Silence.
The air in the private room seemed to freeze instantly.
Su Yuan and Su Neng remained calm, unsurprised, as they already knew Su Hao's true strength.
The others' eyes were filled with shock.
Liu Yang and Zhou Yuan, both at the 7th level of the Human Realm, had struck Su Hao's chest simultaneously, yet failed to harm him. Instead, they were severely injured by the rebounding force.
Su Hao's apparent 3rd level Human Realm strength was clearly a facade.
"This Third Young Master Su has hidden his true power so deeply!" Captain Wu thought to himself, a glimmer of excitement flashing across his face.
Helian Na, Wang Kun, Xie Zhen, and the others seemed to realize something, their faces lighting up with excitement.
They had bet correctly this time.
A supposed wastrel of the Su family, rumored by outsiders, possessed such formidable strength.
It was evident that Su Hao wasn't abandoned by the Su family when he came to this remote Qingyuan County.
"Third Young Master Su, we didn't expect you to have such strength. You've deceived everyone quite thoroughly. We can't complain about losing, but the County Magistrate will avenge us. You won't live long!" Zhou Yuan glared at Su Hao, spitting blood.
"The County Magistrate? Perhaps if he doesn't come for me, I'll go to him. Xie Zhen, Wang Kun, kill them," Su Hao said casually, glancing at the two men on the floor.
Without hesitation, the two men acted, each striking the heads of Zhou Yuan and Liu Yang.
Already injured by Su Hao's rebounding force, Zhou Yuan and Liu Yang couldn't dodge. They could only watch as the palms descended on their foreheads.
Blood seeped from their foreheads before they collapsed, lifeless.
With this, the leaders of Qingyuan County's three major gangs died before Su Hao.
"Good," Su Hao nodded approvingly at the three men as he looked at the fallen bodies. He then stood up and slowly walked to the corpses.
He took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and carefully removed the cork.
With a flick of his wrist, three drops of corpse-dissolving water fell onto the bodies.
Hiss! Hiss!
A series of sizzling sounds filled the air as the three corpses rapidly dissolved into yellow liquid, visible to the naked eye. A foul odor spread throughout the room.
Everyone watched the bodies turn to liquid, their eyes narrowing. Killing and destroying evidence – Third Young Master Su was thorough.
While they respected Su Hao, they also felt a chill of fear.
Su Hao said nothing, walking slowly to the window and opening it.
The cold night wind blew in, dispersing the unpleasant smell.
"Let's change to another private room," Su Hao suggested. Although the wind had cleared some of the odor, it was still pungent.
"Liu Bin, ask Manager Wu to give us a new private room," Su Hao instructed.
"Yes, Chief!" Liu Bin, snapping out of his shock, hurried to find the restaurant manager to change rooms.
Soon, Liu Bin returned, leading Su Hao and the others to another private room.
"Captain Wu, please be seated," Su Hao said, taking the main seat and gesturing to Captain Wu.
"Please, you three," Captain Wu invited Xie Zhen, Wang Kun, and Helian Na to sit.
Su Yuan and Su Neng remained as Su Hao's guards, protecting his safety. Liu Bin, being the weakest, didn't dare sit without explicit permission.
Although seated, Captain Wu and the other three appeared tense, waiting silently for Su Hao's instructions.
At this time, waiters from the restaurant began serving dishes.
Manager Wu personally brought a small jar of hundred-year-old fine wine.
Su Hao took the wine jar, removing the seal.
A fragrant aroma filled the room.
"Excellent wine!" Su Hao praised, inhaling the scent.
He poured himself a cup with his right hand.
As he poured, a brown insect appeared from his sleeve, spitting some white eggs into the wine jar before returning to Su Hao's sleeve.
The movement was so subtle, it went unnoticed.
Su Hao didn't trust these people, so he used the Three Corpse Parasite on all five. If they dared to betray him, Su Hao would show them true fear. If they remained loyal, the parasites in their brains would remain dormant.
Su Hao placed the wine jar on the table and spoke to Su Yuan behind him.
"Pour wine for everyone. Liu Bin, sit next to your master and have a drink with us," Su Hao said to Liu Bin, who was standing behind him.
"Thank you, Chief!" Liu Bin sat nervously next to his master, his eyes showing both fear and excitement.
After Su Yuan filled everyone's cups, he returned to Su Hao's side.
"Let's have a toast to calm our nerves," Su Hao said, draining his cup. The others stood and followed suit.
"Good, everyone please sit," Su Hao gestured for the five to be seated.
"Now, let's discuss business. I've solved your biggest problem, so I hope that after today, you can fully control your respective gangs," Su Hao began once everyone was seated.
"Of course, if anyone has difficulties, you can tell me. I'll help you. But if you leave this room and can't handle things, I'll find others to replace you."
"Third Young Master, I need help," Helian Na spoke first.
As one of the five chief lieutenants of the Sea Sand Gang, he had four peers at his level, making it difficult for him to eliminate them. So he asked for assistance.
"Very well," Su Hao nodded at Helian Na. Following others required not just ruthlessness, but also self-awareness.
His gaze then turned to Xie Zhen and Wang Kun.
Unlike Helian Na, these two were old hands in their gangs. Su Hao wasn't sure of their influence within their respective organizations, so he waited for them to decide.
Xie Zhen of the Road Gang spoke up, "Third Young Master, I have no problems. I can take over the Road Gang tonight."
As the gang's vice leader, he had planted many secret agents to protect against Liu Yang's potential moves against him for his son's sake. With Liu Yang dead, these agents could help him eliminate any hidden threats.
"Good. What about you, Wang Kun?" Su Hao turned to Wang Kun, who had remained silent.
"Third Young Master, I need a high-level Earth Realm expert," Wang Kun said after some thought. Although he had backup plans, he requested a powerful expert to be safe.
"Alright. Su Yuan, you go with Helian Na. Su Neng, you accompany Wang Kun. Assist them if needed. After taking control of the three gangs, arrange a meeting with the three chief constables in Sun Hu and the others' names. Then, eliminate those three as well. There's no need for such troublemakers to exist anymore," Su Hao said casually.
His words sent a chill through the others. This Third Young Master had such a strong killing intent.
Su Hao ignored their reactions. He had merely thought of the three constables who were still causing trouble and decided to have them dealt with.
After eliminating these three, he could have the three ninjas focus on tracking down the Blood-Sucking Demon.
The ninjas had a time limit and would disappear when it expired, so he needed to find the Blood-Sucking Demon while they were still around.
"We'll definitely complete the mission, Third Young Master. Time is of the essence, so we'll return to our gangs immediately to handle matters. Once everything is settled, we'll host a banquet for you," the three stood up, no longer in the mood to eat here.
They needed to quickly take control of their gangs and complete Su Hao's assigned tasks.
"Good," Su Hao nodded, then turned to Liu Bin:
"Go back and call all the constables on duty at the bureau. I'm treating them tonight. Captain Wu, I won't stay here. Organize everyone to eat and drink well, and come to me tomorrow for reimbursement."
Su Hao stood up, taking the wine jar from the table. The jar contained insect eggs and couldn't be left behind, so he needed to take it with him.