Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 224: Restaurant Meeting
There is a restaurant on Shizhong Mountain in Poyang Lake. On the plaque is engraved a very tacky name "Zuixianlou". The restaurant is a stone and wood structure, divided into two floors. There are no walls or windows upstairs, and only a few pillars support the thatched shed. It looks more like a pavilion. Sitting upstairs, feeling the breeze, the view of the lake is unobstructed, simple yet gorgeous.

It is not easy to find such a restaurant in such an era, and it is even more difficult to find people who can go out to drink in such an era.

Normally there aren't many people in the restaurant, but today there were a lot of people and many boats were parked by the lake.

There were eight people upstairs, sitting around a long table, seven men and one woman, but they were not there to drink.

There were many people guarding the downstairs, all wearing dark grey clothes. One could tell at a glance that they belonged to the same gang, the Poyang Gang.

Less than ten years after its establishment, the Poyang Gang rose rapidly, with thousands of gang members and hundreds of ships. They controlled the waterways of the Yangtze River, collected high tolls from caravans, plundered the imperial court's food and tribute, and sold private salt. Together with the Ghost Shadow Sect, which controlled the Central Plains, they were the two most troublesome bandits for the Qin Dynasty and merchants.

There were twelve leaders of the Poyang Gang, known as the Twelve Dragons, but now there are only eight left. Four of them went to Cangyan Mountain three years ago and never came back. The eight people upstairs are the eight leaders of the Poyang Gang.

Sitting in the main seat was the eldest boss Wu Chunhu, who had a strong build, dark skin, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a beard, and a scar on his face. He looked very fierce. The "River-Breaking Knife" on his waist was very famous in the Yangtze River area and he had few rivals. At this time, he read a letter and put it on the table. After a long silence, he asked, "What do you think about this, second brother?"

Sitting in the first seat on the left is the second in command, Cui Hongtao. He is thin, with pointed eyes and nose, a mustache, and looks three parts scholarly and seven parts evil. He makes plans in the gang and is trusted by his brothers. When he saw the first boss asking him, he said solemnly and firmly: "In my opinion, the wise choice is to join Qin Ting!" As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at him in surprise.

Wu Chunhu was slightly surprised, and asked with a "Oh", "Tell me the reason?"

"If we don't surrender to Qin Ting, we will surely be in for a catastrophe!"

Sun Haiqing, the third in command who was sitting at the first seat on the right, said unhappily: "The Qin court regards us as a thorn in their side. In the past ten years, they have sent their navy to encircle and suppress us many times, but we have always sunk their ships and defeated them. I don't believe they can destroy us!" This man has thick arms, a pointed head and square face, a short neck, and a body shape similar to that of a giant ape, and his body seems to be filled with infinite power.

Cui Hongtao said: "The present is different from the past. The reason why we can survive until now is that we were a small target back then, and it was not worth their large army to encircle and suppress us. We could fight or evade, and kill them by surprise. But now we have thousands of people, and it is difficult to hide so many people and ships. As long as they have time to find our location and attack us suddenly, we will definitely be defeated."

Sun Haiqing laughed and said, "I'm afraid they can't spare any manpower. With 500,000 troops, they fought in southern Xinjiang for four years, but only 200,000 returned. The commander Tu Sui was killed. I'm afraid the Qin army won't dare to cross the Yangtze River again in the next ten years."

Cui Hongtao said: "Third brother, you underestimated the strength of Qin. Qin has a million soldiers and swept through the six kingdoms. The loss of 300,000 will not be a big loss. If my guess is correct, they will soon march south again, and before that, they will definitely encircle and suppress our gang in a large scale to solve the worries. This letter is a warning."

Wu Chunhu said: "The Poyang Gang is made up of brothers from the six kingdoms who have fallen on hard times. If they surrender to the Qin court, how can the brothers accept it?"

Cui Hongtao said: "This is the general trend. If you want to survive, you need to learn to bow your head."

The fourth in command, Bai Yuhe, chuckled and said, "I don't want to hear what my second brother said. Why should we bow to them? If we can't beat them, we can also turn to the heroic king of Wenlang State. They will definitely treat us well. Besides, Duke Jing of Zhou, Ji Jie, is now rebelling against Qin in Wenlang State. The defeat of the Qin army this time was commanded by them. If we follow them, we will surely be appointed as generals and given titles of nobility." Her last name is just Bai. In fact, her skin is not white at all. But she is indeed a beauty with a well-proportioned figure, curvy figure, and a wild beauty. Her eyes are even more vicious, as if they can arouse some kind of desire in men.

Cui Hongtao said: "How can a king who has lost his country be restored? If we join them, our brothers will only become charging soldiers and die on the battlefield. We will never have a comfortable life. Moreover, our roots are in Poyang Lake. How can we just leave like that?"

Sun Haiqing asked: "If we surrender to Qin Ting, won't we become the charging soldiers and have a good life?"

Cui Hongtao said: "If we surrender to the Qin court, we will still stay in Poyang Lake and be responsible for the Qin army's water transportation. We will never charge into battle."

Wu Chunhu said: "Brothers are used to a life of luxury. After joining the Qin court, there are many laws and restrictions everywhere. The most important thing is that we cannot rob or plunder. This has undoubtedly cut off our source of income. How can brothers adapt?"

The fifth in command, Feng Dingbo, glared and shouted, "If I can't eat meat or drink alcohol for a day, I would rather die fighting with the Qin army than eat a bite of military rations!" Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

Yuan Qinghe said: "Robbery turned into delivery, it sounds awkward, it will make people all over the world laugh at us, how can we hold our heads up high in the future? In my opinion, we don't need to join any side, we will fight whoever comes!"

