Chapter 20

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

Seeing Ye Tian appear, the people on the first floor all rose at once, staring at him with burning eyes.

He waved his hand, signaling them to sit down, then regarded the newcomer with keen interest—he had expected news from Lei Tang to arrive tomorrow, not tonight; it was surprisingly fast.

"..."

His Adam's apple rolled.

This sight made the man even more terrified.

"Big Brother Lei says... you must stop fighting now, can't keep battling the Earth Dragon Gang..."

"What kind of thing is this Big Brother Lei, to dare tell our Boss what to do?"

Someone couldn't hold back, and others nearby chimed in.

"Exactly! Our Boss does whatever he wants—tell that Big Brother Lei to die!"

"Dare say that to my face!"

Those who shouted were mostly young, reckless fools, fearless as newborn calves; the older ones might hesitate, but these youths were truly willing to act.

"N-not... I... I..."

The messenger was nearly crying—he was just a messenger, didn't issue the order himself, yet everyone looked like they wanted to tear him apart.

Ye Tian said nothing, holding his wine cup, lost in thought.

Soon, the voice he waited for came.

【Detected: Host triggered a life choice】

【Choice One: Accept Lei Tang's offer, temporarily cease hostilities! Reward: Intermediate Loyalty +3】

【Choice Two: Reject Lei Tang, continue fighting! Reward: Intermediate Loyalty +3】

Sure enough, Ye Tian had already figured out the system's pattern—triggers always tied to his own choices.

Previously it was Primary Loyalty; now it's Intermediate Loyalty?

Seeing the man on the verge of wetting himself, legs trembling like a sieve, Ye Tian finally spoke.

"Go back and tell Big Brother Lei: I, Ye Tian, fought the Poison Fangs to avenge my brothers. Now the Poison Fangs are dead, I have no further grievances. But if the Earth Dragon Gang dares to attack first, I, Ye Tian, will not back down!"

Keep fighting?

Ye Tian wasn't stupid—his current manpower was barely enough to hold the territory he had.

If he kept fighting, even if he won, the expanded territory would be too vast, his men too few—he'd just be handing gains to others in his own gang. Did they really think he was running a charity?

"K-knew!"

After receiving Ye Tian's reply, the man fled the tavern like a hunted animal.

"Keep drinking!"

Ye Tian paid no attention, merely raising his cup and speaking to the crowd.

"Haha, Boss is decisive!"

"I toast you, Boss!"

"Come on, let's keep drinking!"

The tavern's atmosphere returned to its former bustle.

The man who escaped the tavern only stopped after putting distance between them—his heart still pounded violently.

"What the hell, is this guy a newbie?"

He'd heard Ye Tian was new to the Black Water Gang, so he'd volunteered for this mission, thinking to use Lei Tang's name to intimidate him and maybe extort some money.

But now it seemed this was a damn weird newbie.

Next time there's a job like this, I'm not taking it.

,,,

Taking advantage of the commotion.

Ye Tian informed Mei Yongning of what he hadn't yet explained.

"You'll still handle the accounts—now that our territory's grown, managing finances won't be as easy as before."

Not to mention literacy—there weren't many who could even count here; besides entrusting it to Mei Yongning, he had no one else to turn to.

"Boss, rest assured—I've never made a mistake in all these years."

On this point alone, Mei Yongning spoke with confidence; yes, he'd have more work ahead, but to him, that was no burden—better to be busy than idle.

"Hmm!"

He patted Mei Yongning's shoulder and said no more.

Gang members drank without regard for time—until they passed out. Ye Tian clearly couldn't waste time on such things.

When things had settled enough, he left first.

But just a few steps outside the tavern, he heard a soft, rustling sound behind him.

He turned and saw Xiao Cao gnawing on a chicken leg, her innocent eyes fixed on him.

"..."

If not for the eating sounds, Ye Tian wouldn't have noticed she was following him—did she walk without making any noise?

"Why are you following me?"

"Didn't you tell me to follow you?"

Her eyes remained innocent.

"I told you to follow me to work—I don't need you shadowing me every second."

"Oh!"

He scratched his head. So, had he misunderstood?

"Alright, you can go back to sleep now."

But hearing Ye Tian say that, Little Grass's expression grew even more hesitant. Seeing this, Ye Tian finally understood what was going on.

"So, you don't have a place to stay."

"Mm!" Little Grass didn't deny it, but nodded instead.

"I used to sleep inside the brothel, but now.."

Since she no longer worked inside the brothel, she definitely couldn't go back to sleep there.

Ye Tian found it amusing to watch.

"Didn't you just get a hundred taels? Worst case, just spend the money and stay at an inn."

"No!"

As if by reflex, Little Grass instinctively refused.

And she covered the place where she kept her money, her face full of vigilance, afraid Ye Tian would take her money away.

"Hahaha!"

That food-guarding look made Ye Tian unable to hold back his laughter.

"Relax, no one's going to steal your money. Since you don't have a place to stay, then come with me."

Anyway, his own home had plenty of empty rooms.

After saying that, Ye Tian took the lead and left. Seeing that Ye Tian wouldn't swindle her money, Little Grass then hurried to catch up.

"Thank you, you're really a great person!"

Here we go again.

Every time he heard Little Grass call him a good person, the corners of Ye Tian's mouth would uncontrollably curve upward.

,,,

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

When Ye Tian returned to his residence, the three Intermediate Loyalty followers had already been waiting here for quite some time.

They immediately strode over.

"Wh.. what do you guys want?"

Little Grass hadn't forgotten her duty. With trembling hands she held a small knife — this was what Ye Tian had given Little Grass; she couldn't keep using a broken pair of scissors to do the job from now on.

Those three were all burly, broad-shouldered men, forming a stark contrast with the thin and tiny Little Grass. Her legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Enough! Don't worry, these are my people!"

He patted Little Grass on the shoulder. Courage could be trained, but loyalty like this couldn't be trained out of anyone. At the very least, Little Grass's reaction made Ye Tian very satisfied.

"Introduce yourselves!"

Ye Tian looked at the three burly men.

It was just as well — Ye Tian was also curious about what kind of difference there was between Primary Loyalty and Intermediate Loyalty.

"Just call me Iron Fist, Boss. Back then, if it weren't for Boss giving me a meal and sending me to a martial arts hall to learn martial arts, I'd have been long dead. Now that I've achieved something in my cultivation, I specially came to repay Boss."

The leader, a burly man with hands covered in calluses, spoke to Ye Tian in a sincere tone.

,,,,,,,