The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Zhang Xiaolin stared intently at A Gui, then laughed in exasperation, spitting out through gritted teeth, "A Gui, haven't I treated you well?"

Ah Gui said expressionlessly, "Not bad!"

Zhang Xiaolin's face darkened: "So you actually betrayed me?"

Ah Gui's face was expressionless as he said calmly, "I'm sorry, Chief, you forced me to do this!"

Zhang Xiaolin raised an eyebrow, his face turning fierce: "What did you say? I forced you?"

Ah Gui said, "You forced me to take sides! I originally just wanted to work for the gang, not offend either side, not check the accounts, and not want to choose sides, but you insisted that I choose sides, so I can only stand on the side of the second leader!"

Zhang Xiaolin gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger, "Then tell me, what are your reasons for choosing to stand on his side? Did he give you more money? Or did he find you a wife?" He really wanted to know the "reason for his failure"!
Ah Gui sneered, "Neither!"

Zhang Xiaolin was taken aback: "What is that?"

Ah Gui said, "Respect! He gave me respect!"

Zhang Xiaolin was somewhat puzzled. "Respect?" He then scoffed and sneered, "Then tell me, how did he show you respect?"

Ah Gui said with some disdain, "You wouldn't understand even if I explained, so why should I waste my breath?"

Zhang Xiaolin was taken aback, then laughed angrily, "So you know how to be respectful! I'm still the Black Tiger Gang Leader, and you talk to me like that! Do you respect me? You actually turn around and say I don't respect you? Fine! Fine! Very fine!" He looked at the gang members around him and said in a deep voice, "What are your opinions?"

Today, the thirteen disciples I've brought out must distinguish who are on our side and who are Li Wenzheng's men!

This is important!

Li Wenzheng gave a forced smile: "Boss, what are you doing? Do you still want to force everyone to take sides? Why bother? What's the point? The result might greatly disappoint you!"

Zhang Xiaolin felt like vomiting at the sight of Li Wenzheng's repulsive face! Damn it, he's not going to pretend anymore! He coldly said, "I don't care if I'm disappointed! I just want to see who else, besides A-Gui, has been bribed by you?" The disciples' expressions changed drastically!

Li Wenzheng immediately retorted with a smile, "Hey! Chief, your use of the word 'bribe' isn't very pleasant!"

Zhang Xiaolin sneered: "Doesn't it sound good? Isn't it the truth?"

Li Wenzheng shook his head and laughed, "To be precise, they weren't bought off by me, but rather moved by me! I was concerned about what they were concerned about and thought about what they were thinking. I only wanted to help them solve their worries, instead of using force, only caring about the result and not asking about the process, which made the brothers feel anxious!"

Zhang Xiaolin sneered, "Touched? You're utterly shameless! Isn't helping them solve their problems for no reason a way of winning their hearts? You don't think you're so great just because you changed the subject, do you?" He glanced at A Gui, his eyes flashing with a cold light, "Why did you call A Gui over here? Do you want to team up with him to kill me?"

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines! The gang leader had actually gone straight to the point! Was he planning to kill him?
Li Wenzheng looked wronged: "Me? Attack you? If word got out, wouldn't I be branded a traitor?"

Zhang Xiaolin gave him a "you're kidding me" look: "Then why did you call him over?"

Li Wenzheng said with a serious expression, "Of course, we should let him be the judge!"

Zhang Xiaolin's eyes flashed: "Let him judge? You want him to judge?" He originally thought Li Wenzheng wanted to join forces with A Gui to deal with him, but he didn't expect Li Wenzheng to give such an excuse! Damn it, do they think I'm an idiot?

Li Wenzheng raised an eyebrow: "What's with that expression, Chief? What? You think he's not fair enough?"

Zhang Xiaolin sneered, "Second Boss, I just want to know, what qualifications does he have to judge us?" In the martial arts world, to mediate between two parties, a third party must be highly respected! What does it mean to be highly respected? Either your fists are stronger than the two parties involved! Or your status is higher than the two parties involved! Or you have more money, or you have more influence! In Zhang Xiaolin's view, A Gui was just an ordinary member of the Black Tiger Gang, neither an elder nor a protector, not even a minor leader. What right did he have to judge his gang leader?
Ah Gui gritted his teeth and said coldly, "This is the difference between the two of you!"

Zhang Xiaolin's heart skipped a beat!
Li Wenzheng asked Agui to judge the matter, but Zhang Xiaolin said that Agui was not qualified!
One person respects or even trusts Ah Gui, while another looks down on him and accuses him of being unqualified! The two attitudes are completely different, like night and day!
Zhang Xiaolin was silent for a moment, seemingly having made up his mind! He stared at the first person on the left, "Ah Can, how many years have you been following me?"

