The following morning, Su Xin woke up to see Xing'er still sleeping like a little piglet. He didn't disturb her, but headed straight out into the courtyard.
Outside, two alert gang members arranged by Huang Bingcheng were standing guard.
Huang Bingcheng initially planned to have four men, but Su Xin felt it was unnecessary, so he kept two on site and had the other two alternate guard shifts.
When Su Xin stepped out, the two guards promptly paid him their respectful greetings, "Boss Su."
Su Xin nodded, took out a tael of silver and handed it to one of them, "Go buy ten meat buns and a pound of soy milk. Use the remaining money to buy some drinks. You've had a hard night."
Ten meat buns and a pound of soy milk only cost eleven wen, the rest of the money was essentially a reward, which excited the two guards.
"Thank you, Boss Su!"
Watching the excited pair, Su Xin was slightly puzzled. It was just a small reward, was there a need to be so excited?
But he didn't know that when Liu Sandao was boss, he was a lot stricter with them, always resorting to either beatings or verbal abuse.
Liu Sandao was not a man of great character, who was wide-ranging and hearty towards everyone when he was a low-level gang member.
And when he took over as the leader, he showed all the signs of a petty man who achieved power, using his moderate authority excessively.
Their previous observations of Su Xin's performance at the Drunken Moon building were etched into their minds, his brutality shook them to their core.
They initially thought they were saddled with another ruthless boss. To their surprise, Su Xin was very kind and even generous enough to casually reward a tael of silver.
For these low-level gang members, a tael of silver was enough for them to live on for a month.
Returning to his room, he found Xing'er still fast asleep, and Su Xin went straight back into the system.
Within the blank System Space, there was now a line on the big screen that read "Villain Value: 10 points."
"Congratulations, Host, for taking the first step. You are closer to becoming the ultimate villain."
"The novice task is complete. The main mission is activated.
Main Mission: Heroic Posture (I). Mission Explanation: Great men cannot be without power for a day, small men cannot be without money for a day. To gain power, you must first get money. Time limit: half a year, earn ten thousand taels of silver.
Failure result: Randomly lose a permanent Cultivation Technique you have learned.
Reward: One mid-level draw, 200 Villain Points."
"Ten thousand taels of silver, wow, that's quite a sum."
Now, Su Xin's main source of income was collecting regular money from merchants in the Happy Forest, commonly known as "protection money".
Normally, the monthly regular money is only more than five hundred taels. The thousands of taels Liu Sandao managed to scrape up recently were due to his ruthless exploitation.
However, if Su Xin did the same, the whole Happy Forest would go bankrupt within two months.
To get to ten thousand taels, he really needs to figure out a good method.
Moreover, Su Xin really did need money now.
The development of a gang cannot be without people, but what it cannot be without even more, is money.
Without money, do you think those gang members will draw their knives to fight for you? Not drawing their knives on you would be nice enough.
"Right, why is the punishment for the main mission so light this time, only losing a Cultivation Technique, while the punishment for the novice mission was losing an arm?" Su Xin asked,
The punishment for failing the novice mission was even heavier than that of the main mission. Su Xin firmly believed that this was unscientific.
"If you can't even complete the novice mission, it means you're too worthless and its better to die early and save time."
Su Xin: "..."
"Right, I should still have one more chance for a beginner draw. I want to draw."
A new day arrived and Su Xin naturally had another chance to draw a beginner prize.
Although the beginner draw was somewhat unremarkable, for the currently penniless Su Xin, even if it was just a Qi-nourishing Pill, it would still be great.
The wheel on the big screen started spinning, and contrary to Su Xin's hopes, it didn't stop on an elixir or a Cultivation Technique, but jumped to the miscellaneous items column.
"Congratulations, Host. You have drawn an embroidery sewn by Dongfang Bubai himself. Level Evaluation: One Star."
Su Xin's face darkened, what use was this object to him? He wasn't Yang Lianting.
After immediately discarding it, Su Xin thought for a moment and said, "I still have ten Villain Points. Let's do another beginner draw."
Currently, Su Xin had Inner Strength and technique, but the style was too singular.
Jin Wuming's fast sword was powerful, but its strengths only lied in its cunning, ruthlessness, and fierceness.
The system had already stated that he couldn't reach a hundred percent mastery with the fast sword as the swordsmanship was characterized by personal style.
Su Xin's fast sword had flaws. Once an opponent figured out and targeted this flaw, Su Xin would lack any alternative means, he would be at a loss.
Not everyone could be like Li Xunhuan's throwing knife, a single move that ruled the heavens.
The roulette wheel began to spin rapidly, passing through cultivation techniques, consumables, elixirs... Slowly, under Su Xin's expectant gaze, the pointer moved past the void and barely reached the technique column.
A young man in a desert robe and headscarf from the northwest, wielding a peculiar sword with a round handguard, appeared on the big screen.
Despite the young man's handsome appearance, his features revealed a sense of fierceness and arrogance that was somewhat unsettling.
