Chapter 9: New Card

Xing Yong's residence.

The two-courtyard house was now packed with people.

After Chen Mu walked into the courtyard, the first thing he saw was a burly, square-jawed man with a thick stubbly beard, half-crouching on the ground, examining the bodies of Xing Yong and Liu Bao's five men.

"Boss Xie!"

Chen Mu came to a stop. Huang Feiyang stepped forward slightly, cupped his fist, and bowed respectfully.

"Feiyang, you've come."

The big man didn't even raise his head, continuing to examine the bodies as he said, "Xing Yong got into a conflict with someone recently. Do you know who?"

"Reporting to Boss Xie, I don't really know the details." Huang Feiyang replied. "Brother Bao and the others have been following Boss Xing the longest…"

He didn't finish the rest of the sentence.

Liu Bao's four were Xing Yong's trusted confidants; whatever Xing Yong had done, they basically knew about it.

But the problem was, Liu Bao's four were now dead too!

Fortunately, Huang Feiyang had been brawling and killing for several years, so his composure was still decent.

Xie Hong didn't get angry either, nor did he release a martial artist's imposing aura.

Otherwise, Huang Feiyang really wasn't sure he could have held up, and would have given himself away.

Of course.

The main thing was, after Xie Hong finished examining the bodies, he concluded that no one on this side of Changping Ward could have killed Xing Yong and Liu Bao's group so easily.

"Flying needles across the face, iron spike through the throat."

Xie Hong stood up and said in a steady voice, "The one who killed Xing Yong is a skilled hand of the jianghu. Xing Yong and the others barely put up any resistance before being cut down one-sidedly."

Huang Feiyang was silent.

In his heart, however, his pulse gave two hard thumps.

Xing Yong barely resisted and just died?

Chen Mu's assassination is impressive—worthy of being my brother!

"The valuables in the house weren't touched, the money on Xing Yong and his five men wasn't taken, and Xing Yong's seven wives and concubines don't even know what happened in the front courtyard."

Xie Hong continued, "It's obvious the killer came only for Xing Yong's life! This bastard offended someone he shouldn't have! Now that he's dead, all you can say is he deserved it."

"…"

Huang Feiyang lowered his head, forcibly holding back the urge to cheer.

Chen Mu also lowered his head, the corners of his mouth curling up.

Deserved it—good, deserved it—wonderful!

Xie Hong's words effectively set the official tone for the deaths of Xing Yong and his five men.

They offended someone they shouldn't have!

Being killed now was a private grudge!

Since it was a private grudge, it had nothing to do with the "Great Saber Gang," and they wouldn't keep pursuing it afterward.

For Chen Mu and Huang Feiyang, this was undoubtedly good news.

Think about it and it's understandable.

The one who killed Xing Yong was clearly a martial artist—one skilled in hidden weapons and assassination at that.

Being targeted by such a person, Xie Hong himself couldn't sleep soundly. He'd have to be out of his mind to keep digging into it.

Although Xing Yong was his subordinate, their relationship was average. Faced with a killer hiding in the shadows, he couldn't wait to distance himself.

"Changping Ward needs someone to keep an eye on it. Now that Xing Yong is dead, here's what we'll do…"

Xie Hong turned, faced all the gang members in the courtyard, pointed at Huang Feiyang, and declared loudly, "Feiyang will temporarily take over Xing Yong's position and be in charge of Changping Ward. Once his merits are sufficient, he will formally assume the post of squad leader."

What?

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned.

The next moment, the crowd came to their senses and shouted in unison.

"Yes!!"

"…" Huang Feiyang was a bit dazed. This sudden surprise left his mind momentarily blank on the spot.

Chen Mu, on the other hand, was surprised.

Killing Xing Yong was a counterattack, eliminating a future threat.

He hadn't expected there to be a gain as well.

Huang Feiyang temporarily took over Xing Yong's role, became a squad leader, and was in charge of Changping Ward!

"…Th-thank you, Boss Xie!"

Coming back to his senses, Huang Feiyang dropped to his knees with a thud and performed a grand bow to Xie Hong.

"Haha, please rise quickly." Xie Hong raised his hand in a lifting gesture and said with a smile, "Feiyang, your merits are plain for all to see. Having you temporarily take over, everyone is convinced. After taking the seat, I hope you'll continue to work hard and take down Chang Le Street soon!"

