Chapter 55: Who do we Choose?

The night was exceedingly beautiful. The clear, bright moonlight shone onto the space outside the window of Xu Yi’s little abode, painting an image of cool elegance. However, as the same moonlight shone onto the Black Dragon Hall’s dim meeting hall, it added a hint of ghostly eeriness.

At first, the lamps in the great hall were all lit. Hundreds of lamps made of tinted glass within the domed roof lit every corner of the magnificent hall.

But then, Ma Wensheng dashed into the extremely sombre meeting hall, went right up to Hall Master Wan Youlong’s side, and whispered into his ear.

With a single fist, Hall Master Wan smashed the round table next to him into pieces. It was a table forged out of purple gold. He shouted angrily at the heavens with a roar as loud as a dragon’s. The hundreds of glass lamps shattered into pieces, causing the meeting hall to turn dark.

Even with all of the lights extinguished, Hall Master Wan’s anger still had not subsided. “Wensheng, did you or did you not convey my intentions properly? Even without an eighty percent refund, even a sixty or seventy percent should be possible, right? I’ll have you know that the very reason I sent you was because I saw that you knew how to be expedient,” he growled in a low voice.

Ma Wensheng responded, “Hall Master, I am ashamed. I have definitely done all that I can, but it’s not just sixty or seventy percent. The other party would not even settle for ten percent. Their only response was, ‘He who bets must also be prepared to lose!'”

Wan Youlong had wagered a full hundred million gold on Gao Pan and had lost it all that very day. His heart bled and his anger could reach the heavens.

He had the temperament of a miser. Normally, when rewarding a few hundred gold to members of the Black Dragon Hall for their contributions, he could feel the pain in his flesh. Now, with a hundred thousand gold going up in smoke, the pain went all the way down to the marrow. With no way of recovering the loss, he racked his brains and finally came up with the idea of getting a refund from the betting house.

Hall Master Wan saw himself as a man of great standing. Seeing that dealing with the betting house was tough, he decided that he could reward them with twenty thousand gold. As long as they were willing to refund him eighty thousand.

In his eyes, he was already conceding a lot to the betting house. Furthermore, by sending advisor Ma, the most resourceful in the hall, he was sure that he would get the money back.

At that moment, after hearing Ma Wensheng’s reply, the blood rushed to Hall Master Wan’s head. “To hell with them and all their ancestors! A hundred thousand gold, what a large appetite! They’d better not stuff themselves to death. Wensheng, go back there now and tell those bastards: if they take that hundred thousand gold, they will have to answer to all thirty thousand of our brothers at Black Dragon Hall.”

“Hall Master please calm down. How can a betting house that would accept a bet of ten thousand gold be that simple? The betting house we went to? The boss behind them is Lingxiao Hall,” Ma Wensheng gently reminded.

If not for the lack of lamplight, one would be able to see that every face in the hall was flushed. The only difference was that Hall Master Wan’s was from anger, whereas Ma Wensheng and the other deputies and elders’ were from anxiety.

The great Black Dragon Hall was not willing to back down after losing and resorting to asking for a refund from the betting house. Such behaviour was worse than good-for-nothing thugs on the street.

If they could get the money back, then there would be nothing worth discussing any longer. For the hundred thousand gold, even losing a whole bunch of men in the process would be worth it.

But the important question was, could they? In all of Guang’an City, each and every betting house was backed by some power. Either one of the Three Great Orthodox Sects or one of the Great Noble Families. Even the prefecture governor had secretly opened a betting house.

Within Guang’an City, Black Dragon Hall was a formidable power, but that was only in regards to the underworld.

But in the eyes of the Three Great Orthodox Sects or the Great Noble Families, what were they?

This trip that Ma Wensheng had made clearly served only one purpose, and that was to be an embarrassment.

Wan Youlong: “So what if it’s Lingxiao Hall? That’s a hundred thousand gold we’re talking about. With those shitty odds, they are clearly out to cheat money. Even Lingxiao Hall cannot get away with such blatant thievery. Wensheng, make another trip down there again. No matter how much, you have to get some back for me.”

