Chapter 64

Su Xin now had only about five hundred men under his command, and it was more than enough to arrange them all in Kuaile Forest.

After everyone was settled, Su Xin called Huang Bingcheng over and said, "Old Huang, go and buy off two people from Yongle Manor. Get the clever ones, and don't worry about spending money."

"Boss, are you planning to take action against Sha Yuandong?" Huang Bingcheng asked doubtfully.

Su Xin shook his head: "Take action? He's such a waste of space that he'll ruin himself without me lifting a finger. The two people I want you to buy off are just for gathering information. However, the information must be timely. Normally, report twice a day, in the morning and evening. If there's an emergency, report immediately."

"Alright, no problem," Huang Bingcheng nodded.

Buying off two people wasn't too difficult. The current batch of people at Yongle Manor were all newly recruited by Su Xin into the Flying Eagle Gang, so they had no loyalty to him. But they had even less loyalty to Sha Yuandong. As long as the price was right, buying off two people would be no issue.

After instructing Huang Bingcheng to do this, Su Xin had Li Huan continue training his men. These nearly five hundred men were the core of his fighting force, and it was worth the effort to cultivate them.

Although the income from Yongle Manor was now gone, he still had Kuaile Forest. Unlike other bosses who would pocket the money, the dividends from Kuaile Forest were enough to support these nearly five hundred gang members.

After arranging everything, Su Xin returned to his courtyard to close himself off for cultivation. Apart from taking Xin'er to and from the private school and listening to Huang Bingcheng's reports on Yongle Manor, he rarely left his house.

Let Sha Yuandong do as he pleased at Yongle Manor. Su Xin would use this time to consolidate his foundation. Now he had the Purple Mist Divine Skill for internal cultivation and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill for external cultivation. Both were not quick to master, so he needed to focus on cultivation to lay a solid foundation. Moreover, he had three bottles of elixirs from the last draw, which would greatly boost his strength when he emerged from seclusion.

Speaking of Su Xin, who was devoted to cultivation, Sha Yuandong was now basking in the glory of power. Previously, he had never managed a gang. First, because he was too young, and Sha Feiyang feared he couldn't handle it. Second, all the power in the Flying Eagle Gang was in the hands of the head and the three hall masters, leaving no position for him.

But now that he had power, Sha Yuandong immediately felt its taste. Every day, his subordinates respectfully called him "Young Boss," and he strolled around the streets with a swagger. The merchants had to bow and scrape to him, which made Sha Yuandong very satisfied.

However, after enjoying this for a while, Sha Yuandong felt he should do something. Previously, Su Xin had set some rules at Yongle Manor, but now who was in charge of Yongle Manor? He, Sha Yuandong, was in charge! All of Su Xin's rules had to be broken!

The rules Su Xin had carefully set were for the future development of Yongle Manor. Sha Yuandong didn't want to use them, and he didn't even consult Xu Chang. Instead, he made the decision himself.

This action directly led to chaos at Yongle Manor, and the first to suffer was the Skill Hall. In fact, after Su Xin's people left, the Skill Hall had already become a mere formality. Although almost everyone in the Flying Eagle Gang knew Su Xin's "Quanzhen Sect Basic Internal Skill" and "Incomplete Version of the Beggar's Staff Technique," learning them on one's own required talent. If someone was dull, they wouldn't learn much even if they studied for a lifetime.

The Skill Hall was originally managed by Li Qing and others under Su Xin. They were old hands under Su Xin, with strength approaching the early stage of the innate realm, and rich combat experience. They were more than capable of teaching new members.

But who were the people under Sha Yuandong? Apart from the new recruits Su Xin gave him, the rest were direct subordinates of Sha Feiyang. These subordinates were not weak; in the past, they were the second strongest in the Flying Eagle Gang after the Combat Hall. They had also practiced the "Quanzhen Sect Basic Internal Skill" and "Incomplete Version of the Beggar's Staff Technique," but only for a couple of days after Su Xin announced the establishment of the Skill Hall. After that, the Skill Hall was taken over by the gang.

