23: Chapter 23 The Culprit: Chen Hu

Venomous Snake Gang.

Seeing Gang Leader Du Zaishan, Gang Leader Xu Huanlin's expression immediately darkened: "Why have you come?"

A few days ago, he had been incited by Gang Leader Du Zaishan to ambush the Fierce Tiger Gang's Third Battle Hall.

As a result, not only did it fail, but one of his Venomous Snake Gang's Elders in the Tendon Refining Realm was killed.

Originally, in order to stop the Fierce Tiger Gang's General Hall from sending Elders to support the Third Battle Hall, the Venomous Snake Gang and the Wild Wolf Gang had each sent an Elder in the Tendon Refining Realm to intercept them.

They never expected that the Fierce Tiger Gang's General Hall would have all four of its Elders come out in full force.

They killed the Venomous Snake Gang's Tendon Refining Elder and severely wounded the Wild Wolf Gang's Elder.

As for the Third Battle Hall side, they didn't gain any advantage either.

In particular, the attack on the stronghold at Yuquan Street suffered heavy losses.

Hall Master Chen Xiao had his right arm severed; even if the injury healed, his strength would drop significantly.

Besides that, the Venomous Snake Gang also lost two major leaders and four minor leaders.

As for the forty-plus underlings sent, almost all of them were wiped out.

"Sigh!"

Facing Gang Leader Xu Huanlin's gloomy expression, Gang Leader Du Zaishan let out a sigh: "Brother Xu, I didn't expect the Fierce Tiger Gang's reaction to be so fast this time. How about this? My Wild Wolf Gang will offer ten thousand taels to compensate for the Venomous Snake Gang's losses. How does that sound?"

"Brother Du, are you serious?"

Hearing that Gang Leader Du Zaishan was willing to offer ten thousand taels of silver as compensation, the anger in Gang Leader Xu Huanlin's heart dissipated quite a bit.

Gang Leader Du Zaishan said shamefully: "It was I who proposed the raid on the Fierce Tiger Gang, causing Brother Xu's Venomous Snake Gang such great losses. Naturally, I have a responsibility. Moreover, I don't want any bad blood to grow between me and Brother Xu, or between our two gangs!"

In truth, Gang Leader Du Zaishan was also quite pained to offer ten thousand taels of silver as compensation.

But he had to do it.

Although he had belittled Leader Gao Zhan in his previous words, the fact that the Venomous Snake Gang and the Wild Wolf Gang had fought the Fierce Tiger Gang for so many years without gaining any advantage showed that Leader Gao Zhan did have his unique strengths.

What's more, the personnel sent out by the Fierce Tiger Gang hadn't returned yet.

Once they returned, the Fierce Tiger Gang would likely retaliate.

The raid on the Fierce Tiger Gang's Third Battle Hall was something he had proposed and led.

If he soured his relationship with Gang Leader Xu Huanlin now, and the Fierce Tiger Gang attacked the Wild Wolf Gang while the Venomous Snake Gang chose to stand by and watch, the Wild Wolf Gang would be in danger of being wiped out.

Therefore, he had to produce ten thousand taels to eliminate Gang Leader Xu Huanlin's grudge.

After handing the ten-thousand-tael silver note to Gang Leader Xu Huanlin, the other's attitude indeed returned to its previous state.

Gang Leader Du Zaishan continued: "Brother Xu, I've made inquiries over the past few days. The huge losses we suffered a few days ago were all because of one person!"

"Who?" Gang Leader Xu Huanlin asked subconsciously.

"Chen Hu!" Gang Leader Du Zaishan gritted his teeth and said.

"Chen Hu?" Gang Leader Xu Huanlin asked in surprise: "Isn't he just a major leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang?"

"Brother Xu, you must not underestimate this guy!" Gang Leader Du Zaishan snorted coldly: "According to the information I gathered, before we made our move, this guy noticed our situation and reported it to the Fierce Tiger Gang's General Hall. This aroused the Fierce Tiger Gang's vigilance. Otherwise, the Fierce Tiger Gang's four Elders wouldn't have come out in full force. Furthermore, the use of kerosene was also proposed by Chen Hu. If the opponent hadn't used kerosene, our men wouldn't have failed at all. Most importantly, although this guy is only at the Late Skin Refining Stage, his Comprehension Ability is very high, and he has cultivated his Martial Skill to the Major Achievement or even Perfection stage. Only then could he fight across realms and sever one of Hall Master Chen Xiao's arms. I am certain that the Fierce Tiger Gang will focus on cultivating Chen Hu in the future. He is only a major leader, yet he could cause such great losses to our two gangs. Once he breaks through to the Flesh Refining Realm in the future, he will surely become a thorn in our side. Therefore, I propose we eliminate this guy as soon as possible. Not only will it eliminate a future threat, but it will also be an account to our fallen brothers!"

