Leader Wang and Wang Bao

"Heh heh heh, Hall Master Wang Hong, didn't expect this, did you? Our Holy Cult's followers are everywhere." Li Dalong stepped on Wang Hong's back, sneering mockingly.

"Yin... Yin Tong Cult, you're all people of the Yin Tong Cult..." Wang Hong's face turned even paler, her body trembling.

"That's right, Hall Master Wang. Being able to offer your body to the great Yin Tong is truly your blessing."

"Spare... spare me, I don't want to die. I'm willing to become a follower of the Yin Tong Cult." Wang Hong begged pitifully.

"Heh heh, too bad. Our Yin Tong Cult doesn't need disloyal, divisive people like you. Enough idle chatter—stay put."

Li Dalong stepped forward and kicked, shattering Wang Hong's prized Snake Fang jaw, then knocked her unconscious.

"Wang Hu, take her back to the Holy Cult's stronghold in the County Town and offer her to Great Yin Tong."

"Yes!"

"Hiss hiss hiss..."

Beside them, Wang Hong's pet Red Snake raised its head, glaring with triangular eyes straight at Li Dalong, a threatening posture.

"Shhk!"

Li Dalong drew his blade and slashed, moving with extreme speed. The red head hit the ground.

"If you bite someone, you're a venomous snake. If you don't, you're just a spicy strip."

Li Dalong reached out, grabbed the Red Snake's body, and ate it like a spicy strip as he went.

A venomous snake's poison is stored in its head; the body is usually non-toxic.

"Munch munch..."

With Wang Hong dealt with, next came the need to stage things.

Li Dalong, snake blood still at the corner of his mouth, squinted with a smile:

"Wang Bao, haven't you practiced the Black Wolf Fist in private? Come on, hit all of us. There are a few unconscious Blood Snake Hall members here too—finish them all off with the Black Wolf Fist."

"Yes!" Wang Bao stepped forward with a grin, first using the Black Wolf Fist to finish off the Blood Snake Hall members, then landing a punch on each of the others.

"Now, Hall Master Wang Hong has been captured, fate unknown. It's the Black Wolf Gang's doing. What does that have to do with me, Li?"

With the act complete, Li Dalong, along with Xu Kun, Xu Cai, Wang Hu, and Wang Bao, returned to the Mine in a panic.

Then they reported the Black Wolf Gang's ambush, pinning everything on the Black Wolf Gang.

With Xu Kun and Xu Cai backing it up, everyone firmly believed that the Black Wolf Gang had deliberately targeted the Poison Dragon Hall.

"With the Hall Master's fate unknown, to avoid chaos that the Black Wolf Gang might exploit, all brothers of the Blood Snake Hall will temporarily follow Acting Hall Master Li's orders."

Xu Kun and Xu Cai fanned the flames from the side, hinting at merging the Blood Snake Hall into the Poison Dragon Hall.

The Blood Snake Hall members, having lost their Hall Master and their bearings, could only obey Xu Kun and Xu Cai's orders, temporarily accepting Li Dalong's guidance.

Li Dalong put on a show of "genuine emotion": "Everyone here is a brother of our Poisonous Snake Gang. I treat you like family. Rest assured, ten times over."

After that, Li Dalong merged the two halls' personnel, then arranged leaders and divided the people accordingly.

When Zhao Han returned in the afternoon and saw the tense atmosphere at the Mine, he asked around a bit and couldn't help but feel speechless.

There was no Black Wolf Gang ambush at all. Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, and those three snake catchers—he'd clearly killed them himself.

But the situation didn't look fake. That Wang Hong had been captured alive by the Black Wolf Gang, and Li Dalong was injured too. It really seemed like Black Wolf Gang members were lurking nearby, hunting.

"But how come I never ran into them?"

"Whatever. What's it to me? I'll just focus on stacking up my Black Wolf Fist proficiency."

"Black wolf, black leopard, venomous snake, poisonous bug—whatever you are, I'll crush you with one punch!"

Zhao Han walked a few more steps when suddenly an Elite Gang Member called out from behind:

"Zhao Han, Leader Wang needs you urgently."

"Leader Wang? What does he want with me?" Zhao Han asked, puzzled.

"You haven't heard? Leader Liu Gang has been reassigned to the Blood Snake Hall. Now the Poison Dragon Hall is under Leaders Wang Hu and Wang Bao."

