Chapter 141: Chapter 84: Outstanding Alchemy! The Center of the Vortex!_1
Su Changkong endured the urge to twist off the head of the arrogant, commanding man in black, shaking his head steadfastly as he refused, “No! As an alchemist, I must have basic professional ethics! Moreover… if there are problems with the Pill Medicine, the Second Miss won’t let me off!”
“Don’t worry, when the time comes the Deputy Gang Leader will protect you, no one will be able to do anything to you,” the man in black said, clearly planning to coerce Su Changkong onto their chariot of war!
If Su Changkong really did poison the medicine and problems arose, Meng Sang, with his character, wouldn’t truly protect Su Changkong to the death; he would simply sell him out.
Now, Su Changkong had only one choice, which was to feign agreement but purposely fail in the alchemy so that he wouldn’t have to poison, thus pleasing Meng Sang’s wishes without having to worry about being held accountable for any problems with the Pill Medicine.
But naturally, Su Changkong kept shaking his head, refusing repeatedly, “No… no… I can’t do this… If things are exposed, they will kill me!”
He could only pretend to refuse a few rounds and then pretend to reluctantly agree; then during alchemy, he would purposely fail without having to poison. This was the best solution.
However, Su Changkong’s feigned refusal clearly made the man in black impatient, who shouted angrily, “I’m not discussing this with you! You had better obediently comply, or you’ll end up like that old man Gong Zheng!”
This scolding caused Su Changkong to startle, for it mentioned Gong Zheng!
About half a year ago, Su Changkong arrived at the Giant Whale Gang and received instruction from Gong Zheng, delved deeply into Alchemy, and made rapid progress, pleasing Gong Zheng enough to happily retire. Yet, on the day he left the Giant Whale Gang, not far from them, Gong Zheng was brutally murdered, his head and heart vanished without a trace.
At that time, it caused a tremor throughout the Giant Whale Gang as they vigorously investigated the murderer, but they found no culprit, and the matter had to be dropped. Su Changkong also paid close attention to this incident and observed it but did not obtain any useful information.
At that time, Su Changkong speculated about the identity of Gong Zheng’s killer; it could have been a rival faction, maybe a Demon Monster, or perhaps someone in the gang he had offended, killed by their own people in the Giant Whale Gang!
Now, to force Su Changkong to agree to poison the Pill Medicine, the man in black mentioned Gong Zheng’s name!
“Gong… wasn’t Master Gong killed by bandits outside?” Su Changkong asked with a changing expression.
The man in black’s eyes were filled with coldness and a smirk, “Of course not! How could it have been such a coincidence? This old fool didn’t know what was good for him. If he wanted to retire, he should have retired. But he refused to choose the person the Deputy Gang Leader had arranged to succeed him. He thought he was so smart, not wanting to offend either side, but how could it be that easy?”
The man in black revealed some secrets unknown to Su Changkong.
For Su Changkong to become the Giant Whale Gang’s alchemist was also due to Gong Zheng not wanting to offend the two factions; that’s why he chose an outsider!
Gong Zheng thought by not offending either side, he could leave with his whole body intact, but he didn’t expect Meng Sang to be so ruthless and petty-minded. Once things were settled, Meng Sang was unwilling to let him go. On the day he left the Giant Whale Gang, he was cruelly murdered!
Meng Sang’s actions were not only to retaliate against Gong Zheng for not choosing Liu Geng, whom he had arranged, but also to serve as a warning to some in the gang, to show that those who comply will prosper and those who resist will perish!
The ordinary gang members were unaware of this matter, but some of the high-ranking members in the Giant Whale Gang, despite lacking evidence, could guess that Meng Sang was behind Gong Zheng’s murder. To kill an alchemist who was defenseless was indeed an easy task, with no chance of mishap.
A strong desire for revenge involuntarily welled up within Su Changkong.
Although Gong Zheng intended to retire, he had imparted his alchemy to Su Changkong without reservation, and gave him many warnings, telling him to be cautious of the gang’s internal affairs to avoid trouble. One could say, he was gracious to Su Changkong.
When Gong Zheng died, Su Changkong, being new and understanding nothing, had no way of knowing the identity of the murderer and had to suppress his feelings, but he had kept the incident in mind. Yet now, he was hearing the cause of Gong Zheng’s death from the man in black’s own mouth, that just for wanting to protect himself, for not choosing the person arranged by Meng Sang, Gong Zheng was cruelly killed!
“Furthermore, I can tell you that I was the one who took out Gong Zheng. When I stopped Gong Zheng as he was leaving, he knew my intentions and realized the danger, immediately kneeling and begging for mercy, full of regret. He was even willing to hand over all the wealth and Pill Medicine he had accumulated over the years in exchange for his life, but I always do things thoroughly, making his death a miserable one. The Deputy Gang Leader was very satisfied with my methods!”
The man in black was smug, his tone carrying a threat.
He revealed the process of killing Gong Zheng without any reservation to coerce Su Changkong into obedience!
Su Changkong didn’t speak, his face becoming extremely grim.
Thinking he had scared Su Changkong, the man in black’s tone softened slightly, “Your talent in alchemy is quite good, even Liu Geng, who you replaced, had to praise it unwillingly. The Deputy Gang Leader values such talent highly. Just obey, and in the future, we’ll all be on the same side, with endless benefits for you!”
“Of course, you can also tell the Second Miss about today’s incident. However, when the Deputy Gang Leader wants to handle someone, it’s not something the Second Miss can protect against! Think it over for yourself!”