May I Ask Who Gave You the Confidence and Courage?

The morning had arrived, and the sky was bright.

At this hour, the shops and businesses in Yongle District—excluding the brothels and gambling dens that only thrived at night—should have all been open for trade.

However, due to the war between the two gangs over the past two days, even the small merchants had delayed their opening times by an hour out of fear.

There was one exception, however: a breakfast stall owner who, eager to earn a few extra coins, had set up his stall early.

But just as he dropped the prepared dough sticks into the hot oil, he saw several members of the Flying Eagle Gang walking toward him, dressed in black martial arts tunics.

The stall owner stood frozen as if struck dumb, inwardly cursing himself for being greedy for those few coins and setting up his stall so early.

"Boss, if you don't flip those dough sticks, they're going to burn."

A gentle voice drifted over. The breakfast stall owner scrambled to flip the dough sticks in the wok, thinking to himself that it was a pity such a refined-looking young man had chosen to join a gang.

"Give me two dough sticks."

Su Xin turned to look at Huang Bingcheng and the others. "Do you want any?"

The group shook their heads. A bitter smile appeared on Huang Bingcheng's face; given the current situation, how could the boss still have the heart to eat breakfast?

The freshly fried dough sticks were wrapped in oil paper and handed to Su Xin. He took a bite; it was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and full of savory flavor.

"Your craft is quite good, Boss. I didn't bring any silver with me this morning, Old Huang, you pay." Su Xin said while chewing on the dough stick.

The breakfast stall owner waved his hands hurriedly. "No need, no need, really, there's no need."

Huang Bingcheng had no patience to haggle with the stall owner; he simply tossed a piece of broken silver and followed after Su Xin.

Holding the silver, which was enough to equal ten days of his previous earnings, the breakfast stall owner thought to himself that this Flying Eagle Gang leader was much better than the old Boss Chen, who liked to smash up shops whenever he was in a bad mood.

Tang Taihe, the man who dared to detain Su Xin's subordinates, looked quite ordinary—a man in his thirties with a slightly oily, slick appearance.

When Su Xin arrived with his men, Tang Taihe was standing right there, not moving, as if he had been waiting specifically for Su Xin.

The six men detained by Tang Taihe were being held by his subordinates, forced to kneel on the ground, looking absolutely miserable.

Their eye sockets were bruised and their lips were split; it was clear they had been on the receiving end of a beating throughout the night.

In truth, the strength of Su Xin's subordinates was quite decent now; at the very least, one of them could handle three or four of Tang Taihe's men without issue.

But they were outnumbered; when a dozen or more rushed them at once, even the greatest skill was useless.

Seeing their brothers beaten to such a state, the members of Happy Forest were instantly filled with righteous indignation. Had it not been for Li Huai and Huang Bingcheng holding them back, they might have charged forward right then and there.

Huang Bingcheng knew this was not the time for recklessness.

Fighting outsiders was one thing, but if members of the same gang started fighting each other, they would be punished according to gang rules.

Fistfights were one thing, but if these young hotheads caused a death, it would be impossible to clean up the mess.

Moreover, looking at Tang Taihe's demeanor, he was clearly relying on something to be so bold. Huang Bingcheng even suspected that he dared to act this way because he had the backing of Third Master Hu.

"Tang Taihe?" Su Xin glanced at him indifferently, a look that made Tang Taihe feel extremely uncomfortable.

He felt as though Su Xin was looking at him like a dog, not treating him like a human being at all. This made him feel even worse than if Su Xin had started cursing him outright.

"Su Xin, is it?" Tang Taihe walked up to Su Xin and said with a chuckle, "It's not that I, your brother, intentionally detained your men; it's just that they didn't know the rules."

Tang Taihe glanced at the six men kneeling on the ground. "In a gang war, whoever takes the territory owns it. I've been guarding this place for two days, just about to have a final showdown with Luo Zhen, when he suddenly ran off.

I don't care where Luo Zhen ran to, but I was the one who occupied this half of Yongle District first. Your six men, however, had the nerve to come up and claim that this Yongle District was all theirs, telling me to get lost with my men. What kind of logic is that?"

"Who told you to beat them?" Su Xin asked.

"Eh?" Tang Taihe's brain didn't quite turn the corner.

Shouldn't they be discussing the ownership of this half of Yongle District? Why had the conversation circled back to these six small-time gang members?

"I can discipline my own men, but what right do you have to beat them?" Su Xin stepped forward, his gaze filled with disdain as he looked at Tang Taihe, as if he were looking at trash.

