Chapter 40: Transfer of Power

The confrontation between the two was not as swift as lightning, but it was over in just a few breaths, leaving the members of the Evil Tiger Gang with their jaws on the ground. In contrast, the six people from Wan Jian Peak remained unperturbed, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.

Tang Zhu sat in his chair, his face ashen, still not recovered from the shock. Situ Liang and the others did not offer any comfort. Their minds were racing. They had originally thought that Wan Jian Peak sending people to take over the Evil Tiger Gang was something they had to accept, but seeing that the newcomers were young, they naturally wanted to give them a taste of the Evil Tiger Gang's might, so as to not be underestimated. This would indirectly give them an advantageous position in the future distribution of power within the gang. Therefore, when Tang Zhu raised objections, no one stopped him; instead, they chose to observe from the sidelines. However, the outcome was far beyond their expectations. In just three moves, Tang Zhu was defeated. Upon closer reflection, each of Qu Xiangfeng's three moves was perfectly timed, forcing Tang Zhu to respond. The moves were not overly complex, even appearing broad and open, but the key was the strength behind them, the internal power contained in the large sword, which was far beyond Tang Zhu's capabilities. It was a display of great skill with minimal effort. If anyone else from the Evil Tiger Gang had stepped forward, the result would have been the same.

No wonder the Evil Tiger Gang only sent seven people; these seven were more than half the strength of the entire Evil Tiger Gang.

Seeing the varied expressions on the faces of the Evil Tiger Gang members, Qu Xiangfeng did not give them much time to think. He held the large sword in his hand and announced, "Is there anyone who still has objections? Please step forward and speak."

Situ Liang and the others exchanged glances. Elder Chu stood up and said, "Young Master Qu, please put away your sword. We have no objections."

Seeing that Elder Chu had spoken, Qu Xiangfeng sheathed the large sword on his shoulder. However, he did not return to his seat. Instead, he looked at the members of the Evil Tiger Gang and confirmed, "Does anyone have any objections to Wan Jian Peak temporarily taking over the Evil Tiger Gang?"

Situ Liang and the others replied in unison, "No, we will follow the orders of the gang leader and heed the instructions of Young Master Qu from Wan Jian Peak."

Then, Situ Liang invited Qu Xiangfeng to take the main seat and said, "Please, Young Master Qu, take the main seat. We will follow your orders."

Qu Xiangfeng did not hesitate. He walked to a chair at the front of the hall, sat down, and said to the members of the Evil Tiger Gang, "Please, everyone, take your seats."

Everyone then sat down again.

Qu Xiangfeng said, "Do not be apprehensive. I am here on the orders of my sword master to temporarily take over the Evil Tiger Gang. All matters will be returned to Gang Leader Situ upon his return. Before Gang Leader Situ returns, the affairs of the gang will still be managed by Elder Chu, Tang Zhu, and others, without our interference. However, I request that Tang Zhu inform us of any actions taken."

Situ Liang and the others were puzzled. What was this? Taking the position of the gang leader without exerting the effort, and not interfering with the gang's affairs. Tang Zhu, looking at his cracked tiger's mouth, regretted the confrontation. If he had known this would happen, why had he even challenged them, only to damage his own reputation? However, the others soon found their own explanation. The Evil Tiger Gang was their entire world, not to be invaded, but to Qu Xiangfeng, it was merely a trivial matter. He probably did not want to come, but was forced by his master's orders. Therefore, he chose not to interfere and let things develop on their own.

With this in mind, everyone showed a look of relief.

Seeing that everyone understood his intentions, Qu Xiangfeng did not want to stay in the hall for long. He said, "Please take care of the Evil Tiger Gang's affairs in the future. We will temporarily stay in the rooms arranged this afternoon. Do not disturb us while we practice unless it is necessary." He then bowed to the members of the Evil Tiger Gang and left with his group.

After returning to their quarters, Qu Xiangfeng had everyone enter his room and left one person to guard the door. Looking at the five people in the room, Qu Xiangfeng said satisfactorily, "The matter with the Evil Tiger Gang is settled. From now on, we will stay here and wait for the next orders from the sword master. Wang Junior Brothers, rest well tonight. Tomorrow morning, go to Lu Town and keep a close watch. If any martial artists appear, inform us immediately." Two of them bowed in agreement.

Then, Qu Xiangfeng instructed the others, "The rest of you should continue practicing as we did at Wan Jian Peak, without slacking off."

Everyone agreed and dispersed.

In the hall, Situ Liang and the others remained silent for a while. Elder Chu finally spoke, asking, "Xiao Liang, where are Young Master Qu and his group staying?" He did not address Qu Xiangfeng as the gang leader.

