Hong Kong film: The cop backs down, the ladies beg me to check his license.

"In our view, he got incredibly lucky. But in his own view, he felt wronged."

"He always felt that with his 'talent,' he shouldn't just be a hall master."

Dafei and Greyhound fell silent, pondering Ye Tian's words. It sounded outrageous, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem entirely impossible.

Ye Tian continued, "Every time the club holds a regular meeting, unless it's something particularly confidential, we big shots will all be there to listen in."

"You guys should think about what Fatty Li is like every time he holds a meeting."

"The other hall masters all wear formal attire and are very respectful. Only Fatty Li always dresses casually, and sometimes he even wears slippers."

"If he's always like this, then it's fine."

"But as you all know, in front of outsiders, he always wears a sharp suit and smokes cigars like others, putting on a respectable act."

A huge wave of emotions surged in Dafei and Greyhound's hearts.

Ye Tian is absolutely right!

Fat Li was a completely different person in public and in private. In public, he deliberately maintained a respectable image because he knew those people were his bread and butter and he couldn't afford to offend them. But within the Juyi Hall and the gang itself, he didn't care about his image at all. What did this show? It showed that he looked down on the Juyi Hall, the gang's rules, and the other hall leaders from the bottom of his heart! Only in front of his subordinates did he dare to be so unrestrained, because he knew that his men depended on him for their livelihood, and even if he dressed slovenly, no one would dare to say a word against him.

Dafei and Greyhound had basically believed Ye Tian's words, but they were still a little hesitant.

"But Brother Tian, ​​based on this alone... it doesn't seem like we can convict him."

Ye Tian's fingers rested on the rim of the teacup, unconsciously stroking it back and forth. The cup was warm, and the glaze was smooth. He didn't look at anyone as he spoke; his eyes were fixed on a swaying treetop outside the window, and his tone was as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.

"I heard some rumors that Fatty Li and Lei Yaoyang from Tung Sing are getting a little too close."

"Don't you think something...a little off about this?"

Dafei made a gulping sound, as if he had choked on something. He picked up his half-cold teacup, tilted his head back, and took a large gulp to suppress the shock that rushed up his head. "It's weird." He put down the cup, his voice still a little dry. "In our line of work, it's not unusual to have some personal connections with people from the other gangs. Mr. Jiang and Camel, don't they occasionally have tea and catch up? But if it's all done secretly, colluding behind the scenes... that's not a personal connection, that's sinister."

The greyhound next to him nodded vigorously, its chin bobbing up and down, its fingers tapping the wooden tabletop in a rhythmic "tap, tap, tap" motion.

Ye Tian finally turned his gaze away from the window, his lips twitching slightly—not a smile, just a slight twitch of his cheek. "If you're interested, go down and find out for yourselves. Anything else I say is just guesswork and doesn't count."

Upon hearing this, the two nodded even faster, their faces beaming with gratitude—a mixture of genuine thanks and anxiety.

Dafei stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ye Tian, ​​his fists clenched tightly. "Brother Tian, ​​I'll remember this favor. If you ever need anything, just say the word."

Greyhound stood up as well, speaking hurriedly, "Yes, yes! We'll never forget Brother Tian's kindness!"

Ye Tian saw them to the door, his hand resting on the doorframe. As if suddenly remembering something trivial, he casually mentioned, "By the way, at the 'reconciliation feast' this morning, I noticed Fatty Li's gait suggested he had some kind of problem with his lower body. I guess he got 'taken care of' last night. I wonder which brother was so ruthless, leaving no room for mercy."

Dafei and Greyhound's faces flushed red and then turned pale, their eyes meeting briefly before snapping away. They waved their hands haphazardly, barely managing to say a word, and hurriedly jumped into the car outside. The engine gave a low growl, and the car sped off as if fleeing.

Lin Fu leaned against the doorframe, watching the car taillights disappear into the alleyway, and laughed. "Brother Tian, ​​what good stuff do you think Fatty Li and Lei Yaoyang can come up with together?"

Luo Tianhong curled her lip, looking displeased: "Didn't Brother Tian say that the two of them are up to no good in the shadows? Who knows what they're plotting?"

Lin Fu ignored the unruly blue-haired boy and kept his gaze on Ye Tian, ​​waiting.

Ye Tian knew as expected. He walked back to the table, sat down again, and slowly spoke, tracing non-existent marks on the surface with his fingers: "Siu B took down Ba Bi, and Tung Sing lost face big time. They'll definitely want to get revenge. Right now, the five tigers of Tung Sing are all secretly vying for power, holding back their anger. Lei Yaoyang approached Fatty Lai to set a trap, to lure Siu B in and eliminate him completely, leaving no one alive."

