Chapter Forty-Five: Unifying Xiangyun Street

"You!" Fan Qi was so enraged that all he could do was shout that one word. He had never imagined that not only would Meng Yitian refuse him, but he would also openly side with Yang Ze right in front of his face. Wasn’t this a blatant slap?

Feng Liyuan was not faring any better. Right now, he was seized by the urge to beat Meng Yitian to death. But he dared not act—given his position, to kill someone here would bring only trouble.

Both their families had agreements with the authorities prohibiting interference in the affairs of Xiangyun Street. Over so many years, the authorities had kept to the rules—aside from sending a few men after a constable died recently, they had stayed out of Xiangyun Street’s business. As for the two families, they were always scheming behind the scenes. Though the authorities had turned a blind eye before, if they tried anything major now, the authorities would not sit idly by. Feng Liyuan, having risen to the rank of elder in the Feng family, understood this well enough—especially since Meng Yitian was still a gang leader.

"Who would have thought you’d be so generous as to help me by first taking over the Iron Hammer Gang’s businesses," Yang Ze said with an unruffled calm.

“Haha, a wise bird seeks a good tree for its nest. If I wish to join the Tongyang Alliance, how could I show up empty-handed? Would the Chief Steward believe my sincerity?” Meng Yitian replied with a laugh.

He meant what he said. In truth, ever since the Black Tiger Hall first had its dispute with the merchants’ guild, Meng Yitian had been considering how to safeguard himself. On the surface, it seemed only his Woodcutters Gang and Yang Ze’s faction remained on Xiangyun Street, but he knew full well his own side could not compare to Yang Ze’s.

He lacked Yang Ze’s strength, his businesses were inferior, and, most crucially, Yang Ze had powerful connections, supported by the Yang family, while he had no one behind him.

So, when the Black Tiger Hall was wiped out, Meng Yitian was already planning to lead the whole Woodcutters Gang to join Yang Ze. When the Iron Hammer Gang fell soon after, he seized the opportunity, braving the pressure from the Venom Sect, to claim their enterprises—hoping to use this as a bargaining chip to increase his value.

But everything had happened so quickly that Meng Yitian hadn’t had time to share his plans with his own gang before the Fengs, the Fans, and Yang Ze all showed up.

What surprised Meng Yitian most was Yang Ze’s strength. He hadn’t expected Yang Ze to destroy the Venom Sect. He didn’t know that both Yang Ze and Old Xie had already reached the advanced level of Qi Induction; he thought they were still at the intermediate level and must have had some hidden trump card to defeat the Venom Sect so swiftly.

With the Venom Sect gone, his move to seize the Iron Hammer Gang’s assets seemed superfluous, so he needed to clarify his intentions to Yang Ze and avoid misunderstanding, while also strengthening his resolve to defect.

“Well said. But I’m not willing to take just anyone under my banner.”

“Rest assured, Chief Steward. I’ll follow your every instruction. If you want the Woodcutters Gang dissolved and all its assets handed over, so be it!”

Even Yang Ze was taken aback by Meng Yitian’s words. He had expected some haggling, but Meng Yitian had the resolve to disband his own gang outright.

Yang Ze had little concern over this, but the Woodcutters Gang members were thrown into an uproar. Without their gang, what would become of them?

Seeing the unease among his men, Meng Yitian called out, “There’s no need to panic. Though I will no longer be your leader, you may follow me into the Tongyang Alliance. I trust Chief Steward Yang will accept us!”

Though his words were for all the Woodcutters Gang, his eyes were fixed on Yang Ze.

Yang Ze understood his meaning—Meng Yitian’s condition was that while he was willing to surrender everything, Yang Ze must take all the gang members as well.

Indeed, the Woodcutters Gang was Meng Yitian’s creation; he could disband it with a word, but he couldn’t bear to see his followers left adrift.

If it had been before, Yang Ze would never have agreed—taking on so many would mean extra resources. But now—

Glancing at Feng Liyuan and Fan Qi, Yang Ze knew he would have to swallow this loss.

“Very well. I accept your allegiance. From now on, you are no longer the leader of the Woodcutters Gang, and the gang itself ceases to exist. All former members who wish to join the Tongyang Alliance may do so; those who do not may come to me for a severance payment and leave.”

