Deliver a 'Grand Gift' to Godfather

At this moment, Ji Gang was completely unaware that a great disaster was about to descend upon him; he was still pestering five of the old-timers who had followed Su Xin since the Happy Forest days, incessantly trying to incite them with the claim that Su Xin was finished.

Ever since joining Su Xin's ranks, Ji Gang had felt incredibly stifled, especially when he saw Li Huai being heavily relied upon by Su Xin; this sense of stifling had only grown more intense.

But only Ji Gang himself knew that this wasn't actually stifling, but regret—profound regret.

When he first joined Su Xin's command, although Li Huai had been blunt and unceremonious toward Su Xin, he hadn't harbored any ulterior motives.

Ji Gang, however, had clearly been sent by Third Master Hu to monitor and restrict Su Xin.

Naturally, the result was predictable; he couldn't even manage the task of surveillance, and the fact that Su Xin hadn't sent anyone to monitor him in return could already be considered an act of magnanimity.

After the assassination of Dai Chong, Ji Gang had completely burned his bridges with Su Xin, while Li Huai had become Su Xin's trusted confidant.

Su Xin, who he had assumed would be severely punished by the gang, had instead soared to great heights, and Ji Gang's own status had naturally become extremely awkward.

At Third Master Hu's side, Ji Gang could also sense the man's suspicion toward him, and it was precisely because of this that he envied how Li Huai could earn such trust from Su Xin.

Ji Gang constantly thought that if he had supported Su Xin from the beginning and thrown his lot in with him, then with his own cunning, there would have been no place for that old fox Huang Bingcheng.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world, and these were things Ji Gang could only imagine; since he had completely broken with Su Xin, he had to find every possible way to deal with him!

However, as the gap between the two sides grew wider, Ji Gang had almost given up on this idea, but he never expected that Su Xin would court death himself by killing the Great Headman Hou Tong!

If Ji Gang could let such a thing slide, he wouldn't be Ji Gang.

Therefore, upon learning the sequence of events, Ji Gang immediately set out to contact some of Su Xin's old subordinates, preparing to stir up some trouble.

Ji Gang possessed a bit of petty cleverness; he chose not to incite the new recruits who had recently joined Su Xin's ranks.

Although these people were easier to sway, they lacked strength and had almost no influence under Su Xin; even if he incited a hundred of them, it would be useless against Su Xin, who could suppress them by sending just a few men.

Thus, he chose the old-timers who had followed Su Xin since the Happy Forest days, specifically those who had not been promoted to the ranks of squad leader or platoon leader during the recent reshuffle.

Su Xin had nearly two hundred old subordinates, but there were only a little over a hundred positions for squad and platoon leaders, leaving nearly half of them as ordinary gang members.

Seeing their former companions rise to success and become their superiors and bosses, it would be strange if these people felt comfortable.

Ji Gang intended to exploit their dissatisfaction to incite them into causing trouble behind the scenes.

"Gentlemen, Su Xin has killed the Great Headman Hou Tong this time; the gang will never let him off.

Once Su Xin is punished, he will either have his martial arts crippled or be executed outright. Regardless of the outcome, the Happy Forest and Yongle District will become ownerless; don't you want to hold these territories in your own hands?

In this promotion, you have followed Su Xin the longest and fought to the death for him, yet in the end, you didn't even land a small position as a squad leader. Are you content with this? Don't you want to seize the territory that belongs to you?"

Ji Gang's tone was highly seductive, yet the five people present were not buying what he was selling.

One of them spoke up directly, cursing, "Go to hell! Who said the Boss is finished? That bastard Hou Tong saw that we were living well and wanted to come up and extort money from us. Even if the Boss hadn't killed him, I would have found a chance to finish him off myself!"

Another person snorted coldly, "Ji Gang, don't think we don't know what kind of scheme you're playing. We brothers may be illiterate, but we aren't fools! If the Boss dies, who is going to pay us our monthly salary of ten taels of silver?"

"Exactly. Ji Gang, there's no need to sow discord among us. We are indeed unhappy that we weren't chosen as squad leaders, but we have never held a grudge against the Boss.

The Boss said that if you want to eat meat, you have to risk your life for it! When we were fighting those guys from the Green Bamboo Gang, it was my own incompetence; my legs went weak and I hid in the back, failing to kill anyone while getting myself injured. That's no one else's fault, and certainly not the Boss's!"

Ji Gang was instantly rendered speechless; he hadn't expected Su Xin's prestige to be so high in the hearts of these men.

"Are you all really going to follow Su Xin to the bitter end? Once the gang's punishment comes down, it will be too late for you to regret it!" Ji Gang shouted sternly.

"Whether they will regret it or not, I don't know, but I do know that you will certainly regret it now." A voice suddenly came from outside the door.

Seeing Su Xin push the door open and enter, Ji Gang's face turned ashen.

Shouldn't Su Xin be overwhelmed, trying to figure out how to deal with the gang's censure? How did he have the time to come looking for him?

"Boss!"

The five men called out respectfully, though they were secretly breaking out in a cold sweat.

