Chapter 265: Listening to Advice to Eat One's Fill

His gang of brothers had already been cut down by more than half in the last round, and now only over a hundred remain.

But the remaining brothers have followed Wang Zhen since childhood, venturing out together; they have literally gone through life and death, being as close as brothers.

Wang Zhen can no longer recall how many times they have saved him.

These debts can never be repaid.

After careful consideration.

Wang Zhen hesitated before speaking: "Is there no way we can think of a compromise that would both keep them and succeed in clearing our names?"

Hearing this, Li Jiaci sighed and shook his head.

"If such a method really existed, I wouldn't be painstakingly advising you!"

"You should know that we all carry life debts; leading such a large group makes you an easy target for others."

"Perhaps Changshulin already has evidence against you in his hands; you merely struck first, denying him a chance to act."

"My abilities are limited; I can help you, but I cannot help your underlings."

Wu Jiangshan promised to help them clear their names.

But this comes with conditions.

It stipulates a number of people.

Wang Zhen wanting to bring his men along to clear their names would be forcing Wu Jiangshan to go back on his word.

Li Jiaci did not want to see such a situation.

Because of the life debt from his previous life, even after rebirth he lives with a heart full of bitterness and fatigue, every moment filled with regret and remorse.

He does not want Wang Zhen to become like him.

Li Jiaci tightly gripped Wang Zhen's hand and said: "Brother, I'm not saying this to make you betray loyalty and abandon righteousness, but to give these brothers a chance to start anew; they cannot go through life burdened by these matters, so wherever they go they will never be able to hold their heads high."

Wang Zhen rubbed his face, showing his agreement with these words.

With the development of the Splendid Song and Dance Hall, Wang Zhen's status in Pingzhou gradually solidified, to the point that now no one can shake it.

But before that, people often used his past mistakes to provoke and threaten him, and enemies would come to his door, leaving him no peace all day.

Li Jiaci then said: "You can look at Wang Li; he used to be utterly hopeless, but now he too has gone onto the right path, able to stand on his own and help you settle many matters, and those brothers will be the same!"

Yes, Wang Li is a typical example.

Previously, Wang Zhen worried about him a lot; now he worries that much less.

The work of receiving Changshulin and his group was entirely done by Wang Li alone; sometimes he would stand guard at the hotel all night, and the next day at dawn he would have to drive the leaders out, and even if he was exhausted to the point of being like a dog, he never uttered a single complaint.

Without Wang Li's help, Wang Zhen alone could not accomplish so much.

Wang Zhen's heart began to waver.

Perhaps letting go is his only option.

Li Jiaci lit a cigarette, after a puff of clouds and mist, he suddenly brought up Wang Yingna.

"Little Na is now with me; although she is not as glamorous and in-demand as in the Song and Dance Hall, she lives very happily!"

"My brothers have raised her to princess status, and the workers all obey her orders!"

"If she were in the Song and Dance Hall, she would absolutely not be this happy or this free-spirited!"

"Each day the Song and Dance Hall opens means another day of danger; even if you don't cause trouble, how many of those patrons are actually decent?"

"All day it's either fighting and brawling, or smashing things and overturning tables!"

"What's worse, the powdered gentlemen love to frequent the Song and Dance Hall, and Little Na previously was persecuted by them and got addicted to the powder!"

"If these matters blow up, others will suspect you of tolerating those powdered gentlemen selling goods in the Song and Dance Hall!"

"And what about those female performers—how many have been treated as toys and suffered abuse, have you ever counted them yourself?"

"You think running the Song and Dance Hall secures income for your subordinates, but have you considered how many people you are unknowingly harming?"

These words struck him like five thunderbolts, leaving Wang Zhen unable to speak.

He recalled those past scenes.

His most beloved sister, tormented by powder addiction, repeatedly came close to giving up her life, giving up him as her brother, and leaving this world.

And those patrons, unknowingly ingesting the powder, became powdered gentlemen, ultimately leading to the destruction of their families.

He owned so many Song and Dance Halls that he couldn't possibly keep an eye on every venue; fights and disturbances occurred almost daily, and the most serious ones directly resulted in deaths.

Wang Zhen thought that by opening Song and Dance Halls he was providing a livelihood for his subordinates and looking after their lives.

But unbeknownst to him, he indirectly harmed how many people, how many families—he himself does not know.

If Wang Yingna had not met Li Jiaci.

What would her fate have been?

Would she, like those powdered gentlemen, have taken her own life when he wasn't paying attention?

Just thinking of such an ending made Wang Zhen unable to catch his breath.

He could not accept himself as such a sinner.

He could not even accept a world without Wang Yingna.

In the end, he too would head toward death.

Wang Zhen understood.

At this moment he awakened.

"Little brother, thank you for telling me all this!"

"I, Wang Zhen, to have a brother like you—this life is worth it!"

"Besides you, there will be no second person so sincerely helping me analyze the pros and cons!"

"Before, I acted on my own and harmed countless people!"

"I can no longer continue to pretend to be foolish!"

Starting tomorrow, the Splendid Song and Dance Hall will no longer exist!

This time I'm serious, you believe me!

Wang Zhen said with red eyes.

Li Jiaci flicked ash from his cigarette, smiling: "I certainly believe you!"

The next day.

The Splendid Song and Dance Hall announced it would cease operations.

This chain song and dance hall, which had great influence in Pingzhou, made countless people feel wistful.

Wang Zhen gathered all his subordinates together.

He gave each person a thousand dollars, admonishing and advising them one by one.

When it was time to part.

These subordinates actually all knelt down in unison.

They kowtowed to thank Wang Zhen for his care over the years.

And they stated they would absolutely not engage in their former business again.

Wang Zhen had his back to them and dared not turn around.

Afraid that if he saw this scene he would be reluctant to let them go.

Wang Li let out a deep sigh.

Wang Li stepped forward in place of Wang Zhen and said: "My brother is doing this for your own good, that's why he lets you leave; I hope you keep your promises, don't repeat past mistakes, do things beneficial to society, become an upright and kind person—this is the best repaying of my brother."

"Yes!"

The crowd replied in unison.

Until the last subordinate left.

Only then did Wang Zhen turn around.

"All gone?"

Wang Li nodded: "Yeah, they're all gone!"

Wang Zhen looked up at the décor of this flagship store; every brick and tile had been plastered by his own hands, but after today it would become a large bath center, and everything related to the song and dance hall would be cleared away as trash.

"Alas, how many could do what I have? Haha, I really did my best, but the era's development surpassed my imagination; I couldn't hold on..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Li also reddened his eyes, patted Wang Zhen's shoulder, and advised: "Brother, let's not dwell on this; hand over the keys to the new manager, we'll never come back to this street again, no matter how it develops, it's none of our business."