Li Huai's Secret

For some people, reasoning with them is clearly less effective than using your fists.

The merchants of Yongle District were exactly these kinds of people.

Having learned from the previous example, they dared not utter another word of complaint and obediently agreed to the demand of fifty taels for the protection fee.

As for Su Xin's final remark about strictly punishing any gang members who extorted or fleeced the merchants, many of the merchants secretly curled their lips in disdain.

It would be a miracle if a dog could stop eating dung.

After dismissing the merchants, Su Xin estimated the protection fees he could collect; it could reach as high as sixty thousand taels!

With over a thousand merchants in Yongle District, even excluding those whose scale was too small to pay, the resulting revenue was more than enough.

When the Green Bamboo Gang was in charge, those fellows were truly ruthless bloodsuckers; they would even have the gall to collect a few coppers from a simple breakfast stall.

However, after Su Xin took control of Yongle District, he had Huang Bingcheng abolish all those petty rules.

Su Xin was too proud to stoop to extorting a few coppers from the miserable common folk.

"Old Huang, call all the old brothers over. Now that we have so many men under our command, it's time to send some out to manage things."

Su Xin's subordinates had now exceeded a thousand; while he wasn't a Great Leader, he had more men than some of them, so he had to promote some grassroots managers.

The two hundred or so gang members who had followed Su Xin from the beginning arrived, their eyes filled with excitement.

They had clearly already heard the news and knew their boss wanted to promote his men.

"Before we took Yongle District, I told you all: if you want to eat meat and enjoy wealth, you have to risk your lives for it!

You fought well in this battle, and now it is time to reap the rewards.

Starting today, I will promote ten men to the rank of Centurion, each in charge of a hundred men, and each Centurion will have ten Decurions under them to manage ten men each."

In truth, the titles of Centurion and Decurion that Su Xin was using were military terms—a hundred men to a century, ten men to a decade.

For a gang leader to use military ranks was a bit incongruous, but there was no other way.

Su Xin's own status was only that of a Small Leader; if he promoted his subordinates to Small Leaders as well, wouldn't that throw the hierarchy into chaos?

However, the gang members below didn't care about titles, so long as they had actual authority.

According to Su Xin's distribution, more than half of them would be promoted to Centurions or Decurions.

Huang Bingcheng looked at Su Xin with eager eyes; the subordinates had all been given positions, so surely it was his turn now?

Su Xin continued as expected: "The logistics of the hall and the promotions below the rank of Centurion will be handled by Huang Bingcheng, while Li Huai will be in charge of discipline.

The rules of Happy Forest apply equally to Yongle District. You are all old hands who have followed me, Su Xin, and I trust you won't make such low-level mistakes. With you keeping the newcomers in line, I can rest easy."

The gang members below felt a sudden chill; they hadn't forgotten the dozens of strokes Su Xin had dealt out back in Happy Forest.

Compared to the ten taels of silver in monthly pay Su Xin provided, what did it matter if they took a little less advantage of the merchants?

No one was a fool; even these gang members who couldn't read a single character wouldn't do something as stupid as losing the big picture for a small gain.

Besides, the one in charge of discipline was Li Huai, that dark-faced god.

Back in Happy Forest, they had been trained in combat by Li Huai until they were left with psychological trauma.

This man was not one to be trifled with; one could only imagine the fate of those who fell into his hands.

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Old Huang, come up and announce the selections for Centurions and Decurions." Su Xin waved his hand, and Huang Bingcheng trotted up to begin the announcements.

The candidates for Centurions had already been decided by Su Xin and Huang Bingcheng beforehand.

A real life-and-death struggle reveals many things; who had the strength and who had the talent could be clearly seen.

These ten men were the ones who had performed the most brilliantly in that battle.

Among the ten was Li Qing, whom Su Xin intended to groom.

Li Qing's strength might not rank in the top three among the many gang members, but he was clever and loyal. Su Xin was happy to cultivate such a person.

As for the remaining Decurions, Su Xin did not interfere, leaving it entirely to Huang Bingcheng.

Su Xin never intended to hoard all the grassroots matters in his own hands; not only would he be too busy, but it would also make him appear petty.

Huang Bingcheng had been doing a great job lately, and this authority was well-deserved.

After the distribution of power was complete, Su Xin announced loudly: "To celebrate our conquest of Yongle District, I have booked the Drunken Moon Pavilion in Happy Forest for today. All expenses will be covered by the hall; you all just need to have a good time!"

"Thank you, Boss!"

The gang members below erupted in excitement, cheering loudly.

The Drunken Moon Pavilion in Happy Forest was a place they could only look up to before; they couldn't afford to spend money in a money-pit of that caliber.

Even with the ten taels of monthly pay Su Xin gave them later, that amount would at most buy a pot of good wine at the Drunken Moon Pavilion, and they wouldn't even get to touch a girl's hand.

In the past, those who couldn't hold onto their money would at most visit a small brothel to satisfy their cravings after payday. They never expected to visit the Drunken Moon Pavilion today; it was a life experience they wouldn't soon forget.

