Causing Trouble

"What do you mean by that?" Third Master Hu stared coldly at Hou Tong, squeezing the words through his teeth.

Hou Tong chuckled. "Old Third Hu, stop putting on an act. Everyone knows about the mess between you and Su Xin. Now that the kid is handing his earnings directly to the gang, he's clearly slapping you in the face. Can you really just sit there and take it?

"Regardless of the details, he is your godson, and you were the one who acted dishonorably first. If you try to use your reputation as his godfather to suppress him, your own standing in the Flying Eagle Gang will start to stink.

"If you give me a sum of money, I'll handle the brat for you. I guarantee I'll have him whipped into shape. I'm not afraid of people calling me a bully—I've already lost my shame, but you, Third Master Hu, still have a reputation to maintain."

Third Master Hu remained silent for a long moment before finally saying, "One price: fifty thousand taels of silver."

"Heh, deal!" Hou Tong clapped his hands, looking extremely satisfied.

"How do you intend to do it?"

Hou Tong swayed as he walked away. "Don't you worry about that. One way or another, I'll make sure that kid has a miserable time."

Watching Hou Tong leave, Master Li said worriedly, "Will Hou Tong mess this up? He doesn't seem like a reliable man."

Third Master Hu said in a deep voice, "Don't worry. Hou Tong is a degenerate gambler, but he isn't truly stupid. Since he dared to come and negotiate terms with me, he must have his own plan.

"A man who is a terrible gambler, weak in strength, and yet stupid could never have held the position of a Chief for so many years."

Seeing Third Master Hu so certain, Master Li didn't say anything more, though a flicker of unreadable intent flashed in his eyes.

At this time, inside the Happy Forest hall, Su Xin had handed everything over to Huang Bingcheng to manage, while he retreated alone to his home for closed-door cultivation.

After his battle with Luo Zhen, he had gained much experience, and his cultivation speed had even accelerated significantly. In these two days, he had broken through five acupoints in one go, bringing his total to fifty-one. The middle stage of the Houtian Realm was within reach.

After breaking through the five acupoints, Su Xin didn't continue his rigid seclusion; instead, he sought out Li Huai, wanting to spar with him.

"How is your progress with the Evil-Warding Sword Technique?" Su Xin noticed that the twin short swords at Li Huai's waist had been replaced by a long sword; clearly, his mastery of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique had at least reached the entry level.

After practicing the Evil-Warding Sword Technique, Li Huai appeared much more reserved than before, no longer radiating that icy, piercing aura.

Yet, precisely because of this, it was proof that Li Huai was more than a notch stronger than before.

A restrained aura—the less a person shows, the more terrifying they truly are.

"This sword technique is simple, yet bizarre and ruthless. It pushes the evil path of swordsmanship to its absolute limit. I've been practicing for a few days and have barely scratched the surface, but I always feel like something is missing," Li Huai said.

Su Xin was surprised to hear Li Huai's assessment. Since the Evil-Warding Sword Technique was originally a fragment of the Sunflower Manual, the fact that Li Huai could perceive this showed his talent for martial arts was truly exceptional.

"Your intuition is correct. This sword technique was indeed separated from an incredibly powerful manual. Come, let's exchange a few moves." Su Xin remained very curious about the Evil-Warding Sword Technique.

Li Huai nodded and drew his long sword. His figure moved like a ghost, swift and agile, reaching Su Xin in an instant!

The biting cold light of the blade made it impossible to tell where the strike was coming from; it was truly bizarre to the extreme.

But just then, Su Xin flicked his finger. With a crisp clang, Li Huai's sword was sent flying by Su Xin's strike.

Changing his stance, Li Huai appeared behind Su Xin in a blink, but Su Xin turned around and extended a finger again, knocking Li Huai's sword away once more.

Sheathing his long sword, Li Huai shook his head. "My sword is still too slow, and my strength is too weak. I couldn't even force you to draw your weapon."

Shaking his slightly numb finger, Su Xin said, "I have already opened over fifty acupoints, so my strength is naturally much greater than yours. You don't need to rush; internal energy cultivation must be gradual. You will reach this realm sooner or later.

"Also, let me correct you: your sword is not slow; it is simply that my reaction is faster.

"Although the Evil-Warding Sword Technique is a sword style, its most important aspect is actually its ghost-like footwork.

"As long as your speed exceeds the opponent's striking speed, you can leave them without even a chance to draw their blade."

Su Xin was able to flick away Li Huai's sword because his speed of movement was faster than Li Huai's.

Compared to Jing Wuming's fast sword, one focused on the speed of footwork, while the other focused on the speed of the strike itself.

Seeing the Evil-Warding Sword Technique Li Huai had cultivated, Su Xin gained a general understanding of the martial art.

Born from the Sunflower Manual, the essence of the Evil-Warding Sword Technique could be summed up in one word: Fast.

The Evil-Warding Sword Technique prioritized "speed" to ensure the opponent could not see any openings and had no chance to counterattack. Or, it was so fast that even if the opponent spotted a flaw in the move, they would have no time to retaliate before the opening vanished.

To break the Evil-Warding Sword Technique, one must either have an internal cultivation level that completely crushes the opponent, or, like Su Xin, possess a striking speed faster than theirs.

