The Great River Gang Was Gone

Under the blazing midday sun,

there was finally movement from the attic.

Young attendants came out from within,

leading the leaders large and small in the courtyard, along with the Brokerage Guild stewards, into the building one by one.

Another half hour passed. Amid everyone's anxious, expectant gazes, the attic doors slowly opened.

A group of more than a dozen people emerged.

At the front were Elder Xie and the young gang leader, Zhou Yingjun, whom Su Xinghe recognized. Though they had tidied themselves up, their complexions were clearly terrible, as if their injuries were far from light.

Several people acquainted with them immediately went up to greet them, and the rest of the crowd stirred in commotion.

"Quiet!"

"Return to your respective teams!"

The minor leaders and several stewards returned to the groups they led, and stern shouts immediately rose from all sides.

Under their direction, the panicked Brokerage Guild attendants and Great River Gang disciples separated and stood on opposite sides of the courtyard.

Su Xinghe followed the others from his team and came to stand behind Zhang Whiskers.

Only after seeing that no one in his team had been harmed did Lu Kui's expression recover somewhat.

"Beard Bro, I'm hungry..."

"Shut your mouth!"

Before Lu Kui could finish, Zhang Whiskers shot him a severe glare. He could only give an awkward smile, lower his head, and dare not make another sound.

"Everyone, Veteran's Trade House was attacked last night. Our losses were devastating."

Zhou Yingjun stepped into the center of the courtyard and said to everyone in a grief-stricken tone,

"As of today, the Great River Gang is disbanded, and the trade house will temporarily cease operations. Once the aftermath has been dealt with, we will announce when business resumes."

"Wah—"

The Brokerage Guild attendants immediately erupted into commotion.

Ever since they had seen the ruins of the trade house on Eight-Zhang Street that morning, they had carried this worry in their hearts.

Sure enough, their Veteran's Trade House was going under.

There were dozens of them, all making a living off the trade house. Without this job, how were their whole families supposed to survive in the city?

By contrast, the thirty-odd burly men from the Great River Gang showed little reaction. They even seemed somewhat relieved to have survived the disaster.

Given the state of the warehouse today, even if all of them had been standing guard there, it would have made no difference.

Still, they had always lived hand to mouth. Even if the Great River Gang was gone, so long as they were alive, they could seek a living in another territory.

"Quiet!"

Xie Guang's aged yet powerful voice suddenly rang out.

Zhou Yingjun immediately continued, preventing everyone from letting their imaginations run wild.

"Everyone, hear me out first."

The crowd quieted again, all of them looking eagerly at the young gang leader.

"Bring it over!"

He turned and waved toward the attic.

Su Xinghe found the sight familiar. It was precisely how every rewards ceremony after a great battle began.

That routine carried a familiar flavor.

But was this really the right time...

Sure enough, two young attendants carried a heavy wooden chest into the center of the courtyard.

Zhou Yingjun reached out, and the chest lid slowly opened.

What came into view was not the gleaming white silver Su Xinghe had imagined, but a thick stack of pale yellow paper cards, with shining silver ingots beneath them.

"You are all old hands of the trade house, and I will not treat you poorly. I will now call out names. Those called may come up and reclaim their indentures, along with one month's compensation."

"Ji Changchun."

Without delay, Zhou Yingjun picked up a paper card and called the name. This silver had been urgently gathered from Veteran's Trade House's various businesses, in hopes of steadying everyone's hearts for the time being.

Whispers rustled through the courtyard, yet no one stepped forward.

"Ji Changchun!"

This time, Zhou Yingjun raised his voice.

"Young Gang Leader, Ji Changchun... he seems not to have come..."

A faintly trembling voice answered from the crowd.

He seemed to have guessed something.

Zhou Chun swept his gaze over the courtyard, then bent down and whispered something into Zhou Yingjun's ear.

"Very well. Send someone to check on his home later."

As Zhou Yingjun spoke, he handed the paper card to an attendant beside him.

"Next, Hu Xinlian."

Those whose names were called stepped forward one after another, each reclaiming the contract they had signed and the monthly pay stipulated within it.

