The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 253 - 175 Murder and Arson for a Golden Belt_2

Chapter 253: Chapter 175 Murder and Arson for a Golden Belt_2

The team they looked up at consisted of over a hundred men, each robust and powerful, dressed in jujube-red overcoats, with their arms halfway exposed, their faces fierce, and sticks tucked at their waists.

It looked less like they were carrying a tower and more like they were ready to fight.

The witch drum band following them had even more members, bare-chested, wearing hideous Nuomian masks, pounding the drums as they marched, resembling a parade of a hundred demons by night.

Without displaying any particular magical feats, their sheer number, coupled with their various costumes, managed to project an impressive aura, making them stand out on the entire street.

It was the Fire Bear Gang!

Yuan Ba, infuriated, cursed a few times before speaking up, "Master, it must be these guys causing trouble. Let’s teach them a lesson!"

"Teach them what lesson?"

The old man snorted, "Today’s the Lantern Festival, with so many civilians around, do you want to go wild? Do you have a death wish?"

"And look, who’s that over there!"

Yuan Ba looked and saw that among the team carrying the tower, there were several oddly dressed magicians.

One was a monk, broad-shouldered and sturdy, holding a convenient shovel, with a string of white bone prayer beads hanging around his neck, his visage ferocious and a hideous scar crossing his right eye.

His right eyeball was an eerie white.

There was also an old Taoist, dressed in patchwork clothes, carrying a large gourd on his back, a short sword at his waist, looking incongruous.

The one who caught Yuan Ba’s attention was an old crone, seeming advanced in age, draped in a black robe, with white, graying hair, and a face full of wrinkles, various sized leather pouches hanging around her waist.

"It’s the ’Silver Flower Snake’, that old witch!"

When Yuan Ba saw her, his eyes immediately darkened with uncertainty, "How did she end up in Chang’an."

"It’s not just her."

Yuan Ba’s master spoke in a cold voice, "Those few are no good either, they’ve caused a lot of harm in secret, it’s just that they haven’t been caught red-handed by the Law Enforcement Hall."

"This group here is from a Chang’an City gang, and those guys are definitely looking to leverage their power to grab a spot, hence they’re all in cahoots with each other."

"They’ve dispatched people to cause trouble, probably also not wanting to clash with us. Just let it go and pay them no mind."

Although Yuan Ba was irritated in his heart, he didn’t object.

His master’s guess wasn’t wrong. Chang’an City had been in turmoil recently, and no one expected that the biggest beneficiary would turn out to be the Fire Bear Gang.

Bai Ruoxu’s Maitreya Sect identity was exposed, the brokerages throughout Chang’an City were swept clean, and there were also people in the government making moves to swallow up the brokerages’ properties...

Iron Shigong’s son, Iron Feng, being intimately associated with Bai Ruoxu, was similarly implicated, losing years of savings overnight and disappearing into obscurity...

Feng Feiyan’s Fenglai Inn did not escape either...

Some suffered bad luck while others were naturally eating their fill.

Those officials in the government offices who would usually address each other as brothers and comrades, now turned into ravenous beasts, making a big fortune and solidly enjoying a bountiful year.

The Five Elements were severely weakened and stood no chance against the Fire Bear Gang.

The newly appointed Chairman of the Peddlers, the day after Iron Shigong left, went to the Fire Bear Gang’s base and became fast friends with Xiong Baodong.

Many of the brokerages’ properties were hot potatoes that those in the Chang’an government needed to get rid of after seizing them, all acquired by Xiong Baodong at low prices.

One could say, in this turmoil, the Fire Bear Gang hid behind the scenes, eating their fill, their strength surged suddenly.

And the Five Elements, with whom they had a feud, also fell apart.

This was virtually like pie falling from the sky, making Xiong Baodong so happy he couldn’t stop grinning.

Recently, he even threw several days of extravagant banquets to celebrate.

And there was more good fortune.

The opening of Hua Mountain’s cellar also attracted many nefarious experts.

Their reputation was poor to begin with, and they too wanted to form a team to snatch a spot, but due to the Maitreya Sect incident, the Captain Bureau and Law Enforcement Hall were arresting people everywhere.

These guys felt uneasy and went to Xiong Baodong, reaching an agreement in no time, forming a team together.

With the help of these nefarious experts, Xiong Baodong’s appetite grew even larger, which is why he blackmailed many teams before the grand meeting, threatening them with leverage he had on them.

Now, on top of his Divine Tower, there were already ten Magic Flags!

Keep in mind, there were only a total of twenty-four teams.

And behind those nefarious magicians, it was Xiong Baodong leading the group.

