Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

Lin Feng walked out of the prefectural government office. It was already late at night, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Only the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers and the clanging of armor were particularly clear in the silence.

Back at the "courtyard house," the brothers who stayed behind visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Sandao, his arm in a sling, approached, his single eye bloodshot: "Master Lin, what did Feng Zhen say?"

"It's alright for now. The soldiers have withdrawn, and we've given them five hundred taels of silver as compensation." Lin Feng handed the silver notes to Liu Sandao. "The wounded brothers will receive the best medicine, and those who died in battle... will receive double compensation, and their families will be taken care of."

Liu Sandao took the silver note, nodded emphatically, his eyes slightly red: "Don't worry, Master Lin, I will take care of it."

"What did you find on the bodies of the Canal Gang and the Di Rong assassins?" Lin Feng asked.

"Besides the bird tattoo, Di Rong Gouzi didn't have any other distinctive markings. His weapon was a standard curved sword, very new, like it was newly issued. His clothes were made of coarse cloth, the kind we use here, but the stitching was a bit strange, the stitches were very dense, like the northern style," Liu Sandao recalled. "Those bastards from the canal gang did have something on them. One of them had this hidden in his pocket."

He pulled out an oil paper package containing a few pieces of silver and a small, folded piece of paper with blood-soaked edges.

Lin Feng took the note, carefully unfolded it, and by the firelight, saw several place names and dates written in crooked handwriting, like some kind of rendezvous record. Among them, the words "Willow Lane," "Midnight 3:45," and "Old Locust Tree" were faintly discernible, and there was also a blurry mark that looked like half a tiger's head.

"Willow Lane..." Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. Hou Qi reported that the Di Rong assassin's carriage had lost track of them near Willow Lane. "Old Locust Tree" was the location where he had Chen Da and Chen Er board the boat!

This note is very likely the contact information between the Di Rong assassin and the canal gang's inside agent or middleman!

And that tiger head mark… Lin Feng remembered that Qin Wu, the head of the Canal Gang’s punishment hall, seemed to have a nickname: “Qin the Tiger”! Could it be him?

"Who else knows about the note?" Lin Feng asked in a low voice.

"It was just me and Zhao Hu who found it and put it away without telling anyone else," Liu Sandao said.

"Yes, that's right." Lin Feng carefully put the note away.

This battle has weakened the "Three Alliances," but their backbone remains intact. However, the road ahead will be even more difficult.

Just then, Hou Qi rushed in, a strange look on his face: "Master Lin, there's something going on at the docks! The Canal Gang is in trouble!"

"Oh? Explain in detail."

"It's not our side, it's the Central District's Grand Canal Gang headquarters!" Hou Qi gasped for breath, lowering his voice. "News just came out that there's been infighting at the Grand Canal Gang headquarters! Huang San, who was just demoted from our Western District and brought back to headquarters, died suddenly last night in the headquarters' jail!"

"Sudden death?" Lin Feng raised an eyebrow.

"We told everyone it was a sudden illness, and he couldn't be saved. But our informant at headquarters secretly passed on the news that Huang San's death was suspicious, with blood flowing from all seven orifices, like poisoning! Moreover, yesterday afternoon, Fifth Master Qin personally went to the prison to 'interrogate' Huang San, staying for almost an hour! After Huang San's death, Fifth Master Qin immediately ordered a news blackout and also dealt with several gang members who saw or heard the commotion nearby." Hou Qi's voice carried a hint of excitement. "Master Lin, do you think it's possible that Fifth Master Qin killed him to silence him? Huang San knew too much, and Fifth Master Qin was afraid he would blurt things out, so he simply..."

Lin Feng seemed thoughtful. Huang San had suffered a setback at the hands of the "Three Harmonies" and was captured by Qin Wu and brought back to the headquarters for questioning, already harboring resentment towards Qin Wu. If he truly knew about Qin Wu's dealings with Di Rong or the Qi Prince's Mansion, he might use this information to blackmail Qin Wu during "interrogation," or in a fit of emotion, say something he shouldn't. It was entirely possible that Qin Wu, just in case, would poison him to silence him.

