Chapter 117: The Venue of the Banquet

The dinner was set by the lake in Yunshui Mountain Residence. The delicate cuisine, exquisite porcelain, and fine - brewed wine all seemed to indicate that tonight's guests were of high status and importance.

However, Master Ba and Uncle Zhong waited until 8 p.m., but not a single guest had arrived. Uncle Zhong was puzzled. Could it be that those bosses really thought Master Ba had lost his qualifications and prestige, and didn't even show him the respect of coming to a dinner to discuss matters? Master Ba didn't get angry. He just sighed softly and slowly walked upstairs from the brightly - lit villa entrance. Just then, a luxury car drove in. A middle - aged man in a Tang suit got out of the car and walked up to Uncle Zhong with great respect. "Are you Uncle Zhong? I'm Zhao Dalong, the steward of the Axe Gang. I've been sent by our gang leader to meet your gang leader. I have something important to discuss."

Uncle Zhong sized up Zhao Dalong. He was strong - built with bulging temples, probably a martial artist. Although he seemed polite, considering that Ye Sanxiao, the gang leader of the Axe Gang, didn't show up for the invitation tonight, which was a great disrespect to Master Ba, Uncle Zhong decided to give Zhao Dalong a hard time. "Our Master Ba invited Gang Leader Ye for dinner tonight. But it seems that Gang Leader Ye is too busy to show our Master Ba any respect. Master Ba, feeling old and tired, has already gone to bed."

Zhao Dalong chuckled. There was no sign of embarrassment on his face. He still said respectfully, "Uncle Zhong, how could our Gang Leader Ye and the other bosses not show respect to Master Ba? Our Gang Leader Ye thought there was a better place for the gathering, so he sent me to invite Master Ba to move there and enjoy the beautiful scenery together."

Uncle Zhong was taken aback. A better place for the gathering? He was about to ask Zhao Dalong where it was when Master Ba's voice came. "Oh? Where does Gang Leader Ye think is better?" Master Ba was walking out of the villa with Chu Tian.

Uncle Zhong slightly bowed when he saw Master Ba. Zhao Dalong obviously knew that the person in front of him was Master Ba, the most prestigious and senior figure in the underworld. His eyes became very deferential. He took a few steps forward and bowed. "Hello, Master Ba. Our Gang Leader Ye and the other bosses have already set up a banquet at Shui Xie Hua Du, waiting for you to come."

Shui Xie Hua Du? Chu Tian didn't react much, but Master Ba and Uncle Zhong were shocked. That was the territory of the Jiang Bang, the stronghold of Haizi and Guangzi. There were nearly a hundred elite members of Haizi and Guangzi there. Ye Sanxiao and the other bosses setting the banquet right at their doorstep could only mean that the Jiang Bang had been wiped out by Ye Sanxiao and his allies. But they hadn't heard any news about it. Did Ye Sanxiao have the ability to surround and annihilate the brave warriors of the Jiang Bang in Shui Xie Hua Du overnight?

Zhao Dalong seemed to see the doubt in Master Ba's mind. He smiled faintly, with a hint of pride. "Master Ba, don't worry too much. Gang Leader Ye led three hundred elite members of the Axe Gang, Huang Tianxiong, the gang leader of the Tianxiong Gang, gathered two hundred elites, Guan Dongdao, the leader of the Ba Dao Association, selected two hundred disciples, and Deng Chao of the Tianlang Sect personally led one hundred and eight members, along with more than thirty invited experts. In total, more than eight hundred people have surrounded Shui Xie Hua Du. The Jiang Bang only has about a hundred elite members, including Haizi and Guangzi. The strength gap is huge, and there's no suspense about the outcome."

Master Ba murmured to himself, "I didn't expect Ye Sanxiao to act so quickly. It's really beyond my expectation."

Hearing Zhao Dalong's description, Chu Tian's heart sank. With more than eight hundred people surrounding Haizi and Guangzi, no matter how capable and brave they were, they would eventually die under the swords. For the first time, Chu Tian felt a sense of urgency. He wished he could rush to Haizi and Guangzi's side right away and fight alongside them. Chu Tian felt a bit regretful for not warning Haizi and the others earlier. Otherwise, how could the Jiang Bang only have nearly a hundred elites? The Jiang Bang was known as the second - largest gang in Shanghai, and Haizi had said they had more than six hundred elites. Although Chu Tian was regretful and anxious, he had to remain calm.

