A Long River Myth

Li Hong smashed half of Han Gang's head with a single punch, but his expression remained unchanged, his eyes filled with coldness.

His body crashed to the ground, the mace clanging and rolling on the floor.

Having gone through several battles, Li Hong's mindset has already undergone a transformation.

If the heart were weak, we would not have made it this far.

The terrifying death of the man did not affect his mind in the slightest.

His deliberate retreat earlier was naturally partly motivated by a purpose. Firstly, he didn't want outsiders to know about his Iron Wall Skill, which he had kept hidden for a long time.

Secondly, after a night of fighting, one should earn some extra money.

He has already entered the inner strength stage, and the money spent on martial arts training over the past few days has been enormous.

Even with the treatment of a deputy envoy, it's unlikely that he could keep working at full capacity like he did in the previous ten days.

Li Hong had carefully calculated that if he wanted to maintain this kind of intense work ethic, he would need to spend at least a hundred taels of silver per month.

This is a number that looks small, but is extremely difficult to obtain.

The deputy commissioner's salary could only cover one-third of the problem; he would have to find a way to cover the remaining shortfall himself.

Earlier that night, Liu Ming had said that tonight the River Bureau was putting on a show, and their patrol bureau was just there to lend a hand.

When the battlefield is cleared in the future, it's still unclear how the spoils and credit will be distributed.

Han Gang was clearly a high-ranking leader among the river pirates.

Based on his past experience, Li Hong quickly picked up Han Gang's body.

The money pouch in her arms, the silver notes on the soles of her shoes, a small blue cloth bundle, and several small porcelain bottles.

They took everything into their arms as if it were their due.

Just as the search was nearing its end, Liu Ming gritted his teeth and roared as he arrived at lightning speed.

The next scene completely dispelled his anxiety.

He watched Li Hong turning over the corpse, his right eye twitching involuntarily at the skillful movements.

Looking at Han Gang, who was missing half his head, they were speechless with astonishment!

Han Gang, was he the one lying on the ground dead?

This time, Liu Ming was completely enraged.

Everyone knows this kid is a genius, but he's not that much of a genius!

Although Han Gang was middle-aged, he was still a formidable bandit in the late stages of his internal strength development.

Liu Ming couldn't help but think that even if he were to fight Han Gang one-on-one, he wouldn't be confident of killing him in such a short time.

"Li Hong, are you hurt?"

Liu Ming rushed forward and confirmed Han Gang's condition. His eyes widened even more. It was clear that Han Gang had been killed by a single punch from the Hundred Refinement Fist!

He was a little stunned, never expecting this scene to unfold.

"Iron Tower" Han Gang, a long-time Jiang bandit, was defeated by the little-known Li Hong.

Moreover, how come this kid is so skilled at looting corpses? Where did he learn that?

If it weren't for the fact that the inspector had investigated Li Hong and his ancestors for three generations during his temporary posting, he would have suspected that Li Hong was some kind of notorious bandit.

"Boss, I'm fine, let's go!"

Li Hong didn't feel embarrassed. They were all colleagues in the patrol and inspection department, and Liu Ming would definitely cover for him when it came time to claim credit. There was no need to hide this little trick.

He deftly pocketed the spoils, picked up his seven-foot gun, and returned to the reed marshes with Liu Ming.

The fighting over there is urgent; we can't leave them alone.

Among the reeds, only a minority of the fleeing river bandits managed to escape ashore.

These people fought fiercely on the river for another half an hour, and those who were going to get injured did so.

After Li Hong and Liu Ming returned, the situation here immediately turned one-sided.

The remaining bandits who were locked in a fierce battle were all surrounded and killed one by one.

Several patrol members were seriously injured, but fortunately, they cooperated closely and were in an ambush, so no one died.

This is the best possible outcome.

"Hoo-ha..."

The remaining dozen or so people who could still stand were all exhausted, having fought for quite some time, and were panting heavily.

