Steam Era: The Lord of 'Puluo' Chapter 1265 605: Cheating the World (Part 3)

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The Qingyun Association Main Hall was also called the Dragon Head Hall.

The Head of the family of the Qingyun Society was also called the Dragon Head Master.

Dragon Head Master Han Yaomen gathered thirty elite men from each Hall Entrance of the Qingyun Society. That night they all assembled in the Dragon Head Hall, with only one mission: burn down the Silk Satin Manor on Fuxiang Avenue.

"If I can't take this shop, nobody else is allowed to meddle. As long as we get this done tonight, anyone who wants cash gets cash, wants territory gets territory, wants a wife gets a wife—pick your own reward according to Gang rules!"

This was how the Qingyun Society worked: they didn't specify the exact payout, they set a range and let the Disciples pick for themselves.

Of course, whatever you chose, you had to know your place. If you'd done some huge Gong and wanted to take the Singing Empress Jiang Mengting as your wife, then that would be a different kind of conversation.

Once everything was said clearly, the thirty elites set out for Silk Satin Manor, and came back in under ten minutes.

The people in the Main Hall were all puzzled. How the hell did they get back?

From the Dragon Head Hall to Fuxiang Avenue, normally it took more than an hour on foot. These guys had a decent cultivation level, so naturally they walked faster than ordinary people, but a round trip had to be at least half an hour.

And they weren't out window-shopping; they were going to commit arson. So how were they back so fast?

When Han Yaomen opened the wooden crate in the middle of the hall, everyone under him understood.

Inside the crate were thirty severed heads. On the lid He Jiaqing had written one line: "I've delivered your people back to you."

Han Yaomen flew into a rage, grabbed his men and was about to charge straight at the He Family to fight to the death, but the old hand in the Gang, Yue Hongliang, blocked him.

"Head of the family, you can't go. If you go, our Gang is finished."

Han Yaomen shouted angrily, "What the hell are you saying? Did you get scared out of your wits?"

Yue Hongliang shook his head. "Head of the family, I'm over seventy now. I've lived through blood and storms for so many years, I've already lived enough. What am I afraid of? I'm worried for our Gang!"

Han Yaomen sat down on the chair without a word. Yue Hongliang took the chance to send the others away. "Head of the family, we just sent our people out, and He Jiaqing already took their heads. You really don't see the situation?"

Han Yaomen thought for a moment. "We've got traitors inside the Gang?"

Yue Hongliang nodded. "There's definitely traitors, but we don't know how many have turned."

Han Yaomen stood up. "We can't take this lightly. First we clean out the traitors, then we deal with He Jiaqing."

Yue Hongliang lit his dry tobacco pipe and took a drag. "Head of the family, if you ask me, we'd better take the long view. In the near future, we shouldn't go looking for He Jiaqing at all."

"Why the hell not?" Han Yaomen slammed the table. "You expect me to swallow this?"

"Head of the family, He Jiaqing came with bad intentions. For one Silk Satin Manor, how many of our people has he killed already?

Think about what he used to be like. Lying in a hospital in the Outside Provinces playing dead, creeping around all over Puluo State afraid to show his face. When have you ever seen him this crazy?

There's something behind this, something we don't know. What exactly He Jiaqing wants to do, we can't guess. In this current situation, it's best for us to stay far away."

"Hide from him..." Han Yaomen ground his teeth. "If I hide, I'm hiding the Qingyun Society's face into the dirt."

"He Jiaqing is one of the He Family. The He Family was already a top dog in Puluo State. Us backing off from him doesn't count as losing face."

"Then aren't our brothers dying for nothing?"

"Head of the family, I've been in the Gang so many years. I know how many brothers we've had die. Dead is dead. How many of them ever really got avenged? We just find some excuse to smooth things over and that's that."

The words were harsh, but the logic was sound. Han Yaomen came up with a pretext to paper over things for now, then focused all his energy on purging the traitors inside the Gang.

He had just identified a batch, but before he could make a move, they got wind of it and all ran.

Han Yaomen blew up and ordered every Hall Entrance to track down these people's families and leave none alive.

Two days later, Han Yaomen received another crate of severed heads. They hadn't found the traitors' families, and two Hall Entrances of the Qingyun Society had been wiped out.

Han Yaomen was stunned, and Yue Hongliang hadn't seen this coming either.

Before, they'd thought if you couldn't provoke him, you could at least avoid him. Only now did they realize you couldn't even avoid this.

The next night, Han Yaomen received another wooden crate—another two Hall Entrances had been exterminated.

He Jiaqing apparently hadn't come for Silk Satin Manor. He'd come for the Qingyun Society itself!

Han Yaomen panicked and called in several core members of the Gang to brainstorm.

Everyone else was set on fighting He Jiaqing to the bitter end. Only the old hand Yue Hongliang put forward another idea: "Have Eldest Sister He come forward and mediate between both sides. Put all the grudges on the table and spell them out. If we can calm things down, we'll accept taking a loss."

Han Yaomen was unconvinced. "Haven't we taken enough losses already?"

Yue Hongliang fell silent. The difference in methods was plain for all to see; if you're unconvinced, what can you do about it?

After hesitating for two more days and losing another two Hall Entrances, Han Yaomen went to New Land, bringing rich gifts to find He Yuxiu and ask her to step in.

He Yuxiu looked around at her own territory, her expression somewhat troubled. "Old Han, you can see it yourself, I've got my own turf now. I can't spare the time to worry about family business.

Jia Qing is a grown man too. It's impossible for him to listen to me on everything. I can find some time to talk him down a bit, but whether he listens to me or not, that's another matter."

Han Yaomen felt that He Yuxiu might not be reliable on this.

He was wrong. It wasn't about reliability—He Yuxiu hadn't done anything at all.

Silk Satin Manor was He Jiaqing's own business to begin with; He Yuxiu shouldn't be interfering.

Han Yaomen provoked him first, He Jiaqing struck back in revenge. There was no way He Yuxiu's elbow was going to bend outward—she was definitely standing on He Jiaqing's side.