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Elder Long has been holding his current position for over a decade, enduring all kinds of storms, yet he stands unyielding like an ancient tree with its roots deep in the ground.

Whether it was before the return of Hong Kong Island or in the days after returning to the country, he has always firmly controlled Xin'an, the largest force on Hong Kong Island...

In those decades, countless newcomers have risen, and many old-timers have fallen, but he alone has always been the one people look up to.

This alone shows that Elder Long's methods and schemes are incomparable to ordinary people. Put in the times of chaos, he would likely be a hero contending for supremacy.

Take the current incident, Brother San Shui may not be Elder Long's biological son, but his adopted son's weight is incredibly significant, having always been dearly favored by Elder Long over the years, almost not less than Elder Long's biological son himself.

However, Brother San Shui, who used to overcome difficulties smoothly, has hit a snag this time, and it's a snag full of thorns; not only did he fail to harm the snag, but he ended up damaging himself instead.

Brother San Shui has become foolish; the mental trauma is significant, and even Qing Mountain Hospital treats him as a severe patient—of course, this might also be a special treatment out of respect for Elder Long's face.

Nevertheless, this incident has, to some extent, impacted Elder Long's prestige. If Elder Long cannot handle this properly, I'm afraid some people below will start gossiping.

Comments like Lian Po is old...

Although Elder Long doesn't care about these discussions, he has to deal with this matter; not for anything else, but for his adopted son, he must get an explanation.

Of course, Elder Long is also very measured in what he does, instructing Wang Hu to take action is actually a form of probing.

If Qin Fang has a background that not even Elder Long can afford to offend, then Elder Long could easily brush it off and, at minimum, just apologize to end the matter.

But if Qin Fang has no background at all, then Elder Long need not be polite; he would just have Wang Hu grab the person, and that would be the end of it...

Elder Long has secured his position all these years, not just with words or wit but more so with his ruthlessness, decisiveness, and resoluteness!

"Yes, Elder Long..."

Wang Hu is Elder Long's most trusted subordinate, always executing Elder Long's orders without discount or a single word of complaint, promptly agreeing to them.

"Elder Long, about these men..."

However, with Wang Hu already in charge of Qin Fang's side, the question has arisen as to how to deal with these subordinates, especially since Brother San Shui was driven to idiocy, and these men are responsible—they all fed Brother San Shui urine.

"Send their families a settlement fee..."

Elder Long didn't even glance at these subordinates, just stating with an utterly indifferent tone as if this matter had nothing to do with him at all.

"Elder Long..."

Upon hearing Elder Long's words, the expressions of these subordinates first stiffened, but then they quickly understood and began shouting excitedly. The ones with smaller courage even sat down on the ground in fright, and some even fainted with a thud...

But no matter whether they faint, get scared, scream, or cry, it's useless. Once Elder Long has made a decision, that is not something they can change.

That's just the way things are in this world; though still not as brutal as the underground world, those on top always possess an absolute dominant position, and your life or death is but a word away... Elder Long is undoubtedly such a figure of authority, and these subordinates are nothing more than ants that have lost their value in his eyes.

Elder Long's movements are, of course, unknown to Qin Fang, who is living his days quite leisurely without anyone harassing him.

Perhaps because of the car accident caused by Qu Yuanliang, the Qu family has temporarily ceased their movements, mainly because Qin Fang's mother, Qin Qing, indirectly came to know that Old Madam Qu's condition has stabilized, and her life is no longer in danger, hence they did not disturb Qin Fang...

Qin Qing, however, visits her still-recovering mother at the hospital every day, accompanied by Tang Feifei as always, and with people constantly protecting them, Qin Fang is quite at ease.

Putting these matters aside, Qin Fang is quite relaxed, seemingly carefree, but behind the scenes, he is actually very busy.

No news from Han Long yet, Qin Fang is keeping an eye on the Assassin's Alliance transaction platform daily. As soon as the assassination of Han Long is accepted, the information will start to update. Although it costs a price to access this information, for Qin Fang, who is currently in the dark, it's all within an acceptable range.

However, it's clear that Han Long has become more cautious after his successful escape from prison, and so far, no one has found his whereabouts; he is hiding extremely well.

Even the Assassin's Alliance hasn't received any concrete information, only vaguely hearing that Han Long is probably still on Hong Kong Island, but as for his specific location, that remains unknown.

