False Accusation

"Yes!"

The two elite gang members sneered coldly, picked up the leather whips, and lashed him hard.

"Crack..."

"Ah..."

A Shun had hardly eaten meat in his life. After a few lashes from the two men, they had served him a plate of stir-fried flesh with leather whip, letting him eat his fill.

"I... I confess. I know who the spy is..."

After ten lashes, A Shun couldn't take it anymore and confessed under torture.

Liu Gang waved for them to stop. "Enough. Who do you say the spy is?"

"It's the cook, Wang Dawei, and the assistant cook, and... and the new kitchen helper, Zhao Han."

A Shun accused people at random, naming everyone in the kitchen.

He was going to die anyway, so he might as well drag a few others down with him.

He didn't know the other gang members, but he knew everyone in the kitchen. One of them was even the kitchen helper who'd once taken advantage of him. They could all join him in the grave.

He hated most of the people in the kitchen.

"Heh, do you take me for a fool?" Liu Gang sneered. "You say they're all spies. If they'd been poisoning the food, the Hall Master and I would've been poisoned to death ages ago. How would we still be alive today?"

"Looks like you still haven't come clean. You two, get out. I'll teach him a thing or two by myself." Liu Gang waved the two men away.

"Yes!"

After they left, Liu Gang lashed A Shun a few times.

"Ah..."

"Just kill me..."

The pain nearly made A Shun pass out.

After a few lashes, Liu Gang stopped and whispered in A Shun's ear, "You're a spineless coward. If you don't want to die looking this miserable, I can give you a chance."

"B-boss, wh-what chance?" A Shun muttered, his mind hazy.

"The spy is Wang Bao, and Wang Bao gave you the Black Wolf Fist Manual."

Liu Gang smiled.

Wang Bao was the younger brother of another leader, Wang Hu. His martial arts were no weaker than Liu Gang's; only Wang Hu was stronger.

Wang Hu often worked against him, competing for favor in front of the Hall Master. They'd clashed both openly and behind the scenes many times, and Liu Gang had always come off slightly worse.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Gang wanted to get rid of Wang Bao and sever one of Wang Hu's arms.

As for why he didn't accuse Wang Hu directly, Liu Gang knew it would be useless.

The Hall Master knew all about the two of them fighting each other, setting traps and striking from the shadows. He would never believe an accusation made by only one side.

But Wang Bao was different. He didn't hold as high a position as Wang Hu. If Liu Gang kept insisting, he could surely deal Wang Hu a blow.

"Wang Bao? The younger brother of Leader Wang?" A Shun's expression changed. If he offended Wang Hu, he'd probably die even more horribly.

Liu Gang continued to tempt him.

"That's right. Wang Bao is the Black Wolf Gang's spy. He gave you the Black Wolf Fist Manual, and he was the one who passed along the information that caused the earlier disturbance."

"If you don't want to suffer any more, do as I say and accuse Wang Bao."

"Gulp..."

"I... I'm willing to accuse Wang Bao..."

A Shun sighed. He knew his life was as good as over. He might as well do as Liu Gang said. Otherwise, he'd suffer terribly—worse than death.

"You're not accusing Wang Bao. The truth is that he gave you the Black Wolf Fist Manual, and he caused the disturbance, too."

"Just hold out tonight. Confess tomorrow morning."

After dealing with A Shun, Liu Gang went back to putting on a show, whipping him a few more times. A Shun still "wouldn't talk."

"You two, come in!"

"Keep whipping him. This fellow's tongue is too hard." Liu Gang had the two men continue the beating while he watched from the side.

After they'd beaten him for a while, A Shun still stubbornly refused to confess.

"Forget it. Let him go hungry tonight. We'll come back in the morning."

After one night had passed.

At daybreak, Liu Gang brought Zhang Long and Zhao Hu and dragged the wooden frame A Shun was tied to outside. They continued whipping him in full view of the crowd.

