Chapter 124

Outside the conference room on the third floor of the Bailong Night Club in the western suburbs, former Fire Gang headquarters. Guan Pei, the son of Guan Delin, sent away the representatives sent by those gangs that had just rebelled in an attempt to win him over. He neither agreed nor refused, only asking them for time to consider. Unhappy with this unsatisfying response, the men warned Guan Pei before leaving, “Don’t forget your father—how old Master Guan died!?” With a sorrowful expression, Guan Pei nodded and said, “I will avenge the murder of my father!”

Guan Delin had three sons, with Guan Pei being the youngest at 26. Though he ranked third, his cunning and sharpness far surpassed those of his two older brothers. After Guan Delin’s death, the gang members were scattered by Xie Wendong to various factions. As the head of the Guan family, Guan Pei became the leader of a small area in the western suburbs. On the surface, he said nothing, but inwardly he was filled with hatred. He blamed Xie Wendong for his father’s death and for the destruction of their gang, and he hated Chen Baicheng, who had killed his father, even more fiercely. Secretly, Guan Pei used various methods to bring back the former Fire Gang members scattered across the land and build his own new force.

Guan Pei returned to the conference room, where several elders of the former Fire Gang were still seated. These were Guan Delin’s loyal subordinates. Since Guan Delin had been killed by Xie Wendong’s scheme, these elders hated Xie Wendong deeply and were willing to follow Guan Pei’s orders. They had thought it was a good opportunity—joining forces with the five rebel gangs might truly allow them to avenge their old leader. But not understanding why Guan Pei hadn’t agreed, they asked anxiously, “Boss, why didn’t you accept the request from the representatives of the five gangs? This is a chance—we might not get another like it!”

Guan Pei sat down, resting his chin on his crossed hands, and said quietly, “It might be a chance now, but the risks are too great. If we fail, it could be catastrophic. We need to stay calm and not act until the right moment. Just like Xie Wendong dealt with the Tiger Gang, we must strike a decisive blow without leaving any loose ends.” After saying this, Guan Pei sighed and sneered, “Now is not the time to act. Remember, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Even without Xie Wendong, Wen Dong is still extremely powerful. Let’s sit back and watch the show!”

The elders nodded in agreement, murmuring that Guan Pei was indeed much more cunning and steady than Guan Delin. Given time, he would surely become a great leader. The elders had full confidence in this new boss.

During these days when Xie Wendong was injured, Peng Ling was probably the most exhausted, often staying by his side all night, which deeply moved him. Now even his own feelings toward Peng Ling had become blurred; he found himself increasingly dependent on her, a feeling he rejected as it went against his original intentions. In fact, Peng Ling was also filled with contradictions. Through this incident, she realized that Xie Wendong still had ties to the gang, and he was still the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. She told herself she should hate him, but every time she saw him lying pale in the hospital bed, all her hatred vanished. Sometimes she wondered if she had degenerated, becoming a lamb trapped by the chains of love. Xie Wendong and Peng Ling spoke little during this time; they often lay or sat in silence, lost in their thoughts. Love may not be the strongest bond, but it is certainly the most resilient—unbreakable and inescapable, trapping people within it.

One morning, Li Shuang rushed into the ward and happened to see Peng Ling sitting beside Xie Wendong, peeling apples for him. She opened her mouth but swallowed her words, forcing a smile and saying, “Sister-in-law, you’re here too! Hehe! Why aren’t you at work yet?”
Peng Ling gave Li Shuang a cold look, unaccustomed to being called “sister-in-law.” Turning her head, she saw Xie Wendong smiling at her and blushed slightly. “Li Shuang, don’t call me sister-in-law next time. Did I ever say I’d marry a gangster?” Though she was speaking to Li Shuang, she was actually addressing Xie Wendong as well.
Xie Wendong’s gaze dimmed at her words. Li Shuang quickly tried to defuse the situation with a laugh. “Okay, okay! I won’t call you sister-in-law anymore. How about I call you Sister Ling?” After saying that, she looked up and down at Peng Ling in casual clothes, amazed. “I didn’t expect Sister Ling to look even prettier in casual clothes than in her police uniform. I wonder if there’s any girl at the police station who’s half as pretty as her. If so, introduce me to her!”
Peng Ling’s face turned even redder. She spat lightly and snapped, “Sure enough, there are no good people among scoundrels—such a smooth talker!” Though she said this, she was secretly pleased.
Xie Wendong admired Li Shuang’s eloquence, realizing that even the shrewdest women can’t resist compliments.
With a sigh, Xie Wendong realized Li Shuang must have come for a reason. With Peng Ling around, it was awkward to speak directly, so he smiled and said, “Xiao Ling, I’m a little thirsty. Could you buy me a Coke?”
Peng Ling reprimanded him, “You’re injured right now. The doctor said you shouldn’t drink carbonated drinks like Coke. Have you forgotten?”

