Chapter 78

Xie Wendong’s heart trembled. Peng Ling gave him a feeling different from any other woman, including Gao Huiyu. For a moment, he really wanted to agree to Peng Ling’s request and step away from the underworld! But that would mean giving up his ideals, leaving Xie Wendong in a dilemma. He seemed destined not to be the kind of person who would abandon his ideals for a woman. If forced to choose, he would rather be alone. With a long sigh, he didn’t answer Peng Ling’s question but simply said, “I’m a bit hungry. Will you accompany me to eat something?”
After saying that, Xie Wendong headed toward the commercial complex. Peng Ling followed, saying slowly, “If the police get evidence of you breaking the law, I’ll be the first to arrest you!”
Xie Wendong stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky. “I believe that day will never come!” “You…”
In the afternoon, Xie Wendong returned to New Century. Everyone was still there, munching on bread and drinking beer. When they saw Xie Wendong back, Li Shuang asked first, “Brother Dong, who’s that pretty female police officer?” It turned out that when Xie Wendong took the female officer out, everyone had hidden at the stairway to peek, and they could tell the two had a special relationship.
Xie Wendong shook his head and replied vaguely, “Just a friend!”
“A friend? Since when has Brother Dong gotten to know a police officer…” Seeing Xie Wendong’s bad mood, Gao Qiang pulled Li Shuang aside to interrupt him and change the subject. “Brother Dong, now that we know the Soul Group’s lair, should we plan a surprise attack to teach them a lesson?”
Xie Wendong was annoyed and sat silently in his chair. Everyone could tell he was in a bad mood, so they stopped talking.
After a while, Xie Wendong calmed down. With a quiet sigh, he ordered himself not to be influenced by women and rallied his spirits. “Investigate Huohong thoroughly—its structure, how many people are inside! A surprise attack is necessary. I won’t let my brothers’ blood be shed in vain, nor will I let anyone block our path! Let the Soul Group know what revenge from China looks like!”
Everyone was inspired after hearing this. This was the real Xie Wendong—decisive and unhesitating. They just didn’t understand what had happened earlier. Jiang Sen, who was observant, realized that the female officer had a great influence on Xie Wendong. He made a secret decision to find out her background. If Brother Dong became listless because of her, he would find someone to take her out first! Then he would make Brother Dong atone. Jiang Sen didn’t want anyone to influence Xie Wendong, as the latter was crucial to the survival of the entire gang. Having been part of the gang for so many years, Jiang Sen already regarded it as his own home.
Xie Wendong said to Jiang Sen, “Lao Sen, you take care of this!”

The latter nodded in agreement. Dong Xinlei continued, “I have a few brothers who are very good at gathering information. Dong Ge, how about having them go with Lao Sen?”
Xie Wendong hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, “Since it’s Lao Lei who recommended them, there should be no problem!” Then he turned to Jiang Sen and asked, “Lao Sen, are you okay with this?”
Jiang Sen was naturally a bit upset. It had always been the Secret Group that handled reconnaissance tasks, and now Dong Xinlei was getting involved right away, which made him uncomfortable. But since Xie Wendong had asked him, he didn’t know what to say. He glared at Dong Xinlei and loudly replied, “No problem!”
Dong Xinlei, with his rich experience, could tell what Jiang Sen was thinking. He smiled and said, “Lao Sen, I have no ulterior motives. My brothers, like me, also come from a background as assassins. I want you to see their strength this time. I intended to have them secretly protect Dong Ge, but I was worried everyone might not know them yet!”
Hearing this, Jiang Sen felt embarrassed instead. He scratched his head and said, “Okay, I’d like to see the strength of Brother Lei’s friends too!”
Xie Wendong laughed and said with a smile, “With you and Wenzi protecting me, I’m already very safe. There’s no need to bring in your brothers! Besides, your brothers should also be from the Hongmen. There’s no reason for them all to protect me!”
Dong Xinlei shook his head and said, “Dong Ge, don’t you understand yet?! Why did the old man teach you Tai Chi?!”
Xie Wendong was surprised. He hadn’t really thought about this before. He asked doubtfully, “Lao Lei, isn’t it because I saved Rongrong? Did the old man want to test my character by teaching me Tai Chi?”
Dong Xinlei smiled and said, “That’s just one aspect. You should know that the old man can practically be considered your master! The Hongmen places the greatest emphasis on etiquette. He has never taught anyone martial arts before, except you. Once you officially become his disciple, you’ll be the next leader of the Hongmen! Although the old man has a son, he doesn’t want to get involved in the underworld… Dong Ge, you’re such a smart person. How could you not understand what the old man meant?”
Xie Wendong indeed didn’t understand the old man’s intentions, even now. The idea of becoming the leader of the Hongmen was hard for him to believe. If it were true, it would be great. But he wasn’t someone who liked to daydream. He relied on himself in everything, so he didn’t hold much hope for such a windfall. Xie Wendong politely said, “If that’s really the case, then I really have to thank the old man for his kindness, haha!”

Dong Xinlei saw that Xie Wendong didn’t seem entirely convinced, shook his head, and said, “Brother Dong, no matter what, you’re now the leader of a gang. Your life isn’t just yours anymore—it’s tied to the survival of others. So, it’s necessary to strengthen protection for you, and it’s also my responsibility!” With that, he took out his phone to call his brothers.

