Chapter 80

Speaking of this, Yang Chenglie couldn’t help but gently massage his temples, his expression becoming even more troubled.

"If this happens, it will put me in a very difficult position!

I absolutely cannot let go of the bailiffs of the third class. Otherwise, it will be even harder for me to stand my ground in Changping. So, no matter what, I will fight Lu Yongcheng to the end. However..."

Yang Chenglie sighed, looking at Yang Shouwen, then at Yang Rui.

"I need to prepare for the worst, so I want you to go to Xingyang."

"Ah?"

Yang Rui exclaimed, looking at Yang Chenglie in surprise, "Father, why send Elder Brother to Xingyang?"

Yang Chenglie ignored Yang Rui and looked at Yang Shouwen, saying, "I want you to go to Xingyang to find your uncle and ask him to take you in."

"Elder Brother’s uncle?"

Yang Rui looked bewildered, turning to look at Yang Shouwen.

Apart from Yang Chenglie and Yang Shouwen, only the late Yang Dafang knew about Yang Shouwen’s background.

Yang Rui had never known that his elder brother had an uncle.

From Father’s words, it seemed that Elder Brother’s uncle was quite powerful?

Yang Shouwen frowned, his eyes sharp as he stared at Yang Chenglie.

After a long while, he suddenly said, "Father, I won’t go."

"Why not?"

"My current situation is not good, and I cannot leave... Don’t interrupt me, let me finish. I understand Father’s intentions and am deeply grateful. But the problem is, if I leave, who can you trust to stay by your side?"

"I..."

"Don’t mention Er Lang!"

Yang Shouwen interrupted Yang Chenglie before he could speak.

"Er Lang is smart, I never deny that.

But the problem is, Er Lang is still young and can’t help you with many things. Moreover, he is in the open, and everyone will be watching him, so he can’t do much. Although I am not very capable, I have some strength, and no one will pay attention to me.

Father is in the open, and I am in the shadows... handling some dirty work, no one will care.

I will stay, and let Er Lang go to Xingyang! If Uncle is willing to take us in, Er Lang going will be the same; if Uncle is unwilling, even if I go, it won’t help. Father, you said we are a family! Even if Uncle takes me in, I won’t be happy alone in Xingyang. In short, I am being unfilial, but I will not do as Father wishes."

Yang Rui watched in shock, never expecting his elder brother to speak so bluntly.

He looked at Yang Shouwen, then at Yang Chenglie.

Yang Rui finally realized that his elder brother was not what he had imagined. There were definitely things about his elder brother that he didn’t know.

"You child, are you still so stubborn at this time?"

Yang Chenglie was furious, but Yang Shouwen did not back down.

He stood firm, looking at Yang Chenglie, "If I were still confused, I would have no complaints about Father sending me away.

But now, I am clear-headed, and Father is in trouble. If I leave Changping now, that would be unfilial."

"You..."

Yang Chenglie was speechless, not knowing how to continue.

After a while, he pointed at Yang Rui, "Er Lang is young, and Xingyang is a thousand miles away from Changping."

"Let Song An take him, and if necessary, take Jasmine too.

Although Song An has no special skills and likes to stir up trouble, he is loyal to Er Lang. With him, Er Lang won’t be at a disadvantage. Plus, with Jasmine’s bravery, there won’t be any risks on the journey."

"About that..."

Yang Chenglie was hesitant, looking at Yang Rui.

"Elder Brother, what did you just say?"

Yang Rui was thoroughly confused, looking at Yang Shouwen, stammering.

Yang Shouwen glared at him, saying sternly, "I want you to go for reinforcements... If you can bring reinforcements, Father will be as stable as a mountain in Changping. If you can’t bring reinforcements, stay in Xingyang and don’t come back."

"I won’t go!"

If Yang Rui still didn’t understand, he would truly be unworthy of the word 'smart.'

However, Yang Shouwen said coldly, "If you don’t go, I will kill you."

"Elder Brother..."

"I am not joking. If you don’t believe me, try it.

Since we are all going to die, it’s better to die by my hand than by someone else’s. Now, will you go or not?"

To everyone’s surprise, when Yang Shouwen said this, Yang Chenglie did not stop him.

On the contrary, he smiled.

Both sons are good... Neither Yang Shouwen nor Yang Rui had thought of abandoning the family.

"Er Lang, follow your elder brother’s advice."

In that moment, Yang Chenglie’s thoughts raced.

Yang Shouwen was right; staying in Changping, he could provide some help.

Compared to Er Lang, he was still too young... Moreover, as Yang Shouwen said, if the Zheng family of Xingyang was willing to help, they would help whether Yang Shouwen went or not; if they were unwilling, Yang Shouwen going would be useless.

The Zheng family of Xingyang, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, was not inferior to the Lu family of FanYang.

But the question was, would the Zheng family be willing to offend the Lu family for his sake?

On this point, Yang Chenglie was not confident.

If he really lost to Lu Yongcheng in the end, with his and Yang Shouwen’s martial skills, they could leave Changping and start anew without much trouble.

Thinking of this, Yang Chenglie made his decision.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As Yang Shouwen had guessed, after Yang Chenglie arrested the head of the Seven Workshops, Gai Laojun immediately took action.

The struggle in the underworld was more brutal than the political arena.

In the political arena, at least there needed to be a pretext. But in the underworld, it was a matter of who had the bigger fist, and power was the only rule. Gai Laojun had been in Changping for many years, and although he seemed kind on the surface, how could he have held Changping for so long if he were a good person? He was based in Mange Mountain Workshop, appearing to be indifferent to the world, and even spending most of his time in the Old Army Inn, making people think he was nothing special.

But if he were nothing special, how could Gai Laojun have so much wealth?

The Old Army Inn was a front, but in reality, it was a den of dragons and tigers.

Those who had nowhere to go, once they reached the Old Army Inn, no longer had to worry about their future. The Old Army Inn wouldn’t give them gold or silver, but it could give them safety. Even if enemies came, Gai Laojun would stand up for them. These outlaws came and went over the years; some died, and some turned their luck around. Regardless, the favors they owed accumulated, giving the Old Army Inn considerable power.

Before, with the heads of the workshops in place, Gai Laojun couldn’t act.

But now, with those heads in prison, Gai Laojun showed his true colors.

In just one day, dozens of lives vanished in the eight workshops of Changping. The thugs under the Seven Workshops were in a state of panic. But it was useless! The seven heads were in jail, and the more vicious minor heads had mysteriously disappeared. No one knew where they had gone, but everyone knew that those minor heads were likely dead, their bodies discarded somewhere, devoured by tigers and wolves.

Yang Shouwen didn’t pay attention to this anymore because he knew that Gai Laojun and Yang Chenglie had formed an alliance.

Gai Laojun, who had been in Changping for many years, was not someone who didn’t know the gravity of the situation.

So far, the government had not received a single murder report, which meant that Gai Laojun had handled things very well.

Without any murders, the government would not intervene.

Believe that when those seven heads were released from prison, they would find that their former territories had been taken over by Gai Laojun.

"Er Lang, haven’t you figured it out yet?"

That night, Yang Shouwen pulled Yang Rui to sit on the porch.

Yang Rui’s face seemed to say, "I am very unhappy," sitting beside him, pouting and silent.

He was still angry that his father and elder brother had sent him to Xingyang.

Although he knew his father and elder brother had good intentions, in Yang Rui’s view, this was no different from deserting the battlefield.

This made him very dissatisfied!