Chapter 150

“We won’t lose!” Jin Rong wrinkled her nose and said, “Just don’t cry when you lose! Haha!”
The young man was amused by her cute expression and said, “Then let’s give it a try. If you lose, you have to play the dance machine with me! If I lose, I’ll play it with you.”
“Tch!” Jin Rong pouted and said, “What a selfish guy! I already have a boyfriend!” With that, she tightened her grip around Xie Wendong’s waist. The young man chuckled indifferently and said to Xie Wendong, “Let’s start! But let me tell you ahead of time—no one has ever beaten me here. Everyone calls me ‘Wind Speed’!”
Kids are just kids. Xie Wendong smiled to himself. Although he was a year or two older than the young man, he was several times more mature. Smiling, he raised three fingers. GO! As the machine gave the signal, Xie Wendong and the young man’s motorcycles shot out on the screen like arrows. At first, Jin Rong could lean on Xie Wendong’s shoulder and watch for a while, but soon her eyes started to blur. Seeing Xie Wendong striving hard to drive the simulated motorcycle, she felt sweet in her heart and couldn’t help thinking that her big brother was working hard for her—maybe she was important to him too! With that thought, she gently rested her head on Xie Wendong’s back, listening to his steady and strong heartbeat.
Ten minutes later, Xie Wendong and Dong Xinlei sat on a bench nearby, drinking cola leisurely. Jin Rong stood beside the dance machine with a worried expression, while the young man tried his best to perform various moves on it. Yet Jin Rong’s gaze kept drifting toward Xie Wendong, who was sitting not far away, calmly drinking cola. As he danced, the young man said, “I told you—no one can beat me here. My speed is as fast as the wind, that’s why they call me ‘Wind Speed’!” Jin Rong rolled her eyes and snapped, “Go to die!”
Seeing Dong Xinlei glancing at Jin Rong from time to time, Xie Wendong laughed happily and said, “Kids should play with kids. Look how happy they are. Actually, I lost on purpose just now.”
Happy? Dong Xinlei didn’t see anything happy about Jin Rong at all. Seeing Xie Wendong seriously say he lost on purpose, even Dong Xinlei, who always took his words as truth, showed a “Who would believe that?” expression. Muttering, he said, “If you lost on purpose, then why did Brother Dong kick that simulated motorcycle to pieces?”
At that moment, the boss came over with two burly men, his face dark, and said in a grave tone, “That’s nine thousand eight in total. Here, pay up!”

By the time the three returned to the villa, it was nearing evening. After dinner, Xie Wendong was taken out for a walk by Jin Rong. The sun was setting, and the clouds were ablaze with red light. Walking along the path through the grass, one could smell the fresh scent of soil mixed with grass, which felt incredibly refreshing. Jin Rong looked at the red clouds in the sky and sighed, “It’s so beautiful!”
Xie Wendong sat on the grass and said with a smile, “The sunset is wonderful, but it’s already near dusk.”
Jin Rong said, “By the way, I graduated from high school and chose to apply to University H voluntarily—same school as you.”
“Oh!” Xie Wendong replied softly. The idea of school seemed too distant to him. He hadn’t been back for about half a year, maybe longer; he couldn’t even remember clearly. He also imagined himself being chased by dozens of people from the Soul Recovery Team at the school gate and fleeing in a mess. Thinking back now, it seemed plausible, but without that incident, he probably wouldn’t have met Peng Ling. Peng Ling! He wondered how she was doing now. Xie Wendong sighed, his expression filled with a touch of nostalgic sadness.
Seeing his changed expression, Jin Rong asked carefully, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like me studying at your school?”
“How could that be!” Xie Wendong patted her head and smiled. “It’s just that I’m not often at school and can’t take care of you.”
Jin Rong felt a sense of sweetness, but quickly shook her head. “I’m already grown up. I don’t need anyone to take care of me! I’ve told you many times.”
Xie Wendong scratched his head, cleared his throat, and lowered his voice. “Is that so? As one gets older, memory becomes less sharp.” His appearance made Jin Rong laugh gently.
A warm atmosphere filled the air, even Dong Xinlei, who was not far away, could feel it and smiled as well. Warm moments are precious because they’re always short-lived. Suddenly, a harsh noise of a car came from this direction. Xie Wendong frowned and asked Dong Xinlei, “What’s going on?”
Dong Xinlei also looked puzzled and glanced in the direction of the car noise. Soon, a black sedan appeared—strangely unfamiliar. Dong Xinlei warned, “Brother Dong, this doesn’t seem to be a car from our gang!”
The car was moving very fast. By the time Dong Xinlei finished speaking, the car was already less than fifty meters away. Xie Wendong hadn’t paid much attention at first, as this was the stronghold of the Northern Hongmen. It was basically impossible for outsiders to enter without raising suspicion. But soon, Xie Wendong realized he was wrong—a dark gun barrel suddenly appeared out of the car window. He reacted quickly, throwing himself toward Jin Rong beside him almost the moment he saw the gun barrel.

