Chapter 186

The arrival of Dong Xinlei barely managed to stabilize the declining situation. He rallied his forces and launched a counterattack against the South Hongmen. Now that the North Hongmen had suffered heavy losses and were in low morale, they needed a victory to boost their spirits. His target was their own headquarters, which had been occupied by the South Hongmen, but the enemy outnumbered them by a huge margin—about three times as many. As the two sides clashed, Dong Xinlei shook his head in thought, realizing it would be difficult to recapture the headquarters with such a small force. Not wanting to make unnecessary sacrifices, he waved his hand and ordered his men to retreat.

Gan Cheng was also under pressure. Staring at the map on the table, he frowned deeply, pointing and drawing on it from time to time, figuring out how to completely defeat the North Hongmen’s forces. At that moment, one of his subordinates came over and asked softly, “Brother He, all the corpses have been gathered—over a hundred. What should we do with them?” Gan Cheng glared at him and snapped, “Don’t even bring such trivial matters to me! Burn them. Otherwise, what else can we do but hand them over to the police?” Seeing his angry expression, the subordinate shrank back in fear, quickly nodded in agreement, and ran away. Xiao Fang, who was watching, chuckled and said, “Brother He, you killed Hong Yun and seized the North Hongmen’s headquarters—this is a great victory. You should be happy!”

Xiao Fang was one of the Eight Heavenly Kings of the South Hongmen, renowned for his sharp mind. He was a trusted assistant under Xiang Wentian, and it was he who came up with the plan to turn the tables on Hong Yun. Gan Cheng gave a bitter smile. As one of the Heavenly Kings of the South Hongmen, Xiao Fang was of a higher status than him, and he didn’t dare offend him. He sighed and said, “Brother Xiao, what’s there to be happy about? The headquarters assigned me two thousand elite troops and sent you to assist me, ordering me to drive the northern invaders out of Nanjing within half a month. But now Dong Xinlei from the north has arrived. He’s no ordinary person like Hong Yun—he’s very difficult to deal with. I’m worried…” He didn’t dare say more. Xiao Fang smiled and said, “I’ve also heard of Dong Xinlei. He’s brave, but his mind is average. He’s not hard to deal with!” Hearing this, Gan Cheng perked up and asked eagerly, “Brother Xiao, have you already thought of a strategy to win?”
Xiao Fang laughed heartily and said, “In one word—deception!”

The Northern Hongmen had now retreated to the north of Nanjing and found a stronghold to settle down in. Dong Xinlei sat in the room, sighing repeatedly. The Southern invaders were numerous, and without reinforcements, it would be as difficult as scaling the heavens to regain lost territory. Moreover, the branches in several nearby cities were all in urgent need, suffering attacks from the Southern invaders. It was already good enough that they didn’t ask for support; they simply couldn’t spare any extra troops. Sending troops from headquarters was a matter of timing—by the time reinforcements arrived, his side might already have no foothold in Nanjing, and the elders might not give him many troops either. He sighed again, thinking that he had been tasked with this mission in a crisis. If Nanjing couldn’t be saved, how could he face the old master? What could he say to Brother Dong later? This time, Dong Xinlei was truly worried, with no idea at all. Just then, someone knocked on the door and entered. Dong Xinlei looked up and saw it was the scout he had sent out. The scout appeared pleased and said, “Brother Lei, the people from the Southern Hongmen have withdrawn from our branch.”
“What?” Dong Xinlei doubted he heard correctly. He looked at the scout and asked, “What did you just say? Say it again.” The scout smiled and said, “The people from the Southern Hongmen have left our branch.” Hearing this, Dong Xinlei gasped. His first reaction was, “This is a trap.” After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Are there any ambushes set up by the Southern Hongmen in the vicinity?”
The scout shook his head. “No! Absolutely not. They left completely clean; all their people have returned to their original bases.” “Hmm…” Dong Xinlei mused. His intuition told him that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. How could the Southern invaders easily give back the branches they had just captured? It seemed impossible. They wouldn’t be that kind; even a fool wouldn’t do such a thing. He stood up and said, “Call a few brothers and let’s go investigate secretly.”
Dong Xinlei led a group to the Northern Hongmen’s branch. It was a 15-story building built with funds from the Northern Hongmen, with over a dozen companies renting offices there. Now, it was completely empty. The entire building was eerily quiet. Why such silence? Dong Xinlei rested his chin in his hand and walked around. Gathering his courage, he said to his men behind him, “Let’s go in and take a look!”
The men shuddered. One of them whispered, “Brother Lei, let’s be careful! If there’s an ambush inside, it’ll be hard for us to get out!”

