Chapter 58: The Business Sets Sail

"Brother, what's so important you called me over this late?"

The old demon's residence.

A plump, heavy woman, easily three or four hundred jin, walked in slowly.

It felt as if the ground trembled with every step she took.

"Boss, Sister Zhu!" Twang's voice came lightly.

Poison Dragon followed closely behind; seeing the old demon and Sister Zhu, he nodded respectfully.

For Boss Old Demon, the first leader he ever followed, Poison Dragon had always been utterly loyal.

"Poison Dragon? You're here too!"

Seeing Poison Dragon, Sister Zhu was surprised—she hadn't expected even him to be summoned. Clearly, this was serious business.

Sister Zhu frowned slightly.

"What? Is the old man planning to move against you?"

Only something concerning the Gang Master could make Old Demon summon both you and Poison Dragon together.

"Boss?"

Hearing this, Poison Dragon immediately turned his gaze toward him, eyes filled with concern.

"Don't overthink it. Calling you here is good news."

Smiling and waving his hand, Old Demon feared they'd keep misunderstanding, so he spoke directly.

"Sister, Poison Dragon, don't say we don't look out for you—when we got our hands on something precious, who did we think of first?"

Precious?

Under their puzzled gazes, Hua Gu pulled out two Bǎi Duàn Dāo he had prepared in advance.

"This is the precious thing you mentioned?"

Sister Zhu didn't bother with formalities—they were close siblings; why pretend?

She'd thought it was some great treasure, but it was just a knife.

Though it looked nice, it didn't seem particularly special.

"If you don't believe it, why not try it?"

Old Demon didn't mind the skepticism—he was ready to prove it with facts.

So confident?

Sister Zhu muttered inwardly, but still picked up one of the knives. Without hesitation, she drew it and slashed at the stone table beside her.

"Shuā!"

One stroke—the stone table split cleanly, the cut surface perfectly smooth, the blade unscathed.

"What a fine knife!"

Poison Dragon, watching from beside her, eyes instantly brightened; he immediately grabbed the other knife.

"What a divine weapon," even Sister Zhu was visibly astonished.

"Little brother, how did you get your hands on such a divine weapon?"

"If Sister likes it, there will be many more like this in the future."

"… "

Neither was a fool; hearing this, Sister Zhu and Poison Dragon immediately realized Old Demon had found a way to forge divine weapons.

If he'd just gotten lucky and bought such weapons somewhere, it wouldn't mean much.

But if he'd found a way to repeatedly forge weapons of this caliber, the situation was entirely different—it meant an endless supply of divine weapons.

"Don't overthink it. I just made a deal."

Old Demon waved his hand with a smile.

He gestured for Sister Zhu and Poison Dragon to sit, then continued.

"I'm telling you ahead of time so we don't accidentally clash with someone we should be cooperating with."

"So Boss has someone in mind?"

Poison Dragon reacted fastest—he'd followed Old Demon since he first entered the underworld, and he'd always trusted his brother's judgment.

Back then, when the Black Water Gang's Bāngzhǔ tried to recruit him, it was Old Demon's calmness that led them to switch allegiance and join the Black Water Gang; otherwise, he'd likely have perished with his original gang.

Over the years, it was Old Demon's insight that had steadily improved their standing.

Only recently, to avoid drawing attention and provoking enemies, had they gone low-key.

"Correct."

Old Demon didn't deny it; he nodded with a smile.

Then he explained his deal with Ye Tian.

If Ye Tian truly ascends to Hall Master, they'll inevitably have dealings—he wanted to clarify things in advance to avoid conflict.

He trusted Sister Zhu and Poison Dragon completely.

"So that's how it is. He's clearly capable."

The reputation of the peerless Yù Gōngzǐ had reached Poison Dragon's ears recently, though he hadn't paid much attention.

But now that this man had caught his brother's eye, Poison Dragon took him seriously.

"He's good at business. We could try cooperating sometime."

Compared to other things, Sister Zhu cared most about Ye Tian's business acumen.

Hearing how Ye Tian turned high-quality blades into divine-grade ones, Sister Zhu spoke with admiration.

"Definitely worth trying. I heard this Yù Gōngzǐ is building an entire street of brothels—doesn't that sound a lot like your Snow Moon Street, Sister?"

Since they were considering cooperation, Old Demon had naturally investigated Ye Tian thoroughly.

Not only did they uncover information about the tavern street, but also about the brothel street—after all, Ye Tian never bothered to hide anything.

"Really?"

Sister Pig immediately perked up.

Among the Eight Hall Masters, Sister Pig specialized in brothel businesses; her Snow Moon Street was famously a den of vice, a place for pleasure.

It was said that if you came to Linshui City without visiting Snow Moon Street, you might as well not have come at all.

In addition, Sister Pig controlled nearly forty percent of Linshui City's slave markets.

"Boss." Dragon Poison had no interest in business.

Seeing Sister Pig lost in thought, Dragon Poison spoke up immediately.

"Once the weapons are ready, I want a batch!"

"Hahaha! Don't worry, you'll get your share."

,,,

Time flew by.

Before they knew it, a month had passed.

At Ye Tian's request, the former Yi Yong Gang's territory had been entirely transformed into brothels; under his instructions, the once dirty, messy, and chaotic places became clean and orderly.

If you're going to do it, do it right—go high-end.

If your place is a mess, how could the wealthy ever come to spend?

The more upscale and expensive a place appears, the more likely the wealthy are to come.

Likewise.

Hammer's first batch of weapons had been completed.

"Boss, everything's ready."

"Set sail!"

On the former Yunfei Gang's dock, the first batch of weapons had all been loaded onto the ships, waiting only for departure.

Around Linshui City, waterways dominated, and transporting so much cargo by boat was easiest—no wonder so many valued docks so dearly.

Now, Zhui Ya and his men guarded it.

Seeing Zhui Ya walking over, Ye Tian smiled and waved.

After the ship set off, Ye Tian patted Zhui Ya on the shoulder with a smile.

"This is just the beginning. Next time we ship, I won't come to supervise—I'm leaving it to you!"

"Boss, rest assured."

Zhui Ya wasn't some mindless brute who only knew how to fight—he understood the profits of the weapons trade.

For Ye Tian to entrust such a matter entirely to him was a sign of trust, and Zhui Ya naturally didn't want to betray that trust.

"Even if I have to give my life, I won't let a single problem arise in the Boss's business!"

"No need for that—if there's real danger, we can always rebuild the business, but you must stay alive."

"Hahaha!"

Ye Tian's words warmed Zhui Ya's heart, filling him with a cozy, glowing warmth.

He felt even more grateful for his choice back then.

In today's Jianghu, how many Bosses care so much for their subordinates?

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