The night fell.
In the headquarters of the Eastern Star, the Emperor glared angrily at his subordinates. He was now in charge of the Eastern Star, and the goods were about to arrive from Gold Mountain.
But the money was gone—twenty million Hong Kong dollars. In the seventies, how was he supposed to make up for that? With his life?
Twenty million worth of goods, even at a discount, could at least double, if not more. Thinking of the family rules of the Eastern Star, the Emperor felt a wave of panic. The money had been lost, and there was still no news. How could he not be anxious?
Just then, a little brother rushed in.
“Boss, I’ve got news! Scarface had some friction with the Hongxing people, and now they’re still looking for trouble with him,” the little brother reported to the Emperor.
“Hongxing?” The Emperor was taken aback by the little brother's words, and then his mind started racing. He was the type who had a bit of brains, but not much.
Moreover, he was a typical bully who feared the strong. He knew that the missing money had little to do with Hongxing.
But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that this was Kowloon, where ruthless people were everywhere. In the Emperor's eyes, many could commit such acts; Kowloon Walled City had never lacked these desperate characters.
Who the hell cared if you were from Eastern Star or Hongxing? The money was most likely taken by those inside Kowloon Walled City, or at least that’s what the Emperor believed.
Now, the most important thing was that the money was gone, and he had to take responsibility. His only choice was to shift the blame.
Whether Hongxing took the money was no longer important. If it wasn’t Hongxing, it had to be blamed on them, so he could have an explanation.
“Let’s go, gather the little brothers, and demand an explanation from Xiyan,” the Emperor said in a deep voice. No matter the outcome, the money was lost, and he couldn’t bear the responsibility. The only way was to shift the blame.
The Emperor was clear about the situation. Now that Scarface was dead, he had no idea who took the money, and there were no clues—at least not from the Eastern Star side, and there were no suspects.
As for the friction between Hongxing and Eastern Star, it existed in every territory on the island. It was not unusual for Hongxing and Eastern Star to have conflicts; if there were no conflicts, that would be strange.
Ye Yaozu and Aji's relationship had not been exposed yet. Even if suspicions fell on Ye Yaozu later, he could still argue that he had an alibi.
And here in Kowloon, anything could happen.
On Xiyan's side, he was just about to find two girls to have some fun when a little brother rushed in in a panic.
“Boss, the Eastern Star Emperor has come with his men,” the little brother said, flustered.
Hearing this, Xiyan slapped the little brother across the face: “Then why the hell aren’t you gathering people?”
The little brother, feeling wronged after being slapped, replied, “Okay, Boss.”
Watching the little brother run off to gather people, Xiyan felt a hint of panic. At this critical moment, he didn’t want to clash with Eastern Star. After all, he was getting old and wanted to retire; stability was the way to go.
The Emperor surrounded Xiyan’s loan shark company with layers of men, three inside and three outside.
Xiyan came down with a few trusted little brothers, looking at the Emperor and his men with a serious expression and anger in his eyes.
“Emperor, what do you want with your men? Are you declaring war on Hongxing?” Xiyan’s words escalated the situation. Fighting with Xiyan was just a matter between him and Xiyan, but declaring war on Hongxing was different.
“Stop pretending to be stupid, Xiyan. You know why I’m here. Hand over the money,” the Emperor said with an ugly expression, having decided beforehand not to give Xiyan any chance to explain.
It was best if this matter couldn’t be explained clearly; it would allow him to pin the blame on Xiyan.
The Emperor didn’t even know who took the money, but it didn’t matter who took it now. What mattered was putting the blame on Xiyan so he could escape.
As for the consequences? What did that have to do with him? As long as he was fine, it didn’t matter if others lived or died.
“Money?” Xiyan was confused. What money?
“Money? Still pretending not to know? Kill him!” The Emperor didn’t want to argue with Xiyan. This matter was inherently murky; a confused account was the best.
By placing the blame on Xiyan, the Emperor could escape, at least minimizing his punishment.
Moreover, this was the money for the goods, which couldn’t be stated outright. Although everyone on the island knew about Eastern Star's dealings, the authorities needed evidence to arrest someone, so this money couldn’t be openly discussed.
Seeing the Emperor being so unreasonable, Xiyan got angry. He had been in the underworld since his teens, and now he was about to retire. Although he didn’t have the youthful bloodlust anymore, his temper hadn’t changed much.
After all, he was also a decision-maker for Hongxing, comparable to the Five Tigers of Eastern Star. What the hell was this Eastern Star lackey doing in front of him?
“Get them! Kill these bastards!” Xiyan decided not to figure out what was going on anymore. They had already slapped him in the face; if he didn’t fight back, how could he continue in the underworld?
At this moment, Xiyan’s little brothers also arrived with people, including Ye Yaozu.
Ye Yaozu saw Eastern Star surrounding Xiyan and realized it was likely due to that money issue.
Ye Yaozu thought carefully about any potential loopholes.
He had conflicts with Scarface, and Eastern Star had lost over a dozen men, so he might be suspected.
But the money was taken by Aji, and everyone who knew about his relationship with Aji was dead. The remaining ones were either hired hands or himself, so there was no possibility of a leak.
So as long as he didn’t speak out, this was destined to be a muddled account.
It seemed that the Emperor couldn’t find the money and was eager to shift the blame onto Xiyan. Even if the truth about the money being taken was exposed later, it could still be blamed on Hongxing since they were at odds with Eastern Star.
Even if it was proven later that Hongxing didn’t do it, that would be a matter for later; for now, he had to get through this hurdle first.
So the Emperor’s thinking was simple: no matter whether it was true or not, he would first shift the blame to Hongxing. What mattered was that he wouldn’t be punished.
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