Chapter 116

Chapter 116
## Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Individuals of high standing are expected to maintain proper decorum. Dignity and poise serve as essential boundaries separating those of elevated rank from their inferiors. Yet the leader of the White Clothes Gate found himself springing to his feet the absolute instant he scanned the contents of the letter.

“What in the world is this nonsense!”

The Changil Escort Agency stood as the premier transport firm in Nanchang, and only days prior, it had actively processed commissions originating from the White Clothes Gate.

A business closure? So abruptly? For what possible reason?

“Hey, you! Dispatch someone to the Changil Escort Agency this very instant and uncover exactly what is happening!”

“Understood, Gate Leader!”

The White Clothes Gate Leader collapsed back into his seat, grinding his teeth in frustration.

Even though it was a luxury chair acquired for two thousand silver taels, it felt thoroughly agonizing.

*What on earth is going on here!*

The Changil Escort Agency functioned as a critical pillar within the grand strategy the Gate Leader had carefully constructed.

Because it managed the initial phase of that blueprint, its sudden collapse threatened to dismantle the entire operation.

And the complications did not stop there.

He gnashed his molars together, deep in contemplation.

*If anything happens to the Changil Escort Agency, those elders will tear me apart limb from limb. I have to resolve this immediately.*

Every faction allied with the White Clothes Gate maintained its own distinct leverage points.

Given the notorious, underlying friction between the Gate Leader and the Elder Council, opportunistic groups were eagerly positioning themselves for maximum gain.

Furthermore, the Changil Escort Agency represented the most powerful faction directly aligned with the Gate Leader himself.

Consequently, the moment it posted a notice of closure, the Gate Leader’s personal authority would inevitably plummet.

Rage surged through him.

The missive clutched in his fist crumpled violently.

*How dare they pull this stunt without so much as requesting my permission?*

Shuttering an escort enterprise? Who authorized such a reckless decision?

Nearly half of the Changil Escort Agency’s total revenue had consistently derived from the White Clothes Gate.

In a sense, a substantial portion of it belonged to the Gate Leader himself.

*I need to force them to reverse course. No, wait—this is the ideal opportunity to seize total hegemony over the Changil Escort Agency.*

Suspending the escort operations? The timing could not have been better.

Unless the owners were complete fools, they would be forced to sell the assets off for capital.

He could leverage the immense pressure of the White Clothes Gate to acquire the entire establishment at a dirt-cheap price.

Having secretly accumulated private wealth behind the backs of the elders, he possessed ample funds.

And since he intended to make them pay dearly for their insolence, his actual out-of-pocket expenses would be minimal.

*Indeed. I will transform this crisis into a golden opportunity.*

Just as the White Clothes Gate Leader’s lips twisted into a confident smirk at that realization, the doors swung open.

“Gate Leader!”

“Ah, you are back. What did the Changil Escort Agency have to say? Why on earth are they babbling about shutting down operations?”

“Pardon?”

His subordinate stared back with a blank expression. Upon closer inspection, this was not the same lackey he had originally dispatched.

Because he rarely paid close attention to his lower-ranking underlings, he had completely overlooked the substitution.

“That is entirely irrelevant right now, Gate Leader!”

The White Clothes Gate Leader furrowed his brows at the subordinate’s frantic tone.

“Irrelevant? Then what in God’s name matters?”

“Word has reached us that Baek Clan Manor has bought up every single slum surrounding North Gate Avenue!”

“What?!”

Nanchang’s central commercial sector was anchored by four major thoroughfares.

Among them, the bustling district flanking East Gate Avenue, celebrated as Eternal Glory Road, served as a primary financial lifeline for the White Clothes Gate.

“Are those bastards at Baek Clan Manor out of their minds? What could they possibly intend to do with land populated entirely by vagrants!”

“According to the laborers clearing the grounds… they claim they are constructing a grand commercial street designed to eclipse Eternal Glory Road…”

“What?!”

The predicament regarding the Changil Escort Agency suddenly paled into utter insignificance.

It was a thunderbolt crashing down from a completely cloudless sky.

—

Fwoosh!

A carrier pigeon plummeted from the high atmosphere, landing gracefully upon Yang-hui’s outstretched hand.

He detached the small scroll from its leg, unrolled it, and directed his gaze toward Madam Yeo.

“Just as promised, the reform division from the main estate has commenced the clearance operation. They project completion within approximately a month.”

“Heh. A mere month? Remarkable efficiency.”

“They originate from the Black Path, so they are absolute veterans at handling this brand of work.”

“I had caught wind of it. Baek Clan Manor possesses quite the reputation even among lowlife ruffians for offering them a genuine path toward redemption and honest living.”

