You've already been surrounded by me alone

Changyou Teahouse, second floor.

Ding Ying reported excitedly:

"Boss, we seized a total of three hundred and seven taels, nine mace, and five copper coins this time..."

"What do you mean, seized?"

Wei Sheng shot him a glare.

"Zhenglong Gambling House was part of our Changyou Teahouse's territory to begin with, but Chu Dongjiao forcibly occupied it and ran it himself... we merely took back the silver that rightfully belonged to us."

Ding Ying was dumbstruck.

For the first time, he realized that this seemingly harmless new boss appeared even more shameless than he had imagined.

They had plainly taken those things by force, yet the way he put it made it sound perfectly righteous.

No wonder he could be the boss!

His ideological awareness was truly on another level!

"Besides, I won't keep this silver to myself. This honor belongs to every brother in the teahouse... take these hundred taels and divide them among the brothers!"

"Yes, Boss!" Ding Ying was overjoyed.

The gang members were even more excited when they learned they would get a share.

They had joined the gang to make their lives a little better. They wanted to earn money-even in their dreams!

But with protection money plummeting month after month, they had gone a long time without receiving a share.

They could still remember the last time they had shared out money-it had been the last time.

But even when Brother Changyou was around, he had never taken out a hundred taels to divide among them.

After receiving their silver, the gang members looked at Wei Sheng with just one word in their eyes-

Loyalty!!

Even if Wei Sheng ordered them to assassinate Chu Dongjiao right now, they would carry it out immediately, without the slightest hesitation!

Wei Sheng was very satisfied with their current state.

Changyou Teahouse had been in decline for too long. Their hearts had drifted apart, and they lacked the drive to fight and kill. Only silver could stir them into this state!

Wealth could gather people!

And nourish their spirit even more!

"Boss, what do we do next? Sweep through Chu Dongjiao's other turf on the street?!"

Ding Ying was brimming with energy now, itching to plunder every one of Chu Dongjiao's holdings on the street.

"No rush! We'll talk in three days..."

"But what if they haven't withdrawn after three days? Or what if Snake Eye brings men to retaliate?"

Ding Ying voiced his concerns.

"Snake Eye isn't that stupid." Che Zhenzhong shook his head. "The agreement between Tiger Lord and those two hall masters still stands. If he really dares to come charging over with his men in full force, he'll be breaking the agreement and trying to spark a war between the two gangs. When that happens, he'll be the first to die!"

"True."

Ding Ying thought it over. These past few months, both Chu Dongjiao and Gu Diao had been secretly nibbling away at Gatehouse Street and Jingkong Street. Neither had made an open show of it.

"But even without bringing men, Snake Eye alone is not to be underestimated. He's at the middle stage of the fifth refinement..."

Before Ding Ying finished, Wei Sheng interrupted him. "Will Chu Dongjiao come?"

"No. He's stationed at the Fish Market, guarding the treasure fish. His responsibilities are extremely important..."

"Then there's nothing to worry about."

"Huh?!"

"Right, how much revenue would these three months normally bring in?"

"??"

Ding Ying was rather bewildered. Weren't we talking about Snake Eye? How did we jump to protection money?

"Add it up later and give me a figure."

Jingkong Street.

Yuelai Restaurant.

Inside a private room on the third floor.

A blue-robed man of medium build with unusually thick arms toyed with a teacup as he listened to his subordinate's report.

"Brother Fei, we've confirmed it. The man who led the attack on Zhenglong Gambling House and threatened to make them clear out of East Prosperity Street within three days was none other than Wei Sheng, the newly appointed member of the Five Tigers!"

Hearing this,

Lan Fei, the strongest fighter under Gu Diao, set down his teacup and gave a strange, tutting laugh.

"A newborn calf truly has no fear of the tiger. Does he think petty scuffles like this can scare Snake Eye?"

"Brother Fei, do you think that brat's acting so brazenly because some expert is backing him?" his underling asked curiously.

"Impossible!"

Lan Fei shook his head.

"Who in the Fish-Dragon Gang doesn't know that Weiyuan Hall is both poor and dangerous? Black Tiger only has a handful of capable fighters under him. Where would he find any experts to spare?

"Of course, we can't rule out that he's brought in help from elsewhere. But even with help, he's no match for Snake Eye.

"Before joining Azure Dragon Hall, Snake Eye was a mountain bandit. He knows plenty of ruthless characters. If that brat truly angers him, even a helper at the fifth refinement would leave him facing more peril than hope."

Quite a few people shared Lan Fei's opinion.

Before Wei Sheng even returned to the teahouse, word that he had smashed up Zhenglong Gambling House and threatened to make them leave East Prosperity Street in three days had already spread throughout the street.

