"Great Leader!"
"Great Leader!"
The people in the tent were so frightened that they all stood up instantly.
Even the burly man with a face full of whiskers, who had initially expressed dissatisfaction, stood up with a frightened face, not daring to show any resentment.
As for the young man, his face was alternating between pale and flushed. He opened his mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say.
However, Kong Xiangdong didn’t even glance at him and walked straight past, then sat grandly at the table.
"Oh, the food looks good!"
Saying this, Kong Xiangdong picked up the chopsticks from the table and began to eat and drink heartily.
The atmosphere in the tent was very oppressive, with only the sound of Kong Xiangdong drinking and eating.
Some of the more timid ones even started to tremble in their calves.
After finishing a bowl of wine, Kong Xiangdong suddenly looked up at the young man standing at the entrance, unsure whether to leave or stay, and then said lightly.
"I heard you just say you’re planning to go to the seaside tomorrow?"
The young man trembled all over, knowing that Kong Xiangdong had heard all his previous words, but at this point, there was no use saying anything else, so he nodded with a stiff upper lip.
"Yes!"
"Good." Kong Xiangdong responded with a simple "good," then turned his gaze toward the others in the tent.
"Is it that you all have the same thought?"
No one dared to speak, and the tent was dead silent.
Kong Xiangdong pointed to the whiskered man standing not far away, "Han San, weren’t you very vocal earlier, why are you silent now?"
The man called Han San quickly nodded and bowed, smiling apologetically, "Great Leader, calm down. I was just spouting nonsense after drinking too much, please don’t hold it against me..."
Before he could finish, Kong Xiangdong picked up the wine bowl on the table and threw it over.
Han San didn’t even dare to dodge and was hit on the forehead by the wine bowl, with blood instantly flowing down and dripping from his chin to the ground.
Even so, he didn’t dare to wipe the blood from his face and stood there motionless, as if waiting for a second wave of punishment from Kong Xiangdong.
Kong Xiangdong, still seething with anger, did not strike again but leaned against his chair and said coldly.
"I know each of you harbors resentment, thinking I’m blocking your path to wealth. Fine, I’ll now declare a rule: from now on, anyone who wishes to go to the seaside can go, I won’t stop you, but henceforth don’t claim to be under my command."
Upon hearing this, many people’s expressions changed.
These Sea Gatherers relied on Kong Xiangdong not because they liked being managed, but because, in such a chaotic environment, it was easy to suffer without strong leadership.
After these years together, they all felt they had followed the right person.
Although Kong Xiangdong had a bad temper and often scolded and beat his subordinates, or even killed them in a rage when they made mistakes, if you honestly worked for him without scheming, you wouldn’t be in danger, and he would even stand up for you when needed.
In these times, finding such a leader was extremely rare.
So when they heard Kong Xiangdong say anyone who wished to leave could, but would no longer be his subordinate, they were all terrified.
Especially the burly man lowered his head deeply, cold sweat mixed with blood trickling down his face, looking quite comical.
Seeing this, Kong Xiangdong snorted coldly through his nose, then looked at the young man.
"Zheng Yi, this isn’t what you promised me before you came here. Back then, you knelt before me, begged me to take you along, and said you’d follow my every command, but now you’re losing your bearings after earning a bit of silver?"
Zheng Yi’s face grew uglier from the reprimand.
Kong Xiangdong sighed slightly seeing this, and said: "Alright, if it were two years ago, I would have surely killed you for your behavior."
"But now I’ve come to understand, we don’t share the same paths, so if you feel I’m blocking your way to wealth, then go."
"Are you telling me to leave?" Zheng Yi asked hoarsely.
"Yes, isn’t that what you desire? You’ve seen the situation at the seaside, you’ve learned the tricks of sea gathering, go if you want, I won’t keep you here," Kong Xiangdong said calmly.
Zheng Yi’s eyes showed a struggle, but seeing Kong Xiangdong’s resolute expression, he knew there was no turning back.
So he took a deep breath and clasped his fist, "Very well, then let us part on good terms. Mountains and rivers are long, we’ll meet again someday."
After saying this, Zheng Yi turned and left.
Watching his back, Kong Xiangdong’s eyes flashed with a cold killing intent but quickly disappeared.
As he said earlier, he had changed a lot indeed now.
It’s not that he couldn’t do it, but he felt it wasn’t worth it for someone like that.
No good advice helps the unwilling; since his goodwill was unappreciated, let him go.
Judging by his current behavior and mindset, it would be hard for him to return alive from the seaside.
As for whether it would lead others to follow suit...
What a joke, Kong Xiangdong wouldn’t care about that now.
Because if one couldn’t see this much and followed such people away, it would prove they weren’t good either, and Kong Xiangdong wouldn’t restrain them further.