The struggle between the Canal Gang and the Whale Gang continues. The leader of the Canal Gang has yet to return, and the leader of the Whale Gang is arrogant and overbearing, showing no signs of wanting to drive the Canal Gang out of Tongcheng. The entire Canal Gang is in a state of mourning.
After searching for so long without finding the gang leader, the deputy gang leader had given up hope, assuming that the gang leader was already dead. He took some brothers to the temple to pay their respects to the gang leader and seek his protection.
Seeing the vice leader so sad, Su Xiaoning felt a pang of sadness herself. She prepared some food and went to the temple with the vice leader, with Su Qingcai following closely behind.
In the solemn and dignified temple, the deputy leader was talking incessantly to the Buddha statue, and several brothers had red eyes, but they could only hold back their tears.
After everyone finished their offerings, they left quickly. Su Xiaoning noticed that there were a few unclean spots in the temple, so she pulled Su Qingcai to stay and clean them. The two of them quietly swept the floor in the temple.
As she swept, Su Xiaoning suddenly noticed something was amiss behind the Buddha statue.
Suddenly, a dirty little hand reached out from behind the Buddha statue. The arm was very thin, almost skin and bones. It picked up the offerings on the table and then secretly pulled back. A moment later, the sound of chewing could be heard.
Presumably, the homeless children in the city were hungry. Su Xiaoning, always kind-hearted, remained silent.
The little hand behind the Buddha statue reached out several times and ate almost half of the offerings on the table. Su Xiaoning looked closely at which food had been eaten and felt that something was not quite right.
Before she could think it through, Su Qingcai suddenly rushed towards the Buddha statue. He discovered someone stealing offerings and pulled the person out from behind the Buddha statue.
A boy stumbled out from behind the Buddha statue. He was disheveled, filthy, and terribly thin.
"Let me go!" the boy screamed sharply, struggling desperately to break free from Su Qingcai's grasp.
Su Qingcai ignored him. He glanced at the offerings on the table, most of which had been eaten, and said coldly, "Do you know who these offerings are for? You must never eat the things of the dead, don't you know that?"
"Who said he was dead? I..." the boy shouted angrily, but then suddenly remembered something and shut up.
Seeing how pitiful he looked, Su Xiaoning quickly moved closer to Su Qingcai and pressed down on his hands. "Alright, alright, he's just a kid. Why are you getting angry with him? He looks like a pitiful person, so just let him go."
"..."
Su Qingcai frowned and remained silent, but Su Xiaoning's pitiful expression softened his heart, so he let go of her hand.
Su Xiaoning squatted down, intending to tell the boy to leave quickly, when suddenly the boy revealed a fierce expression and struck her neck hard with a palm, knocking her unconscious!
Before Su Qingcai could react, the boy took advantage of his momentary daze, hoisted Su Xiaoning onto his back, and slipped away!
...
She didn't know how much time had passed before Su Xiaoning woke up in a state of confusion.
She clutched her aching neck, feeling a bit uncomfortable, and glanced at the gloomy-looking boy in front of her.
The boy sat motionless on the ground, seemingly lost in thought. He did not harm Su Xiaoning, nor did he explain why he had kidnapped her.
After thinking for a while, an unbelievable guess popped into Su Xiaoning's mind. To prove this guess, she tentatively asked, "The leader of the Cao Gang?"
The word "gang leader" seemed to touch a sensitive nerve in the boy. He suddenly turned fierce and grabbed Su Xiaoning by the neck.
How did you know?!
If Su Xiaoning was only guessing based on a few clues before, now the boy's guess has confirmed that her idea was correct.
The situation was critical. Su Xiaoning desperately pried the boy's hands off and shouted, "I've been doing all sorts of things for your brothers in the Cao Gang. Even your deputy leader treats me like an honored guest. Is this how you treat me?!"
The young man's expression softened slightly at the mention of the vice leader. He released Su Xiaoning, but still stared at her warily.
"Phew... Let's talk this out. Why did you suddenly attack me?" Su Xiaoning took a few breaths of fresh air before explaining, "Aren't those offerings you took the things that the leader of the Canal Gang likes to eat? I could tell at a glance. It was just a guess, but you admitted it yourself."
Unexpectedly, his identity was exposed in such a small detail. The boy was stunned and immediately showed an embarrassed expression.
"It's not a big deal. You'll come back to the Canal Gang with me, and you can have whatever you want to eat. I don't know how you disguised yourself like this. No wonder the deputy gang leader and the others searched Tongcheng from top to bottom but couldn't find you."
As Su Xiaoning spoke, she took the boy's hand, wanting to lead him back to the Canal Gang.
Unexpectedly, the boy simply flung his hand away and said coldly, "I don't want to go back. Besides, how did you know I was in disguise?"
“I’m Bai Hua’s junior sister, do you think there’s anything I don’t know?” Su Xiaoning directly used the identity of “Bai Hua’s junior sister” again, and looked at the young man with great suspicion. “Don’t you know that the Cao Gang is in great chaos right now? If you don’t go back to take charge, it’s not certain whether your gang can still stand in Tongcheng.”
“I know all of that, but…”
The boy hesitated, stammering and unable to speak.
Su Xiaoning noticed something amiss, squatted down to be at eye level with the boy, and said gently, "I won't force you to go back. You can tell me if anything is wrong, and maybe I can help you solve it?"
Her expression was serious, her tone gentle, and the sincerity in her eyes startled the boy.
The boy seemed to weigh things in his mind before saying with a hint of hesitation, "It's not that I haven't considered my brothers, but I've really had enough."
“I have always been the leader of the Canal Gang, and I have been in this position for many years. Everyone says that my status in Tongcheng is supreme, but can they understand the loneliness at the top? I am tired of being the leader. I brought Bai Hua and his apprentice here to disguise myself so that they could not find me. Who knew that something would happen in Tongcheng now…”
Even the leader of a gang can grow weary of power; Su Xiaoning couldn't help but sigh.
She thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's fine if you want to leave, but you have to leave the token of the Canal Gang behind. Otherwise, the gang will be leaderless and internal strife will be difficult to resolve."
“It’s not that I haven’t thought about doing this, but…” The boy’s face showed an embarrassed expression, “But that disguise has side effects. I developed dementia prematurely, lost the token seal, and am sometimes awake and sometimes stupid, so I can’t return to my original state at all.”
The real gang leader is unwilling to return to the gang to take charge, and he has also lost the token. This is a real problem...
Su Xiaoning was at a loss for words and could only say, "We can discuss this later. You come back to the Canal Gang with me first. I will keep your identity a secret and help you find a way to resolve these matters, okay?"
The most urgent task is to bring the person back first.
Seeing Su Xiaoning's extremely serious expression, the boy hesitated for a while, but finally agreed.
The two left the area and headed towards the headquarters of the Canal Gang.
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