In a private room on the second floor of the inn.
Actually, the second floor hadn't originally had private rooms; it was all red tents. But Siniang had cleared them out, leaving the second floor suddenly empty. The original narrow "workrooms," each barely large enough for a half-meter wide plank bed, had been entirely dismantled.
It was the room deepest inside, as usual, where a table was set with food and wine.
Two robustly built men sat there, with a young man standing beside them.
"Gang Leader, what do you think Hongba wanted us here for?" one of the men asked. "Usually, he collects his protection money, and we collect our carriage fees. We stick to our own business, and there isn't much interaction."
"Second-in-Command, why are you so anxious?" the Gang Leader replied. "Anyway, because of the war, the trade routes are cut off, and our brothers have no work. We're idle either way. If Hongba wants to treat us to drinks, we might as well come. No matter how powerful he is in Hutou City, can he throw his weight around with our Carriage Gang?"
"You're right. What the Gang Leader says makes sense. We should eat and drink."
"Exactly! We'll deal with problems as they arise. Does our Carriage Gang need to fear their Unity Gang? Come on, Second-in-Command, let's drink."
"Oh, hehehe, gentlemen, enjoying your meal? Is the food to your liking?"
Before she even appeared, her captivating laughter drifted in, followed by Feng Siniang herself and a gentle waft of fragrance.
"Heh, we were just about to ask!" the Gang Leader slapped the table and said gruffly. "Where are the girls? Madame, do you only serve food here?"
"Oh dear, heavens no."
"Then where are the girls? We've been sitting here for so long and haven't seen a single one. Are you looking down on us?"
"You can't say that, sirs. Everyone who comes through our doors is a guest; how could we possibly look down on anyone? It's just that you've come at an inconvenient time. Our girls have all been let go, and the new ones haven't arrived yet. So, unfortunately, there's no one available right now."
"Let go?" The Gang Leader sounded as if he'd heard a tremendous joke. He burst out laughing, patting his Second-in-Command's shoulder while wiping tears from his eyes. "That's hilarious! I'm crying from laughter! Lao Er, listen to this! A brothel that's dismissed all its girls!"
"Hahaha!" The Second Gang Leader laughed along with his leader.
Finally, the Gang Leader stopped laughing. His gaze started to rove insolently over Feng Siniang as he said, "Since the girls aren't available, then you, the madame, will have to accompany us for a drink. How about it?"
"Of course, of course. Gentlemen, please, drink up."
Feng Siniang glided forward, picked up a wine cup, and began to pour for them.
The Gang Leader reached out to grab Feng Siniang's hand, but she deftly avoided him.
"What's wrong? Is this how you accompany guests for drinks?" the Gang Leader demanded.
"Gentlemen, you should know, I don't personally entertain guests," Feng Siniang said with a slight curtsy, her tone apologetic.
The Second Gang Leader beside him immediately pointed at Feng Siniang, laughing and cursing, "You old madame, stop pretending to be so pure! I heard just a few days ago you put yourself up for auction—highest bidder gets you! So, what makes you think you're too good for us now, huh?"
The Gang Leader's expression turned sour. "Oh? So that happened, eh? Fine! She's looking down on us, then. Heh heh." He immediately dropped all pretense of politeness, rose, and advanced menacingly toward Feng Siniang, intending to grab her.
Feng Siniang kept retreating, her face showing panic. Finally, she was cornered.
"Please don't, sir! Please! If you keep this up, I'll have to call for help!"
Rather than genuine resistance, her words sounded more like a different kind of flirtation.
The Gang Leader's hand shot out to grab Feng Siniang.
However, at that very moment, he felt his right hand suddenly go numb, losing all sensation. His hand, reaching for Feng Siniang, froze in mid-air.
Hmm?
The Gang Leader looked down at his hand, his eyes widening in shock.
His right hand—all five fingers—were pierced and stitched tightly together by fine threads. He couldn't move them apart at all.
Before he could comprehend what had happened, a delayed wave of excruciating pain washed over him.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Clutching his hand, the Gang Leader squatted down in agony. The pain, as if his very heart was connected to his ten fingers, as threads pierced and stitched them 'densely,' was unbearable, even for a man of iron will.
Feng Siniang's previously panicked expression slowly calmed, and a contemptuous smirk played on her lips.
"What a bore. You should have shouted: 'Go on, scream! Scream your lungs out, no one will come for you!'"
"Witch! What did you do to me?!" The Gang Leader looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and stared at Feng Siniang.
The Second Gang Leader and the young subordinate who had come with them, who had been expecting some fun, now realized the gravity of the situation. They drew their knives, ready to fight.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Did you think I was such an easy target? Why don't you take a good look at yourself? Are you even worthy?"
