By early morning, the sky was already bright.
At this hour, the shops in Yongle District would usually have opened for business, except for places like brothels and gambling dens, which only got busy at night.
But with two gangs fighting these past few days, the small-time merchants were so frightened that they had delayed opening by an hour.
There was, however, one breakfast-stall owner who, hoping to earn a little extra for his hard work, had set up shop early.
He had just tossed a freshly stretched dough stick into the wok when he saw several Flying Eagle Gang members approaching in black martial uniforms.
The stall owner stood frozen, seemingly scared witless. He cursed himself for being so greedy over a little money and setting up so early.
"Boss, if you don't turn those dough sticks, they'll burn."
At the gentle reminder, the breakfast-stall owner hurriedly flipped the dough sticks in the wok. He couldn't help thinking that it was a shame such a handsome young man had joined a gang.
"Give me two dough sticks."
Su Xin turned to Huang Bingcheng and the others. "Do you want any?"
They all shook their heads. Huang Bingcheng wore an especially rueful expression. What time was it, and their boss still had the mind to eat breakfast?
The stall owner wrapped the freshly fried dough sticks in oiled paper and handed them to Su Xin. One bite, and they were crisp on the outside, tender within, their savory fragrance filling his mouth.
"Your cooking's pretty good, Boss. I left the house without any silver this morning. Old Huang, pay him." Su Xin took a bite of his dough stick.
The breakfast-stall owner hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, you don't have to."
Huang Bingcheng had no patience to haggle with him. He tossed down a piece of silver and followed Su Xin.
Holding the silver, which was worth as much as he used to earn in ten days, the stall owner thought to himself that the Flying Eagle Gang's boss was much better than the old Boss Chen, who liked smashing up people's shops whenever he was in a bad mood.
Tang Taihe, who had dared to detain Su Xin's men, looked utterly ordinary. He was around thirty and a little slick.
When Su Xin arrived with his men, Tang Taihe stood right where he was, as if he had been waiting for him.
The six men Tang Taihe had detained were forced to kneel on the ground by his men, looking utterly miserable.
Their eyes were bruised and the corners of their mouths split. They had clearly been given a thorough beating the night before.
In truth, Su Xin's men were fairly capable now. Against Tang Taihe's men, each of them could handle at least three or four.
But there was no helping it when the other side had the numbers. If more than ten men rushed them at once, even the strongest fighter would be overwhelmed.
Seeing their brothers beaten like this, the members of Happy Forest were instantly incensed. If Li Huai and Huang Bingcheng hadn't held them back, they might have charged in right then and there.
Huang Bingcheng knew this was no time to act recklessly.
They could fight outsiders however they liked, but if gang members started fighting among themselves without permission, they would be punished under the gang rules.
A brawl was one thing, but if these young underlings accidentally killed someone, it would be a real mess.
Besides, Tang Taihe looked utterly unafraid. Huang Bingcheng even suspected that he had Third Master Hu's backing.
"Tang Taihe?" Su Xin glanced at him indifferently. The look made Tang Taihe deeply uncomfortable.
Su Xin looked at him as if he were a dog, as if he didn't consider him human at all. That felt worse than being cursed to his face.
"You're Su Xin, right?" Tang Taihe walked up to him with a beaming smile. "It's not that I deliberately detained your men, brother. They just didn't know the rules."
Tang Taihe glanced at the six men kneeling on the ground. "When gangs fight over territory, whoever takes it gets it. I've been watching this place for two days, ready to fight Luo Zhen to the death, but he ran off.
"I don't care where Luo Zhen went, but I was the first to claim this half of Yongle District. And your six men came right up and said they'd taken all of Yongle District, then told me to get my men out. What kind of sense does that make?"
"Who told you to beat them?" Su Xin asked.
"Huh?" Tang Taihe was momentarily thrown off.
Weren't they supposed to be discussing who owned this half of Yongle District? Why had the conversation circled back to these six low-ranking gang members?
"My men are mine to discipline. What gave you the right to beat them?" Su Xin stepped forward and looked at Tang Taihe with contempt, as if he were staring at a piece of trash.
As if stung by Su Xin's gaze, Tang Taihe pointed at his nose and shouted, "Su Xin, what do you mean—"
A sharp slap cut him off before he could finish. Blood and broken teeth sprayed from his mouth.
