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墨書 Inktalez
Time passed day by day. I had guaranteed that Qing Gang had entered a period of stability; no one was clamoring for revenge against the old gang anymore. They were all waiting to see what the outcome would be between me and Lu Xian three months later.
During this time, Nan Hongmen had not contacted me. Perhaps Xiang Nanyuan knew that he had betrayed me too many times; even if he reached out, I could never trust him again.
On the other hand, Ye Tong from North Hongmen had called me more than once to maintain our relationship. He never asked me for any favors, and in a way, we shared a common goal. He had his own plans and didn't need to make any special requests of me.
While I was dealing with Lu Xian, I was also investigating Ye Tong's intentions. I had already witnessed the layout of Nan Hongmen and Xiang Nanyuan; I sensed that Ye Tong's plans would not be so simple.
Sure enough, after a month of reassuring Qing Gang, I discovered that nine people within Qing Gang had secretly reached agreements with Ye Tong! There were only forty high-ranking members in total!
I instructed Liu Sen's people to closely monitor these individuals' every move. Nine people were just the tip of the iceberg; the most important thing was to understand Chen Duo's intentions.
Chen Duo had been preparing for the Elder Council, which now consisted of seven elders. Among them, two were Chen Duo's subordinates—loyal followers of Lu Ding Tian—while two belonged to my faction and two to Lu Xian's. It seemed that Chen Duo wanted to balance the power.
This only deepened my suspicions about Chen Duo. It was simple: I had investigated his past; he was not a good person. Although he possessed some abilities, he was stubborn and selfish.
I gave him such a good opportunity to build his own power; why would he include my and Lu Xian's people in the Elder Hall? That didn't make sense.
At the same time, I investigated some of the newly appointed elders. The two elders from my camp were indeed Ye Tong's people, while the two from Lu Xian's camp were not; they were key figures in Lu Xian's faction with considerable strength.
Choosing capable individuals as elders is understandable, but I couldn't shake the feeling that Chen Duo's selections were deliberate. I continued my investigation and soon uncovered some discrepancies.
Chen Duo was trying to poach those two from Lu Xian’s camp, hoping to win them over.
Meanwhile, Lu Xian was overwhelmed and had no time to deal with these matters. Ever since he learned that I possessed evidence of his involvement in Lu Ding Tian’s death, he had become much more subdued, secretly transferring his assets abroad. He realized he could no longer compete with me and planned to escape.
"Third Brother," he said anxiously one day, "Brother Two made mistakes before, but now Brother Two can’t compete with you either. I'm planning to leave. Once I do, everything in Qing Gang will belong to you."
A month and a half later, Lu Xian secretly approached me, looking panicked as he said he no longer had the qualifications to fight against me.
"Oh? Is this your farewell? No need for formalities," I replied with a smile, feeling indifferent. In truth, I held no grudge against Lu Xian; he killed his own father, not mine. Moreover, even if I wanted him dead, it might not require my intervention.
"I want to leave! It's Nan Hongmen who won't let me go! Third Brother, I know you've recently made contact with North Hongmen. Could you talk to them and see if they can help me escape?"
Lu Xian pleaded with me. I had anticipated this outcome for him long ago. What kind of person was Xiang Nanyuan? Not someone good. If Lu Xian revealed my evidence against him to Xiang Nanyuan, Xiang would undoubtedly fly into a rage.
Don’t think for a second that Xiang Nanyuan would let Lu Xian off easily; he would certainly demand that Lu Xian stay behind to serve some remaining purpose—like causing trouble for me or gaining some benefits for Nan Hongmen.
And once Lu Xian stayed behind, when the three-month deadline arrived, it would be his death sentence.
"Are you joking? You think Ye Tong from North Hongmen knows you better than I do?"
I smiled wryly, feeling a sense of irony. In the past, Lu Xian was like a dog by Ye Tong's side, and now that the dog had betrayed its master, it was asking for help? How ridiculous.
Lu Xian suddenly fell silent, then sighed and said, "You know about my past feelings. If I go looking for him? Before I can even finish my sentence, he would kill me. Third Brother, after all, I am your Brother Two!"
So what? I retorted. This Brother Two of yours has never treated me, your Third Brother, as anything significant. Now that you need my help, what makes you think I would assist you?
Seeing my indifference, Lu Xian's expression darkened. It was laughable that he would come to me for help; I would rather see him dead sooner.
"Lu Yan, do you think you've won? Do you understand North Hongmen? Do you understand Ye Tong? Ye Tong's schemes are far more intricate than Xiang Nanyuan's! They are much harder to guard against! Do you know any of this?" Lu Xian frowned as he asked me.
I felt a flicker of interest; indeed, I didn't know much about these matters. After all, Lu Xian had been with Ye Tong for so long that he surely understood him better than I did.
"Go on," I said to Lu Xian. "Let's see if you can persuade me."
I looked at him and asked, knowing full well that even if my relationship with Ye Tong had somewhat improved during this time, asking Ye Tong to save Lu Xian's life might not yield a positive response.
