Chapter 22

Gao Huiyu saw Xie Wendong looking dazed and tugged at him, saying, “Idiot, what are you staring at? Come in and sit!” Xie Wendong’s face turned red as he cursed himself for acting like a fool. Sitting on the sofa in the living room, he asked, “Xiaoyu, where are your sister and brother?” Gao Huiyu sat next to him and replied, “My sister is upstairs, I don’t know what she’s doing. My elder brother is busy and not at home; it seems he won’t be back for a while! There seem to be a lot of matters related to the gang lately!” Hearing this, Xie Wendong felt disappointed. He had hoped to meet this influential figure, but unfortunately, she wasn’t there. Sighing, he simply said, “Oh.” Seeing his reaction, Gao Huiyu became unhappy. She placed her hand on his arm and said, “Hey, you seem pretty disappointed! I wonder if you came to see me or my brother?” Unaware of Gao Huiyu’s expression, Xie Wendong blurted out, “Both! But I really do want to meet your elder brother!” As soon as he said that, he felt a pain in his arm. Looking down, he saw Gao Huiyu’s small hand “caressing” his arm! With an awkward smile, Xie Wendong said to her, “Xiaoyu, actually, it doesn’t matter whether I meet your brother or not. As long as I can see you, I’ll be… completely satisfied!” Gao Huiyu giggled and said, “Hmph! I’m so beautiful—meeting me is your good luck.” Xie Wendong nodded repeatedly, thinking she was indeed pretty but a bit childish in temperament. Gao Huiyu turned on the TV and said to Xie Wendong, “Watch TV for now while I cook! I promise it’ll be unforgettable!” With a playful smile, she left for the kitchen. Xie Wendong shuddered and muttered, “It doesn’t need to be unforgettable. As long as it’s edible, I’ll be satisfied!” Gao Huiyu asked from the kitchen doorway, “Wendong, what did you just say?” “Ah… nothing. I just said I’m looking forward to it!” “Oh! Don’t worry, it’ll be ready soon!” “…” Leaning back on the sofa, Xie Wendong watched TV boredly. At that moment, Gao Hui Mei came down from upstairs. “Wendong, when did you arrive?” Hearing her voice, he turned around. His eyes lit up—Gao Hui Mei was dressed exceptionally beautifully today, with light makeup that enhanced her already delicate features. Her white dress swayed as she walked, making her look like a fairy. Stunned, Xie Wendong said awkwardly, “I just got here. Xiaoyu asked me to try her new dish!”

Gao Hui Mei smiled as she watched Gao Hui Yu bustling around in the kitchen. She sat down next to Xie Wen Dong and whispered in his ear, “Xiao Yu’s cooking is terrible. Are you really going to eat it?” Xie Wen Dong felt a delicate fragrance from Gao Hui Mei wafting toward him. Feeling restless, he stood up, created some distance between himself and her, and nodded. In fact, he hadn’t heard a single word of what Gao Hui Mei had said; his mind was occupied by the sweet scent emanating from her.

Neither of them spoke, and an awkward silence filled the room. Fortunately, soon after, Gao Hui Yu came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of dishes. “Wen Dong! It’s ready. We can eat now. Oh, Sister, you’re here too. Let’s eat together!”

Gao Hui Yu’s voice broke the silence in the room.

Xie Wen Dong took the opportunity to head toward the kitchen, saying, “Let me help you get the bowls and chopsticks.” Watching his back, Gao Hui Mei felt uneasy. She stood up and said, “Xiao Yu, let me help you carry the food!”

Gao Hui Yu placed the dishes on the table, feeling a bit puzzled by their expressions.

A moment later, the three of them sat around the table. Gao Hui Yu pointed at the dishes with a smile and said, “This is something I made yesterday, that’s something I learned new today, and that one on the left is mine…”

Xie Wen Dong looked at the dishes on the table without saying a word. No matter how he looked at them, they didn’t seem appetizing—either dark and clumped together or colorful but sticky. Seeing them both frozen in silence, Gao Hui Yu said anxiously, “Hey, hurry up and eat! It’ll get cold soon!”

Gao Hui Mei shook her head, frowned, picked up a piece of food, put it in her mouth, chewed a few times, and then stopped. Gao Hui Yu asked nervously, “Sister, how is it?”

