Both of them looked furious, but neither exploded right away.If Tang Shaojie wanted to "talk," they would see what he had to say.
After the banquet, Tang Shaojie invited Cai Xudong and She Zhishan into a private room.Cao Yang tried to follow but was stopped.
Even though Cao Yang claimed he wasn't afraid of the Henan or Hunan gangs, resolving Liu Zhenhu's aftermath required Henan's consent—otherwise, the family might involve the police.Tang figured that if he mediated with Henan, he might as well bring Hunan along, ensuring She Zhishan wouldn't pursue the death of Tie Xiong either.
"Boss Tang, what exactly do you mean by this?" Cai Xudong demanded."You completely disregarded both our gangs today!" She Zhishan's voice was sharp.
"Relax, first, have some tea." Tang Shaojie remained calm. "Look, you all know Cao Yang has joined me. Of course I'll protect him."
"So you're saying we have to fight you?" Cai Xudong's tone was incredulous.
"Fight? Why would you fight? You didn't come to Dongguan just to brawl, did you?"
"You're slapping us in the face! We don't want a fight, but now we have no choice!" Cai Xudong growled. "You know he has a grudge with us, killed our previous boss, and you still take him in as a disciple? You're forcing our hand!"
"Hey, hey, don't get worked up. Let me explain slowly." Tang smiled lightly."You think I'm protecting Cao Yang—but in reality, I'm protecting you."
"You know his strength. You've hunted him for so long… did you catch him?""Recently, Dongguan's watch has relaxed. If Cao Yang wants to leave, can you really stop him?""Once he's gone, could you even find him?""So whether I accept him or not, you're not holding him back."
The two gang leaders exchanged glances.Annoyed? Yes. But it was undeniable—they'd been chasing him for so long and failed, and in turn, he had killed some of their men.
"Cao Yang is reckless," Tang continued. "If you corner him, he won't hesitate to fight to the death.""This kid's life is cheap, but you two? You've got wealth and women. Is it worth dying over him?""What if he storms in right now, kills you both, and disappears? Could you accept that?"
She Zhishan stood, glancing nervously at the door."I invited you here personally. You'll leave safe. That's all I'm saying. Fighting him isn't worth it."
Cai Xudong snorted. "You underestimate us. We came here empty-handed and fought our way to the top. We're not scared just because Cao Yang is strong! If word gets out, our reputation would be gone!"
"Exactly!" She Zhishan nodded. "We've seen every tough guy in the underworld. If I can't avenge my brothers, I don't even deserve the title of leader."
Tang Shaojie chuckled. "I'm just laying out the facts. How you choose to act is entirely up to you."
…
"Now that we've discussed the stakes, let's talk about what really happened."Tang turned to She Zhishan."This all started with your Hunan gang. Your junior forced Cao Yang to fight, and even sent his sister to the police. Would you tolerate that if it happened to you?"
She Zhishan smoked in silence, inwardly scoffing."Force him? Make him earn money? This is the underworld—if you don't pressure people, bully them, then what's the point?"
"Had it not been for your junior, Cao Yang wouldn't have fought, wouldn't have killed Liu Yilong, and your gang wouldn't have gotten involved at all," Tang said, then turned to Cai Xudong.
"Cai, you're a little unable to accept losing here. Liu Yilong killed at least five people in the octagon—did anyone take revenge? But you hunt down Cao Yang, planning to tear him apart? That's excessive."
Cai Xudong smoked silently, indifferent.It was Liu Zhenhu's doing anyway. Out in the underworld, strength and connections decide everything."You kill me, I deserve it. I kill you, you pay the price. It's always been like that. This time, it just backfired."
"The point is, Cao Yang did nothing wrong. He was pushed into this by you."
Tang laughed heartily."Look, at the end of the day, it's just about face. How about this—I'll have Cao Yang formally apologize to your Henan gang. Make amends."
Cai Xudong shook his head. No deal.
Tang shrugged."Cai, take it easy. You should even thank him—without Cao Yang, you probably wouldn't be boss yet."
Cai Xudong growled."I want his life. No one can stop me."
Tang nodded."His life is yours anytime. But today, we're talking about Liu Zhenhu's aftermath. I want you to convince his family not to involve the police over Cao Yang. After all, losing an entire team of your men to one guy? That's bad for your reputation."
Cai Xudong snorted and left without agreeing.She Zhishan followed shortly after.
Once they were gone, Hu Qing led Cao Yang and Sun Xiao back inside.
"So? Settled?" Cao Yang asked.
Tang Shaojie nodded."Should be fine."
"They agreed?" Cao Yang pressed.
"No. But that's okay. They'll find their own reasons to accept it later."
Tang was confident, especially regarding Cai Xudong. No grudge, just a matter of pride.If he dared to offend Tang now, their gang would suffer heavily, and his leadership would be unstable.As for She Zhishan, he didn't mind.
"Let's go," Tang said, patting Cao Yang's shoulder."They won't openly target you anymore—but be careful. Keep your wits about you."
"Thanks, Big Brother," Cao Yang said sincerely.
"Cao Yang's under my wing now. Do you really think they'd dare mess with him?" Ale whispered nearby.
Tang shot him a look."Don't be naive. If it affects their interests, they won't hesitate to kill—Cao Yang or not."