Chapter 181

Ma Feng pulled out his gun and said to the man, “Yamada, it seems Xie Wendong has seen through our trap. Let’s fight him head-on!” Yamada said nothing; instead, he showed his decision by drawing his gun and firing wildly at Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong dodged behind a pillar, while Jin Yan and the others also fired back. Half of Xie Wendong’s men engaged in gunfights with those inside the room, while the other half guarded the entrance to prevent others from rushing in. Fire exchanged between the two sides, with gunshots ringing like beans being smashed, and people falling to the ground in screams from time to time.

In just a short while, both sides ran out of ammunition, and they resorted to hand-to-hand combat with weapons. The room was originally quite large, but with dozens of people fighting with swords and knives, it became extremely crowded. Xie Wendong always carried a steel knife with him, hidden in a secret place, though he rarely used it—knowing his weakness in marksmanship. Now, the hidden knife came in handy. It was a good knife, about an inch and a half wide, hollow in the middle, with a blade on one side and serrated edges on the other.

Xie Wendong didn’t target anyone else; his eyes were fixed on Ma Feng as he charged straight at him. The area was packed with people, with blades flashing everywhere. Both sides fought fiercely, slashing at anyone in sight, and blood covered the ground. Ma Feng also saw Xie Wendong. Seeing his blood-red eyes, he felt a chill in his heart. He grabbed two of his men beside him, pushed them forward, and shouted, “Kill him! Kill Xie Wendong!”

The two men didn’t dare delay. They raised their knives and charged at Xie Wendong, who was walking toward them. Xie Wendong sneered, raised his knife to block the attack. The strike was powerful, and with a loud clang, Xie Wendong stepped back half a step, using the momentum to slightly turn his body and dodge the other man’s slashing attack.

The man was shocked to see Xie Wendong dodge so easily. Before he could pull back his knife, Xie Wendong moved. With a slight swing of his arm, the golden knife flew into his hand and stabbed straight at the man’s arm. The man tried desperately to pull back his arm, but Xie Wendong’s move was feinted—while stabbing, the knife left his hand, circling quickly around the man’s arm. As the man tried to pull back forcefully, Xie Wendong pulled again, severing the man’s arm with the silver-edged knife. The severed arm and the knife fell to the ground at the same time. The man screamed in pain, clutching his wound. Xie Wendong stepped forward, his eyes blood-red, his lips curled slightly as he plunged the knife into the man’s abdomen. The man opened his mouth, staring at Xie Wendong, his mouth filled with blood. Xie Wendong kicked the man away, pulled out the knife, and its serrated edges dragged out his intestines as well.

In the blink of an eye, Xie Wendong killed him in the time it takes for lightning to flash. He flicked the knife in his hand, and blood dripped from it as he quickly turned to confront the other man. The man had witnessed everything clearly and saw his companion die at Xie Wendong’s blade in less than three seconds. Without any fighting spirit left, his heart clenched at the sight of Xie Wendong approaching with his knife. The greatest enemy in a fight is cowardice—fear makes one hesitant and unable to give their best. Already far inferior to Xie Wendong, and filled with doubts about him, the man was cut in the throat after just a few moves and fell backward, joining his earlier fallen companion.

Xie Wendong pointed the tip of his knife at Ma Feng and said coldly, “Your turn!” Ma Feng hadn’t expected Xie Wendong to be so fierce. He had always thought he was merely clever, but now realized his combat skills were also extraordinary. His expression changed as he slowly reached behind him, where he had a gun tucked at his waist, intending to surprise Xie Wendong and kill him with a shot. Xie Wendong’s lips curled into a slight sneer, his red-eyed gaze like two knives piercing straight into Ma Feng’s heart, seemingly seeing through all his thoughts. This imposing aura terrified Ma Feng. He wasn’t sure he could kill Xie Wendong. Looking into his eyes, he felt like prey already, ready to be torn apart at any moment. With a sigh, he gave up pulling out his gun and jumped out through a nearby window. In truth, Xie Wendong had indeed seen through his thoughts—his calm appearance was fake. He immediately realized Ma Feng had another gun from his subtle movement. Xie Wendong was very wary of guns; Ma Feng’s marksmanship during their last encounter in the Golden Triangle had left a deep impression on him. If Ma Feng shot now, it would be difficult for him to dodge. Though he thought this, he showed no outward reaction, maintaining his composure and using the ruse to scare Ma Feng away.

