Three seven-seater cars slowly drove up to the town entrance.
Men in neat Security Company uniforms stood in orderly ranks on both sides of the road.
Old Ding hurried forward to open the car door for Flower Boss.
Three of Ice Prefecture's five overlords had come.
Flower Boss extended a foot clad in an expensive leather boot out of the car.
"Boss!"
The hundreds gathered at the town entrance roared in unison.
Flower Boss, Nalan, and the Ming King stepped out of their cars in turn.
When it came to putting on a show, the city bosses certainly went big.
Every one of their men stood tall and proud, their presence imposing.
The Ming King looked at Flower Boss's men and remarked, "Quite an army you've got."
Flower Boss raised his chin with a hint of pride and slowly looked into the town.
In the middle of the road at the entrance, a lone figure blocked their path.
Xiao Fei sat calmly on a stool with his legs crossed, the cigarette between his lips glowing and fading.
Facing more than a dozen Awakened and hundreds of burly men glaring at him, Xiao Fei fixed his gaze on the Ming King.
"You're getting involved too? That's not your style."
Flower Boss had managed to bring Nalan along because they shared an enemy.
But the Ming King had been in seclusion all this time. By rights, he should have been the least likely to leave the city.
The Ming King was the biggest reason Flower Boss and Nalan dared venture outside.
He was the foremost of Ice City's Five Overlords. His departure meant the city was ready to wage war against those outside.
The Ming King moved Flower Boss aside and slowly stepped forward, his expression calm.
"I'm not here for you. Where are those two kids?"
The Ming King stated his purpose in a low voice. "Ice Prefecture City isn't big enough for six factions. I need to maintain the balance in the city. Li Youxian has to be taken out of the game."
To earn a seat at the table, Mr. Li had to kill Old Ding and prove his strength.
Conversely, if Little White Tiger and Old Ninth-the two men Mr. Li had put forward-died, Mr. Li would be out of the game.
Ice Prefecture had five districts, exactly one for each of the Five Overlords.
If Li Youxian entered the game, how would they divide the territory?
Open conflict and covert struggles would inevitably follow in the city, perhaps even a bloodbath.
"Letting your underlings fight is one thing. Once you step in yourself, you've already lost."
Xiao Fei smiled contemptuously and dropped his cigarette butt. "You're definitely not finding them. And I'd like to see what the Ming King's golden body can do."
Letting their underlings fight was the unspoken agreement between Mr. Li and the Ice Prefecture Five Overlords.
No matter how fierce the fighting became, they could preserve their own cordial relations while proving their strength.
But if the Ming King personally killed Old Ninth and Little White Tiger, that meant openly breaking with Mr. Li, determined to keep him out of the game.
"I can lose, but Ice Prefecture cannot fall into chaos. Add one more player, and chaos is inevitable. Li Youxian won't settle for a single district." The Ming King sighed. "Life isn't easy for the people in the city either. I have to keep the peace."
Seeing how resolute the Ming King was, Xiao Fei said no more.
The Ming King had always regarded himself as the city's guardian. His actions came as no surprise to Xiao Fei.
Flower Boss pointed at Xiao Fei and roared indignantly, "I'd already agreed to the exchange! Why the fuck did you still kill my You Gui? Are you sick in the head?"
Faced with Flower Boss's accusations, Xiao Fei had no way to explain himself.
Hua Yougui's death was shrouded in mystery. The problem was that he had died in Black Mountain Town, outside the city.
Even ten mouths wouldn't have been enough for Xiao Fei to clear things up.
Xiao Fei simply shrugged and grinned. "That's right. You were doing vile shit right under my nose-the kind that curses your sons to be born without assholes. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't kill you."
That was Xiao Fei. He never dodged trouble.
Even when falsely accused, he could accept it without flinching.
"Fuck, then come at me! What did my son ever do to you?"
Of Flower Boss's eight children, five had already died. The survivors were all precious to him.
Now he had lost another. No words could describe the agony of a father burying his child.
