Chapter 91: Calculated to the Death, the Selection of the Hall Master

Clearly, without spending a single soldier.

He had utterly schemed against the once-untouchable Jade Buddha.

"Boss, what should we do next?"

Although Jade Buddha suffered heavy losses, Red Tiger and his men were fine—sly as could be. Knowing they were setting a trap for Jade Buddha, how could Red Tiger possibly bring his subordinates to truly fight with their lives on the line?

It was just for show.

One could say that not only did Red Tiger lose no subordinates, he instead poached quite a few people from under Jade Buddha's nose.

Truly, he ate his fill and took his spoils.

If he wished, he could absolutely take advantage of this moment and use Red Tiger to trap Jade Buddha once more.

"No need!"

But upon hearing these words, Ye Tian merely waved his hand dismissively.

He set down the intelligence report in his hand.

"In all things, too much is as bad as too little. If there really were not a shred of hope, that would drive a man mad and turn him into a beast outright. The more critical the moment, the more we must give him a sliver of hope!"

If there truly were no hope left at all, Jade Buddha absolutely would not be someone who could sit still.

In any case, all the preparations that needed to be made were already finished. At a time like this, all that was needed was to wait calmly for the result. That was enough.

"Understood!"

Precisely because of this, Mei Yongning couldn't help but sigh in admiration of his own Big Brother's wisdom.

No wonder other people were the ones to be Big Brother. If it were up to him, he definitely wouldn't have this kind of composure.

,,,

Very soon.

The day to elect the Hall Master arrived. Ye Tian, who rarely left his own territory, boarded a horse carriage and headed for the main hall.

The location for the selection was precisely the Black Water Gang's main hall.

And the method of election was also very simple—to put it bluntly, it was a vote. Each of the other seven Hall Masters got one vote, the Bāngzhǔ and the Fù Bāngzhǔ each got one vote. On the surface, it seemed extremely fair.

But if it were really that fair, there would be no such thing as sending money in advance.

Everyone had received news of the struggle between Jade Buddha, Yaksha, and Benlong Hand, but none of them paid it any mind.

Gang rules? That thing was originally meant to bind the lower-ranking gang members.

As long as you reached a certain position and acted cleanly enough, no one would care about you at all.

"Buddha, the position of Hall Master this time must surely be yours."

"Exactly, exactly. I heard Yaksha and Benlong Hand can no even look after themselves now, can't even manage their subordinates' territories, and don't even have the time to come to the main hall to compete."

Perhaps they knew they were completely out of the running for the Hall Master position.

The two simply gave up directly, content to manage their own territories well, lest when the time came, they failed to secure the Hall Master position and even lost their original territories.

"Hahahaha!"

At this moment, Jade Buddha was sitting in the horse carriage, listening to the flattery from his subordinates on both sides of the carriage. Unable to hold back, he burst into loud laughter.

His mood was exceptionally good.

Especially when he thought about the Hall Master position he had long been yearning for being about to fall into his hands, he became even more unable to contain himself for a moment.

"Oh right, Buddha, I heard that Yù Gōngzǐ is also coming to compete for the Hall Master position this time. Will he pose a threat to Boss? Should we deal with him in advance?"

"Threat, my ass."

Before Jade Buddha could say anything.

Red Tiger, who had also come along, couldn't help but jump in to retort.

"Just a lucky young punk who got the Head Boss position through luck. Could he possibly get the Hall Master position through luck too?"

"I heard that before, he only just managed to deal with the Hǔ Shā Bāng. What, with a young punk like this, do you guys think our Buddha would lose to him? Do we even need to use those underhanded tricks?"

Red Tiger's few words pleased Jade Buddha immensely.

He nodded calmly and confidently.

"Not bad, just a young punk, not worth taking seriously."

Since Jade Buddha had already said so.

Even if the others nearby still wanted to say something, at this point they could only quiet down and obediently follow along.

If they kept talking, Jade Buddha probably wouldn't be happy.

However, most of the people, when looking at Red Tiger, carried some dissatisfaction in their gazes. They'd never heard of it before—was this guy called Red Tiger always this good at kissing ass?

He'd only been with Jade Buddha for a few days, so why did it feel like Red Tiger had stolen all the spotlight?

"Red Tiger!"

At this moment, Jade Buddha's voice came from inside the carriage again.

"Buddha!"

"You've performed very well during this period. Once I take the Hall Master position, you shall come serve as my Head Boss!"

Regardless of what he truly thought inside, at least on the surface, upon hearing these words, Red Tiger immediately became excited.

"Don't worry, Buddha. From now on, I will definitely work for you wholeheartedly, to the last drop of my blood."

"Mm!"

Buddha nodded with satisfaction.

For a moment, the gazes of some people around looking at Red Tiger grew increasingly jealous and resentful.

,,,

Very soon.

The Black Water Gang's main hall was reached.

By the time Jade Buddha arrived, Ye Tian's carriage had also just reached the spot.

The two of them stepped down from their carriages almost simultaneously, and just happened to see each other.

"Hmm?"

Jade Buddha frowned at first, but after confirming the other's identity, suddenly let out a light laugh—"Heh."

He made no attempt to conceal the contempt in his laughter. Since they were destined to be opponents, there was no need to put on a pleasant face.

After he finished laughing.

Jade Buddha took his people and walked openly into the main hall.

"Boss, that man is Jade Buddha!"

Fearing Ye Tian hadn't recognized him, Mei Yongning quietly introduced him to Ye Tian.

"I could tell!"

He looks just like a Buddha—truly lives up to his name.

Ye Tian also noticed Red Tiger beside Jade Buddha. The two didn't even exchange glances, and that reaction was for the best—it kept Jade Buddha from noticing anything.

"Let's go. We've come this far; if we left now, people would only think I'd been scared off!"

After saying that.

He took Mei Yongning and Iron Fist and the others, and walked toward the inside of the main hall.

To be honest.

The state of this main hall left Ye Tian somewhat disappointed. He'd expected something grand and imposing, but from the outside it looked like nothing more than a simple temple—except what was enshrined inside wasn't any immortal or deity.

Rather, it was the spirit tablets of every Bāngzhǔ the Black Water Gang had ever had.

The place for discussion was behind the spirit altar—a simple spot for deliberation, not too large. The eight chairs at the front represented the Black Water Gang's eight Hall Masters.

The highest seat belonged to the Bāngzhǔ, and the seat to the Bāngzhǔ's side belonged to the Fù Bāngzhǔ.

But right now all those chairs were empty—clearly, the people hadn't arrived yet.

Ye Tian and Jade Buddha weren't Hall Masters yet, so naturally they had no right to sit and could only stand off to the side for now.

Seeing Ye Tian walk over, Jade Buddha laughed easily.

"Didn't expect you to really dare come. Young people certainly have guts!"

His tone was mild, as if tinged with an elder's appreciation for a junior—but very quickly, his manner changed.

"What a pity, though."

As he spoke, he even raised his hand, preparing to pat Ye Tian on the shoulder.

"Some things are simply not yours to covet. Go back and prepare for another two years, kid."

,,,,,,,