264: Uncle, what is this place?

"Aunt, Uncle, my cousin died saving me. I will fulfill my filial duty to her." Zhuang Sanming looked up, wiped the tears from his face, and his eyes were incredibly serious.

"Xiao Zhuang, you..."

Xiong Mao still wanted to persuade him, but Zhuang Sanming shook his head firmly.

Seeing this, Xiong Mao had no choice but to remain silent.

Everyone has something they want to pursue, but not everyone can abandon everything to pursue these things.

With Su Duo gone, only Zhuang Sanming was left by Father Su and Mother Su's side.

If he were to leave again, he would be truly heartless.

"Alright, I respect your decision, but if you ever change your mind, you are always welcome back," Xiong Mao said.

Zhuang Sanming nodded.

This night was destined to be sleepless... The next day.

The Axe Gang underwent a major reshuffle. The former Third Elder, Xiong Mao, took over as the Gang Leader. The three original factions within the gang also merged into one. The Old Gang Leader and Bao Hui were dead, and Xiong Mao ordered them to be given a grand burial, making sure to save face.

The Axe Gang had a new Gang Leader. Although the number of members had decreased due to the previous conflicts, they could still muster six or seven hundred people, remaining the largest gang Outside the Guild.

After going through so much, Xiong Mao was no longer the simple-minded Xiong Mao he once was.

He had to take on this mess.

"There's no rush to expand the Axe Gang. The important thing is to reorganize the battlefield and then assign tasks to the gang members..."

At the table, Wen Hui was looking down, sketching on paper while speaking to Xiong Mao.

Hundred Flowers Valley was gone, and she had nowhere to go, so she chose to stay with the Axe Gang.

Xiong Mao listened intently. They had developed some tacit agreement during this time, and although Xiong Mao wasn't particularly bright, he was obedient, so their cooperation was quite pleasant.

After listening to her words, Xiong Mao agreed, "You're right. Expanding now would easily bring in all sorts of unruly people. It's better to sort out the internal affairs first."

He paused here and then added, "Oh, I've had your residence prepared. It's in the east courtyard, a spacious house as you requested, with five rooms in total. I also had some flowers and plants transplanted there, so you can enjoy them when you go for a stroll."

"Ah?"

Wen Hui put down her pen and looked back at him. "An entire courtyard for me to live in?"

"Yes," Xiong Mao didn't think there was anything wrong with it. "You said you wanted something spacious, and it just so happens that there aren't as many gang members now, so it's easy to clear out a courtyard."

There was another thing Xiong Mao didn't say: she was a young woman, and it was already inappropriate for her to live in a place where all the big men of the Axe Gang gathered. It would be better to let her live alone in a courtyard, which would also be more convenient.

"Hmm, that's not wrong. Let's do that then." Wen Hui nodded in agreement.

As they talked, another matter came to mind.

"Has Elder He still not been found?" Wen Hui asked.

"No, everyone struggled to survive yesterday, so no one noticed Elder He's whereabouts. However, he only took Steward Xiao He with him and no other gang members, so he shouldn't be able to cause much trouble," Xiong Mao said, stroking the stubble on his chin.

Wen Hui's expression was serious. "It's best to keep searching for Elder He. Even if we can't catch him, we need to intimidate him and make him understand that the current Axe Gang isn't a place he can just come and go as he pleases."

"Alright."

"Also, you should take people to investigate the irregularities Xiao Zhuang discovered while undercover in the selection area. If necessary, after relocating the clues, you can burn down the selection area."

"Burn it down? Then how will we select new gang members in the future?" Xiong Mao didn't quite understand.

"Find a new place and re-designate the selection area. That place has already been infiltrated by Elder He."

"Alright, we'll do as you say."

... In a base several hundred kilometers Outside the 155 Wall, an old man with white hair and a long white beard, accompanied by a middle-aged man, knocked on a red wooden door.

The door was opened from inside. "The plan... failed?"

"Yes... The Axe Gang infiltration plan Outside the 155 Wall failed. Executor 2406 has come to receive punishment." The white-haired old man lowered his head, trembling, his whole body radiating resistance.

"Come in," the person who opened the door said, his tone devoid of emotion, and his eyes didn't meet the old man's, as if he didn't care about him at all.

"Yes..." The old man gritted his teeth, preparing to step forward, but the middle-aged man behind him suddenly tugged at his clothes.

He turned his head, showing a puzzled expression.

"Uncle, what is this place? Can we... really survive?" The middle-aged man looked around, this place gave him a very strange feeling. He kept his neck shrunken, not daring to look up, and his voice was pitifully small.

"It's alright, don't be afraid," the old man said, comforting the middle-aged man, but even his tongue was trembling as he spoke.

"Uncle..." Steward Xiao He was terrified now. Yesterday, a big battle broke out in the Axe Gang, and he thought he could follow Elder He and the Old Gang Leader to win this battle and get promoted to Elder. Who knew that the Old Gang Leader actually died in the end.

With the Old Gang Leader dead, their uncle and nephew's identities would be very awkward, so when Elder He wanted to drag him away to escape, Steward Xiao He followed without a second thought.

As a result, Elder He brought him to this godforsaken place.

It was desolate all around, and not in a natural way. It was the kind of desolation caused by the excessive use of highly destructive agents on the land... The difference was huge, discernible at a glance.

Besides that, what Elder He just said about 2406 and the failed infiltration plan seemed to be something big!

He was just a small steward; could he really digest all this information?

Steward Xiao He couldn't help but swallow, looking at the red wooden door in front of him, he hesitated to move forward.

"Hurry up and follow! Do you still want to go back to the Axe Gang?" Elder He turned back and urged.

"Alright." Steward Xiao He thought about it, it seemed he really couldn't go back to the Axe Gang, so he responded and quickly followed... Outside the 155 Wall, the Guild.

"Oh?"

"The Bingyan Office actually lost? Interesting."

The Guild Leader heard from his subordinate that the conflict in the Axe Gang ended with Xiong Mao's victory. Bao Hui and the Director of the Bingyan Office died on the spot, and the others scattered and fled, their whereabouts unknown.

The Guild Leader held the porcelain cup in his hand, rubbing it. This outcome truly surprised him a little. Although the tides of battle could change in an instant, the disparity between Bao Hui's faction and Xiong Mao's faction was simply too great.

Others might not know the rank of the Director of the Bingyan Office, but how could he, who had almost fought him, not know? That was a Martial Artist above level ten.