On the way back, Master Li heard from Third Master Hu what had happened in the main hall. He couldn't help slapping his thigh.
Su Xin had played this one beautifully. He had turned the hearing against him into a power struggle within the Flying Eagle Gang.
From the very beginning, Su Xin hadn't tried to defend himself. Instead, he had cast himself as a hero who had broken the gang's rules by risking his life against the Green Bamboo Gang for his brothers.
Some people would certainly refuse to believe that story, but it was enough that Lin Fuhu, a man with brawn and little else between his ears, bought it. He would naturally speak up for Su Xin.
From the moment Lin Fuhu opened his mouth, the matter had ceased to be about Su Xin. It had become a clash between the three hall masters.
Lin Fuhu had an old grudge against Dong Chengwu. As long as Dong Chengwu opposed something, Lin Fuhu was sure to support it.
And Dong Chengwu had moved against the Charity Hall, blocking Zhuang Li's path to profit. So Master Zhuang wouldn't bother weighing right and wrong either; he was certain to stand against Dong Chengwu.
It had been a simple little performance, yet it had drawn all three of the Flying Eagle Gang's hall masters into its calculations. The more Master Li thought about it, the more impressed he was. He could hardly stop himself from applauding.
But seeing his patron, Third Master Hu, wearing such a gloomy expression, Master Li could only follow behind him in silence.
Third Master Hu had secretly made things difficult for Su Xin earlier, then had been quick to distance himself from him just now. Their relationship as adoptive father and son was on the verge of breaking apart. Now that Su Xin was safe, there was no way Third Master Hu could be happy.
Master Li had a vague feeling that Third Master Hu had made a terrible move.
Su Xin was a young man with limitless prospects. If Third Master Hu had supported him, his status as Su Xin's adoptive father might have brought him some benefits in the future. But he had chosen to suppress him instead, and that was a problem.
Meanwhile, Huang Bingcheng, who was returning to the Happy Forest with Su Xin, was breaking out in a cold sweat.
He hadn't seen the clash in the main hall, but just hearing Su Xin describe it had left him shaken. If he had been in Su Xin's place, he wouldn't have been able to speak so calmly; his legs would probably have given out.
"Boss, you've got some nerve. You actually dared to put on an act in front of the gang leader and the three hall masters. What if the gang leader had seen through it?" Huang Bingcheng asked, still looking shaken.
Su Xin shook his head. "It's not a question of what if. The gang leader already saw through it. I should say everyone there did, except someone like Lin Fuhu, who'd lived half his life and still had a screw loose.
"I'm confident in my acting, but there's no way I could fool Sha Feiying, who founded the Flying Eagle Gang with his own hands. And I couldn't fool Dong Chengwu or the shrewd Zhuang Li either."
Huang Bingcheng gaped. "They... saw through it? Then why did the gang leader speak up for you?"
"Let me correct you. The gang leader wasn't speaking up for me. He was speaking up for Lin Fuhu."
Su Xin explained, "Lin Fuhu and Dong Chengwu had a falling-out, and Zhuang Li was there fanning the flames. As the gang leader, he had to choose a side. If he tried to smooth things over, he'd only make both sides unhappy."
"But what if the gang leader had sided with Dong Chengwu?" Huang Bingcheng asked.
Su Xin shook his head. "He wouldn't. The gang leader would definitely side with Lin Fuhu."
"Why?"
"Because among the three hall masters, Lin Fuhu is the only one the gang leader truly trusts!"
Su Xin said in a low voice, "Why was Lin Fuhu put in charge of the War Hall, the gang's strongest force? Because he's the best fighter? No. It's because he's the least calculating of the three hall masters, and the easiest to control!"
Huang Bingcheng gaped. Though he was known as the Flying Eagle Gang's walking encyclopedia, he had never heard Su Xin make an argument like this.
"The War Hall's importance is self-evident. It's the Flying Eagle Gang's strongest force, so it has to be put in the hands of someone trustworthy.
"Of the three hall masters, Zhuang Li is slippery and deeply calculating. The gang leader wouldn't trust him. Dong Chengwu may seem impartial and stern, but nobody knows what he's really thinking.
"Only Lin Fuhu is the classic case of brawn without brains.
"His abilities aren't the strongest, but Sha Feiying trusts him the most because he's far easier to control than the other two.
"You once told me that Dong Chengwu publicly crippled a War Hall disciple for breaking the gang's rules, and the gang leader didn't stop him. That showed that, at the time, he had sided with Dong Chengwu.
"But now the two of them have clashed again. If the gang leader sided with Dong Chengwu this time too, Lin Fuhu would be disheartened. So this time, he had to side with Lin Fuhu."
Huang Bingcheng was speechless. He realized that Boss Su's greatest talent wasn't martial arts, but figuring out what made people tick.
But there was one thing Su Xin hadn't said: all of this depended on having strength. Without strength, no amount of scheming would amount to anything.
If he hadn't killed Dai Chong this time—if his assassination had failed and he'd come back empty-handed—then no number of excuses would have helped him.
Instead, he had killed Dai Chong and severed one of the Green Bamboo Gang's arms, dealing them a heavy blow.
If the Green Bamboo Gang went to war with the Flying Eagle Gang now, the two sides wouldn't be evenly matched. The Green Bamboo Gang would be at a disadvantage.
So Su Xin's actions hadn't caused the gang the trouble Ji Gang and the others imagined.
