Writ of Invitation

By the shores of White Horse Lake, a mountain stronghold had been built against the slopes. This was the headquarters of the White Horse Gang, where its elite White Horse Battalion was stationed.

In the main hall of the White Horse Gang’s headquarters, a silver-haired elder in white robes sat upright in the seat of honor. Beneath him sat a burly man built like an iron tower, whose features bore some resemblance to the elder’s.

Below the silver-haired elder and the burly man sat more than a dozen men of various builds and appearances. The one sitting closest to the two was a portly middle-aged man—the very Liu San who had once gone to Teng Village to collect its annual fees.

"Father!"

The burly man, Hong Zhenjie, spoke up. "This Li Commerce Company and this Teng Qinghu are taking themselves far too seriously! They invited us to attend their banquet tomorrow, and even invited all the merchants and gangs in the city…"

Whenever Hong Zhenjie mentioned Teng Qinghu, contempt filled his face. In his eyes, Teng Qinghu was merely an insignificant nobody from a small village ruled by his White Horse Gang and forced to survive by paying annual fees. Yet he had actually dared to send an invitation to the White Horse Gang. He was simply clueless.

"Liu San, what do you think of this?"

The silver-haired elder, Fourth Master Hong, ignored his son. He knew exactly what kind of person his son was. His martial arts were adequate, but he still lacked experience and needed to study the ways of business properly.

The portly middle-aged man, Liu San, pondered for a moment before smiling broadly. "Fourth Master, I think this is simply Li Commerce Company’s refusal to accept that we ruined their militia plans. They’re trying to win support and force us to back down!"

"What? Didn’t those fools hear what I said?"

Hong Zhenjie flew into a rage. "Didn’t I already say that if they wanted to organize a militia, they should send Li Qingyu to me as a concubine?"

"Zhenjie!"

Fourth Master Hong gave him a pointless reprimand. "Li Qingyu is, at the very least, an elder disciple of the Gui Yuan Sect. We can’t slight her. A proper marriage would be better. Making her your legal wife would be suitable."

"An ultimatum…"

A cold smile touched Fourth Master Hong’s lips. He felt that Lord Li was being rather petty. Business was always something to negotiate, wasn’t it?

With the Li family blocked by his White Horse Gang, Lord Li would have to pay a price. The Li family had only one daughter, Li Qingyu. Once he married her, the Li family would sooner or later bear the Hong name. He had already made up his mind. Even if the Li family sought help from the city guard, it would be useless. Without his approval, Lord Hong’s approval, they would never be able to organize their militia.

"Fourth Master, things aren’t that simple!"

Liu San was speechless at the confidence of Fourth Master Hong and his son. But recalling the information he had received, he had no choice but to throw cold water on them. "The Wang Brothers, who ran rampant in Jiangning Prefecture for a time, were drawn to Teng Village by the information released by the Young Master.

"Who could have known that Teng Village actually possessed six Demon Beasts? They whipped up mighty winds and sent sand and stones flying. Teng Qinghu of Teng Village personally took the field and slew the Wang Brothers amid thousands of soldiers. Their weapons are now hanging in Li Commerce Company’s Gathering Guest Inn restaurant. Tomorrow’s luncheon will be held there as well!"

"What?!"

Hong Zhenjie suddenly shot to his feet and shouted, unable to believe it. The reason he had spread information targeting Teng Village was that he had learned Teng Qinghu and Miss Li, Li Qingyu, were close. He had wanted to use someone else’s blade to force the Li family into submission.

Although he had never met the Wang Brothers, he had heard of the Wang Triple Fiends, three First-Rate Experts whose reputation was well known. He would not have been confident of defeating any one of them. Yet now, one man had easily taken their heads amid thousands of troops—and he had provoked that man. The situation was bad!

Fourth Master Hong’s expression did not change, but his eyes grew more solemn. He asked cautiously, "How long did Teng Qinghu take to kill the Wang Brothers?"

"From the moment the six Demon Beasts routed the Wang Brothers’ bandits to the moment the three met their deaths… less than half an hour!"

As Liu San spoke, he wiped the sweat from his brow. When he had first received the news, he had been just as disbelieving as Hong Zhenjie. But after his men captured an Iron Mountain Gang member who had lost a hand, he had no choice but to believe the report. Teng Qinghu had crushed the Iron Mountain Gang’s force of more than a thousand men all by himself.

"Zhenjie, forget about marrying Li Qingyu. Liu San, go to Gathering Guest Inn with Zhenjie tomorrow. As long as Teng Qinghu’s terms aren’t too excessive, agree to them."

After pondering for a long time, Fourth Master Hong reached his decision. He had lived in seclusion at White Horse Lake for many years, studying the Cold Moon Saber Technique. He considered himself one of the strongest people beneath the Earth Ranking, but even if he were to face Yang Fan, the former Earth Ranking expert, he still had no confidence at all.

Back then, Yang Fan alone had forcibly routed the thousand-plus bandits of the four Hong brothers. He had pursued them for three days and three nights. In the end, the three older brothers had risked their lives to let him escape, preserving a bloodline for the Hong family.

He had never heard the name Teng Qinghu before. But since Teng Qinghu had managed to rout and crush the Iron Mountain Gang, which was no weaker than the White Horse forces of the four brothers in their prime, perhaps with the help of the Demon Beasts, Fourth Master Hong no longer wished to risk provoking him.

"Father…"

Hong Zhenjie still had designs on Li Qingyu. He did not want to lower his head just like that, and he tried to persuade Fourth Master Hong to withdraw his order.

"This is my command!"

Fourth Master Hong spoke harshly. When it came to important matters, he never allowed Hong Zhenjie to act recklessly.

"Yes…"

Hong Zhenjie and Liu San bowed and cupped their fists at the same time. Although Fourth Master Hong had been away from White Horse for a long time, this was still Fourth Master Hong’s White Horse Gang. What Fourth Master Hong failed to notice, however, was the faintly unusual emotion that flashed through Liu San’s eyes as he lowered his head.

At noon the next day, the prominent figures from every trade and profession in Yicheng, the officials from the city guard’s office, and the leaders of the large and small gangs throughout the city all gathered in the hall of Li Commerce Company’s Gathering Guest Inn restaurant.

The restaurant street, usually bustling with people coming and going, was unusually quiet today. For the sake of the banquet, Lord Li had specially asked City Guard Ni of the city guard’s office to seal off the entire street.

"Well, well! Third Master Liu and the Young Master of the White Horse Gang have arrived!"

"Greetings, Third Master Liu! Greetings, Young Master!"

The moment Hong Zhenjie and Liu San appeared, people gathered around them, offering greetings one after another. Hong Zhenjie wore an arrogant, aloof expression, as though he could not be bothered to acknowledge anyone. He seemed quite contemptuous of everyone around him.

Liu San looked more like a merchant than a gang member. He responded amiably with cupped fists and could accurately call every person greeting him by name. Before long, he had blended in with the crowd.

"Third Master Liu, do you know what major undertaking the Li family is planning this time?"

A wealthy household head who was poorly informed looked puzzled. Pointing at several figures occupying their own corners, he said, "There’s Master Li Yanshan of Yanshan Martial Hall, the bald gang leader from the western part of the city, Brother Liu Shui from the north, and your White Horse Gang. What exactly is going on? Has something major happened?"

Although Lord Li had been making one move after another in Yicheng, the matter of organizing the militia had not yet been settled. As a result, some of the changes and inside information circulated only among Yicheng’s upper echelon. The smaller merchants were poorly informed; they only knew that, lately, Yicheng’s merchant association seemed to be preparing to unite as one.