“Bang, bang, bang…” Gunshots rang out in quick succession, sounding extremely harsh in the quiet grass. Dong Xinlei fell to the ground, drew his gun, and fired back, but the car didn’t stop at all. The killers inside seemed to have been prepared for this; whether they hit their target or not, the car just drove straight through and headed toward the woods at the end of the grassland. How could Dong Xinlei let them get away? He lowered the barrel of his gun and fired two shots, puncturing both tires of the car. The car drove for a while before stopping, and three burly men jumped out, rushing frantically into the woods. Jin Rong was pinned under Xie Wendong, her eyes closed and her body trembling slightly. She clung tightly to his clothes and bit her lip to prevent herself from crying out. At that moment, a drop of hot liquid fell on her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw a cut on Xie Wendong’s face, with blood flowing continuously. Worried, she said, “Big brother, you’re injured.”

Xie Wendong looked at Jin Rong, who was like a frightened rabbit beneath him, patted her head, and said, “It’s okay!” After that, he stood up, wiped the blood from his face, and shouted, “Lao Lei, give me a gun!” Dong Xinlei responded with a nod and threw his gun to Xie Wendong. Without hesitation, Xie Wendong grabbed the gun and chased after them. Dong Xinlei took out another gun from his pocket and followed behind Xie Wendong, while also pulling out his phone to call for the Hongmen disciples in the villa.

Xie Wendong was furious. If it weren’t for his quick reaction, that bullet might have hit his face, and Jin Rong could have been hurt as well. With this thought, he sped up, determined not to let those men escape. If those killers were compared to rabbits trying to flee, then Xie Wendong’s speed was undoubtedly that of an arrow leaving the bow. As the killers approached the woods, Xie Wendong was already ten meters away from them, within range. He raised his gun and fired at the head of the last killer running. Perhaps Xie Wendong’s marksmanship needed improvement, or maybe the bullet missed due to his movement. After a gunshot, the second killer screamed in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his leg. The killer struggled on the ground, but his two companions turned a blind eye and ran into the woods without looking back. As the killer tried to get up, Xie Wendong rushed up to him, unrelenting in his speed, and smashed the back of his head with the gun. “Thud!” The man collapsed straight down, unconscious.

Xie Wendong chased into the forest. It was already nearly night, the sky was dim, and the forest was even darker; only a faint light allowed visibility of about five meters ahead. Xie Wendong slowed down. He had never been to this forest before and knew nothing about its terrain, so he didn’t dare move forward rashly. Dong Xinlei, panting heavily, caught up with Xie Wendong and said, “Brother Dong, there are still two guys who must be hiding here. Let’s pull them out.”
“Hm?” Xie Wendong hesitated. The pitch-black forest gave him an uneasy feeling. Shaking his head, he said, “Let’s wait for the brothers from the outside. I feel something’s off here.” Dong Xinlei urged, “By the time they arrive, the killers might have already run away…” Xie Wendong replied, “As long as the mountains remain, we won’t lack firewood! We’ve already caught one—why worry about the others escaping?” With that, Xie Wendong turned and left the forest. Having survived many life-threatening situations, he wouldn’t let anger cloud his judgment. These killers clearly came prepared; after firing their shots, they rushed straight here—there might indeed be an ambush. Dong Xinlei shook his head, unconvinced, thinking Brother Dong was being overly cautious. Xie Wendong understood his thoughts and smiled, saying, “It’s not that I’m timid. I just don’t want to fight battles I’m not sure about and shed unnecessary blood.”
Dong Xinlei followed behind Xie Wendong, carrying the unconscious killer. Halfway there, Xie Wendong seemed to suddenly remember something. He grabbed Dong Xinlei’s arm and asked urgently, “Where’s Jin Rong?” Dong Xinlei looked around, but saw no sign of anyone. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he stammered, “I… I don’t know!”
“Bad news!” Even the usually calm Xie Wendong broke into cold sweat. If anything happened to Jin Rong, not only would he fail to fulfill his promise to the old man, but he wouldn’t be able to bear the emotional pain either. Xie Wendong ran forward frantically, shouting Jin Rong’s name. At that moment, several cars came from the direction of the villa and stopped beside Xie Wendong. Several burly men got out, including Jin Rong, who filled him with anxiety. Seeing that she was unharmed, Xie Wendong let out a long sigh and pulled her into his arms, gasping, “Thank goodness! You’re safe!” His frantic shouting earlier had broken Jin Rong’s heart. With tears in her eyes, she said, “Big brother…”
One of the burly men said cautiously, “Brother Dong, please forgive us. We rushed here as soon as we received Brother Lei’s call. We happened to see the young lady running toward the villa crying, so we brought her into the car.”

