Chapter 70

Liu Dexin’s face turned red upon hearing this. He knew it was the old fox’s doing, but the man had already run away and vanished. In such a vast country like China, and with the other party being a cunning old fox, how could he possibly catch him?! With these thoughts, tears streamed down Liu Dexin’s face again, and he turned away to wipe them silently. Wang Guohua had always been very filial to this father-in-law. Whatever his motives, he treated Liu Dexin better than his own father. Liu Dexin had no sons, only a daughter, and he had long regarded his son-in-law as his own new son. Now, however, he was left to watch his son-in-law pass away while he himself grew gray-haired. Ironically, he was even the deputy director of City H!

Seeing this, Xie Wendong didn’t dare say more and simply tried to persuade him kindly.

From then on, Xie Wendong frequented Wang Guohua’s house. He helped Wang Guohua’s wife with various tasks, and their relationship grew closer. Their address to each other changed from “sister-in-law” to “sister.” Of course, Xie Wendong had his own motives for doing this: to build good relations and buy “New Youth.”

Three days after Wang Guohua’s body was cremated, someone came to buy his discothek. Wang Guohua’s wife, being a woman, didn’t understand how to manage a discothek and was willing to sell it, but Xie Wendong intervened, saying that “New Youth” was Wang Ge’s legacy and couldn’t be sold so easily. Under Xie Wendong’s persuasion, Wang Guohua’s wife felt embarrassed to sell it.

After some time, due to the lack of management, other local gangs frequently caused trouble and fights at “New Youth,” scaring off customers and causing business to plummet. Wang Guohua’s wife was helpless and asked Xie Wendong for help several times. In fact, most of those causing trouble were members of the secret group, and this was exactly the effect Xie Wendong wanted. Later, he told Wang Guohua’s wife, “Sister, ‘New Youth’ can’t continue like this. Otherwise, it will close down sooner or later. This is Wang Ge’s hard-earned effort!”

(Wang Guohua’s wife’s surname was Liu, so she was temporarily called Sister Liu.) Sister Liu frowned and said, “Yes! There are no customers now, business is sluggish, and we’re losing money every day. Brother, please give me some advice!”

Xie Wendong pondered for a long time, his face filled with sorrow. “Sister, if nothing else works, we might as well sell it. It’s better than closing down! I think Wang Ge wouldn’t want to see his hard-earned business decline like this even in heaven. Besides, Wang Ge didn’t leave much money. Selling the discothek can help support the family and ensure a worry-free life!”

Sister Liu, being an ordinary housewife, couldn’t compete with Xie Wendong’s cleverness. She quickly nodded and said, “Yes! Brother, please handle this for me. I don’t understand these things. Just sell it for a fair price!”

Xie Wendong still felt somewhat guilty toward Wang Guohua’s wife, so he said apologetically, “Sis, how about this? I also want to do business in City H, so just sell me the disco club. I told Brother Wang back then that even though he’s dead now, I won’t take advantage of the situation. I’ll still offer the original price—two million!”
“Two million?” Sister Liu didn’t expect Xie Wendong to offer such a high price. Those who had come to buy it before had offered no more than 1.5 million. Yet Xie Wendong blurted out two million right away. Sister Liu had nothing to say. Since it was Xie Wendong who wanted to buy it and was offering such a high price, she agreed. She called her father, the deputy director, to seek his advice.
Liu Dexin didn’t say much. He thought Xie Wendong was okay and since he was offering a high price, he let Sister Liu decide for herself.
Everything went smoothly. The next day, Xie Wendong happily acquired the New Youth Disco Club and for the first time felt like a boss. With two disco clubs in City H, he was somewhat satisfied. But he still needed to maintain good relations with the higher-ups, so he visited Liu Dexin from time to time. Liu Dexin also had a good impression of Xie Wendong and was generous, treating him well. Soon, Xie Wendong expanded his drug trafficking business to City H.
Xie Wendong changed the names of both disco clubs—the New Youth became New Century, and the other one became Blood Heat Disco. After a short period of restructuring, business at both clubs improved. Of course, San Yan realized that while it was easy to oversee the clubs, managing them properly was difficult. He transferred some of Long Tang’s men from City J to help. To attract customers, San Yan sent people to poach talented singers and DJs by offering high salaries. Later, Jiang Sen somehow brought in a Russian dance troupe to add to the excitement. This greatly increased the reputation of both clubs, attracting many people. Another factor in attracting customers was the heroin Xie Wendong secretly sold—its high purity and fair price were key reasons.
Blood Heat Disco became increasingly popular, directly affecting the business of two nearby clubs. They tried to cause trouble several times, but were always dealt with by Long Tang’s men on duty. The worst incident occurred when they attempted to set fire to Blood Heat in the dead of night. Thanks to timely discovery, it was prevented from being destroyed. Xie Wendong sent Jiang Sen to investigate those two clubs. He found that one was run by someone named Qu Fei, who hadn’t formed any gang, while the other was under the control of an organization called Lianhun Gang. The former wasn’t a big concern, but the latter caught Xie Wendong’s attention.

The Soul Refining Gang had little reputation in City H; in fact, few in the underworld had even heard of it. But Xie Wendong always found the name of this gang strange, as if it was related to the Soul Collecting Gang. This was just his guess, with no solid evidence. Anyway, Xie Wendong decided to start by targeting these two discos to establish his position in the underworld of City H.

