Taking advantage of the thugs' lingering effects from the drugs and alcohol, Qingchen and the lame boy carried the corpse of the "Golden-Eyed Eagle" back to the main gate.
The two then returned to the courtyard and attacked three more underlings.
Although these three underlings possessed some fighting ability, they had been drugged, their strength reduced to seventy or eighty percent, and they were all captured alive by Qingchen within two rounds.
...
A quarter of an hour later, at the main gate.
"B-Big Brother, why didn't we just kill them one by one? Why alert them?" Qingjie asked breathlessly, his eyes full of confusion.
Qingchen's gaze was piercing: "How can we intimidate these people if we don't display our strength?"
With that, Qingchen kicked over a stone block beside him with a loud crash: "Challenge!"
The sound echoed like thunder in the courtyard, instantly shattering the tranquility of the night.
"Who goes there! How dare you cause trouble at the Twin Eagles' Guild!"
A moment later, accompanied by shouts and curses, a group of thugs staggered out of the rooms.
They were disheveled, some yawning, their weapons scattered haphazardly.
[Iron Wing Eagle] was even more disheveled, his belt unfastened, pulling up his pants as he charged forward.
He struggled to his feet and roared viciously, "You're asking for death! Do you know where you are?"
Qing Chen pointed to several men beside him: "Your leader and a few henchmen have already been defeated by me, and [Golden-Eyed Eagle] is dead!"
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly looked over, and it was indeed true!
Suddenly, everyone froze, looking at Qing Chen as if he were a demon.
"Nobody dares to come? Then I'll do it myself!" Qing Chen roared, charging directly at [Iron Wing Eagle].
"Grandpa won't take advantage of you, you've been drinking!" He didn't use his right-hand sword, only his left.
Iron Winged Eagle unleashed his [Eagle Claw Technique], his ten fingers like steel hooks grabbing at Qing Chen.
Qing Chen easily dodged the attack, his left palm striking out with a whistling sound, heavily hitting Iron Winged Eagle's chest.
Iron Winged Eagle felt as if his chest had been struck by a heavy hammer, his blood surging.
But he forced himself to continue, launching several more attacks.
However, he had not only drunk alcohol but also been drugged, making each attack slow and weak.
After a few moves, the drug's effects kicked in, his head spun, his vision blurred, and his steps began to falter.
The surrounding henchmen, seeing this, turned pale with fear.
Qing Chen had already subdued his three trusted subordinates, and none of the others dared to step forward.
Seizing the opportunity, Qing Chen lunged forward and kicked Iron Winged Eagle in the knee.
With a crack, Iron Winged Eagle's kneecap shattered, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
Qing Chen's gaze was icy. A flash of cold light appeared in his single-edged sword as he precisely severed Iron Winged Eagle's tendons.
Qing Chen sheathed his sword, his gaze sweeping across the assembled crowd like lightning: "From this day forward, the Twin Eagles Society is under my control!
These two previous leaders not only treated you like dirt, but they even withheld your pay. How long will you endure this?"
The members of the Twin Eagles Society exchanged glances. Many of them had indeed suffered unfair treatment.
Many lowered their heads.
Qing Chen took the opportunity to survey his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the timid faces, and said coldly:
"If you're willing to surrender, I can give you a chance to become one of my men and enjoy better treatment. If not, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Seeing that the situation was hopeless and fearing that this man would kill him, [Iron Wing Eagle] hurriedly kowtowed, "Hero! Hero, spare my life! Grandpa, spare my life!
I'm willing to surrender. From now on, Twin Eagles will serve you! I've been around here for many years, and I'm still of some use."
Seeing [Iron Wing Eagle] so obsequiously kowtowing like a dog, the dozen or so thugs present all looked on with disdain.
Qing Chen walked to [Iron Wing Eagle]'s side with a smile, seemingly blinded by victory, and appeared quite satisfied with his words.
[Iron Wing Eagle], seeing Qing Chen's appearance, slightly relaxed his guard.
"Surrender?" Qing Chen chuckled, "Damn it, I don't need a snake."
With a single swing of his blade, Qing Chen aimed straight for Iron Wing Eagle's head.
The pale-faced man tried to retreat in terror, but his severely wounded body made it difficult to react.
The blade, whistling through the air, struck his head.
A muffled thud, and the man fell to the ground.
The whole process happened too fast; the members of the Twin Eagles Society didn't even have time to react.
Their two leaders were already dead.
Qing Chen, holding his single-edged sword, coldly surveyed the surrounding crowd. No one dared to meet his gaze.
"I, Qing Chen, don't need disobedient people. As long as you do your jobs well, you won't be treated unfairly," he said calmly, his voice not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears:
"The Twin Eagles Society will still be called the Twin Eagles Society, but I will only have one leader. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"
The members of the Twin Eagles Society were trembling with fear. Their eyes were filled with terror as they looked at Qing Chen; not one dared to utter a sound.
“Very well.” Qing Chen’s tone softened. “Since you’re willing to surrender, then from now on we’re all in the same boat.
Tell me, what exactly is the Double Eagle Gang’s method of exploiting the people on this street?”
A tense silence filled the air, just as Qing Chen was about to lose his patience.
A short, stout man mustered his courage and spoke tremblingly: “B-Big Leader, my name is Niu Dali.
Previously, our Double Eagle Gang’s income mainly came from the ‘tribute’ from dozens of merchants on the street and the ‘offerings’ from beggars.”
“Oh? How much silver exactly, and how is it collected?”
Qing Chen asked calmly.
Niu Dali swallowed hard, nervously saying,
"Well, these twenty or so beggars don't bring in much, maybe seven or eight taels of silver a month.
As for the shops, the income... the income is more mixed. I'm not entirely sure of the exact amount, but I estimate at least thirty or forty taels of silver."
After finishing, Niu Dali added,
"If the leader wants to take over the Double Eagle Society, he'll have to bribe the constables on this street.
Before, we'd give him three to five taels of silver every month."
Qing Chen listened to Niu Dali's words and fell into deep thought, secretly calculating in his mind.
It seemed the Double Eagle Society wasn't as profitable as Qing Chen had imagined, probably only fifty taels of silver a month.
He raised his voice, excitedly saying:
"Brothers, from now on, as long as you follow me, Qingchen, I guarantee each of you will earn at least four hundred copper coins a month!
Moreover, if you do well, there will be extra rewards! If you achieve great merit, I might even teach you martial arts techniques."
These words immediately stirred among the crowd.
Their eyes lit up, because in the past, only the trusted confidant Qingchen had knocked away had received such treatment.
Most of them couldn't even earn two hundred copper coins, let alone learn martial arts techniques.
This new leader was indeed much more generous than their previous boss.
However, they were clearly celebrating too soon. Qingchen was a man who wouldn't act without self-interest.
His generosity often meant that someone was about to suffer misfortune.
At this moment, Qingchen looked at the excited expressions of the thugs below, a smile playing on his lips.
However, this smile seemed to carry a chill, sending shivers down their spines.