After waiting a while, Gao Hui Mei swallowed the food and said with a smile, “It’s not bad. It’s quite tasty!”

Delighted and proud, Gao Hui Yu picked up a piece of dark, flaky food and offered it to Xie Wen Dong. “Try this. It must be delicious!”

Xie Wen Dong looked at Gao Hui Yu’s hopeful smile, then at the unknown black substance in his bowl. He wondered if eating it might cause poisoning. Closing his eyes, he put the black piece in his mouth. His first impression was that it was salty and bitter—extremely so. The second impression was that it was very hard; he couldn’t bite through it after trying for a long time. Gao Hui Yu laughed and asked, “Wen Dong, how is it?”

Xie Wen Dong pretended to be enjoying it and said, “Great! Really great! The beef is really well done!”

“Hey! Those are potato slices I made!” “…” Gao Hui Mei burst into laughter.

Early the next morning, Xie Wendong said goodbye to his family, explaining that the class was going on a trip and he wouldn’t be back that night. At noon, Xie Wendong found Sanyan and the others and told them he was going to County H at 5 p.m. to see if he could get in touch with Ma Wu. Sanyan and the others wanted to go with him, but he refused, saying too many people might arouse suspicion. Since Xie Wendong had made up his mind, they had no choice but to send him to the bus station. Along the way, Sanyan explained in detail the price of white powder in the market, which Xie Wendong memorized. Upon arriving at the bus station, Xie Wendong waved goodbye to everyone before boarding the bus heading to County H. Li Shuang watched the bus drive away and asked Sanyan, “Brother Sanyan, do you think Brother Dong will be in danger on this trip?” Sanyan replied thoughtfully, “Yes!” Li Shuang turned to him and said loudly, “If Brother Dong is in danger, why aren’t we going too?” Sanyan said, “It’s precisely because there’s danger that we’re not allowed to go. You should understand Brother Dong’s efforts!” Taking a breath, Sanyan continued, “Brother Dong takes on everything himself, paving a smooth path for us. We only have our own lives to worry about, but he has to bear the lives and fortunes of hundreds of people. Yet he can handle it—do you know why? Because his name is Xie Wendong! And it’s for this reason that you, I, and everyone else are united as one group!” Everyone was silent after hearing Sanyan’s words, silently praying that Xie Wendong would return safely. County H wasn’t far from City J, only a two-hour drive away by bus. But compared to City J, it was much more backward. The tallest building in the county was a five-story small building used by the county government. The “Baima” dance hall was the largest in County H, a two-story red building with a large entrance and luxurious interiors. Cars kept stopping at the door, many of them belonging to county leaders. This was strange—although the county government asked the city for money every year and the local people were indeed poor, the county leaders were extremely wealthy. The money sent from the city was deducted by some city leaders first, and then again by the county leaders, leaving very little for the common people. Xie Wendong arrived in County H at 4 p.m. After getting off the bus, he bought a novel from a nearby bookstore.

Then he took a taxi to the White Horse Dance Hall. Looking at its exterior, the word that came to mind was “impressive”! Xie Wendong got out of the taxi and went in. The lights inside were dim, and he was a bit unaccustomed at first. He stood at the entrance for a while until his eyes adjusted before stepping inside. As soon as he entered the dance hall, a waiter came over, glanced at Xie Wendong from head to toe, and said, “I’m sorry, minors are not allowed in here!”
Xie Wendong glared at him, ignored him with a cold expression, and walked past him to take a closer look at everyone in the hall. The waiter was startled. Seeing Xie Wendong’s imposing aura, he realized this man must not be ordinary. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a book in Xie Wendong’s hand and paused, then said, “But I think you’re definitely an adult. Please, sir, come inside!”
Xie Wendong scanned the area for anything interesting before sitting down at an empty table. The waiter followed and asked, “What would you like to drink, sir?”
“A glass of juice.”
“Sure! Please wait a moment, it’ll be right here!” The waiter glanced at Xie Wendong again before leaving. Soon, the waiter brought the juice and, instead of leaving, stood beside Xie Wendong. As Xie Wendong was about to drink, he noticed the waiter still there and asked, “Do you need anything else?”
The waiter chuckled and asked, “Sir, are you looking for someone?”
Xie Wendong raised his eyebrows, thinking to himself how this man knew he was looking for someone. Could he be Ma Wu’s subordinate? With that thought, Xie Wendong nodded and said, “That’s right! I have an appointment with a friend here!”
The waiter glanced around and whispered, “Is your friend the fifth in line?”
Xie Wendong didn’t know Ma Wu’s exact ranking, but guessing from the name, it seemed plausible. He nodded and said, “Exactly! My friend is indeed the fifth in line! How do you know him?”
A hint of surprise flashed in the waiter’s eyes as he nodded and said, “If your last name is Xie, please follow me!” With that, the waiter turned and headed outside. At this point, Xie Wendong was almost certain this man was Ma Wu’s subordinate—otherwise, how would he know his last name?! Without hesitation, Xie Wendong stood up and followed the waiter.
After leading Xie Wendong out of the dance hall, the waiter headed toward an alley across the street. They wandered around for about half an hour, and by the end, Xie Wendong felt completely lost, unable to remember how many turns they had taken. Finally, the waiter brought him to a large black door and turned to Xie Wendong, saying, “Sir, go in. Someone is waiting for you inside!”

