"Dahan, protect Ding Li!"
As the men with blades rushed forward, Xiao Chen gripped his machete tighter, his body flashing like an afterimage as he shot straight into the group.
"Okay!"
Li Hanhou nodded, leapt toward Ding Li, grabbed him by the arm, and tossed him onto the sofa. "Stay down!"
"Move aside! Shoot them!"
Seeing Xiao Chen attack even with guns pointed at him, Huang Xing exploded with rage. He wanted to fire, but with his own men in the way, he hesitated and could only yell.
Taking advantage of the moment when the swordsmen instinctively spread out, Xiao Chen flicked the blood off his blade, and like a ghost, appeared before Huang Xing in an instant.
"Watch out!"
Fatty Fei, slumped in the corner, shouted a warning.
Huang Xing's heart jolted. Reflexively, he pulled the trigger.
Bang.
A gunshot rang out, and one of his own swordsmen dropped to the ground, blood soaking his chest.
Before he could fire again, a cold sensation touched his neck—a machete, still wet with blood, was now pressed against it.
"Hallmaster Huang, you know all about 'first-rate masters,' don't you? But you forgot one thing… someone like me is equivalent to a battlefield general—one who can command thousands."
Xiao Chen's calm voice brushed Huang Xing's ear.
"Let go of Brother Xing!"
"Release our hall master!"
Bald Snake and the others went pale at the sight of Huang Xing in Xiao Chen's grip. They raised their guns and pointed them at Xiao Chen's head.
"Tell your men to drop their weapons."
Xiao Chen didn't even glance at the guns aimed at him. The machete only pressed harder against Huang Xing's throat.
"Xiao Chen, if you let me go, I'll allow you to walk out alive…"
Forced to bow under the circumstances, Huang Xing lowered his tone.
Xiao Chen laughed coldly. "You really think you can keep me here… with a few guns?"
"Kid, release Brother Xing or I'll shoot!" Bald Snake roared.
"Sure. Let's see whose hand is faster—your finger or my blade?"
As he spoke, Xiao Chen drew the machete across Huang Xing's skin. Blood trickled down the blade.
Huang Xing trembled violently. He realized—this man actually dared to kill him.
Bald Snake and the rest froze, not daring to step forward.
"I'll count to three. If they don't drop their guns, your head's coming off."
Xiao Chen pressed harder. The wound deepened, blood flowing faster.
"You… you really dare kill me? If I die, my men will shoot you full of holes…"
Huang Xing gritted his teeth.
"Heh, try me. Worst case, maybe we won't die—but you definitely will. Who knows? If I kill you, maybe Bald Snake will even thank me."
Xiao Chen smiled and pointed at Bald Snake.
Both Huang Xing's and Bald Snake's expressions changed instantly. The latter nearly jumped up. Why drag me into this?!
"If I kill you, he gets to take your place, spend your money… hell, if he's shameless enough, he might even sleep with your woman."
"Xiao Chen! Quit talking nonsense! Brother Xing, I—"
Bald Snake panicked and yelled.
"Alright, time to count."
"Xiao Chen, aren't you afraid the entire Flying Eagle Gang will hunt you down if you kill me?"
"Well, considering how chaotic things are in your gang right now… the other hall masters might actually thank me. One!"
"You—you know about that?!"
"Of course I do. Internal strife in Flying Eagle Gang—how could I not know? Two!"
"You—"
"Three."
Before Huang Xing could finish, Xiao Chen pressed down again, opening the wound further and causing a spray of blood.
"Ahhh—stop! Put down your guns! Put them down!"
The pain made Huang Xing snap. Death felt close—too close.
Just before cutting into the artery, Xiao Chen stopped, his control sharp and precise—like a surgeon handling a scalpel.
Huang Xing trembled uncontrollably. If he had hesitated even one more second, his artery would have burst.
"You saved your own life," Xiao Chen said with a calm smile.
"Put down your guns! Now!"
Huang Xing was terrified. He regretted hosting this "Hongmen banquet" tonight more than anything.
His men slowly lowered their weapons. Only Bald Snake hesitated, knowing too well what Xiao Chen was capable of. Without their guns, they had no advantage left.
"See? Didn't I tell you?" Xiao Chen teased.
"Damn it, Bald Snake! Put the gun down! You want me to die?!"
Huang Xing roared in panic.
"Brother Xing, don't listen to him—I didn't mean anything…"
"Put it down! I'm bleeding out here!"
