Do You Really Think I Wouldn't Dare Kill You?

Third Master Hu said Hou Tong was not stupid, and he was indeed correct.

Among the thirteen Great Chiefs of the Flying Eagle Gang, Hou Tong was not the smartest, but he was certainly not the most foolish either; otherwise, he would not have held his position until now.

His method for dealing with Su Xin was simple: three words—shameless to the core!

I am explicitly using my status to pressure you, so what can you do about it?

If Su Xin paid this one hundred thousand taels of silver, his reputation within the Flying Eagle Gang would plummet, and he would be branded as someone easily bullied.

So what if you, Su Xin, conquered Yongle District? Aren't you still ours to manipulate?

And if he refused to pay, Hou Tong would simply continue to wreak havoc in Happy Forest.

Don't you have a stake in Happy Forest, Su Xin? Didn't you guarantee you could protect it? I will turn Happy Forest upside down, and what can you do to stop me?

Huang Bingcheng and the others behind Su Xin showed expressions of fury; even if you are a Great Chief, Hou Tong, you cannot bully people to this extent!

Li Huai even drew the longsword at his waist, but Su Xin pressed it back down.

"Did Third Master Hu send you?" Su Xin asked.

Hou Tong clicked his tongue and sighed: "You don't even call him foster father anymore; Third Master Hu truly raised a white-eyed wolf."

Hou Tong did not deny it, which meant he admitted it.

Su Xin sighed and walked toward Hou Tong.

"I handed the tribute directly to the gang to tell him that from now on, we would mind our own business, but that foster father of mine seems very unwilling to let go."

The aura on Su Xin's body gradually climbed, and a murderous intent enveloped him.

"Great Chief Hou, regardless of whether you were incited by Third Master Hu or what he promised you, I am giving you one chance now. It is not too late for you to leave."

Hou Tong was, after all, an old-timer who had helped Sha Feiying build this empire; he was naturally very familiar with the murderous aura Su Xin was exuding.

However, he remained unperturbed: "Kid, what do you mean? You want to kill me? Do you really think you are invincible just because you killed Dai Chong? I am standing right here; do you dare to kill me?"

By killing Dai Chong, Su Xin was a hero of the Flying Eagle Gang, but by killing him, Hou Tong, Su Xin would be a sinner!

He, Hou Tong, was not Liu Sandao, whom Su Xin could kill on a whim; he was one of the decision-makers of the Flying Eagle Gang, a Great Chief. He did not believe Su Xin would dare to lay a hand on him.

"Clang!"

The sound of a sword ringing out echoed as Su Xin's left-handed sword left its scabbard. A biting, murderous intent struck instantly, and Hou Tong felt as if he were being stared at by a thousand vicious wolves, ready to tear him to shreds in the next heartbeat!

He dares to kill me! He actually dares to kill me!

At this moment, Hou Tong was finally afraid.

If he were given another chance, he would never have come to provoke this madman, Su Xin.

That's right, in his heart, Su Xin was a madman now! A complete and utter madman!

He was one of the thirteen Great Chiefs of the Flying Eagle Gang; if he died, even the Gang Leader would be alarmed, yet Su Xin was actually ignoring all consequences, intending to kill him!

Hou Tong's strength was already weak, with fewer than ten acupoints opened, and years of living in luxury had made his movements extremely sluggish.

Facing Su Xin's sword, he wanted to dodge, but his hands and feet refused to obey. He watched helplessly as the blade pierced his throat, and in an instant, his vision turned blood-red.

Hou Tong, who had spent his whole life relying on petty cleverness, finally died because of it.

He had imagined himself in Su Xin's shoes, believing Su Xin would not kill him, but he had miscalculated. If Su Xin were truly like him, he would never have achieved what he had today.

With a horizontal slash of the longsword, Su Xin severed Hou Tong's head, which hit the ground with a dull thud.

Only then did the crowd react, everyone stunned by Su Xin's sudden action.

Huang Bingcheng and the others had guessed that given Su Xin's personality, he would definitely strike, but they never imagined he would kill Hou Tong outright!

At this, the few subordinates Hou Tong had brought screamed and immediately turned to run toward the door.

But a figure as swift as a ghost moved faster than them. A cold flash of light swept across their vision, and all four of Hou Tong's men collapsed to the ground, clutching their throats.

Seeing Li Huai strike, Huang Bingcheng also snapped back to reality. Since the deed was done, he had to think about how to handle the aftermath.

Huang Bingcheng glanced at Boss Sun and the other gang members present, whispering: "Boss, should we deal with these people?"

Although everyone present, aside from Boss Sun and the gambling den staff, were Su Xin's own men, one could never be too careful—what if news leaked out?

Boss Sun, standing behind Su Xin, trembled, terrified that Su Xin would silence him.

Fortunately, Su Xin merely waved his hand: "Don't be so nervous. This news cannot be hidden, and I never intended to hide it."

"Then Boss, what do we do now?" Huang Bingcheng asked.

If this had happened in the past, Huang Bingcheng would have been scared out of his wits.