Tang Taihe's men were stunned. They had been talking just fine a moment ago. How had it suddenly come to blows?
Su Xin kicked him in the stomach. Tang Taihe, who had never trained in martial arts, fell to the ground and clutched his belly, groaning in pain.
His men drew their weapons and aimed them at Su Xin, but not one dared make a move.
Su Xin had assassinated Dai Chong, a senior member of the Green Bamboo Gang. At best, these underlings had the courage to draw their blades against him because they outnumbered him. Who would dare be the first to charge in and die?
Su Xin slowly walked over to Tang Taihe and planted a foot on his head. He gradually increased the pressure, making Tang Taihe shriek in terror, as if Su Xin might crush his skull at any moment.
"I don't care that you took over Yongle District. But why did you beat my men? Was it to make an example of me?"
As soon as Su Xin finished speaking, he stomped down, not even giving Tang Taihe a chance to answer.
He hadn't used any internal energy, but the stomp made Tang Taihe feel as if his head had exploded.
"You beat my men, so you slapped me in the face. We've never had a grudge, old or new, so why did you slap me?"
He stomped down again with a thud.
"Tell me, Boss Tang, who gave you the courage? Who gave you the confidence to slap me in the face?"
He stomped down twice more. Tang Taihe was already half-conscious, managing only a feeble groan.
"Why aren't you answering me? You had the courage to slap me in the face, so why don't you have the courage to die without backing down?"
Su Xin's foot never stopped. Tang Taihe's eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets.
Every gang member present, whether Tang Taihe's or Su Xin's, was horrified by the sight.
Su Xin kept asking questions, but never gave Tang Taihe a chance to answer. It was like a deranged man asking and answering his own questions.
He stomped down, over and over, without mercy. No one could doubt that Su Xin intended to crush Tang Taihe to death with his own feet!
To them, Su Xin was a madman—one who defied all reason!
"Have mercy! Please, have mercy!"
A middle-aged man in a scholar's robe squeezed through the crowd. He was Master Li, Third Master Hu's adviser.
Seeing that Tang Taihe could barely draw breath, Master Li said with a bitter smile, "Su Xin, we're all brothers in the gang. Let's talk this out. There's no need to be so ruthless."
Su Xin pointed to Tang Taihe beneath his foot, then to his own face. "He took my territory. That's a slap to my left cheek. Then he beat my men. That's a slap to my right.
"Do I really look that easy to bully? Someone slaps me twice, and I'm supposed to walk up with a smile and ask, 'Buddy, why did you slap me?'"
Master Li gave an awkward laugh. Hearing the pointed meaning in Su Xin's words, he began to stammer.
He remembered the first time he had met Su Xin: the young man who had used his silver tongue to persuade Third Master Hu, the young man who had knelt without hesitation and called Third Master Hu his adoptive father to climb the ranks.
Was that young man really the same Su Xin who now wore an expressionless face, yet was so utterly mad that he seemed ready to stomp Third Master Hu's trusted subordinate to death at any moment?
Master Li swallowed. "Well, Su Xin. Tang Taihe was certainly in the wrong. You took Yongle District through your own strength; no one can take that from you. Tang Taihe beat your men, and the gang rules will deal with him. But for you to act on your own—that goes against the rules too, doesn't it? Let him go first. The gang rules will take care of him."
"The gang rules? Heh."
Su Xin gave a light laugh, leaving Master Li ill at ease. At last, he took his foot off Tang Taihe's head.
Master Li let out a long breath. But before he could finish, Su Xin stomped on Tang Taihe's hand and ground it to pulp. Tang Taihe had been unconscious, but the pain dragged him back awake with a scream.
"Su Xin, you—" Master Li pointed at him in fury.
But Su Xin acted as if he hadn't seen him. Without pause, he crushed Tang Taihe's other hand and both his legs.
He didn't break them. He crushed them to pieces, as if they had been smashed with an iron hammer.
"When you're out in the world, if you've done wrong, admit it. If you're beaten, stand up and take it. If you've made a mistake, you have to pay the price."
With that light remark, Su Xin had his men carry away the six beaten gang members and turned to leave.
Master Li wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly.
"Third Master, oh, Third Master. This time, I'm afraid you've made another terrible move."
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