It was fortunate they hadn't said anything out of line just now, or they wouldn't be standing here right now.

Su Xin nodded, "You did well. You may leave now."

The five men nodded and immediately turned to walk out.

A trace of despair appeared in Ji Gang's eyes, "The winner takes all; if you want to kill me, then do it."

Su Xin sighed, walked up to Ji Gang, but the man who had just been ashen-faced and had given up resistance suddenly lunged forward, a dagger sliding from his sleeve to stab at Su Xin's lower abdomen.

With a casual flick of his sword hilt, the dagger was knocked away.

Su Xin reached out and grabbed Ji Gang by the throat; the sensation of suffocation made Ji Gang feel death creeping closer step by step. This time, he was truly in despair.

However, just as he was about to suffocate and lose consciousness, Su Xin suddenly threw him to the ground.

"The most pitiful and pathetic thing in this world is someone like you who thinks they are clever. But you still have some value, so I won't kill you for now."

Li Huai stepped forward and drew his sword, severing all of his tendons in his hands and feet, then dragged him out like a dead dog and handed him to a gang member waiting outside.

At this moment, Huang Bingcheng also returned with Li Qing and the others; judging by their appearance, it was clear they had already taken action.

If a character like Ji Gang, who hadn't even cultivated internal energy, dared to make a move in front of Su Xin, then there was no need to mention the others.

"Old Huang, how many were there?" Su Xin asked.

"Eight people." Huang Bingcheng's expression was somewhat grim.

Although Su Xin had mentioned to him that there were definitely those among their subordinates harboring ulterior motives, he hadn't expected the number to be so high.

"Kill them all," Su Xin said with a tone of utter indifference.

"Boss, can't we make an exception? How about we just cripple their martial arts and banish them instead?"

Huang Bingcheng's expression was complicated. These eight men were among the brothers who had been with them the longest, and one of them even had a very good relationship with him; he had only just promoted the man to squad leader.

Even though he knew of their betrayal, Huang Bingcheng still found it hard to bring himself to kill them.

Su Xin waved a hand. "Old Huang, I can agree to anything else you ask, but not this."

"I gave them their chance. If they had quit early, we would have gone our separate ways, and I wouldn't have pursued the matter.

But now, they have taken my silver, learned my techniques, and wielded the authority I gave them, only to betray me in the end. This is unforgivable!"

"Yes, Boss, I understand." Huang Bingcheng gritted his teeth and made a throat-slitting gesture to Li Qing and the others.

"Let's go. It's time to meet my foster father and, while we're at it, present him with a grand gift."

Su Xin looked toward the direction of Shunyi Ward, his thoughts somewhat complex.

More than three months ago, when he had first arrived in this world, he had to rely on honeyed words to eke out a living under that man's subordinates.

But now, he had the strength and the influence; it was his turn to decide the man's fate. This feeling was truly quite marvelous.

Meanwhile, Third Master Hu at Shunyi Ward certainly did not share Su Xin's complex mood; his current state of mind was simple: fear.

Upon hearing that Su Xin had killed Hou Tong with a single sword strike, Third Master Hu felt no joy, only dread.

What kind of person is the most terrifying in this world? A madman!

Because you can never guess what is in his heart or what he will do next.

Hou Tong had believed Su Xin wouldn't dare kill him, so he had swaggered into Happy Forest to provoke Su Xin in an arrogant manner.

Third Master Hu had likewise believed Su Xin wouldn't dare do anything to Hou Tong, a high-ranking leader, which is why he had felt safe giving Hou Tong fifty thousand taels to go and cause trouble for Su Xin.

Everyone had assumed Su Xin wouldn't dare kill Hou Tong, yet he had done exactly that.

This madman-like way of thinking was precisely what Third Master Hu feared. Who knew if Su Xin would still care about the bond of foster father and son, or if he would come to kill him too?

"Master Li, pack our things! We are going to the main headquarters!"

The more Third Master Hu thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He wanted to pack up and head to the main headquarters immediately; only there would he feel safe.

No matter how strong Su Xin was or how arrogant his demeanor, he wouldn't dare do anything at the main headquarters.

That place was home to the three Hall Masters of the Postnatal Middle Realm, the Gang Leader, and the main force of the War Hall. Su Xin would absolutely not dare to act recklessly there.

But after calling out twice, Master Li, who usually followed Third Master Hu like a shadow, was nowhere to be seen.

Just as he was about to call out again, he saw Su Xin walking openly into his courtyard, accompanied by Li Huai and the others.

"Don't be in such a rush to leave, Foster Father. I've brought you a gift."

Su Xin chuckled and tossed Hou Tong's severed head in front of Third Master Hu, causing his heart to skip a beat.

Third Master Hu steadied his nerves and said coldly, "Su Xin, you had better think this through. This is the Flying Eagle Gang! Are you trying to betray the gang with your actions today?

The strength of the Gang Leader and the three Hall Masters is beyond your imagination. Come with me to the main headquarters to admit your mistake now. Given the great contributions you've made to the gang, I will put my old face on the line to beg the Gang Leader to spare your life!"