One day, Xie Wendong and Sanyan were drinking and chatting in New Century. Wenzi sat not far from Xie Wendong. Soft music played in the disco, and a handsome young man was singing “The Heart Is Too Soft” on stage. While enjoying the music, Xie Wendong discussed the two discos with Sanyan.

Xie Wendong expressed his suspicion that the Soul Refining Gang might be connected to the Soul Collecting Gang. Sanyan dismissed this idea, saying, “What if they’re connected? It’s like stepping on two steamed buns at once—neither ends up good. If you ask me, we should just wipe out both gangs. They claim to have the Japanese Soul Group backing them, but let’s see what the Japanese are really capable of!”

Xie Wendong laughed and asked, “Do you know the origin and strength of the Soul Group?”

Sanyan shook his head, looking at Xie Wendong doubtfully and murmuring, “Brother Dong, do you know?”

Xie Wendong chuckled. “If I did, I would have already taken action. It’s precisely because we know nothing that acting rashly could cost us dearly. Being cautious ensures we won’t suffer losses!”

Sanyan was puzzled and asked, “So what should we do? Investigate the Soul Group?”

After thinking for a while, Xie Wendong shook his head. “It probably won’t be that easy to investigate. I asked Liu Dexin, but he doesn’t even know what kind of organization the Soul Group is. He knows very little about the Soul Collecting Gang as well—his understanding is basically just what the underworld rumors say!” He took a sip of wine and continued, “I think we should first get rid of Qu Fei. Keeping him around is just trouble!”

Sanyan nodded in agreement. “Qu Fei is easier to deal with. His strength is average, but he always treats us as outsiders to be bullied, constantly looking for trouble. Damn it, let’s take him out first!” After thinking for a moment, Sanyan added, “Brother Dong, we can’t let the Soul Collecting Gang off the hook either. How about setting fire to their place?”

Xie Wendong laughed. “That’s worth considering! Haha!”

At that moment, Sanyan froze, staring straight at the door with a confused expression. After a while, he said to Xie Wendong, “Brother Dong, look at that middle-aged man at the door. Why does he seem so familiar to me?”

Hearing this, Xie Wendong turned to look. There stood a middle-aged man in his forties, with a robust build, scanning the surroundings. Their eyes met, and the man’s expression changed instantly as he quickly turned and walked away.

Who is he? Xie Wendong instinctively stood up. He was sure he had seen this man before, had an impression of him, but couldn’t recall where. Xie Wendong was smart—though he couldn’t claim to have a photographic memory, he was quite good at remembering people. He gently tapped his head, and suddenly a face flashed through his mind—it was him!!!

Xie Wendong quickly said to Sanyan, “Chase after him! We can’t let him get away!” Whether Sanyan heard him or not, he rushed outside in a hurry. Not understanding what was going on, Sanyan followed Xie Wendong and Wenzi outside, still wondering who this man was.

As soon as Xie Wendong stepped outside, he saw the man running toward a car not far away. He hurried after him, pulling out a dagger as he ran. The man wasn’t as strong as Xie Wendong, so the distance between them narrowed.

They almost reached the car at the same time. Xie Wendong resolved to kill the man even in broad daylight! He lunged forward, stabbing the man in the back. Just as the tip of the dagger was three inches from the man’s clothes, the car door suddenly opened, and three guns appeared inside.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xie Wendong saw it clearly. His head buzzed as he realized he had been tricked! Without time to think, he instinctively fell to the ground and rolled under the car. Three faint shots were heard. The man, not hit by Xie Wendong, panicked and rushed into the car, drenched in cold sweat. The three people in the car were shocked by Xie Wendong’s quick reflexes, having managed to dodge three gunshots without preparation. They lamented it as a pity. At that moment, Sanyan and Wenzi arrived from behind, shouting and drawing their pistols.

The car didn’t stay long and drove away quickly. Hidden under the car, Xie Wendong pressed his body as close to the ground as possible, watching the car drive over him. His heart pounded wildly as he sighed in relief—it had been close! Cold sweat also streamed down his forehead.

Sanyan ran to Xie Wendong’s side, pulled him up, and asked worriedly, “Brother Dong, are you okay?!”

Xie Wendong shook his head and said gloomily, “It seems we’ll never have a peaceful life again!”

Sanyan asked urgently, “Brother Dong, who is that man? It seems he deliberately lured you out. I find him familiar, but I can’t remember where.”

Xie Wendong replied, “No need to think about it. He’s Pang Jian, the leader of the Brothers Alliance, one of the former three bosses of the crime syndicate in City J! I didn’t expect him to come to City H after disappearing. With him around, we need to be even more careful. If I’m not wrong, the Tigers Gang already knows I’m here!” With that, Xie Wendong let out a long sigh.

Sanyan suddenly realized, “That’s right. It’s indeed Pang Jian. I’ve seen his photos! No wonder he seemed so familiar! Brother Dong, what should we do now?”

Xie Wendong sneered and said, “Since we can’t hide our identities, might as well go all out. In a bit, call all your brothers over; just leave Liu Bo and Haoran to watch over things!” Sanyan quickly agreed.
Xie Wendong raised his head and said, “I’ve said it before—whomever gets in my way, I’ll crush them! Hmph, just wait!”