With Ma Feng in flight, how could Xie Wendong let him go? Although Ma Feng had a gun, Xie Wendong really didn’t want to miss this great opportunity. If he let Ma Feng escape now, it would be hard to track him down again. Xie Wendong followed closely behind, also jumping out of the window with his knife. Jin Yan, who had been watching Xie Wendong the whole time, wasn’t doubting his skills but realized that even the most skilled person could lose focus in such chaos. Seeing Xie Wendong chase after Ma Feng, he didn’t hesitate and shouted, “Brother Dong, wait for me!” before jumping out as well.

Yamada saw Xie Wendong chasing Ma Feng and didn’t want to engage in a prolonged fight with others. His target was Xie Wendong, and his top priority was to kill him. He tried to chase after him, but was tightly held back by Xue Sha. Unable to break free, Yamada roared and used all his strength to swing his battle axe. The force of this strike was immense; Xue Sha didn’t dare to meet it head-on and dodged to avoid the blade. Seizing this moment of opportunity, Yamada broke free and jumped out of the window. Yet as soon as he flew out, an arm stretched out from nowhere and grabbed his collar. This arm was extremely thick, and its owner was also incredibly strong. With a growl, he threw Yamada back.

Yamada was inexplicably pulled back into the air and thrown to the ground. He rolled aside and got up to see a giant standing by the window—nearly 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, his muscles bulging like a small mountain. “Damn it!” Yamada cursed angrily and swung his axe at him. This man was Tushan. He had been fighting against others and hadn’t noticed Xie Wendong and Jin Yan chasing after Ma Feng. He wasn’t satisfied with fighting these people, as they fell to the ground after just a few moves. While fighting, he kept looking around for someone skilled. Just then, he saw Yamada wielding his Japanese sword, shining brightly and looking formidable. Tushan grinned, thinking this guy wasn’t bad—seemingly quite skilled. He quickly dealt with the small fries in front of him and rushed at Yamada. But before he could get close, Yamada had already jumped out of the window. Thinking Yamada was trying to escape, Tushan refused to let him go. With two long leaps, he chased after him and grabbed Yamada’s collar, pulling him back alive.

Anxious, Yamada didn’t say a word and swung his axe at Tushan. Tushan laughed and raised his arm to block it. Seeing this, Yamada sneered inwardly—this guy might seem strong, but he’s actually a fool. Thinking he could block my axe with his arm is just delusional! With that thought, he increased the force behind his swing, aiming to split his opponent in half with one blow.

The battle knife drew closer and closer to Tu Shan, and Yamada’s cold smirk deepened. Finally, the blade touched the opponent’s arm, but Yamada didn’t feel the satisfying sensation of the knife piercing bone. There was a loud clang, sparks flew, and Yamada’s hands went numb; the katana nearly flew out of his grasp. He quickly stepped back several times. When he looked at Tu Shan again, the man wasn’t moving at all—instead, he was smiling and waving at him, signaling for another attack. Yamada realized his previous strike didn’t seem to have hit a person but rather something like iron plate. Upon closer inspection, he saw that Tu Shan’s arms were indeed covered in steel plates—no wonder he had braved the attack so fearlessly. Yamada roared and charged forward again, this time avoiding direct confrontation by using agile sword techniques to surround Tu Shan. The two fought like spinning tops, never stopping. Tu Shan had an easier time in the center, while Yamada, having to move around him, exhausted himself quickly. He had thought such a burly man would be rigid, but after over twenty exchanges, Tu Shan still managed both defense and offense with steady moves, forcing Yamada to keep moving around.

The more Yamada fought, the more panicked he became. Glancing at his other men, he saw that most were lying on the ground, and the few remaining were struggling to hold on, on the verge of falling. At that moment, a group of people rushed in from outside, all dressed in black Zhongshan suits, each wielding a knife like fierce tigers descending from the mountains. They attacked anyone from the Soul Group, especially a thin man at the forefront who was extremely agile, knocking down three people in an instant. Yamada sighed inwardly, realizing it would be difficult to succeed today. He fought while retreating toward the window. Seeing him try to run, Tu Shan grinned and said jokingly, “I’m having so much fun! You can’t leave!”

