Gan Ci of the Hengjiang Nest of Tigers

Wang Chong watched the cavalry flee in disarray without making another move. He had to conserve his strength against unforeseen dangers; pressing elite frontier troops who had already resolved to flee risked backfiring. Monk Xuan Gang possessed some military experience himself—even if it came from illicit origins, amassed during his days as a notorious bandit. Knowing it was vital to rally their troops at this juncture, he urgently shouted orders to bring this chaotic rabble together. The men Luo Dayong had brought ignored Xuan Gang’s shouting entirely, continuing their gleeful slaughter. They cut down foes all the way to Wang Chong’s feet before falling to their knees one after another. The fiercest young man at their head barked, “Gan Ci of the Hengjiang Nest of Tigers pays respects to Director Wang!” Hearing the name Hengjiang Nest of Tigers, Wang Chong felt a slight jolt in his chest. Subconsciously, he asked, “Do you recognize me?” Gan Ci chuckled and replied, “Director Wang does indeed share a passing resemblance with White Chrysanthemum, but you are definitely not the same person.” Li Qingge had mentioned that the Hengjiang Nest of Tigers once forced White Chrysanthemum to retreat. Wang Chong had taken note of it back then, but as time passed, he had grown somewhat careless, actually asking the man to his face if they recognized him! Even though Gan Ci said he didn't, merely noting a resemblance, cold sweat still broke out across Wang Chong's back. Gan Ci assumed others had remarked on Wang Chong’s resemblance to White Chrysanthemum and that this prospective benefactor was merely inquiring because of that. He paid it no further heed, answering before looking up with an expectant expression. Without even glancing at Luo Dayong's cues, Wang Chong knew what the bandit had in mind. Smiling, he said, “Mr. Gan has performed a great service. Pointing toward the walled city of Pengshan County, I swear: if I fail to recommend the Hengjiang Nest of Tigers for official ranks and honors, let me be slandered as a lecher, unable to clear my name though I had a hundred mouths!” Gan Ci couldn't help laughing. He had never met someone so amusing. “There is no need for such a dire oath!” Wang Chong replied, “We have only just met. Without such a grave oath, how could I win your trust?” Gan Ci felt delighted at these words. Cupping his hands, he thought to himself, “This Director Wang is indeed a dependable man. He should be able to help us resolve our trouble with the Prince of Yan's Mansion.” By now, barely a hundred or so of the two thousand Yaglakar cavalrymen remained; the rest were either dead or had fled. The battlefield was strewn with masterless warhorses and corpses everywhere. Wang Chong felt a pang of pity and said to Gan Ci, “Kill all those who haven't managed to flee!” Upon hearing this order, Gan Ci's eyes gleamed, and he gleefully led his men away to slaughter the survivors. Monk Xuan Gang walked over. Dispensing with any pleasantries, he sat straight down on the ground and said, “This battle was won purely by luck, but a victory is a victory. It's just that Yu Zao promised some rewards on your behalf. You'll have to figure out how to make good on them yourself.” Wang Chong had no idea. He asked casually, “What did she promise?” Monk Xuan Gang recounted Yu Zao's promises. Wang Chong burst into laughter and said, “I'll handle it!” Xuan Gang said in surprise, “Those things won't be easy to deliver.” Wang Chong said, “She already gave her word, and the battle has been won. What does it matter how hard it is? I'll do everything in my power to settle it. Rest easy, Senior Brother—I've got it covered!” How could Monk Xuan Gang possibly rest easy? He couldn't resist bringing up that old idea again: “If there really is no other way, why don't we take to the mountains? In all my travels across the land, I actually know a few great spots to set up our own bandit stronghold.” Wang Chong was thoroughly speechless. He wasn't certain whether things would come to that; after all, court affairs were beyond their say. While the two were lost in their own thoughts, Tie Mingzhu and Nan Xinlan arrived side by side. The eldest young mistress of the Tie family wiped her mud-stained, pretty face and said, “Our Iron Pear Mountain Villa can contribute some money!” Nan Xinlan added, “I can ask my father for some money as well. As for the official posts, we can't help