Chapter 9: Can

Seeing Lei Lu fly into a rage, no one dared speak further.

Originally, it was because of Lei Lu's status that these people followed him, but now he still had no territory under his control.

Everyone suspected that Lei Tang might not care about this nephew at all.

Of course, they only dared think it in their hearts—no one would be the first to say it aloud.

"No more drinking—let's go!"

Lei Lu, still seething with anger, found the wine taste worse with every sip.

He stood up abruptly, kicked over the chair behind him, and strode out of the tavern; his followers hurried after him.

"Bang!"

Just as he reached the door, Lei Lu collided head-on with someone.

The man was broad-shouldered and muscular; Lei Lu was shoved back two steps, nearly falling.

"Are you blind?"

Already furious, Lei Lu's anger flared further—he shouted outright.

"You're Lei Lu?"

The man wore a mask, obscuring his face; only his eyes glowed faintly as he stared.

Perhaps drunk, Lei Lu didn't sense anything amiss—he raised his voice even louder.

"I'm Lei Lu! You guys..."

Before Lei Lu could finish, the burly man exchanged a glance with his companions behind him; they nodded silently, then—

"Bang!"

A wooden club swung down—with a "crack"—Lei Lu's vision spun; before he could react, they shoved him into a prepped sack, slung it over their shoulders, and left.

Bystanders, seeing the muscular men's intimidating presence, dared not intervene—they all fled far away.

"?"

"Did Big Brother get kidnapped?"

The most bewildered were Lei Lu's own men, who had just stepped out with him.

They'd barely emerged when they saw their Boss bundled up and carried off—stunned, blank-faced.

"Something's wrong!"

Someone finally realized this was an emergency.

But considering the men who took Lei Lu, their thin arms and legs would be useless—going after them meant suicide.

"Go find Big Brother Lei Tang!"

"Yes! Exactly!"

Hearing the suggestion to find Lei Tang, someone immediately snapped to, scrambling off in panic.

,,,

Those men moved with swift precision.

Lei Lu was taken to an abandoned warehouse—once a wine cellar, now deserted, perfect for secret work without notice.

"Do you know who I am? My uncle is Lei Tang of the Black Water Gang! Let me go, or you'll all die! Let me go now!"

When Ye Tian arrived,

he saw Lei Lu tied to a chair, a cloth covering his head, screaming at the top of his lungs while thrashing violently.

"So noisy."

The volume made Ye Tian instinctively dig at his ear.

"Break his leg—let Young Master Lei calm down."

How could they talk if he wasn't calm?

Wei Wu reacted fastest—he grabbed a length of wood nearby, stepped forward, and swung it hard at Lei Lu's leg.

"Crack!"

Whether Lei Lu's leg broke was unclear—but the piece of wood in Wei Wu's hand snapped clean.

"Ugh."

The truth was, when pain reaches a certain point, a person can't scream—unless the pain isn't enough.

Seeing Lei Lu finally stop shouting, Ye Tian smiled in satisfaction.

"Looks like he's calmed down. Take the cloth off his face."

One of the men yanked the cloth away—Lei Lu's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead, his whole face twisted into a monstrous snarl.

"It's you!"

His pupils shrank sharply upon seeing Ye Tian's face.

In Lei Lu's eyes, Ye Tian was a coward—earlier that day, when he'd been so arrogant, Ye Tian hadn't dared utter a word, just smiled sweetly—wasn't that proof of cowardice?

And yet, by nightfall, they came to kidnap him?

How the hell did you dare?

"Do you know who I am? My uncle is..."

"Yeah, yeah, forget your uncle—let's talk about your father."

Ye Tian nodded dismissively, cutting him off with clear impatience—as if they didn't already know his uncle was Lei Tang when they kidnapped him. This Lei Lu was still too young.

He didn't even realize that showing his face without a mask meant something.

"My father?"

Lei Lu was momentarily stunned—since joining the Black Water Gang, everyone only mentioned his uncle Lei Tang; no one ever brought up his father.

"Right—Lei Yushan, owner of Lei Ji Money House—that's your father, isn't it?"

"So what if I am?"

Lei Lu didn't think that a father who ran a money house could be of any help to him, a man mixed up in a gang.

How else could you call him young—he only knew about fighting for dominance, that you needed territory to make a name, and had no idea at all how important money was.

"Nothing much, I just want to borrow some money from your father to spend."

"Ridiculous. As if you're worthy?"

What kind of status do you have, that you think you're worthy of borrowing money from my father?

Seeing Lei Lu's look of complete cluelessness, Ye Tian couldn't be bothered with more talk and directly gave an order to Wei Wu beside him.

"Cut off his ears, pack them up and send them to Boss Lei, then find someone to write a letter asking him how much his own son is worth."

"Understood!"

Wei Wu smiled cruelly, drew the dagger from his waist, and walked toward Lei Lu.

"You... what are you doing, don't come any closer, my uncle won't let you get away with this, he won't... ah!!!"

Looking at the severed ear, Ye Tian's expression didn't change as he directly said to the men beside him.

"Keep an eye on him these next few days. Once we get the money, kill him."

Those words were also heard by Lei Lu, who was in the throes of excruciating pain.

"Wait, you can't kill me, I can give you money, give you lots and lots of money, you can't kill me!"

No matter how brave and vicious a person is, they will still fear death.

Ye Tian said nothing and simply left. He hadn't planned to give up his identity in the Black Water Gang yet, so he couldn't be away for long.

The rest of the matter, leaving it to Wei Wu and the others would be enough.

,,,

Meanwhile.

At this moment, Lei Tang was inside Lei Ji Money House.

Sitting in front of him was none other than Lei Tang's own younger brother, Lei Yushan.

Only at this moment, Lei Yushan's expression wasn't very good.

"Boss, is what you said true? This sum of money is no small amount."

Every time Lei Tang came over, it was to take money from him. Lei Yushan had long gotten used to it. Lei Ji Money House was able to operate so peacefully precisely because of Lei Tang's reputation. Only this time, the amount Lei Tang wanted was truly too large.

He had thought it would be at most a few thousand taels, but Lei Tang opened his mouth and asked for tens of thousands.

Even Lei Yushan felt a twinge of heartache for a moment.

But the conditions Lei Tang put forward still made Lei Yushan's heart stir.

It was precisely because he had seen this point that Lei Tang smiled with confidence.

"You're my own younger brother, how could I possibly lie to you? Don't worry, as long as I have this money, I'm eighty percent confident that within half a year, I'll definitely take the seat of Hall Master."

,,,,,,,