At this moment, Xiong Baodong appeared to be in high spirits; his already massive frame, covered in black leather, made him look like a black bear walking, his presence domineering.

"Ha ha ha..."

Seeing Xiang Chu’s team withdraw, he burst into laughter and said to the other Magicians, "These few spots are limited and quite valuable, so what do you say, shall we grab a few more?"

Now that his strength was formidable and he had recruited numerous experts from the side doors, he no longer needed to look up to the Magic Sect of Shang Mountain after establishing connections with the Li family.

As for the side door Magicians from Shan State, he even less so considered them a threat.

"No need."

The old woman in black robes with white hair coldly said, "That master and disciple pair are from Xiang Chu, they have deep ties with the Mei Mountain Magic Sect. One spot is not worth provoking Mei Mountain."

Xiong Baodong laughed, "Fair enough, we’ve already got enough spots for today. Let’s hand them over to the Taoists from the City God Temple early, so I can take everybody to Huawei Building to have a good time!"

"Hahaha."

The one-eyed monk laughed loudly, rubbing his bald head with lustful light in his eyes, "Gang Leader Xiong, this poor monk will indulge without reservation."

Xiong Baodong smiled slightly, "Please enjoy yourself, Xiao Yue, but let me make one thing clear: Behind Huawei Building is a certain noble from the Capital, so don’t kill anyone and invite a heap of trouble."

"Don’t worry, this monk will exercise restraint."

The big monk nodded comprehendingly, clearly impatient to get going.

As the two teams crossed paths, the Fire Bear Gang was rough and pushed aside the men from Xiang Chu who were carrying the structure, infuriating both Yuan Ba and his disciple.

However, they had urgent matters and did not wish to create unnecessary complications, so they could only swallow their anger.

Manager Wan also did not want to stir up trouble.

Seeing the Fire Bear Gang barreling toward him, he sighed and quickly ordered his team to step aside.

Li Yan glanced at everyone without saying a word.

He wasn’t bothered, but others had their concerns.

Manager Wan still needed to get by in Xianyang and Chang’an City, and his followers, a bunch of hardworking craftsmen, relied on him.

The Left Family Troupe from Huayin and the Xianyang Drum Troupe felt the same way, even Guo Luquan lowered his head, with some of the men carrying the structure showing fear in their eyes.

One must pick their battles.

If they caused trouble today and lost their spots that would be one thing, but they would surely face retaliation from the Fire Bear Gang afterward.

Even if they could cast spells, how could they fend off so many, especially since the opposition had hired side door Magicians better at combat?

However, while they wished to avoid trouble, others were not so forgiving.

Xiong Baodong saw Li Yan in the crowd, and the unpleasant memories of their duel night flooded back, darkening his expression instantly.

"Go, take that old ghost’s flag!"

At his command, several men from the Fire Bear Gang immediately stepped forward and swaggered towards Manager Wan.

They were arrogant and cocky today, jerking their heads smugly and shouted, "Old man, be sensible and hand over the flag!"

Manager Wan’s face turned red with anger and he spoke firmly, "Go, tell Xiong Baodong, that I am an elder of the craftsmen, and I hope he gives me some face..."

"You old geezer, still want face?"

The leading man sneered, full of mockery, "Don’t be ungrateful, we still need to go drinking after this, if you keep blabbering, tonight we’ll make sure your old scruffy face is rubbed in the dirt!"

Left with calling him an old geezer, right with old scruffy. Even a clay figurine has some temper, to say nothing of Manager Wan who was a person from the pugilistic world, his eyes immediately turned grim, "Asking for a beating!"

His two apprentices immediately stepped forward, grabbed those few men, and after a few brisk slaps, they knocked them to the ground and began to punch and kick.

Those goons from the Fire Bear Gang, who typically only bullied common people and the poor Jianghu people, were no match for real practitioners.

Of course, Manager Wan didn’t want to escalate the situation too much, so those gang members were just knocked out cold.

"Yo-heave-ho!"

Xiong Baodong, who was always domineering, laughed instead of getting angry at the scene and waved his hand, causing his team to stop and surround Li Yan and his companions.

"It’s a fight, a fight’s broken out!"

Vermilion Bird Street was not small, but such commotion had already caught many people’s attention, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

"What are you doing!"

On Vermilion Bird Street, there were also patrols from the Captain Bureau, and they quickly approached on horseback, interceding with a shout, blocking between the two groups.

The imminent conflict was averted.

But seeing this, Li Yan inwardly sensed trouble.

The leader of the black riders from the Captain Bureau,

Was none other than Hundred Households Feng Han, who had barged into his home that day!