95: The flowers were falling and the water was running dry; the Black Dog Gang was in a panic!
"Xie Hongbing, our Black Dog Gang and your Wendong Society have always minded our own business. This month, you've repeatedly attacked our operations. Are you itching for a fight with us?"
Scorched Skin stood before the crowd, shouting fiercely at Xie Hongbing and his group.
Xie Hongbing picked at his ear with an indifferent expression. His orders were to drive the Black Dog Gang into a corner, to keep hitting them until their Gang leader personally led the elite Hound Squad into battle.
"You idiot, we're targeting the Black Dog Gang specifically. To tell you the truth, our Wendong Society has our eyes on your territory. If you're smart, you'll hand it over early; otherwise, we'll hack you to death!"
Xie Hongbing deliberately acted like a hooligan. Surprisingly, his acting was quite good; at the very least, it made Scorched Skin and his group grit their teeth in rage. Scorched Skin, fuming with anger, shouted through clenched teeth:
"Brothers, this guy surnamed Xie is too arrogant! Our Black Dog Gang has stood tall in Temple Street for over twenty years and has never been afraid. Whoever hacks Xie Hongbing to death today, I'll tell the boss to promote him to Vice Hall Master!"
Unable to contain his rage, Scorched Skin grabbed an iron rod and gave his brothers a final pre-battle pep talk.
"Heh, brothers, I, Xie Hongbing, thank you all for coming to support me. I've nothing else to say: one hundred taels for every lackey you take down, and two thousand taels for that leader!"
Unlike Scorched Skin's empty promises, Xie Hongbing, backed secretly by the Chen family, believed in one thing: throwing money around. As the saying goes, "Under a generous reward, there will surely be brave men!"
The people following Xie Hongbing were originally martial arts school Disciples from Longkou and Longwei counties. They all possessed martial skills and usually looked down on these bullies who preyed on the weak. Hearing that they could earn so much money by beating them up, these men immediately began to howl with excitement.
"Hahaha! Brothers, follow me and hack these bastards!"
Seeing that everyone's emotions were stirred up, Xie Hongbing wasted no more words. He grabbed a machete and charged at the Black Dog Gang's hooligans!
"Brothers, don't be cowards! Hack them! This is our territory, and we have the numbers!"
Scorched Skin wanted to say a few more words of encouragement, but then he saw a squad of burly men in black, wielding machetes and howling as they charged. The fierce glint in their eyes made Scorched Skin panic. He retreated a few steps and let his subordinates charge first!
The moment the two sides clashed, the difference in strength was immediately apparent!
These hooligans were of varying quality, usually relying on their numbers to bully others. Against these martial arts school Disciples, they were instantly beaten to a pulp!
Martial arts school Disciples already had high expenses for their training. To them, these hooligans were each worth a hundred taels of silver. So, they howled and chased after them to hack them down. Six strikes per second wasn't their limit; it was their loyalty to silver!
"Holy crap... they're so fierce?"
Standing behind the crowd, Scorched Skin saw his Black Dog Gang brothers get crushed in a single exchange, and his spirit instantly withered.
What did it mean to be an old hand in the Jianghu? It meant betraying your brothers at the critical moment. Scorched Skin grabbed his eager son, turned around, and started running!
Fortunately, this was a massive brawl involving hundreds of people. Scorched Skin dove into the crowd and, using them as cover, managed to slip away!
These martial arts school Disciples were also measured in their attacks. They generally didn't aim to kill, only wounding the Black Dog Gang members. In any case, they wouldn't be getting out of bed for several months!
"Listen up, Black Dog Gang! From now on, Temple Street is the territory of our Wendong Society! My name is Xie Hongbing. Tell your boss that if you ever dare to hang around Temple Street again, I'll beat you every time I see you!"
Seeing that the outcome was decided, Xie Hongbing stood arrogantly among the crowd and shouted at the wounded Black Dog Gang members lying on the ground. Then, he turned to the martial arts school Disciples who had come to help:
"Brothers, follow us back to collect your silver!"
The many burly men in black cheered, their mouths wide with excitement. They worked for Xie Hongbing precisely because this kid was truly generous!