By then, many people were up. Not only the gang members, but even the mine slaves had seen it.

After a round of lashes, A Shun confessed, his voice ringing out loud and clear. "It was Wang Bao! He's the spy! I was led astray by him..."

Liu Gang had achieved his goal. A Shun had confessed, and the accusation pointed straight at Wang Bao.

With this confession in hand, Liu Gang immediately took A Shun to Hall Master Li Dalong's tent.

Wang Hu and Wang Bao followed close behind, glaring furiously at Liu Gang.

If a gang member hadn't alerted them, Liu Gang would probably have caught them off guard.

"Hall Master, this is the Black Wolf Gang spy we caught last night. He just confessed." Liu Gang glanced at the two men, then clasped his hands and reported.

Li Dalong sat in his chair. Beside him was the fair-skinned Zhang San, serving him breakfast.

"I already know what happened. A'gang, I know how to handle this. Go into the woods and bring back some game." Li Dalong didn't even look at A Shun. He waved Liu Gang away.

"Y-you already knew?" Liu Gang froze, mouth slightly agape, disbelief plain on his face.

Li Dalong nodded. "Mm. This is a scheme by the Black Wolf Gang to sow discord in my Poison Dragon Hall. A'hu, take care of this spy."

Wang Hu sneered when he heard this, shooting Liu Gang a sidelong glance. Behind him, Wang Bao wore an even more triumphant expression.

You think we didn't know about your little tricks, Liu Gang?

Those paltry methods of yours were nothing in front of the Hall Master.

Liu Gang was left speechless. He turned and slunk away.

He knew he couldn't beat Wang Hu.

There was a deeper connection between Wang Hu and the Hall Master, one Liu Gang knew about but couldn't speak of.

Otherwise, he'd lose his life.

Accusing Wang Bao had been his last desperate attempt to seize the leader's position. Unfortunately, it had failed.

"Baozi!"

Wang Hu shook his head at Wang Bao. Wang Bao advanced with a vicious grin, grabbed A Shun's head, and snapped his neck as A Shun begged for mercy.

"Incense Master, these are the pills the Holy Cult issued this month. Please keep them safe."

Smiling, Wang Hu took a wooden box from his robes and offered it with both hands.

"Mm. You two, go to County Town again and hurry the Main Sect along. Tell them to capture more mine slaves and bring them here. We're running short."

"Yes!" the two replied with smiles.

"When you leave, take the body with you. It's an eyesore."

"Yes!"

Compared to how Wang Hu and Wang Bao were favored by Li Dalong, their relationship with him something they could never quite explain, Liu Gang was much more frustrated.

He was now leading five ordinary gang members skilled at hunting through the eastern woods to catch game for Li Dalong.

Li Dalong loved eating game, and he always sent Liu Gang out to hunt it.

"Damn Wang Hu and Wang Bao. I'll find something to use against you yet." Liu Gang punched a tree trunk, his face twisted with hatred.

"Leader, there seems to be someone over there." One sharp-eyed gang member pointed to a spot more than two hundred meters away.

"Someone? Go. Bring him to me. I'll kill him to vent my anger." Liu Gang raised his brooding eyes and barked.

The gang member explained, "Leader, he looks familiar. I think he's new in the kitchen."

"New? Is he that skinny, dark kid named Zhao Han? Maybe he's chopping wood. But this place is full of wild beasts. Wouldn't coming here to chop wood be asking to die?" Liu Gang wondered.

He had a faint impression of Zhao Han.

After all, the others were called things like Zhao Da, Li Er, or Zhang San—names that were old-fashioned in the extreme.

Only Li Fei and Zhao Han had names that sounded a little different.

"Wait, I think he's hunting," the sharp-eyed gang member said in surprise.

"Hunting?" Liu Gang exclaimed.

Hunting here? The kid must have lost his mind.

Even Liu Gang wouldn't dare stay here and hunt for long on his own.

Wolves were one thing, but running into a tiger or leopard was just as dangerous.