Chapter 66: Mediation

The expressions of the two men were quite unsightly, but they did not immediately fly into a rage. Since he said he wanted to talk, they would see how he intended to negotiate.

After the banquet, Tang Shaojie invited Cai Xudong and She Zhishan into a private room alone. Cao Yang wanted to follow them, but Tang Shaojie stopped him.

Although Cao Yang had claimed he was unafraid of the Henan and Hunan factions, solving the matter of Liu Zhenhu for him required the consent of the Henan faction so that Liu Zhenhu's family would not pursue the matter with the police.

Since they were mediating with the Henan faction anyway, he might as well include the Hunan faction to ensure She Zhishan would also drop the pursuit regarding Tie Xiong's death.

"President Tang, what is the meaning of this?"

"President Tang, your actions today completely disregard our two factions!"

Inside the room, the two gang leaders were somewhat emotional.

"Don't get angry, have some tea first. Drink some tea."

Tang Shaojie spoke with calm composure: "You've seen it yourselves—Cao Yang has joined my faction, so I naturally have to protect him."

"Then your meaning is that you intend to go to war with both of our factions?"

"War? What war? Did you leave your hometowns and come to Guancheng just to fight?"

"What you're doing is slapping us in the face. Even if we don't want to fight, we'll have to!"

Cai Xudong said emotionally: "You know very well that Cao Yang has a blood feud with us, that he killed our former gang leader, yet you still took him in as your subordinate. This is forcing us to stand against you!"

"Oh dear, I told you not to get excited. Listen to me and let me explain slowly."

"You think I am protecting Cao Yang, but in reality, I am protecting you!"

"You know Cao Yang's strength. You've been hunting him down for so long, has there been any result?"

"Security in Guancheng has relaxed recently. If Cao Yang truly wants to leave Guancheng, can you keep him here?"

"After he leaves, will you still be able to find him?"

"So, whether I take Cao Yang in or not, you cannot keep him."

The two men exchanged glances. Although displeased, they had to admit this was the truth. Not only had they failed to catch him after searching for so long, but they had also lost several groups of men to his counter-attacks.

"If this kid Cao Yang doesn't leave and you push him to the limit, he'll pull a mutual destruction stunt on you."

"He's just a punk with a worthless life, but the two of you possess immense wealth and countless beauties. Is it really worth risking your lives against him?"

"Forgive my bluntness, but what if Cao Yang were to burst in right now, kill the both of you, and then fly far away? Could you accept that?"

"What do you mean?" She Zhishan stood up and looked toward the door, genuinely terrified that someone might burst in and finish them off.

"President She, rest assured. You were invited by me, and I will certainly ensure you leave safely."

"My meaning is very simple: risking your lives against him is simply not worth it."

Cai Xudong sneered: "President Tang, your words look down on us a bit. When we came from our hometowns, we came with empty hands. We've survived until today purely on grit and the willingness to fight to the death. We can't just be afraid of Cao Yang simply because he's formidable. If word of this gets out, the two of us won't be able to show our faces in this underworld anymore!"

"Exactly!" She Zhishan chimed in: "Having been in this world for so many years, what kind of ruthless characters haven't I seen? If I can't even avenge my own brother, there's no point in me being a boss anymore."

"Haha..." Tang Shaojie chuckled lightly. "I was merely analyzing the pros and cons for the two of you. As for how you choose, I still respect your opinions."

...

"Now that the pros and cons have been analyzed, let's talk about the cause and effect."

Tang Shaojie looked at She Zhishan. "Strictly speaking, this whole matter was caused by your Hunan faction. That subordinate of yours forced Cao Yang to fight in the ring and even had the man's older sister sent to the police station. Tell me, if something like this happened to you, could you endure it?"

She Zhishan smoked in silence, saying nothing.

In his heart, however, he felt utter disdain. So what if he forced him? So what if he made him help make money? If underworld figures didn't coerce people and didn't bully people, could they still be called underworld figures?

"If your subordinate hadn't forced Cao Yang, Cao Yang wouldn't have gone to fight, wouldn't have beaten Liuyilong to death, and naturally wouldn't have crossed paths with the Hunan faction."

At this point, Tang Shaojie turned his gaze to Cai Xudong.

"Boss Cai, it's not that I want to criticize you, but you guys are acting like sore losers."

"Liuyilong killed no less than five people inside the octagonal cage—did anyone ever seek revenge against him? When he was killed, you searched the entire city, wanting to tear Cao Yang limb from limb. That's really going too far!"

Cai Xudong smoked in silence, saying nothing.

In his heart, he felt the same disdain. This whole affair was Liu Zhenhu's doing, but even so, he felt it didn't matter. In the underworld, it was all about backing and fists.

If I beat you to death, you deserved it.

If you beat me to death, you must pay with your life.

That was simply how bullying worked; it was just that this time, their boat had capsized in the gutter.

"Throughout this entire ordeal, Cao Yang bears no fault whatsoever. You were the ones bullying him and driving him to this point."

"President Tang, no matter what you say, it is a fact that Cao Yang killed our former leader. If I don't finish him off, I cannot answer to the brothers in the faction, and my position as gang leader won't remain stable."

Tang Shaojie laughed heartily: "I know. When all is said and done, it's just a matter of saving face. How about this? Another day, I'll have Cao Yang go to your Henan faction to plead guilty and offer an apology, and let that be the end of it."

Cai Xudong shook his head, refusing to accept the proposal.

"Boss Cai, quit while you're ahead. Truth be told, you should even thank Cao Yang. Without him, I doubt you would have ascended to the position of gang leader so quickly."

"President Tang, let's not speak of this anymore. I am definitely taking Cao Yang's life, and no one's words will change that."

Tang Shaojie nodded. "His life is right there; whenever you want it, you can make a move against him. But what I want to discuss with you today is Liu Zhenhu's funeral arrangements. I want you to go back and persuade his family not to hold Cao Yang legally responsible with the police. After all, for an entire gang leader accompanied by a mob of subordinates to be wiped out by a single man—if word gets out, your Henan faction won't have any face left either!"

"Hmph!" Cai Xudong let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeves, and left without stating whether he agreed or disagreed.

Seeing him depart, She Zhishan also stood up and took his leave.

After the two men departed, Hu Qing led Cao Yang, Sun Xiao, and the others back into the room.

"How was it? Was it settled?"

Tang Shaojie nodded. "It should be fine."

"They agreed?"

"No, how could they possibly agree to something like this."

"Then how can you say it's fine?"

"They disagree verbally because they're afraid of losing face. Once they go back, they'll find reasons of their own."

Tang Shaojie was full of confidence, especially regarding Cai Xudong. Cai had no personal grudge against Cao Yang; it was purely a matter of pride.

Having just become the gang leader, if he dared to offend Tang Shaojie, his faction would suffer heavy losses, and his position as leader would likely become unstable.

As for She Zhishan, Tang Shaojie paid him no mind.

"Let's go." Tang Shaojie stood up and patted Cao Yang on the shoulder.

"In public, they won't target you anymore, but behind the scenes is hard to say. Be careful."

"Thank you, Big Brother." Cao Yang nodded, his expression of gratitude completely sincere.

"Brother Jie, you've taken Cao Yang in now, do they still dare?" Ah Le asked from the side, unable to comprehend or believe that these people would dare cross Brother Jie.

Tang Shaojie shot him a sideways glance of annoyance. Forget about touching Cao Yang—whenever their own interests were threatened, these people would dare to kill even him.