novelraw Chapter 240
Chapter 240
Hundred-Insect Deadly Poison: Consumable Item (Durability 15/50)
A throat-sealing poison that kills on contact with blood. Reduces HP by 1 per second.
Do not taste it recklessly.
…
Blowpipe: White Grade (Durability 100/100)
Attack 5;
Within ten meters, it never misses;
…
After the Six Gates took the Five Poison Sect player away, Wangchuan kept these two items.
Hundred-Insect Deadly Poison was a fine thing—perfect for filling the gap left by snake venom.A poison that drained one point of health per second might not be as fierce as snake venom powder, but even a second-rank martial artist like him, with more than four hundred health, could only endure it for a few minutes…
The question was whether antidotes and Blood-Activating Pills could extend survival time.
And whether 《Qingcheng Heart Method》’s healing effect could suppress the poison’s spread.
Forget it.
This was not the sort of thing to experiment with.
The next day.
News arrived from the Six Gates.
This time, the Five Poison Sect had dispatched more than a dozen disciples, striking simultaneously against the disciples of various Jianghu sects—Caobang, Yulong Gang, and others—to sow chaos and terror.
Already, dozens had been poisoned to death!
The Six Gates posted maritime arrest warrants and distributed them across the entirety of Sanhe Commandery, launching a full manhunt for Five Poison Sect disciples.
Five Poison Sect disciples became rats in the street, hunted by all.
The Five Poison Sect player Wangchuan had handed over to the authorities, because he had provided useful information for the wanted portraits, was placed under guard in the grand prison. He was to redeem his crimes through merit and would not be executed for the time being.
Wangchuan finally relaxed.
With the authorities in motion, the Five Poison Sect’s campaign would likely collapse and end without result.
Yet just as he believed the branch helm was about to settle down, Li Qing brought new word: dozens of Beggar Sect disciples had slipped into the docks, delivered a visiting card at the branch helm gates, and requested an audience—their intentions unknown.
Before one wave had even passed, another rose.
This damned Jianghu…
Not a single moment of peace!
Complaining was one thing. But in the face of the Beggar Sect, Wangchuan did not dare show the slightest carelessness. The Beggar Sect was not like the Green Bamboo Gang or the Qingyi Sect—those lower-tier forces. Even the Five Poison Sect and the Crimson Pavilion were small fry before the Beggar Sect…
“Invite them in.”
Wangchuan could only go to the main hall to receive them.
A group of beggars dressed in patched rags had already swaggered in with great fanfare, leaning on bamboo poles and staffs. The stench of their bodies made the hall feel choked with foul air.
Caobang disciples lined both sides, bows on their backs and blades in hand, heads held high, eyes forward.
The Beggar Sect was acknowledged as the number one sect in Jianghu.
But the Caobang was acknowledged as the richest sect in Jianghu, and the number one sect upon the waterways.
Disciples of these two great sects had never been able to tolerate each other.
As the helm leader of a Caobang branch helm, Wangchuan could not allow the Beggar Sect to seize any fault in him, nor could he weaken the Caobang’s dignity. Thus, he had Chen Ergou and Captain Zhao Heiniu reinforce the “face” of the entrance.
This time, the Beggar Sect’s party was led by one of the deputy branch masters of the Sanhe Commandery sub-branch: Zhang Ye, a second-rank martial artist.
Behind him followed four first-rank martial artists. The beggars looked ragged, yet many possessed the strength of martial artists or quasi-martial artists.
“I am Wangchuan, helm leader of the Sanjiang Branch Helm. And you are…?”
“Beggar Sect, deputy branch master of the Sanhe Commandery sub-branch, Zhang Ye.”
Zhang Ye’s voice rang loudly. His gaze was sharp as he assessed the young man before him.
Wangchuan calmly returned the look, regarding this “familiar face.” Back when Branch Master Chen had been shot to death, it was this very man who had stood guard nearby with another.