The firelight on the river surface behind the reed marshes was no longer as intense as before.

It could be heard that the battle on the river was nearing its end.

Many broken planks and even shattered shields have floated to the shore in the shallows.

The water in this section of the river was briefly dyed a deep red.

An hour later, it was already late at night.

After the river crew cleared the battlefield on the river, they brought all the damaged cargo ships ashore one by one.

The bodies of the bandits on land were piled up in rows on the south bank.

He Si could see that there were many casualties; of the seventy men who came, less than fifty remained.

The river was, after all, the primary battlefield.

As for the other two patrol teams, they joined them in boarding action, and also suffered more than a dozen casualties.

The battlefield has now been cleared, and the number of casualties and casualties has been tallied.

According to He Si, this case will not be made public so as not to affect other "connections" they have.

The entire river surface will likely be thoroughly cleaned tonight, leaving no trace.

With the leaders having finished their research, it was time to divide the credit.

Although the smell of smoke and blood had not yet dissipated, the makeshift training ground was already in an uproar.

The River Division members lined up on one side, and the Patrol Division members on the other. Anyone who wasn't seriously injured was vying for credit!

"I'll board the main ship first; the credit should go to my team!"

"Bullshit! If it weren't for my man Meng Chong stopping it first, you wouldn't have gotten a scratch!"

"Stop talking, it'll only make things worse..."

This major case was handled brilliantly tonight. The bloodstains on the river police and several patrol teams were still wet, and their spittle was already flying everywhere.

Li Hong, holding a long spear with his chest heaving, stood silently beside the patrol and inspection team.

His belly was much bigger than when he arrived, but fortunately he was tall, so no one else noticed.

The patrolman in the same team saw this and tried his best to suppress a laugh.

Led by Li Hong, many people, including Wang Hu and Liu Ming, secretly searched the body in advance.

They picked out the valuables from the thief's corpse, leaving behind only miscellaneous items.

Before long, the river officials and patrol officers were already counting the bodies of the bandits.

All related seizures must be inventoried and turned over to the public.

However, no one reports how many people are secretly hoarding their spoils, so no one investigates.

Moreover, who knows how much ill-gotten gains the people on the river could make from the goods on those seven black boats.

Someone has already registered and is chanting prayers to the corpse of the thief; this step is indispensable.

It is necessary to count the items on the spot to avoid disputes when recording the results later.

"Xunjianglong, Zhao Liang, and two minor bandits... were executed by Yang Rui, the River Commissioner."

"Yaksha, Wang Hai, and a minor bandit... were executed by Inspector Qian Zheng."

"Water-walking, Shi Xiu, was executed by the patrol inspector Gao Sheng."

"Iron Anchor Shen Da and Boat Swallowing Fish Wu Lie were executed by Zhou Tingshan, the River Commissioner."

"Han Gang, the Iron Tower; Zheng Meng, the Double-Axe Dragon; Meng Biao, the Wave-Breaking Saber; and five petty bandits were executed by Inspector Li Hong!"

During this expedition, a total of 66 river bandits were killed, 17 were captured and surrendered, and the remaining boatmen were all detained, with none escaping.

The incantation is now complete.

Both the River Bureau and the Patrol Bureau were visibly agitated, their eyes fixed on the figure holding a gun, dressed in the uniform of a deputy envoy of the Patrol Bureau.

"Han Gang, Zheng Meng, and Meng Biao all died at that guy's hands?"

"He got the grass."

"Alright, that's a skill in itself. He's become a deputy envoy at such a young age."

Many river officials and patrolmen whispered among themselves, deeply shaken.

This major case involved many people, but in terms of the number of thieves killed, Li Hong alone beheaded eight.

Three of them were long-established Jiang bandits.

This achievement will undoubtedly be of great help to his future career.

Moreover, once the case is closed, the reward will likely be a substantial sum!

.............