Chapter 74

The old man was precisely the one who had spent months with Xie Wendong, teaching him Tai Chi—essentially Xie Wendong’s master. Seeing him now, a sense of warmth welled up in Xie Wendong. He felt like a child who had been wronged and wanted to cry; his nose stung and his eyes moistened as he said, “Elder sir, did you save me?”
The old man sat down beside him, patted his shoulder, and said with satisfaction, “It was I who saved you! But it’s also the result of your own hard work! I wasn’t wrong about you back then—you truly are an outstanding talent!”
Xie Wendong let out a sigh of relief, holding back the tears in his eyes. Men only bleed, not cry. He asked, “Are you the old man mentioned by that tall man?”
The old man was momentarily stunned before realizing who Xie Wendong was referring to. He laughed and said, “Yes! Haha, as people get older, their titles also change gradually.” With that, he took Xie Wendong’s hand and said, “It’s great to be young! Just like you—having suffered such serious injuries yet still being fine. If it were me, I’d probably be dead!”
Xie Wendong held the old man in great respect, ever since the day he started learning Tai Chi from him. He quickly said, “Elder sir, you’re not old at all! I remember during our first meeting, I couldn’t even withstand one of your moves!” Recalling their first encounter, Xie Wendong smiled sincerely.
The old man smiled and said, “You still remember that!” Then he changed the subject and asked, “Do you know who tried to assassinate you this time?”
Xie Wendong thought back to what the bearded man had said. Though he couldn’t understand it, he knew it was either Japanese or Korean. He had no connection to Korea or North Korea, except for his dealings with the Soul Reclaiming Gang. Xie Wendong declared firmly, “It must be people sent by the Soul Group!”
The old man nodded in approval. “That’s right. They were indeed sent by the Soul Group. Don’t think you were very stealthy by trying to assassinate members of the Soul Reclaiming Gang—actually, the Soul Group already knew. There were only two attempts at assassination, but the plans were very thorough. It’s lucky you’re still alive! Moreover, once the Soul Group makes a decision, they won’t give up easily. If it doesn’t work this time, there will be another attempt. Who knows when you might die at their hands?”
Xie Wendong broke into a cold sweat. But why did the old man know so much? His identity must be extraordinary. He hurriedly asked, “Elder sir, who exactly are you?”
The old man laughed heartily and suddenly asked, “Do you know about the Hongmen?”

Xie Wendong was stunned speechless upon hearing this. The Hongmen? It was nothing short of a legendary gang—even considered the progenitor of China’s underworld. Everyone should have heard of it, though it no longer enjoyed much reputation. Most people thought the Hongmen had disappeared with the founding of New China, and Xie Wendong was no exception. Hearing this name suddenly left him speechless. After a while, he asked, “Elder, are you from the Hongmen?”
The old man stood up, looked out the window, and said with emotion, “That’s right! But the Hongmen today is not what it used to be—it’s completely different!”
Xie Wendong didn’t understand what the old man meant and wanted to ask more, but the old man stopped him. “Your strength hasn’t recovered yet. It’s not suitable for you to talk too much. Rest for now! Don’t worry—no one will dare come here to harm you. There’s a phone beside you. If you’re worried about your friends, you can call them to let them know you’re safe! Well, I’ll leave first. We can talk again tomorrow.”
Without waiting for Xie Wendong to react, the old man turned and left. Xie Wendong stared at the closed door for a long time, sighing. Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover. He never expected the old man he had been in contact with for two months to be from the Hongmen, and apparently, of high rank. Then why did he go to City J? Surely not just to teach him Tai Chi. Xie Wendong shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He picked up the phone beside him and called Sanyan.
“Brother Dong, are you okay? The brothers in the gang are worried sick. Where are you now? Even Lao Sen can’t find any news about you. Are you in danger?” Sanyan asked anxiously after answering Xie Wendong’s call.
Xie Wendong chuckled and answered each question one by one, “I’m fine and not in danger. I’m safe here! I just met a… senior. Don’t worry! By the way, what did the police say about the New Century incident?”
Hearing this, Sanyan felt a little relieved and smiled. “What else could they do? Damn it, six of our brothers died, and several were injured. I still plan to hold the police accountable! What’s the situation with law and order in City H? Liu Dexin also came. He pretended to investigate for a while but left without saying much. I hid the guns and goods in a secret place—they didn’t even notice. Besides, we’re the victims—what can they do to us?!”
“Mm!” Xie Wendong smiled. “It’s good that you’re fine! Those killers are from the Soul Group. Be extra careful. Don’t take any rash actions until I return. They’re not someone we can deal with easily!”
Sanyan agreed and asked, “Brother Dong, when will you come back?”

