Chapter 123

Soon, the ambulance arrived at the hospital. The doctors inside had already received word that an important person was injured. As soon as the ambulance reached the entrance, several doctors and nurses rushed out to carry Xie Wendong and Yan Ke, the two severely injured men, to the emergency room. However, Yan Ke’s serious injuries were sustained while being loaded onto the ambulance.

San Yan wiped the corners of his eyes, adjusted his clothes, and got out of the ambulance. Before leaving, he said to the two nurses, “If you dare to talk about what just happened, hehe, be careful for your lives and those of your families!” With that, San Yan ignored the two terrified nurses and chased after Xie Wendong, who was being pushed into the operating room.

When he reached Xie Wendong’s side, San Yan urgently asked the doctors around, “How is my friend? Can he be saved?”
“From what we can see, he has four ribs broken. Further tests are needed to determine if there are any other injuries. You don’t need to worry,” one of the doctors replied.

San Yan nodded silently. When he reached the emergency room, the doctors stopped him at the door and asked him to wait for news. Anxious, he paced back and forth in the hallway. The doctors coming in and out constantly made him even more nervous. A female doctor passed by him, stopped, studied him for a while, and then exclaimed in surprise, “Aren’t you the police officer from that day?” San Yan was stunned and looked at her doubtfully. She was quite young, in her twenties, with slightly curly short hair and clear eyes. She wasn’t particularly beautiful but gave off a pure impression. San Yan stared at her for a long time, feeling familiar but unable to recall where he had met her. The thug he brought with him couldn’t help but laugh and mock, “Hey, sis, since when did our Big Brother San Yan become a police officer…?” Suddenly, San Yan remembered and waved his hand to cut him off, inwardly shocked—how could things be so coincidental? He happened to meet her. This female doctor was the last person San Yan wanted to see. If she discovered his true identity, it would be dangerous. A murderous look appeared in San Yan’s eyes as he slowly moved his hand to his back, smiling as he said, “It’s me! Long time no see. Today, my friend was injured by bandits again. I came to the hospital to wait for news, hoping he’s fine.”
“Oh!” The female doctor nodded, showing concern. “Being a police officer is too dangerous. You just lost a colleague not long ago, and now another one is seriously injured. You need to be more careful from now on!”

Sanyan’s hand slowed down and came to a stop. The doctor’s words brought a wave of warmth to his heart. There were many women around him, but none who had spoken to him with such sincerity. The murderous intent in him faded, and he gave her a deep look before saying, “Thank you. I’ll be careful.”

The doctor felt embarrassed under Sanyan’s gaze and turned away, her face turning red. After a while, when she calmed down a bit, she asked, “By the way, isn’t the injured police officer in the emergency room downstairs? How did you end up here? I heard the person there is very dangerous. Let’s go check out the emergency room.” Sanyan snapped back to reality. By the time he reached for his gun, it was too late—the doctor had already entered the emergency room. Shouting loudly, he said, “What are you going in there for? He’s not out of danger yet. Don’t disturb him!” He thought to himself, “If they knew my true identity and connected it to what happened that day, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out what’s going on. If this gets out, it could cause chaos—not only among the gangs that just merged but also at the provincial level.” It was a serious matter, no wonder Sanyan was so anxious. Unaware of Sanyan’s ulterior motives, the doctor felt good about him. When he invited her to dinner, she was delighted and agreed readily. After the doctor disappeared for a while, Sanyan’s subordinates hurriedly asked, “Brother Sanyan, why did the doctor say you’re a police officer?” Already worried about Xie Wendong’s safety, Sanyan was now even more annoyed by this strange doctor. Impatiently, he waved his hand and said, “It’s none of your business—stop asking!”

Seeing Sanyan’s bad mood, the others were too scared to speak.

Xie Wendong’s injury caused a huge stir in City H. Not only the core members of the Wendong Gang but also some provincial leaders came to visit him. Dong Fangyi from the Political Department, who was back in Beijing for a meeting at the time, was shocked to hear that Xie Wendong had been shot. He blamed him for being too reckless and causing trouble for himself, but he still sent people to the hospital. After all, Xie Wendong had indeed achieved some success in dealing with the Soul Group. The Black Belt members also came to see him, as they valued Xie Wendong as a partner.

Xie Wendong is now a well-known major entrepreneur across the province, and various newspapers in Province H have covered this incident at length, reporting all sorts of things—such as social unrest leading to the shooting of a famous entrepreneur; speculation that fierce business competition prompted an assassination attempt on the boss of Dongxing Group; and rumors that criminals attempted to kidnap the entrepreneur and shot in frustration. The underworld, which had been quiet for a while, has seen new turmoil. Some of the bosses whose gangs were recently absorbed by Xie Wendong are now eager to take advantage of his injury to seize power. Two foreign gangs, Battle Axe and Soul Group, which had originally planned to leave Province H, saw an opportunity and sent many of their members to H City to look for weaknesses. Three days later, Xie Wendong lay in the intensive care unit, with his room filled with key members of his gang. These three days were extremely difficult for everyone. First, Xie Wendong’s condition was unstable. Although he wore a bulletproof vest, the powerful force of the bullet broke four of his ribs and caused severe damage to his internal organs, with massive internal bleeding—his situation was not optimistic. Second, internal strife and external threats within the gang left everyone in a state of panic. Six of the previously absorbed gangs had already broken away from Xie Wendong’s control and were reportedly in contact with Battle Axe and Soul Group. The long-extinct Soul Reclaiming Gang, thanks to Soul Group’s substantial financial resources, had resurfaced and seemed determined to compete with Xie Wendong’s gang. There was also the conflict between Xie Wendong and the South Hongmen, who now hated him deeply and sent numerous assassins to lurk in H City. One after another, unfavorable news arrived as Xie Wendong’s injuries worsened, leaving his gang leaderless and facing such a severe crisis for the first time.