As if stung by Su Xin's gaze, Tang Taihe pointed at Su Xin's nose and shouted, "Su Xin, what do you mean by—"

Slap! Before Tang Taihe could finish his sentence, Su Xin cut him off with a strike, and blood mixed with broken teeth instantly sprayed out.

Tang Taihe's subordinates were stunned. They had been talking just fine a moment ago; how did it turn into a fight?

Su Xin kicked him in the stomach. Tang Taihe, who had never practiced any martial arts, was instantly sent sprawling to the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning in pain.

His subordinates drew their weapons, pointing them at Su Xin, but not a single one dared to make a move.

With the record of assassinating the Green Bamboo Gang's high-ranking leader Dai Chong, these small-time thugs only had the courage to draw their blades because of their numbers; who would dare to be the first to step forward and die?

Su Xin walked slowly to Tang Taihe, placed his foot on Tang Taihe's head, and gradually increased the pressure. Tang Taihe screamed in terror, feeling as if Su Xin might actually crush his skull at any moment!

"I don't care that you occupied Yongle District, but why did you beat my men? Are you trying to show off to me?"

Su Xin didn't even give Tang Taihe a chance to answer before pressing his foot down harder.

Although he didn't use internal energy, the pressure made Tang Taihe feel as if his head were about to explode.

"You beat my men, which means you slapped my face. We have no past grievances and no recent grudges; why did you slap my face?"

Bang! He pressed down with his foot again.

"Tell me, Boss Tang, who gave you the courage, and who gave you the confidence to slap my face?"

With two heavy thuds, Tang Taihe's consciousness began to blur, leaving him capable of nothing more than a strained groan.

"Why won't you answer me? You had the courage to strike my face, so why don't you have the courage to stay stubborn to the end?"

Su Xin's foot never once stopped, and Tang Taihe's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

The gang members present, whether they were Tang Taihe's men or Su Xin's, were all terrified by his current demeanor.

Those repeated questions never gave Tang Taihe a chance to respond, sounding almost like a neurotic monologue.

With every merciless stomp, no one doubted that Su Xin intended to trample Tang Taihe to death right there.

To them, the Su Xin standing before them was nothing but a madman—a lunatic who defied all common sense!

"Show mercy! Please, show mercy!"

A middle-aged man dressed in a scholar's robe squeezed through the crowd; it was Master Li, the strategist under Third Master Hu.

Seeing Tang Taihe, who was barely clinging to life, Master Li offered a bitter smile. "Su Xin, we are all brothers in the gang. Let's talk this out properly; why be so ruthless?"

Su Xin pointed at Tang Taihe beneath his foot, then pointed at his own face. "He occupied my territory; that was a slap to my left cheek. He beat my brothers; that was a slap to my right cheek. Does this Su Xin really look so easy to bully that I should offer my face and ask with a smile, 'Brother, why did you hit me?'"

Master Li gave a dry laugh, feeling the pointed nature of Su Xin's words, and couldn't help but stammer.

He recalled the first time he met Su Xin—the young man who had used his sophistry to persuade Third Master Hu, the young man who had knelt without hesitation to call Third Master Hu 'Foster Father' just to climb the ranks.

Was that young man really the same person as this Su Xin, who stood there expressionless yet radiating a terrifying madness, as if he might crush Third Master Hu's confidant to death at any moment?

Master Li swallowed hard and said, "Look, Su Xin. What Tang Taihe did was indeed wrong. The Yongle District was won by your own strength, and no one can take that away. Since he hit your men, the gang rules will naturally deal with him. You taking matters into your own hands isn't exactly following protocol, is it? Let him go, and he will be dealt with according to the rules."

"Gang rules? Heh."

Su Xin let out an inexplicable chuckle. Though it made Master Li feel uneasy, Su Xin finally lifted his foot from Tang Taihe's head.

Seeing this, Master Li let out a long sigh of relief, but before he could finish exhaling, Su Xin stomped down on Tang Taihe's hand, crushing it into a pulp! The pain forced the unconscious Tang Taihe to wake up with a scream!

"Su Xin, you..." Master Li pointed at Su Xin in fury.

But Su Xin acted as if he hadn't seen him, methodically crushing Tang Taihe's other hand and both of his legs.

They weren't just broken; they were pulverized, as if smashed by a heavy iron hammer.

"In this life, if you make a mistake, you own it. If you get hit, you stand tall. If you do wrong, you pay the price."

Leaving behind those light words, Su Xin ordered his men to take the six beaten gang members and turned to leave.

Master Li wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only heave a helpless sigh.

"Third Master, oh Third Master, I fear you have made another disastrous move this time!"