But after following this boss for a long time, Huang Bingcheng now possessed a bit of the "remaining calm even if Mount Tai collapses" attitude. He had only been nervous for a moment before steadying himself.

"Don't be in a rush. This incident has given me an opportunity—an opportunity to take back what belongs to me."

"What belongs to you?" Huang Bingcheng asked doubtfully.

"My position as a Great Chief, of course. And while I'm at it, I can dig out some of the rot." A cold light flickered in Su Xin's eyes.

Hou Tong arrived at the perfect time. You want to play games? Then this time, let's all play properly!

Ordering his men to clean up the gambling den, Su Xin carried Hou Tong's head back to the branch hall and asked Huang Bingcheng: "Old Huang, how much silver do we have left in our accounts?"

"One hundred and twenty thousand taels," Huang Bingcheng replied without a moment's hesitation.

Although the earnings from Happy Forest had been substantial over the past few months, Su Xin's expenditures were equally high. When combined with the recent collections from Yongle District, they had only just crossed the one hundred thousand tael mark.

"Take out one hundred and ten thousand taels. Aside from my foster father, send ten thousand taels to each of the other major leaders."

Huang Bingcheng hesitated. "Ten thousand taels of silver won't be enough to satisfy them. If it were a minor matter, that might suffice, but we killed Hou Tong. They won't be willing to speak up for us."

Su Xin tapped his fingers on the table. "I never intended for them to speak up for me. This ten thousand taels is merely to seal their mouths and ensure they don't kick us while we're down."

"Should we send a bit more to Hall Master Lin Fuhu? He seems to have a good impression of you; he might be willing to put in a good word," Huang Bingcheng suggested.

Su Xin shook his head. "No need for Lin Fuhu. Even if we didn't send a single cent, he would still speak up for me."

"Why?"

"It's simple. I killed Hou Tong. With a charge this serious, do you think Punishment Hall Master Dong Chengwu will spare me? Given Lin Fuhu's personality, he opposes anything Dong Chengwu supports. He'll speak up for us without us even having to ask."

Huang Bingcheng nodded and left with the silver to bribe the other major leaders.

Su Xin remained in the hall with Li Huai, sitting in silence.

Li Huai never wasted a single moment, sitting in meditation to cultivate, while Su Xin was lost in thought.

Su Xin had not expected Hou Tong to come looking for trouble. He had assumed that even if Third Master Hu were furious, he would only send his subordinates to use underhanded tactics in the shadows; he never imagined Hou Tong would be the one to step out.

Of course, no matter how calculated Su Xin was, he could never have predicted that such a rare specimen as Hou Tong existed—someone who would discard the dignity of a major leader just to get involved in the conflict between Third Master Hu and Su Xin for a mere fifty thousand taels.

Su Xin's decision to kill Hou Tong was not a impulsive act. Thinking back to the message he had received two days ago, Su Xin sneered in the dark. This time, Third Master Hu was courting his own destruction.

As for Hou Tong, he was the perfect excuse handed to him on a silver platter. Su Xin was ninety percent certain he could weather this storm safely and secure the position of a major leader.

Even if he failed, he had no fear. With his current strength and the forces under his command, Su Xin had the capital to become a regional power in his own right.

At worst, he could defect to another faction; he suspected other gangs would be quite happy to welcome him.

Of course, that was a last resort. If nothing unexpected happened, Su Xin would not choose that path.

He still had a system mission to fulfill. If he failed to become a key figure in the Flying Eagle Gang, the penalty would be the loss of a martial skill and a drop in his cultivation realm.

Given Su Xin's current foundation, such a heavy penalty would effectively cripple him. He was only at the early stage of the Houtian realm; to drop any further would reduce him to an ordinary person.

Half a day later, Huang Bingcheng returned.

"Boss, the silver has been delivered. But can those guys really be trusted not to kick us while we're down?" Huang Bingcheng was highly skeptical of the character of the Flying Eagle Gang's major leaders.

"Why would they kick us while we're down if there's nothing to gain? Hou Tong didn't have a good relationship with the other leaders anyway. Even if they do kick someone while they're down, it won't be me. Alright, the time is right. It's time to clear out the pests in the gang."

The pests Su Xin referred to were, naturally, Ji Gang, whom Third Master Hu had planted under his command.

Su Xin had refrained from dealing with Ji Gang earlier because he didn't want to burn bridges with Third Master Hu.

Now, however, he had no such concerns. Furthermore, he could take this opportunity to flush out all the other hidden pests like Ji Gang.

Excluding the thousand newly recruited members, there were certainly those among his original two hundred men who were not loyal to him.

These people usually hid in the shadows, and Su Xin had no way to root them out one by one without causing his subordinates to lose faith in him.

Now that he had killed Hou Tong, the news would spread, and those pests would inevitably make a move. This was the perfect opportunity to drag them all out and clean house.

"Old Huang, take Li Qing and the brothers you trust to round up those pests. Li Huai and I will go find Ji Gang to see what kind of tricks he's been playing lately."

Huang Bingcheng's expression tightened, and he immediately headed out to summon Li Qing and the others.

The punishment for those dragged out this time would likely be far worse than a simple beating.