Xie Wendong sighed, thinking to himself whether he would still need to go to school in the future. Having a group of people following him was like wearing a big sign on his head that read, “I’m part of the mafia!” He was worried about his future situation.

After talking with everyone for a while, Xie Wendong felt tired because his wounds hadn’t healed yet. He said to them, “I’ll go back to school first to report. Does anyone else have anything to say?”

Jiang Sen quickly stood up and said, “Brother Dong, the Soul Group has tried to assassinate you twice in two days. It’s very dangerous to go back to the dormitory now. I hope you’ll stay outside for now so it’s easier for us brothers to protect you!”

Xie Wendong hadn’t had enough of his college life yet. Shaking his head, he said, “Lao Sen, don’t worry too much. Nothing will happen!” With that, he tried to leave.

San Yan stopped Xie Wendong and said, “Brother Dong, Lao Sen is right. We can’t afford to underestimate the Soul Group. It’s too dangerous to go back to school!”

Dong Xinlei added, “The Soul Group isn’t the kind of gang that gives up on its targets easily. Since you’ve become one of their targets, they’ll try to assassinate you again. You don’t want your dormitory brothers to get hurt along with you, do you?!”

The others also agreed. Helplessly, Xie Wendong sat back down and laughed, “It seems like you guys are planning to rebel as a group?”

“It’s all for your safety!!” they said in unison, in perfect harmony.

After a while, Dong Xinlei’s friends finally arrived. There were five of them, all very young—four men and one woman. Dong Xinlei introduced them to Xie Wendong, saying, “This is Brother Dong. Your task from now on is to protect him! Understand?”

The five nodded in unison. They had met Xie Wendong before—the remaining killers from the New Century had been dealt with by these people. Xie Wendong had forgotten about that. Seeing them, he felt that these five didn’t seem like brothers to Dong Xinlei but rather in a master-subordinate relationship. Dong Xinlei introduced them one by one: “These five are both my subordinates and my brothers. Their names are Jin Yan, Mu Zi, Shui Jing, Hua Yan, and Tu Shan.” He said each name as he pointed at them.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth? Xie Wendong thought their names were interesting as he studied the five of them carefully. All five of them had ordinary appearances—so ordinary that you wouldn’t take a second look at them in a crowd. Xie Wendong knew that an ordinary appearance was the best disguise.

Then Dong Xinlei introduced Jiang Sen to the five of them, asking them to assist Jiang Sen in reconnaissance. After Jiang Sen led the five away, Xie Wendong asked Dong Xinlei, “How strong is the Hongmen, and how many members does it have?”

Dong Xinlei thought for a moment before saying, “North of the Yangtze River, except for Tibet, Xinjiang, and Province H where we haven’t expanded, all other provinces are under our control! This is a territory built through the efforts of several generations of leaders. I can’t give an exact number of members, but there must be no less than 20,000 disciples who have taken the initiation!”

The Hongmen is strict in admitting new members—only those who are loyal and righteous are accepted. To join, one must first pay homage to the founder, drink the initiation wine, and swear to be devoted to the Hongmen for life. This process is what Dong Xinlei referred to as “taking the initiation,” after which one becomes a full-fledged disciple. In fact, there are far more members who haven’t taken the initiation than those who have.

Xie Wendong didn’t understand any of this. Hearing the number 20,000 alone shocked him, and he was amazed at the strength of the Hongmen. Xie Wendong said to everyone, “There’s nothing to worry about now. You can go and have fun. I’m afraid we won’t have time soon!”

Gao Qiang asked doubtfully, “Brother Dong, what’s this Hongmen thing?”

Everyone present, except Dong Xinlei, stared at Xie Wendong, not understanding what was going on. Xie Wendong thought to himself that he was confused and then recounted the whole process of going to the old man. Only then did everyone realize that the person who saved Xie Wendong was actually the leader of the Northern Hongmen. They were surprised that the Hongmen still existed. After finishing his story, Xie Wendong stood up and said, “I’m going back to school!”

Li Shuang tried to dissuade him, “Brother Dong, didn’t we agree not to stay at school?”

“Damn it! I’m going back to class!” Annoyed, Xie Wendong strode out of the meeting room. Dong Xinlei laughed. After all, Xie Wendong was still a teenager under twenty; it was natural for him to feel rebellious under such supervision.

Walking along the forest path at H University, Dong Xinlei asked, “Brother Dong, do you believe there’s still a ‘jianghu’ out there?”

“A ‘jianghu’?” Xie Wendong looked at Dong Xinlei strangely and shook his head. “I’ve only heard of the ‘jianghu’ in novels and movies. I don’t know if it still exists today. But logically, it shouldn’t. There are fewer and fewer people learning martial arts, especially experts. Without a martial arts world, where would a ‘jianghu’ come from?”

Dong Xinlei smiled and said, “Brother Dong, you’re wrong. The ‘jianghu’ still exists. People in the ‘jianghu’ don’t necessarily have to be skilled in martial arts. For example, the Hongmen should be considered part of the ‘jianghu’!”

Xie Wendong thought for a moment and said, “Even if there is such a thing, what’s the difference between the jianghu and the underworld? Both engage in illegal activities and avoid being exposed!”
Dong Xinlei replied, “There is still a difference. In the underworld, you can do whatever you want, but in the jianghu, etiquette and morality are emphasized. Those who are cunning have no place to survive there and will be despised by other factions in the jianghu, even attacked!”
Xie Wendong was stunned and asked, “Lao Lei, what’s the purpose of telling me these?”