Outside Drunken Moon Pavilion, Su Xin looked up at the magnificent building, with its carved beams and painted rafters adorned in gold leaf, and clicked his tongue in admiration.
Compared to the slums of Joyful District, this place was practically another world.
"Stop! The Flying Eagle Gang has booked this place. Go find somewhere else to have fun." When he saw Su Xin heading into Drunken Moon Pavilion, a young member of the Flying Eagle Gang hurried to block his way.
"I'm here to see Liu Sandao," Su Xin said.
"Impudent! You think you can just call Third Brother by his name?"
The gang member barked at him, but then cold sweat began streaming down his face.
Su Xin's ridiculous Iron Sheet Sword had somehow ended up at his throat!
"Can I go in now?"
The gang member nodded hurriedly, afraid Su Xin might slip and give him a sword through the throat.
Slowly drawing back his sword, Su Xin said calmly, "Keep your head down. You're nothing but a minor leader. What's with all the airs and grand displays? Who are you trying to scare?"
Inside Drunken Moon Pavilion, Liu Sandao had put on an even greater show of force than Su Xin had expected.
Since becoming a minor leader, Liu Sandao had gathered sixty or seventy gang members under him. They were all assembled in the pavilion now, glaring at Su Xin.
"Tsk, Liu Sandao. Looks like you're enjoying that seat of yours. Quite the grand display."
The Flying Eagle Gang members couldn't help looking toward Liu Sandao.
Everyone had heard how he'd betrayed his own brothers to become a minor leader. Now the wronged party had come knocking, and they wanted to see what Liu Sandao would say.
After all, those who roamed the jianghu lived by the two words: loyalty and honor.
What Liu Sandao had done was utterly despicable.
But they had clearly underestimated just how shameless he was.
Facing Su Xin's accusation, Liu Sandao replied as if it were only natural, "Su Xin, don't blame me. I'm better suited to this position than you are. You're young and can't command respect, while I've been in the Flying Eagle Gang for over ten years and have countless brothers under me.
"Besides, I plotted for this position for so long, and you came along and tried to snatch it away as soon as you showed up. Don't blame me for being ruthless! Loyalty and honor? That's just something people tell children!"
Chen Dao, standing behind Liu Sandao, drawled lazily, "If you're going to kill him, then kill him. Why waste your breath?"
"Brother Chen, how about I have my men test him first, then you can step in?" Liu Sandao asked quietly.
"Test him, my ass! I'm only doing this for your five hundred taels of silver. It's already shameful enough for me to fight a young man. If I have to take turns with him, what will that do to my reputation? You think I'm you, Liu Sandao, willing to throw away even my dignity?"
Chen Dao's words turned Liu Sandao's face red, then white, but he didn't dare say a thing.
"Kid, don't blame me when you die. I'm just taking money to settle someone else's trouble. Blame your bad luck for running into me."
Chen Dao rose and flexed his hands. Under the lamplight, his iron palms gleamed with a dark, metallic sheen.
"Is that so? I'd say you're the unlucky one."
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Su Xin's mouth. The next moment, his sword flashed out!
The rust-covered Iron Sheet Sword shot forward at incredible speed and from an impossibly tricky angle, leaving Chen Dao horrified.
After seeing Lao Wu's injuries, he'd thought he understood Su Xin's strength. But when Su Xin's sword came thrusting at him, Chen Dao realized just how badly he'd underestimated him!
At the brink of life and death, Chen Dao's instincts, honed through more than a decade of martial arts and bloodshed, proved crucial.
Just as Su Xin's sword was about to pierce his throat, Chen Dao's right foot slammed down. The bluestone floor cracked beneath it, forcing his body to tilt to the right. The blade swept past his neck.
With a ringing clang, Chen Dao seized the blade in his hands.
His hands instantly turned jet black, shining with a metallic sheen.
Iron Sand Palm, cultivated to its peak, could shatter metal and split stone. An Iron Sheet Sword wasn't enough to hurt him.
Chen Dao let out a long breath, a smile touching his lips. "What a fast, vicious sword! But your strength is still too—"
His words abruptly cut off. It wasn't that he didn't want to finish speaking; Su Xin had pierced his throat!
A chopstick was lodged in Chen Dao's throat—a plain bamboo chopstick that Su Xin had casually pocketed while eating soup dumplings earlier.
Jin Wuming's sword was a left-handed sword, its angles tricky and vicious.
But what he was truly best at was the right-handed sword!
Su Xin had just used his right hand to drive the chopstick into Chen Dao's throat. No one present had even reacted.
Common sense told them that a swordsman who deliberately trained with his left hand wouldn't bother training with his right. But Jin Wuming was an exception, and so was Su Xin, who had learned his swordsmanship.
Liu Sandao stared at Su Xin in disbelief.
Chen Dao was dead? Chen Dao, far stronger than an ordinary minor leader, had been killed by Su Xin in just two moves?