with that.” Wang Chong thought to himself, “I forgot—these two girls come from prominent families, prime targets to live off of. Yu Zao must have made those wild promises earlier, dared not show her face now, and begged these two ladies to intercede for her.” He waved toward Yu Zao, who was hiding not far away. Once the fox-eyed little maidservant trudged over reluctantly, he said with a smile, “Under those circumstances, other than promising lavish rewards out of thin air, what else could have goaded a ragtag mob into charging out of the city to fight the enemy? You did well. There's no need to worry—I will take care of the rest!” Yu Zao murmured in a low voice, “The official posts and prospects can be stalled for a bit, but what about the bounty silver?” Wang Chong smiled. “I naturally have my ways. No need to worry on my behalf.” Xuan Gang, Yu Zao, Tie Mingzhu, and Nan Xinlan all looked at him together, unanimously feeling that this young master was somewhat unreliable. Strangely enough, since making his debut in the jianghu, Wang Chong had slain several formidable enemies and made countless friends. Even Su Luo Yan and Lu Yaoniang regarded him with special favor, and Kong Chan was willing to accept him as a disciple, even sending Xuan Gang along with him. He could get along well anywhere he went, yet he always gave off an unreliable impression—as though one day he might just vanish into thin air. Wang Chong forced an awkward chuckle and said, “Don't worry, rest assured, it won't happen this time.” He didn't even know what he was promising; it felt as if, in the unseen realm, tens of thousands of eyes were staring right at him. Well, it was quite bizarre. After exchanging a few words, Wang Chong took a deep breath, sat cross-legged on the battlefield, and circulated the Innate Pure Yang Art, wanting to recover his strength as quickly as possible. By now, he had grown accustomed to possessing formidable martial arts, feeling as though he could not bear to be parted for even a moment from this personal might. Having reached the stage of Reaching Heaven and Coiling Earth, the Innate Pure Yang Art restored internal force at tremendous speed. After more than two shichen had passed, Wang Chong felt brimming with vitality, his exhaustion completely gone. His true qi had returned to its peak—perhaps even grown a fraction stronger. He abruptly threw his head back with a long howl and stood up. By this time, Gan Ci had wiped out all the remaining enemy soldiers and promoted dozens of “squad leaders” according to their “military exploits.” He hadn't favored his own men either, handling matters very fairly. He assigned these dozens of squad leaders to lead anywhere from a dozen to several dozen men each to scavenge spoils across the battlefield. These two thousand cavalry of the Yaglakar clan were equipped with two horses per rider, in addition to packhorses. Thus, upon scouring the battlefield, Gan Ci gathered more than one thousand three hundred warhorses, over five hundred packhorses, and more than three hundred suits of armor—all Black Hammer Armor forged by the Jiuqu League using the hundred-refinement method—and even over a hundred suits of heavy cavalry barding. As for weapons such as spears, sabers, and bows and arrows, they were beyond count. In this world, much like in ancient China, hoarding bladed weapons was a trivial matter, but hoarding armor was a capital crime. Gathering this many suits of armor and barding was enough to get one's head lopped off a hundred times over, unless all the spoils were presented to the imperial court. Born a water bandit, Gan Ci was inherently loath to part with riches and possessed an inveterate rebellious streak; he had no wish to give these up empty-handed. After fretting for a while, he resolved to toss this trouble to Wang Chong—after all, Wang Chong was the master here. Wang Chong surveyed this force that temporarily belonged to him across the battlefield. It already faintly possessed the aura of an ordinary military unit. To whip a ragtag rabble into this shape in just a few shichen—apart from having just won a battle where the weak defeated the strong, leaving everyone with sky-high morale—also showed that this leader of the Hengjiang Nest of Tigers truly possessed real ability. ...Gan Ci: It seems I've pledged myself to quite an extraordinary lord... ...Gan Ning: A bootleg, definitely a bootleg... ...Taishi Ci: A bootleg, definitely a bootleg...