Soon, Xie Hongbing left with the group of men in black, leaving only a group of wailing Black Dog Gang casualties on Temple Street.
In a teahouse, Chuanwen and Chen Changsheng were sipping tea.
"Father, Little Xie's methods are decent. I expect the Black Dog Gang leader, Wu Tian, won't be able to sit still much longer. Their elite Hound Squad should be making a move soon!"
Seeing Xie Hongbing's grand victory, Chuanwen had a look of joy on his face. After all, he had planned all of this, and Xie Hongbing had done him proud.
"I just don't know if Little Xie can withstand Wu Tian's elites... Only by crushing Wu Tian's elites will the Black Dog Gang's morale truly scatter!"
Chen Changsheng said after taking a sip of tea. After all, the Wendong Society Xie Hongbing had built was maintained with silver; there certainly wouldn't be Martial Artists willing to die for him. Their foundation was still too shallow!
"Father, don't worry. I've already made arrangements. I had Steamed Bun lead a team from the Black Ice Platform to stay by Little Xie's side!"
"Whenever Wu Tian makes his move, I plan to take his head directly. The Black Dog Gang will surely fall into chaos, and we can profit from the turmoil!"
A glint flashed in Chuanwen's eyes as he spoke with a chuckle. Seeing that Chuanwen had a plan, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but nod, but he still cautioned:
"Don't let Steamed Bun be easily exposed and alert Meng Xikun. Let him think it's just a common Gang fight!"
"Alright, Father, I understand. Once we act, we must secure their shipping channels!"
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While Chen Changsheng and Chuanwen conspired in the teahouse, Scorched Skin and his son fled in panic all the way to the Black Dog Gang's Juyi Hall.
Juyi Hall was the Black Dog Gang's most important stronghold, where the Gang leader Wu Tian resided. It served as the Gang's headquarters.
"Boss, that Wendong Society is too fierce! Our hall couldn't hold them back at all. If I didn't have some skill myself, I wouldn't have been able to fight my way back!"
As soon as Scorched Skin entered Juyi Hall and saw the Gang leader and various hall masters present, he quickly feigned a look of grief and indignation.
The various hall masters whispered among themselves. In truth, Scorched Skin's subordinates weren't weak; the men under the other hall masters were roughly on par with his.
Seeing Scorched Skin beaten so badly, they all felt a sense of shared anxiety!
"Boss, I think we must deal with this Wendong Society as soon as possible. They've set their sights on Temple Street, which is the very foundation of our Black Dog Gang!"
A hall master immediately advised Wu Tian, as they didn't want their own halls to be targeted by the Wendong Society next!
Wu Tian appeared calm and composed. He rubbed his scarred bald head and asked a young man to his left:
"Has the Bufeng Hall investigated the background of this Wendong Society?"
Bufeng Hall was the Black Dog Gang's intelligence agency, gathering information for Wu Tian. That young man was Liu Ye, the Master of Bufeng Hall.
"Boss, it's been cleared up. The leader of the Wendong Society is a son of a wealthy family who uses silver to recruit martial arts school Disciples. It's a recently formed Gang. Since their members are all martial arts school Disciples with extraordinary skills, their combat power is very high!"
Hearing Wu Tian's question, Liu Ye quickly relayed the information he had gathered.
If Zhao Song had been present to hear this, he probably wouldn't have been able to stop himself from laughing. The information Liu Ye had gathered was exactly what the Black Ice Platform had planted in secret to make Wu Tian lower his guard.
After hearing Liu Ye's report, Wu Tian felt more at ease. What he feared most was that the Wendong Society had someone backing them; he hadn't expected it to just be a wealthy young master!
"Humph. Since when can you establish yourself in Longkou County just by throwing some silver around? Hall masters, rest assured. I will take the Hound Squad to meet this wealthy young master of the Wendong Society myself!"
Wu Tian snorted coldly, a cruel smile spreading across his fierce face. His Hound Squad wasn't large, only a few dozen men, but every one of them was an elite at or above the Flesh Refining Realm, and every single one was a fierce fighter. How could that piece of trash Xie Hongbing possibly resist?