There were others besides Ye Tong who could provide refuge for Lu Xian; I had Jinshan Jiao as my backing—provided he truly had something to offer.
Upon hearing this, Lu Xian nodded eagerly and said, "You’ve seen Xiang Nanyuan; he's quite talented. Compared to Xiang Nanyuan, Ye Tong is lacking in many ways. You know what era we live in—it's entirely an economic age. Although Nan Hongmen has fewer subordinates than North Hongmen, its economic strength far surpasses that of North Hongmen. This isn't the 1990s anymore when gang conflicts were settled with brute force; nowadays, money talks! Nan Hongmen could easily use its economic power to suppress North Hongmen. The only reason they haven't done so is because of Ye Tong!"
"Is it really that impressive?" I frowned as Lu Xian nodded in affirmation.
"Of course! Back then, Ye Tong couldn't stand Tian Ye Group and orchestrated a small scheme that led Qing Gang to eliminate them. If Qing Gang was still under Qu Youyang’s leadership and not aligned with Nan Hongmen, it would have been only a matter of time before North Hongmen wiped out Nan Hongmen."
I frowned again upon hearing this; I had heard about this situation before. Back then, Qu Youyang struggled to gain respect within Qing Gang until Ye Tong proposed marrying him. Qu Youyang was suddenly pressured by the Elder Hall of Qing Gang; everyone wanted him to marry Ye Tong. When Qu Youyang refused, it was Ye Tong who suggested that since Hongmen had withdrawn from the underworld, if Qing Gang absorbed Tian Ye Group, it could become the largest gang in Huaxia. Qu Youyang followed through with this plan, which stabilized Qing Gang internally.
Although there were some minor issues with that plan—Ye Tong intended for Qing Gang and Tian Ye Group to fight each other to mutual destruction—Qu Youyang managed to ally with Du Tao and together they overthrew Tian Ye Group. Even so, Ye Tong still won over Du Tao’s loyalty and turned the conflict with North Hongmen into a major victory for himself.
Lu Xian continued speaking; I hadn’t paid attention to these details until now. Reflecting on it made everything clearer.
Xiang Nanyuan was nearly ten years younger than Ye Tong and had always viewed him as a role model. Xiang Nanyuan never placed all his bets on one person. Do you really think that just because North Hongmen approached you this time that you'll have a favorable outcome, Third Brother?
Lu Xian frowned at me again, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Since your evaluation of Ye Tong is so high, it seems that betraying him to side with Xiang Nanyuan is truly not a wise choice for you.
"I didn’t want this either," he replied. "It’s just that Dad favors Nan Hongmen’s legitimate status more. If Nan Hongmen hadn’t failed to come up with effective strategies against North Hongmen all along, Dad would have stopped hesitating and directly sided with Nan Hongmen."
I furrowed my brow at his words; I had always thought Lu Ding Tian was still waiting for the benefits he desired. If that's the case...
Are you suggesting that even if Qing Gang sided with Nan Hongmen, they still wouldn't be able to compete with North Hongmen?
I was surprised to discover that the strength of Nan Hongmen and North Hongmen differed so greatly. I used to think they were quite similar, and I even believed that Nan Hongmen was slightly stronger. Otherwise, why would Lu Ding Tian always favor Nan Hongmen?
Now I realize that Lu Ding Tian's preference for Nan Hongmen isn't due to its strength, but because the Xiang Family of Nan Hongmen represents the true lineage of Hongmen. I didn't expect this old man to be so traditional; after all, he was part of the previous generation's underworld.
That said, Qing Gang is vast, and its number of subordinates is almost on par with Nan Hongmen. With Qing Gang backing it, Nan Hongmen far surpasses North Hongmen in both numbers and economic power. Even if Ye Tong is formidable, he wouldn't be able to stop Nan Hongmen. In such a scenario, both sides would suffer heavy losses—Nan Hongmen and North Hongmen would be mutually destructive, but what about Qing Gang?
Lu Xian countered my thoughts, and upon reflection, I understood that Qing Gang would inevitably become collateral damage and cease to exist. I breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that North Hongmen wasn't that powerful. If even a merger between Nan Hongmen and Qing Gang couldn't withstand the overwhelming strength of North Hongmen, then there would be no point in continuing the struggle.
Lu Xian's words prompted me to reassess the situation. If Qing Gang sided with North Hongmen, what would the outcome be? Nan Hongmen would be annihilated and absorbed by North Hongmen, leading to a scenario where North Hongmen stood unchallenged.
This was not what I wanted. I had thought that Southern and Northern Hongmen were roughly equal in strength. If that were the case, my options would be limited; I could only lead Qing Gang to ally with Nan Hongmen.
However, I had too many grievances with Xiang Nanyuan from Nan Hongmen. He had tried to deceive me several times, each attempt more insidious than the last. Given this history, even if I chose to overlook the past and collaborate with Nan Hongmen, I believed Xiang Nanyuan would still suspect my motives. Why would I choose him—a person who had betrayed me multiple times—over the seemingly better option of North Hongmen?
I needed an excuse.
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