"Anything else?" Lin Feng asked.

"And what's more, the headquarters is in complete chaos!" Hou Qi continued. "Although Huang San has fallen, he's been operating in the West District for many years and has several sworn brothers and confidants at headquarters. When they learned of Huang San's 'sudden death' and discovered that Qin Wu had met with him alone, they immediately started making a scene, accusing Qin Wu of using torture and abuse of power to kill Huang San, and demanding that the headquarters leader uphold justice! Qin Wu's side, of course, didn't accept this, and the two sides almost came to blows at the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness! In the end, it was only thanks to the headquarters leader's personal intervention that a fight wasn't broken out, but the two sides have completely broken off relations!"

"What is the Grand Master's attitude?"

"The Grand Master seems to be having a headache too. He gave both sides a stern dressing down, saying that with a formidable enemy at hand, they must unite against the common foe and put aside their internal strife for now, to be discussed later. However, everyone can see that the Grand Master is biased towards Qin Wu, after all, Qin Wu is in charge of the Punishment Hall and is his confidant. Huang San's brothers are dissatisfied and are clamoring to split up, and Qin Wu has already sent people to keep an eye on them."

Internal strife, murder to silence witnesses, factional infighting... A cold glint flashed in Lin Feng's eyes.

The murky waters of the Grand Canal Gang's headquarters were deeper and more turbid than he had imagined. With Huang San's death, the old scores at the West Wharf, the internal conflicts over the distribution of spoils within the Grand Canal Gang, and the possible secret of collusion with Di Rong were temporarily covered up. But the conflicts were merely suppressed, not resolved; instead, they festered in the shadows. Qin Wu eliminated Huang San to protect himself and silence witnesses, but in doing so, he also sowed the seeds of an even greater hidden danger.

"What's going on with Liu Neng?" Lin Feng suddenly asked. Although Liu Neng had acted very submissively after joining him and had handed over his secret accounts, Lin Feng had never let his guard down.

"Liu Neng?" Hou Qi was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he said, "He's doing well on his end. He's managing the dock affairs very well with his men, and he's very polite to our people. There haven't been any unusual movements. Oh, by the way, this morning news of the infighting within the canal gang reached the dock. Liu Neng came to see me privately once, and hesitantly said that Huang San's death was mysterious, probably because Qin Wu was cleaning house. He also hinted that Qin Wu is ruthless and capable of anything to climb the ranks, and that we should be careful not to be targeted by Qin Wu."

"He certainly knows how to curry favor," Lin Feng said noncommittally. The information Liu Neng provided was half true and half false, serving both as a reminder and a way to distance himself from his past ties with Qin Wu and Huang San. "Keep an eye on him, and also keep a close eye on the movements of the Canal Gang's headquarters. Especially that Qin Wu, and after Huang San's death, who's jumping the gun the most?"

"clear!"

"Also, has there been any news from Chen Da and Chen Er?" Lin Feng was most concerned about Black Wind Valley.

Hou Qi shook his head: "Not yet. Judging by the days, if their journey goes smoothly, they should be arriving at Black Wind Valley soon. Master Lin, should we send someone to meet them?"

"No need," Lin Feng shook his head. Chen Da and Chen Er were carrying his token and password, traveling via a secret waterway, and setting off overnight; they should be able to avoid most detection. Sending someone to meet them now would only make their whereabouts more likely to be exposed. "Wait for their news. Report to me immediately as soon as you receive any news."

"Yes."

Hou Qi withdrew.

Lin Feng stood alone in the courtyard, the night wind carrying a chill, blowing the hair on his forehead.

The ten-day deadline set by Ye Qingli is fast approaching.

The night is still long.

But the darkness before dawn is often the deepest.