"Feiyang will give it everything I've got and take Chang Le Street!" Huang Feiyang declared in a ringing voice.

"Haha, then I'll be waiting for your good news." Xie Hong laughed heartily.

"Take Chang Le Street!"

"Take Chang Le Street!"

The others shouted in unison.

From this, one could see everyone's attitude toward Xing Yong.

The bodies hadn't even been cleaned up yet, and they were already one-sidedly supporting Huang Feiyang.

Chen Mu looked at the smile on Xie Hong's face and suddenly had a realization.

'This guy letting me temporarily take over as squad leader probably isn't out of the kindness of his heart.'

【A human shield?】

Chen Mu fell into thought.

If the person who killed Xing Yong was targeting the "Great Blade Gang," then now that Xing Yong is dead, the next target is Xie Hong!

If Huang Feiyang takes over, then if anyone has to die, Huang Feiyang dies first!

Here in Changping Ward, Huang Feiyang is the strongest fighter. Promoting him to temporarily act as headman, making him serve as a human shield—Xie Hong loses nothing by it.

On the contrary, he can gain Huang Feiyang's loyalty!

Three birds with one stone~

Thinking of this, Chen Mu took another look at Xie Hong.

As expected, none of those who become a big headman are simple.

……

An acting headman is still a headman.

Huang Feiyang became the new boss on the streets of Changping Ward. Once the news spread, the various shopkeepers running shops on the street sent gifts to his door one after another.

For those running shops, this was money that had to be spent.

One must understand that the protection fees each shop paid monthly were not uniformly set by the "Great Blade Gang," but were set by the collecting headman.

Change one headman, and you change the method.

If a black-hearted one were put in place, every shop would have to bleed heavily.

Hence, sending gifts in advance was solely to build good relations, hoping that when the protection fees were collected, they wouldn't be too harsh.

In response, after Huang Feiyang accepted the gifts, he stated that the rules for collecting protection fees would remain the same as before.

Just that one sentence made the shopkeepers of the various shops instantly beam with smiles.

In fact, Chen Mu had discussed it with Huang Feiyang: even if you squeeze the shops on the streets here in Changping Ward dry, you can't skim much fat from them.

To make money, you have to take Changle Street!

However, taking Changle Street isn't that simple—it's not something that can be solved just by Huang Feiyang replacing Xing Yong.

It depends on the right timing.

And the right timing requires waiting.

Waiting around doing nothing won't do.

Over the next few days, Huang Feiyang took the gift money he'd received, rented a large new residence, and then took Miao Xiuxiu as his wife.

Truly a promotion, a raise, and a wife—all in one go!

……

Huang Feiyang was riding high for a time.

Chen Mu wasn't idle either.

He roamed all over the city, and every three days he made a trip to the two mass graves outside the city to collect cards.

Internal Force Cards, Skill Cards—although he didn't get any more of those, he obtained plenty of Power Cards, one after another. Using them to augment himself, he pushed his physique to grow stronger, his strength continuously increasing.

Within half a month, his strength successfully climbed to three thousand jin!

One evening.

Chen Mu was returning from outside the city. As he passed a street corner, he suddenly heard a burst of commotion and battle cries.

The crowd on the street screamed and scattered in panic.

Once the crowd dispersed, Chen Mu, who had dodged into a corner, saw two gangs fighting on the street.

It wasn't a brawl, but a real life-and-death struggle with blades and spears, blood spraying.

"Green Snake Gang? Blood Wolf Gang?"

From their attire, Chen Mu recognized the affiliations of the two gangs.

They were two other gangs from the eastern district of the outer city.

Of the two sides, the Green Snake Gang had fewer people—only nine—while the Blood Wolf Gang had fifteen.

Because they were fighting to the death.

On the Green Snake Gang's side, three people quickly fell.

The remaining six fled in panic.

The Blood Wolf Gang's men pursued closely behind.

The two gangs quickly disappeared at the end of the alley, leaving only three corpses lying on the ground.

"……"

Chen Mu immediately stepped forward and collected three cards.

Then, he quickly left.

Once he was out of the street, he reached out and touched the new cards.

Stamina Card!

Power Card!

Cultivation Card!

Hm?

Cultivation Card?