Chapter 6

After Su Xin walked out, a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed as a scholar, came out from behind the screen and sighed, "This young man is truly extraordinary. His mind is truly terrifying. He can't be twenty yet, right? Third Master, are you really willing to hand over the Happy Grove to him? Aren't you afraid he'll become another Chen Dao?"

"Afraid? I'm afraid he won't become another Chen Dao!"

A mysterious smile appeared on Third Master Hu's lips: "What that young man said just now is right. I'm old, and I can't fight anymore. If I stay in this position for another ten years, it's time for me to retire. Now, the boss is also old, and he has already started grooming the young boss. When the young boss takes over, it will be a new era. Do you think he will look favorably upon us old guys? It's better to step down early and avoid being an obstacle to certain people. By then, Su Xin should have grown up. With him as my adopted son, I won't have to worry about being forgotten. At the very least, I can ensure a wealthy life for the rest of my days."

The middle-aged scholar was still hesitant: "But Third Master, you can't judge a person's heart by their face. This young man has such deep thoughts. Aren't you afraid he might repay you with ingratitude in the future?"

"He's a smart person and won't do that. If he betrays me, he'll only end up with a reputation for ingratitude. In our world, if your reputation is bad, who will still follow you? So, betraying me won't bring him any benefits. But if I'm still alive, with my years of authority, I can help him suppress the old members of the gang and ensure he smoothly takes over my power. After he rises to power, he will also gain the young boss's favor. Therefore, he won't betray me; he will treat me well."

"You are truly far-sighted, Third Master. I am convinced."

The middle-aged scholar bowed in admiration. Now he understood why Third Master Hu had so abruptly taken Su Xin as his adopted son. It turned out he had thought so far ahead.

Third Master Hu waved his hand, his smile fading: "Far-sighted? I suppose so. After all these years, if I didn't have some foresight, I wouldn't be alive today. I told Su Xin that when our Flying Eagle Gang was first established, there were more than thirty of us. Now, only a dozen of us old guys are left. But do you think those who died all died in battles for the gang?"

The coldness in Third Master Hu's eyes startled the middle-aged scholar. He didn't dare to hear more about the secrets of the Flying Eagle Gang's past.

At the gate of Third Master Hu's residence, Su Xin bowed to Ji Gang and Li Huan: "It's an honor to have you two come to help me. From now on, we are brothers."

Li Huan, with a cold face, said: "Third Master sent me to help you to stabilize your position in the Flying Eagle Gang. Don't expect me to treat you as a boss, like those little lackeys who follow your every command!"

With that, Li Huan turned and walked away, showing no respect for Su Xin.

"Hey! How can you talk like that? Su Boss is Third Master's newly adopted son!"

Seeing Li Huan's attitude, Huang Bingcheng was immediately angry. It wasn't clear whether it was because Li Huan didn't respect Su Xin or because of the term "little lackeys."

Ji Gang smiled and bowed to Su Xin: "Su Boss, that's just his nature. Don't mind him. I'll go talk to him."

With that, Ji Gang went after Li Huan.

Huang Bingcheng muttered disdainfully: "What's he showing off for? Does he think he's great just because he can fight?"

"Do you know these two?" Su Xin suddenly asked.

Huang Bingcheng scratched his head: "I've heard of them. Li Huan is Third Master's top enforcer. Although he only rose to prominence in recent years, he is known for his ruthless and fearless nature in our Flying Eagle Gang. As for Ji Gang, he has a similar status to Li Huan, being one of the younger enforcers under Third Master. However, compared to Li Huan, he is less well-known."

Mentioning Li Huan, Huang Bingcheng still looked angry: "Hmph! But that Li Huan is too damn arrogant. What does he think he is? He's not even a minor leader yet! And he looks down on the lackeys, but he himself is a lackey! Look at Ji Gang, who has the same status but is much more humble. Not like that Li Huan, who acts like he's the second most important person after the sky."

Su Xin shook his head lightly: "You don't understand. The dog that bites is usually the one that doesn't bark."

Huang Bingcheng scratched his head in confusion, not quite understanding what Su Xin meant.

Seeing Su Xin start to walk, he quickly followed.

When Su Xin and his group returned to the Happy Grove, the original gang members saw that Su Xin not only returned alive from Third Master Hu's place but also brought back two well-known enforcers. Their attitude towards Su Xin immediately changed.

Gaining Third Master Hu's recognition meant that Su Xin had firmly established his position in the Flying Eagle Gang.

In a gang, unlike in a sect, as long as the higher-ups don't oppose it, overthrowing the boss and taking over isn't a big deal.

"Congratulations, host, for completing the beginner's task. Reward: 10 points of villainy, one初级养气丹 (初级 means '初级' in Chinese, which translates to '初级' in English, but in this context, it should be '初级' or '初级' to maintain the original meaning. Here, I will use '初级' to keep the term consistent with the original text)."

As soon as Su Xin stepped into the Happy Grove, the system's voice echoed in his mind.

Su Xin stored the初级养气丹 in the system. Now wasn't the time to take it.

"Have you arranged everything for Ji Gang and Li Huan?" Su Xin asked.

Huang Bingcheng quickly replied: "Everything is arranged. They are staying in the best rooms at the Dongsheng Inn, which cost one tael of silver per day."

