The outcome of the battle between the Flying Eagle Gang and the Green Bamboo Gang was clear. The Green Bamboo Gang had been crippled and no longer had the standing to challenge the Flying Eagle Gang. Within the gang, some celebrated while others fretted.
Naturally, Sha Feiying and the others were delighted. They had taken a district and a half in one fell swoop—enough for the Flying Eagle Gang to digest for some time.
As for who was worried, that was Third Master Hu.
When it came to Su Xin, his adopted son, Third Master Hu no longer had any confidence that he could keep him in check.
In terms of personal strength, Su Xin had already proven himself by assassinating Dai Chong.
And the strength he had displayed in his fight with Luo Zhen of the Green Bamboo Gang had left an old hand like Third Master Hu, who had spent years in Changning Prefecture, secretly alarmed.
They knew Luo Zhen's background quite well. He had learned real martial arts, and was far beyond the likes of them, those half-baked martial artists.
Had Luo Zhen not been older when he began studying martial arts, limiting his achievements, a small temple like the Green Bamboo Gang would never have been able to accommodate a great god like him.
Su Xin's victory over Luo Zhen in a fair fight was proof enough of his strength.
As for the forces under his command, his nearly two hundred men had all learned internal martial arts and combat skills. They were almost on par with the War Hall's disciples. What was more, he now had over a thousand ordinary gang members under him.
It was precisely because he feared Su Xin's strength that, after learning Tang Taihe had been crippled, Third Master Hu had swallowed his anger and pretended not to know.
But today, he was so furious that he smashed a cup.
"What the hell does that brat think he's doing?! Does he have no regard for rank or seniority? I'm his adopted father! I'm his boss! Does he still want to stay in the Flying Eagle Gang or not?!"
Third Master Hu roared in fury, his face so twisted it looked as if he were about to devour someone.
Master Li, standing beside him, gave a soft sigh. He didn't know what to say.
Su Xin's stunt yesterday had nearly given Third Master Hu a heart attack.
The matter itself was simple. After Su Xin had made an example of one merchant to cow the others in Yongle District, they had promptly caved and paid all their monthly dues within three days.
Su Xin counted it up: a full sixty thousand taels of silver. It was an astonishing sum.
By rights, two tenths of the money should have gone to Third Master Hu first, and he should then have taken two tenths of that share and handed it over to the gang.
But Su Xin had all but fallen out with Third Master Hu. Why should he still eagerly deliver silver to him?
So he handed over only what the gang was owed. He didn't even mention the share that should have gone to Third Master Hu.
Zhuang Li, the head of the Charity Hall, was in charge of the money. After receiving the dues, he told Third Master Hu about it, and Third Master Hu was so furious that he smashed his cup on the spot.
Su Xin had gone over his head and paid the dues directly to the gang. That was a clear declaration that he had no regard for his adopted father. How could Third Master Hu not be furious?
"Ungrateful wretch! If I'd known it would come to this, I should've slapped him dead back then!" Third Master Hu snarled.
He truly regretted it now. He regretted listening to Su Xin's goading back then. Not only had he failed to punish him, he had even taken him as an adopted son. Now Su Xin had grown into a force too powerful to shake off.
Su Xin had said Chen Dao coveted his position. Third Master Hu knew that was true. Even if Su Xin hadn't killed Chen Dao, Third Master Hu would still have found an opportunity to get rid of him for the sake of his own position.
Third Master Hu had planned to stay on for another ten years before retiring, then put Su Xin in his place and play the emperor behind the scenes.
But despite all his calculations, he had gotten one thing wrong: Su Xin wasn't Chen Dao!
It had taken Chen Dao twenty years to make him feel threatened, but Su Xin had needed less than three months to reach a position where he could stand against him—or even surpass him!
Third Master Hu didn't want to retire yet. He still wanted to remain a chief. So Su Xin had to be eliminated!
"Third Master, please calm down. Su Xin has already given the money to the gang. No matter how angry you get, it won't change anything."
Master Li tried to soothe him, but inwardly he let out a deep sigh.
Third Master Hu was truly old now.
In the past, Third Master Hu had been gloomy and calculating, with a deep reserve of cunning. He had nearly mastered the art of keeping his emotions off his face. He had never been like this, so easily thrown into a rage by a single piece of news about Su Xin.
Among the thirteen chiefs, Third Master Hu wasn't the strongest, but he was the cleverest. He alone had gone out of his way to recruit Master Li, a failed candidate in the imperial examinations, as his strategist.
But sadly, after a lifetime of brilliance, Third Master Hu had stumbled badly over Su Xin.
If he had continued to support Su Xin, then even after Su Xin rose to power, Su Xin would still have respected him. Otherwise, Su Xin's glorious reputation in the Flying Eagle Gang would turn into infamy.
At the very least, if Third Master Hu had simply kept silent, neither supporting nor suppressing Su Xin, Su Xin would have remembered their bond.
After all, in the beginning, Su Xin had relied on Third Master Hu's name to establish himself in the Flying Eagle Gang.