Xie Wendong calmed himself down, gently pushed Jin Rong away from his arms, patted his shoulder, and asked, “What’s your name?” “Zhan Feng! Captain of the Second Guard Team.” “Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded and said, “Let’s talk about it back at the villa first.” Then he pointed at the assassin carried by Dong Xinlei and said, “Zhan Feng, find some men to keep this person under tight watch. No one is allowed to approach him without my permission. Also, make sure he can’t commit suicide. Treat his wounds—he had an accident. I’m asking you to handle this.” Zhan Feng agreed and ordered his men to take the assassin to the car. Back at the villa, Xie Wendong first sent the frightened Jin Rong back to her room on the second floor, helped her lie down, and carefully covered her with a blanket. Just as he was about to leave, Jin Rong grabbed his clothes and sobbed, “Big brother, I’m scared!” Yes! She was still just a child, pure as a daffodil. The grudges of the martial world didn’t belong to her, nor should they ever intersect with her world. But fate seemed to enjoy playing such jokes. Xie Wendong felt a pain in his heart. Gently stroking her hair, he said softly, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you!” “Big brother, you won’t leave, right? Please don’t leave me alone in this room.” Jin Rong clutched her clothes tightly, as if if she let go, Xie Wendong would fly away. Xie Wendong smiled gently and said, “I won’t! Go to sleep. As long as I’m here, no one can hurt you.” Jin Rong felt that familiar sense of safety, just like four years ago—as long as this big brother was there, she didn’t need to fear even if the sky collapsed. Fatigue struck her like a storm. She had wanted to talk to her big brother a little longer, to wipe the blood from his face, but she fell asleep. Xie Wendong gently wiped away the tears still on Jin Rong’s face, but his gaze grew increasingly dark, hiding a raging fire within. If there was anyone in this world who could knock down both Jin Peng and Xie Wendong at the same time, it was probably only Jin Rong. Seeing that Jin Rong was already fast asleep, Xie Wendong slowly stood up, but his sleeve was grabbed by Jin Rong. He wanted to move her fingers away but was afraid of waking her, so he had no choice but to take off his clothes and place them beside her. After leaving the room, Xie Wendong closed the door tightly behind him. Dozens of people stood in the hall below, all heads bowed, sensing that a storm was about to break.

Xie Wendong sighed in front of the door, took some time before turning to go down the stairs, still wearing that familiar smile on his face. Sitting on the sofa in the center, with his legs crossed, the smile caused his wound to bleed again. Xie Wendong let the blood drip onto his clothes and asked cheerfully, “Who is in charge of guarding the villa today?”
A middle-aged man in his fifties stepped forward slightly, his face turning red as he said, “Master, it’s my turn to be in charge today.”
Xie Wendong nodded, pointed at him, and pondered for a moment before saying with a smile, “If I’m not mistaken, your name should be Wang Jianting. You’re also an elder of the Hongmen, right? You’ve been with them for over thirty years, haven’t you?”
Wang Jianting sighed and replied, “I joined the Hongmen at eighteen and have been with the gang for thirty-five years.”