Cui Hongtao said: "How can the days of licking blood on the edge of a knife last long? The only long-term plan is to join the Qin court and build achievements."

Wu Chunhu said: "Can we delay for a while and make a decision after seeing the situation clearly?" "If we hesitate, we will suffer the consequences. The current situation is very clear. A country will be easily destroyed. How can our gang survive? Ying Zheng will never tolerate the existence of the countries in southern Xinjiang, and will not give us time to hesitate, because hesitation is suspicion and disloyalty. He does not want others to be disloyal to him."

Sun Haiqing frowned and said angrily: "Are you willing to become Ying Zheng's pawn? Have you forgotten the days when we were hunted down?"

"It is precisely because I cannot forget those days that I worry that I will never have them again."

Sun Haitong laughed and said, "I didn't expect that after these few years of comfortable life, you have become less courageous."

Cui Hongtao said: "The longer you live, the more worries you have. We have all become less courageous, but you just don't admit it."

Bai Yuhe said leisurely, "It seems that Second Brother has already made up his mind to surrender to Qin Ting. The several new sisters-in-law that Second Brother accepted into his camp yesterday should have been given by this Mr. Li, right? Have you already privately agreed with Mr. Li that after the matter is completed, he will make you the head of the Poyang Gang?"

When everyone heard this, they all showed angry expressions and stared at Cui Hongtao. They all knew that Bai Yuhe had the most up-to-date information and it was almost always correct.

Sun Haitong slammed the table, stood up angrily, pointed at Cui Hongtao and said, "I didn't expect you to be such a traitor. It's a pity that we still regarded you as a brother!"

Cui Hongtao did not stand up, and said calmly: "Fourth sister, why don't you tell me about the guests living in your village? Among them, there is a poison expert. It seems that if we don't join them today, it will be difficult for us to leave this Zuixianlou."

When everyone heard this, they turned their eyes to Bai Yuhe. They didn't expect that she would collude with Zang Ding and invite a wolf into the house. Sun Haitong said angrily: "Fourth sister, how could you do this? Is our brotherly love not as good as those people?"

Bai Yuhe smiled and said, "How can they compare with us brothers? Otherwise, Fourth Sister would not be sitting here to discuss matters with you brothers. It's just that Zang Ding is really not easy to mess with. I can only keep them in the village and treat them well while they wait for our reply. If we offend them, it will be easy for them to kill us. Now they are just being polite to us."

Cui Hongtao said: "Is Mr. Li easy to mess with? He is the imperial envoy appointed by Ying Zheng and is now responsible for pacifying southern Xinjiang. I feel fear when I see his eyes. They are a pair of eyes that can see through people's hearts."

Bai Yuhe laughed and said, "How ridiculous! A pair of eyes can frighten Second Brother. Could it be that his cultivation is even higher than that of Master Zhishui? The Ghost Shadow Sect has already joined the Zang Ding. Why are we still hesitating?"

Cui Hongtao smiled and said, "That was seven days ago. Now the Ghost Shadow Sect no longer exists. Wei Yanke's head is in my boat. If you don't believe it, I can order someone to bring it up now." Everyone was stunned when they heard this and thought it was impossible.

Wu Chunhu said: "It is said that Wei Yanke's pupils are white, like the eyes of a dead fish, and it is easy to identify. My second brother ordered someone to bring it up so that the brothers can see it."

After a while, Cui Hongtao's confidants brought the head wrapped in a black cloth upstairs and opened it in front of everyone. When everyone saw it, they gasped. It was indeed the eyes of a dead fish. The eyes of the dead fish were open, and still retained the expression before death. It was not anger, but fear. Everyone was even more frightened when they saw his eyes. A sect leader of the immortal level was actually dead, and his head was right in front of everyone. How did he die? Everyone wanted to ask.

Cui Hongtao said: "More than 2,000 members of the Ghost Shadow Sect were turned into real ghosts overnight. This is the consequence of joining the 'Zang Ding'. My previous words were not alarmist. Let alone if Mr. Li gave me some beauties, even if he gave me a mountain of gold, I would never betray our brothers who have been through life and death together. But when I saw this head, I was really scared. It's not that I'm afraid of death, but this involves the lives and property of more than a thousand people in our Poyang Gang. How can we afford this responsibility?" He cried.

Wu Chunhu's face turned pale, and he asked, "How did he die? What did Mr. Li tell you?"

Cui Hongtao said: "He didn't say anything. He just told me that this was Wei Yanke's head and he just wanted an answer from us."

The few people who were full of heroism before are now silent. In fact, everyone is afraid of death. A large sect with more than 2,000 people was wiped out in just one night. How could they not be afraid? This head is the strongest persuasiveness, the result, and the threat. No explanation is needed.

Wu Chunhu slammed the table and said, "Ten years ago, we brothers became bandits in order to make a living. We risked our lives to conquer this area. If you want me to take you brothers to join any party and be ordered around by others, I will definitely not be willing to do so. But my second brother has analyzed the current situation very clearly. If we don't work hard for the Qin court, we will be the next to be destroyed, so..."

"Second brother is right. If we had rejected the 'Burial Cauldron', it would have been difficult for us to leave the Zuixian Tower alive today!" Bai Yuhe interrupted Wu Chunhu's words in a cold voice.

(End of this chapter)