But now Third Master Hu was making little moves behind the scenes. The last gang assembly had been one thing, but this time Tang Taihe had provoked Su Xin and been crippled. Word had spread throughout the entire Flying Eagle Gang. Anyone with half a brain could guess what had happened.
Master Li had tried to advise Third Master Hu several times, but after years as one of the Flying Eagle Gang's decision-makers, Third Master Hu was no longer as calculating as he had been in his youth. He had grown somewhat stubborn and self-willed.
In the past, the two of them could discuss things together. But in recent years, Master Li could only offer advice; whether to take it was entirely up to Third Master Hu.
Clearly, when it came to Su Xin, Third Master Hu had rejected all of Master Li's advice.
After smashing several more cups, Third Master Hu finally calmed down.
"Master Li, what if I suggested to the gang leader that Su Xin's territory be taken back by the gang? He now controls Yongle District and Happy Forest. His territory is greater than that of three chiefs combined!" Third Master Hu said coldly.
Master Li hurriedly shook his head. "Third Master, you mustn't do that. The gang leader won't agree.
"Merit earned in battle is our Flying Eagle Gang's guiding principle. If we change that, the whole gang will be thrown into chaos."
Merit in battle above all else—that was the Flying Eagle Gang's core principle.
Whoever conquered a territory owned it. If even that couldn't be guaranteed, how disheartened would the gang members be?
Changning Prefecture had the Three Gangs and Four Associations. The Flying Eagle Gang wasn't the only tree they could hang themselves from. If they opened this door, by the next day, half the gang members would be disheartened and switch to another faction.
"Third Master, why don't we stop fighting Su Xin? We won't gain anything, and we'll only make ourselves a laughingstock," Master Li suggested cautiously.
Third Master Hu said coldly, "No! If I can't make Su Xin submit, where does that leave my dignity?
"Zhuang Li told me Su Xin had gone over my head and given the dues to the gang. If he told me, then others can find out too.
"I know those fellows all too well. They're surely laughing behind my back, thinking I took in two adopted sons and raised them both into trouble!"
Master Li was just about to say something when someone came in to report, "Third Master, Chief Hou Tong is here to see you."
"What's he here for?"
Both Master Li and Third Master Hu frowned, their expressions sour.
Of the Flying Eagle Gang's thirteen chiefs, Third Master Hu didn't have anyone he was particularly close to. But if there was anyone he got along badly with, it was definitely Hou Tong.
In fact, nobody in the Flying Eagle Gang liked Hou Tong.
As a chief of the Flying Eagle Gang, Hou Tong held a high position, but he had one awful habit: he was a compulsive gambler.
Hou Tong had no sense of sportsmanship when gambling. Once he lost, he became like a gambler whose eyes had gone red with blood; he wouldn't stop until he won it back.
The Flying Eagle Gang's chiefs all had decent incomes. Su Xin's earnings from Yongle District alone came to over three hundred thousand taels.
Hou Tong controlled only a quarter of Changping District. Though he charged lower dues than Su Xin, he still brought in tens of thousands of taels a month.
After handing over what was owed to the gang and paying his men, he had enough left to live quite comfortably.
But Hou Tong insisted on gambling away that money. On top of that, his luck was always terrible, and he'd lose it all in a matter of days.
Once he ran out of silver, Hou Tong would start refusing to pay his gambling debts, until even the gambling house owners no longer wanted his business.
When he was truly broke, he would start borrowing money from Third Master Hu and the other chiefs. And, of course, he never paid any of it back.
Before long, Hou Tong's reputation was utterly ruined. No one would lend him money, and he could only scrape a little together from others by pestering them relentlessly.
Third Master Hu naturally wanted nothing to do with someone like him. He was just about to tell his men to say he wasn't in when a loud, resonant voice came from the courtyard.
"Hahaha! Old Hu, I heard your new adopted son got the better of you! He paid his monthly dues straight to the gang and didn't give you the time of day. Is that true?"
A middle-aged man who looked a little younger than Third Master Hu walked straight into the room without waiting to be announced, laughing as he mocked him without the slightest restraint.
Looking at Hou Tong, who had come in without being announced, Third Master Hu said coldly, "What are you here for?"
Hou Tong toyed with the teacup on the table and drawled, "To borrow a little money, of course. Don't worry, once I win it back, I'll repay you double."
Third Master Hu sneered. "You've said that at least ten times already. Stop dreaming. I don't have a single coin to spare."
Third Master Hu was already annoyed by what Hou Tong had said earlier.
The guy had come to borrow money, yet the moment he walked in, he'd mocked him. He was lucky Third Master Hu hadn't thrown him out on the spot. And now he still wanted to borrow money?
Hou Tong chuckled. "Old Hu, don't rush me. This time, I'm not asking for a handout. How about this: I'll help you with something, and you lend me some money?"
"What could you possibly help me with?" Third Master Hu asked, eyeing this chief, who ranked near the bottom, with disdain.
A smile tugged at the corner of Hou Tong's mouth. "Something big. Like helping you deal with that disobedient adopted son of yours, Su Xin!"
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