Start with a red name

Temporary residence, the gate of the storage warehouse.

The four hall masters, Ding Fuquan, Tao Bai, Wang Hengshu and Sheng Xiang, were looking eagerly at the carriages parked outside the gate.

Watching the members of the Giant Bear Gang busying in and out, moving wooden boxes one after another out of the carriage and transporting them into an empty warehouse.

Just then, the gang leader "Su Ruiliang" walked quickly over accompanied by Hong Quan.

The four of them felt an inexplicable excitement in their hearts, and they all hurried forward to pay their respects.

"Gang leader."

"Gang leader."

"..."

Geng Xuan nodded and opened a few wooden boxes at random.

Either they are drugs for stopping bleeding and detoxifying, or they are cultivation resources such as blood-replenishing pills and essence pills.

He just randomly checked a few boxes, and Geng Xuan stepped aside so as not to disturb the gang members.

Ding Fuquan and his men were standing nearby, so he asked, "How many drugs are there in total?"

Ding Fuquan replied carefully: "We haven't had time to count them yet. After the goods are put into storage, I will take people to count and compile the list as soon as possible."

Geng Xuan nodded and said, "Don't worry. The cost of this Qingyuanji battle was huge, but the gains were also very mixed. You should take everyone to take a careful look."

"...Yes." Ding Fuquan and others quickly agreed.

It can be seen that Ding Fuquan and the others are very nervous now. They want to find something to say to him, but they stammer and dare not open their mouths.

Geng Xuan understood their current mood very well.

Ding Fuquan, Tao Bai, Wang Hengshu, and Pang Wen who has died, all came from Baiyuanji, and all joined the Giant Bear Gang under the leadership of Feng Yu.

As "Su Ruiliang" publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the ignorant "Deputy Gang Leader Feng" yesterday, the three of them felt very uneasy.

What makes them feel even more tormented is that Feng Yu has not shown up until now.

Relatively speaking, Shengxiang's situation is slightly better than theirs, but only to a limited extent.

Before yesterday's recruitment, the Giant Bear Gang had only a handful of official gang members with the ability to refine marrow and fight.

All of them who are in the early stage of marrow refining can become the hall master.

But since the recruitment of new members yesterday, the combat power of the initial stage of marrow refining has suddenly become worthless in the Giant Bear Gang.

Not to mention the early stage of marrow refining, even the middle stage of marrow refining is so numerous that one cannot count them with one pair of hands.

After recruiting new members, the number of official members of the Giant Bear Gang increased more than tenfold, and its overall strength also increased more than tenfold.

On the one hand, Sheng Xiang and others were delighted with the changes and were glad that they had embraced the big thigh in time.

But on the other hand, their hearts are also filled with anxiety and tension.

Although, the current situation of the Giant Bear Gang was caused by Geng Xuan alone.

But if possible, he still hopes that the transition can be as smooth and stable as possible, with less cost.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Geng Xuan decided to reassure everyone.

He looked at Ding Fuquan, Tao Bai, and Wang Hengshu and said:
"Yesterday, Feng Yu who appeared in the square before I returned was most likely not himself..."

Hearing him suddenly say this, everyone was shocked.

"...According to some clues discovered later, those who used various means to replace the original owner's identity and blend into the crowd in disguise, intending to commit evil deeds, included not only the head of the Xu family, but also those people in Wuyou Palace.

Some of our people have also suffered similar plots, including Feng Yu.

Therefore, the Feng Yu you saw at that time was not the real him, but an enemy in disguise.

It was for this reason that when he discovered that I had suddenly led the crowd back, he chose to hide and did not dare to meet me, for fear that I would discover his intentions.

...You should stop having any unnecessary psychological burden for this."

After hearing his explanation, the expressions of Ding Fuquan, Tao Bai and Wang Hengshu became very strange.

Shock.

Suddenly.

Relieved.

easy.

It was as if the sunshine had returned to them, and as if an invisible burden had suddenly been lifted from their shoulders.

After a pause, Geng Xuan continued:

"According to my speculation, Feng Yu should have been murdered, and we may be able to find solid clues in the next few days.

With this recruitment, the number of official gang members increased tenfold, and the internal situation became extremely complicated.

But something happened to Feng Yu again, and the already chaotic situation became even more chaotic.

Now, you have to take responsibility and maintain the situation in the gang."

"Early after the last recruitment, Feng Yu mentioned something to me.

He planned to make a comprehensive adjustment to the internal structure of the Giant Bear Gang to adapt to the new changes, and I agreed with this.