As he spoke, Tu Shan intensified his attacks. Yamada had intended to retreat toward the window, but with Tu Shan’s pressure, he had no choice but to stay. He was already at the edge of the window but couldn’t find a gap to jump through. Soon, all the members of the Soul Group in the room were knocked to the ground. The men brought by Xie Wendong slowly advanced toward him with hostile expressions. Just as he grew anxious, Tu Shan threw a punch at him. Yamada braced himself, not dodging or avoiding, and took the punch head-on.

“Ouch!” Yamada grunted, feeling as though his chest had been hit by a speeding train as he flew sideways. Yet Tu Shan’s punch indirectly saved him—he rushed out through the window, crashing heavily to the ground. He propped himself up on his hands and barely stood, spitting out blood with a “wah” sound—Tu Shan’s strike had broken two of his ribs. After spitting out blood, Yamada felt somewhat relieved and fled outside in a hurry.

The group that entered the room later were Mu Zi and the Blood Kill members he led. Although he didn’t know Yamada’s identity, his skills made it clear that this man was no ordinary person. Seeing Yamada prepare to escape, Mu Zi quickly grabbed the rifle behind him and aimed it at Yamada’s back. Just as he pulled the trigger, Yamada suddenly collapsed; the bullet grazed his arm. Before Mu Zi could fire another shot, Yamada had already disappeared around the street corner. He sighed in regret. Only then did he realize he hadn’t seen Xie Wendong and turned to Tu Shan, asking, “Where’s Brother Dong?”
Tu Shan was also stunned. He looked around but saw no sign of Xie Wendong, nor was Golden Eye there. Scratching his head, he said in a low voice, “I don’t know either!”
“Really!” Mu Zi immediately ordered people to search. If anything happened to Xie Wendong, it would be a disaster.
At that moment, Xie Wendong was chasing Ma Feng, with Golden Eye close behind. The three of them ran from in front of the building to behind it, then climbed over a wall and rushed into an alley. Xie Wendong might not be good at anything else, but long-distance running was definitely his strength. After running for an unknown amount of time, Ma Feng was already out of breath, while Xie Wendong was only slightly panting. The distance between them grew smaller, and Ma Feng could even hear Xie Wendong’s breathing.
Realizing he couldn’t outrun him, Ma Feng suddenly stopped and turned, glaring at Xie Wendong.
Xie Wendong looked around. The area was desolate with few people, surrounded by grasslands. He sneered, “The scenery here is nice. Dying here could be considered your luck!”
Ma Feng growled in anger and said, “It’s uncertain who of us will die! Let me tell you, I have another gun here, one loaded with bullets! And you…”
Before he could finish, Xie Wendong pulled open his clothes and said calmly, “I also have a gun, just like yours, loaded with bullets too.” Ma Feng took a closer look and was shocked to see a silver pistol indeed tucked under Xie Wendong’s open clothes. Swallowing hard, he steeled his heart and said through gritted teeth, “If that’s the case, let’s see whose gun is faster!” He had never seen Xie Wendong shoot and didn’t know if he was better than himself, but judging by his skills, his marksmanship shouldn’t be that bad. Yet this time, Ma Feng was wrong—Xie Wendong’s weakest skill was marksmanship.

The distance between the two was only five steps; at such close range, there was no way to dodge a shot. Ma Feng was nervous, and Xie Wendong was even more so. Without even drawing his gun, he already knew his own weapon couldn’t be faster than Ma Feng’s. Yet he dared not retreat—any sign of concern might cause Ma Feng to shoot him through the head instantly. He stayed calm, waiting for Jin Yan.

The two stood motionless on either side, staring intently at each other without blinking, both searching for an opportunity, for a flaw in the other. They waited as well, for the other to show first. Time seemed to freeze; a second felt like an eternity. Sweat poured down Ma Feng’s forehead, sliding down his cheeks and into his mouth and clothes. But he dared not wipe it away—the killing intent radiating from Xie Wendong made him too afraid to move.

At that moment, Xie Wendong heard faint footsteps behind him. His heart stirred, and he thought, “They’re here!” His eyes instinctively shifted away from Ma Feng’s face and glanced behind him.

A great opportunity! Ma Feng shouted inwardly and drew his gun at the fastest speed he could.