The bearded man, now dressed, tidied his hair and beard. He said something to his men at the table, then quickly left his home and hurried toward the gang’s meeting hall.
......
Inside the Cyan Stone Gang’s meeting hall, the burly Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang sat at the head seat.
He watched as his subordinates trickled into the meeting hall, calmly lifting his teacup for a sip.
The minor leaders who had received the summons hurried to the meeting hall. Those who met along the way wondered why their Gang Leader had called them here so late at night.
Their discussion yielded no clear answers. Upon entering the meeting hall, they all fell silent, took their seats, and quietly waited for the meeting to begin.
The bearded man walked into the meeting hall and took a seat in the far corner.
The seating arrangement in the meeting hall was deliberate. The closer a seat was to the Gang Leader, the higher that person’s status within the Cyan Stone Gang.
The bearded man’s seat was in a corner of the meeting hall, a considerable distance from the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang.
This showed that while he was a minor leader in the Cyan Stone Gang, his status was nowhere near that of the others.
"Gang Leader, everyone’s here." The attendant pouring tea for the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang noticed that all the seats were full, then leaned in and whispered in his ear.
"Mm," the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang grunted. He then set down his teacup, his calm gaze sweeping across the room. Every Cyan Stone Gang minor leader in attendance sat bolt upright, waiting for him to speak.
He nodded in satisfaction at their attentive posture, then spoke.
"I’ve received word. A little over half an hour ago, Hong Jiu of the Red Blood Gang died at home."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the minor leaders, who had been sitting so still, filled with disbelief. They couldn’t help but let out gasps of shock.
"What? Hong Jiu of the Red Blood Gang died at home?"
"How is that possible?"
"Hong Jiu’s health wasn’t what it used to be, but there’s no way he just dropped dead at home! This must be a false rumor, right?"
"Five days ago, I was carousing with some friends at a brothel in the southern district. I ran into Hong Jiu, and he looked ruddy and full of life—not like someone with a terminal illness who was at death’s door."
The Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang saw that every one of his men was utterly shocked by the news, their gasps filling the hall. Their reaction was well within his expectations.
After all, he had been just as shocked when he first heard the news.
Just yesterday at noon, he’d had lunch with Hong Jiu to discuss their two gangs joining forces to seize profits from the other gangs. For Hong Jiu to be dead barely a day later... the impact was considerable.
The minor leaders in the meeting hall were stunned by the astonishing news, and the room erupted into a clamor as they all started talking at once.
Soon, they all fell silent and turned in unison to face the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang. Now, they desperately wanted to know: how exactly did Hong Jiu of the Red Blood Gang die?
"The report I received says a major battle broke out at Hong Jiu’s estate. The scene is a complete wreck. Besides Hong Jiu, over twenty of his household guards were also eliminated.
Based on the circumstances, it seems a large group of highly skilled assassins must have infiltrated his home and killed him..." the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang relayed the details of the report to his men.
"Assassins? But Hong Jiu was a formidable fighter himself, and his home was filled with guards. If he could still be killed, then that group of assassins must be on another level!" the minor leaders exclaimed one after another.
Everyone in the meeting hall, including the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang, took it for granted that Hong Jiu had been killed by a large group of assassins working in concert.
’That Hong Jiu of the Red Blood Gang was notoriously arrogant. Getting taken out by assassins means he must have offended someone powerful.
Tsk... It really pays to keep a low profile. Take me, for example. I don’t angle for a high position in the gang; I’m happy just being a nobody.
On a normal day, I take my boys out to run a few scams on common folk, make a little pocket money... enough for my daily food and wine. I’m satisfied with that. You don’t have to worry about assassins when you live like this.’
The bearded man in the corner, given his low status in the Cyan Stone Gang, was only momentarily shocked by the Red Blood Gang’s leader’s assassination before his thoughts drifted back to his own affairs.
If the bearded man knew, at this very moment, that this entire disaster had been brought upon the Red Blood Gang because of his own scheme—having his subordinate write that informant’s letter—one can only wonder what would be going through his mind.
"Now that Hong Jiu is dead, the Red Blood Gang won’t last long before it splinters and collapses," the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang voiced his intentions. "When that happens, the docks they control will be up for grabs. We should make a play for them."
This was the same man who had just had lunch with Hong Jiu yesterday. At the table, they had been all smiles, acting like the best of friends.
Now, with Hong Jiu barely dead and his body not yet cold, the Gang Leader of the Cyan Stone Gang was already plotting to seize the other gang’s most important asset. A textbook example of a two-faced hypocrite!