Even when the battle in Qingyuanji was at its fiercest, he often thought about this matter.

You all know something about this situation.

The original adjustments had not been made yet, and the Giant Bear Gang had a new expansion, and Feng Yu happened to get into trouble at this time. "

“…In the near future, the Giant Bear Gang will probably undergo a relatively large adjustment.

But I still hope there will be more continuity, and that you old people can play your roles as much as possible.”

Listening to the gang leader's earnest words, Ding Fuquan, Tao Bai, Wang Hengshu and Sheng Xiang were all stunned.

Deep down, I was so moved that I was speechless.

Who said that our gang leader is violent and cruel and can't do anything except killing people?

At this time, the Giant Bear Gang was surrounded by powerful enemies outside and there were numerous complicated issues inside the gang, and all the pressure was borne by the gang leader alone.

These old people, instead of thinking about shouldering the heavy responsibility and sharing the pressure with their leader, are still feeling sorry for themselves because of their own future.

Not only did the gang leader not blame them, but he also spoke warmly and earnestly to comfort them!

Moving.

Ashamed.

Reflection.

Then, all four of them showed determined looks on their faces.

"Boss, let me reflect on myself. There are some things I did not do well enough.

But I promise you that I will never let you down again, even at the cost of my life.

Next, please watch my performance!"

"Boss, don't worry, I will..."

"Gang leader..."

The four of them made the most firm and solemn promises in the most passionate and heartfelt tones.

Very good, very energetic.

Geng Xuan was very satisfied to see that all four of them showed the spirit of taking on heavy responsibilities.

He reached out and patted the four of them gently on their shoulders.

Every time I take a photo, I would say "very good" or "good job".

Finally, looking at the four people standing straight in front of him with their heads held high, Geng Xuan said:
"Then I'll leave the matters here to you."

"Leave it to us, boss, please rest assured!"

"...Oh, I just told you about some of the situations, especially the incident where Deputy Gang Leader Feng was replaced and killed.

Please keep it confidential and don't spread it.

This matter is still top secret within the gang!"

"Yes!"

……

After finishing the conversation with the four people, Geng Xuan returned to the courtyard.

I thought I could practice in peace for a while, but soon, after being informed, Cheng Hui led someone into the courtyard in a hurry.

Seeing Liu Yueji walking in quickly following Cheng Hui, Geng Xuan asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Liu Yueji should be in Liuyunfang now.

Liu Yueji said: "I heard that the gang leader wanted to know about Guo Jie's situation, so I rushed here overnight."

Geng Xuan was surprised and said, "If there is any situation, just send a pigeon to send a message. Is it worth it for you to go there in person?"

Liu Yueji said seriously:

"In some cases, I think it's better to talk about it in person."

Yesterday, after finishing the conversation with Xu Yao and Chen Zhan, Geng Xuan asked Cheng Hui to send a pigeon message to Liu Yueji immediately.

One was to inquire about Guo Jie's situation, and the other was to inquire about Yuanjing Youxiaer's situation.

In his opinion, these things could be made clear through carrier pigeon messaging.

But I didn't expect that Liu Yueji would actually make the trip in person for this.

Geng Xuan nodded slightly and took Liu Yueji to the tea room nearby.

……

after an hour.

tea room.

Liu Yueji had stopped telling the story and just lowered her head to drink tea silently.

Geng Xuan held the teacup in one hand, but was still thinking about what Liu Yueji had said.

He really didn't expect that Guo Jie, who was recommended by Liu Yueji and Xu Yao and who has now made quite a name for himself in Yuanjing, was actually an old friend.

In fact, they are quite close friends.

At least, that's what others think.

However, if we extract the specific contents of what Liu Yueji said, we can find that Liu Yueji's evaluation of Guo Jie was not very good.

Although there are no specific negative examples, there is no obvious wrongdoing in the matters Liu Yueji participated in that were related to this person.

But in Liu Yueji's feeling, this person is a little "greasy", a little "fake", and a little too "smooth".

For this reason, Guo Jie extended an olive branch to him several times, but he declined it every time.

Geng Xuan's thoughts only stayed on Guo Jie for a short while before turning to the group of knights in Yuanjing.

Liu Yueji's nearly one-hour talk was not entirely about Guo Jie.

More often than not, it just uses Guo Jie as an introduction to describe the overall picture of the group of Yuanjing wanderers.

Thinking of this, Geng Xuan couldn't help but shake his head slightly in his heart.

