On the first day of winter, the Great Chiefs of the Exorcising the Dragon Gang were holding a Closed-Door Resolution in the main hall of the Commandery Governor's Office in Jiyin City.
The so-called Closed-Door Resolution had become a small tradition since the gang's founding, one that had in fact begun in Jiyin City. The Great Chiefs deliberated inside, but did not shut out the sound. The leaders could listen directly outside, allowing them to judge right and wrong, while also making the Great Chiefs in the hall weigh their words.
Under the veranda outside, chairs were packed so tightly there was scarcely room to step, yet the open doorway of the hall was empty. Inside the hall, once so bustling, only a dozen or so seats were occupied.
At the very center, naturally, sat Chief Wei Xuanding, Left Wing Dragonhead Zhang Xing, and Right Wing Dragonhead Li Shu.
Below the three were the Middle Wing's Great Chiefs, Bai Yousi, Xiong Bonan, and Wu Jingfeng; the Left Wing's Great Chiefs, Wang Shuyong, Cheng Zhili, Du Pozhen, Niu Da, Wang Zhuo, and Wang Zhen; and the Right Wing's Great Chiefs, Xu Shiying, Dan Tonghai, Zhai Qian, Fu Boshi, and Chai Xiaohe.
One fewer, two more. Two Great Chiefs who had never appeared before had arrived under some claim of a strange twist of fate. It was a rare gathering of nearly everyone: seventeen in all.
With seventeen attending, deliberations progressed very quickly. But as quickly as they progressed, the leaders and other gang elites outside gradually developed peculiar expressions. Only the circumstances kept them from whispering among themselves.
The reason was simple. After the meeting began, Li Shu took the lead in introducing the topic, and deliberations on the direction of their offensive rapidly unfolded. Already, seven people had cast brief,