Xie Wendong wanted to slap his own forehead, but his hand was raised, so he sighed and said, “Then I’ll have fresh milk. It’s good for my health, right?”
Peng Ling, being smart as she was, surely understood what Xie Wendong meant—he wanted to get her away so he could talk to Li Shuang about something secret. With a reluctant sigh, Peng Ling said, “Alright, I’ll be back right away!” Then she left the ward as if nothing had happened. As soon as she stepped outside, she was startled by Jiang Sen standing at the door. Jiang Sen didn’t like Miss Peng at all, and she didn’t have a good impression of him either. She glared at him, adjusted her hair, and strode past him toward the stairs at the end of the corridor.
When she reached the stairs, Peng Ling didn’t leave right away. She turned back and saw Jiang Sen enter the ward. Silently, she went back and peeked through the door.
In the ward, seeing Peng Ling leave, Xie Wendong asked, “Li Shuang, go ahead. What important matter brought you to see me?”
Just then, Jiang Sen pushed the door open and said urgently, “Brother Dong, we’ve already clashed with five rebel gangs. They’re not as tough as we thought. We won the first battle, dealing a heavy blow to one of the gangs, the ‘Thirteen Brothers,’ leaving only five of them alive!”
“Hmm! Not bad!” Xie Wendong nodded in approval and asked, “What about the Battle Axe and Soul Group? Any activity?”
Li Shuang laughed, “It’s just thunder without rain. There’s no activity at all. They haven’t even dared to engage us in combat!”
Jiang Sen shook his head. “There are already over a hundred people from the Battle Axe lurking in City H, and the number seems to be increasing. The same goes for the Soul Group. From what Lao Lei said, most of their members are Japanese assassins. Not long ago, we heard that the Soul Group gave the Soul Reclamation Gang five million more to keep expanding. But we’re not sure if this information is reliable.”
Xie Wendong thought to himself that this was troublesome. He said seriously, “First, quell the rebellion. Internal troubles are always greater than external threats. As for the Tiger Gang and the Soul Group, we don’t need to worry about them for now. Just keep an eye on them! We’ve fought against the Soul Reclamation Gang before, and they’re not a threat to us now. Is there anything else?”
Li Shuang hurriedly replied, “Yes! Also, Gao Zhen just called. First, he asked if you were okay, and second, he informed us that sisters Gao Huimei and the others are coming to City H to visit…” As he spoke, a coughing sound came from outside, followed by Jin Yan’s voice, “Why isn’t Miss Peng coming in? What’s she doing outside?”

Xie Wendong and the other two changed expressions, thinking to themselves, “What a cunning Peng Ling—truly a former police officer!” Li Shuang didn’t need Xie Wendong to tell him; he quickly shut his mouth and signaled to Xie Wendong, indicating that Peng Ling was eavesdropping outside. Xie Wendong smiled, nodded to show he understood, and said loudly, “If there’s nothing else, let’s stop here!”
As the footsteps outside gradually faded, Xie Wendong hurriedly asked, “What day will they arrive in City H?”
Li Shuang replied, “The day after tomorrow! That is, the 13th!”
“Oh!” Xie Wendong fell deep into thought. They couldn’t let Peng Ling see them, nor could they let those two see Peng Ling—otherwise, it would be like a comet hitting Earth. Jiang Sen added, “Brother Dong, there’s one more thing. I found a stack of documents on the desk at New Century, seemingly related to the Red Army and Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi’s visit to China. I’m not sure if they’re useful.”
Xie Wendong raised an eyebrow and said to Li Shuang, “Shuang, help me sit up and bring them over for me to take a look!”
Jiang Sen said, “Brother Dong, it’s all in Japanese. I found a clerk at the company who knows Japanese and had it translated. This is the original, and this is the translation.” Jiang Sen took out two stacks of documents from his bag and handed them to Xie Wendong.
Helped by Li Shuang, Xie Wendong managed to sit up against the head of the bed. After taking the documents, he examined them closely. Indeed, they were written in both Chinese and Japanese. Xie Wendong threw the Japanese version on the bed and focused on the Chinese one. The more he read, the more shocked he became. After a quick glance, he understood the general meaning: the Red Army planned to assassinate the Japanese Prime Minister during his visit to China in July. This made sense—after all, the Red Army was a Japanese terrorist organization with extreme anti-government views. Xie Wendong wondered how such confidential documents had ended up in Jiang Sen’s hands and asked, “Where did these documents come from? You said you found them on the desk at New Century?”
Jiang Sen nodded. “Brother Dong, you forgot. After you were attacked by Hua Kui last time, when I brought you back to New World, didn’t I give you a stack of documents obtained from the Soul Group? At that time, Gao Qiang was injured, and you didn’t have the heart to check them, so you just left them on the desk. I only remembered about them yesterday by chance. Brother Dong, you’re from the Political Department. If you hand these documents over to the central authorities, it will be a huge achievement!”
Xie Wendong nodded. Jiang Sen was right—this was indeed a significant achievement. He returned the documents to Jiang Sen and said, “Don’t make a fuss about this for now. It seems I need to go to the capital once I recover a bit to deal with the leaders!”
Just then, Jin Yan’s voice came from outside again, “Miss Peng, you’re back so soon!”