sinovels Chapter 104 The Girl's Prayer
Chapter 104 The Girl's Prayer
Chapter 104 The Girl's Prayer
Shen An slowly closed his eyes, his mind racing.
Stendar has been following his second martial uncle Ding Mian for almost three years. With his cunning and skill, he must have already won over his martial uncle's heart.
Ding Mian may not have been aware of the intricacies behind this order, or perhaps he was aware but didn't care.
It's perfectly normal for someone to do a favor for their sect leader's favorite disciple by issuing a seemingly insignificant transfer order using their deputy seal.
In the eyes of these elders, this was nothing more than harmless competition among the younger generation.
But the timing of Stendhal's attack was extremely ruthless.
He deliberately chose to do so after news of Liu Zhengfeng's retirement ceremony had spread throughout the martial arts world, at a crucial moment when he, as the person in charge of the Songshan Sect in Hengyang, had to be stationed there and could not spare any attention from other matters!
Why was it Li Donglai, who is currently the most powerful man in Xiangtan and can intimidate those petty thugs in Xiangtan, who was transferred away?
There is only one answer!
Stendhal is going to turn on himself!
No, he would never dare to personally take action against his fellow disciples or against the businesses that the Songshan Sect had worked so hard to develop; that would be a major taboo.
What he's trying to do is use someone else to do his dirty work!
His precise transfer of Li Donglai was intended to create a brief window of opportunity when Xiangtan's defenses were extremely weak. What kind of place is Xiangtan? It's a melting pot of people, a hub of waterways and land ports, and has always been a gathering place for all sorts of people, from the common folk to the common folk.
Having just arrived, he forcefully consolidated Yan Shiqi's territory and interfered in the rice, medicine, tea, and salt businesses, which affected the interests of countless people. There are definitely many who secretly covet and hate him!
Previously, with Li Donglai in charge, although his martial arts skills weren't particularly high, not even as good as one of the Twin Bears of the Northern Desert, he was still enough to fry fish in that pond.
But once Li Donglai is transferred, how tempting will that piece of fat meat in Xiangtan, which has just been integrated and whose foundation is not yet stable, be in the eyes of those hungry wolves?
At that time, those wandering martial artists whose livelihoods have been cut off, and those small gangs that covet the profits of the docks, will inevitably be incited, hear the news, and launch a group attack!
A chaotic feud within the underworld, a bloody battle of "black-on-black"—
Even if he were to uncover any clues afterward, Stendhal could still completely deny everything.
He couldn't bear to see himself succeed, fearing that his achievements in the Huguang region would lead to a resurgence and threaten his position as the eldest disciple. Therefore, he wanted to undermine his own power and destroy his business in Xiangtan!
The business losses were secondary; what was more insidious was that he wanted to use this to destroy the fragile relationship he had just established with Lu Lianrong of the Hengshan Sect!
The territory in Xiangtan was nominally borrowed from Lu Lianrong.
If he were to lose the territory, or even cause a huge mess, what would Lu Lianrong think? He would only think he was incompetent, and thus develop a great deal of resentment and distrust towards him!
Shen An could even foresee what would happen next.
Stendhal would wait until the dust settled in Xiangtan, while he himself remained completely unaware, before he, as the "senior brother," would be "appointed in a time of crisis" to clean up the mess.
He would use ruthless methods to wipe out the troublesome gangs, then "generously" appease Lu Lianrong, reconnect with the gang, and easily pocket all his hard work and achievements.
At that time, he, Stendhal, will be the hero who turned the tide.
As for himself, Shen An, he was a complete and utterly incompetent good-for-nothing.
"What a wonderful senior brother—he's given me an incredible gift!"
Shen An told Feng Changrong his guess, which left Feng speechless.
"Senior brother—what should we do now?" Feng Changrong's voice trembled so much it was unrecognizable as his own. "How about we immediately write to the headquarters and report this to the Left Sect Leader and Uncle Tang! Shi Dengda—he dared to falsely convey the Sect Leader's orders and frame a fellow disciple! What a heinous crime!"
"it's useless."
"Where did he fabricate the order?" Shen An asked calmly. "The transfer order is real, and the seal is real too. Shi Dengda can easily say that he requested his second uncle to issue the order in advance to prepare for the sect's southward journey, just to ensure everything is in order."
Do you think Master would believe our baseless speculation?
Feng Changrong was speechless.
"Senior brother, should we inform Li Donglai as well?" Feng Changrong was completely at a loss.
"Tell him what?" Shen An suddenly stood up. "Tell him not to accept the transfer order? This is absolutely unacceptable. Li Donglai must leave."
"Huh?" Feng Changrong was completely dumbfounded. "Why?"
"We have already accepted this transfer order." Shen An walked to the door and said in a deep voice, "If we detain Li Donglai, or make him outwardly comply but inwardly disobey, that would be openly defying the sect's orders! That's exactly the result Shi Dengda wants! He'd love for us to disobey orders, so that he wouldn't even need to use someone else to do his dirty work, and could directly deal with us according to the sect rules."
Feng Changrong was speechless. This wouldn't work, that wouldn't work—wasn't he just going to have to watch Xiangtan helplessly?
"I'm leaving Hengyang to you." Shen An didn't explain further. He opened the door, and the cold night wind rushed in, causing the candlelight to flicker.
"Senior brother, are you leaving Hengyang?" Feng Changrong chased after him and asked.
"I'll be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest."
Shen An strode back to his courtyard without a moment's delay.
The inner courtyard was quiet. Qu Feiyan's room lights were already off, so she must have gone to bed.
------
Shen An tiptoed, not wanting to disturb her.
He tiptoed into the house, picked up the heavy sword weighing over sixty pounds, tied it to his back, and also packed some food, water, and silver.
The entire process was completely silent.
However, after he turned around, behind the window that had long been dark, a small, slender figure stood silently in the darkness.
Qu Feiyan did not sleep.
From the moment Shen An left the courtyard to go find Feng Changrong, she could no longer fall asleep.
But she never saw Shen An return with his usual relaxed and gentle smile.
She only saw his somewhat lonely back as he shouldered the giant sword.
She desperately wanted to rush out and ask him where he was going, how long he would be gone, whether there would be any danger, and whether she could come with him.
But she ultimately didn't move.
She could only stand there, hidden in the darkness, silently watching him leave, silently praying.
Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the window paper, casting a thin, bright line at her feet.
Outside, Shen An's broad back didn't linger for a moment before quickly disappearing from sight.
"Brother An————"
The girl's whispers, along with the white mist they created, slowly dissipated into the cold autumn night.
"You must come back safely."
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