Third Master Hu said Hou Tong wasn't stupid, and he was right.
Of the Flying Eagle Gang's thirteen leaders, Hou Tong wasn't the cleverest, but he certainly wasn't the stupidest either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted in his position this long.
His way of dealing with Su Xin was simple. In three words: shameless as hell!
I'm deliberately using my position to pressure you. What can you do about it?
If Su Xin handed over those hundred thousand taels of silver, his reputation in the Flying Eagle Gang would plummet, and people would think he was an easy target.
So what if you, Su Xin, took Yongle District? Aren't you still at our mercy?
And if he refused, Hou Tong would keep causing trouble in Happy Forest.
Don't you have a share in Happy Forest? Didn't you promise you could protect it? I'll turn Happy Forest upside down. What can you do about it?
Huang Bingcheng and the others behind Su Xin were furious. Even as one of the gang's leaders, how could Hou Tong bully people like this?
Li Huai went so far as to draw the long sword at his waist, but Su Xin pressed it back into its sheath.
"Did Third Master Hu send you?" Su Xin asked.
Hou Tong clicked his tongue and sighed. "You won't even call him your foster father anymore. Old Third Hu really did raise himself a heartless ingrate."
Hou Tong didn't deny it, which meant he admitted it.
Su Xin sighed and walked toward him.
"I handed the protection money straight to the gang because I wanted him to understand that from now on, we'd stay out of each other's way. But it seems my foster father isn't willing to let things go."
The aura around Su Xin steadily rose, and a murderous intent enveloped him.
"Leader Hou, whether Third Master Hu egged you on or promised you something, I'll give you one chance. You can still leave."
Hou Tong had followed Sha Feiying in the old days as they fought to build the gang's power. He was certainly familiar with the killing intent coming from Su Xin.
Yet he remained completely unafraid. "Kid, what are you getting at? You want to kill me? You think killing Dai Chong makes you invincible? I'll stand right here and let you try. Do you dare?"
By killing Dai Chong, Su Xin had become a hero of the Flying Eagle Gang. But if he killed Hou Tong, he'd be a criminal in the gang's eyes!
Hou Tong wasn't Liu Sandao, someone Su Xin could kill on a whim. He was one of the Flying Eagle Gang's decision-makers, Leader Hou Tong. There was no way Su Xin would dare lay a hand on him.
"Clang!"
The ring of a sword rang out as Su Xin drew his Left-Hand Sword. A fierce killing intent struck at once, and Hou Tong felt as if a thousand wolves had fixed their eyes on him, ready to tear him to pieces the next moment!
He dares to kill me! He actually dares to kill me!
At that moment, Hou Tong was finally afraid.
If he could have another chance, he would never provoke that lunatic Su Xin.
That was right. In his eyes, Su Xin was a madman—a madman through and through!
He was one of the Flying Eagle Gang's thirteen leaders. If he died, even the gang leader would be alarmed. Yet Su Xin truly didn't care about the consequences and was going to kill him!
Hou Tong was weak to begin with. He had opened fewer than ten of his body's acupoints, and years of pampered living had made his movements sluggish.
Facing Su Xin's sword, he tried to dodge, but his arms and legs no longer obeyed him. He could only watch as the blade pierced his throat. In an instant, everything before his eyes turned blood-red.
Hou Tong, who had spent his life relying on petty cunning, had finally died because of that very cunning.
He had put himself in Su Xin's shoes and assumed Su Xin wouldn't kill him. But he had miscalculated. If Su Xin were like him, he would never have achieved what he had today.
Su Xin swept his sword sideways and severed Hou Tong's head. It hit the ground with a thud.
Only then did everyone come to their senses. They had all been stunned by what Su Xin had just done.
Huang Bingcheng and the others had guessed Su Xin would act, given his temperament, but they had never imagined he would kill Hou Tong outright!
The few underlings Hou Tong had brought cried out and immediately turned to run for the door.
But a figure as elusive as a ghost overtook them. A cold gleam flashed before their eyes, and the four underlings Hou Tong had brought clutched their throats and fell to the ground in unison.
Seeing Li Huai strike, Huang Bingcheng finally came to his senses. The deed was done. Now they had to figure out how to deal with the aftermath.
Huang Bingcheng glanced at Boss Sun and the other gang members present, then asked quietly, "Boss, should we keep these people under control?"
Aside from Boss Sun and the others from the gambling house, everyone present belonged to Su Xin. But you couldn't judge a book by its cover. What if the news got out?
Boss Sun, standing behind Su Xin, shuddered, afraid Su Xin would kill him to silence him.
Fortunately, Su Xin merely waved a hand. "Don't be so nervous. There's no hiding this news, and I never planned to."
"Then what should we do now, Boss?" Huang Bingcheng asked.
If this had happened before, Huang Bingcheng would probably have been scared out of his wits.