“Brother Meng, are you satisfied with this arrangement?” Yang Ze’s voice was not loud, but it was projected with inner strength so that every hiding Woodcutters Gang member heard clearly.

“Yes!” Meng Yitian bowed deeply to Yang Ze, marking the end of the Woodcutters Gang.

With that, everyone rushed out—almost all followed Meng Yitian into the Tongyang Alliance, save for a handful of elders who chose to retire from the world at this turning point.

The inner quarters of the Woodcutters Gang were bustling with noise and confusion. Feng Liyuan and Fan Qi now found themselves out of place among the throng.

Behind them, a few subordinates ground their teeth in frustration at Yang Ze’s ascendancy but could do nothing.

“Elder Feng, Elder Fan, why are you two still here?” Yang Ze had never taken his eyes off them. Seeing their discomfort, he mocked them openly.

“Fine, fine, Yang Ze—you remember this. Today’s matter will not be settled so easily.” Fan Qi spat out his threat and left with his men.

Feng Liyuan did the same.

Once they had gone, Meng Yitian led the two remaining intermediate Qi Induction elders of the Woodcutters Gang to Yang Ze. He had not dared act while Feng Liyuan and Fan Qi were around—both were advanced Qi Induction warriors, and he was no match for them. If they had been driven to desperation, things could have turned ugly.

Now the three stood before Yang Ze to discuss how to proceed. Yang Ze had no patience for such trivialities and immediately had Old Xie step in.

With no time for better decisions, Old Xie decided the gang’s shops would remain under their management, but all other assets would be seized, with no private hoarding allowed. As for personnel, operations would continue as before for the time being.

The timeline had been too tight and events too unpredictable. Yang Ze had never expected things to turn out this way. Given the circumstances, this was already a sound plan.

Yang Ze was satisfied. All he wanted was to be the sole authority on Xiangyun Street.

As long as his word was law, everything else could be adjusted later.

“Brother Meng, since you’ve disbanded your group, leave a detachment here. The rest may come with me.”

“Certainly, Chief Steward. I’ll leave them here—we three will accompany you.” Meng Yitian swiftly gave his orders. Though he was no longer the leader, his authority held; no one objected.

After another carriage was brought around, Meng Yitian and his two men rode in one, Yang Ze and his companion in another, and they headed for the Tongyang Bank.

…

That night, in the council hall of the Tongyang Bank, Yang Ze sat at the head of the table with eight others below him.

Old Xie and two other intermediate Qi Induction warriors sent by Yang Yuanzhen were present, as were Meng Yitian and his two intermediate-level men. The remaining two were Wang Cheng and another former senior member of the merchant guild.

Aside from Wang Cheng and his colleague, everyone in the room was at least at the intermediate Qi Induction level.

Meng Yitian sat stiffly, his mind anything but at ease, for he had learned that both Yang Ze and Old Xie had broken through to the advanced stage.

Especially Yang Ze—Venom Sheng had died by his hand, making Yang Ze now the top master of Xiangyun Street.

Yang Ze surveyed the gathering, his heart calm as still water. Had he not deliberately revealed his own strength, Meng Yitian and the others would not have known. His sole aim was to awe these newcomers. They were, after all, former leaders themselves—without sufficient deterrence, they might become restless. The best way was to suppress them with overwhelming power so they dared not act against him.

Seeing their faces, Yang Ze knew his plan had succeeded and began to speak.

“Gentlemen, you should all be well aware of my intentions, but I’ll emphasize them again. Today, having joined the Tongyang Alliance, from this moment on, the only orders you will follow are mine—Yang Ze’s! My voice is the sole authority of the alliance. Do you understand?”

“We understand!” the eight replied as one.

“You need not worry. My priority is to have absolute control over Xiangyun Street, and I absolutely will not tolerate anyone acting underhandedly right under my nose. Should anyone dare defy me, they will learn exactly what that means.

“As for the rest, I will not interfere too much. You will continue to manage your own properties and deliver what I require on schedule.

“Of course, if anyone wishes to leave, I won’t stop you, but you leave with nothing. That is my rule!”

Yang Ze enunciated every word. Including Meng Yitian, none dared to object. Thus did Xiangyun Street fall into Yang Ze’s hands.