Huang Bingcheng pulled Su Xin aside and whispered: "Boss, booking the Drunken Moon Pavilion for a day costs at least several thousand taels of silver. Isn't this a bit too wasteful?"

He was now in charge of the hall's finances, and having been poor for so long, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pain seeing Su Xin spend money like water.

Su Xin laughed and said: "Don't worry, it won't cost us a single cent. This is a voluntary sponsorship from Boss Liu of the Drunken Moon Pavilion."

"He has such a kind heart?" Huang Bingcheng asked, puzzled.

These merchants are all stingy misers who would act as if you were slaughtering their entire families if you tried to collect fifty taels of protection money from them, yet now they are willing to let them visit a brothel for free?

"Don't underestimate these merchants. How many people who can build such a fortune from scratch are fools? This Boss Liu is a smart man." A playful smile tugged at the corners of Su Xin's mouth.

Boss Liu had come to Su Xin personally yesterday to propose this, yet he hadn't asked for any promises in return.

Since they were both smart men, Su Xin could roughly guess Boss Liu's intentions; he likely wanted to open a branch of the Drunken Moon Pavilion in the Yongle District.

Money pits like brothels never win by quantity; they rely on quality.

The Drunken Moon Pavilion was once the largest brothel in Changning Prefecture, and with some of Su Xin's suggestions, its quality went without saying.

However, if he wanted to open in the Yongle District, it would inevitably draw the hostility of the many peers in the area, who might even trip him up in the shadows.

After all, no one likes having someone else come to snatch food from their own bowl.

This was where Boss Liu would need to rely on Su Xin. With such a favor owed, if Boss Liu ever encountered any trouble, it would be a matter of a single word from Su Xin.

From a long-term perspective, spending a large sum of money to curry favor with Su Xin was absolutely worth it.

At this moment, the gang members below were howling as they ran toward the Happy Forest, fearing that if they went too late, they wouldn't be able to snag the pretty girls. Su Xin, however, had no intention of going along and prepared to head straight home.

It wasn't that Su Xin had no interest in women, but his standards in that regard were extremely high.

In his past life, he wasn't exactly short on money, but he had never spent it to satisfy his physiological needs.

Even if he went to a nightclub to pick up a girl for a casual fling, he would still decide based on her looks.

Moreover, now that he was in the pugilistic world, Su Xin preferred to pour his time into cultivation.

But just as he turned around, he saw that Li Huai was also not following the crowd.

"Why aren't you going to have some fun with the others? If you go to the Drunken Moon Pavilion, Boss Liu will surely arrange for their top girl to serve you," Su Xin said half-jokingly.

"Apologies, Boss, I'm a bit tired." Li Huai's expression was poor; after saying this, he turned and left.

Su Xin frowned, feeling a bit surprised.

Li Huai's current state was strange. While he was usually cold and taciturn, that was just his personality, but now it was clear that Li Huai was in a very bad mood.

Grabbing Huang Bingcheng, who was about to rush toward the Happy Forest, Su Xin asked, "What's wrong with Li Huai lately? Did something happen? Why does he seem so preoccupied?"

Huang Bingcheng scratched his head, puzzled. "Nothing, he's been perfectly normal these past few days."

As he said this, Huang Bingcheng suddenly thought of something and whispered, "I think I know the reason. Today's event probably touched a sore spot for Li Huai."

"What sore spot? Stop beating around the bush."

Huang Bingcheng pulled Su Xin into a corner before saying, "I heard it from others. When Li Huai was fighting someone in the past, he suffered an injury to his lower parts, which left him unable to... you know."

"Although he was always a loner, he wasn't like this before. Once a fight starts, he acts like a madman, bloodthirsty and battle-hungry. He only became like this after that incident. Even though he wasn't interested in women to begin with, it's no wonder he'd go crazy after something like that happens to a man. Li Huai is actually handling it well, all things considered."

"Alright, go have your fun," Su Xin said.

"Aren't you coming, Boss?"

Su Xin shook his head. Huang Bingcheng's gaze drifted furtively toward Su Xin's crotch—could it be that the Boss was the same?

"What are you looking at? Get lost!" Su Xin kicked Huang Bingcheng away with a laugh, but as he dismissed him, he suddenly thought of something.

Pushing open the door to the single room in the hall, he found Li Huai sitting on the bed, meditating.

Seeing Su Xin enter, Li Huai said, "Boss, you guys go have fun. I have no interest in women. I'd rather spend the time cultivating here; I feel like I'm about to break through to the thirtieth acupoint."

Su Xin didn't speak, simply handing a book to Li Huai.

"I think this sword manual is more suitable for you."

There were only four large characters on the cover: Evil-Warding Sword Manual!

Su Xin said nothing more and turned to leave.

Although the injury was a heavy blow to Li Huai, it hadn't destroyed him, so Su Xin didn't offer comfort—besides, such things couldn't be comforted away.

The fact that Li Huai could transform such pain into a craving for martial arts and a frenzied fighting spirit proved that he was not a weak-willed person.

Compared to Lin Pingzhi, Li Huai was far more suited to possess this Evil-Warding Sword Manual.