As the meeting dispersed,
"Leon Wei, be careful. If the head of the hall doesn't step in, it will be difficult to stop this matter."
Han Wei spoke solemnly. Despite being in charge, he was clearly just a listener in this meeting. Regardless of any opinions, there was no way to express them. That was the reality.
"I understand," Leon Wei replied.
In Leon Wei's view, it didn't seem bad for the deputy hall master to get involved in the shipping business. The calm and steady Six Gates made it difficult for him to find opportunities. As the saying goes, troubled times breed heroes, and opportunities abound in troubled times.
What he needed to do now was to disrupt the situation for the Six Gates.
The Inspectorate kept an eye on the Blackstone Martial Hall, while the Changying Martial Hall kept an eye on the Shanhe Martial Hall. As for the other martial halls witnessing this situation, what would they think?
Certainly, they wouldn't just sit idly by. Since the situation was about to be reshuffled, they would naturally seek to gain more benefits.
Han Wei lightly patted Leon Wei's shoulder and left without saying much.
...
Several days passed in haste.
During this time, news of the Changying Martial Hall's intention to get involved in the shipping business spread. The high-level members of the Shanhe Martial Hall frequently communicated with the high-level members of the Changying Martial Hall, negotiating, discussing, and even vehemently protesting against it.
The high-level members of the Shanhe Martial Hall even issued stern warnings, "Are you not afraid of bloodshed, Changying Martial Hall, by doing this?"
In theory, when things reached this point, the county magistrate should naturally step in to mediate. The aim was to make peace for prosperity, not to escalate matters. However, who could have expected the county magistrate to be completely indifferent, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.
At the river dock.
"Leon Wei, the deputy hall master ordered us, the three martial halls, to guard this place. Isn't it inappropriate for you to come alone?" Pang Haichao was surprised to see Leon Wei appearing alone.
Look at him and Bai Canghai, they had called upon the elite of the martial hall.
Leaving aside how much elite presence there actually was, at least in terms of numbers, it was enough to provide them with a sense of security.
"What? Can't I handle it alone?" Leon Wei asked with a smile.
Pang Haichao said, "This is what the deputy hall master ordered. It's not good for you to be alone."
While Pang Haichao and Leon Wei were at odds, Bai Canghai didn't say a word. He even thought Pang Haichao was being unreasonable. Why bother arguing with him? Haven't you heard about recent events? If you provoke Leon Wei, he might just take you on the spot. There's absolutely no problem with that.
Leon Wei couldn't be bothered with Pang Haichao. Instead, he looked at the bewildered disciples behind him. "Do you know why you're here? If you don't, let me tell you. The Changying Martial Hall wants to get involved in the shipping business, but the shipping business has always been the responsibility of the Shanhe Martial Hall. Therefore, we are about to face a very dangerous situation. We are very likely to face retaliation from the Shanhe Martial Hall. You pay to learn martial arts, but now you have to work for free, and there might even be casualties."
As he spoke these words, the faces of the disciples behind Pang Haichao instantly changed.
They looked at their hall master in shock.
They really hadn't thought about these things. They had just come to help their martial hall maintain its presence. Now, hearing what Leon Wei said, they suddenly had a sense of foreboding.
"Leon Wei, you are shaking the morale," Pang Haichao rebuked angrily.
In the face of this roar, Leon Wei remained calm, sitting there leisurely, quietly sipping his tea, waiting for what was about to happen.
He didn't need to think about it.
The Shanhe Martial Hall would definitely take action.
As for the words he had just said, he simply hoped that this group of disciples would be smarter. They were paying to learn martial arts, but they hadn't learned much, and now they were being asked to risk their lives. Even a dog would shake its head at such a thing.
The apprentices from Bai Canghai's side felt the same way. They began to feel anxious.
Those who could become apprentices at affiliated martial halls were from families with some wealth. They only wanted to have the ability to protect themselves and not be bullied in the future. Now, they were being asked to fight for their lives, and that was definitely not acceptable.
As they pondered these things,
The ground trembled slightly, and the muffled sound of footsteps approached.
The crowd was drawn to this sound, and they all looked in its direction.
At first sight, everyone gasped in shock. Oh my, so many people, each with a fierce demeanor, wielding clubs. This scared the apprentices from the two martial halls, causing them to involuntarily step back, making their hall masters stand out.
Pang Haichao and Bai Canghai were surprised, especially Pang Haichao. For ordinary people, it didn't matter, but he saw two familiar figures walking in the front.
"Xu Tai of the Soul Chaser Hand."
"Zheng Hu of the Five Tiger Blades."
These two were naturally very familiar to them, being the hall masters of the two affiliated martial halls of the Shanhe Martial Hall.
Leon Wei held his teacup, blew on it, took a slow sip, and found the taste quite good. Of course, there were also many people mobilized by the Shanhe Martial Hall, at least a hundred. Each one had a fierce demeanor.
The common people who gathered from afar continued to increase. They had never seen such a scene before.
"Changying Martial Hall wants to get involved in shipping, how could the Shanhe Martial Hall let them off? I think Changying Martial Hall will have to back down."
"I think so too. The people mobilized by the Shanhe Martial Hall are all skilled in protecting ships, fighting sea bandits all year round. Their methods are not something this group, who only know how to practice martial arts, can compare with."
"Hey, isn't that Leon Wei? Why isn't he doing anything?"
"You don't understand, do you? The Shanhe Martial Hall has mobilized two hall masters from their affiliated martial halls, while the Changying Martial Hall has three. If they all fight, it's not fair. So, you see, Leon Wei is truly a man of martial virtue."
"Oh, I see."