In fact, it wasn't entirely Chu Tian's fault. Even an experienced figure like Master Ba didn't expect Ye Sanxiao and the others to act so fast, let alone Chu Tian.

Zhao Dalong seemed to understand what Master Ba was murmuring about. A humble smile appeared on his face again. "Our Gang Leader Ye knew that your two daughters were almost molested by the Jiang Bang. He also guessed that you were hosting a banquet at Yunshui Mountain Residence tonight to discuss how to deal with the Jiang Bang. These days, the Jiang Bang has been causing trouble everywhere, constantly breaking the rules of the underworld. The other bosses in the underworld hated the Jiang Bang deeply and came to Gang Leader Ye one after another. Gang Leader Ye thought it over and decided to teach the Jiang Bang a lesson tonight and give you a generous gift, Master Ba."

A faint smile appeared on Master Ba's face. He thought to himself that this "generous gift" was probably more for Ye Sanxiao himself. Once the Jiang Bang was destroyed, the biggest beneficiary would be the Axe Gang. No one in Shanghai would be able to oppose the Axe Gang anymore.

Zhao Dalong saw Master Ba's smile and thought he was happy about the gift from Ye Sanxiao. He cleared his throat. "Master Ba, now all the gangs are waiting for you at Shui Xie Hua Du to uphold justice. The reason we haven't killed Haizi, Guangzi, and their gang yet is to let you make a judgment, so that the members of the Jiang Bang will accept their fate willingly."

Master Ba nodded. He knew very well that "upholding justice" was just a pretense. Those bosses wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They wanted Master Ba to use the pretense of upholding justice to show how heinous the Jiang Bang was. This way, the other loyal members of the Jiang Bang wouldn't fight them to the death in the future, and they could avoid a lot of trouble. So, his prestige and seniority were more important than usual at this moment.

Hearing that Haizi and Guangzi were temporarily safe, Chu Tian felt a bit more relaxed. Then he started thinking about countermeasures.

Master Ba initially didn't want to go to Shui Xie Hua Du. But when he thought about how the Jiang Bang had dared to harm his two daughters, his anger flared up. And whether he went or not, the Jiang Bang was doomed. If he didn't go, it might cause dissatisfaction among the other bosses, and his prestige and qualifications might decline significantly in the future. It would be even harder for the Green Gang to survive. After thinking it over, he turned to Uncle Zhong. "Yuzhong, take all the elite brothers of the Green Gang and head to Shui Xie Hua Du."

Uncle Zhong nodded and quickly went to arrange the vehicles and manpower.

The respectful expression on Zhao Dalong's face suddenly showed a barely - noticeable trace of a smile.

Chu Tian's eyes passed over Zhao Dalong. That flash of smile seemed a bit sinister.

Moments later, Uncle Zhong had prepared the vehicles and manpower and was waiting for Master Ba to get in the car at the entrance.

Master Ba looked at Zhao Dalong, then turned to Chu Tian. "Chu Tian, you two stay in the villa and take good care of Sirou and Nianrou. Oh, and Yuzhong, you stay too."

Uncle Zhong was stunned. Master Ba didn't even let him go. He took a step forward. "Master Ba, I'd better go with you. Just in case something happens."

Master Ba firmly shook his head. He said calmly, "I'm just going to Shui Xie Hua Du. What could happen? If there's going to be trouble, I need you even more here to support me."

Uncle Zhong nodded, understanding Master Ba's meaning. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Master Ba turned and got in the car, taking more than sixty elite brothers of the Green Gang with him, and followed Zhao Dalong's car out of Yunshui Mountain Residence.

Chu Tian watched Master Ba leave, thinking of an excuse to go out as well.

Uncle Zhong looked at the departing Master Ba and felt a sudden unease in his heart. He murmured to himself, "Why do I always feel so restless?"

Taking this opportunity, Chu Tian said in agreement, "Me too. I always feel that Zhao Dalong is hiding a dagger behind his smile. Uncle Zhong, you stay in the villa to take care of my two adoptive sisters. I'll take my brother and follow to have a look."

Uncle Zhong was about to speak when suddenly two screams, "Ah, ah," came. Chu Tian quickly looked up. Two Green Gang brothers at the villa entrance had fallen to the ground. While he was still in shock, the gate was suddenly kicked open, and dozens of masked people rushed in, each holding a shiny Japanese samurai sword, which looked extremely cold under the dim light of the villa.