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"Hey, Brother Cao, I have something a bit presumptuous to ask for your help."
Five hundred thousand is neither too much nor too little. For anyone, whether it's me, Liu Sen, or Xiao Dao, this amount is significant. But for Cao Minghui, it definitely isn't a lot. Given my current relationship with him, there's no way he wouldn't lend it to me.
"What do you need? Just say it. If I can help, I definitely will," Cao Minghui said generously. I directly told him that I needed five hundred thousand to help treat my brother's grandmother. He remained equally generous and told me it was no problem at all; I could just go to him to pick up the money.
After Cao Minghui agreed, I took Liu Sen straight to his house. Cao Minghui's place was quite nice; the Southern District is considered a top-tier neighborhood.
"Here’s a five hundred thousand check. You can use it," Cao Minghui said with a smile as he handed me the check.
"Thanks, Brother Cao. I'll pay you back as soon as my salary comes in," I replied, taking the check and expressing my gratitude. For an ordinary person, five hundred thousand would be a cause for great concern, but for Cao Minghui, it seemed as casual as five dollars.
"What are you talking about? We’re brothers; just take it if you need it," he said with a friendly smile. Everything was based on the premise that I had some value to him; otherwise, he wouldn't even lend me five dollars.
"Thanks again, Brother Cao. I actually have something to attend to now, so I won't go with you to the meeting. Let's catch up this afternoon," I said after receiving the check. Cao Minghui smiled and added that we shouldn't be seen together too closely by Liu Hao; it wouldn't look good.
Once outside Cao Minghui's house, Liu Sen turned to me and said, "Hey Dong Ge, Cao Minghui seems pretty generous. He didn't hesitate at all about lending fifty thousand."
I chuckled and replied, "Well, one day when I'm no longer useful to him and if I threaten his interests, he wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of me either."
I got into the car and laughed with Liu Sen. He smiled back but didn’t say anything as we drove back to Tianchi.
"Here’s the fifty thousand; go get it yourself. I have something else to do this afternoon, so I won’t go with you. If you need anything, just let me know in time," I said as I handed the check to Xiao Dao. His face lit up with gratitude as he accepted it and then suddenly knelt down in front of me.
"Dong Ge! Thank you!" Xiao Dao exclaimed emotionally.
I quickly helped him up and smiled, saying, "It’s nothing; we’re all brothers. Let’s hurry to the hospital."
"Okay then, Dong Ge, I'll head out first," Xiao Dao replied with a nod. Seeing him off, I reminded him to hurry since the old lady's health was urgent.
After the small knife incident, Liu Sen smiled at me and said, "Dong Ge, this kid is really something."
"Yeah," I replied with a chuckle, silently praying for his grandmother's well-being.
Before I knew it, afternoon had arrived. Since Xiao Dao couldn't come to work, I had also pulled Wang Meng from his duties. I called Wan Fei to come over to Tianchi for a while. Wan Fei had helped out during the single event at Tianchi, so he was familiar with the place.
I took Liu Sen with me to the Aishang Club for a meeting. Once we entered, I introduced myself, and immediately a server led me into a high-end conference room while Liu Sen had to wait outside.
The conference room was filled with several people, including Liu Hao, Cao Minghui, He Wei, Lu Qiang, Zheng Yu, and two others I didn't recognize. One was a short bald man with a muscular build and a tortoise tattoo on his arm—clearly the master of Xuanwu Hall. The other was dressed in a suit with a smile on his face—obviously the master of Azure Dragon Hall.
It turned out I was the last to arrive.
"What the hell? Who is this? Everyone's here and you're the last one?" The master of Xuanwu Hall spoke up. I chuckled at his comment and ignored him, turning to Liu Hao and saying, "Sorry for being late, boss."
"It's not that you're late; it's that we arrived early. Please take a seat," Liu Hao replied politely with a smile. At that moment, I noticed the Xuanwu Hall Master sneer slightly. It was clear that the rivalry between Azure Dragon and Xuanwu Halls against Liu Hao had become apparent.
"Well then," I thought. Should I provoke him just to see how he reacts? After all, due to the incident with the White Tiger Hall Master, I was already on their hit list; offending him couldn't make things worse.
"Now that everyone is here, let's get started. The White Tiger Hall Master, Xiong Li, has been dealt with for violating family rules. The position of White Tiger Hall Master is now vacant and must be filled by someone from White Tiger Hall. Today we will decide who will participate in the election," Liu Hao said with a smile.
