Translator: AnubisTL
As the Righteous Gang grew larger, did its troubles multiply?
Li Qing unconsciously glanced at Tian Long's now frail and aged appearance, a subtle air of twilight clinging to him.
This martial artist, who had lived through the sunlit era of this world, was indeed no longer young.
In a few more years, when figures like Tian Long were gone, the memory of the World of Eternal Night's sky once being bathed in sunlight would become a true myth.
What a tragic era.
Li Qing sighed inwardly, then turned to Tian Long and said, "I see you're still in good health, Gang Leader. Why speak such disheartening words?"
Tian Long shook his head. "My reckless youth left me with many ailments. I know my own body best. I don't have many years left."
"As for who will succeed me as Gang Leader... I truly don't know. Sigh... If only you were willing to stay. It's a pity."
Li Qing remained silent. He preferred to stay out of the gang's internal affairs, leaving Tian Long to handle them.
As it turned out, Tian Long's exhaustion wasn't unfounded.
Shortly after Li Qing's private meeting with Tian Long, a rumor began circulating from an unknown source, causing quite a stir.
"Brother Zhao, have you heard? Rumor has it Boss Tian Long wants to pass the Gang Leader position to that Li Qing!"
Zhao Kou, once a ruthless young man like a wolf, had been brought along by Tian Long to participate in the overthrow of the Yan Family due to his ruthlessness and clean background.
He could even be considered a benefactor for the Righteous Gang's current status.
Now, he held a pivotal position within the gang.
"So what?" Zhao Kou didn't lift his head, still drooping his head as if dozing.
Many of the new recruits under his command were the gang's fresh blood.
"That can't happen! If Boss Tian Long really does that, it's completely unfair!"
"Exactly! We don't even know that Li Qing. They say he performed a great service back then..."
"It's definitely not right. If Boss Tian Long really decides that, we brothers will never accept it."
"Brother Zhao, you're an External Strength Martial Artist now. We all think the Gang Leader position should be yours. No matter what, it shouldn't go to that Li Qing!"
Listening to his trusted subordinates' heated discussion, Zhao Kou let out a strange, soft chuckle.
"Heh, all of you, come here," Zhao Kou said quietly.
The men who had been speaking exchanged glances, then eagerly crowded forward.
Once they stood in a neat row before Zhao Kou, he finally raised his head, his gaze fierce.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Sharp, decisive slaps rang out in quick succession. Zhao Kou's most trusted lieutenants were each dealt a resounding blow. They fell to the ground, clutching their faces, their eyes filled with confusion as they looked up at their boss.
"Brother Zhao..."
Zhao Kou's eyes remained cold and ruthless. He said in a low voice, "Whatever decision Big Brother Tian Long makes is his own business. What right do you have to gossip about it?"
"Brother Li single-handedly took down two Outer Strength enemies of the Yan Family. If he were to become Gang Leader, I wouldn't dare object. Who do you think you are?"
"I don't care what people outside say, but I don't want to hear our own people discussing such baseless rumors again."
As his words fell, the men who had been slapped cowered in fear, nodding their heads in agreement.
Rumors like these weren't confined to Zhao Kou's circle.
Anyone in Blackrock City who led men and held some territory had heard them.
Wei Tian, for example, hadn't even let his subordinate finish speaking before kicking him across the room.
"I call him Master Li, but you call him Li Qing? What's the meaning of this? Don't you know your place?"
"When you joined the gang, you were shown the portrait of the person we serve. How could you all forget it now?"
"..."
Even An Xuan received a secret message.
A cold glint flashed in her clear, beautiful eyes. She said coldly, "If I hear such words again, you can cut out your own tongues."
Her tone was calm but dangerous. If Li Qing had witnessed this, he would have marveled at how the little girl who once hid behind her grandfather had become this.
There was not a trace of her former girl-next-door charm left. She was every inch a mafia queen.
Of course, not everyone in the Righteous Gang shared the same sentiment.
Some of the original core members who had helped Tian Long establish the gang, the old guard, were naturally quite critical.
"Damn it, Big Brother Tian Long has truly lost his mind. Li Qing may have some merits, but he doesn't deserve to be made Gang Leader!"
"I refuse to accept it! I joined when the gang was just a handful of cats and dogs. By seniority, I should be ahead of that Li Qing brat!"
"Hmph, he's been gone for years, and now he returns to claim the Gang Leader position? Who would agree to that?"
"If Big Brother Tian Long really did that..."
A ghostly figure slipped into the Righteous Gang's public hall.
"Gang Leader," the figure whispered, bending low to Tian Long's ear.
As Tian Long listened, his expression shifted. At first, he seemed pleased, but soon his face darkened like storm clouds, and he clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.
For a long time, his face remained grim. Finally, a steely resolve hardened his gaze, and he made a throat-slitting gesture in front of him.
After the ghostly figure nodded and slipped away, Tian Long slumped back in his chair, covering his eyes with his hands. He looked a decade older.
"Sigh..."
Immediately afterward, the Seven Killers Team, who answered only to Tian Long, sprang into action. The elders who had been with the Righteous Gang since its founding, along with key members who harbored resentment toward Li Qing, met sudden, mysterious deaths within the shortest possible time.
For a time, the entire Righteous Gang was on high alert.
However, it was precisely because Tian Long made this decision that the Righteous Gang was spared a future crisis.
Even after he passed away, his subordinates wouldn't fight over the Gang Leader position.
Meanwhile, Li Qing was in the Yan Family's Martial Repository, carefully studying a martial arts manual.
He had no interest in the events unfolding within the Righteous Gang and no desire to get involved.
Once he had looted enough gold, silver, and jewels and finished reading the manuals in the Yan Family's Martial Repository, he left.
"This Shadow-Seeking Footwork is quite interesting. Combined with my Light Silk Leg Technique, it might yield unexpected results," Li Qing murmured, eagerly memorizing the light-footwork technique.
Before long, light footsteps echoed from outside the Martial Repository, accompanied by a gentle voice:
"Brother Li, are you in there?"
(End of the Chapter)
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