Although the knights-errant of Yuanjing and those elsewhere were both called "knights-errant", in Geng Xuan's opinion, they were two completely different groups.

The rangers from other places are like a group of wild dogs or a group of hyenas.

The vast group of vagrants who struggle in the "cracks" of Yuanzhou and survive on all kinds of leftovers and scraps are the soil for the continuous birth of the group of knights.

But the origin of the ranger is far more than that.

The disgraced people from other states, the desperate people from Yuanzhou, the people who hide their identities...

It's a mixed bag, full of filth and dirt.

He has no fixed place to live, no fixed property, no fixed income, no fixed moral code, and wanders around Yuanzhou like duckweed.

Like a fly chasing after stench, or a vulture chasing after rotten flesh.

There are people who uphold loyalty and act according to their likes and dislikes, and there are also those who are profit-driven and have no bottom line or principles.

He robs houses, burns, kills and plunders, robs the rich to help the poor, and sees injustice...

Filth, chaos, and confusion...

It can also be regarded as another kind of "vigorous vitality and flourishing of all things".

As long as the situation in Yuanzhou and even the world does not change, this group will have an endless supply of "fresh water".

But Yuanjing is different.

Yuanjing, which is supported by a large number of aristocratic families and top gangs, does not have a strong center, but the "rules" have already subtly permeated every aspect of Yuanjing.

Even forces like Wuyou Palace are maintainers of these "rules" rather than destroyers.

If the ranger still follows the wild habits he developed in other places after entering Yuanjing, he will be crushed to death in minutes.

On the other hand, only the knights who adapt to and fully follow the "rules" of Yuanjing can thrive in Yuanjing.

To put it simply, you can only eat the bones thrown to you.

You can't steal, and you can't rob.

Otherwise, your head will be blown off in minutes.

After understanding this, Geng Xuan no longer had any interest in contacting the group of "Yuanjing Rangers". However, Liu Yueji's words aroused Geng Xuan's other thoughts.

He looked at Liu Yueji and asked:

“It is said that Wuyou Palace’s spies are spread all over Yuanzhou.

The group of knights-errant are also spread all over Yuanzhou.

So, if we put these two groups together, which one is stronger and which one is weaker?"

Liu Yueji said:

“In terms of absolute scale, whether in quantity or quality, the Rangers far outnumber the Worry-Free Palace.

But such a comparison doesn't make much sense.

Because the group of rangers cannot be regarded as a force.

Many groups of rangers have hatred for each other, and they are eager to eat each other's flesh and sleep on each other's skins!"

Geng Xuan asked this question after thinking for a while.

"As far as I know, many rangers have the tradition of completing quests and earning bounties..."

For many groups of rangers, this is even a major way to make money and a stable way to obtain resources.

It is also a means for many forces to use the power of rangers.

Previously, the Wu family of Anleji had used this method to successfully mobilize the group of rangers in "Dongwuji" before their own forces arrived, and completed the locking, tracking, and containment of Fan Hongsheng, Wei Wanzong and others.

There are various types of "bounties".

It can be gold and silver, or certain cultivation resources, a certain cultivation technique, or status.

Even a favor, a promise.

There are all kinds of them, and many of them are "tailor-made" and are specially dug out for a specific "carrot".

"... Then tell me, can I issue a bounty mission specifically targeting the Wuyou Palace people to the rangers from all over Yuanzhou?"

After hearing this, Liu Yueji was stunned for a moment before muttering:
“In theory, it is certainly possible.

But in practice, this is almost impossible, right? "

"Oh, what do you say?"

“Yuanzhou is so large, whether it’s the Wuyou Palace’s spies or the rangers, they are distributed over a very wide area.

Especially the group of rangers. If all the rangers are counted, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are omnipresent.

If they are really determined to search, they can find all the spies in Wuyou Palace.

But the question is, who will supervise and how to confirm?
Do you want to bring the heads of people from Wuyou Palace to claim the reward?
Not to mention that this is bound to have many disadvantages, who can determine that a person is from Wuyou Palace based on a head?
If these problems cannot be solved and the ranger group cannot be convinced, no one will take on such a mission.

...Even if this problem is solved, what kind of reward should be offered?

Even the simplest and most direct means is gold and silver. To achieve such attraction, you cannot even think about it without tens of millions of taels.

...But on the other hand, if there is a force that can really come up with so much gold and silver, who would use such means?

If the power can really produce this much gold and silver, how can it convince the Rangers that it will keep its promise and pay the bounty in the end?"