The happiest thing during these three days was that Xie Wendong was safe and out of danger. By the third day, his consciousness had fully returned to normal. Though he still couldn’t move, he could open his eyes and discuss matters with everyone. After Sanyan recounted the recent situation, Xie Wendong remained silent for three seconds before laughing and saying, “This is good too. While I was injured, all those hidden crises came to light—one after another. This is much easier than dealing with them one by one later! Hehe, exposed crises are much easier to handle than hidden ones.” Li Shuang asked anxiously, “Brother Dong, even though it’s much easier to deal with them, what should we do now?” “Why panic?” Xie Wendong looked up at the white ceiling and said slowly, “We have the advantage. After all, most of Province H is under our control now, especially City H. The police are on our side—what is there for you to fear?! We’ve gotten through harder times before. Have peaceful and smooth days made you lose your courage and sense?” Everyone lowered their heads. Although Xie Wendong was referring to Li Shuang, it seemed he was also talking about himself. Li Shuang’s face turned red as he asked, “What about War Axe, Soul Group, and Nan Hongmen?” Xie Wendong replied, “To fight external threats, we must first stabilize internal affairs! Don’t worry about War Axe, Soul Group, or Nan Hongmen for now. Quell those rebellious gangs as quickly as possible to set an example for the others and show them what happens to traitors. Act fast and decisively—don’t give them much time to prepare.” Sanyan nodded eagerly, “Brother Dong, leave this to me. Within three days, I’ll deal with these opportunists.” “Good! That works!” Xie Wendong trusted Sanyan’s ability to handle things and smiled. “As for those foreign forces and Nan Hongmen, we also need to be cautious. Lao Sen, keep an eye on any movements. If something goes wrong, discuss it with Brother Zhang. Oh…” Xie Wendong paused for a moment before jokingly saying, “I heard Brother Zhang brought a female doctor to the villa. Is that true?” Sanyan’s face turned red as he glared at Li Shuang, who panicked and kept shaking his hands. Sanyan cursed Li Shuang for being gossipy and said awkwardly, “It’s true, Brother Dong. I’ll explain it to you later!” It seems Sanyan was finally tempted too! Xie Wendong laughed heartily, but then winced in pain from his wounds, his brows furrowed. Everyone rushed forward worriedly, “Brother Dong, are you okay?” Xie Wendong shook his head and sighed, “I’m fine! I just don’t know how fast my wounds will heal. Sigh!”

Dong Xinlei said with guilt, “Brother Dong, this time you were injured by the people from Nan Hongmen, and it’s all my fault. I was too impulsive and shot without thinking about the consequences. I hope Brother Dong will punish me according to our family rules!” Xie Wendong wanted to pat Dong Xinlei on the shoulder, but he couldn’t muster any strength and gave up. He said seriously, “Lao Lei, this has nothing to do with you. I would have done the same if I were you. You don’t need to blame yourself. Besides, it wasn’t the people from Nan Hongmen who killed me—it was Yan Ke!”
After hearing this, San Yan’s anger surged to his forehead. Gritting his teeth, he said, “It’s really him! I was right to beat him that day! Brother Dong, don’t worry. He can’t get away. He’s also in the hospital now. I’ve asked a few brothers to keep an eye on him. Watch me take care of him!” After speaking for a while, Xie Wendong felt tired. Exhaustion overtook him, and he closed his eyes, saying, “That’s enough! Brother Zhang can handle these trivial matters for me. I’m quite tired.”
Seeing that Xie Wendong was indeed exhausted, everyone quietly left the room. As soon as they stepped outside, San Yan pulled Jiang Sen aside and said, “Lao Sen, find a few smart brothers to bring Yan Ke to the villa later. Keeping this guy around is a source of trouble. We need to deal with him first!” Jiang Sen nodded in agreement. Although Yan Ke wasn’t a big shot, he was extremely cunning and ruthless. Leaving him behind might mean he would come up with some nasty schemes again.
Five members of Jin Yan and no less than twenty Blood Killing Eagles disguised as doctors, injured people, and family members stayed behind to keep watch over Xie Wendong’s intensive care unit at all times. After making these arrangements, San Yan led everyone back to Dongxing Hotel to discuss strategies to quell the rebellion. At the same time, San Yan recalled five of the eight branches of Long Tang stationed outside to strengthen his own forces.