The main question in Su Xin's case was whether he had broken the gang's rules and deserved punishment.
With only that question left, things were much easier to handle. A little performance had settled it all.
But there was a downside too.
Gang Leader Sha Feiying and Dong Chengwu had clearly remembered Su Xin. If he tried to put on another act next time, he wouldn't get off so easily.
When he returned to the Happy Forest, the news that Su Xin was safe sent his men into cheers.
After this incident, the men under Su Xin had become far more united.
It wasn't easy to follow a boss who spent lavishly, and it was even rarer to follow one who was willing to stand up for his men.
So everyone was glad to see Su Xin return safe and sound—everyone except Ji Gang, of course.
Su Xin ignored him.
Ji Gang belonged to Third Master Hu. Su Xin hadn't fallen out with Third Master Hu yet, so as long as Ji Gang didn't go too far, Su Xin wouldn't touch him.
While everyone was in high spirits, Su Xin tossed out a hundred taels of silver and took them all to a restaurant. They drank until nightfall before heading back.
But the moment he walked through the door, Xin'er pushed him back outside.
"Big brother, you stink! Why did you drink so much? Go take a bath first. You're not coming in until you're clean!" Xin'er pinched her nose, looking thoroughly disgusted.
"Fine, fine. I'm going." Su Xin could only smile wryly and head off to bathe.
Back when they lived in a ramshackle house in the Joyful District, Xin'er hadn't been so fussy. Now that they had moved into a new home, the little girl's love of cleanliness had come out in full force.
If there was even a speck of dirt on Su Xin's clothes, Xin'er would insist on stripping them right off him.
He poured the hot water into the tub, climbed in, and let out a satisfied hum.
He hadn't fought anyone that day, but spending the whole day acting for those old hands in the Flying Eagle Gang had taken its toll on him all the same.
There were very few people as simple-minded as Lin Fuhu. Those old foxes, who'd lived for decades, were no less devious than the scheming bosses he'd had in his previous life. One slip of the tongue, and they might seize on it as leverage.
While soaking in the bath, Su Xin sent his mind into the System Space.
Originally, Su Xin had planned to save up more chances and use them all at once, or to accumulate enough for a high-level draw.
But his fight with Dai Chong had made him realize how much his strength still fell short. He urgently needed to get stronger, and saving up for a high-level draw over three months wasn't realistic.
Who knew what might happen over those three months? For now, improving his strength was the most important thing.
In the misty System Space, Su Xin asked, "How many draws do I have right now?"
The system replied, "The host currently has 35 basic draws and 1 intermediate draw."
"Exchange them for three intermediate draws."
The odds of getting something good from a basic draw were too low. Right now, Su Xin needed a skill on the level of Jing Wuming's Quick Sword, not some low-level technique rated below two stars.
"Exchange successful. Would the host like to draw now?"
"Draw. Remove the empty options."
On the large screen in the center, the wheel turned slowly. The pointer passed the martial arts section and landed on the pills.
"Congratulations, host. You have drawn one bottle of Spirit Opening Powder, rated two stars."
A white porcelain bottle appeared before Su Xin, and its description surfaced in his mind.
"Spirit Opening Powder: clears the mind and sharpens the eyes, invigorates the blood and nourishes the qi. Suitable for Houtian Martial Artists tempering their qi. Long-term use offers a slight aid in reaching the Xiantian Realm."
Su Xin examined the bottle. "A bit of a dud. It has decent effects, but you need to take it for a long time. Otherwise, it's not much different from the Qi Nourishing Pill."
"Draw again. Remove the empty options."
The wheel began to turn again. This time, as Su Xin had hoped, it landed on the martial arts section.
A middle-aged beggar in tattered clothes appeared on the large screen.
Though his clothes were ragged, they were very clean. He had refined, scholarly features and looked more like a bookish scholar than a beggar.
"Congratulations, host. You have drawn Quan Guanqing, who comes with one volume of the Incomplete Dog-Beating Staff Technique. No further draw is required. The technique is rated half a star."
Su Xin nearly spat up a mouthful of blood.
An intermediate draw, and it gave him a half-star technique? What kind of joke was this?
If this counted as luck, then even if Quan Guanqing was an elder of the Beggar Sect, was half a star all he was worth?
Su Xin wanted to protest, but he shut his mouth as soon as he started speaking.
The martial arts world of the Jin Dynasty was a low-level one to begin with. And Quan Guanqing had mostly relied on schemes and trickery in his appearances. His martial arts really were trash.
But there was one thing Su Xin still couldn't accept. Dog-Beating Staff Technique was one thing, but why was it incomplete? What was that supposed to mean? Su Xin immediately lodged a complaint.
The system explained, "The Dog-Beating Staff Technique is a supreme art of the Beggar Sect. Ordinary disciples can learn it too, but they only learn incomplete moves. Though Quan Guanqing is an elder of the Beggar Sect, he still lacks the qualifications to learn the complete Dog-Beating Staff Technique, so this is an incomplete version.
"The same situation can occur with other martial arts. For example, the authentic Nine Yin Manual is rated four stars. If the host draws Ouyang Feng, the host will only obtain the reversed version of the Nine Yin Manual, rated three stars."
Su Xin smiled bitterly. The rules this system had devised really were airtight. It didn't leave him the slightest chance to exploit a loophole.
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