Dong Xinlei narrowed his eyes and snapped angrily, “What’s there to fear? If the sky falls, I’ll hold it up!” He strode in and searched thoroughly; indeed, there was no one inside. Aside from a few plainclothed police officers keeping watch nearby, no suspicious individuals could be seen. The police were aware of the clash between the Northern and Southern Hongmen in Nanjing, but they chose to sit back and watch, intervening only if things got too extreme. Moreover, given the deep ties between the two Hongmen factions and the police, the city and provincial authorities refrained from sending troops to suppress the conflict. The police had interests tied to both factions and didn’t know which side to support, so they opted to wait and see how things developed.

Dong Xinlei searched the entire building and its surroundings thoroughly but didn’t spot a single member of the Southern Hongmen. Finally, his subordinates, who had been anxious, relaxed slightly and said, “Brother Lei, it seems the Southern Hongmen must have known our reinforcements were coming. Realizing they couldn’t win, they retreated first.” Dong Xinlei thought it couldn’t be that simple. Reinforcements didn’t arrive all at once—transferring troops from headquarters required many procedures and approvals. If they could send troops at will, the Hongmen factions would long have been in chaos. Even if the vanguard of the reinforcements reached Nanjing, it would take at least two days. The Southern Hongmen surely knew this. Two days might not seem long, but it was enough time to handle most matters. So why did they retreat? Could it be they were truly afraid of their own reinforcements? Dong Xinlei couldn’t figure it out. Standing by the road, he gazed at the empty building, unsure of what to do.

Someone asked, “Brother Lei, should we take back our stronghold now?” Dong Xinlei shook his head and waved his hand, saying, “Let’s go back and discuss it.”

Dong Xinlei led his men back to their temporary base, gathering all the remaining officers and cadres to discuss strategies. Opinions were divided—some thought it might be a trap, while others doubted it since there were indeed no Southern Hongmen members in the area. After much deliberation, Dong Xinlei still couldn’t make up his mind. Then, a scout reported that internal strife had broken out among the Southern Hongmen. The people sent from their headquarters clashed with local forces, with both sides ready to draw their swords at any moment—this might have been the main reason for their retreat.

Hearing this, Dong Xinlei was greatly encouraged. He exhaled deeply and said, “Heaven is on my side!” Without hesitation, he stood up and declared loudly, “Let’s return to our stronghold and hold our ground. Once the reinforcements arrive, we’ll counterattack them!” The others were inspired and filled with enthusiasm, shouting, “Right! Let’s fight our way back to our stronghold!”

Dong Xinlei led his remaining troops back to Tangkou. To strengthen his forces, he gathered all the scattered members of the Northern Hongmen in Nanjing at Tangkou. He believed that as long as they held out for two days until reinforcements arrived, they would succeed. But things weren’t that simple. As soon as he gathered everyone there, the Southern Hongmen, like tigers emerging from the mountains, launched a sudden full-scale attack and quickly seized all of the Northern Hongmen’s strongholds in Nanjing except for Tangkou. With almost no resistance—after all, Dong Xinlei had concentrated all his forces at Tangkou—he initially thought the Southern forces were just bluffing. But soon he realized they were moving too fast. Within half a day, his side had no place left to retreat except Tangkou. Then he began to panic, but it was already too late—the Southern Hongmen had taken control of the entire Nanjing, leaving only this small 15-story building.

The area around the building suddenly became much more bustling, with more pedestrians and groups chatting together. Some even set up stalls outside to sell goods. Dong Xinlei looked down from the top floor of the building and sighed inwardly—clearly, he was now surrounded by the Southern Hongmen. His guess was correct; the Southern Hongmen had sent at least a thousand men to encircle the building completely, both openly and secretly. Most of the pedestrians going in and out were actually their disguised enforcers, waiting for orders to attack from above.

Dong Xinlei sent over a dozen men to scout, but after they left, they disappeared as if swallowed by the sea—none returned. Desperate, he first called the headquarters to explain his situation, then sent three faxes in a row, each labeled: Urgent! Urgent! Urgent! Extremely urgent!