As Su Xin walked toward him, Liu Sandao immediately hurled one of the gang members beside him at Su Xin, then turned and ran.
The gang member froze in shock. By the time he came to his senses, Liu Sandao had already shoved him right in front of Su Xin!
The man cursed Liu Sandao inwardly for what he'd done, but could only watch helplessly as he collided with Su Xin, the god of death.
"Selling out your own brothers at the crucial moment. Liu Sandao, this really is what you're best at."
Su Xin took a single step, moving with astonishing speed. He instantly dodged the gang member and hurled his sword, pinning Liu Sandao to the ground.
Though he had only a wisp of inner energy, his strength and speed had both increased by more than ten percent. Liu Sandao had no chance of outrunning him. Trying was practically asking to die.
Su Xin walked slowly up to Liu Sandao and pulled his sword from the man's body. Then he turned to the others and said, "Liu Sandao is dead. This place is mine now. Who agrees, and who objects?"
Under Su Xin's gaze, the Flying Eagle Gang members present all felt a chill run down their spines.
"Su Xin! You've got some nerve! Chen Dao was Third Master Hu's sworn son, and the gang leader personally appointed Third Brother as a minor leader. You dared to kill them both in public—you treat the gang rules like they don't exist! Just wait for your punishment!" A burly man jumped out and berated Su Xin.
Though he spoke with righteous indignation, his legs were still trembling. He hoped to scare Su Xin into submission with the gang rules.
"That's right! Even if Third Brother did something wrong, the gang rules should deal with him. Since when do you get to take matters into your own hands, Su Xin?"
"And you killed Chen Dao, Third Master Hu's sworn son. You're as good as dead tomorrow!"
Two more men jumped out. For a moment, they even seemed to have a bold, righteous air about them.
"Oh, it's Boss Sun and the others. So you five brothers really were as close as flesh and blood to Liu Sandao. Fine, then. You can go keep him company today."
Su Xin's sword shot out again, its gleam slicing across Boss Sun's throat and spraying a string of blood.
The other two shrieked and immediately ran for the door.
Su Xin's steps were light, but his stride was immense. He caught up to them in just two or three steps and dispatched each with a single sword stroke.
The five of them had once sworn brotherhood and followed Liu Sandao. Now Su Xin had killed four of them. The last was Lao Si, who had carried Lao Wu's body over to report the news.
He alone hadn't dared to stand up and challenge Su Xin. The sword that had killed Lao Wu had already scared him witless!
When Su Xin's gaze fell on him, Lao Si dropped to his knees with a thump. Tears and snot streaming down his face, he wailed, "Lord Su Xin, I know I was wrong! I really do! Boss Sun and Liu Sandao were the ones who decided to sell you out. I was forced into it! They're all dead now, so please spare me!"
"Come on, a man should be loyal. You're talking like this, and your four sworn brothers would be heartbroken. You'd better go down and keep them company yourself."
The Iron Sheet Sword thrust out. Lao Si couldn't even manage to clutch his throat as he crumpled to the ground, terror in his eyes.
"Anyone else object?" Su Xin asked with a faint smile as he withdrew his sword.
The more than sixty gang members shuddered and hurriedly answered in unison, "Greetings, Boss Su!"
Killing people wasn't frightening. They'd all had blood on their hands too. What frightened them was the madness radiating from Su Xin!
He dared to kill Liu Sandao. He even dared to kill Chen Dao, Third Master Hu's sworn son.
He'd killed Boss Sun and his brothers, and even after Lao Si begged for mercy, he still didn't spare him. Killing people was as easy for him as slaughtering chickens!
In the eyes of these gang members, he was a madman—a completely unrestrained madman!
"Ding! Host has successfully killed Liu Sandao. Quest completion: fifty percent. Please keep trying." The system's voice sounded in Su Xin's mind.
Su Xin froze. "I killed Liu Sandao, and the gang members present may not respect me, but at least they've accepted me. How can the quest still be incomplete?"
The system replied, "The quest details are to kill Liu Sandao and become a minor leader of the Flying Eagle Gang. You gained your current position by killing people, and the Flying Eagle Gang's higher-ups haven't recognized you. It's therefore illegitimate and doesn't count as completing the quest."
Su Xin felt a pang of frustration. The quest had sounded simple, but this was where the real difficulty lay.
"Get a few people over here to clean up the bodies." Su Xin sat in the seat Liu Sandao had occupied.
One of the gang members promptly stepped forward and barked, "What are you all standing around for? Didn't you hear Boss Su? Clean up all the bodies, and scrub the blood off the floor!"
The man looked to be around thirty, with a shifty, rat-faced look. He was the same gang member Liu Sandao had thrown at Su Xin earlier.
Su Xin looked at him with interest.
He'd just killed several people, and the Flying Eagle Gang members were all terrified of him. Yet this man still dared to step forward and curry favor with him.
"What's your name?"
