Chapter 62 Cai Xudong

After hanging up the phone, Hu Qing said with dissatisfaction, "Didn't you say you'd help him sort things out after he finished his business?"

"We need to prepare in advance, otherwise it will be much trouble once they officially charge him."

"Suit yourself. When you've wiped his backside clean and he pats his butt and walks away, you won't even have a place to cry."

"No, I'm a good judge of character. This Cao Yang is not that kind of person. He has a bit of youthful arrogance, responds to softness rather than harshness, and values genuine sincerity. As long as you treat him with sincerity, he will definitely repay you."

Hu Qing rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to check on that kid."

...

Mount Lu Water Club was massive. Although it had only seven floors, each floor spanned over ten thousand square meters.

Tang Shaojie and his people only occupied a very small section for their office. The remaining space was divided into several zones, mostly used as dormitories and canteens.

In addition, there was an internal medical clinic.

Led by Ale, Cao Yang was brought to the clinic and found the equipment here to be remarkably professional, featuring all kinds of medical instruments comparable to a top-tier tertiary hospital.

Sensing Cao Yang's surprise, Ale proudly introduced the place, telling him that whenever they got injured, they never needed to go to an external hospital, as every kind of trauma could be treated right here.

A middle-aged doctor walked out. After exchanging a few words with Ale, he instructed Cao Yang to take off his clothes for a re-examination.

Looking at his wounds, the doctor knitted his brows tightly. "Young man, this wound was treated far too carelessly. I'm going to cut it open and re-treat it."

Cao Yang nodded and even mentioned to Dr. Chen about being bitten by a dog and having damage to his large intestine.

Dr. Chen shook his head speechlessly. They had everything here, including various types of plasma, but rabies vaccine was genuinely unavailable.

Still, it didn't matter; someone had already been dispatched to a hospital to fetch it.

"Lie down."

Cao Yang lay on the hospital bed, and Dr. Chen took out the anesthetic.

This time, Cao Yang offered no resistance. If Tang Shaojie and the others wanted to harm him, they wouldn't need to go through such trouble.

Just then, Hu Qing pushed the door open and clicked her tongue in dismay as she looked at Cao Yang's injuries.

Shot with a gun, burned by fire, and finally bitten by a dog—he was truly miserable!

"Cooperative fully with Dr. Chen's treatment. Recuperate here for the next few days, and Brother Jie will handle the rest of the matters."

"Don't worry about the police or the Henan Faction. Even if they knew you were here, no one would dare to come in and find you. Just rest easy."

Hu Qing patted his shoulder, her tone full of confidence.

"Thank you, Sister Hu." Cao Yang nodded. Then, as the anesthetic took effect, he gradually drifted off to sleep.

...

The Henan Faction, conference room.

More than a dozen faction leaders sat around the table, surrounded by swirling cigarette smoke. No one spoke, and the atmosphere was heavily oppressive.

Their boss was dead, and these men felt deeply grieved.

Some grieved genuinely, while others fumed with feigned sorrow. Regardless of authenticity, everyone had to put on a deeply mournful expression.

"A country cannot go a day without a ruler, and the faction cannot go a day without a boss."

"Zhenhu's death fills me with shock and regret, but the urgent priority right now is not to hunt down that Cao Yang, but to elect a new boss to stabilize the morale."

A man in his fifties spoke up. As one of the founders of the Henan Faction, he had long achieved financial freedom and retired to enjoy life.

With Liu Zhenhu dead, he had been forced out of retirement to oversee the bigger picture. Only by electing a new faction leader could he return to enjoying his retirement.

The men below whispered among themselves until someone suddenly raised a hand.

"I nominate Brother Dong for the new boss. He served time in prison for the faction, and his image in the hearts of the younger brothers is very high. I believe no one here will have any objections to him as boss."

"That's right, I nominate Brother Dong too. If he hadn't gone to prison back then, the position of the previous boss would have been his."

"Hey... let's not stray from the point. Don't go around spreading words that undermine unity."

"I object! As everyone knows, Cai Xudong has always been at odds with Brother Hu. I even suspect Brother Hu's death is connected to him."

"Right! I object too!"

The group began to clamor. Meanwhile, the central figure of the debate, Cai Xudong, was smoking a cigarette with a completely calm expression, as if their argument had nothing to do with him at all.

Both Cai Xudong and Liu Zhenhu were second-generation leaders of the Henan Faction. Back when they were serving under the old boss, Cai's strength and prestige far surpassed Liu's.

Later, because he got into trouble and spent five years inside, Liu Zhenhu had already become the big boss by the time he got out.

Naturally, he refused to submit to Liu Zhenhu, but since the facts were set in stone, there was nothing he could change.

Liu Zhenhu didn't like him either, targeting him at every turn and using his authority as boss to make things difficult for him.

Unable to bear it any longer, Cai Xudong had slammed the table and stood up, and had several founders not intervened, an internal war would have long since erupted within the Henan Faction.

After that incident, unwilling to stay in the Henan Faction, he decided to quit the organization.

Liu Zhenhu had agreed without a second thought; keeping someone in the faction who was neither weaker nor less prestigious than himself, yet refused to submit, was a headache he didn't need.

When Cai Xudong announced he was leaving, many followers declared they would leave with him, loudly demanding to form a new Henan Faction.

Had that happened, the Henan Faction would have suffered a devastating blow, inevitably leading to civil war.

Several veteran elders stepped in personally to mediate the conflict between him and Liu Zhenhu.

The mediation result was that Cai Xudong would stay, and several of the most lucrative venues were assigned to him.

Although Liu Zhenhu was resentful, he knew that once a civil war broke out, victory was not guaranteed.

Even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory; if he lost, his entire family could lose their lives. Thus, he could only grit his teeth and agree.

Because of these reasons, Cai Xudong held a special status within the Henan Faction—he was a boss in all but name, and even the official boss, Liu Zhenhu, could not command him.

The group argued fiercely, and at the rate they were going, blows seemed imminent.

"Stop arguing!" The veteran elder on the stage could no longer watch and raised a hand to signal for silence.

He scanned the crowd below: those voicing support were all Cai Xudong's men, those objecting were naturally Liu Zhenhu's lackeys, and a portion remained entirely silent.

Liu Zhenhu's confidants—Liu Yilong, Liu Yu, A-Wei, and others—had all been eliminated by Cao Yang, leaving only a few like A-Fa. Their voices of dissent were simply drowned out by the overwhelming support.

"A-Fa, you say you oppose Brother Dong taking over as the big boss. Do you have someone suitable to recommend instead?"

The elder's question left A-Fa speechless.

Indeed, besides Cai Xudong, who else could possibly keep this crowd in check?

This big boss had to be Cai Xudong; both in terms of strength and seniority, he fully deserved it.

If the new leader wasn't him, it would never command public respect, or he would simply lead his men away to form a rival Henan Faction, turning the current faction into an absolute joke.

A-Fa and the others fell silent. Finally, the elders adopted a voting method, and Cai Xudong won the position of new boss by an overwhelming majority.

"Brother Dong, do a good job. I hope our Henan Faction can reach new heights under your leadership."

The veteran elder patted his shoulder and warned, "I know you and A-Hu were at odds, but since he's already dead, let go of past grievances. You still need to avenge him; finishing off that Cao Yang can also serve as closure for those in the faction who remain unconvinced."

"I will."