While he was anxious, He Cheng couldn’t stop smiling. He thought to himself that Xiao Fang, so young already, being one of the Eight Heavenly Kings was no accident—he truly had extraordinary abilities. Now without any worries, with the whole of Nanjing under his control, Dong Xinlei was like a tiger in a cage. He could now launch a full-scale attack without having to fear reinforcements from the Northern Hongmen.

In the dead of night, the horns signaling the attack by the South Hongmen finally sounded. Thousands of men armed with knives rushed into the building. Dong Xinlei was skilled in combat and had prepared well for the enemy. Though outnumbered, he had the advantage of being inside the building. A fierce battle ensued inside, with Dong Xinlei fighting with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, his body covered in blood, unable to tell whether it was his own or the enemy’s. In his eyes, there were only two types of people: enemies to be killed, and allies to be helped. He fought his way from the third floor all the way to the entrance, with no one able to match his bravery. Then he saw another bald man behind the enemy, giving orders and shouting loudly. An idea struck him—rumor had it that the leader of the South Hongmen in Nanjing was also bald, and this man seemed to hold a high position; it was almost certainly He Cheng. Although he had never met He Cheng, his prominent bald head made it impossible to mistake him. Dong Xinlei hated him fiercely and resolved to use a trick not only to harm Hong Yun but also to target him this time. Determined, he thought, “Even if I can’t get out this time, I’ll die making someone else take the blame!” With that, he gritted his teeth, rushed silently at He Cheng, and attacked. The men in front of He Cheng were stunned to see a “bloodied man” charging toward them. One of them shouted, “Who is that?”
“I am…” Dong Xinlei paused, then, as the man got closer, he swung his knife and shouted, “I am your ancestor!”

The man wasn’t unalert, but his strike was too fast—drawing a beautiful silver line through the air. Before he could even scream, half of his head was severed. Dong Xinlei roared, “He Cheng, give me your life!” At that moment, He Cheng also saw Dong Xinlei. He was brave, but upon seeing Dong Xinlei’s appearance, his courage nearly vanished. Dong Xinlei was covered in blood, with red, white, and yellow substances stuck to his body—unidentifiable in nature. In his hand was a mountain-cutting sword with serrated edges, still clinging to pieces of flesh. Looking up, his face had lost its original color, as if coated in a thick layer of red paint. His eyes were bloodshot and red, emitting a sinister glow. When he opened his mouth, only his teeth remained their original color—pale and gleaming with a cold light. Dong Xinlei was already tall, and with blood all over him and an overwhelming killing aura, he resembled an Asura from hell. When He Cheng saw the red light from Dong Xinlei’s eyes staring at him, his legs trembled, and he barely avoided falling to the ground. He kept retreating while shouting at his subordinates, “Stop him! Gui, stop him!” His men charged forward but couldn’t stop him. Dong Xinlei rushed forward, slashing twice. He blocked with his sword, and before his opponent could react, he fired two shots with his other hand. His marksmanship wasn’t comparable to Xie Wendong’s—even ten Xie Wendongs combined wouldn’t match him. He would fire one shot and never another, knowing that those hit by him would never stand again. Over a hundred people around He Cheng were forced to retreat under Dong Xinlei’s assault, avoiding his deadly strikes. Although Dong Xinlei was trapped in the middle, wherever he moved forward, the people there stepped back. As he advanced, the crowd retreated like a tide. Then Dong Xinlei searched for the bald man, but there was no trace of him. Sighing inwardly, he thought, “It seems He Cheng has hidden. I’ll have to fight my way back!” Waving his mountain-cutting sword, he began to fight his way back. Some people, defying fate, tried to test Dong Xinlei’s sword skills. They blocked with their swords, but before they could see his move, they felt a sudden lightness in their shoulders—their arms holding the swords were flung away. Those men screamed in agony as they fell backward. Their screams felt like knives cutting through everyone’s hearts. No one dared to step forward to stop him anymore, watching as Dong Xinlei returned into the building.

There was a sedan parked across the street, with one person inside—it was Xiao Fang. He had seen everything clearly just now and thought to himself that Dong Xinlei was truly a fierce warrior; his bravery was probably no less than Zhang Fei’s from the Three Kingdoms era! It was a pity that such a formidable warrior was his enemy. As he was thinking this, the car door opened, and before anyone else got in, a bald man stepped in first. He Cheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling terrified. His heart pounded wildly as he swallowed hard and gasped, “That man must be Dong Xinlei! It’s terrifying!”