Without hesitation, Ah-Can replied, "Five years!"

"Five years is not a short time. So what do you think of me as the gang leader?"

"very good!"

"Don't just say it's good in general, and don't lie and say it's bad. I just want you to tell me your honest opinion fairly and justly. How exactly am I good?"

"He is righteous, fair, decisive, skillful, and daring. His brothers admire him wholeheartedly!"

Zhang Xiaolin said, "Is this the truth? Or is it just flattery?"

"Of course I'm telling the truth. What good would it do me to flatter you?"

Zhang Xiaolin remained calm: "Alright, what do you think of the second-in-command?"

Li Wenzheng chuckled maliciously, "Boss, look at you, you're forcing everyone to take sides again. Aren't you putting A-Can in a difficult position?"

Zhang Xiaolin said, "How did this make things difficult for him? Oh—you're allowed to let Agui be the judge, but I'm not allowed to let Acan be the judge? You're being too domineering, aren't you, the second-in-command?"

This isn't just being domineering; it's outrageous!

Li Wenzheng was taken aback, his expression changing slightly. He cursed inwardly: "So, when the hard approach didn't work, they switched to the soft one?" He immediately smiled and said, "Why do you say that, Chief? I was just offering a friendly reminder! You've been in charge from beginning to end, do as you please!"

Zhang Xiaolin rolled his eyes at him, then looked at A-Can, his gaze softening. "Don't worry, A-Can, let's speak frankly today! I, Zhang Xiaolin, swear to heaven that all of you brothers here can speak freely, even insult me, and I will never retaliate against you!"

We will never retaliate against anyone for speaking our minds. If we break our oath, may we be struck by lightning! Ah Can, speak boldly! If the second-in-command dares to retaliate against you, I will deal with him according to the gang rules! Indeed, there is a rule in the gang rules: "Those who retaliate against their brothers shall be punished with three cuts and six holes!"
Ah-Can immediately replied, "The second-in-command is also very good!"

Zhang Xiaolin seemed to have expected this, and said calmly, "How so?" "He's resourceful! He's smart and has a good head for things! When we fight with other gangs, we always achieve the greatest results with the fewest casualties!"

"Any more?"

"Uh...and another thing is...he's very considerate of his brothers!"

There was something strange in Zhang Xiaolin's eyes, but his tone was indifferent: "Stronger than me?"

Ah-Can said awkwardly, "The leader is busy with affairs every day, so naturally he can't take care of some small things."

Zhang Xiaolin thought for a moment, then sighed: "It's all my fault. I was only thinking about how to make the gang stronger, but I neglected the feelings of the brothers. It's my fault!"

The disciples exchanged bewildered glances, secretly surprised: Is this still the same reckless, impulsive, and unapproachable leader he usually is? He actually feels remorse?
Ah-Can said, "Boss, everyone understands you! You bear the heaviest burden!"

Zhang Xiaolin was deeply moved. "Good brother! Thank you for understanding!" His gratitude was evident on his face, and it was truly heartfelt.

Li Wenzheng's heart sank!
Damn it, they really are trying to renege on their debt! Trying to put on a melodramatic show with me? Heh, trying to play that game with me? Humph!
He immediately said to Zhang, "Chief, you're being too polite. Which brother in the gang doesn't understand you? Every time you charge into battle, you always lead by example and are at the forefront. You're not afraid to sacrifice yourself to seize territory. In the last battle against the Hai Sha Faction, we lost twenty brothers, and the chief was also seriously injured. It wasn't easy for you!"

Zhang Xiaolin snorted coldly: "Are you trying to say that I disregard human life and don't care about the lives of my brothers?"

Li Wenzheng immediately retorted, "Hey, I didn't say that! You said it yourself!"

The two were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to give in!

Ah-Can and Ah-Gui remained expressionless. The other disciples were filled with apprehension! What if a fight broke out? Which side should they take? If they sided with the second-in-command, it would mean completely betraying the Black Tiger Gang and bearing the stigma of a traitor for life! If they sided with the gang leader, it would mean betraying the second-in-command's kindness! Even if the second-in-command's help was a deliberate attempt to win them over, from the moment they accepted the help, they already owed the second-in-command a debt of gratitude!

Everyone is in a dilemma! They can't reconcile loyalty and righteousness!
Zhang Xiaolin said, "Aren't you all wondering why the second-in-command seems like a different person today?"

Ah-Can glanced at Li Wen-zheng and said something that sent a chill down Li Wen-zheng's spine: "Yes, the second-in-command seems like a completely different person! He used to be polite and approachable, but today, he's been quite aggressive!"

A sharp glint appeared in Li Wenzheng's eyes, then vanished: "Ah Can! Haven't I treated you well?"

Ah-Can said, "Not bad!"

