Chapter 393

What happened at the Tsim Sha Tsui restaurant spread across Gangdao's underworld in no time, and these jianghu people reacted in various ways.

Some took pleasure in the misfortune, while others wanted to seize the opportunity to take a bite out of Lianying, such as Bearded Yong.

This time Bearded Yong learned his lesson; if he wants to eat meat, he must settle Li Xin, or else he might get blocked out again.

This had happened several times, so Bearded Yong called Li Xin.

He spoke politely: "Mountain Chief, I am A Yong of the Yi-character pile. I heard Lianying dared not give you face; as a member of the Hongfa Mountain Lineage, I cannot tolerate this—what do you think?"

Li Xin glanced at Wen Shu opposite him, then said to Bearded Yong: "Brother Yong, this is an affair of our Red Trust Group; it has nothing to do with Hongfa Mountain—surely it's unnecessary?"

"It is necessary! This isn't just the Red Trust Group's affair; Lianying's Lei Wei dares to show disrespect to the Mountain Chief of Hongfa Mountain, meaning he doesn't put us in his eyes. If we don't act, where would Hongfa Mountain's face be?"

Li Xin laughed, thought for a moment—Lianying's territory in Yau Tsim Mong isn't big; since Bearded Yong is so eager, let's give him a chance.

After all, Prosperity's territory is already large enough; Lianying's little patch is the same whoever takes it.

After thinking it over, he then replied to Bearded Yong: "Brother Yong, since you're willing, I'll leave this to you to handle—but with one condition: you may only move on Lianying's Yau Tsim Mong territory, nowhere else."

"Wen Shu has been with Lianying for decades; if Lianying loses its flag, he'd lose face, so please, Brother Yong, inform the brothers on the jianghu."

Bearded Yong understood Li Xin's meaning: they wanted to exterminate Lei Wei, yet let Lianying off the hook.

He readily agreed: "No problem, Mountain Chief; I'll take care of this—if anything goes wrong, you can hold me responsible."

At the same time, many hall heads and veterans gathered in Lianying's hall.

Lei Wei sat in a chair, wearing crooked-legged glasses, his cheeks red and swollen.

Looking at the crowd, he spoke: "Everyone knows what happened today; Wen Shu is an elder of our Lianying, and I've had a small misunderstanding with him."

"Moreover, Immortal Trust disregards jianghu ethics, meddles arbitrarily in other societies' internal affairs, and has even served a challenge letter to Lianying—what do you say?"

An elder who got along well with Wen Shu, upon hearing this, immediately objected and loudly questioned.

"You haven't told the whole story, have you?"

"Everyone has a sense of right and wrong in their heart; why would Wen Ge embarrass you, don't you have a clue?"

"Besides, Immortal Trust only served you a challenge letter, not Lianying—don't mix things up."

"Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with Immortal Trust serving you a challenge letter; nowadays, who in Gangdao doesn't know that Wen Ge is their Red Trust Group's exclusive lawyer?"

"You threatened Wen Ge in public; if Immortal Trust does nothing, does its signboard still mean anything?"

"This is your own matter—don't drag Lianying into it."

Many people, before coming to the hall, had already received Wen Shu's call, in which he told them the details of the matter.

The Kowloon City hall chief, Xiao Sa, who was on good terms with Tang Jun, slammed the table.

Pointing at Lei Wei, he cursed: "You bastard, don't you know how Ah Jun ran away?"

"You're using his name to cause trouble under the guise of demolition; Wen Shu gets along well with Ah Jun—what's wrong with him giving you a hard time?"

"Now you've provoked Immortal Trust behind Wen Shu, and you still want to drag Lianying down?"

"You two-faced scoundrel, what face do you have to act under Lianying's banner?"

Xiao Sa looked around, raised his hand, and loudly said: "I propose we expel Lei Wei from Lianying—let's vote by show of hands."

The Lianying leader is Tang Jun; now that he's fled, the position is vacant, and such matters can only be decided by a show of hands.

Lei Wei gave Xiao Sa a sinister glance and asked: "If Lianying bows and submits just because of a few words from Immortal Trust, will its signboard still be needed in the future?"

Xiao Sa raised his middle finger, pointing at Lei Wei and shouting: "Damn Lei Wei, are you lovesick?"

"What sort of person is Immortal Trust—should I explain it in detail? With Lianying's small stature, can it withstand Immortal Trust's mischief?"

"Never mind Lianying—what about the Lian-prefixed main society, Lian Ji; could it even stand up to Immortal Trust's retaliation?"

"Besides, Big Brother Rong also makes a living in the entertainment circle—would he help a loser like you get ahead? You're just being blind!"

Lei Wei's heart stirred when Xiao Sa mentioned Big Brother Rong; maybe he could still be saved.

He immediately stood up and told the crowd: "I don't accept your decision while the leader's seat is vacant; as long as Tang Jun doesn't announce my expulsion from Lianying in the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall for a day, I remain Lianying's veteran—this fact cannot be changed!"

Having said that, Lei Wei strode out of Lianying's Loyalty and Righteousness Hall.

Lei Wei's remarks made Xiao Sa explode with rage, pointing at his back and cursing wildly.

"Damn Lei Wei, I don't blame you for killing your parents and spouse—it's just that you've done too many wicked deeds; this is retribution."

"If you don't exterminate your line, it's utterly unjust!"

In the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall, Lianying's uncles and veterans exchanged glances, gaining a new understanding of Lei Wei's shamelessness.

Lei Wei left the Loyalty and Righteousness Hall and headed straight for a mahjong parlor in Mong Kok.

The Lian Ji society was founded by Liu Rongju, established in the early 1940s.

Liu Rongju, known in the jianghu as 'Big Ju Brother', is the nephew of the legendary Island police figure Detective Liu Fu, giving him strong backing.

Liu Rongju is also a closed-door disciple of Deng Bowen, and Deng Bowen is the father of Big Brother Rong, so he treats Big Brother Rong very well, almost leaving all his Gangdao estate to him.

In the 1960s–70s, under Liu Rongju's leadership, Lian Ji ran roughshod over Gangdao, with both the underworld and the establishment having to give him face.

Initially, the society's members were mainly dockworkers, controlling most of Gangdao's waterways, making its power extremely strong.

In the mid-1970s, Liu Rongju fled to Maple Leaf Country due to ineffective connections, and there he expanded the scale of the Lian Ji society, making it the largest Chinese community society in Toronto at the time.

When Liu Rongju was on Aodao, He Xin had to be respectful in his presence, showing his status.

After Liu Rongju left Gangdao, Big Brother Rong naturally became the leader of Lian Ji, and with this status he was hailed as the big brother of Gangdao's entertainment circle.

He is also a heavyweight figure; compared to him, the Xu Qiang brothers are just little brothers.

Big Brother Rong is righteous, values love and loyalty, has made many friends in the entertainment circle, and has discovered a batch of excellent directors and actors.

These connections helped him consolidate his position in Gangdao's entertainment circle.

His influence in Gangdao's entertainment circle is immense; he can even affect other artists, so many people must address him as 'Big Brother' when they meet him.

Of course, this title is only used within that circle.

(Daoist, we're old brothers too—come, come, come, let's find a little black room to chat; compared to those vast seas, Ah Biao can proudly say, a puddle isn't big!)