Where Immortals Once Walked

Longchuan had originally been home to fifty or sixty bandit gangs of various sizes. True, when they went into the fields, they were farmers, and when they took to the water, they were fishermen, but if all they did was farm and fish, could they still call themselves bandits? How would they be any different from ordinary, law-abiding subjects?

Now that Yuheng City had tightened its control over the Longchuan Trade Route, the amount of loot the water bandits brought back had fallen sharply, while the cost of obtaining it remained painfully high.

Once the returns could no longer cover the costs, how many people would still be willing to stay in such a money-losing business?

“Yuheng City has also swept through Longchuan’s outskirts several more times. By now, twelve or thirteen gangs have already disbanded, including the Lu Family Gang. Their members were either absorbed by other gangs or left Longchuan altogether. The atmosphere inside Longchuan has also been tense lately. When I came out, two groups totaling a little over two hundred men were facing off. I don’t know whether they’ve started fighting yet.”

There were still just as many people waiting to divide up the loot, but there was less loot. What were they supposed to do?

In the end, they could only compete harder.

In other words, the bandits had begun turning on one another.

Even outlaws understood that they either had to cut manpower or fight their rivals. Either way, the result was internal attrition.

He Lingchuan smiled. “Tell me about those West Ji puppet troops.”

The remnants of West Ji’s army, scattered by the Red General and Xiao Maoliang, had fled into Longchuan and called themselves the “West Ji Army.” Yuheng City, however, referred to them as a puppet army.

“I was just getting to them. The two groups looking to fight are the West Ji Puppet Army and the Qiuhua Gang.” Skinny took a sip of wine. “There used to be several separate groups of West Ji troops. Now they’ve all consolidated into a single faction.”

He Lingchuan understood at once. “Without an official status, it wouldn’t have been easy for them to carve out a living there.”

“Exactly. They used to be official troops. Some of them had even entered Longchuan before to capture water bandits. Then, a few months ago, they suddenly changed sides and joined the same trade themselves. The two groups already had old grudges, so the puppet troops had a rough time when they first entered Longchuan. Dozens of them had their throats cut in their sleep. It was only after they attached themselves to the Jintao people that they gained backing and began standing toe-to-toe with the other water bandits.”

“The bandit assault on Yuheng City three months ago was organized with the help of the West Ji Puppet Army. They contacted the other gangs and claimed that the Jintao people were paying generously for the job, even supplying grain, weapons, and armor. They also said Yuheng City had only recently been established, was full of wealthy merchants, and had an army that had barely taken shape. They made it sound easy to attack, claiming that everyone could sweep in and out and leave with their bowls overflowing.”

“The West Ji Puppet Army may be mediocre at fighting, but they’re certainly good at fooling people.” He Lingchuan knew that the Jintao people had probably heard Commander Xiao had been transferred away and that Yuheng City had been placed under an unknown new commander. They had therefore decided to cause him some trouble, while the water bandits had seen an opportunity to seize a fortune.

The two sides’ interests had aligned perfectly.

“Exactly.” Skinny laughed as well. “Then they ran headfirst into an iron wall and lost so many men. Once they returned to Longchuan, the major gangs turned on the West Ji Puppet Army and demanded compensation.”

“They refused?”

“Of course. The West Ji Puppet Army had suffered heavy losses of their own. After several days of arguing, tempers on both sides kept rising until they finally started fighting.” Skinny shook his head. “I hadn’t been there long at the time. I truly didn’t expect the West Ji Puppet Army to win in the end. They directly scattered several of the gangs.”

“That isn’t surprising. They have someone backing them, after all.”

“True.” Skinny cracked open another peanut. “Right now, Longchuan is broadly divided into three kinds of factions. The first consists of the large, traditional local gangs. They’ve existed for more than twenty years, with Qianjin Stockade as their leader. The second consists of the outsiders, such as the West Ji Puppet Army, and they have the closest ties with the State of Jintao. The third consists of the small and medium-sized gangs. These smaller gangs always drift between the other two sides, following whichever one seems stronger at the time. The Qiuhua Gang is one example of this third group.”