But after spending so long with this boss, he'd learned to keep his composure even as Mount Tai collapsed before him. He had only been nervous at first, then quickly settled down.
"Don't rush. This incident has given me an opportunity—an opportunity to take back what belongs to me."
"What is that?" Huang Bingcheng asked.
"My position as a leader, of course. And while I'm at it, I can dig out some parasites." A cold glint appeared in Su Xin's eyes.
Hou Tong had shown up at just the right time. You want to play games? Then let's all play properly this time!
After ordering his men to clean up the gambling house, Su Xin carried Hou Tong's head back to the hall and asked Huang Bingcheng, "Old Huang, how much silver do we have in the account?"
"One hundred and twenty thousand taels," Huang Bingcheng answered without hesitation.
Happy Forest had earned a lot over the past few months, but Su Xin had spent plenty too. They'd only crossed a hundred thousand taels after adding what they'd just collected from Yongle District.
"Take out a hundred and ten thousand taels. Give every leader except my foster father ten thousand taels."
Huang Bingcheng hesitated. "Ten thousand taels won't satisfy them. If this were a minor matter, that might be enough, but we killed Hou Tong. They won't speak up for us."
Su Xin tapped the table with his finger. "I never expected them to speak up for me. The ten thousand taels are just to shut them up and keep them from kicking me while I'm down."
"Should we give Hall Master Lin a little extra? Hall Master Lin seems to think well of you. He'll probably speak up for us," Huang Bingcheng suggested.
Su Xin shook his head. "No need for Lin Fuhu. Even if we don't give him a single coin, he'll speak up for me."
"Why?"
"It's simple. I killed Hou Tong—a serious crime. Do you think Dong Chengwu, the head of the Punishment Hall, will let me off? With Lin Fuhu's temperament, he'll oppose anything Dong Chengwu supports. We won't even have to ask; he'll speak up for us."
Huang Bingcheng nodded and took the silver to bribe the other leaders.
Meanwhile, Su Xin sat silently in the hall with Li Huai.
Li Huai wasted not a moment, sitting in meditation to cultivate. Su Xin, meanwhile, was thinking.
Su Xin hadn't expected Hou Tong to come after him. He had thought that even if Third Master Hu was furious, he would only send his underlings to use some petty tricks in secret. He hadn't expected Hou Tong to be the one to show up.
Of course, no matter how far Su Xin's plans reached, he could never have predicted there was someone as exceptional as Hou Tong in the world—someone willing to set aside a leader's dignity and get involved in the clash between Third Master Hu and Su Xin over a mere fifty thousand taels.
Su Xin hadn't killed Hou Tong on a sudden impulse. When he thought of the message someone had brought him two days ago, he couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This time, Third Master Hu had brought his own death upon himself.
Hou Tong had practically delivered himself to Su Xin as an excuse to make his move. He was ninety percent certain he could get through this safely and secure a leader's position.
And even if he failed, he wasn't afraid. Su Xin now had the strength and manpower to become a power in his own right.
At worst, he could join another faction. The other gangs would probably welcome him with open arms.
Of course, that was his last resort. Unless something unexpected happened, Su Xin wouldn't choose that path.
He still had a system mission to complete. If he failed to become one of the Flying Eagle Gang's decision-makers, the penalty would be the loss of one martial skill and a drop of one minor realm.
With what little Su Xin had now, such a severe penalty would reduce him to a cripple. He was only at the Post-Natal Initial Realm. Drop him any further, and he'd be an ordinary person.
Half a day later, Huang Bingcheng returned.
"Boss, the silver's been delivered. But can we really count on those guys not to kick us while we're down?" Huang Bingcheng was deeply skeptical of the other Flying Eagle Gang leaders' character.
"Why would they kick me while I'm down if there's nothing in it for them? Hou Tong didn't get along with the other leaders anyway. Even if they do, it won't be me they kick. All right, it's about time we dug out those parasites in the gang."
The parasite Su Xin meant was Ji Gang, whom Third Master Hu had planted among his men.
Su Xin hadn't dealt with Ji Gang earlier because he didn't want to fall out with Third Master Hu.
Now, though, there was nothing holding him back. Besides, he could take the opportunity to root out the other parasites hidden in the shadows alongside Ji Gang.
Not counting the thousand or so newly recruited gang members, there had to be people among the nearly two hundred who had originally served under Su Xin who weren't truly on his side.
They had stayed hidden in the shadows. Su Xin couldn't investigate them one by one; that would only alienate his own men.
Now that he had killed Hou Tong, the news would spread far and wide. Those parasites would surely make a move, giving him the perfect opportunity to expose them all and clean house.
"Old Huang, take Li Qing and the other brothers we can trust and dig out those parasites. Li Huai and I will go find Ji Gang and see what he's been up to all this time."
Huang Bingcheng's expression turned serious. He immediately left to gather Li Qing and the others.
This time, the punishment for those who got caught wouldn't just be a beating with a stick.
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