But Xiao Fei's expression suddenly changed, and he unleashed a torrent of abuse. "Did he spend the money you made or not? If his surname was Hua, he had to bear the consequences of your family's sins! Your own children die and your heart aches-what about other people's children?"
Flower Boss's lips twitched slightly. He had no answer.
Standing behind Flower Boss and the Ming King, Nalan revealed a strange smile.
The man standing beside Nalan was the real killer of Young Master Hua-Nalan Xiao.
The two brothers' eyes brimmed with smug satisfaction. They had used someone else to do their dirty work.
"Get on with it. Stop wasting time."
Xiao Fei slowly rose. Already resolved to die, he had no fear of the three fifth-awakening opponents.
The Ming King swept his gaze around and said, "Smoke Fiend, tell me where those two boys are. We can negotiate terms."
"Negotiate? Can you let me walk away? Ask that effeminate bastard behind you whether he'll let me go." Xiao Fei sneered.
Nalan's expression changed sharply at Xiao Fei's insult.
Everyone in Ice Prefecture knew Nalan had suffered an injury that left him impotent, but very few dared say it aloud.
"You're asking to die. Today, I'll avenge my children."
Nalan's expression was icy, his voice somewhat like that of an ancient eunuch.
"Your children deserved to die. Your bloodline ending is karma too."
Xiao Fei had already prepared himself for death. He couldn't care less that several fifth-awakening opponents wanted him dead.
The Ming King still wanted to persuade Xiao Fei to hand over Old Ninth and Little White Tiger, but he didn't know where to begin.
Just as Xiao Fei had said, they had all come here today to kill.
He wanted to kill Old Ninth and Little White Tiger, Nalan wanted revenge, and Flower Boss wanted to kill Xiao Fei to answer for his son's death and satisfy the Three Suns Society.
It was a death trap with no way out.
"I'll make it quick." The Ming King sighed, then looked at Xiao Fei. "I respect you as a man."
Xiao Fei had already reached the fourth awakening in his twenties. His talent for cultivation was undeniably exceptional.
Surrounded by hundreds, he remained unflinching. That was courage.
He had spent years in this line of work, doing so many outrageous things right under the Five Overlords' noses without getting caught. That was resourcefulness.
If he hadn't feared that Flower Boss and the others would attack the townspeople of Black Mountain Town, they would never have caught him. That was loyalty.
Even the Ming King couldn't help admiring a man like that.
"You never treated other people's children as human. Did you ever think your own sons might meet the same fate?" Xiao Fei grinned. "I suppose I've served heaven's justice today."
There was nothing more to say. Nalan charged ahead of the others, the barely visible silver threads at his fingertips concealing deadly intent.
"Da Bao, Er Bao, watch closely. Your father is avenging you."
Nalan curled his fingers into claws and swung his silver threads at Xiao Fei.
The silver threads were incomparably sharp, capable of shredding a person with ease.
Xiao Fei retreated while spewing green smoke from his mouth.
The instant the smoke touched the silver threads, the extremely fine strands corroded away completely.
"I'm done playing with you." Xiao Fei feigned defeat and ran toward the far end of the street.
Seeing Xiao Fei about to escape, Nalan snapped, "If you dare run, I'll hunt down everyone else in Black Mountain Town!"
"After him!" Flower Boss waved a hand, his eyes bloodshot, and hundreds of men flooded into the street like madmen.
Seeing that the enemy's main force had entered Black Mountain Town, Xiao Fei stopped and narrowed his eyes at the town entrance.
"Flower Boss, Nalan, I'll teach you a lesson today. Next time, don't wander out of the city for no reason." Xiao Fei put two fingers in his mouth and let out a piercing whistle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The windows of the buildings on both sides shattered, and men from Black Mud Mountain leaned out.
"Motherfuckers! Now that you're here, don't even think about leaving!"
"Teach Flower Boss a lesson!"
Rat-a-tat-tat!
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