Just as Li Huai and Su Xin were exchanging pointers, Huang Bingcheng hurried over to report: "Boss, there's trouble. Boss Sun from the Longqing Casino is waiting outside."

"Longqing Casino?" Su Xin thought for a moment; he still had some impression of that place.

After he had crippled Boss Huang of the original Shunde Casino, Boss Sun of the Longqing Casino had seized the opportunity to rise, becoming the largest casino in Happy Forest. He was a smart man.

"Old Huang, what exactly is going on?" Su Xin asked.

Huang Bingcheng looked distressed. "Boss Sun says someone is causing trouble in his casino. They've lost hundreds of thousands of taels, but they won't pay a single cent."

"Who is causing the trouble?"

Seeing Huang Bingcheng's expression, Su Xin knew this person was definitely not someone to be trifled with; otherwise, Huang Bingcheng would have handled it himself without needing to disturb him.

"One of the Chiefs, Hou Tong."

"Hou Tong? Why would he come to Happy Forest?" Su Xin frowned immediately.

Regarding the upper echelons of the Flying Eagle Gang, Su Xin had long ago ordered Huang Bingcheng to investigate them specifically, so he naturally had a deep impression of the degenerate gambler Hou Tong.

However, Hou Tong was usually sensible, sticking to his own territory to cause trouble. Why had he come to Happy Forest today?

"Let's go, follow me to take a look." Su Xin walked out of the hall with Huang Bingcheng, while Li Huai followed silently behind.

Outside the hall, as soon as Boss Sun saw Su Xin emerge, he immediately wailed, "Boss Su, if Hou Tong keeps playing like this, my Longqing Casino is going to go completely bankrupt."

"If he lost silver and didn't pay, that would be one thing; I could just write off the loss. But whenever he wins, he hands the money to his men, and whenever he loses, he demands credit. Isn't it obvious he's just being a rogue?"

"Enough, stop wailing and come with me to take a look," Su Xin scolded.

Boss Sun followed behind Su Xin with his head bowed. In truth, he hadn't held much hope when he came to find Su Xin.

Hou Tong was a veteran of the Flying Eagle Gang and one of its thirteen Great Leaders, while Su Xin, despite his rising reputation, was still only a minor leader.

Although Su Xin had promised that as long as he collected protection money, he would look after them, would that promise still hold weight when facing a Great Leader of the Flying Eagle Gang?

At this moment inside Longqing Casino, all the gamblers had been driven away by Hou Tong and his men. The vast casino was empty, save for him alone, shaking dice against the house.

He would shake, and the casino staff would guess—the simplest game of Big or Small. Even if Hou Tong had the worst luck, he would still win two or three out of every ten rounds.

Every time he won, he tossed the silver to his subordinates behind him; when he lost, he demanded the casino put it on his tab.

"Five, five, four! Fourteen points, Big! Hahaha! I've won again!"

Hou Tong laughed loudly and slammed down the dice cup. "Don't dawdle, hurry up and bring the money over."

"Leader Hou, you've won thirty thousand taels of silver in this short time. You've taken every cent of our casino's liquid cash; we really don't have any left! How about we deduct it from the tab you owe us?" The manager of the casino was on the verge of tears; he had never seen anyone bully people like this.

Hou Tong gave a cold, mocking smile. "The money I owe is one thing, and the money I win is another. I'll pay back the tab another day, but if you dare refuse to pay the money I've won, I'll tear this shop of yours down right now!"

"Great Leader Hou, your prestige is so grand that the Changping District can no longer contain you, and now you've come to Happy Forest to tear down my shop."

Seeing Hou Tong's behavior, Su Xin knew he had definitely come with ill intent.

Hou Tong was doing this entirely to target him; Boss Sun's casino was merely suffering the fate of the fish caught in a fire at the city gate.

"You have no respect for your superiors!"

Hou Tong's expression turned icy. "In terms of status, I am of the same generation as your foster father, Third Master Hu. In terms of rank, I am a Great Leader of the gang, while you are merely a minor leader."

"You don't even offer a greeting when we meet. Do you still have any regard for your foster father or the Flying Eagle Gang?"

Hou Tong's tone was aggressive and overbearing, but Su Xin merely replied with an expressionless face, "Great Leader Hou, the hierarchy of status is not decided by your words alone. Stop beating around the bush—what exactly do you want?"

Seeing Su Xin so calm, Hou Tong was actually surprised.

According to his understanding, this young man, Su Xin, was arrogant and proud, daring to cripple Tang Taihe, a trusted aide of Third Master Hu, over a single disagreement.

Now that Su Xin was this calm, Hou Tong felt something was off.

"I came here to gamble, but when I win, the casino refuses to pay. This is your territory, Su Xin. Why don't you cover the cost?"

"How much money?" Su Xin's expression remained calm.

"One hundred thousand taels!" Hou Tong held up a single finger.

The casino manager immediately shouted, "How could it be one hundred thousand taels? The maximum bet per round of dice is only one thousand taels!"

"I say it's one hundred thousand, so it's one hundred thousand! Do you even have the right to speak here? Slap his mouth!"

Hou Tong let out a cold snort, and his subordinates immediately dragged the casino manager over, landing several slaps across his face that instantly left his mouth bleeding.

"Well? Are you going to pay this one hundred thousand taels or not?" Hou Tong sat on the chair with a swaggering air, looking completely unconcerned and fearless.