatly puzzled and asked, "Elder Wu, why do you say I am a deceitful fraud? You... you... what do you suspect about me?"

Wu Changfeng shook his head and said, "This matter involves too many people. If it gets out, the Beggar Gang will lose all respect in the martial world, and everyone will look down on us. We originally planned to kill you and be done with it."

Jiaofeng was even more confused, muttering, "Why? Why?" He raised his head and said, "I saved two of Murong Fu's subordinates, and you suspect I colluded with him, is that it? But your rebellion came first, and my rescue came later. These two events are not related. Moreover, it's still too early to judge whether this was right or wrong. But I always felt that Deputy Chief Ma was not killed by Murong Fu."

Quan Guanqing said, "Why do you think so?"

Jiaofeng said, "I believe Murong Fu is a great hero and a good man, and he would not kill Brother Ma."

Quan Guanqing said, "In the past two months, many martial arts experts have been killed, all by their own famous techniques. Everyone knows it was the work of the Murong family of Gusu. How can such ruthless killings be considered the actions of a hero or a good man?"