Xie Wendong thought for a moment, then resolved to face it head-on. Since he was here, he might as well meet this Ma Wu and see what kind of person he was. With that thought, he pushed the door open and stepped in. Inside was a courtyard about thirty square meters large, with three stools in the center, each occupied by two people. They glanced at Xie Wendong as he entered and studied him for a while. A man with a small mustache stood up and asked, “Are you the young man Xie Wendong?”
Xie Wendong looked at the speaker, who appeared to be in his thirties, short in stature, with bare arms but well-defined muscles. He nodded and said, “That’s right, I’m Xie Wendong!” Then he stared at the man and said, “I want to see Ma Wu!”
The man with the mustache turned to look at the person sitting beside him. That person didn’t speak, his gaze fixed on Xie Wendong since he entered. After a while, he nodded at the man with the mustache. The man with the mustache smiled, stepped forward, took out a black cloth from his pocket, and said, “Brother, do it yourself!”
Xie Wendong was puzzled. Looking at the black cloth in the man’s hand, he wondered what he meant by “do it yourself.” Seeing Xie Wendong staring at him, the man with the mustache shook his head and said, “Damn! If you’re really going to get into this kind of business, don’t need someone else to show you how. Cover your eyes with this black cloth!”
Only then did Xie Wendong understand. He snatched the black cloth from the man’s hand, covered his eyes, and tied it in place. The man with the mustache checked it and, satisfied, pulled Xie Wendong’s sleeve and said, “Young man, come on then!”
Xie Wendong said nothing. He inwardly cursed Ma Wu for being overly cautious and lacking courage, which explained why he had declined so quickly. He was pulled by the man with the mustache for an unknown distance before feeling himself get into a vehicle. The road was smooth at first but gradually became bumpy. Half an hour passed without the vehicle stopping, and Xie Wendong began to feel anxious. He blamed himself for being careless and getting into a stranger’s car without asking questions. But then he thought that they probably wouldn’t harm him; otherwise, they would have acted already. With that thought, he simply closed his eyes. Since he couldn’t see anyway, he leaned back and tried to sleep. The man with the mustache secretly admired him—this young man was bold despite his age. He had used this method to take a few people to see Ma Wu, but none of them had left alive like Xie Wendong.
Just as Xie Wendong was about to fall asleep, someone pushed him, and the man with the mustache’s voice came from beside him, “Hey, young man, we’ve arrived!”

Xie Wendong nodded, and his mustache pulled him out of the car. After walking for a while, Xie Wendong felt he had entered a house, and a voice said, “You can take the black cloth off your eyes!”
Xie Wendong slowly removed the black cloth from his eyes and looked around. It seemed to be a small warehouse, with many boxes piled up around and dilapidated walls. There were eight people standing around him, one of them holding six large wolf dogs. Xie Wendong’s gaze settled on a fat man sitting opposite him. That man was extremely obese, weighing no less than 300 pounds; Li Shuang paled in comparison to him, looking like a child. The man had big, bright eyes that were also staring at Xie Wendong. They stared at each other for a while without anyone saying a word.