Chapter 1 Chen E's Understanding

Chen E didn't originally know what kind of power Chang Hongquan had in Chunnan. He only knew that Prince Juxian had industries everywhere. But after arriving at Changfeng Inn and meeting his childhood friend, Chen E had a preliminary understanding. Chang Hongquan's manor in Gusu was not just an industry that provided food and other supplies, but an important training base. The manor was hidden in the mountains outside the city, with a large area of undisturbed mountain land. After constructing a series of facilities, it could accommodate hundreds of people for various training. Mu Ying was able to become the deputy manor lord in a few months, which showed that his martial arts and knowledge were not bad. Mu Ying was calm and composed. His current identity was a merchant who came to Yuhang to negotiate the sale of a batch of finished medicines. Some of his men were hidden among the porters and grooms, while others were scattered in some of the houses near the inn. These courtyards, large and small, had long been bought by Chang Hongquan. Most of the people living there had been settled here because they had received favors from some people in Jinzhou, and some were simply secret agents from Jinzhou. And in the past few days, these families had welcomed relatives, students, nephews, and nieces from afar… Mu Ying told Chen E that they could mobilize more than seventy people overtly and covertly, each with their own specialties, but all with good combat power. They were all excellent students trained in the manor in Gusu and had experience in actual missions, without any rookies. It was conceivable that Chang Hongquan was extremely cautious in the arrangement of manpower. After meeting a few people, Chen E was even more surprised. Although it could be seen from the details that they had indeed undergone a long period of martial arts training and were very strong, their words, deeds, and expressions were extremely consistent with the roles they played. After seeing them, others would at most think that if those scholars didn't want to study, they could join the army and probably do well, and those guys working in the商号 (shānghào, merchant houses) and restaurants could probably also work as bodyguards.

After Mu Ying and Chen E met, there was naturally a round of greetings. Walking the martial world together in their early years was an unforgettable experience. Then, it was a sparring session. After being severely injured by the Fuhu (Crouching Tiger) Gang's "cleanup" operation, Mu Ying still had some hidden ailments that had not been completely removed, and his endurance was much worse. After fighting for a while, he began to pant. Chen E, on the other hand, traveled outside for many years and was in very good physical condition. It could be said that each of them had their own strengths.

Mu Ying had been carefully investigating the actions of the Fuhu Gang in Yuhang these days. The Fuhu Gang was the most rigorous organization he had ever seen, without exception. He originally just felt that the Fuhu Gang's transfer of assets from the inner court didn't seem very honorable, plus some other small things, and he was cleaned up by the organization. Several of his colleagues who had similar opinions also suffered at the same time. In the end, only he survived with difficulty. The Fuhu Gang was never a gang organization. They were very serious about the relationship between superiors and subordinates and didn't pay much attention to the so-called brotherhood or camaraderie. They were loyal to the organization and to the Chunnan royal court. Internally, they only valued ability and strength. Without ability and actual achievements, it was impossible to survive in the organization. When Jiang Yan was still alive, he even tried a period of terror management. Those gang members who performed the worst would be killed with various charges such as negligence, negativity, and sympathy for the enemy. After only trying it for two months, Jiang Yan himself felt that this method had limited effect on promoting competition, but the negative effect of destroying cohesion was a hundred or a thousand times greater, so he stopped it himself. However, the狰狞 (zhēngníng, hideous) true face of the Fuhu Gang was exposed in front of Mu Ying and other old members.

There were probably more than a hundred people from the Fuhu Gang in Yuhang now. Mu Ying had learned that there was a team from the Fuhu Gang by Lianfei (Consort Lian) Chang Ling's side. And in the city, there was another group of people. The one in charge of that group was Ruan Xiao Wu, the most ruthless leader-level figure in the Fuhu Gang, who had attacked him back then. Mu Ying also revealed that among these people in Yuhang, there should be someone he knew who resented the Fuhu Gang and who he could completely trust. He just hadn't contacted them yet. This group of people from the Fuhu Gang should be scattered and lurking in various parts of the city, using secret signs to communicate. This set of secret signs hadn't changed, and Mu Ying knew that some acquaintances had come to Yuhang by drawing the secret signs.

"The guy who used to be in my group and always performed tasks together was called Ji Liancheng. His habit is to always add a stroke to the back of the sign. Then, he would wipe the remaining ink or powder marks on his hand nearby. As far as I know, he's the only one in the entire Fuhu Gang who does this," Mu Ying said, "I've seen the signs he left four times, but the rules of the Fuhu Gang are very strange. When leaving these signs to contact each other, in addition to the time of leaving the sign, he doesn't need to pay attention to how many people have seen the sign. Ji Liancheng seems to be wandering around Yuji Ward all the time now. I think he should be not far from there. The location of leaving the signs is also regular. According to his nature and the location of the previous few signs, I am sixty percent sure that I know where he will leave the next sign. And I'll go there and wait for him to come out. It might be a day or two... If the Fuhu Gang no longer needs to contact each other, I might not be able to wait."

