Chapter 170

“Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded and said, “You’ve noticed that too.” Sanyan sighed and said, “It seems he was used as a pawn by others; he might not realize it until his death. Xiang Huishan acted really quickly—otherwise, we could have figured out who the real mastermind is from Leiting.”
Xie Wendong sighed, “Xiang Huishan’s actions were indeed too fast, too fast to even give his friend a chance to speak.”
Sanyan was shocked and asked, “Brother Dong, do you suspect Xiang Huishan to be the mastermind?”
Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and asked, “Does he look like it to you?”
Sanyan shook his head. “No. That look of sorrow on his face is hard to fake. If it’s fake, then his acting skills are remarkable. Maybe he was truly driven mad by anger, or maybe, as he said, he was afraid Leiting would be punished harshly by their own rules. Maybe…”
Xie Wendong waved his hand to cut him off, laughed heartily, and felt a bit better. He said, “Enough with all these ‘maybe’s.’ Ten thousand ‘maybes’ are not as useful as one piece of evidence. No matter who this spy is or how smart he is, I must uncover him, even if I have to dig a hundred feet deep!” This time, Xie Wendong was determined—he wouldn’t rest until the spy was found.
Sanyan said, “Although the Hongmen faction is huge, it’s not as hassle-free as our Wendong Society. I can’t say much about others, but the loyalty of our society’s members is absolutely trustworthy. On the surface, Hongmen’s members seem to obey Brother Dong, but who knows what they really think!”
Xie Wendong sighed, “That’s why things are hard to handle. After all, they were all trained by the old master. Just because they’re 100% loyal to him doesn’t mean they’ll be loyal to me, a newcomer. That’s why only a solid foundation of one’s own is reliable; anything given by others is temporary. Turning the temporary into the permanent depends on one’s own abilities.”
Sanyan laughed and said, “Anyway, I have confidence in Brother Dong’s abilities. I’m actually thinking about another issue now.” “What issue?” “Since Brother Dong will be both the leader of the Hongmen and the head of the Wendong Society, merging the two gangs is only a matter of time. I wonder whether the Wendong Society will absorb the Hongmen or the other way around.”
Xie Wendong was stunned. He hadn’t thought about that at all. He patted Sanyan’s shoulder and said, “Brother Zhang, you’re getting smarter by the day—far beyond what I expected.”
Sanyan laughed and said, “If we want to keep up with you, we have to think further!” Xie Wendong laughed and walked down the rooftop alongside Sanyan.

After this upheaval, with traitors inside now exposed, all the cadres became extremely cautious, acting more discreetly and secretly suspecting one another—which elder was a spy and which cadre was colluding with that elder. As a result, the Hongmen actually became more peaceful. Xie Wendong stayed in City T for ten days, handling the aftermath of Elder Leiting, then handed over power to Dong Xinlei. Jiang Sen and his Blood Killers stayed behind to assist, while he and Sanyan rushed back to City H. He figured that the Hongmen would be calmer for a while, and even cunning traitors would be more restrained.

Without delay, they first went to Beijing and then took a flight back to City H. Seeing the familiar city, everything felt even more comforting. Looking up at the sky, he found the hometown sky so blue and clear, free of any impurities. As soon as Xie Wendong and Sanyan stepped out of the airport hall after landing, they saw a sea of people—tall and burly, typical Northeastern men, all dressed uniformly in black Sun Yat-sen suits, a truly spectacular sight. Xie Wendong perked up, shook his head, and laughed, “There’s no need for such a grand display!”

Sanyan replied, “It wasn’t my idea. I only told Xiaoshuang that Brother Dong was coming back by plane today.”

From afar, Xie Wendong saw Li Shuang and Gao Qiang standing at the front of the crowd. One was fat and the other thin, one short and the other tall—it was hard not to notice them standing together.

Xie Wendong strode over and approached them, studying them for a long time. Li Shuang and Gao Qiang didn’t speak either, looking at Xie Wendong with excitement in their eyes.

After a while, Xie Wendong touched Li Shuang’s clothes and sighed, “You don’t look right in a Sun Yat-sen suit. Qiangzi looks more spirited in it.”

Li Shuang frowned and said, “It seems like no outfit has ever looked good on me, from childhood to now.”

Xie Wendong smiled helplessly and asked, “Have you been doing well lately?” Li Shuang shook his head. “Not well.” “Oh?” Xie Wendong asked, “Why not?” Li Shuang sighed, “Without Brother Dong by my side, how could I be fine?” Xie Wendong laughed, raised his arms, and hugged Li Shuang. Turning to look at Gao Qiang, who was smiling nearby, he said, “Qiangzi is still the same, but even quieter than before.”

Gao Qiang replied, “It’s enough to keep feelings in your heart. Why put them on display?” Hearing this, Li Shuang blushed, tilted his head, and muttered, “Some people like to act deep, thinking it makes them look cool, but they’re actually idiots without even realizing it.” Xie Wendong laughed heartily and hugged Gao Qiang as well.