Another piece of news that concerned Qin Fang was that Han Long remained on Hong Kong Island because a shipment of goods from the Golden Triangle was due to be delivered there soon. It was meant for the Sanlian Gang on Little Island, a deal of considerable size, and Han Long obviously felt that it was safer to oversee the operation personally.

This could present Qin Fang with his best opportunity to assassinate Han Long...

Otherwise, once Han Long left Hong Kong Island, killing him would become much more difficult for Qin Fang. Just finding his whereabouts would prove to be very challenging.

Waiting for news was undoubtedly a frustrating affair.

Qin Fang was anxious, but since anxiety served no purpose, he resigned himself to biding his time. His access to information wasn't great on Hong Kong Island, so he might as well let the Assassin's Alliance do the investigating for him.

Qin Fang didn't bother with the hospital anymore, mainly because he was reluctant to see the Qu family. Just thinking about these people made him feel nauseated, so he'd rather spend his time playing chess with the elderly master of the Thousand Gates Chess Elder Song Qianqiu.

"Elder Song, living such a life is truly enviable..."

Qin Fang remarked with a sense of sentiment.

Although he was only in his twenties, a good fifty or sixty years younger than Elder Song, the two had formed an harmonious bond akin to an age-transcending friendship during the past few days.

Neither made any explicit inquiries about the other's identity or background, nor did they mention anything related to Thousand Gates – their meetings were solely for playing chess, as if they were simply chess companions.

Yet, their deep discretion about each other's identity was not without reason.

Thousand Gates does not intervene in world affairs!

This has been a rule established for centuries, one that no one could violate, nor dared to.

Thousand Gates is an existence that defies the heavens. Many of the unique skills inherited within its ranks are not tolerated by the rules of nature, often leading to a tragic end for those who misuse them recklessly.

Historical figures like Su Qin, Zhang Yi, who suggested the strategy of uniting the horizontal and leveraging alliances, and many other familiar and unfamiliar names prominent in history, belonged to Thousand Gates. They left indelible marks on history, yet few people know that most of them did not meet good ends.

It is because of these repeated acts of defying the heavens that the lineage of Thousand Gates suffered breaks in its succession, like the Guigu lineage, once taught by Su Qin and Zhang Yi, which had been lost a thousand years ago.

Since then, Thousand Gates has chosen to stay out of world affairs and established this as a rule.

Not intervening doesn't equate to complete isolation.

As the saying goes, "The greatest seclusion is living in the marketplace, the lesser seclusion is living in the wilderness," and thus Thousand Gates has carried on.

Most remain hidden among ordinary people in the marketplaces, with hardly anyone knowing of their ties to the enigmatic Thousand Gates.

Of course, there are also those hidden within the government, as some experts from Thousand Gates are part of certain special departments of the state.

Some people may know of this, but most others do not...

Even if two individuals belong to Thousand Gates, like Thousand Gates Acolyte Song Qianqiu and Qin Fang, they might recognize each other's status, but neither would choose to acknowledge it openly.

One reason is to not break the rules, and the second is that there is no need to do so.

Their relationship is of the noble and unsullied kind: dynamic when playing chess, but not complicated by other matters. If they were to involve other factors, their friendship would no longer remain as pure.

Besides, neither of them has any requests from the other. Knowing what they know, speaking or not speaking about it doesn't really make a difference. Why break this particular ice?

"Xiao Qin, your words aren't quite right there. Young people should have the vigor of youth, while an old man like me has long passed that impetuous age. Now, my time is for cultivating the spirit and maintaining tranquility..."

Elder Song responded nonchalantly to Qin Fang's remark.

Though Qin Fang was young, his thoughts were remarkably mature. During their chess games, they occasionally engaged in casual conversations that were unrelated to the game, offering insights that highlighted Qin Fang's difference from his peers.

Perhaps it was this very aspect that made Elder Song look upon Qin Fang with new respect.

To Elder Song, Qin Fang's status as a Thousand Gates Acolyte didn't matter much. Even within the Qimen Dunjia Sect, there were many young acolytes eager to impress, but none caught Elder Song's eye quite like Qin Fang did, fostering a mutual rapport and sense of kinship between them upon first meeting.

"I hope that this simple and pure friendship can be preserved forever..."

These were the inward sentiments of Elder Song, whose refined and effortless camaraderie with Qin Fang was relaxed, free from complicated interests, which is why he seemed much more cheerful lately, often smiling...(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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