"Congratulations, Host, for drawing Chu Zhaonan. He comes with seven cultivation techniques, including 'Chasing Wind Swordsmanship,' 'Mahamayuri Swordsmanship,' and 'Tianshan Swordsmanship.' Rating is between one to one-and-a-half stars. The host can choose to draw randomly or spend 20 Villain Points for a specific selection."
"Chu Zhaonan, it's him."
He was the master of the Traveling Dragon Sword, one of the three great swordsmanship masters in the early reign of Emperor Kangxi.
In Su Xin's previous life, he did not read many wuxia novels from the Liang faction, not even "The Seven Swords," the most famous of them. He had initially watched it as a television drama.
In the TV version of "The Seven Swords" starring Zhao Wenzhuo, Chu Zhaonan was greatly changed from the original character, portrayed as a forbearing hero.
Yet in reality, he was a genuine villain.
While Chu Zhaonan was one of the seven sword masters, he was arrogant, despicable, and opportunistic.
First, he pursued the female hero Fei Hongjin and helped her to resist the Qing dynasty. But when his feelings weren't reciprocated, he betrayed his companions, pledged allegiance to the Qing, and became a dog of the imperial court.
"Why do I need to spend 20 Villain Points this time when I only had to spend 5 the last time?" Su Xin asked.
The system replied, "Last time you drew Yin Zhiping. The highest level of the cultivation technique he carried was a half-star, so it only cost 5 Villain Points.
This time, Chu Zhaonan has a rating of one-and-a-half stars, and his cultivation technique range from one to one-and-a-half stars, so a higher Villain Point cost is needed for a specific draw."
Su Xin shook his head, "There seems to be no loophole. Random drawing, then. However, this Chu Zhaonan does have quite a few techniques he carries, seven in fact. But it's a pity that none of them have high ratings."
Chu Zhaonan's master was Hui Ming, the founder of the Tianshan Sect's Northern Branch. He had mastered almost every technique of the Tianshan Sect.
Su Xin felt relieved after considering that Liang's wuxia world was considered a low-level martial world, unlike Huang's wuxia world, which almost resembled a fantasy world, making it normal for it to be rated lower.
The roulette wheel spun again, and the system's cold voice rang out. "Congratulations, Host, for successfully drawing 'Mahamayuri Swordsmanship,' rated one-and-a-half stars."
The Mahamayuri Swordsmanship was a technique created by Ling Mofeng from the Tianshan Sect, encapsulating the meaning of bearing immense responsibilities with a small figure.
It integrates attack and defence, with intricate changes. Every move and form is indefensible.
Though it wasn't the Chasing Wind Swordsmanship that Su Xin wanted, the defensive advantage of the Mahamayuri Swordsmanship could be used to compensate for Jin Wuming's Fast Sword's weak defence, which was pretty good.
After a while, the gang members outside bought breakfast over. Su Xin gently slapped Su Xing'er on the face. She wiped her face, appearing groggy.
"Ah! It's meat buns!"
Seeing the steaming hot meat buns on the table, Xing'er's sleepiness instantly disappeared. She quickly grabbed a bun and shoved it into her mouth.
Su Xin poured her a bowl of soy milk and tapped her on the head, "At least wash your hands first. Isn't it dirty?"
Xing'er's mouth full of buns, squeezed her eyes into happy crescents, said nothing, and just kept stuffing her mouth with buns.
The little girl's world was simple - having good food and her brother's company made her happier than anything else.
After breakfast, Su Xin ordered his men to call Huang Bingcheng over.
Now that Su Xin was acknowledged as a gang leader by the upper echelons of the Flying Eagle Gang, Huang Bingcheng, the first to join Su Xin, was second only to Su Xin himself, superior to dozens of others.
While Su Xin had slept through the night, Huang Bingcheng enjoyed a taste of power, summoning over sixty of Su Xin's gang members, giving them a lecture each - it was very satisfying.
"Boss Su, you called me?"
"Sit." Su Xin pointed at Su Xing'er and said, "This is my little sister, Xing'er."
"Wow, this young lady is really pretty!"
Huang Bingcheng praised with a wide grin, but his appearance reminded one more of a strange uncle trying to fool a young girl with a goldfish.
Xing'er courteously replied, "Hello, Uncle."
Huang Bingcheng's face turned black instantly. Merciful heavens, he had just hit thirty today, so how did he become an uncle so suddenly?
Furthermore, he called Su Xin 'Boss', but Su Xin's sister called him 'Uncle', how did he end up being short-changed?
"Call him Big Brother," Su Xin said with a smile.
"Oh, hello, Big Brother Huang." Su Xing'er looked doubtfully at Huang Bingcheng's face, which showed clear signs of frustration but obediently called him Big Brother.
Su Xin ruffled Xing'er's hair and turned to Huang Bingcheng, "Get some brothers and follow me to Wang's Medicine Shop."
"If you need to buy any medicine, just tell me, and I'll have them go for you."
A glint of coldness flashed in Su Xin's eyes, "I'm not going to buy medicine, I'm going to retrieve something!"