Chapter 204: Chapter 124: Three Bows and Nine Kowtows

Chen Cheng nodded slightly. "Speak!"

The scar-faced gang member said, "On the night of the Gentry Zhang family massacre, I was on duty at the main gate. I saw Incense Master Kong come to the gang’s headquarters. I clearly remember that Incense Master Kong was not scheduled for duty that night."

"Oh?" Chen Cheng’s eyes lit up again. This was clearly a better lead than the last one. "Who is this Incense Master Kong? What is his Martial Arts Power?"

"Incense Master Kong’s full name was Kong Yixiang. He was a Great Success Martial Artist in the Skin Grinding Realm, and you just killed him, sir." The scar-faced gang member pointed at a corpse next to Zhang Bao’s body.

Chen Cheng had some recollection of this Kong Yixiang. He was one of the more powerful leaders with considerable Martial Arts Power who had been following Li Hu and Zhang Bao. He, too, had been beheaded with a single slash; his corpse was now just a body with its head placed back on top.

"A reward!" Chen Cheng was straightforward. He took out a piece of patterned silver and tossed it to the scar-faced gang member, who grinned and returned to the crowd.

"Sir, I have a clue to report!"

"Sir, I have a clue to report too!"

...

Suddenly, the Tiger and Leopard Gang members all started offering clues. Each piece of information was minor, but they were all useful to some degree.

All of these men received a reward from Chen Cheng.

After piecing together all the clues, Chen Cheng was certain he knew who was behind the Gentry Zhang family massacre. Just as he had speculated, the culprits were likely one Great Success Martial Artist in the Skin Grinding Realm and two Small Success Martial Artists in the Skin Grinding Realm.

As Chen Cheng analyzed the clues, a gang member hiding in the middle of the crowd began to quietly shuffle toward the back. Once he reached the edge, he suddenly ducked low and bolted, sprinting toward the garden beside the plaza.

His chosen path skillfully avoided the watchful eyes of the Li Sheng and Li Lin brothers, and the crowd blocked Chen Cheng’s line of sight to him.

But Chen Cheng was not just anyone. He had been watching everyone’s movements the entire time. The man had barely run a few meters before Chen Cheng vaulted over the crowd and sent him sprawling with a kick. The gang member coughed up a mouthful of blood, severely injured. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Who are you? Why did you run?"

"I... I’m Mao Wei, just a low-ranking member. I..." Mao Wei’s face was ashen. He trailed off, then abruptly passed out.

But how could such a petty trick escape Chen Cheng’s notice? After all, Chen Cheng had held back his Power Dao; the kick wasn’t strong enough to knock someone unconscious.

The Long Saber in his hand flashed down, severing two of Mao Wei’s fingers at the base. Mao Wei let out a bloodcurdling shriek, like a pig being slaughtered.

...

「In the Tiger and Leopard Gang’s main hall.」

Chen Cheng, Long Saber in hand, searched the hall thoroughly and finally found the secret room.

The mechanism was behind the Gang Leader’s tiger-skin throne. It was hidden behind a painting of a fierce tiger, on what looked like an ordinary section of the bluestone wall.

He pressed a spot on the wall, and a secret room about ten square meters in size was revealed.

In the center of the secret room stood two large, exquisite wooden chests, along with an assortment of other valuables.

Chen Cheng frowned after a careful inspection. The wooden chests contained a large amount of silver taels and copper coins, which he estimated to be worth over two thousand taels of silver in total.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

’A major Jianghu Gang like this can’t possibly have so little money,’ he thought. ’Never mind anything else, the loot from the Gentry Zhang massacre alone was more than one thousand taels of silver.’

After another thorough search of the secret room, Chen Cheng returned to the main hall. This time, he finally discovered a hidden compartment beneath the Gang Leader’s tiger-skin throne. Inside was an exquisite rosewood box.

The box contained property deeds, a few Cultivation Technique Manuals, silver notes, gold coins, and silver ingots.

"This is more like it!"

After taking inventory, Chen Cheng found that the silver notes and gold coins alone were worth more than three thousand taels of silver.

Among the property deeds, he found several that belonged to Gentry Zhang’s hidden businesses.

The Cultivation Technique Manuals were all mid-level and nothing special.

After stuffing the most portable valuables—the silver notes and gold coins—into his robes, Chen Cheng strolled unhurriedly out of the main hall.

A few of his constables stood guard at the entrance, sabers drawn.

The crowd of Tiger and Leopard Gang members were still present, trembling and huddled together like frightened quails.

Beside the bodies of Li Hu, Zhang Bao, and the others, several more corpses of Tiger and Leopard Gang members had been added to the pile.

Seeing Chen Cheng emerge, Ma Zehua, who had been waiting, hurried forward. He cupped his fist and said respectfully, "Sir, as ordered, we raided the Tiger and Leopard Gang’s gambling dens and brothels. Some of them tried to resist, so my men and I killed them on the spot."

Since he intended to wipe out the Tiger and Leopard Gang, Chen Cheng had naturally shown no mercy. Ma Zehua and his men were the ones he had dispatched to seize the gang’s assets.

Chen Cheng’s orders had been simple: kill anyone who dared to resist. Clearly, Ma Zehua and his fellow constables had carried them out to the letter.

In front of them sat several heavy wooden chests affixed with seals. They presumably contained the silver coins confiscated from the Tiger and Leopard Gang’s gambling dens and brothels.

"Mm, well done." Chen Cheng nodded slightly, then turned to Li Sheng. "Did he confess?"

Li Sheng handed him a sheet of yellow paper. "He did. This is Mao Wei’s confession."

"The massacre of Gentry Zhang’s family was ordered by Li Hu and Zhang Bao. Incense Master Kong Yixiang led his subordinates, Mao Wei and Kuang Yixiu, to sneak into Gentry Zhang’s home under the cover of night. They murdered his entire family, young and old, and plundered all their wealth."

"Kong Yixiang and Kuang Yixiu are already dead."

Chen Cheng glanced at Mao Wei, who had been beaten to within an inch of his life by the Li brothers, and asked coolly, "Mao Wei, do you admit your guilt?"

The Li brothers had just interrogated Mao Wei in front of the other Tiger and Leopard Gang members. Many of them pointed out that at the time of the crime, Mao Wei had been with Kong Yixiang and Kuang Yixiu, leaving him no choice but to confess.