This seems to create a paradox.

Those who cannot pay tens of millions of taels of silver prove that they do not have the capital for the "reward".

That is just empty talk and empty promises.

Everyone would just treat such bounty missions as a joke, and anyone who even takes them seriously would be considered shallow-minded.

Those who have the ability do not need to resort to such crude and inefficient means.

More importantly, this force is too strong for the ranger group.

It is so strong that the two sides cannot even sit at the same table to discuss matters.

Any ranger with a little common sense would know that they are not qualified to discuss cooperation with such a force.

I neither deserve it nor dare to do it.

However, Geng Xuan's next words directly broke down Liu Yueji's defenses, and even made him want to do it.

"If I use the 'Gift Ceremony' to reward merit, do you find it attractive?"

Count me in!
At this moment, Liu Yueji almost spoke out what was in her heart.

Is the “gift ceremony” reward for merit attractive?

Liu Yueji felt that this was not a question that needed to be answered at all.

Any normal practitioner who has some understanding of the "Grace Ceremony" should not be confused by this.

Just close your eyes and rush forward.

Moreover, the question of "who supervises" and "who confirms" has also been perfectly solved.

This step is completely saved, and there is no need to worry about any problems.

Because "God cannot be deceived."

While feeling inexplicably hot in her heart, Liu Yueji also had a somewhat disrespectful thought in her mind.

Does Boss Su's behavior count as "misusing public resources for personal gain"?

Now, the news that "Su Ruiliang" is the descendant of Meng Tiexin and the feud between the Chixin Gang and Wuyou Palace are no longer secrets and have been spread wildly.

Liu Yueji naturally knew about all these situations.

At this time, "Su Ruiliang" used the "Granting Ceremony" as a bargaining chip against Wuyou Palace.

Liu Yueji’s first reaction was, Boss Su… count me in!
Geng Xuan stared at the silent Liu Yueji for a while, and before he could answer, he already had the answer in his mind.

"It seems that this plan should be feasible."

Liu Yueji said quickly:

"It is certainly feasible, but the most important thing is that it is only attractive to those who have truly been exposed to the 'Gift Ceremony'."

Geng Xuan nodded and said:
“You have a number of such rangers under your command.

This time, the Giant Bear Gang recruited many Rangers from Yueluyuan... If this is to be accomplished, we must first mobilize them."

Liu Yueji nodded quickly.

Compared with other practitioners, the range of activities of the nomadic group of knights is inherently wider.

Practitioners above the Blood Refining level basically have experience of traveling around, and this is even more so for the group of rangers.

Just like Liu Yueji and Guo Jie, who is now getting along well with others in Yuanjing, also had many interactions with each other.

If the rangers currently serving under Liu Yueji, as well as the thousands of rangers who have joined the Giant Bear Gang, can be properly utilized and their enthusiasm fully mobilized, it is possible to lead by example and cover the entire Yuanzhou ranger group.

Besides, Geng Xuan did not expect to mobilize all the rangers.

Even if you can only mobilize 10% or 20% of it and use it for your own benefit, that would be enough.

Previously, regarding the issue of Wuyou Palace.

The most difficult problem for Geng Xuan was not how powerful the core top level was.

The question is how to eradicate their strongholds and spies throughout Yuanzhou.

It would be too time-consuming and laborious to ask him or even the Giant Bear Gang to do this.

The most important thing is that the efficiency of doing so is very low.

The "Yuanjing Rangers Group" mentioned by Xu Yao unexpectedly gave Geng Xuan a new idea.

Of course, after learning more about the "Yuanjing Rangers Group", Geng Xuan has excluded them from his plan.

But the opened train of thought was not closed because of this, but continued to extend along this line.

Now, the whole plan has gradually become clear in Geng Xuan's mind.

After that, Geng Xuan expanded on this and communicated with Liu Yueji, the "ranger expert", on more specific and detailed issues.

Until Cheng Hui led Fang Jintang and Fan Hongsheng into the courtyard.

……

"Fortunately, you gave the order in time, otherwise, once the battle situation in Qingyuanji spread, I dare not imagine what kind of chaos Beibaji would be in."

“Relatively speaking, the situation in Baiyuanji and Anleji is the worst, and it is also the easiest for chaos to occur.

Fortunately, we went to these two places first, and after suffering some casualties, we were able to control the situation in both areas as quickly as possible."

"The situation in the other six markets is relatively better, but only to a limited extent.

