Chapter 34: Beginning the Battle
The Clear River Dock.
This was the busiest place in all of Clear River City.
Because Clear River City was far away and the route to get there was difficult, all commerce was basically done via the Long Clear River. The Long Clear River was basically the city’s lifeline.
The Clear River Dock was the busiest area in the entire city for this reason. Every day, many s.h.i.+ps would drop off large s.h.i.+pments of goods, allowing many commoners and peddlers to make their living here.
The streets near the docks had always been the place where criminals would gather and proliferate unchecked.
The Long Clear Gang controlled the docks and even named themselves after the Long Clear River. Obviously, they placed a lot of importance on the docks. And because they controlled these docks, the Long Clear Gang stood above the rest of the criminal organizations. They were one of the largest criminal gangs out there.
Like usual, the Clear River Dock was bustling with activity.
A boat stopped near the river bank, and the cargo unloaders began to line up to unload the boat. They carried the heavy bundles off the boats as a bunch of gangsters surrounded them, constantly barking out orders and maintaining elders. Those responsible for inventorying the goods sat beneath umbrellas, keeping track of what was delivered and handing out wages. The sound of clattering copper coins in a person’s hand represented that person’s hopes for that whole day.
Lu Tianyang lay on his large recliner, one maidservant feeding him peeled grapes while another was ma.s.saging his legs. Four black-clothed burly men flanked him, their auras extremely forceful.
A few of the cargo unloaders glanced up as they walked by. Immediately, some gangsters responsible for keeping order cracked their whips at them. “What are you looking at? Can you afford to look at the Long Clear Gang’s Deputy Commander with those dog eyes of yours?”
Those cargo unloaders lowered their heads and didn’t dare look up again.
Lu Tianyang liked this feeling of being far above everyone else. This gave him an immense feeling of satisfaction.
What point was there in living in this world if you couldn’t trample people underneath your feet?
As Lu Tianyang thought to himself, he squinted his eyes, making it even harder for him to see.
Just as he was enjoying his afternoon rest to the fullest, a commotion suddenly began to sound out off in the distance.
Lu Tianyang kept his eyes closed, unwilling to open them. All he said was, “What’s all that noise about?”
A guard looked in the direction of the noise. “It seems like someone is headed this way.”
“No matter who it is, break his bones and chase him out of here,” Lu Tianyang said lazily.
“That…… might not be possible,” a guard said with some difficulty.
“Hm?” Lu Tianyang opened his eyes to take a look.
His eyes grew rounder and rounder the more he stared.
Not far away, a group of people was headed his way.
The person in front was a young man wearing a white robe. Behind him were twenty red-robed people, followed by nearly two hundred azure-robed people.
These people were marching in an orderly fas.h.i.+on, every one of them with a blade hanging from their belts. They weren’t in a hurry and didn’t make any noise, but they exuded a formless pressure as if they were an advancing army.
The pa.s.serby, cargo unloaders, and gang members on the dock had never seen a formation like this before. They parted to two sides; the commotion he had heard came from them.
“This is……” a black-clothed guard whimpered in fright.
“These people are from the Origin Bureau!” Lu Tianyang recognized that those wearing the azure robes were guards from the Origin Bureau. Those wearing the red robes were obviously the Blood-Robed Guards.
Guards from the Origin Bureau and Blood-Robed Guards? Lu Tianyang knew without even thinking who the white-robed person in the front was.
“Su Chen!” Lu Tianyang said, his voice trembling.
He had obviously heard this name before.
Provoking the Lian and Long Clans immediately upon arriving, dealing the Long Clan a serious blow, and even s.n.a.t.c.hing the Origin Bureau for the City Lord.
This guy was a genuinely savage character.
But why had he come to the Clear River Dock?
Lu Tianyang couldn’t figure it out.
The large procession was still advancing. They only stopped once they occupied the entire dock s.p.a.ce.
Those gang members also began to react and slowly gathered around Lu Tianyang.
The two parties quickly reached a standoff.
Lu Tianyang finally said, “Our visitor must be Knowledge Executor Su, right?”
