Chapter 1: Guild Strife

"Get out!"

Suddenly, a scolding voice came from the other side of the alley, and Song Changming walked over with a gloomy face.

Seeing the Patrol Guard uniform on Song Changming, those men in straw raincoats ultimately gave up and quickly walked away.

"Dad, Mom, are you alright?" Song Changming watched the men disappear into the alley before entering the courtyard to ask.

"We’re fine, it’s a good thing you came back." Father Song shook his head, then said angrily.

"Those people are probably from that newly-risen Incense Burning Gang on Baiyi Street, huh, they’re really a bunch of harmful scum!"

"Why would the Incense Burning Gang target our family?" Song Changming put down the wine and meat in his hands and asked.

He had heard a bit about this Incense Burning Gang, which had emerged from who knows where and had been active on Baiyi Street for some time now.

Since they weren’t in his jurisdiction, he didn’t know much about them.

All he knew was that they often distributed incense to the poor residents of Baiyi Street, boasting about it grandly, but in the end, every household that burned the incense reportedly suffered misfortune.

Either someone in the family would become mentally unstable, or the family would be utterly ruined, or they would disappear altogether.

As a result, most people on Baiyi Street now avoided the Incense Burning Gang.

"If I’m not mistaken, the old lady who spoke to me seemed like Aunt Li from the corner of the alley; the voice sounded very familiar..." Song’s Mother suddenly said.

"Aunt Li? Didn’t she disappear a long time ago? Even the father and son of the Li Family have moved away for a long time." Father Song said with some surprise.

The person was wearing a bamboo hat, so he hadn’t recognized her earlier.

"If it really was Aunt Li, why would she join that Incense Burning Gang..." Father Song was quite puzzled and shook his head as he continued.

"Forget it, forget it, luckily we have Changming as a Patrol Guard. They probably won’t come again."

"Dad, when I’m not here, you still need to be cautious, don’t bring strangers home, and try not to go out unnecessarily. I have a bad feeling about this Incense Burning Gang lately." Song Changming reminded them.

On the other side.

"Aunt Li, didn’t you say that the Song Family only had a Night Patrol? How did he become a Patrol Guard?" A member of the Incense Burning Gang couldn’t help but complain.

"The little boy from the Song Family was a Night Patrol before and only became a Patrol Guard recently. It’s really strange..." Aunt Li stuttered, as if explaining to someone, or perhaps mumbling to herself.

"In any case, since the Song Family has a Patrol Guard from the government, let’s not mess with them and find a new target instead." Another member of the Incense Burning Gang said, and the others all tacitly agreed.

Aunt Li lowered her head and remained silent.

In the evening, the newly hatched chicks in the courtyard were still clamoring noisily.

Nowadays, the neighbors all knew that the younger son of the Song Family had become a Patrol Guard, so even if a coop of chickens was kept in the courtyard unlocked, no one dared to steal them.

Song Changming, after finishing his knife training and body refinement, lay on the bed, his mind still pondering over the Incense Burning Gang.

This elusive gang with strange behavior made him inexplicably uneasy.

Regardless, he didn’t want too much contact with them.

"Perhaps we should consider moving..." Song Changming mused to himself.

Baiyi Street not only was remote and backward, but its security was also lacking, and it was quite distant from Houli Street, where he worked.

Even for the sake of his parents, a relocation was necessary.

However, buying a house in another district would require quite a hefty sum, at least dozens of copper coins.

And to live a little better, more comfortable, the price would naturally be higher.

"It’s better to save up some more silver coins." Song Changming contemplated.

The bounty from Chen Beihu last time still had more than half remaining, enough to purchase an ordinary residence on Houli Street.

But in doing so, funds would be tight for his upcoming body refinement practice.

So he decided to wait a bit longer.

If only he could get another bounty...

That midnight.

The Patrol Armor Bureau was brightly lit, and several Patrol Captains, including Liang Chuan Mountain, were fully armored in their respective small courtyards, waiting.

A number of patrol guards below were also ready, each either sitting or squatting and resting.

Song Changming leaned against a doorpost in the courtyard, gently stroking the pattern on his knife handle, glancing up at the night sky.

The evaluation message popped up right on time, and his lifespan increased by three days.

However, tonight he wasn’t concerned with his evaluation rewards; his gaze landed on Liang Chuan Mountain, who was sitting on a bench.

Tonight, the Patrol Captain had abruptly gathered everyone, without exception.

Not only Liang Chuan Mountain’s patrol team, but other Patrol Captains from Houli Street had also brought their people to the Patrol Armor Bureau.

With such a lineup, it couldn’t be just a regular night duty.

Evidently, the Patrol Armor Bureau was planning a major operation tonight, probably something significant.

Liang Chuan Mountain also glanced at the sky, asking, "What time is it?"

"Midnight," replied his assistant Lv Gang.

"It’s about time," Liang Chuan Mountain said as he slowly got up from the bench.

Seeing this, the group also stood up, waiting for their superior to issue orders.

"The reason for gathering everyone tonight is because I’ve received information that the Qinghe Gang and Nine Bends Association are going to have a confrontation tonight," Liang Chuan Mountain finally informed his subordinates about the situation.

"The reason I didn’t mention it earlier is to prevent leaks; if it were just a regular scuffle, there wouldn’t be such a fuss. But tonight, these two gangs will determine the winner, and the loser will be annexed.

The Director ordered that while we can usually let law-abiding gangs go unrestrained, we cannot let them suddenly grow too powerful and trample over us recklessly.

So tonight, it doesn’t matter who lives or dies between the two gangs, but we cannot allow them to merge into one, understand?"

Lv Gang, having served as Liang Chuan Mountain’s assistant for many years, quickly understood the underlying meaning of his words, his eyes lighting up.

"Boss, are you saying we’re going to pick peaches?"

Liang Chuan Mountain laughed and chided, "What do you mean by picking peaches? These gangs have become increasingly lawless; we hold a lot of their crimes. This trip is just to convict and capture them."

"Yes, yes, the Guard Captain is right," Lv Gang chuckled.

The other experienced patrol guards seemed to understand what needed to be done later, and they laughed, unable to hide their excitement.

Only the newly joined Song Changming seemed a bit lost.

"Since everyone understands, let’s move out," Liang Chuan Mountain ordered, leading his patrol guards outside.

Lv Gang, walking past Song Changming, noticed his confusion and quietly explained, "The deeds of disbanded gangs, including property deeds, will be confiscated and turned over to the government.

But before confiscation, no one can be sure about the assets of these gangs, got it?"

Lv Gang didn’t spell it out explicitly, but Song Changming understood the implication.

In simple terms, before the seizure, they stood to gain some benefits, possibly quite a lot, which was why the patrol guards were so excited.