Luo Tianhong's eyes widened: "Brother Tian, ​​you knew all along? Then why didn't you tell Dafei and the others earlier?"

Ye Tian raised an eyelid and rolled his eyes at him: "Am I their youngest boss? Do I have to report everything to them?"

Luo Tianhong's brows furrowed: "But just now... you were clearly talking badly about Fatty Li, and your words were clearly meant to entice them to target Fatty Li and cause trouble, weren't they? Even I could tell!"

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out. Lin Fu bent his finger and lightly tapped Luo Tianhong on the forehead.

"Ouch!" Luo Tianhong clutched her forehead, glaring angrily. "Why did you hit me?!"

Lin Fu sighed, a sigh tinged with a sense of helplessness, as if to say, "This kid's hopeless." "I told you to listen, to learn the ropes. But you just listened for the noise. If you don't understand, keep it to yourself and don't spout nonsense."

Luo Tianhong retorted defiantly, "Then how do you understand? Tell me, what exactly does the boss want to do?"

Ye Tian smiled and gestured with his chin to Lin Fu: "Xiao Fu, talk to this blockhead and help him see the light. Stop him from just waving his fists around all day."

Lin Fu nodded, then turned to Luo Tianhong, his tone becoming patient, like he was instructing a child. "Brother Tian, ​​every word you said just now wasn't definitive. It sounded like casual conversation, but every sentence was actually leading in one direction. The things that happened with Fatty Li have always had a shadow in the underworld; Brother Tian just polished those shadows a bit and put them right in front of them."

He paused, seeing that Luo Tianhong still looked confused, and continued, "People's thoughts can be led astray. If you just say 'he's wrong,' it's useless. You have to say, 'Who did he see yesterday?', 'He seemed to be limping a little,' and 'His eyes were darting around.' The listener will connect these things themselves, and the more they think about it, the more they'll feel 'there really is something fishy going on.' Even if Fatty Li is really alright, after this round of discussion, a thorn will be planted in their hearts."

"You have to leave room for interpretation. You can't just tell them everything at once. If you explain everything to them, they become like wooden dolls, lacking motivation. You have to let them feel like they've 'discovered an incredible secret.' That's when they'll be motivated and work hard to investigate and cause trouble. Sometimes, the 'truth' they figure out themselves is more real and... more ruthless than anything anyone tells them." Lin Fu looked at Luo Tianhong. "Got it, silly boy?"

Luo Tianhong stared blankly for a long time before finally uttering three words: "...So insidious."

Ye Tian turned to Lin Fu and said, "Xiao Fu, this hothead will be living with you for now. Once he's started earning his own money, we'll let him move out and start his own business."

Lin Fu readily nodded: "Sure, Brother Tian. I just finished setting up the house, everything's ready, so it'll save you trouble."

Luo Tianhong's eyes lit up: "Brother Fu, how big is the house?"

Lin Fu scratched his head, a little embarrassed: "Thanks to Brother Tian's blessing, I'm a bit better off financially this month, so I bought... a slightly larger one. About three thousand square feet."

"How big?!" Luo Tianhong's tone changed completely. "Three thousand square feet?! Don't kid me, it's a villa, right?"

"Ah, it's a villa, located halfway up Victoria Peak," Lin Fu said casually.

Luo Tianhong was stunned. A villa halfway up Victoria Peak. That wasn't the standard for underworld bosses; it was where the people featured in the financial sections of newspapers lived. He swallowed hard and asked dryly, "Brother Fu... how much did you actually make last month?"

Lin Fu didn't hide anything: "It's close to twenty million. But six million of it is illicit, not clean. Brother Tian helped out a bit, otherwise we wouldn't have enough cash."

Luo Tianhong's eyes began to sparkle, and she could barely speak: "Following...following the boss...is this profitable?"

Lin Fu quickly waved his hand: "It's not like this every month, it depends on luck. Usually, the monthly allowance Brother Tian gives me is generous enough, 200,000, I think it's pretty good."

Two hundred thousand! Luo Tianhong's heart pounded. But nearly twenty million... how many two hundred thousand would that be?

Ye Tian glanced at him and said in a flat tone, "Kid, follow Xiao Fu, observe and learn more. When you can make a living on your own one day, you won't care about this little bit of money anymore."

Luo Tianhong immediately straightened her back and set herself an ambitious goal: "I want to earn 20 million a month from now on!"

A great man cannot be without power for a day, and a petty man cannot be without money for a day. Luo Tianhong is going to follow Ye Tian, ​​so how can he not be ambitious?

Ye Tian ignored him, took out his phone, and dialed a number. The call connected quickly, and Liang Kun's signature slightly hoarse voice came from the other end, with some background noise.

"Brother Kun, are you busy?"