After the family split up, I achieved martial arts sainthood.

"I've said it before, this kind of behavior is completely unnecessary."

After smashing the wine glass, Master Tao snorted coldly: "Since the goal is to integrate the martial arts forces of Qingyuan County, they will not easily submit without the coercion of martial arts methods."

"Only you, Old Hu, are so naive, insisting on learning those pedantic scholars' ways, going through the motions of 'courtesy first, then force.' Now look what you've done! You've utterly disgraced yourself."

Old Master Hu's face was gloomy. He picked up his wine glass and drank the wine in it, suppressing the anger in his chest.

Seeing that the scene was tense and on the verge of chaos, the Buddha-like Master Qian chuckled and said, "It's not a big deal. If it doesn't work this time, we'll just try again."

"Just like Lao Tao said before, send someone to invite them over for a discussion. Let's make things clear in public. If they agree, we'll all be happy. If they don't agree, then get out of Qingyuan County."

"In any case, we must firmly control the martial arts forces of Qingyuan County. This is the only way to fight against Chen Tong."

"Besides that, the four of us should maintain harmony and not let one setback create discord. Otherwise, we might be picked off one by one by Chen Tong."

Master Qian's words clearly contained a word of advice, which the hot-tempered Master Tao understood, and he couldn't help but suppress his anger.

"I'm sorry, Lao Hu, I didn't mean to target you, I was just in a bad mood. Please forgive me!"

Master Tao took a new wine cup, filled it with wine, and raised it to Master Hu as an apology.

Master Hu raised his wine glass, shook his head and smiled, "This defeat was indeed due to my lack of consideration. I accept a penalty drink!"

The two drank together, and the tense situation vanished, restoring their initial harmony.

"Send someone to notify them! Let's set the time for tonight, just in case things change. Old Qian, what do you think?"

Master Sun took a sip of wine, smacked his lips, and looked at Master Qian, asking, "Chen Tong left Qingyuan County for a period of time before; I'm afraid it wasn't a casual decision."

"I'm worried that he might have something up his sleeve when he comes back this time. So, I think we should try to unify the martial arts forces in Qingyuan County as soon as possible."

Mr. Qian rubbed the iron ball thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Yes, it needs to be done as soon as possible. Let's arrange for someone to make contact then!"

Master Sun immediately glanced at the servant behind him, who understood and hurriedly left.

"Also, go and inform Tang Yuan to make preparations as well."

Mr. Qian added, "If winning him over doesn't work, we'll have to trouble him to step in. It's best to find someone else to do the hard work of getting people involved."

The Green Forest Gang is undoubtedly the best choice for dirty work.

Otherwise, why would they support the Green Forest Gang?

Upon hearing this, the three gentlemen, Hu, Sun, and Tao, did not object and nodded in agreement.

The servants of the group left the private room and went to make their own arrangements.

……

While the four clan leaders were strategizing, the Zhenwei Martial Arts School was filled with joy.

Gu Xin paid for several tables at Baiweilou Restaurant and sent them back to the martial arts school to celebrate his victory in the sparring match.

The dozens of apprentices ate and drank to their hearts' content, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The celebration lasted for a full afternoon.

They reluctantly parted ways after a satisfying meal.

"Master, I have to go out for a while. I'll come back to repay you later."

Gu Xin asked Yang Wei for leave and then left Zhenwei Martial Arts School.

He still had his eye on the five thousand taels of silver.

Once he gets his hands on this money, he will instantly become one of the wealthiest people in Qingyuan County.

Gu Xin hailed a horse-drawn carriage on the street and headed straight for the gambling den where he had placed his bets.

During the journey, Gu Xinshou clutched the warrant, looking at it again and again, fearing that there might be a mistake in the signature on it.

Fortunately, everything was normal, and there were no errors or omissions in the signing.

"Young master, we've arrived!"

As Gu Xin was filled with emotion, the driver's voice came from outside the carriage.

Gu Xin lifted the curtain and glanced out, and saw the gambling den not far ahead.

But at this time, a large crowd had gathered in front of the gambling den.

The gambling den was surrounded by layers upon layers of people, completely blocking the street.

When the carriages arrived in this area, they could not go any further.

"Are there really that many people withdrawing their money?"

Gu Xin was somewhat surprised. He got up, got off the carriage, paid the fare, and headed straight for the gambling den.

He's asking for a huge sum of money; I wonder if this gambling den even has five thousand taels in deposits.

Hehe, I'm afraid he'll have to grab money from other stalls to make ends meet.

Gu Xin couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought of becoming rich overnight.

"Damn it, you dare to embezzle money from the Green Forest Gang? Are you tired of living?"

"Beat them! Beat these bastards to death!"

"These bastards always make excuses when it comes to paying incense money, but when it comes to placing bets, they're all rolling in money. A bunch of bastards, they deserve to be beaten to death."

Filled with the expectation of getting rich quick, Gu Xin squeezed into the crowd, only to hear the angry voice of the Qinglin Gang manager.

Along with the angry rebukes came piercing screams and painful wails.

Gu Xin tiptoed and peered through the gaps in the crowd, where he saw more than a dozen members of the Qinglin Gang, wielding sticks and punching and kicking a group of fallen civilians.

The members of the Green Forest Gang were all tall and strong, with bulging muscles and vigorous blood; they were clearly martial arts practitioners who had trained in various skills.

On the steps in front of the gambling den stood a burly, bald man.

The bald, muscular man looked like a raging bear.

His vital energy was robust, far surpassing that of the gang members who were actually fighting.

This man acted as if he were the manager of the Green Forest Gang, his arrogant and condescending attitude showing that he didn't treat the group of beaten civilians as human beings at all.

"What's going on?"

Gu Xin frowned and looked around at the crowd to ask.

"What else could it be? The Green Forest Gang can't afford to lose. They lost money in the betting and refuse to pay up, trying to renege on their debt."

"The Zhou Family Martial Arts School, Zhenwei Martial Arts School, and Biao Ma Martial Arts School held a sparring match. The Qinglin Gang set up a 1:50 betting odds, originally intending to rip off a group of people. Who knew someone would be so bold as to buy out the Zhenwei Martial Arts School."

"Look, now that they've won the bet, they've come to cash out, but the Qinglin Gang is denying it. Relying on the Qinglin Gang's influence, they're just kicking them out."

The crowd whispered among themselves, revealing the reason in hushed tones.

Gu Xin's heart sank, and his face immediately turned ugly.

These ordinary people bet tens or hundreds of copper coins, at most a few taels of silver, but the Qinglin Gang refused to pay them back.

Then wouldn't it be even more impossible for him to cash out this huge sum of five thousand taels?

"Hey, don't say that we Qinglin Gang are unreasonable. Here's the money, and we'll settle all the bets in one go."

As Gu Xin was lost in thought, he saw the bald, burly man on the steps at the entrance of the gambling den pull out a handful of copper coins.

Then he casually tossed it into the crowd.

Copper coins flew around, raining down on onlookers, causing them to scramble and grab them in droves.

"Hey, all bets have been settled. Take your money and get out of here. If anyone dares to cause trouble again, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The bald, burly man clapped his hands, his face contorted with rage.