Zhang Ye clearly had no idea that the person before him was Branch Master Chen’s killer. He clasped his fists and said,
“The purpose of our visit today, Helm Leader Wangchuan surely understands. Have you prepared the silver?”
“Prepared silver?”
Wangchuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Are you here to beg?”
“More or less.”
Zhang Ye was not angered. Patiently, he explained,
“Your previous helm leader promised that as long as our Beggar Sect brothers did not beg at the docks and did not cause you trouble, you would pay us five hundred taels of silver as monthly tribute. We agreed. Now, even though your former helm leader is dead, this agreement must continue.”
As he spoke, he lifted his hand, spreading five fingers toward Wangchuan.
“From the end-of-year holiday period until now—three months. A total of one thousand five hundred taels of silver. Much obliged.”
Anger rose in Wangchuan’s chest.
So they had come to extort money under the guise of “taking alms.”
He could afford one thousand five hundred taels.
But he could not pay it.
It concerned the Caobang’s reputation. He could not yield.
Otherwise, how would he continue to stand within the Caobang?
“Do you have a written contract?”
Wangchuan pressed down his anger and asked evenly.
Zhang Ye shook his head.
“We trust a sect as large as the Caobang will not cheat our brothers of their silver. Naturally, we did not demand written proof from your helm leader.”
“Empty words are not proof. And the man is dead… Who is to say he did not promise you five qian of silver, only for Deputy Branch Master Zhang to mishear it as one thousand five hundred taels?”
Wangchuan spoke in a joking tone.
Zhang Ye’s face changed.
The beggars behind him all flared up at once.
“What did you say?”
“Five qian of silver?”
“Do you take us for beggars?!”
“How dare you insult the Beggar Sect!”
The crowd of beggars boiled with anger.
Chen Ergou, Zhao Heiniu, and the others naturally would not let them run wild. The disciples immediately drew blades and stepped forward.
“What are you doing?!”
“Keep your filthy hands off!”
“Aren’t you just a bunch of stinking beggars?!”
“With arms and legs, you refuse to work—yet you still call yourselves the number one sect?!”
“Spit!”
Caobang disciples had always looked down on these stinking beggars.
In an instant, the two sides confronted each other fiercely, conflict on the verge of eruption.
Zhang Ye stared coldly at Wangchuan.
Wangchuan made no move to stop it.
A mere second-rank martial artist…
Wangchuan did not even place him in his eyes.
Moreover, this was his home ground!
With several hundred disciples inside and outside the branch helm, would he allow the Beggar Sect to bully them here?
Thud!
Thud!
Several beggars were kicked to the ground amid the shoving.
Some Caobang disciples were also knocked down by martial artists among the beggars.
As the disturbance grew, Zhang Ye fixed Wangchuan with an icy stare, enunciating each word:
“It seems Helm Leader Wangchuan has no intention of honoring the agreement between our Beggar Sect and your former helm leader? You intend to break your word?”
“Empty words are not proof. Bring written proof.”
Wangchuan stood unmoving.
The former helm leader’s shame could not be repeated through him.
“Fine! I can forgo the money. But as for begging at the docks—I would like to see who dares stop us!”
After speaking, Zhang Ye barked harshly, “We are leaving!”
“Helm Leader Wangchuan, do not regret this! When you come to me begging in the future, three thousand taels of silver—one copper coin less, and it will not do!”
The threat in his final sentence was unmistakable.
The beggars followed behind Zhang Ye. As they left, they glared at the Caobang disciples and spat viciously, departing in a surge of fury.
Zhang Cha’er arrived after hearing the news, his expression as if the sky had fallen.
“Helm Leader!”
“How could you tear things apart with the Beggar Sect?”
“Harmony brings wealth.”
“If the Beggar Sect causes trouble at the docks from now on, our business will suffer! If shipping gets diverted to the main helm, the brothers will all lose out!”