Many shop owners shook their heads upon hearing it, clearly doubtful of Wei Sheng's prospects.

He was too reckless.

Besides, such a vast gap in strength between the two sides could not be overcome with a few harsh words.

Of course, some felt that Wei Sheng must have something to rely on to dare say such things.

Some even kept a special watch on the teahouse, wanting to see what Wei Sheng would do next.

No matter how fiercely the outside world debated, the teahouse at the center of the storm remained unusually quiet, as though nothing had ever happened.

Early morning.

Snake Eye was smothered awake by a mound of soft flesh.

Upon waking, he found a bare-breasted woman lying on top of him, her two pale mounds burying his entire head.

Another woman lay beside him, her head resting on his arm.

"Fuck! Get out!"

Furious, Snake Eye kicked both women off the bed. They looked terrified, not understanding what had happened.

But upon hearing his final command, they scrambled and crawled out of the room.

"Hiss!"

Snake Eye shifted, then immediately rubbed his lower back and sucked in a cold breath.

Having his gambling house smashed up yesterday had left him furious, and he had spent half the night venting. Now his anger was completely gone, but his lower back ached faintly.

"Hmm? What's that?!"

Snake Eye's gaze suddenly sharpened. He stared at the dagger embedded in the table and strode over.

Pinned beneath the dagger was a palm-sized slip of paper. From its appearance, it seemed to have been torn from a ledger. A single character had been written in vermilion on the blank paper:

Two!

The writing was scarlet, like blood, a shocking sight.

Snake Eye's pupils contracted sharply at the sight.

Someone came in last night?

And left a dagger and a note?

Alongside his shock and fury, Snake Eye felt a lingering fear.

When had that intruder come? How had I failed to notice anything?

If that person had stabbed me to death, wouldn't I have been left without even a chance to resist?

And what did this "two" mean?

He instinctively thought of Wei Sheng. Of the people he had offended recently, there was only that brat.

And today was indeed the second day of the deadline he had given.

But then he shook his head.

"It shouldn't be him. To slip into my bedroom without a sound, someone would need strength at least equal to mine, or a lightness movement technique at great accomplishment...

"That brat is so young. Reaching the fourth refinement is already rare enough. How could he also have trained such a formidable movement technique?

"But even if it wasn't him, it should still have something to do with him!"

The more Snake Eye thought, the more alarmed he became, and the uglier his expression grew.

"Brother Snake Eye."

Just then, Master Su hurried in at a jog.

"Something terrible has happened! A thief entered the courtyard last night! The three hundred taels the counting room had prepared to seal up and hand over to Lord Jiao, along with the other valuables-five hundred taels in total... it's all gone!"

"What?!"

Snake Eye's face turned livid.

Including the three hundred taels stolen yesterday, he had lost eight hundred taels in just two days.

That was almost as much as Lord Jiao's Fish Market brought in over an entire month.

This was no mere theft of silver. They were practically gouging out his flesh!

"Damn you, Wei Sheng!"

Snake Eye slammed his hand onto the table, and his jin force instantly shattered the solid redwood table into pieces.

"Brother Snake Eye, you think that brat did it? How is that possible?" Master Su found it hard to believe.

"Look!"

Snake Eye tossed the note to Master Su. After reading it, the latter's expression grew grave. "It really is him! Brother Snake Eye, should we take our men and charge over?!"

"No!"

Snake Eye shook his head.

Had this been yesterday, he would certainly have stormed the teahouse without hesitation and interrogated Wei Sheng.

But after someone had slipped in last night, he no longer dared go to the teahouse.

Originally, he had only suspected that Wei Sheng had set a trap. Now, however, he was absolutely certain Wei Sheng had already laid everything out and was just waiting for him to jump in.

"Master Su, what should we do next?" Snake Eye looked at Master Su.

"Cancel the arrangements at the gambling house and move them to your bedroom. Since he's being so brazen, I think he'll come back tonight..."

After a silence, Master Su hurriedly offered a countermeasure.

Hearing this, Snake Eye's face abruptly darkened. "Then we'll make sure he never leaves!!"

Night.

A black-clad figure, his body like a wild goose, drifted without a trace and entered the courtyard without a sound.

He gently pushed open Snake Eye's bedroom door, then walked inside.

The instant his entire body entered the room,

the door slammed shut!

Snap!

Lamps flared inside, instantly making the room as bright as day.

Twenty or thirty Azure Dragon Hall gang members swarmed out from within the room, clubs in hand, surrounding the Black-Clad Man.

Three more figures with ferocious auras strode out from the inner chamber.

Their leader was none other than Snake Eye. Holding a long saber, he stared coldly at the tall, black-clad figure.

"You really dared to come. In that case... you're staying here!!"