Finally, Bald Snake gritted his teeth and lowered his weapon.
"Dahan, collect their guns."
Once they complied, Xiao Chen finally sighed in relief. He could escape under gunfire alone, but Ding Li and Dahan couldn't.
Li Hanhou hurried forward, gathered the guns, then flashed Xiao Chen a thumbs-up. "Brother Chen, you're awesome."
"Xiao Chen… can you let me go now?" Huang Xing's bleeding had made him dizzy.
"Sure."
Xiao Chen removed the blade from his neck. With the guns gone, neither Huang Xing nor anyone else could threaten him or Dahan.
Huang Xing staggered, nearly collapsing.
Xiao Chen glanced at him and tapped a few points on his neck. The bleeding slowed instantly.
Huang Xing's eyes widened. What kind of technique was that? Stopping bleeding just by poking?
Bald Snake and the others were stunned. Was this some martial arts fantasy? Pressure-point healing?
Even Fatty Fei, half-limp in the corner, stared. Who exactly IS Xiao Chen?
"Relax, it's just temporary. Don't thank me—I still need to talk to you. If you bleed out, who would I negotiate with?" Xiao Chen said casually.
Huang Xing nearly coughed blood. You're the one who cut me! Why should I thank you?!
"Hallmaster Huang, now that we've eaten, drunk, and fought… shall we talk?"
"…What do you want?"
"About your men going to Qingcheng Company to extort fees. He apologized, so I didn't plan to pursue it. But then you all insisted on settling accounts with me… so I have to settle it properly."
"How?"
"All the protection fees you collected from Qingcheng Company—return them. Triple the amount. Then we're even."
Huang Xing and his men turned green.
Return the protection fees? And triple them?!
Was this extortion or loan sharking?
If word got out, their reputation in the underworld would crumble.
"What? Don't want to pay?" Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow.
"Xiao Chen, don't push too far!" Huang Xing snapped.
"Too far? Funny—you didn't say that when you tried to bully me."
"We collected those fees because we protected Qingcheng Company!"
"Protected? Really? Tell me—what exactly did you protect? What trouble did you solve for them? As long as you actually did something, I wouldn't take a single cent."
"…"
Huang Xing looked at Bald Snake. After thinking for a moment, Bald Snake shook his head. They had taken the money—but never done anything for Qingcheng.
Seeing this, Huang Xing forced an excuse, "Even if we didn't act, troublemakers avoided Qingcheng Company because people knew it was under our protection…"
"Oh, come on! If you're so amazing, why not go save the world too? Enough nonsense. Are you paying back or not?"
The cold glint in Xiao Chen's eyes made Huang Xing shiver. Remembering the feeling of death earlier, he clenched his teeth. "Fine. I'll pay it back. But not triple!"
"Quadruple."
"What? You just said—"
"Five times."
"I—I'll pay! Five times!"
Huang Xing wanted to cry. If he argued more, it might have become six.
"Well, you endured. It didn't reach ten times," Xiao Chen said with a wide smile. "Hallmaster Huang, you truly understand the situation."
"…"
Bald Snake and the others were also on the verge of tears. If this got out, Falcon Hall would be a laughingstock.
"So, how much did you collect in total?"
"Bald Snake, how much?" Huang Xing asked.
"About…"
"Careful," Xiao Chen warned. "Say the wrong amount and I'll double it."
Bald Snake froze. He hadn't even kept track.
"Can I call Liu Dakui? He gets a cut every month. He should remember…"
"What? He took a cut?" Xiao Chen's face darkened. "That sneaky bastard? If I see him again, I'll break his legs. Hurry up—call."
"Yes…"
"No need." Ding Li suddenly spoke weakly. "They've been collecting for a full year… Ever since I joined the company."
"A year? Thirty thousand per month? That's 360,000. Five times…"
"1.8 million!" Huang Xing answered instantly.
"Heh, Hallmaster Huang, your math skills are impressive. Let's round it—make it 2 million, and we're done. I was going to request compensation for psychological trauma too, but I'll let it go."
"What? Trauma compensation?!"
"Of course. Look at what you did tonight—guns, knives—scared the kid half to death. Shouldn't you pay for that? Look at him! He's still shaking."
"Yes, yes! Two million. I'll pay!"
Huang Xing nodded rapidly. If he refused, Xiao Chen might raise it to three million next.