Chapter 87: This Is the True Scheme

"It's you!"

Upon seeing Ye Tian sitting in a chair inside the room, Red Tiger couldn't help but cry out in shock.

How could Red Tiger not be familiar with the name of Yù Gōngzǐ Ye Tian—he had seen him back when he was under Lei Tang.

He had never imagined that the very person he had once looked down on and belittled would now sit in the Head Boss position faster than any of them, and appear before him in this manner no less.

Red Tiger's face shifted through several expressions before he finally said in a low voice.

"What do you want to do."

Without hurrying to answer, he first waved his hand, signaling Head Eagle and Flying Feather to release Red Tiger.

Only then did he look at Red Tiger and speak.

"It's not about what I want to do—it's about what you want to do. Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"

"..."

Being threatened is certainly not a pleasant feeling.

But now he had finally seized half of Wang Hu's original territory, and with Lei Tang's downfall, a Head Boss position had also opened up—even if he couldn't become Hall Master, becoming Head Boss should at least be possible.

Naturally, Red Tiger didn't want to die at this moment.

"What do I have to do to live?"

Truly a man who knew which way the wind blew—the corner of Ye Tian's mouth curved into a slight arc.

"Very simple. Help me do one thing, and once it's done, everything that used to be Lei Tang's can be yours."

"..."

Money moves the human heart.

When you make your way in the jianghu, isn't it all for the sake of money? The reason they had rebelled against Lei Tang in the first place was ultimately because Lei Tang was blocking their path to wealth.

Red Tiger was a smart one—he didn't question Ye Tian. With his life now in Ye Tian's hands, questioning would be pointless. Instead, he spoke directly.

"You want to take the Hall Master seat, don't you."

Ye Tian was currently a Head Boss himself, so he was naturally qualified to compete for the vacant Hall Master position.

"You want me to work under you?"

At this point, Red Tiger's heart was still somewhat conflicted.

How long had he himself been in the Black Water Gang, and how long had the Ye Tian before him been in the Black Water Gang? The man was already competing for Hall Master, while he was still muddling along at the Fist Master rank.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Damn it—he should have killed that idiot Lei Tang long ago.

"Hahaha!"

Ye Tian laughed. Red Tiger was indeed clever, but not quite clever enough.

"I do intend to take the Hall Master seat, but I don't want you to follow me—I want you to go work under Jade Buddha."

"Jade Buddha?"

Red Tiger's eyes widened in surprise.

Who Jade Buddha was, Red Tiger certainly knew.

The strongest Head Boss under Sēn Lǎo—even the previous Lei Tang couldn't compare.

Red Tiger considered himself a man of some ability. If he were to follow Jade Buddha, would there still be anyone who could compete with Jade Buddha for the Hall Master seat?

Seeing Red Tiger's astonishment, Ye Tian merely smiled and offered no explanation.

"You don't need to worry about anything else. Just do this much—even bring along the Fist Masters who used to be under Lei Tang and have them follow Jade Buddha too. The more, the better."

"Don't worry, I won't mistreat my own people. Even the wife and children you've settled outside Linshui City—I'll make sure they're well taken care of."

"You!" Ye Tian spoke lightly, but upon hearing this, Red Tiger's eyes went wide.

Something he had hidden so well, and Ye Tian had actually managed to dig it up.

Saying he'd take good care of them was really just a threat, wasn't it.

In fact, this matter was largely thanks to Money Rat—otherwise Ye Tian would never have been able to find out.

Nor would he have imagined that Red Tiger, a man of the jianghu, even had a wife and children—he had simply arranged for them to stay outside Linshui City.

"..."

After a long silence, Red Tiger still nodded.

"Understood. But if anything happens to my wife and children, I won't let you off."

"Relax—you should also know my reputation as Yù Gōngzǐ. I don't mistreat my own people."

Damn it—bullshit reputation.

Believing in his righteousness and honor might as well be believing I'm the Jade Emperor.

After a few brief instructions, Ye Tian took his people and left.

Red Tiger, meanwhile, sat in the room, his eyes flickering, unable to sleep the entire night.

Although he didn't understand Ye Tian's purpose in doing this, going to join Jade Buddha did seem like a decent option.

Take it one step at a time.

,,,

"Can't figure it out?"

On Ye Tian's side, already on the way back, Mei Yongning would glance up at Ye Tian every so often, looking as though he wanted to speak but held back.

Before Mei Yongning could open his mouth, Ye Tian asked calmly and composedly.

"Mm!"

Mei Yongning did not deny it.

After nodding, he spoke directly.

"Boss, Jade Buddha's faction was already powerful to begin with. If Red Tiger and the others follow him as well, then truly no one can compete with Jade Buddha for the Hall Master seat!"

Mei Yongning was clever, but his way of thinking was still constrained by the limitations of this era.

This kind of problem Ye Tian could naturally think of — in fact, it was precisely because he thought of it that he arranged things this way.

"You just assume Jade Buddha is unstoppable — don't you think the other two Head Bosses can see that too?"

Yaksha and Benlong Hand's factions were weaker than Jade Buddha's, but to say they had no chance at all wasn't quite right either. However, if the news spread that Red Tiger and these old Lei Tang subordinates were following Jade Buddha—

The two of them would surely realize that without resorting to some underhanded tricks, they truly had no chance of taking the Hall Master seat.

"I see."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Mei Yongning immediately understood the significance of Ye Tian's doing this.

His eyes even began to shine.

"Worthy of Boss — this kind of move is brilliant!"

If it were up to him, he probably truly wouldn't have thought of such a method.

"Alright, once we're back, make the arrangements properly. During this period, all we need to do is build momentum for Jade Buddha."

As for what kind of momentum to build—

Does that even need thinking? Of course it's to make everyone feel that, apart from Jade Buddha, no one else could possibly sit in the Hall Master seat.

"Understood!"

Mei Yongning smiled knowingly, and quite a few plans surfaced in his mind.

Red Tiger indeed did not go back on his word.

By the very next day, he had taken several of the original Fist Masters under Lei Tang's command and gone together to throw in their lot with Jade Buddha.

These people weren't fools. Jade Buddha himself already had great power, and with Red Tiger taking the lead, they didn't need much coaxing before following along.

"Hahahaha!"

Jade Buddha lived up to his name — the man was fat as a Maitreya Buddha, and when he laughed, every ounce of blubber on his body jiggled.

"Good, good, good! Rest assured, as long as I have a bite to eat, I won't let any of you go short."

Faced with Red Tiger and the others joining him, Jade Buddha naturally wouldn't refuse.

At such a critical moment, with such a large group of people joining him, who else could possibly contend with him for the Hall Master seat?

He laughed so hard his eyes were almost invisible.

"Buddha Sir, rest assured. From now on, we shall surely serve you to the death."

"That's right. From now on, if Buddha Sir tells us to go east, we absolutely won't go west."

The Fist Masters all chimed in one after another, flattery flying back and forth. Anyone who didn't know better would think Jade Buddha had already taken the Hall Master seat.

In the crowd, Red Tiger laughed along cooperatively, saying nothing.

At the same time, he was still curious inside — what exactly was Yù Gōngzǐ having him do this for? It couldn't possibly really be to help Jade Buddha, could it?