“That’s me,” Su Chen replied, gesturing.
“Why has Knowledge Executor Su come to my Clear River Dock today?”
“Your Clear River Dock?” Su Chen looked around. “Does the Clear River Dock belong to the Long Clear Gang? If a government official wants to come here, does he need your permission first?”
Lu Tianyang was thrown off by Su Chen’s words. “Knowledge Executor Su, you’ve misunderstood me. I just meant that if Knowledge Executor Su was planning on coming, you should have let me know earlier so that I could properly greet you.”
“There’s no need to greet me. I won’t argue with you either about your slip of the tongue. In any case, I’m here to carry out the investigation of a criminal case.”
“Investigate a criminal case?” Lu Tianyang was stunned. “What criminal case?”
“An Origin Qi Scholar of mine was killed around here. Of course I need to investigate.”
Lu Tianyang was stunned. He blurted, “Liu Jiyun? He died near West Water Street. What does that have to do with us?”
Su Chen harrumphed, “So you do know about it. Liu Jiyun’s death only happened a few days ago, and his body was cleaned up by the Investigations Office in the middle of the night. They haven’t made a public announcement, but Deputy Leader Lu already knows the ident.i.ty of the victim and where he died. Isn’t that a bit illogical?”
Upon hearing Su Chen’s words, Lu Tianyang didn’t panic. Instead, he began to laugh, “Is there anything strange about me knowing? Are you trying to use this kind of reasoning to suspect me? Are you having a stroke?”
The Long Clear River had the ten Bloodline n.o.bility Clans as a supporter. They were usually arrogant and tyrannical, not even fearing any government officials.
Upon hearing Lu Tianyang say that, all of the gang members began to guffaw with laughter, their eyes filled with provocation.
But in truth, Su Chen and Lu Tianyang both knew that suspecting him for this reason alone was pus.h.i.+ng it. Even though the matter of Liu Jiyun’s death had yet to spread, it probably hadn’t been a secret in the underground world for quite some time. Everyone was waiting to see how Su Chen planned on dealing with the retaliation from the ten Bloodline n.o.bility Clans.
If he didn’t deal with it well, what awaited him was a fiery ruin, and the Origin Bureau would fall back into the hands of the ten Bloodline n.o.bility Clans.
When faced with Lu Tianyang’s unbridled mockery, Su Chen didn’t take offense. All he said was, “Whether I’m having a stroke or not isn’t important. Most importantly, I suspect that you have a connection with this case, and I request that the Long River Gang return with me immediately to the Origin Bureau for investigation.”
Lu Tianyang harrumphed, “The responsibility of investigating this case belongs to the Investigations Office, not the Origin Bureau.
Su Chen pulled out a doc.u.ment and handed it to the person next to him. That person unrolled it and lifted it up as he proclaimed loudly, “Sir Liu of the Origin Bureau was stabbed to death. Because this matter involves an Origin Qi Scholar and the Investigations Office hasn’t handled the case well, the Origin Bureau is now jointly investigating this case!”
What?
Everyone was stunned.
Su Chen said, “Did you get a clear look at it? This is the City Lord’s personal command medallion. The Origin Bureau has a part in investigating this case. Any suspects must cooperate.”
Lu Tianyang harrumphed, “At the very least, the Investigations Office hasn’t had their investigative rights taken away yet, right? If Knowledge Executor Su wants any clues, you should go and look for them. There’s not much else for me to say.”
Su Chen laughed. “So you mean to say that you aren’t going to cooperate with me?”
“What can you do if I don’t agree to cooperate with you?” Lu Tianyang countered.
Su Chen ignored him. He turned around and said to a martial artist not far from him, “Did you get that all down?”
“I’ve got it, sir,” the martial artist said as he shook the Imaging Disk in his hand.
“Very good!” Su Chen nodded and said to the procession behind him, “The Long River Gang is a suspect in the West Water Street murder. The Origin Bureau is under orders to investigate this case, and the Long River Gang refused to cooperate. They will be dealt with according to the severity of their crime…… Attack!”