Yang-hui offered a casual shrug instead of a direct reply.

*Not entirely true.*

In the nascent stages, absorbing members of the Black Path had been executed purely to swell their numbers at an accelerated pace.

Having already incorporated Blood Lord Gu-ak into their fold, they figured they might as well extract every ounce of utility from him.

*Who could have anticipated it yielding perks of this caliber.*

He lifted his porcelain cup and surveyed the panoramic view below.

From the uppermost floor of the tallest tavern overlooking North Gate Avenue, the adjacent slums lay completely exposed to view.

“That being said, Young Master Baek certainly thinks on a grand scale. Who else would dare purchase Nanchang’s most notorious headache of a neighborhood and clean it up?”

The larger a metropolis grew, the more destitute souls it inevitably attracted.

To scrape together mere crumbs for survival, the impoverished were forced to settle wherever wealth congregated.

The squalid quarters spawned by these massive gatherings constituted one of Nanchang’s persistent afflictions.

“No martial sect in Nanchang has ever possessed the audacity to purge the slums. Offer them charity, and they consume it before vanishing; swing an iron fist, and they scatter into the shadows only to reappear later.”

Yet Baek Clan Manor operated differently. They were sanitizing the slums at a velocity that far surpassed even Madam Yeo’s loftiest expectations.

A significant portion of the reform division hailed from impoverished backgrounds themselves, granting them an intimate understanding of the slums’ inner mechanics.

“You can offer charity to the destitute, but completely eradicating a slum is an entirely different battle altogether. Truly impressive.”

“Not at all. While such an endeavor might prove grueling for a conventional White Path righteous sect, for the main house, it is a trivial affair.”

“That precise attitude is what makes it so extraordinary, haha!”

Madam Yeo erupted into hearty laughter before dropping her voice to continue.

“Leaving that aside, I am deeply curious how the White Clothes Gate intends to respond.”

The slums sat immediately adjacent to Eternal Glory Road, a lucrative commercial zone the White Clothes Gate had painstakingly cultivated over the years.

Once the slums were leveled and redeveloped into an elite district and marketplace, the influence and revenue generated by Eternal Glory Road would plummet drastically.

“They will undoubtedly attempt to obstruct our efforts, so we must anticipate their maneuvers and formulate defensive countermeasures in advance.”

“Madam Yeo’s insight remains as razor-sharp as ever. Precisely. Better to be thoroughly prepared than caught off guard.”

“Haha. I am no longer the National Lord. Simply address me as Madam Yeo of the branch. And moving forward, I shall refer to you as Young Lord Baek.”

Yang-hui offered a faint, polite smile in acknowledgement.

“As you desire, Madam Yeo.”

“Haha, even with my demotion, the title sounds rather distinguished. Peculiar, is it not, Young Lord?”

Madam Yeo stroked her beard approvingly and pressed onward.

“At any rate, let us deliberate on the dirty tricks the White Clothes Gate might deploy and how best to neutralize them.”

To clarify, the primary motivation behind Madam Yeo’s heavy investment in Baek Clan Manor’s initiative was quite straightforward.

This was hardly an extraneous concern that did not involve her.

*She poured three thousand gold taels into this venture, so she is likely worried sick about any potential mishaps.*

Several days prior, during their initial encounter, Yang-hui had transferred three thousand gold taels directly to Madam Yeo alongside a comprehensive proposal.

It presented a sweet, irresistible temptation: shatter the White Clothes Gate and claim ultimate supremacy over Nanchang.

*Playing both sides of the family, devouring both the bird and its unlaid eggs. My wits are still entirely intact, after all.*

Clearing out a territorial expanse as massive as the slums demanded staggering financial backing.

A conservative evaluation placed the cost at no less than five thousand gold taels.

Upon digesting Yang-hui’s proposal, Madam Yeo had promptly returned every single piece of the three thousand gold she received.

She did so to climb higher and harvest astronomical dividends down the line.

That fundamental incentive explained why Madam Yeo displayed far more proactive zeal regarding the slum clearance than Yang-hui himself.

“We must lay our foundations with absolute rigor. While we operate under the noble banner of aiding the impoverished and urban beautification, make no mistake—this is a total war between the White Clothes Gate and ourselves.”

A war. The assessment was dead-on.

Rather than clashing with flashing blades and flying spears, they wielded capital and political influence, but warfare remained warfare.

It was a conflict fought strictly between White Path factions, entirely distinct from the reckless bloodshed where raw force could be unleashed under any flimsy pretext.

Yang-hui tapped his cup rhythmically, deep in thought.