They hadn't even mastered these skills themselves, so how could they teach others? Moreover, Su Xin had arranged for the gang members to come in batches to learn, to prevent overcrowding and ensure teaching quality. But now, Sha Yuandong ordered that any Flying Eagle Gang member who wanted to learn could come to the Skill Hall at any time. As a result, the Skill Hall turned into a chaotic market, with no order and constant noise.

In the end, the gang members came once and never returned. The instructors themselves didn't understand the skills well, so who was teaching whom? And with such chaos, were they there to learn or to chat?

Within three days, the Skill Hall became a mere formality.

Worse, Sha Yuandong's next move caused widespread anger at Yongle Manor. Upon learning that Su Xin had increased the monthly tribute from thirty taels to fifty taels after taking over Yongle Manor, Sha Yuandong directly raised it to one hundred taels. This move stunned all the merchants at Yongle Manor.

Initially, they were secretly pleased when they heard that Su Xin had been stripped of his territory and power by the Flying Eagle Gang. They thought the domineering Su Boss was finally gone, and if they spoke nicely to the new Young Boss and gave some silver, they might get the tribute reduced back to thirty taels.

But when Sha Yuandong learned of this, he decided to double the tribute. His reasoning was simple: Su Xin had increased the tribute by twenty taels, so doubling it would make him seem much stronger. So he raised it.

However, Su Xin had the confidence to raise the tribute because he could control his subordinates from extorting the merchants, making the extra twenty taels worth it. This is why, despite occasional complaints, no one openly opposed it.

But after Sha Yuandong doubled the tribute, the merchants at Yongle Manor found that they were paying more, but the environment had not improved; it had worsened. Su Xin's subordinates were strictly controlled, and anyone who tried to extort the merchants would face severe punishment from Li Huan, who was in charge of discipline.

Sha Yuandong, however, had no such control. He let his subordinates extort the merchants at will, and some even resorted to outright extortion. These were Sha Feiyang's direct subordinates, sent to support Sha Yuandong, but they failed to support him and instead caused chaos.

When the merchants complained to Sha Yuandong, he sided with his father's subordinates, who had no status in his eyes. The complaining merchants were not only ignored but also beaten and extorted even more, nearly driving some to bankruptcy.

Moreover, after Su Xin and his men left, no one managed the streets of Yongle Manor. Thieves and ruffians began to appear. When Su Xin was in charge, the entire Yongle Manor followed his rules. Anyone causing trouble on the streets would be taken to the hall for a "chat" by Su Xin's subordinates, faster than the patrolling constables.

These ruffians were organized, and even the Green Bamboo Gang didn't want to provoke them, so they were left alone, like Old Wolf on Blackwater Street. But when Su Xin took over Yongle Manor, he subdued Old Wolf, the strongest underground figure. Once he was subdued, the others quickly fell in line.

Now that Su Xin was gone, they started causing trouble again. These were tough characters who feared no one, not even the authorities. To them, Sha Yuandong was just a kid with a good father, nothing to fear.

And Sha Yuandong indeed ignored them, thinking it was none of his business if they were causing trouble for the merchants and civilians of Yongle Manor.

The patrolling constables at Yongle Manor were also troubled by these ruffians. They couldn't arrest them all, and not arresting them led to complaints to the magistrate, damaging their reputation.

Constable Xiao Zhang also went to Sha Yuandong, but it was to no avail. The constables were not to be offended, and Xu Chang had warned Sha Yuandong not to offend them. So, while Sha Yuandong was polite to Constable Xiao Zhang, he ignored his advice.

The constables were not to be offended, but if he followed their every word, what kind of Young Boss would he be? When Constable Xiao Zhang spoke, Sha Yuandong still ignored him.

Within ten days, Yongle Manor was in chaos, with widespread complaints, but Sha Yuandong felt good about himself.

The news from Kuaile Forest never stopped. After receiving these reports, Su Xin just sneered. If someone was courting disaster, there was nothing he could do.

He didn't need to stir the pot; he just needed to watch the mansion crumble. That was enough.

PS: Thank you to the readers Tian Liu Wu Bu Liu, Xingchen Ye Ying 1, Ye Meng Qian Nian, Xiao Luo Yan Chen, Ji Mo Shi Yi Zhong Jingjie, and Gao Cheng Guang for your support.