Xie Wendong didn’t know either and replied vaguely, “Not necessarily. Let’s see how things go!” A bit tired, he said to Sanyan, “Tell everyone I’m fine! Okay, I’m going to bed now!” With that, Xie Wendong hung up the phone. On the other end, ever since Xie Wendong called, Li Shuang had been busy trying to grab the phone to speak with him, but Sanyan kept blocking her. When Sanyan finally stepped aside, Li Shuang snatched the phone and shouted, “Brother Dong, where are you?” “Beep～～～Beep～～～” “You damn ‘Erlang Shen,’ can’t you let me talk to Brother Dong for a moment?”
Sanyan took back his phone, strode out of the room, and said with a smile, “Don’t you know that speaking at high volume for a long time can damage the phone?! I spent almost ten thousand on this ‘998’!” After saying that, he carefully wiped the phone and put it away.
“You damn…”
Xie Wendong lay in bed without falling asleep right away. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and smoked while thinking about the events of the past few days. He had been assassinated twice, both times narrowly escaping death, but it was true, as the old man had said, that he could die from their hidden attacks at any moment. What kind of organization was the Soul Group? He knew nothing about it, yet it seemed to know everything about him. How could he deal with it? Xie Wendong couldn’t think of a good plan right away. Maybe the old man could give him an answer! With that thought, he turned over and fell asleep.
He didn’t know how long he had slept when he felt an itch on his face. He scratched it and turned over to continue sleeping. Soon, his face itched again, and he heard giggling sounds in his ears. Half-asleep, Xie Wendong opened his eyes to find a young and beautiful face just three inches away from him, her big, watery eyes staring at him intently. The girl seemed slightly stunned by Xie Wendong’s sudden awakening. Her rosy cheeks flushed as she stepped back slightly. Though she lowered her head, she kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
It was then that Xie Wendong realized she was a girl in her teens, two or three years younger than him. When he saw her face, he was shocked—she looked so familiar! After a while, he said, “Are you… are you Jin Rong?!”
The girl looked at Xie Wendong, nodded, and her cheeks turned even redder.
“Haha!” Xie Wendong thought to himself that today was full of surprises. He never expected to see the little girl he had saved from Ma Wu three years ago again. But after three years, the little girl had grown into a graceful young woman. Xie Wendong sat up. His wounds still hurt, but he couldn’t care less. He went over to the girl, not knowing what to say.

The girl did the same, blushing and keeping her head down in silence. They remained in silence for a while until Jin Rong suddenly remembered something. She grabbed Xie Wendong’s arm and said, “Grandpa said your wounds haven’t healed yet, so you can’t get out of bed!” With that, she pushed Xie Wendong back onto the bed.
Held by Jin Rong, Xie Wendong felt things were different from three years ago—back then she was just a little girl, but now she was a budding young woman. His head felt a bit dizzy, and his thinking slowed down. Curiously, he asked, “Who is your grandpa?”
The girl giggled and said, “I won’t tell you!”
Looking at her innocent smile, Xie Wendong felt as if he had aged five years back. Childishly, he held onto Jin Rong’s hand and insisted, “No! I must know!”
“Giggle!” the girl said while laughing, “I just won’t tell you!”
“That’s what you said!” Xie Wendong said, reaching under Jin Rong’s arm, which made her laugh even more. Before long, she gave in, panting, “I told you! I did say it!”
Reluctantly, Xie Wendong removed his hand. Jin Rong adjusted her wrinkled clothes and said, “My grandpa is the old man who taught you Tai Chi!”
“Oh!” Xie Wendong wasn’t surprised. When Jin Rong appeared, he had guessed their relationship must be special. Now that it was confirmed, he understood why the old man had come all the way to City J. He was just puzzled by the old man’s method—having seen him practice Tai Chi for several days out of curiosity, he had approached him. If he hadn’t been curious, what method would the old man have used to find him? Xie Wendong shook his head with a smile. Perhaps this was what fate was like! But the old man was an important figure in the Hongmen sect—Ma Wu was probably nothing in his eyes. How could his granddaughter be kidnapped by Ma Wu?
As Xie Wendong was pondering, the door opened, and the old man walked in with a smile. Jin Rong quickly got up to greet her grandpa. The old man said to Xie Wendong, “Wendong, you’ve met Rongrong before, right? Hehe, I actually owe you a thank you for saving her from that Ma Wu!”