"What... what the hell?" Zhao Han's mind was still catching up.

Liu Gang went to manage the Blood Snake Hall, and Wang Bao took over the Poison Dragon Hall.

What about him?

"Go after you eat. You know Leader Wang Bao's temper. If you're late, watch your ass... I mean your head—heh heh heh..."

That gang member's laugh was strange, ending in a sly cackle that sounded pretty lecherous.

"Got it. Thanks for the heads-up."

Zhao Han stood there, brow furrowed, wondering why Wang Bao wanted to see him. Was it to settle a score?

But he hadn't offended him—he just hung around Liu Gang a bit more.

Was that enough to get targeted? Just for being close to Liu Gang and getting some special attention?

"Whatever. I'll deal with it when it comes. Wang Bao's just a Skin Refining—killing him would be as easy as eating or drinking."

Zhao Han wasn't afraid. With Black Wolf Fist and Snake-Style Deft Hand both trained to Mastery, he had nothing to fear.

It had already surpassed Wang Bao's level of Snake-Style Deft Hand, which barely reached the third layer.

The third layer corresponded to Proficiency.

The fourth layer corresponded to Mastery; only Liu Gang and Wang Hu had reached this level.

The fifth layer corresponded to Grandmastery!

Throughout the entire mine, the only one who had trained Snake-Style Deft Hand to the fifth layer was Li Dalong.

If it came to a real fight, Zhao Han was confident he could kill him head-on.

A mere Wang Bao was child's play.

Still, to be safe, Zhao Han went to eat first, leaving Wang Bao to cool his heels for a while.

When night fell and the kitchen was empty, he went in, found a small knife, and stored it in his space.

He also grabbed some lime powder used for cleaning lard stains and put it in his space, along with a flask of water, just in case.

Lime plus water—you'll have a bad time.

Although lime was slightly inferior to caustic soda for degreasing, it was still enough to deal with a mere mortal.

Outside Wang Bao's tent, Zhao Han said softly, "Leader Wang, you wanted to see me?"

"Xiao Zhao, where the hell were you? Coming so late—get in here," Wang Bao said impatiently; he had been waiting for Zhao Han for a long time.

Entering the tent, Zhao Han looked at Wang Bao.

Wang Bao had a leopard's head and round eyes, a rather thin and dark body, and a wispy mustache at the corners of his mouth.

His elder brother Wang Hu, on the other hand, was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, the picture of a sturdy man.

The two didn't look much like blood brothers at all.

"Leader Wang, what business do you have with your subordinate?" Zhao Han bowed slightly with cupped fists, getting straight to the point.

Wang Bao said softly, "Heh, Xiao Zhao, don't be so tense and formal—we're all family here. I called you over just to ask: Old Liu has gone to Blood Snake Hall, so what are your plans, Xiao Zhao?"

Plans? I'm just an Elite Gang Member, clearly at your mercy.

Zhao Han grinned and flattered him, "Naturally, I'll follow Leader Wang. When you eat meat, your subordinate can at least have some soup, right?"

"Following Liu Gang, I'd starve nine meals in three days—nowhere near as comfortable as following Leader Wang."

Wang Bao was overjoyed: "Good, good, good! It seems Xiao Zhao knows how to read the room—what's that saying..."

"A wise man submits to circumstances!"

"Exactly, exactly! Xiao Zhao, you're a wise man, someone who sees clearly. From now on, you're my brother. When I eat meat, I'll make sure you drink soup until you're full."

"Then, thank you for your care, Leader Wang."

Zhao Han complained inwardly: Who the hell wants soup when there's meat to eat? Chaos is a ladder—I want meat too.

Wang Bao rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Hehe, since Xiao Zhao is one of my own now, I won't stand on ceremony. Throw away your machete, turn around, bend over, drop your pants, and let me have a good look."

"???"

"WTF?"

Zhao Han's mind was suddenly full of question marks.

Turn around, bend over, drop his pants—what kind of twisted move was this?

But thinking back, combined with the short videos he'd scrolled through on Blue Star in his past life, and the lecherous grin of that gang member just now, Zhao Han's face changed instantly.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

"What, you want to be my subordinate but can't even handle this little thing?" Wang Bao slammed the table and barked.