He Lingchuan raised his cup in salute. “Excellent. As expected of you. Even such a tangled situation becomes perfectly clear once you summarize it.”

Yuheng City had sent several spies into Longchuan. Two had managed to return before their identities were exposed. Only two remained undercover, and Skinny was one of those remaining two.

The man truly had a natural gift for intelligence work.

With Skinny dividing the factions this way, He Lingchuan immediately understood the distribution of power within Longchuan. That would make planning his next move much easier.

“You’re as sharp as ever too, Boss.” Skinny waved toward the thin, dark-skinned young man working the grill. “I also confirmed one more thing. A little over a month ago, the State of Jintao sent someone to the West Ji Puppet Army. The moment he arrived, he took the top seat and ordered them all to obey him. He was the one who planned the repeated attacks on the patrols along the southern trade route.”

“What’s his name?”

“Fushan Lie.”

He Lingchuan’s hand paused slightly around his cup. So the culprit who killed Miao Mingming and the others really is Fushan Yue’s father? That’s very bad news. That means that Beijia intends to interfere here as well. “How strong is he?”

“Very. The moment he arrived, he killed one of the leaders to establish his authority.”

He Lingchuan warned him, “Stay away from him. Don’t let him remember you. He may look human, but he’s actually a monster. His hearing, eyesight, and sense of smell are all exceptionally sharp.”

Skinny looked startled. “What kind of monster is he?”

“The patrolmen who were attacked had four bloody holes in their necks. Every drop of blood had been drained from their bodies.” He Lingchuan lowered his voice. “He’s likely a ba. I’ve already reported it to Panlong City.”

“Understood.” The young man from the grill came over, and Skinny held up five fingers. “Hey, brother, grill me five more skewers of the large kidneys!”

Someone else was paying today, so naturally, he chose the most expensive items.

The young man agreed and walked away. Only then did Skinny continue, “Boss, your counterattack against the bandits came at exactly the right time. Otherwise, we’d be in serious trouble by now.”

“How so?”

“When Fushan Lie first began leading raids against Yuheng City’s patrols, the first few attacks succeeded without a hitch. That caused quite a stir inside Longchuan.” The water bandits and government troops had been entangled for years, but normally, it was the authorities who hunted bandits. Bandits actively hunting and killing government soldiers was far outside the usual order of things. “Because of those attacks, all the gangs in Longchuan began looking at the West Ji Puppet Army with newfound respect.”

He Lingchuan sneered. “Later, it wasn’t only the West Ji Puppet Army attacking our patrols.”

“Right, the other gangs copied them.” Skinny let out a long breath. “Had you not led Yuheng City’s army in such a forceful counterattack, the southern trade route would be in enormous trouble by now!”

No matter how rampant banditry had been in the past, it had only meant the bandits robbed merchants fiercely.

If things progressed to the point where they also slaughtered patrolmen with impunity, what would become of the trade route?

He Lingchuan had insisted on retaliating at any cost precisely to stop that dangerous trend before it spread any further.

“And now?”

“Now that Yuheng City’s army has answered with blood and steel, the bandit dens are anything but peaceful. The voices condemning the West Ji Puppet Army are growing louder by the day.” Skinny stripped another skewer clean. “Everyone says it was their insane provocation of the official troops that triggered Yuheng City’s vicious retaliation against the whole of Longchuan. Now every gang has to suffer alongside them.”

The fault clearly lay with the West Ji Puppet Army, yet every gang in Longchuan had to swallow the bitter consequences.

Naturally, many people refused to accept that.

He Lingchuan fell into thought for a long while before asking, “Both Qianjin Stockade and the West Ji Puppet Army are recruiting, correct?”

“Yes. Quite a few gangs have broken apart lately, so both sides are selecting the best of the loose men.”

“Robbing the Longchuan Trade Route will only grow harder, and the infighting among the water bandits will only grow worse.”

After all, cutthroat competition was hardly a situation unique to his original world.