Chapter 468: Chapter 468. Another Sit-down

    The arrangements for the second sit-down were the same as before. Each representative was only allowed to bring one companion. The entourage they brought had to wait outside the Spare Rib Inn.

    Two years before, during the sit-down that birthed the underworld coalition, the eight clans came accompanied by the leaders of their subordinate underworld organizations. This time, only Xian Bifu came with the leader of the Mud Sharks. The other seven clans came accompanied by someone from their clans. This was because their subordinate underworld organizations had rebelled and defected to the Gao Clan.

    "Gao Fongze! I demand explanation...!!" Fei Calao banged the meeting table in the basement. Behind him were the representatives of the other six clans. They all had expressions of outrage.

    Gao Fongze simply smiled at the aggression. He told Fei Calao, "Uncle Fei, do not be angry. It’s not good for your health. Whatever your discontent, I’m sure we can work it out. However, please be patient and wait for the rest of our associates before we begin our discussion."

    Xian Bifu came down the stairs. A member of the Mud Sharks was following behind him.

    "Ah... Brother Xian, it is always a pleasure seeing you," Gao Fongze greeted.

    "Cut the crap. You have a lot of explaining to do," Xian Bifu uttered. He had the same expressions as the other clan representatives.

    Gao Fongze shook his head. "You disappoint me, Brother Bifu. Here I thought you were an open-minded person. Anyway, we still have one more party to wait for. While we wait, how is Xa Wan doing? I heard he is wounded?"

    Xa Wan was the name of Mud Shark’s leader. Gao Fongze directed the question to the person who followed Xian Bifu.

    "My brother is recovering. Don’t play coy. I know you are the one who instigated the attack," the person replied.

    "Xa Ti, are you looking for a beating?" uttered Sui Kou, who stood behind Gao Fongze.

    "Do you think I am afraid of you?" Xa Ti exclaimed.

    "Brother Bifu, please put a leash on your dog. He is unsightly," Gao Fongze said. "I hope nobody starts a fight. You might outnumber me for now, but don’t forget I have seven underworld organizations under my beck-and-call. They are outside. If I send a message talisman, they will rush in here. It’s you who will be outnumbered."

    The seven clans looked at one another. Xian Bifu said, "You won’t be unscathed if you lay a hand on us. We are not your average underworld members. There will be repercussions, and the authorities will be involved."

    "That’s why I told you all to chill. I invited you here to talk, not to fight," Gao Fongze replied with a smile.

    "Then, speak!" Xian Bifu demanded.

    "As I said to the others, we are waiting for everyone to arrive. We are still short one party. Ah... speaking of the devil."

    Everyone turned to the stairs. A pair of people wearing face masks walked down the stairs. Their body shapes indicated they were male and female.

    "Brother Amon, Sister Gao Lan. Why do you insist on wearing masks when we already know it’s you?" Gao Fongze asked. "I know it is your organization’s trademark, but man... You don’t need to follow it to the letter, do you?"

    Amon removed his mask. Gao Lan didn’t.

    "See? That’s better. It’s always better when we can speak with each other face to face," Gao Fongze said.

    Following behind Amon and Gao Lan was the inn’s manager, who ushered everyone in. He carried a tray filled with cups of wine.

    Amon took a seat on the table while Gao Lan stood behind him. The same as during the previous sit-down, wine bottles and cups were already prepared on the table for the nine leaders. The inn’s manager handed the cups of wine he carried to the followers standing behind these leaders.

    Gao Fongze eyed the manager. He did ask the manager to serve wine to everyone on the table, but he didn’t ask the manager to serve the followers. After pondering, he thought this was his oversight. The manager was more experienced in hospitality. He didn’t blame the manager for taking the initiative to do that. He let the manager finish the task before ordering him to leave.

    "Everyone, please take a seat," Gao Fongze said. Aside from him and Amon, the other seven leaders stood beside their chairs.

    "We are not here to play friends. You must explain your action and compensate us for our losses," Xian Bifu uttered.