Especially when we had sorted out the previous few markets and there were only two markets left, the result of the Qingyuan Market battle had already spread wildly in the "Beiba Market".

...We were clearly there to restore order, but under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, they thought we had other intentions, causing many people in these two markets to become hostile to us. "

"…In order to resolve the issue quickly and not delay it for too long, the methods used were a little harsh."

“While we were sorting out the ground order of various markets, we also took the opportunity to conduct a comprehensive cleanup of the underground tunnels of various markets.

Some were killed, and some surrendered.

All of these people were brought back to Qingyuanji with the team, about 150 to 60 people."

"...In this 'Bei Ba Ji' operation, we killed more than 450 enemies.

We also lost fifty-seven men in order to achieve these results.”

While listening to Fang Jintang's report, Geng Xuan also took the opportunity to devote some of his attention to sorting out the relevant information in the "Suizhu".

Some information is even more detailed than what Fang Jintang reported.

For example, the number of enemies killed was 464, the red luck gains reached 9744 points, and the black luck also reached 696 points.

The fifty-seven casualties on our side added 1254 points of good luck and 93 points of bad luck to "Suizhu".

In terms of importance, whether it was Geng Xuan personally leading the team northward, entering and exiting the "Zhehongyan" basin, or the arrangements made against the head of the Xu family, Xi Hanyue, Xu Xiangfeng and others after returning, they all far exceeded the team arranged to go to "Bei Ba Ji".

Compared with the previous two, the team assigned to "Beibaji" can only be regarded as a partial force to fill in the gaps.

Even enemies like Wuyou Palace and Xu Xiangfeng did not make any targeted arrangements for this.

But it was this small army that contributed the most good fortune to "Suizhu".

While Geng Xuan was listening to Fang Jintang's report, more and more people came to the courtyard.

Hong Quan, Jiang Hongyi, Ding Fuquan, Tao Bai, Wang Hengshu, Sheng Xiang, Qi Mingcheng...

Geng Xuan glanced at these people, smiled gently, and said to Hong Quan:

"Go inform Jiang Yizi and Su Mingxu, and ask them to get ready... Also, ask everyone else to get ready and gather at the Grand Square after dark."

After hearing what he said, everyone's hearts finally relaxed.

Because of his words, even my heartbeat and breathing seemed to become much lighter.

Ever since Geng Xuan led the cavalry back, there was one thing that, although no one mentioned it, everyone present, and even the thousands of people in Qingyuan Gathering, were thinking about it in their hearts.

That was the final reward for the Qingyuan Collection campaign.

We cannot say that human hearts are too realistic. The vast majority of people risk their lives to fight. This is the most fundamental motivation and the ultimate goal.

……

That night.

The brightly lit Qingyuanji Square was filled with dense crowds of people.

The two "elderly artists" Jiang Yizi and Su Mingxu, who were lucky enough to escape Xu Xiangfeng's clutches because they were too weak, once again took the stage in their best attire under the blazing flames.

On the renovated and expanded "community altar", the same dances and chants are repeated over and over again.

But neither they who were performing hard nor the audience who were listening attentively felt it was boring at all.

As this was repeated over and over again, a mysterious emotion quietly seeped into the bodies of every participant and settled little by little in the depths of their hearts.

That night, a total of more than 4,500 people went to the "Community Forum".

The amazing thing is that almost all the temporary gang members got the opportunity to go on stage to receive their awards.

Instead, those captives who had just been transformed into official gang members yesterday, all became spectators with their necks raised and their mouths watering.

Such treatment made many people think in disrespectful ways: what's the point of such formal gang members?!

However, no matter how rude the thoughts of these people were, the process of the "Gift Ceremony" was not affected in the slightest.

This "grace ceremony" was a reward for contributions to the Qingyuanji campaign.

Whether you are a formal gang member or a temporary gang member will not have any impact on the reward results.

Some people were still left out of this reward.

That is a part of the cavalry that was led north by Geng Xuan and is now left with Xu Peng, Zha Luo and others.

But Geng Xuan couldn't possibly let the thousands of people who were waiting anxiously continue to wait just for them.

“We’ll just have to wait until next time.”

When the sun rose as usual on December 18th, the square that had been bustling all night had become deserted and silent.

Just like those bonfires that have burned out and even the remaining heat has faded away.

Teams left Qingyuanji in groups.

Some of them went south, returning to "Southern Fourth Collection" and "Eastern Fifth Collection", while others went north, returning to "Northern Eight Collection". (End of this chapter)