*The White Clothes Gate… For the sake of our future security, I must reduce them to a state bordering on total annihilation.*

The rationale behind treating the White Clothes Gate differently from the Jeongwol Gate—which he intended to smoothly assimilate into the main house—was exceedingly clear.

Its deeper historical roots had entrenched its influence far too profoundly, and its territorial ambitions were entirely excessive.

“Once we clear away the shantytowns and construct our new boulevard—shall we dub it Eternal Bliss Road for the time being?”

A street dedicated to everlasting pleasure. A direct, calculated insult directed right at Eternal Glory Road.

“We will utilize Eternal Bliss Road to crush Eternal Glory Road and cripple the White Clothes Gate’s economic foundation in a single stroke. The remaining cards they can play to stall us are…”

Interference channeled through their web of accumulated political connections and favors.

Street-level violence financed by their hoarded treasury.

“I have already mapped out their precise tactical moves, but it is premature to lay them all bare just yet.”

“Haha, you thoroughly delight in teasing this old branch leader’s curiosity.”

Yang-hui chuckled softly, pulling a writing brush and ink stone toward himself.

“Since circumstances have evolved to this juncture, shall we reenact a classical legend?”

“A classical legend?”

“You are undoubtedly familiar with the tale. Concerning Kongming.”

“Ah! You are referring to the Sealed Stratagems?”

“Precisely.”

In historical lore, Zhuge Liang had fretted over the turbulent era awaiting after his mortal demise, drafting various contingency strategies and sealing them within discrete envelopes to be handed down to Jiang Wei.

The miraculous ingenuity contained within those Sealed Stratagems had successfully prolonged the fate of Shu Han on multiple occasions.

“Sounds utterly delightful. If you are casting yourself as the Crouching Dragon, then I suppose I am Jiang Wei, eh? Haha.”

“How could I ever presume to compare Madam Yeo to Jiang Wei?”

He offered just enough polished flattery while filling the blank parchment with text.

Subsequently, he sliced the paper into individual segments and folded them with meticulous neatness.

“There may arise occasions when I am forced to temporarily step away. Open these designated envelopes whenever an unforeseen crisis materializes.”

“Hahaha, encountering dire peril yet discovering pure amusement in the process. Truly priceless.”

The pair shared a deep, resonant laugh, locking eyes with mutual understanding.

It was precisely at that juncture that the private chamber door was violently flung open.

“Madam Yeo!”

The furious interloper proved to be none other than the White Clothes Gate Leader, Gong Ya-hyeok.

Madam Yeo’s complexion drained of all color at the terrifying sight of him.

“Gate Leader Gong. How on earth did you… no, why are you present…?”

“Is that truly what matters at a time like this?! You engineered this catastrophic stunt behind my back, and those are the opening words you offer me?”

“That was simply…”

Witnessing Madam Yeo fluster and lose her composure in front of Gong Ya-hyeok prompted Yang-hui to smirk inwardly.

Madam Yeo had successfully defected from the White Clothes Gate over to Baek Clan Manor.

She had even invested three thousand gold taels of her own volition.

Yet she still instinctively cowered like that upon confronting the Gate Leader.

Clearly, shaking off decades of deeply ingrained master-servant conditioning was no simple feat.

“Gate Leader of the White Clothes Gate. It appears you lack the basic courtesy to even acknowledge my presence.”

“Get lost, you little brat! I will deal with you properly the moment I finish settling accounts with this woman!”

*Brat.* Hearing that particular descriptor hurled by a shriveled old codger standing a full head shorter was mildly amusing.

“I am afraid that is quite impossible. Since when does an honored guest instruct the host of the establishment to scram?”

“What?!”

The White Clothes Gate Leader glared daggers directly at Yang-hui.

“Host? Whose damn host do you think you are?!”

Yang-hui tilted his head at a slight angle.

Below, the slums were undergoing active clearance. Immediately adjacent stood East Gate Avenue and the sprawling compound of the Changil Escort Agency.

“Observe for yourself.”

With immaculate timing, down below, a team of hired laborers was actively swapping out the heavy wooden signboard.

The plaque bearing the name *Changil Escort Agency* was being uninstalled from the primary entrance, promptly replaced by a brand-new inscription.

[Heaven-Covering Escort Agency, Nanchang Branch]

“Heaven-Covering Escort Agency? What in the blazes…?”

Yang-hui grinned broadly at the White Clothes Gate Leader’s utterly dumbfounded expression.

“What is the matter? Did you genuinely remain completely oblivious?”

He had naturally presumed the fellow had pieced together the underlying reality by this stage, but evidently, comprehension had eluded him.

*This fool is considerably stupider than I originally estimated.*