Situ Liang replied, "They are staying in rooms East One to East Seven."

Elder Chu said, "They should stay in the VIP rooms."

Situ Liang answered, "Alright, I will have the servants arrange it. I was a bit flustered when I read the letter and made an improper arrangement."

Elder Chu added, "Let's all rest for now. We can discuss any matters tomorrow morning. What do you think?"

Everyone then dispersed.

Situ Liang slowly returned to his small room. The room was dark, with no oil lamp lit. He walked familiarly into the darkness and closed the door tightly. He stood by his desk, looking out the window at the moon obscured by clouds, standing still for a long time. After a while, he seemed to have sorted out his thoughts, lit the oil lamp, and the small flame quickly filled the room with light. Situ Liang took out paper and pen and carefully wrote a letter in small characters. He then carefully rolled it into a small scroll and placed it in a metal ring. He took out two more empty metal rings and placed two blank scrolls in them. He put the three metal rings in his pocket and blew out the oil lamp, leaving the room.

After leaving his room, Situ Liang did not go far. Instead, he entered a slightly larger room next to his. As soon as he opened the door, he heard the "cooing" of pigeons. This was the place where homing pigeons were kept.

He walked familiarly to the far corner, found three slightly smaller pigeon cages, and opened them one by one. He took out the metal rings from his pocket and skillfully attached them to the legs of the three pigeons. He then took the three cages to the window, opened it, and released one pigeon. The pigeon flew in the air, circled briefly, and landed on the windowsill, seemingly unwilling to fly away. Situ Liang caught the pigeon and threw it into the air again. This time, the pigeon circled briefly and flew off in one direction.

Situ Liang did not immediately release the second pigeon. He waited for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, hearing no unusual sounds, and then released the second pigeon. After the second pigeon flew away, he released the third.

The three homing pigeons flew in the same direction, carrying a mysterious mission in the dark night.

The rooms where Qu Xiangfeng and his group stayed were far from Situ Liang's room, in different directions from the hall. Therefore, they did not notice the commotion. The members of the Evil Tiger Gang were already accustomed to the sound of pigeons flying, so the sound of the three pigeons did not attract any attention.

After completing everything, Situ Liang returned to his small room. This time, he did not light the lamp but went directly to the bed and lay down in his clothes.

Everything in the Evil Tiger Gang was silent under the moonlight, with only the occasional patrolling member walking by with sleepy eyes.

Everyone was asleep, each with their own thoughts.

In the small courtyard of the Zhang family in Guo Village, everyone was also asleep, except for the suppressed coughing coming from Grandma's room.

Grandma lay on the bed, tightly covering her mouth with a blanket, her ear pressed to the side, occasionally listening to Zhang Xiaohua's side. Although the moonlight outside the window was bright, the room was still dark, and there was no movement from Zhang Xiaohua's side. However, Grandma was genuinely worried about disturbing her beloved grandson's sweet dreams. Her body, however, was uncooperative, feeling very congested, and she could not suppress her coughing. She could not leave the room and did not want to disturb her grandson. What could she do?

To her relief, Zhang Xiaohua was sleeping soundly. She thought that perhaps she should talk to his mother tomorrow and move to a relative's shed to ease her mind. At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua seemed to turn over, and Grandma quickly closed her mouth, suppressing the cough that was about to come out. However, how could she suppress it? Her throat itched, and her face turned red. When she heard that Zhang Xiaohua had stopped moving, she cautiously coughed, but the coughing became more intense due to the suppression, and she even felt liquid on the blanket.

Grandma did not sleep all night. When the roosters crowed several times, and it was already light, she quickly got up and stumbled out of the room. The courtyard was still quiet, and she did not hear any other sounds, so she assumed that Guo Sufei and Liu Qian were still asleep. She did not go to the center of the courtyard but leaned against the wall outside the room, covering her mouth with a towel to continue coughing.

After a while, she heard the door of the main room "creak" open. Someone came out, and then she heard Guo Sufei's voice, "Mother, why did you get up so early? It's cold outside."

Guo Sufei walked over to help Grandma back to the room, but Grandma refused to go back, saying, "I keep coughing and don't want to wake up Xiaohua."

Guo Sufei's eyes immediately turned red, and she said, "Mother, come to the main room first."

She helped Grandma to the main room, and at this moment, Liu Qian also woke up. She was surprised to see Guo Sufei helping Grandma and quickly opened the main room door to let them in.

Hearing Grandma's continuous coughing, she thought to herself, "I wonder if the spring water is really effective. Grandma's condition seems to be getting worse."

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**End of Chapter 40**