"Oh? This is not a good idea... If we can't wait, it will delay the prince's business," Chen E said worriedly.

"We still have to take this risk. Looking at the signs left now, they are just routine transmissions, without the time and location. I think they haven't officially started to gather yet. Of course, the Fuhu Gang also has a faster way to summon people temporarily. However, I can't make that special whistle no matter what," Mu Ying said with a smile, "Now, waiting for him to appear may be the only way to find Ji Liancheng."

Mu Ying's thinking was correct. In fact, he didn't wait too long. There was a restaurant on the street corner he had chosen. Mu Ying pretended to be a drunkard and趴 (pā, laid) on the table by the window on the second floor, keeping one eye on the activity at the street corner. The waiter was naturally impatient with this kind of customer. But when the waiter came over to poke his shoulder, he either completely ignored him or pretended to be drowsy, but not completely unconscious, and took out a small piece of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into the waiter's hand, again and again... The waiter couldn't wait for this kind of customer to sit there all the time. Mu Ying waited for about three and a half hours before finally seeing Ji Liancheng, disguised, swaying from one side of the street.

Whether it was the effect of the makeup or he was really not doing well, Ji Liancheng's face looked very bad. Mu Ying almost ran to the street downstairs in an instant, so fast that the waiter almost thought the person had disappeared.

"Hey, brother!" Mu Ying followed behind Ji Liancheng and said softly.

Ji Liancheng looked back and saw that it was Mu Ying. His face immediately revealed a kind of joy mixed with disbelief. "Mu Ying! You're still alive?"

"Shhh, go, follow me."

Mu Ying took Ji Liancheng to a small alley. After confirming that no one was following and no one was paying attention here, the two stopped.

"Mu Ying, you're still alive... It was said that something happened to you on your last mission."

"It's a long story, nothing happened to the mission, but something happened to me..." Mu Ying said with a smile. Seeing Ji Liancheng, he was also very excited. "You now..."

"Fifth Brother brought us here, and we don't know the specific task yet? What about you? Who are you with now?" Ji Liancheng asked with a smile, "I haven't heard from you for so long, did you get promoted?"

There was also an inner hall in the Fuhu Gang, and even fewer people could be absorbed into it, and they were even more elite. Their news didn't need to be announced to ordinary gang members. Mu Ying's kung fu was very good, so it was no wonder that Ji Liancheng would think so.

"Fifth Brother attacked me and wanted to kill me... How can I get promoted? It's really good to be able to survive," Mu Ying said with a wry smile.

"What? Fifth Brother?" Ji Liancheng was shocked.

After explaining his past experiences again, Ji Liancheng believed most of it. He also knew very well what kind of place the Fuhu Gang was. Ji Liancheng asked again, "Then you now...?"

"I'm working for Prince Juxian," Mu Ying replied with a wry smile, "Am I your opponent? Anyway... the Fuhu Gang has no friends, right."

Ji Liancheng sighed.

Mu Ying didn't spend too much effort to persuade Ji Liancheng, and the news that Ji Liancheng revealed also shocked Mu Ying quite a bit. He absolutely didn't expect that the Fuhu Gang was actually preparing to seize Tan Weizai by opportunity and use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Dongping. But since he already knew about this, he had to find a way to sabotage it. With Ji Liancheng working from the inside, there was still a bit of a chance. Ji Liancheng didn't ask for anything. The Fuhu Gang had now become more and more 냉혹 (lěngkù, cold-blooded) and unfamiliar. The core of the Fuhu Gang was not their martial power, but the industries, technicians, calligraphy and painting collections, antiques, and so on all over the world, especially the secret recipes and skills in those century-old shops, which could shine wherever they went. On the contrary, although the competition was fierce in terms of martial power, it was never the core of the Fuhu Gang. Being undervalued was secondary. Situations like Mu Ying being cleaned up without making any mistakes were really not uncommon, making people feel insecure. Ji Liancheng's optimistic nature from the beginning when he joined the Fuhu Gang had changed to being cautious in his words and deeds now, and he hardly spoke much. Only he knew the pain in this. And once there was a good opportunity to jump out of the sea of fire, especially since Prince Juxian was obviously able to handle the situation, Ji Liancheng's choice was self-evident.

Mu Ying went back and told Chen E about the situation, and Chen E had an idea in his heart. He felt that it would be a good idea to rescue Tan Weizai at that time and hand him over to Ye Zhao first. He didn't have as many people as the Fuhu Gang, but he knew the characteristics of the Fuhu Gang, and he had an inside应 (yīng, asset), plus the element of surprise. As long as the plan was complete, it was still very possible to succeed. After Chen E thought for a while, he told Mu Ying his thoughts, which was also greatly appreciated by Mu Ying. And they both agreed, so the matter was settled.