Chapter 642 - 401: There’s No Harm in Saying the Right Things

Chapter 642: Chapter 401: There’s No Harm in Saying the Right Things

Between dealing with the government constables investigating the attack and managing the countless affairs at the docks, Liu Qizhi hadn’t had much time to rest these past two days. As a result, his face was gaunt and haggard.

"Liu Qizhi, please, have a seat." Seeing Liu Qizhi’s exhausted expression, Fang Jingtang quickly ushered him to a chair. Once he was seated, Fang Jingtang personally walked over to the table and poured him a cup of tea.

"Thank you, Gang Leader." Liu Qizhi’s heart warmed to see Fang Jingtang pour the tea for him personally.

"Sigh... We’re short-staffed right now, so a lot of work has fallen on your shoulders. You’ve been toiling away for days. As your Gang Leader, I feel I’ve done you a great disservice," Fang Jingtang said with a look of guilt. This was a classic tactic for winning loyalty, and he was a master at it.

"It’s my duty." Liu Qizhi set down his teacup. "Gang Leader, we lost so many of our brothers this time. No matter what, we must avenge them.

Otherwise, even with the men that great lord sent to help prop up the Red Blood Gang, it won’t be long before our men start looking for ways to leave."

At these words, Fang Jingtang’s mind immediately flashed back to what had happened two days ago.

The towering inferno blazed nearby. The terrifying assailant in the black hood, his face obscured, had cut them down with an irresistible force, sending them fleeing in a complete rout.

"Gang Leader, are you all right?" Liu Qizhi asked with concern, noticing Fang Jingtang’s silence and his grim expression.

Fang Jingtang had inadvertently slipped back into that painful memory. Liu Qizhi’s voice pulled him back to the present. He forced a highly unnatural smile.

"I’m fine. You’re right. We will have our revenge...

The great lord sent all these men to help us. His intention can’t be as simple as just keeping the Red Blood Gang from falling apart."

"Gang Leader, what do you mean?" Liu Qizhi didn’t grasp the deeper meaning.

Fang Jingtang didn’t explain right away. He picked up his teacup, poured himself some tea, and took a sip before speaking to Liu Qizhi.

"What I’m about to tell you must not leave this room."

Liu Qizhi nodded seriously. Fang Jingtang went on to explain, "The great lord’s confidant revealed to me that this attack on us has made His Lordship furious.

From what he said, combined with the fact that the very next day, the great lord had his confidant assign so many men to help us...

...it’s clear that the great lord wants the masked assailant who attacked us dead."

Liu Qizhi’s eyes lit up when he heard Fang Jingtang’s explanation.

He had just told Fang Jingtang they absolutely had to get revenge on the masked man who attacked the Red Blood Gang, but in his heart, he knew the reality of their situation.

Even at full strength, so many of their lieutenants working together had been no match for the masked assailant. In its current, crippled state, the Red Blood Gang stood even less of a chance.

All his talk about getting revenge was just for show.

’When you know revenge is impossible, what’s the harm in saying the right things to your boss? It only serves to perfect my image as a loyal and dedicated subordinate. So why wouldn’t I?’

But sometimes, events took an unexpected turn. After delivering his grand, empty speech, Liu Qizhi never expected to receive such a surprising response.

The crippled Red Blood Gang had absolutely no chance of getting revenge on the masked assailant.

But now that their great patron, the powerful figure pulling the strings, had decided to eliminate the masked assailant, the possibility of revenge suddenly went from zero to a very real chance.

To the Red Blood Gang, the terrifying masked assailant was an insurmountable foe. But in the eyes of their powerful patron, he was hardly an issue at all.

"Alright, that’s enough talk about the masked assailant for now. Walls have ears," Fang Jingtang said with a small smile, seeing Liu Qizhi’s reaction. He then asked,

"Did you come to see me about something in particular?"

Liu Qizhi nodded. "Gang Leader, yes. Old Qian came to see me a little while ago.

He told me he’d heard that all those girls we captured earlier made it back home completely unharmed. He wanted to know if we should send some men to round them up again."

The girls in question were the ones captured by the Red Blood Gang to settle debts, the same ones Lin Li had freed beforehand. After the fire, when the gang members found no remains in the ruins, they’d guessed the girls must have escaped during the chaos.

Even though they knew the girls—captured to settle their families’ unpayable debts—had escaped in the confusion, the gang had just suffered a catastrophe. No one had the inclination to go recapture them, so the matter was shelved for the time being.

A few days had passed. Now that Liu Qizhi brought the girls up again, Fang Jingtang, whose mind was groggy from the mountain of other issues, finally recalled the matter.

"Go tell Old Qian that even if we sent men to recapture those girls right now, we have nowhere to keep them.

So for now, just let them stay at home. Once we’ve dealt with this mountain of problems, we’ll make time to round them up again. Tell him not to worry about them disappearing..." Fang Jingtang said.