The difference between members of the Feng Men and Yan Men was not merely in the slight variation of their names.
If the first reaction upon encountering someone from the Yan Men was to distance oneself as much as possible and stay away, then upon encountering someone from the Feng Men… one had to flee, and flee as far as possible!
To this day, I vividly remember when Uncle Tuo first introduced me to the Feng Men members while teaching me the art of deception. He said this about them:
"People from the Feng Men, their mouths are always just their lips touching, a couple of smacks and they're done! Don't listen to them, and don't trust them."
"Zero sincerity when speaking to others, ten parts sophistry hidden in their hearts!"
"If you ever meet anyone from the Feng Men in the Jianghu… you don't need to greet them, nor do you need to care if they've seen through your identity, just run!"
"Members of the Feng Men rarely speak, but when they do, it's always with a motive!"
Even a master of deception like Uncle Tuo was so wary, which was enough to show how formidable the Feng Men were.
And Yu Shuang was not just from the Feng Men; she had even reached the level of "An Zhuo Zi"!
(PS: To prevent anyone from misunderstanding the Feng Men, I will explain it here.)
Unlike the Ma Men and Yan Men, which were single-person deception organizations, the Feng Men were generally organized, disciplined, multi-person deception teams.
The so-called "An Zhuo Zi" was the leader of the group, responsible for setting up the game, strategizing, controlling the overall situation, and managing the entire team.
It is important to emphasize here that members of the Feng Men acted (deceived) strictly according to the deployment of the core "An Zhuo Zi," obeying and executing unconditionally.
Furthermore, the targets of the Feng Men teams were mostly gentry, local tyrants, and even influential official families.
Therefore, the amounts they defrauded were extremely large, often enough to last for several years from a single operation.
The saying in the folk tales, "One opening is enough for three years," was not without reason!
Honestly, after I came to my senses, there was a brief moment when I even considered getting up and leaving!
No reason was needed; just the words "Queen Bee" were enough for me to slip away.
But thinking of Wang Yu's situation and what Yu Shuang had mentioned about the past, I ultimately chose to stay for the moment and let her finish speaking.
Yu Shuang, seeming to notice the change in my expression, suddenly said meaningfully with a smile, "I know that in the eyes of many in the Jianghu, members of the Feng Men have become like rats that everyone wants to beat. They are hated, feared, and terrified."
"But I am no longer a member of the Feng Men! If I had intended to hide it from you, I would never have brought up this old matter. Moreover…"
"Whether you believe me or not only takes a glance. No matter how I fabricated my identity, Leng Meng and the others could silently cooperate and continue the act, leaving you no room to find any flaws?"
Seeing that my subtle intentions had been exposed, I smiled awkwardly and nodded, "I believe you."
Hearing this, Yu Shuang suddenly pointed out, "So Chen Xiang, you must remember this!"
"No matter where you are, no matter who you are facing, you must not be prejudiced or jump to conclusions based on subjective impressions."
"In the end, a person's good or bad is never reflected in their outward appearance or past experiences, but in their heart."
"After all, it's common to meet the wrong people and make bad friends when you're young, so making mistakes is inevitable."
"Therefore, remember not to look at people with prejudice! Because often, the ones who can help you in the end are those you never expected!"
Although I didn't know the hidden meaning behind Yu Shuang's strongly didactic words, I still nodded and raised my glass in a gesture of acknowledgement.
Seeing that I had finally chosen to stay, Yu Shuang changed the topic and went straight to the point, beginning to reveal the series of schemes concerning Wang Yu…
During this time, I noticed a detail.
Every time Yu Shuang spoke, besides me, Leng Meng and the others would occasionally interject a few words, and Yu Shuang did not get angry about it.
She would basically continue to elaborate on her points only after the interjecting person had finished.
Besides that, when it came to some decisive issues, Yu Shuang was not someone who monopolized the conversation as if she were taking all the credit.
She would carefully listen to every opinion or suggestion from Leng Meng and the others, and then discuss and select the best ones.
From the expressions on each of their faces, it seemed that this atmosphere was not deliberately created for me, an outsider.
From this, I deduced that Leng Meng and the others' attitude towards Yu Shuang was not the traditional superior-subordinate relationship between employees and a boss.
Instead, they were more like… comrades! Close, trusting comrades!
In short, the meal was very harmonious, so harmonious that I didn't realize at all that the little knots in my heart had been quietly smoothed out!
………………
After the meal, everyone went back to rest.
After returning to the hotel, washing up, and lying on the bed smoking, my mind began to constantly recall everything that had happened from the day I met Leng Meng until today…
Fresh out of the factory, my desire to roam the Jianghu and seek justice was not yet realized, and I was "taught a good lesson" by my fellow disciples!
Honestly, there were too many things worth reflecting on and learning from.
Putting aside reflection for the moment, Yu Shuang's insightful eyes that could see through people's hearts, her calm and all-controlling powerful brain, and her meticulous and flawless planning ability were precisely what I lacked the most and needed to learn.
Yu Shuang had also discussed this issue with me at the dinner table that night.
She said my skills in deception were decent, but my perceptiveness was lacking, and my mind tended to think too quickly, easily getting lost in overthinking.
In summary, it was being too hesitant!
I had to admit that Yu Shuang's words were indeed sharp and to the point.
Sometimes, I did indeed think too much.
While this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it wasn't entirely good either.
Besides that, I also realized something very important, and that was connections!
The advantages and disadvantages of solo combat versus team combat are self-explanatory.
If it weren't for the casino in Huadu, the matter of revenge… would have been postponed further!
So this time, I benefited from Yu Shuang's help, borrowing her influence to seek revenge.
Apart from Zhang Tianyao, whom I replaced, Leng Meng and the others were all human resources that Yu Shuang had accumulated long ago.
And these five people were all capable in both civil and martial arts!
There's no need to say more about Leng Meng; she's the disciple of Yan Ba, the ghost-handed divine thief. Not only are her manual skills more refined than mine, but she also possesses a miraculous disguise skill that even her own mother couldn't recognize.
And then there's Shi Jianguo. Although he looks thin and scrawny with tattoos like dragons and tigers, making him look quite punchable, according to Yu Shuang… this guy can take on ten people!