At this moment, Yelu Mansion’s exterior was guarded by over five hundred Black Cavalry, standing orderly and lending the estate an aura of somber might.
Outside the mansion were carriages and horses, imparting a stern seriousness to the entire Yelu Mansion.
The reason was simple: Nan Batian had been chased out of Mianshui City the day before, and now the entire city was plunged into chaos, with countless forces waiting for Mianshui’s major reshuffling.
And today, early in the morning, Yelu had directly summoned all these people to his mansion for a meeting.
Because today’s meeting concerned the division of Mianshui County’s future interests.
"White Tiger Hall Chen Jiusi has arrived!"
As soon as Chen Jie and Xiao Hu arrived at Yelu Mansion, Ahetai immediately came out to greet them, followed by the confinement of their horses and accompanying personnel, and Chen Jie with Xiao Hu were brought into Yelu Mansion.
Seeing such severity, Xiao Hu leaned over to Ahetai and asked, "Old Brother, what’s the situation?"
Xiao Hu and Ahetai were friends; they had used Ahetai’s connections last time when setting a trap for Nan Batian.
After hearing Xiao Hu’s question, Ahetai replied, "Brother Hu Zi, you should be careful today. My master has invited all of Mianshui’s Thirteen Grand Protectors!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu said, "All the Thirteen Grand Protectors have been invited?"
Ahetai said, "Grandpa Chen wants to become the leader of Guild Cao in Mianshui, and he must be acknowledged by these Thirteen Grand Protectors. If they don’t acknowledge him, I’m afraid a great battle cannot be avoided!"
Indeed, as the leader of the Fishing Guild, one person in Mianshui, if you wanted to become the Fishing Guild Leader, how could you convince the masses if you couldn’t conquer the other Energy Transformation Masters of Mianshui?
Therefore, to establish authority in Mianshui, one must obtain acknowledgment from all the Mianshui People.
"So brother, be careful. I can’t help you with the situation today," Ahetai said. After hearing this, Xiao Hu cupped his fists in thanks, "Many thanks, Brother Tai, here, this is one hundred silver taels for your tea money."
"Hey hey, Brother Hu Zi, this..."
Xiao Hu said, and Ahetai responded, "Alright, then I’ll accept it."
Xiao Hu nodded. If you don’t often slip some silver to others, why would someone like Ahetai share information with you? So while one may politely refuse, you can’t really withhold it; otherwise, the next time, they wouldn’t go out on a limb to provide you with information.
These were the things Chen Jie had taught Xiao Hu.
Xiao Hu returned to Chen Jie’s side and reported, "Jiu Si, I’ve figured it out. The carriages outside belong to the Thirteen Grand Protectors. Today Yelu has invited all of Mianshui’s Thirteen Grand Protectors. It seems it won’t be simple."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jie smiled and said, "Oh, it seems Yelu is taking me quite seriously."
With that thought, Chen Jie headed straight for the central living room of the mansion, and soon he arrived.
By then, the living room had been fitted with a very long solid wood table, similar to the type used at Liangshan’s Hall of Righteousness, and a group of people were already seated there.
At a glance, Chen Jie recognized all the familiar faces.
To the first seat on the right: Guild Cao’s leader Liu Laoguai!
To the first seat on the left: empty, previously occupied by Nan Batian.
Then to the second on the left: the arrest officer and fast class constable Wu Hong!
To the second on the right: Yihong House’s owner Qiao Hongyan Han He.
To the third on the left: The Black Market’s boss, the oil seller Third Miss Hua.
To the third on the right: The Fishing Guild’s Bai Zhishan, the scholar Bai Mosheng.
The fourth on the left: empty.
The positions on both the left and right for the fourth and fifth were also empty.
Upon Chen Jie’s arrival, all eyes were drawn to him. Chen Jie nodded lightly to everyone.
Elder Liu chuckled, "Jiu Si, we’ve kept the upper seat on the left for you."
Chen Jie replied, "Old Brother Liu, that’s the seat of the Fishing Guild Leader. I don’t have the qualifications to sit there yet."
Saying this, Chen Jie found an empty fourth seat on the left and sat down, while Xiao Hu immediately took the seat on Chen Jie’s lower hand side, sitting in the fifth place on the left!
Once everyone was seated, they just looked at each other without speaking.
But their eyes were all on Chen Jie because they knew that he was today’s main character!
Some present couldn’t help but marvel at Chen Jie’s talent, thinking how in such a short time, he had grown from an unknown to his current status.
All those present had interacted with Chen Jie.
Liu Laoguai had the friendship of a shared action against Nan Batian with Chen Jie.
Wu Hong was from the same hometown as Chen Jie and was even his mentor in martial arts.
Han He, Qiao Hongyan, had the friendship of jointly transporting military supplies.
Third Miss Hua, the woman of Chen Jie’s sworn brother Ni Wenjun, was almost family and best friends with Lady Yunjin.
It could be said that the remaining Energy Transformation Masters in Mianshui County all had good relations with him.
Chen Jie nodded slightly to them as a greeting.
They responded with nearly imperceptible nods, waiting for Yelu’s arrival.
During the wait, Chen Jie looked at those seated around him and couldn’t help but recall the once prestigious Mianshui Thirteen Grand Protectors.
The Thirteen Grand Protectors had dominated Mianshui for over a decade, maintaining balance. Now it seemed that the old faces were almost all gone.
Back then, the Mianshui Thirteen Grand Protectors were so illustrious, but now... they were a thing of the past.
Chen Jie’s mind drifted momentarily, recalling the time when he had first come to Mianshui, facing the Thirteen Grand Protectors like thirteen towering mountains.
Nan Batian, Beilao Liu, the Thirteen Grand Protectors’ unmatched rivals: beggar, constable, oil seller, Ghost Hand, scholar, and Red Face.
Blacksmith, fisherman, Blind fortune-teller, Eagle, Tiger, and Leopard!
Back then, these thirteen people were unattainable giants in Chen Jie’s mind, but now, after just one year, he had interacted with most of them and even defeated some.