Though they hated to lose this job, with that monthly pay in hand, they could barely make it through this gap.

Before long, more than half the people from the trade house had left. Only five strong, sturdy men remained.

Zhou Yingjun waved the contracts in his hand at them.

"You five, wait a moment."

At that moment, Lu Sandao stepped forward.

His cold, stern gaze swept across the Great River Gang members. His overwhelming presence pressed everyone into lowering their heads unconsciously.

"Are you all pigs?!"

"The trade house raised you for so many years, yet you were utterly useless last night!"

"You ate from the gang and used the gang's resources. Were you worthy of the young gang leader's cultivation?"

"Don't tell me you weren't there last night. With such a huge disturbance, not one of you even went over to take a look. The Peaceful Heaven Sect planned an operation on such a scale—where were your ears? Not one of you heard so much as a whisper beforehand!"

His words were harsh, yet every minor leader silently lowered his head.

The low-ranking disciples had originally wanted to argue, but seeing how the big brothers in their own teams reacted, they could only swallow their words helplessly.

"What are you all standing around for?"

"Get the hell out!"

After berating them, Lu Sandao directly drove them away.

"Wait."

Zhou Yingjun suddenly stepped forward at this moment.

"San Dao need not blame the disciples. Though they failed to provide timely aid last night, they did not hide in some corner today, too frightened to show their faces."

"Those still standing here today are all brothers of our own."

"How about this? Before leaving, each of you may collect another three taels of silver for tea money. If we meet again in Lin County, we will still be brothers."

"Young Gang Leader is mighty!"

"Young Gang Leader, you are too generous!"

The Great River Gang disciples, who had been hanging their heads in dejection after the scolding, immediately lit up at the mention of more money. Spouting nonsense, they began edging toward the center of the courtyard.

Following behind the plump Brother Kui, Su Xinghe also received three small silver ingots.

He would not stand on ceremony over silver handed out for free.

After all, under ordinary circumstances, he would have had to stab down more than a dozen enemies before he could get those three taels from the man before him.

"Blackie, let's go feast at He's Restaurant. This afternoon, your brother here will arrange two long-legged beauties for you."

Lu Kui stared fixedly at his little brother's money pouch, his greasy, sweat-slick arm hooking around from the side.

A bumper harvest! This time, he could not let the silver get away.

With a light tap of his toe, Su Xinghe had already shot two meters away.

Turning back, he answered with a beaming smile,

"Brother Kui, go order first. I still have something to take care of."

How could Lu Kui agree?

Last time, it had been this very excuse that nearly forced him to pawn his underwear before he could settle the wine bill.

"What business could you possibly have? Are you thinking of seeking a living with the Fishermen's Gang?"

"Your brother knows the Fishermen's Gang well. After we eat, I'll take you to join them. With your brother covering you, we'll start out at shipmaster level..."

Why would Su Xinghe be going to the Fishermen's Gang?

The young gang leader had specifically called him over, and his name had not even been called when the contracts were handed out. What that implied could be figured out with his toes.

"You dead fatty, what are you yapping about?"

Zhang Whiskers shouted coldly from outside the courtyard gate.

They were one team. Even if they were looking for a new patron, they would act together. Besides, the young gang leader had just given them a task.

"Blackie, he..."

Lu Kui pointed behind him.

Zhang Whiskers seemed to know what he intended to do. His eyes widened as he roared,

"Are you leaving or not?!"

Lu Kui did not dare defy Beard Bro's words. He could only cast a reluctant glance at his little brother.

Su Xinghe watched several of them leave.

"Alright, everyone, come in with me."

Xie Guang's voice rang through the courtyard.

At this point, nearly twenty people still stood in the small courtyard.

Besides the young gang leader Zhou Yingjun, Xie Guang, and four young attendants, there were also the former Great River Gang chief leaders Lu Sandao and Xu Qingsong.

The rest were the five burly men and three Great River Gang disciples who, like him, had remained behind.

Su Xinghe noticed that the eight of them shared one trait.

They had all met at the former trade house's training ground, and two of them were even Grade Martial Artists.