Jinling District Fifth Hospital.

Inside a hospital room, two beds were occupied by Wu Shengchang and Niu Chuang, respectively.

Ordinarily, Niu Chuang should not have been sharing a room with Wu Shengchang, but Wu insisted on staying in the same room with Niu Chuang. Clearly, he was grateful to Niu Chuang for taking a bullet for him—after all, Niu Chuang had saved his life.

With any other underling, Wu Shengchang might not have cared so much since it was their duty to protect him, but Niu Chuang had only recently been brought in by Ye Xiao. Niu Chuang was a friend of Ye Xiao's and for him to risk his life in such a manner was no small feat.

"How are you feeling, Niu Chuang?" Wu Shengchang asked with a smile as he looked toward Niu Chuang's bed.

Despite the throbbing pain in his thigh, Niu Chuang still managed a smile and said, "Sixth Master, I'm fine."

Just then, Ye Xiao walked into the room and saw both men sporting cheerful grins. He immediately said with a laugh, "Gentlemen, is there really a need to be so happy about getting shot?"

Upon seeing Ye Xiao, Niu Chuang began to speak, "Xiao..."

But after uttering the word "Xiao" he was unsure how to address Ye Xiao next. Having already referred to Wu Shengchang as Sixth Master, it seemed inappropriate to call Ye Xiao "Brother Xiao". But should he call Ye Xiao 'Mr. Xiao'? He knew Ye Xiao considered him a friend, and so he felt a bit troubled.

Ye Xiao and Wu Shengchang could naturally sense Niu Chuang's dilemma.

"Rest well," were Ye Xiao's words.

Niu Chuang looked at Ye Xiao and fell silent, but it was apparent he felt rather uncomfortable.

"Brother Six, how are you feeling?" Ye Xiao asked Wu Shengchang with a smile.

Wu Shengchang replied, "It's just a flesh wound in the arm, a minor matter. I've been shot in more places than I can count."

Ye Xiao laughed and said, "Brother Six, you're quite the battle-hardened veteran."

"Ha, that's true."

Ye Xiao chatted with Wu Shengchang briefly. At that moment, two more people came to the door: Ma Chao and Yan Luo, who had both taken a bath and changed into clean clothes bought temporarily by their subordinates.

"Sixth Master!" Ma Chao approached Wu Shengchang and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"It's nothing serious."

"We have a clue," Ma Chao said.

Upon hearing that, Wu Shengchang immediately frowned. What he cared most about right now was who had targeted him, and the clue mentioned by Ma Chao was surely related to this matter.

"Who did it?"

"Little Knife Association!" Ma Chao announced.

Upon hearing "Little Knife Association," Wu Shengchang expressed his disbelief, "How could that be? They get their goods from Hong Company; would they dare to make a move on me? It's impossible. There must be some mistake."

"I think so too, yet Sun Qiang, the second-in-command of the Little Knife Association, died at the scene," Ma Chao said.

"Sun Qiang?" When Wu Shengchang heard the name, he said, "Well, if Sun Qiang was there, then it must be the Little Knife Association. They're courting death."

"Sixth Master, as soon as you give the word, I'll take our men and wipe out the Little Knife Association," declared Ma Chao.

"Good," Wu Shengchang said coldly. "Leave the boss of Little Knife Association dead in the streets."

"Yes, Sixth Master!" Ma Chao was about to leave when Ye Xiao said with a smile, "Wait a minute!"

Ma Chao looked at Ye Xiao in confusion, and Wu Shengchang also turned to him with a puzzled look.

Ye Xiao looked at Ma Chao and said with a smile, "How come I've never heard of this Little Knife Association? Are they a small outfit?"

"Indeed, they're a small outfit. They have no more than a hundred members and rely mainly on the White Medicine provided by Hong Company as their source of income," Ma Chao seriously explained.

Ye Xiao remarked, "Then don't kill their boss."

"Why?" Ma Chao immediately frowned and said, "They dared to attack the Sixth Master, shouldn't we slaughter them?"

"Their entire membership barely exceeds a hundred. You could easily exterminate them; don't they know that? Yet why would they attempt to assassinate Brother Six? Don't you think with your mind?" Ye Xiao chuckled, "Moreover, if you say the Little Knife Association is so weak, how could they quickly deploy more than a dozen gunmen and over twenty elite knife fighters? Tell me, does this sound like something a struggling small outfit relying on crumbs from Hong Company could pull off? If you were a member of the Little Knife Association, would you have the nerve to make a decision that pushes the organization into an abyss?"

"Uh..." Ma Chao was at a loss for words when he heard Ye Xiao's analysis.

Ye Xiao's deduction was correct.

Mr. Wu nodded in agreement after listening to Ye Xiao and said, "Then let's arrest and torture him severely until he tells the truth."

"Yes, Sixth Master!" Ma Chao immediately responded with a nod.