"This humble one is Huang Bingcheng. To be honest, I've never liked Liu Sandao's ways. He climbed the ranks by selling out his brothers, and then he turned on his own men at the crucial moment. What a piece of trash!" Huang Bingcheng spat at Liu Sandao's corpse, looking as if he shared a deep, personal grudge with the dead man.
Su Xin waved a hand casually. "All right. From now on, when I'm not around, you'll be in charge of these men."
Hearing Su Xin's words, Huang Bingcheng was overjoyed. He knew he'd made the right bet!
When Liu Sandao had been around, he'd trusted only those five brothers. Everyone else had been powerless.
Now Su Xin had taken over, and he didn't yet have anyone to help manage his men. Huang Bingcheng had been the first to get on his good side, and Su Xin had readily taken him in.
After the bodies had been cleared away, Huang Bingcheng hurried over to Su Xin with a fawning smile. "My lord, is there anything else you need?"
"How much silver did Liu Sandao leave behind?"
What did a gang need most? There was only one answer: money.
Su Xin needed money to cultivate, and naturally he needed money to support his men as well.
Huang Bingcheng answered cautiously, "Not a single coin."
"You're telling me Liu Sandao was in charge of a whole district like Happy Forest and didn't have a single coin on him?" Su Xin shot him a cold glance, and Huang Bingcheng immediately felt a chill run through his body.
"He really didn't have any! To curry favor with Chen Dao, Liu Sandao gave him all the money he'd extorted to spend at the gambling house. He probably couldn't scrape together even ten taels of silver now."
Huang Bingcheng explained with a bitter smile. Then he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added, "Oh, right, my lord. Liu Sandao still had five hundred taels of silver. He'd just extorted it from the shops in Happy Forest to give to Chen Dao. Should we keep it for ourselves or return it to the merchants?"
"Do you really need to ask? Liu Sandao extorted that money. What does that have to do with me? Why should I return it to them?" Su Xin turned to glance at Huang Bingcheng. The man still wasn't quick-witted enough. Did he really have to ask about something like that?
"My lord, there's something I don't know whether I should mention." Huang Bingcheng suddenly grew hesitant.
Su Xin waved a hand, telling Huang Bingcheng to go on.
With Su Xin's permission, Huang Bingcheng finally spoke. "My lord, there's nothing wrong with your killing Liu Sandao. We gang members aren't hypocrites like those sects. Frankly, strength rules. There are plenty of cases where a subordinate beats his boss and takes over.
"Especially since Liu Sandao climbed the ranks by betraying his brothers. He had no moral standing to begin with. You killed him, and no one can say a thing. But killing Chen Dao—that's what's landed you in serious trouble.
"Chen Dao was the sworn son of Third Master Hu, our senior leader.
"Third Master Hu is already over fifty. He spent more than twenty years raising Chen Dao to reach his current level.
"Third Master Hu has no sons of his own. He wanted Chen Dao to take over from him.
"Now that you've killed Chen Dao, you'll probably have a hard time getting past Third Master Hu."
After listening, Su Xin tapped the table rhythmically with his finger and said, "Get me detailed information on Third Master Hu, and exchange all five hundred taels of silver for banknotes."
"Yes, my lord. I'll take care of it right away." Huang Bingcheng promptly went and prepared everything Su Xin had asked for.
It wasn't that Huang Bingcheng was particularly loyal.
Since he'd thrown in his lot with Su Xin, naturally he wanted Su Xin to hold on to his position. Otherwise, his earlier actions would have been for nothing.
After getting the information, Su Xin read it all in one go. Then his fingers began tapping the table again.
It was a habit he'd picked up in his previous life. Whenever he was thinking something over, he would sit alone in his office and tap on the desk.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Su Xin finally stood up. "Come with me. We're going to see Third Master Hu."
"W-what!? You're going to see Third Master Hu?" Huang Bingcheng nearly dropped his jaw.
It had only been half an hour since Su Xin killed Chen Dao, but Third Master Hu had surely already heard the news.
The gang members under Liu Sandao had all been newly recruited after he became a minor leader, so naturally they had no loyalty to him. They felt no more loyalty toward Su Xin, who had taken over by killing his way to the top.
Huang Bingcheng was sure that someone had already secretly leaked the news, hoping to earn a reward from Third Master Hu.
In his view, the best course of action now was for Su Xin to take the five hundred taels of silver to another senior leader and offer it in exchange for protection.
Going to see Third Master Hu at a time like this would most likely end with him being slapped to death!
"What, you don't want to go?"
Huang Bingcheng gritted his teeth. "I'll go!"
Now that he'd sided with Su Xin, there was no point in changing sides again. If he did, Su Xin would probably kill him with one sword on the spot, without even needing Third Master Hu to act.
The other gang members watched coldly as Su Xin and Huang Bingcheng walked out of Drunken Moon Pavilion. They all wore indifferent expressions.
If Su Xin managed to return alive from Third Master Hu, then he was their boss. If he died, who even knew who the hell he was?
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