"Witch, prepare to die!"
As the leader of the Carriage Gang, he naturally had some tough martial skills; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to control his men. Ignoring the pain in his right hand, he reached for his saber with his left.
WHIR!
However, the Gang Leader's saber didn't come out.
His left five fingers were also sewn together.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The Gang Leader fell to his knees, his hands on the ground. He stared at his fingers, now densely stitched together by threads. Horror and desperation filled his eyes.
At this point, even someone as foolish and reckless as him understood the perilous situation he was in, and just how terrifying the woman standing before him—the one he had just been calling an "old madame"—truly was.
Feng Siniang shook her head. Actually, she wouldn't normally attack someone like this; it lacked elegance. But perhaps it was because, for the past six months, despite avoiding those groping hands, she had endured too much frustration. A great deal of resentment had built up in her heart. Now that she'd acted, she found it somewhat difficult to control the ferocity within her. She didn't even want to waste words on the man kneeling before her.
She simply walked past him.
The next moment, the Gang Leader's hands broke off.
Then, his arms.
After that, his head trembled slightly and, with a CLUNK, rolled onto the floor.
Throughout the entire process, not a single drop of blood was spilled.
But it was this very rhythm, this decisiveness, this dismantling of a person piece by piece, as if taking apart a toy block, that was often the most horrifying.
"Did you see his fate?" Feng Siniang asked.
THUMP!
The Second Gang Leader immediately dropped to his knees before Feng Siniang, kowtowing rapidly and shouting, "Mistress! Mistress, spare my life! Spare my life! From now on, I will follow your every command, Mistress! I'd go through fire and water, I'd never..."
"Did you see his fate?"
"I did, I did! The Gang Leader—pah! No, that bastard dared to disrespect you, Mistress! He deserved to die! He truly deserved to die!!!"
"I'm asking you," Feng Siniang said again.
The Second Gang Leader was bewildered. What? Didn't I answer already?
Alright, he'd answer again. "Mistress, I saw it! I saw it! I will never dare to disrespect the Mistress again..."
THUD!
The Second Gang Leader froze. Kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, he suddenly saw something that looked very much like an ear fall to the floor.
THUD!
Immediately after, something that looked a lot like a nose fell to the ground.
Horrified, the Second Gang Leader raised his hands to his face.
In an instant, with a sound like tearing paper, threads appeared beneath the skin of his face, countless and dense. His entire face, as if completely sliced away, fell off in pieces the moment his hands touched it.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The Second Gang Leader didn't die, but he had been scared witless.
Their Carriage Gang only bullied the low-level laborers, squeezing a portion of their hard-earned money from them. To put it nicely, they were a gang. To put it bluntly, they were just a bunch of thugs who dominated the transport routes. Their mental fortitude was naturally quite limited.
"I'm asking you," Feng Siniang repeated.
At this moment, the young man who had followed the two gang leaders finally understood that this demoness—no, this Mistress—was asking him.
He immediately shivered and answered, "I understand! I understand!"
Feng Siniang smiled. Her smile was very charming, but juxtaposed with the Gang Leader's corpse and the Second Gang Leader's current miserable state, probably no man present dared to have any indecent thoughts about her.
"Alright. Kill him, and the Carriage Gang will be yours."
Feng Siniang sat down at the table, picked up a wine cup, and took a large gulp directly from the spout of the wine pot.
Then, she slammed the cup down heavily. Supporting her chin with her left hand, her fingertips lightly tapped her crimson lips.
She didn't look at the young man, who was now trembling as he approached his Second Gang Leader with a knife. Instead, her gaze drifted to the curtain of rain outside the window.
Sigh, I wonder if My Lord and the others have finished their battle yet.
SQUELCH!
The sound of a knife plunging into flesh.
The young man walked back to Feng Siniang, cupped his fists, and said, "Mistress, he is dead."
Feng Siniang's thoughts were dragged back from the distant desert.
She stretched, somewhat listlessly, her graceful figure on full display. However, the young man before her didn't dare lift his head to admire it.
"Since they brought you with them, you must have been one of their trusted men. Now that they're dead, can you take control of the Carriage Gang?"
The Carriage Gang was an important part of the inn's plan; in the future, they would need it to form their own merchant caravan and acquire wealth.
"Mistress, rest assured. I am confident I can control the situation."
His words were spoken with great confidence.
"Oh? Now I'm a little interested. What position do you hold in the Carriage Gang?"
The young man pointed to the Second Gang Leader lying on the floor, whom he had just killed.
He said, "He was my father."
——————
Thanks to Ergouzi from the neighbouring village for becoming the 36th alliance leader of "The Devil's Attack".