Immediately after he finished speaking, Zheng Yu expressed his stance.
"Boss, I don't want to participate in this selection for hall master."
"Okay," Liu Hao nodded with a smile, his gaze showing some appreciation towards Zheng Yu. The situation was clear: Liu Hao intended to nominate me as hall master while Zheng Yu's withdrawal indicated he didn't want to align himself with either of the other two hall masters. At this point, whoever participated alongside He Wei would signal their alliance against Liu Hao.
"I won't participate either," Lu Qiang also stated.
Liu Hao acknowledged him with a simple "Hmm," not even looking at Lu Qiang. Zheng Yu's withdrawal signified his position; Lu Qiang's decision showed self-awareness—he simply didn't have what it took.
"I'll run for the position of White Tiger Hall Master!" He Wei stood up and declared. Liu Hao responded with another indifferent "Hmm," not saying much more before glancing at me. Just as I was about to stand up and declare my candidacy as well, the Xuanwu Hall Master spoke again.
"Boss, I think He Wei is a good choice. Old Xiong only has three capable subordinates left; since Zheng Yu and Lu Qiang aren't participating, let's go with He Wei."
The Xuanwu Hall Master called out to the leader, but there was little respect on his face. Instead, he showed immense deference to the Qinglong Hall Master, as if the latter were the true leader.
Wu Hai and Xiang Dong remained silent; perhaps the Xuanwu Hall Master was too eager. Liu Hao smirked at the Xuanwu Hall Master. It was rare for a leader to be disrespected by his subordinate, and it must have been quite a frustrating situation for him. From their attitudes, I couldn't discern who held the upper hand.
"Xiang Dong? Are you talking about that kid?" Liu Hao chuckled. "Come on, boss, if I remember correctly, this kid just started out, right? He's only a nightclub general manager now. We’re selecting hall masters here; you can’t be careless. As the saying goes, 'A bear raises a bear,' and our Southern District has been treated like a stepchild for years. The younger brothers are already feeling oppressed. If we don’t choose some capable hall masters, how will they get by?"
Liu Hao's face darkened at the Xuanwu Hall Master's words, which were clearly meant to belittle him. Was the implication that following Liu Hao had brought them no benefits? I remained silent, knowing their conversation wasn't over yet. I wanted to glean more about their situation from their exchange.
"Geng Kun, do you want to sit in my position?"
Liu Hao ignored the Xuanwu Hall Master and instead smiled at Qinglong Hall Master Geng Kun. After all, who would pay attention to a sycophant when speaking with the master? From the moment I saw Geng Kun, I sensed he was not an ordinary person; he exuded an air of hidden depth.
"Boss, you're joking! How could I?" Geng Kun replied with a smile. Even I could see that he thought otherwise.
Liu Hao chuckled in response, his lips curling upward. "How could that be? Once your master earns the boss's approval, I suppose I'll have to call you Brother Kun then?"
Liu Hao sneered, "Master? Geng Kun has someone backing him." Geng Kun smiled and added, "Not necessarily; boss, you also have your own master."
"Hah!" Liu Hao let out a light laugh and fell silent. Those two simple sentences made everything clear to me.
Geng Kun had connections above him that protected him from Liu Hao's influence. Liu Hao also had someone backing him; it seemed their superiors held similar power, creating this awkward stalemate between them. As long as neither side gave the other an excuse, neither could make a move against the other—violating the rules of their organization would lead to severe consequences.
This might be one of the downsides of Tian Ye Gang being too large. Although it still operated like the Underworld of old, its management style had changed significantly. Back when I was undercover in a much smaller black force in Northeast China, whatever the boss said went—no one could refute it or oppose him without consequence.
Tian Ye Gang was far too vast and complex in its power dynamics. Above hall masters were numerous high-ranking officials like Managers and Helmsmen that I had heard about before. This complexity inevitably led to factional disputes and various internal regulations that clearly indicated Liu Hao and Geng Kun belonged to different factions. Although Geng Kun was under Liu Hao’s command, his connections prevented Liu Hao from taking any action against him.
"Xiang Dong, what do you say? Are you participating?"
Liu Hao looked at me, and without hesitation, I stood up and declared, "I will participate."
"Good!" Liu Hao responded affirmatively. At that moment, I realized I had an opportunity to understand their factional struggles better because as someone living within this faction, it was essential for me to grasp its intricacies—these intricacies were like unwritten rules; if I wanted to make a name for myself here, mastering these rules of survival was crucial!
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