    The others agreed with his statement.

    Gao Fongze smiled and shook his head. He poured the wine from his bottle into the cup. "It will be difficult to talk if you are all so tense. Please relax. Enjoy this Heavenly Bliss Wine I prepared especially for you."

    Hearing the name, the followers looked at the cups in their hands. Heavenly Bliss Wine was the best wine in the country. They only ever heard the name but never tasted it. They wondered if the wine served to them was also the famous wine inside the bottles on the table.

    While the followers were fascinated by Heavenly Bliss Wine, the leaders were not so. Wirn Chin grabbed the bottle reserved for her and threw it to the floor.

    "Screw this! You have better start talking, or we will make you!" She exclaimed.

    The sound of water pouring was heard. They turned and saw Amon pouring the wine from his bottle into his cup. He lifted his cup and played with it before taking a sip.

    "It is indeed the famous wine," Amon said. "Brother Fongze must have prepared this to celebrate his success in unifying the underworld under his command."

    The faces of the seven clan representatives turned darker upon hearing that.

    Amon continued, "However, he still needs us. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited us here. Everyone, rather than keep pressuring him, how about we give him a chance to explain properly? Let us all sit like civilized people and talk."

    Gao Fongze raised his eyebrows. He didn’t expect Amon to speak in his favor.

    "Fuck you! Are you in cahoot with him?" Wirn Chin asked Amon.

    "He is not," Xian Bifu said.

    In the two years of fighting together for the coalition, the Street Dogs developed a good relationship with the Demon Gang. Gao Lan periodically made friendly visits to Xa Wan and Xian Bifu. This was under Amon’s order, of course. Xian Bifu also knew about Gao Lan being ambushed by Di Lung, her ex-follower, most likely under Gao Fongze’s request. Hence, he knew Amon was not cooperating with Gao Fongze.

    Xian Bifu took the chair meant for him and sat. Once he did, the others followed. Wirn Chin was the last to sit. She did it with a harrumph. It was as if she was afraid someone might not notice her displeasure.

    "Despite the circumstances, I would like to offer a toast before we begin," Amon raised his cup. "No matter what, we did achieve the impossible by dominating this city’s underworld. I hope when this meeting is over, no matter the result, we can still look proudly at what we have achieved."

    "Very well said, Brother Amon! Haha!" Gao Fongze laughed. He raised his cup.

    The others were irritated by his laugh. They looked at one another. Xian Bifu decided to raise his cup. The others followed. Wirn Chin no longer had her wine bottle. Zin Bao, who sat beside her, shared the wine from his bottle.

    "For the coalition!" Amon exclaimed. He gestured at the followers standing behind the leaders as well, indicating that they were also included in the toast. They started drinking their wine.

    "Why did you act like you are in charge?" Wirn Chin complained before drinking hers.

    They placed the empty cups back on the table. "Brother Fongze, you may begin," Amon said, ignoring Wirn Chin, who glared at him.

    "Hehe. Thank you, Brother Amon," Gao Fongze chuckled. He stood up before continuing, "Firstly, let me offer an apology to everyone in this room. I think it is fair to assume no one here expected our cooperation to last."

    The scowl on everyone’s face returned. "Are you cutting ties after fucking us over?" Erl Kui asked.

    "Of course not. As Brother Amon pointed out, I still need everyone. It is not in the Gao Clan’s interest to enter an open conflict with great clans such as yours. It is best if we continue to cooperate."

    "In that case, relinquish..."

    "However!" Gao Fongze cut Fei Calao’s interruption. "We can forget about the old arrangement."

    "What do you mean?" Xian Bifu asked.

    Gao Fongze displayed a wide, devilish grin. "From now on, the underworld coalition will no longer decide using the voting system. We have a leader now. That will be me! Every organization under the coalition will report to me. Whoever disagrees can go ahead and quit, but their territory will remain under the control of the coalition. If those who leave wish their clans to continue doing business without disturbance within the territory, they must pay protection fees!"