"Elder Peng is here!"
When the branch leader was getting extremely anxious, Elder Peng finally arrived. However, there was still no sign of the person who had gone out to look for him. He cursed inwardly but had no choice but to go out to greet him.
"I am Yang Jiliang from the Kaifeng branch and I am here to see you, elder!"
The Beggar Gang disciples behind him also bowed and saluted. A pale and slightly plump old man walked in from the gate. He had nine cloth bags on his body, which were the symbols of his identity as the Nine Bags Elder.
If it weren't for these nine cloth bags, he would look like a wealthy man in his clean and tidy robes, rather than the elder of the Beggars' Sect, the largest sect in the world.
This is actually a microcosm of the Beggars' Gang. Of course, the Beggars' Gang was originally a group of beggars who banded together for survival. However, once they formed an organization and had a complete organization and began to possess a large amount of industry and human and material resources, they began to undergo secular changes.
The Clean Clothes Sect also emerged and became increasingly powerful. This was evident from the fact that three of the four elders were from the Clean Clothes Sect, while the Dirty Clothes Sect only had Lu Youjiao.
"Captain Yang and everyone from the branch, please excuse me."
After taking a quick look, he frowned slightly and asked, "Captain Yang, why didn't the branch's chief steward Peng Chun come?"
Yang Jiliang said hurriedly: "Reporting to the elder, Deacon Peng went out to do some work this morning, but he didn't come back until dusk. I have sent a large number of people to look for him, but no news has been reported yet."
Elder Peng nodded. He had just seen that only about half of the people from the entire branch came to greet him, and there was no trace of Peng Chun. It was obvious that the other party was not deliberately neglecting him, but there was a reason for it.
Although he came this time to support Peng Chun and prepare for taking over the Kaifeng branch in the future, he would not let him take over now.
On the one hand, his ability is not enough and he needs time to hone his skills. On the other hand, Yang Jilian is difficult to arrange. Although he is not his direct subordinate, he has good ability. The entire Kaifeng branch is run in an orderly manner and he is a good hand.
If you remove such a capable person just to support your own people, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among some people.
No one who can become an elder has a simple role, and Elder Peng is no exception.
He also understood Yang Jilian's hint. The so-called going out to do things was to collect protection fees. With the money, he would of course eat, drink and have fun, and even rob a few girls. That was not impossible.
If he hasn't come by this time, he must be out eating, drinking, whoring or gambling.
He also came from the lower class, so he understood all the goings-on. He knew what terrible things these bastards would do once they gained power.
"Captain Yang did a good job. Keep sending people to look for him. It's really hard to stick mud on the wall."
As he said this, he led his trusted subordinates into the backyard of the branch.
However, Captain Yang was secretly delighted. If Elder Peng really wanted Peng Chun to replace him, he would never say such words in public.
Obviously, he came here to support and encourage the other party, but he had no other ideas.
This made him breathe a sigh of relief, and he immediately perked up and continued to send out people to start searching in Kaifeng City.
A night passed, and in the living room, Elder Peng, served by his maid, was sipping tea and listening to Captain Yang's report.
"What? Peng Chun is missing? Where was he last seen?"
Yang Jicheng said hurriedly: "It was near Nanhu Lake. Someone saw Peng Chun and his subordinates go to Nanhu Lake. Some fishermen there offered tribute to our Beggars' Gang and were protected by the Beggars' Gang."
"Let's go and take a look. I want to see what kind of fisherman could make a deacon and five gang members disappear without a trace."
On the South Lake Pier
All the fishermen were gathered together. The small pier could not accommodate so many people, so many people could only wait on the lake in small boats.
"My fellow villagers, my last name is Peng, you can just call me Elder Peng. I have gathered you all here today because I have something to discuss with you. Yesterday, my nephew Peng Chun disappeared here and his life or death is unknown. I only have this one nephew, so please help me."
As he spoke, his face was filled with sadness and he covered his face with his sleeves as if he was wiping away tears. He looked like a kind old man who had lost his nephew, which made people feel sorry for him.
In fact, his eyes were quick. He scanned all the fishermen and soon locked onto two people. After signaling to his subordinates, they quickly brought up the entire family of the two men.
Both of them had wounds on their faces and bodies, and each of them had a daughter who was so frightened when they were brought here that they couldn't help but tremble all over.
As an old hand, Elder Peng quickly sketched out the whole picture of the matter in his mind.
It was nothing more than that his good-for-nothing nephew Peng Chun was so audacious that he took the opportunity to rob women while collecting offerings, and was eventually killed by a martial arts figure who passed by.
Although he was angry at the other party for being a waste, he was his nephew after all. No matter who it was, if he killed his nephew, he would die!
They started questioning immediately. The two fishermen tried to conceal the truth at first, but under Elder Peng's questioning, they had no choice but to tell each other what happened last night.
They didn't know what exactly happened, they only knew that the old fisherman brought their daughter back and told them not to say anything.
Soon, the old fisherman was brought up. When the two fishermen saw this scene, they burst into tears of shame.
The old fisherman was very calm and told Elder Peng directly that Peng Chun was killed by a burly swordsman and his body sank to the bottom of the lake. He was willing to take people to salvage it.
Elder Peng did not suspect anything and took his subordinates on a boat to the center of the lake.
But unexpectedly, when they reached the center of the lake, the boat began to leak water. Only then did they realize that it was the old fisherman who was causing trouble. They immediately asked him to return, otherwise they would kill him.
However, the old fisherman directly drilled a hole in the bottom of the boat. Elder Peng killed him with one palm, but he also sank to the bottom of the lake. By the time his subordinates discovered the problem and forced the fishermen to rescue him, Elder Peng had already drunk enough water and almost drowned.
After some rescue efforts, he finally recovered the next day.
At this time, the subordinates had already salvaged the bodies of Peng Chun and the old fisherman. Looking at the seven bodies in total, Elder Peng remained silent for a long time.
Obviously, the old fisherman knew who killed Peng Chun. In order to avoid revealing the other party's information, he directly adopted this extreme method.
The old fisherman's last look emerged in my mind. It was full of fear, but also had a special color.
When he was carried away, he also saw this color in the eyes of those fishermen. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but tremble all over.
Suppressing his discomfort, he examined the bodies of Peng Chun and others.
However, the body was badly wounded and had been soaked in the cold lake water for a day, so there was no more information about it.
In the end, he could only sigh and have them all buried, including the old fisherman's body, which was also buried with them.
A few days later, on a rainy day, a young man in blue clothes holding a purple oil-paper umbrella walked to a cemetery in the wilderness. He looked at the new graves quietly and couldn't help but sighed softly.
There was a special look in his eyes, as bright as the scorching sun.
Soon, he disappeared in the rain again, as if he had never been there.