Li Shuang pointed at the people behind him and said with a smile, “The guild has expanded rapidly lately, with many new members joining. Brother Dong probably doesn’t know most of them.”
Xie Wendong stepped forward and took in their appearance—each one standing straight with full confidence. Just their presence filled him with joy. When they saw him coming, they all bowed and said, “Hello, Brother Dong!” Many of them were new members who had only heard of the founder of the Wendong Guild. Xie Wendong himself was a legend; only now, upon meeting him, did they realize he was so young.
Noticing the surprise in their eyes, Xie Wendong smiled and said, “This world belongs to the young. If there are any miracles left, it’s up to us to create them.” He pointed at himself and added, “Me and you! Do you want to stand at the top of the world and be admired by everyone?”
A few simple words ignited their passion, their eyes shining as they all shouted, “Yes!”
“Great!” Xie Wendong looked up and said, “Hand over your lives to me. Let’s create a myth together. Whether we succeed or fail, as long as we’ve tried, it’s worth it. If one lives only to fill their stomach, life loses its glory. If you want to be villains with me, it’s like betting your life on tomorrow. Those who want to gamble, follow me.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it was deep and powerful, ensuring everyone heard every word clearly. Their blood boiled, their passion ignited.
Watching Xie Wendong walk away from the airport, perhaps due to the sunlight outside, a dazzling glow surrounded him, so bright it was hard to look directly at.
A meteor is beautiful because of its brevity—traversing the dark night sky, emitting a fleeting light. Though weak, no one can ignore its existence. Xie Wendong’s life was like a meteor, full of excitement and legend, like a beautiful tale. Whether it would be as brief as a meteor was beyond others’ control, even beyond heaven’s control—it was up to him alone. If he wished, the meteor could become eternal. But would he?
The group took a car back to the villa. It was still the one Jin Peng had left for him, unchanged—every plant and tree was eerily familiar. Walking in the courtyard and touching the heavily damaged tree, Xie Wendong shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “This is still from when I practiced with the Golden Blade.”
Li Shuang nodded. “Yes! Back then, we first arrived in City H and were forced to hide from the Soul Group and the Tiger Gang. It was thanks to Old Master Jin that we got so much help.”

Xie Wendong sighed and said, “So one should know how to repay kindness. But the Hongmen is too large, full of troubles, and after all, it’s under the old master’s management. I dare not make drastic changes, and the reward isn’t that simple either.” He now felt deeply moved—after all, the Hongmen wasn’t Wendong’s own organization. He couldn’t find the sense of belonging he had at home there, and doing things there felt exhausting and unsatisfying.

Seeing Xie Wendong’s gloomy expression, Gao Qiang, who had originally wanted to talk, hesitated even more.

Having spent so much time with Gao Qiang, Xie Wendong could easily tell what was on his mind. He cheered up and said, “Qiangzi, just speak up. Don’t be hesitant.”

Gao Qiang smiled bitterly. “It seems nothing can escape Brother Dong’s eyes. There are two matters: one is personal to you, and the other is related to the gang.”

Xie Wendong snapped, “Stop with the nonsense. Whether it’s personal or gang-related, just tell me both.”

Gao Qiang said, “Brother Dong, your father lost his job.”

“What?” Xie Wendong was stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh bitterly—though it was a laugh at himself. He hadn’t been home for nearly a year. As a son, he hadn’t shown any filial piety, not even knowing that his father had lost his job until someone told him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go home—it was that he dared not. Which parent doesn’t want their child to live a decent life? But he had chosen a dark path. Facing his parents, he always felt an indescribable sense of guilt. Not going home was just a form of avoidance. Perhaps he himself didn’t even realize this; he refused to think about it. Xie Wendong shook his head and asked with a laugh, “How much money do I have?”

Gao Qiang and Li Shuang were taken aback by his question and asked doubtfully, “Brother Dong, what money?”

Xie Wendong shouted, “How much assets do I have? How much in RMB? Can you understand if I ask it this way?”

They had rarely seen Xie Wendong so agitated. But since neither of them dealt with money, they didn’t know exactly how much he had. Gao Qiang thought for a moment and said, “Probably 100 million, or 200 million, maybe even more.”

“Oh!” Xie Wendong nodded and sighed. “So I’m this wealthy, yet my parents have never enjoyed a single bit of the benefits from their billionaire son. Don’t you think I’m extremely unfilial?”

Li Shuang hurriedly said, “Brother Dong, you must have had your reasons.”

“A grievance?” Xie Wendong murmured. “A grievance! My grievance is that I’m a complete scoundrel!” With that, he laughed heartily, tears streaming down his face. Seeing this, Li Shuang felt sad and tightly pinched Gao Qiang next to him, shouting, “Brother Dong, don’t worry. I’ll send someone to talk to Uncle Zao right away. I want to see who in City J has such boldness!” Li Shuang was impulsive; he acted right away, taking out his phone to call.

Xie Wendong calmed himself down, sighing inwardly at his own outburst. He stopped Li Shuang, who was about to make the call, and shook his head. “The reason I don’t go home is so my parents won’t discover my true identity. If you go looking for help like this, won’t that ruin all my efforts so far?”

Li Shuang frowned, saying helplessly, “Brother Dong, then what do you suggest?”

Xie Wendong let out a long sigh, took two deep breaths, hesitated for a while, then looked up and asked, “Is there any way in today’s society to make a lot of money suddenly?”

Li Shuang’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, “Yes! People buy lottery tickets now—first prize is five million!”

“Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded and smiled. “Great. I’ll buy a first-prize lottery ticket for my parents!”