Yan Luo was initially intending to accompany Ma Chao, but Ye Xiao stopped him.

"Yan Luo, wait a moment," Ye Xiao said.

Yan Luo immediately turned to Ye Xiao and asked, "Brother Xiao, what's the matter?"

Ye Xiao then looked at Mr. Wu and said, "Brother Six, Yan Luo's mother is still hospitalized at State Hospital. I suggest we let him take care of her."

Mr. Wu naturally wouldn't refuse, especially since Yan Luo had just performed very well at the food stall, proving his talent.

"Yan Luo, take care of your mother. Find Ma Chao early tomorrow. Since you are following him, report directly to Ma Chao about any matters," Mr. Wu said.

"Okay, Mr. Wu," Yan Luo replied calmly.

Ma Chao and Yan Luo left together.

About half an hour later, Ma Chao returned, looking utterly dejected. He had found the leader of the Little Knife Association, but the leader had been shot dead.

When Mr. Wu heard about this, even the usually composed man was somewhat shocked. Clearly, there was a problem, a significant problem.

"Someone wants my life!" Mr. Wu said coldly.

Ye Xiao spoke with a smile, "But they failed. The mastermind behind this isn't simple. Our decision to go to the food stall was spontaneous, and the choice of which stall to visit was made on the spot. Yet, someone knew about it and managed to gather these assassins within half an hour."

Mr. Wu's face grew even grimmer as he listened to Ye Xiao.

"There's a mole!" Ma Chao suddenly interjected.

Ye Xiao and Mr. Wu both nodded in agreement.

"Damn it, we need a thorough investigation," Ma Chao said furiously. For someone as loyal as Ma Chao, nothing was more hateful than spies and traitors, so his face turned purple with rage upon learning about the mole.

Ye Xiao shook his head and said, "The members of the Little Knife Association who knew anything are now dead. Conducting a thorough investigation now will only force the enemy into hiding. It will be too hard to find them. If we want to find the source, we must lure the snake out of its hole."

"Lure the snake out of its hole?" Ma Chao immediately asked, puzzled. "What do you mean? Go back to the food stall?"

Ye Xiao chuckled and turned to Mr. Wu, saying, "Brother Six, is there a candidate in mind for this snake?"

"To gather twenty or thirty elite men within half an hour and strike at us, it must be someone from within Jinling District. But what puzzles me is, who in Jinling District would dare to attack me? The capable ones are from Hong Company, and I really can't think of anyone who would strike at me," Mr. Wu was perplexed.

Ye Xiao chuckled and said, "Sometimes, it's the people you least expect, like your fellow sect members."

"Are you referring to Ma Jun?" Mr. Wu asked, almost in disbelief.

"Who is Ma Jun?" Ye Xiao inquired.

"One of the six leaders of Hong Company, ranked fourth by age and known as Ma Si. He too has territory in Jinling District, though smaller than mine. He's a congenial man and should have no reason to attack me. Although we had some grudges when I first started out, that's all ancient history. After all these years, he's never brought it up. I don't think it should be him," Mr. Wu pondered.

Ma Chao immediately spoke up, "Sixth Master, Ma Si is a smiling tiger. We must be on guard. I'll take some men and investigate secretly. If it wasn't done by Ma Si, we can't mistakenly accuse him."

Mr. Wu nodded and said, "Okay, go handle it, Ma Chao. Speaking of which, you and Ma Si should be relatives, both surnamed Ma."

Ma Chao quickly replied, "Relatives, from five hundred years back we were one family."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Ye Xiao didn't stay long at the hospital before returning. After all, he felt it was better not to get involved in the upcoming matters. Today's events were clearly not good for Mr. Wu, but for Ye Xiao, he thought it was actually quite advantageous. The attack had indirectly helped Yan Luo and Niu Chuang establish themselves swiftly within Hong Company.

After leaving the hospital, Ye Xiao immediately returned to his residence.

During his walk, Ye Xiao contemplated Niu Chuang. There was no denying that Niu Chuang was talented, but Ye Xiao increasingly felt that what he and Niu Chuang wanted were very different, truly different. Ye Xiao simply wanted to find his family and protect his friends, while Niu Chuang's aspirations were unknown. Moreover, considering that Niu Chuang took a bullet for Mr. Wu today, it was apparent he had deep schemes. To achieve his goals, he would pay a certain price, even at the cost of his own health.

For someone willing to sacrifice their own body, Ye Xiao was unsure whether he should trust Niu Chuang in the days to come.

It didn't take long for Ye Xiao to reach his residence, where he took a shower and sat on the bed, crossing his legs. He quickly started working his Inner Strength, completely evaporating the alcohol from his body, and then began to calm his mind. As trivial matters flitted through his consciousness, Ye Xiao promptly let go of them, focusing on improving his own strength, which was of the utmost importance.

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