Although his tone was clearly agitated, he had apparently calmed down significantly. Evidently, Lingxiao Hall’s renowned name was very effective towards Wan Youlong.

Ma Wensheng had followed Wan Youlong for a long time, and he knew his temper well. Immediately, he followed up with some encouraging speech, flattering Wan Youlong until he was full of himself. At the end, he added, “Hall Master, everyone, I believe that the loss of this hundred thousand gold can do nothing to hurt the vitality of our Black Dragon Hall. At most, we brothers can all work harder from today onwards, and we would recover what we lost in two to three years’ time. For those of us who walk the Martial Way, the name of Black Dragon Hall is renowned throughout Guang’an not because of any reason other than our reputation that has been built up with blood and steel. But today, the slaughter at Furong Town, Gao Pan’s horrendous defeat, has left the name of our Black Dragon Hall in the mud. For the golden reputation of our Black Dragon Hall to be sullied, this is a severe matter. I believe that our wise Hall Master, as well as all of you, know this better than myself.”

As Ma Wensheng’s speech reached this point, the crowd was murmuring. All of those present were veterans in the Martial Way. They knew too well the importance of reputation. If their reputation fell, so would the confidence of their men, and that would be the end of Black Dragon Hall.

With this thought in mind, the monkey-faced Deputy Hall Master roared, “Where is that bastard Jiang Shaochuan? This is all his fault, I have to skin him alive.”

For all of those brought here by Wan Youlong for the meeting, not one of them had any doubt that no good result awaited them. They were silent as Hall Master Wan was raving on his own. Right now, as the monkey-faced Deputy Hall Master brought out someone to vent their anger on, the crowd began to get rowdy.

All of them were basically saying the same thing — requesting to have Jiang Shaochuan punished.

Only Wan Youlong and Ma Wensheng remained silent. After a brief moment of clamour, the crowd began to come to their senses. They quieted down, and all eyes fell towards Wan Youlong.

Wan Youlong glanced at Ma Wensheng. Ma Wensheng then spoke loudly. “Jiang Shaochuan has committed a grave crime, so severe that our Hall Master cannot possibly let him off lightly. He has already been dealt with. Tonight, whatever you have eaten is contributed by Jiang Shaochuan. Right now, he is in all of your bellies. Just like how we swear revenge by eating the person’s flesh and sleeping in the person’s skin, this is the only punishment deserving of his crime.”

As Ma Wensheng finished speaking, a few deputies and elders’ faces turned green. Although they were hardened and cruel people, eating that kind of flesh was still pushing the limits.

The monkey-faced Deputy Hall Master suddenly thought of a soft chunk of meat that he had fished out from his soup earlier which reminded him of a certain body part. Immediately, he could hold it in no longer. He bent over and began to throw up.

This one act of vomiting instantaneously created a chain reaction. Everyone’s stomach was already lurching. With the awful smell of vomit and the thought of what was in their stomachs, no one could hold it in any longer. Vomit began spewing everywhere.

Wan Youlong simply hmphed loudly and said, “When you’re done vomiting, come to the meeting chamber.” With that, he turned and left.

With the severe expression on the Hall Master’s face, none of them dared to take their time. They calmed themselves down and recovered just like that. It was just that the feeling of sickness within their hearts was easily cast aside.

In no time at all, all of them were gathered in the wide meeting chamber. Without waiting for everyone to get seated, Wan Youlong went straight to the point. “Wensheng is right. Right now, there is no matter more pressing than getting rid of Yi Xu. As long as this person lives, our Black Dragon Hall will remain as the laughing stock of Guang’an. Gao Junmo came over to speak to me, giving me three chances to challenge Yi Xu to a duel. But now, I cannot allow us to wait until the third challenge. We must get it done at the next one, or else even if Black Dragon Hall wins in the end, it is still our loss.”

Ma Wensheng followed, “Hall Master’s words are wise. Getting rid of Yi Xu in this next duel is our do-or-die mission. I believe that this is something that all of us are aware of. But the crux of the matter is this: For the next duel, who do we choose?”