Hearing Gang Leader Du Zaishan say this, anger appeared on Gang Leader Xu Huanlin's face: "This guy really deserves to die. Brother Du, tell me, how should we kill him?"

Gang Leader Du Zaishan pondered and said: "We cannot do it ourselves. After all, the Fierce Tiger Gang is already extremely dissatisfied with us. If we take action to kill Chen Hu, it might provoke the Fierce Tiger Gang into an all-out war against us. So, we can spend money to hire someone!"

"Hire whom?" Gang Leader Xu Huanlin asked.

Gang Leader Du Zaishan said: "In Changyue Square, there are the three He brothers. These three brothers have quite impressive cultivation levels: two at the Refining Flesh Mid-Stage and one at the Meat Refining Stage. If the three brothers join forces, they can even contend against an Early Stage of Tendon Refining. More importantly, these three brothers have a good reputation and get things done for money. As long as we are willing to pay, they will definitely assassinate Chen Hu. The only downside is that their fees are quite expensive!"

"To kill Chen Hu, how much do they charge?" Gang Leader Xu Huanlin asked, tempted.

"Chen Hu is a major leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang. If the matter is exposed, the three brothers will likely have to flee, so it will cost at least three thousand taels!" Gang Leader Du Zaishan said.

Hearing that it would cost three thousand taels, Gang Leader Xu Huanlin couldn't help but hesitate.

"How about this: if the three He brothers are willing to take on this task, I will pay two thousand taels, how about that?" Gang Leader Du Zaishan said immediately.

"Wouldn't that be too much of a loss for you, Brother Du?" Gang Leader Xu Huanlin said with a smirk.

"It's fine!" Gang Leader Du Zaishan waved his hand: "Our two families are as close as brothers, it doesn't matter if I pay a little more!"

"Alright, then it's settled!"

In the afternoon, Chen Hu was diligently cultivating in the public room of the stronghold.

Da Niu came to report that the men sent to exterminate the mountain bandits and retrieve the goods had returned.

Hearing this, Chen Hu also breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he had been on edge these past few days, worried that the Venomous Snake Gang and the Wild Wolf Gang would send people to attack again.

Sure enough, not long after, Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan sent someone to summon him.

After seeing Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan, the other was all smiles and praised Chen Hu heavily, saying he had done well, and also indicated that he would personally request credit for him from the Gang Leader.

Approaching evening, Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan brought people from the General Hall.

They awarded Chen Hu two more great merits.

In addition, they also rewarded him with two hundred taels of silver, one bottle of essence blood pill, two bottles of pulse-protecting pills, and three bottles of qi and blood pill.

Da Niu and Song He, who were minor leaders, also received rewards of silver and Medicinal Pills.

As for the other underlings, the General Hall rewarded each person with 10 taels of silver.

After the people from the General Hall left, Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan reminded him: "You have earned three great merits this time, enough to exchange for a Yellow Rank High Grade Cultivation Technique. You are currently cultivating the Fierce Tiger Force. If you want to change, it is best to change to the White Tiger Technique; this technique is of the same lineage as the Fierce Tiger Force you are cultivating!"

"Many thanks for the reminder, Hall Master. I understand!"

"Also, in the coming period, work hard to improve your cultivation. In a while, the gang might have some major moves!" Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan lowered his voice and said.

"Could it be?"

Chen Hu thought of a possibility.

"Just know it in your heart, don't let the news leak!" Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan interrupted Chen Hu.

"Yes, Hall Master, I understand!"

After seeing Hall Master Ma Zhiyuan off, Chen Hu called Da Niu over, threw him fifty taels of silver, and told him to take his underlings to a restaurant for a good meal.

After work, Chen Hu didn't go to Widow Wang's place, but returned to his small courtyard.

His hands were itching; he planned to go treasure hunting tonight.

After all, five treasure locations had refreshed in the past few days.