Wherever there are interests, there are often conflicts. Naturally, none of the three great families of Ping’an Town are willing to give up this lucrative piece of land. After much struggle and compromise, the three families have now each staked out their own territories, not crossing into each other’s domains.

From the Dingpu Ferry, thirty li to the right along the Anjiang River up to the Rocky Shoals, is the water territory of the Ping’an Wang family.

However, in recent years, the other two families have produced many talented individuals and have been rising steadily, their appetites growing. With the overall territory being limited, it’s only natural that they would start reaching their chopsticks into someone else’s pot.

The plan of encroachment has been playing out for a long time, and the family’s territory and industries have been shrinking year after year. The smaller the territory, the scarcer the resources, making it even harder for clan members to grow, thus falling into a vicious cycle.

What’s worse, the Wang family’s pillar of strength, Ancestor Longyan, seems to be in declining health year after year. She has been in seclusion for several years now, and even when major events happened in the family, she did not make an appearance. Outsiders are bound to speculate whether she is still capable of fighting.

The situation is not optimistic. Charles Warren frowned.

The main Wang residence was built by the mountain and by the water, just over ten li from the Dingpu Ferry, with a solid roadbed that is maintained year-round. With family guards opening the way, the journey was smooth, and the carriage arrived in less than half an hour.

This ferry was already one of the outposts of Changning Garrison when Ping’an Town was first established. After more than a hundred years of development, Dingpu Ferry has become a major thoroughfare connecting north and south.

All three great families of Ping’an have docks, ferries, shops, and other basic infrastructure here.

The ferry has some simple defensive structures; the city wall is rather crude, only five or six meters high, just enough to fend off small-scale beast attacks.

After entering the ferry, Charles Warren and his group headed straight for the deep-water dock. Under the long wooden pier stood massive wooden pillars, each as thick as two arms together, supporting the pier out to where the water was three or four zhang deep. In the deep-water area, two crosswise piers formed several berths.

At the berths, boats of all sizes were moored—ferries, merchant ships, and fishing boats.

From a distance, two groups of people could be seen confronting each other at the end of the pier. Both sides were armed with sticks, knives, and forks, their emotions running high.

“Old Six Warren, you’ve got some nerve. You dare bring people to block your Everton young master? Are you not satisfied with the beating I gave you last time?” a young man’s mocking voice rang out.

“You little Liu family brat,” another man shouted angrily, “Wasn’t it just a sneak attack underwater? If you’re a real man, let’s settle this with our own skills—get back in the water and fight for real! Let your Old Six Warren teach you how to behave.”

“Old Six Warren, don’t blame me for looking down on you. At your age, you’ve learned nothing but dog tricks, not a bit of brains left,” the young man sneered. “Underwater ambush is a legitimate battle tactic. What, do we need to declare in advance that tactics aren’t allowed before a fight? Heh, you’re really getting more and more useless as you get older. You might as well get out of Ping’an Town before you waste any more food.”

The young man’s group burst into laughter, jeering, “Get out of Ping’an Town! Get out of Ping’an Town!”

Dingpu Ferry was a chaotic place, crowded with travelers and merchants, all gathering to watch the commotion, their discussions buzzing.

Today’s conflict would surely spread by word of mouth to other places. As the losing side in this clash, the Ping’an Wang family would become a laughingstock, a topic for idle gossip, damaging the Wang family’s prestige.

“Liu family brat!” The man’s face was flushed with rage. “You’ve gone too far! Your Old Six will fight you to the end!”

“Old Wang family dog, come if you dare!”

A brawl was about to erupt, tension stretched to the breaking point.

“Stop!” Evelyn Grant, seeing the situation was urgent, hurriedly stepped between the two sides to intervene. “David Warren, Peter Bennett, calm down and talk things over.”

Charles Warren, worried his aunt would be at a disadvantage, waved his hand, and four Wang family guards immediately surrounded Evelyn Grant to protect her. He followed closely behind, continuing to observe everything coldly.

From his observation and memory, the young man in the close-fitting water gear with a short blade at his waist, looking rather cocky, was called Peter Bennett, a member of the Liu family’s “Yong” generation.

Rumor had it that this young man excelled at water combat, especially the art of water escape. He had once used a short blade to dive underwater and kill a first-rank fierce beast, a red-scaled eel weighing over two hundred jin. At just twenty-three or twenty-four, he had already made a name for himself—a rising star of the Ping’an Liu family.

The other man was lean and dark-skinned, clearly someone who made his living on the water. But his head and arm were bandaged with rough cloth, looking rather battered.

This was none other than Charles Warren’s clan uncle—David Warren, who was in charge of the family’s fishing operations in their water territory. He was also highly skilled in water combat and fishing, and was the main catcher of the red-tailed spirit bream that Charles Warren had eaten earlier.

“Well, if it isn’t the Wang family’s Mrs. Grant.” The young man Peter Bennett smiled and cupped his hands casually. Then he turned to David Warren with a mocking sneer, “Old Six Warren, you have a little conflict with me, and you actually brought your sister-in-law to back you up? Everton is impressed, truly ashamed in comparison.”