Although these two were nominally following Su Xin, they were fundamentally Third Master Hu's people. Before Su Xin was fully established, he needed to show them respect.

"Boss, I've also cleaned up your room. You can move in anytime."

Huang Bingcheng had a fawning smile. He was now very impressed with this boss. In just one day, Su Xin had gone from a gang member accused of killing the boss and with an uncertain future to the youngest minor leader in the Flying Eagle Gang and Third Master Hu's adopted son.

Such a transformation was something Huang Bingcheng had never seen in his life.

"Do I have my own room?"

Huang Bingcheng explained: "This is what the Green Bamboo Gang left behind. Now that the Happy Grove is ours, this place naturally belongs to you, Boss."

Su Xin nodded.

The Happy Grove had always been the territory of the Green Bamboo Gang. It was only recently that the Flying Eagle Gang, for some reason, suddenly declared war on the Green Bamboo Gang and took over the Happy Grove.

Thinking of his old dilapidated home, Su Xin didn't waste any more words with Huang Bingcheng and left the Happy Grove.

Xin'er was still at Aunt Wang's noodle stall.

"Brother! You're back!"

Seeing Su Xin, Xin'er immediately ran over and clung to him like a sloth.

"Alright, alright, you're a big girl now, no need to be shy." Su Xin patted Xin'er's head: "Come, let's move to our new home."

Su Xin picked up Xin'er and left a tael of silver on Aunt Wang's stall before leaving. It wasn't that Su Xin didn't want to give more, but in the Changley Fang slum, having money was a sin. Giving too much silver would harm Aunt Wang.

Although it was called moving, Su Xin's old home had nothing worth moving. The most valuable thing was probably the land itself. So, Su Xin only took a few pieces of clothing.

"By the way, Xin'er, where is the bracelet Mother left behind?"

Su Xin remembered his mother had left a bracelet, which he had entrusted to Xin'er to keep. It was the only valuable thing they had, and even in the hardest times, he never thought of pawning it.

"Bracelet... bracelet..." Xin'er's face showed fear, and she couldn't speak.

Su Xin rubbed her head and said softly: "Xin'er, don't be afraid. Tell Brother where the bracelet is. Did you lose it?"

Xin'er pursed her lips, her eyes filled with tears: "The bracelet wasn't lost. When I saw Brother was injured, I wanted to steal some medicine from the pharmacy, but the old shopkeeper caught me. He said I had to compensate him for his loss, so he took the bracelet. Brother, am I useless?"

Seeing Xin'er's state, Su Xin felt a surge of killing intent.

But he said softly: "Don't worry, Brother will get the bracelet back for you tomorrow. Now, let's go see our new home."

At the Happy Grove, Huang Bingcheng had everything arranged. Su Xin could move in directly. The courtyard was right next to the Happy Grove, not a grand mansion, but a decent-sized quadrangle.

Growing up in the slums, Xin'er was overjoyed to move into such a "luxurious" place. Her eyes were like crescent moons all afternoon.

After settling Xin'er to rest, Su Xin returned to his room and took out the初级养气丹.

Compared to the inferior养气丹, this初级养气丹 looked much better and was rated one star.

Swallowing it, Su Xin immediately felt a warm current circulating in his dantian.

As Third Master Hu had said, the most important thing for a martial artist in the innate stage was to refine their body's acupoints.

The human body has 108 acupoints, corresponding to the 108 stars of the sky and earth. Each one that is opened significantly increases one's physical strength, blood, and qi.

Third Master Hu had said refining acupoints was extremely difficult, and Su Xin agreed and disagreed. For some mediocre people, even with internal skills, refining acupoints was indeed very difficult. Third Master Hu, without a master to guide him and with a mediocre internal skill, had to focus on external skills like the Iron Sand Palm. It was normal for him to refine only 13 acupoints in forty years.

But Su Xin had the Great Villain System, and resources were not a problem. With countless powerful skills at his disposal, if he was still stuck in the innate stage, he might as well hang himself with a hair.

Using the powerful qi from the初级养气丹, Su Xin quickly began to impact his first acupoint. Under the power of the养气丹, the acupoint was quickly fused with the qi. The blood flowing through the acupoint became richer, and the qi flowed smoothly without any obstruction.

Opening just one acupoint brought such a significant change to Su Xin. He was eager to see how powerful his qi would be when he reached the innate grand completion stage and refined all 108 acupoints.

The door creaked open, and Xin'er timidly walked in.

"What's wrong?" Su Xin stopped his practice when he saw Xin'er.

"I was scared being alone in the room. Brother, can I sleep with you?"

Xin'er looked at Su Xin with big, blinking eyes, as if she would cry if he refused.

Su Xin looked outside, surprised to see it was already dark.

"Sure, but you have to be good and not wet the bed."

In the past, Su Xin and Xin'er shared the only room and bed. The little girl lacked a sense of security and was indeed not used to being alone.

"Brother, you're mean!"

Xin'er's face turned red. When she was little, her mother worked to support the family, and Su Xin took care of her. Whenever she was naughty, Su Xin would tease her about wetting the bed.

After settling Xin'er, Su Xin also went to sleep.

---

The next page starts with an ad.

The next page ends with an ad.