Chapter 229 - 218: Lose and You Live, Win and You Die!

Chapter 229: Chapter 218: Lose and You Live, Win and You Die!

The Black Water Sect Headquarters was bustling with people and exceptionally lively.

From early in the morning, a continuous stream of mounts arrived from all directions.

As for carriages, almost no one took one today.

The traffic was terrible!

As one of the major powers in Ganshan City, the Black Water Gang held sway over hundreds of thousands of people.

Today, it wasn’t just the various Guard Commanders, Generals, and Elders who would be in attendance; all sorts of managers would be there as well.

Within the city, they managed farmlands, butcher shops, vinegar shops, soy sauce shops, and more.

Outside the city, countless serfs needed managing, and innumerable workers needed someone to lead them.

The Black Water Gang therefore had a large number of low- and mid-level managers.

Their martial prowess wasn’t necessarily high. The main requirements were business acumen and the ability to handle the books.

"Announcing Vice Gang Leader Zhao!"

"Announcing Elder Li!"

"Announcing Vice Gang Leader Lin!"

"..."

There was a particular protocol to the order of arrival.

Those of the lowest status, the ones who just barely qualified to attend the assembly, arrived the earliest.

This group consisted of managers with ordinary abilities, captains of the common guard units, and older Martial Artists of mediocre strength.

They had no seats.

After arriving, they gathered in small groups on the plaza steps in front of the Council Hall, chatting and laughing.

"Big Bull! It’s been a year!"

"Hey, Lao Bai!"

"You rascal! Judging by your physique, you’ve made it to Second-class Martial Disciple, haven’t you?"

"..."

"Old Zhang, you old dog, don’t go! You have to let me pick your brain today. We’re in a drought, so how are your fields producing over eighty catties more per mu than mine?"

"It’s nothing to brag about! Hey, look, isn’t that Elder Zhou from the butcher shop? I’ve got a big business proposition... Elder Zhou, hold on a moment!"

"Hey, hey, have you heard? There’s going to be a big spectacle at this assembly!"

"What kind of spectacle?"

Some of the men exchanged peculiar glances, clearly aware of something.

Most, however, were merely curious and confused.

It’s human nature to love a good show.

They were all low-ranking members of the gang, so their chatter usually revolved around who had gotten a fine new blade, whose daughter had married whose son, or which wife was cheating on her husband.

But none of that gossip was as enticing as a real spectacle.

"This is just a rumor I heard, so don’t you go spreading it around."

"Cut the crap, Zhou Er Bangchui, and spit it out."

"Look at you, Lao Bai, getting impatient again!" The man lowered his voice. "I heard that Vice Gang Leader Lin is going to deal with someone."

"Deal with who?"

"Could it be the Gang Leader?!"

"Don’t talk crazy!"

The crowd around them instantly scattered.

If word of this reached the ears of the Law Enforcement Team, everyone would be getting a taste of the lash.

A resonant voice continued the announcements:

"Announcing the Eldest Young Master!"

Zhao Zhe stepped into the plaza with his wife, Lin Shi.

"Eldest Young Master."

"Eldest Young Master."

People all around greeted them.

Zhao Zhe gave a cold nod and ascended the high platform with Lin Shi.

The rumor continued to spread: "I heard that Vice Gang Leader Lin is targeting one of the Young Masters!"

"*Hiss!* A struggle between the Young Masters?"

Everyone was inexplicably thrilled. This was the big leagues.

To them, positions like Young Master and Vice Gang Leader were loftier than the heavens.

By sunrise, almost everyone had arrived.

On the high platform, the seats for the upper echelons were nearly full.

Only a few seats remained empty.

"Announcing the Third Young Master!"

"Announcing the Seventh Young Master!"

Tang Wen and Shui Yun, both dressed in white, arrived side by side.

As the saying goes, nothing makes a person look more striking than white robes.

Their robes were white as snow. His face was like carved jade, his eyes like brilliant stars, his brows perfectly defined.

The men couldn’t take their eyes off Shui Yun, and the women couldn’t look away from Tang Wen.

As the pair drew closer, people subconsciously held their breath, their eyes widening.

As they ascended the high platform, whispers broke out from the crowd below:

"So that’s the Seventh Young Master?"

"He looks like a celestial being."

"He and Hall Master Shui make a perfect pair."

"..."

Shui Yun’s seat was positioned below Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s, with Tang Wen’s seat right next to hers.

This arrangement was somewhat improper.

According to protocol, the Fourth Young Master should have been seated next to Shui Yun.

But Shui Yun had insisted on this arrangement.

The Fourth Young Master sat opposite them, alongside the Eldest Young Master and the Sixth Young Master.

Seeing them for the first time, Tang Wen sized them up with a faint smile.

The Eldest Young Master’s expression was grim.

The woman beside him was quite beautiful, with the charm of a mature woman. Her hair was done up in the style common for a married lady.

In certain stories Tang Wen was familiar with, this type of hairstyle signaled danger.

Any moment now, he expected a knock on the door:

’My lady, you wouldn’t want your husband to lose his position as Eldest Young Master, would you?’

Tang Wen shot her a smile.

Lin Shi was taken aback, but under the watchful eyes of the crowd, she returned the smile. ’This Seventh Young Master is truly handsome,’ she thought. ’No wonder he has Shui Yun so utterly charmed!’

"Have you met him before?" the Eldest Young Master asked his wife, Lin Shi, via a private message.

Lin Shi gently shook her head.

Eldest Young Master: ’You’ve never met him, yet he’s greeting you?’

Tang Wen didn’t notice the couple’s exchange, his gaze shifting to the other two.

The Fourth Young Master had a dignified air and clear eyes, but the look he gave Tang Wen was rather complicated.

’Hm, no, that’s not right. The way this guy looks at Senior Sister is even more complicated!’

’Love and pleading?’

’The rumors are true.’

’This Martial Fool is in love with my Senior Sister?’

’Hm. I’ll have to find a chance to toss him in a river.’

The Sixth Young Master was younger, barely twenty-five, and he made no effort to hide his emotions.

When his gaze met Tang Wen’s, it was filled with cold indifference.

The other Vice Gang Leaders, Elders, and Generals looked at Tang Wen with expressions ranging from curiosity and goodwill to contempt and outright dismissal.

Their gazes were complex.

Their allegiances, complex.

He did a quick mental tally of those who seemed hostile or indifferent toward him; it was more than half of them.

"First time at the assembly, Junior Brother. What do you think?"

Shui Yun’s breathy voice sounded in his ear.

It was another private message.

Tang Wen leaned toward her delicate, beautiful cheek, so close he could have kissed her. He then covered his mouth with his hand and replied:

"Senior Sister, it looks like I’ve stepped on a lot of toes. Otherwise, with my dashing good looks and a charm that makes flowers bloom, shouldn’t they be fighting to marry their daughters to me? Why so hostile?"