A Long River Myth

The night was as dark as ink, and Yulan Hutong, which was originally a relatively prosperous area on the outskirts of the city, was now pitch black.

It turns out that all three gambling dens under Huang Lin's control have been shut down.

The shattered doorway was still stained with recently dried blood.

Li Hong lay in the shadows, investigating one by one.

These three gambling dens were the "core assets" of the Wong Lam gang, but they were all destroyed.

The internal strife appears to be more intense than he had anticipated!

Li Hong had already investigated most of the inside information about the Huang Lin Gang since Qin Si's death.

Gang leader Yu Cangshan was originally a powerful outsider...

The deputy leader, Huang Qiang, was the leader of the predecessor of the Huang Lin Gang—the former leader of the somewhat declining "Zaihu Gang".

Two of the three small gambling dens were his original properties.

He's considered a local bigwig.

Two years ago, by chance, a powerful dragon and a local snake merged into one, and it is said that there were already internal conflicts in the early days of its establishment.

Because Huang Qiang had entered the mid-stage of his foreign affairs career this year, the rift between them widened further, and the conflict began to surface...

At this point, after confirming that there is no risk of being phished.

Li Hong continued to stealthily make his way through the shadows towards the three courtyards at the end of the alley...

That was the residence of the deputy gang leader, Huang Qiang. As for the gang's headquarters, they were located in Xijing Lane, which spanned two streets.

He needs to scout ahead first; after all, the snake has two heads, so he needs to decide which side to cut off first!

........

Soon, in the third courtyard deep in the alley, there were several henchmen patrolling the street.

Inside the courtyard, several torches and braziers were scattered, their dim yellow light illuminating the space brightly.

There were also six or seven Huang Lin gang henchmen, half of whom were injured and looked like frightened birds.

Li Hong silently leaped onto the eaves of the adjacent courtyard wall and tiptoed up to the gable roof of the inner courtyard.

They carefully removed the tiles.

The room that comes into view is the main hall.

Huang Qiang, with a ferocious expression, held a machete across his knees, and his chest was wrapped in bandages.

The bottle containing wound medicine on the table next to him was overturned, and shards of wine jars were scattered all over the floor.

The guests were likely a few minor leaders from his faction.

One of the burly men with a thick beard was deep in thought, saying:

"Boss, Eryao just sent a message... saying that Yu Cangshan vomited two mouthfuls of black blood after returning, and it's the same thing Huzi said this evening!"

"I think he's mostly just putting on a brave face. How about we push harder tonight and launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Qiang, seated at the head of the table, glanced at the bearded man and sneered:

"You believe me just like that? You never paid attention to this before. Didn't you know that Tiger had changed his mind a long time ago?"

Hmph! Three months ago, Yu Cangshan secretly redeemed his sister from her servitude!

"And Eryaozi, all the money he lost at Hongyunfang last year has been waived!"

"Is he trying to build a nest for me? Does he really think I'm a useless piece of trash?"

Huang Qiang's gaze was deep and cold. He finished a bowl of wine, then smashed the bowl and stood up.

He suddenly swung the machete horizontally, pointing it at the burly, bearded man who had just given him the advice!

"Boss, what does this mean?"

The burly man with a thick beard, Chen Feng, was startled, his eyes twitching. The armchair cracked as he slammed it against the ground.

Huang Qiang placed the machete against his neck, a cold smirk playing on his lips, and said:

"Chen Feng, what did you receive from Yu Cangshan last year? What loyalty did you pledge when you drank with him this December? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

With that, he swung his sword across the room, blood splattered, and Chen Feng's head slumped down.

The others were all taken aback, their faces paling with shock, and they quickly expressed their loyalty:

"Boss, good job! Chen Feng was always two-faced; he should have been eliminated long ago!"

"Stretch it out and bury it!"

Huang Qiang gave a vicious smile and wiped the blood from the knife wound with an air of authority.

But Li Hong, looking at him from "God's perspective," noticed that his posture was somewhat unsteady, and it was obvious that he was trying to maintain his authority!

Huang Qiang put down his machete, sat back down, and slowly said:

"Although Yu Cangshan took a hit from me, he still managed to escape from Wanliang Mountain. His Iron Wall Kung Fu has reached the Python Coiling Force level. How could he be seriously injured by just one strike?"

"They must have already laid their net, as for you..."

His gaze swept over the remaining men, and he saw that the underlings immediately clasped their hands in a fist salute and said:

"We are entirely at the boss's behest. How can we possibly have any disloyalty? We can swear an oath with blood and wine as proof!"

After he finished speaking, a middle-aged man with a sinister appearance got up and brought over a jar of wine.

Seeing that he had barely managed to quell the situation and salvage some of the day's slump, Huang Qiang narrowed his eyes and said:

"Swearing an oath with blood and wine...that's acceptable, as a way to honor the spirits..."

However, he didn't finish his sentence.

Li Hong saw the sinister-looking middle-aged man put down the wine jar through the gaps in the tiles.

Taking advantage of Huang Qiang's momentary lapse in vigilance, he cleverly reached for the machete that was lying across the table.

Then, he threw it out the window!

Huang Qiang, who was about to pour the wine, realized too late to react and instantly turned pale. "Lin Gun! You son of a bitch!"

Boom!

The other leaders seized the opportunity, each revealing a chisel from their sleeves. The one closest to them had already struck Huang Qiang on the back of the head with a hammer.

"Ugh..." Huang Qiang shuddered as he was struck on the back of the head, still struggling.

But these minor leaders all had physical attributes close to that of an outwardly strong man.

Huang Qiang was seriously injured in the fire during the day, so how could he possibly fight against multiple opponents now?

Bang bang bang.

A few breaths later, Huang Qiang collapsed to the ground with a thud, blood flowing from his seven orifices, his eyes wide with rage.

Seeing this, Li Hong sneered inwardly. Huang Qiang's faction had already been thoroughly infiltrated by Yu Cangshan.

During the day, Huo and his allies were at a disadvantage again. It seems that the loyalists were all wiped out during the day. He should be smart enough to run away on his own as soon as possible.

"Hurry up and search! Before the boss arrives, all the valuables are ours, and we'll get a reward too!"

Once they were sure Huang Qiang was completely dead, the gang leaders hurriedly pulled several keys from his body.

They started rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

Looking down, Li Hong could see everything clearly and couldn't help but start counting as well, which saved him the trouble.

"Only thirteen taels of silver... Where did he hide all that money?"

One of the leaders was sweating profusely, and had even dismantled half of the kang (a heated brick bed). The group searched together, but they still couldn't find any more valuables.

"Old Hu, you're so stupid! You must have hidden them separately at your mistresses' houses. We'll search for them one by one later, and then we can have a taste of those sluts again!"

"Huh... there seems to be a book here!"

Suddenly, a skinny, monkey-like leader pulled out a thick, gray booklet from under the corner of the cabinet.

"What is this...? Does anyone recognize the characters?"

The four underlings, all illiterate, opened the book and looked at each other in bewilderment.

It wasn't until he saw the fundamental diagram on one of the pages that Lin, the one who struck first, slapped his forehead in realization:

"It's a cultivation technique! When Boss Huang first allied with General Yu, it was precisely because of this that he was willing to submit to him!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong's pupils contracted, and he realized that his eyesight was several points above average.

That booklet was clearly a martial art for external training, called "Iron Wall Skill"!

Inside the side room, the leaders immediately looked overjoyed, as if they had found a treasure.

No one noticed that more than a dozen tiles had quietly disappeared from the roof of the main room.