"Then why are you making fun of me?"

"I'm just telling the truth! Second Boss, you've been very good to me. You gave me the money for my mother's medicine when she was sick, and I'm very grateful to you. However, I'm not short of money. After you forced the money on me, you even verbally blocked me, saying that if I didn't accept it, I would be disrespecting you. I reluctantly accepted it, but I've already secretly given the money to Ah Gui. I told Ah Gui that I'll pay you back at the end of the year to avoid hurting everyone's harmony! I just want to say, don't think that just because you forced me to lend you money, I have to be grateful to you and stand on your side to oppose the boss. That's impossible!"

Ah-Can's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the tent!
Has the facade been completely torn off? Are they no longer going to pretend?

Li Wenzheng's eye twitched slightly, and he laughed, "Ah Can! I was trying to help you, and this is how you see me?"

Ah-Can said, "Second Boss, you know what you're really thinking. I'm just an ordinary person. I joined the gang because I didn't want to be bullied. I have no ambition and don't want to get involved in power struggles, so you don't need to win me over! I just hope that our Black Tiger Gang will prosper and that everyone can have a good life. I hope that a good Black Tiger Gang will eventually fall apart!"

The gang members were all shocked by Ah Can's courage! Was Ah Can drunk today? How dare he be so presumptuous? How could he say such things?

Ah-Can seemed to have more to say and continued, "Ah-Gui! You said the gang leader doesn't respect you, but the second-in-command does, so you support the second-in-command, right?"

Ah Gui snorted coldly, his face full of disdain: "What? Trying to clear Zhang Xiaolin's name?"

The moment the name "Zhang Xiaolin" was uttered, all the disciples' expressions changed drastically!
Calling the gang leader by his given name is a major taboo! It seems this guy is determined to break with the Black Tiger Gang!

Zhang Xiaolin remained unmoved. A-Can, slightly taken aback, looked at A-Gui with pity: "A-Gui, what is respect? Is being kind to you respectful? Is being cold to you disrespectful? Prince Dan of Yan respected Jing Ke back then, didn't he? Of course he respected him! You could say he treated him like an honored guest!" At this point, many disciples seemed to understand what A-Can was about to say; they vaguely felt that A-Can was alluding to the Second Leader and A-Gui!

Li Wenzheng interrupted him directly: "What do you want to say?" He was a little annoyed! Ah Can's sudden stepping forward surprised him quite a bit! He has always been meticulous and would not ignore Ah Can just because he is usually inconspicuous. On the contrary, he has not let go of any of these kinds of people and has won them all over, just in case.

And that "what if" actually happened! How utterly ironic! Li Wenzheng really wanted to slap himself! He had underestimated this Ah Can back then!

Ah-Can said, "I just want to remind Ah-Gui! Prince Dan is sending Jing Ke money and beautiful women, what is he after? He's after Jing Ke's life!"

To everyone's surprise, Ah Gui neither became furious nor flew into a rage upon hearing Ah Can's words. Instead, he grew even calmer. "Ah Can! Doesn't the gang leader want you to risk your life for him? Answer me seriously!" He stared into Ah Can's eyes. "Do you dare to tell the truth?"

Ah-Can looked into Ah-Gui's eyes, showing no hesitation or evasion, and remained equally calm: "What's there to be afraid of saying? Isn't it normal for me to risk my life for the gang leader?"

Ah Gui asked, "How much does he pay you for risking your life for him?"

Ah-Can said calmly, "The gang leader has been kind to me, and working for him is repaying that kindness. What's the point of talking about money?"

Ah Gui snorted coldly, "Then has he been kind to everyone?" He looked around, "Brothers, you all joined the gang later. As far as I know, the gang leader doesn't seem to have done you any favors, does he?"

The disciples immediately lowered their heads, not daring to meet Ah Gui's gaze.

Ah Gui sneered, "Pathetic!" He stared at Ah Can, "I'm just like everyone else. My purpose in joining the gang was simple: to avoid being bullied and to make something of myself!" He paused, "Besides sending everyone to their deaths in stupid fights, what benefits has Zhang Xiaolin given us? Oh, right, we usually eat meat and drink alcohol in large quantities, and he even takes us to brothels a few times. But what have we gained in the end?" He became more and more agitated as he spoke, "My mother is seriously ill, and I can't even afford her medicine!"

Zhang Xiaolin said coldly, "I'll give you at least twenty taels a month, and an extra twenty taels for each operation. Just these three months alone, you'll have two hundred taels in income each month, at least six hundred taels in these three months! You're saying you don't even have money for medicine? What kind of medicine is so expensive?"

Ah Gui was taken aback. "Six hundred taels? When did you give me six hundred taels?"

Zhang Xiaolin said, "Then let's reconcile the accounts!" (End of Chapter)