Chapter 197

Neither side sent troops in these days. Just as Xiao Fang was preparing to withdraw, he suddenly received news: Xie Wendong and Nie Tianxing had led most of their elite forces back to City T, with Ling Min and Wei Zidan left behind in Nanjing. Xiao Fang’s first reaction was that this news must be false—most likely another trick by Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong had just won a major battle, killing over a thousand of his own men and also killing Li Wangye; his morale was high. Why would he withdraw his troops for no reason?! Xiao Fang glared at the scout, scaring him, and said, “This must be false news spread by Xie Wendong to lure me in. I won’t fall for it this time.”

But not long after, another scout came and reported, “Xie Wendong and Nie Tianxing indeed led people back to City T.” Xiao Fang was stunned but still didn’t believe it and ordered more scouts to investigate. Scouts kept coming in and out, bringing the same message: Xie Wendong was not in Nanjing. Huh?! Xiao Fang gasped in shock. Could Xie Wendong really have returned to City T? But why? It made no sense!

The next day, Nan Hongmen’s secret spies in City T sent an important message to Guangzhou. For some reason, the Soul Group launched a massive attack on North Hongmen’s headquarters—City T. Caught off guard, North Hongmen was in dire straits, with Jin Peng trapped. To rescue Jin Peng, Xie Wendong led his forces back to City T and was engaged in fierce combat with the Soul Group. Upon hearing this, Xiang Wentian frowned and remained silent, but his subordinates quietly passed the news on to Xiao Fang in Nanjing. Upon hearing this, Xiao Fang jumped for joy and sighed deeply, “May heaven help our Hongmen seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! The northern invaders can be destroyed!” With Xie Wendong gone, Ling Min meant nothing to him. His greatest fear had vanished, and Nanjing was safe. He immediately sent a fax to Xiang Wentian, asking for more troops to capture Nanjing outright and pursue further. He was confident he could advance all the way to City T. “The Hongwu lineage has suffered repeated setbacks, while the northern invaders grow bolder. For the unity of the north and south, and to repay my elder brother’s kindness, I am willing to be a humble soldier. Even if I die in battle, I can die smiling.”

Xiao Fang’s fax was heartfelt and well-reasoned; even he felt tears well up in his eyes. Yet when it reached Guangzhou, it vanished without a reply. He waited anxiously for three days until Xiang Wentian finally called back. There were only four words on the message, yet they nearly made Xiao Fang spit blood again: “Do not send troops yet!”

Alas! After reading those four words, Xiao Fang broke into sweat, his heart filled with anxiety. He muttered to himself, “If we don’t send troops now, when will we? Opportunities are like meteors—brief and fleeting. Where else can we find such a good chance?” Zhang Jufeng was equally frantic, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to himself unknown words.

Finally, Xiao Fang stood up and said, “Regardless of whether Brother Xiang provides us with troops or not, we must not miss this opportunity. Gather men and attack Nanjing!” Over the past few days, he had recruited more newcomers and brought back those from the Nan Hongmen who had been hiding in Nanjing, preparing to launch a major attack. Yet Xiang Wentian did not support them. Determined as he was, he would attack Nanjing whether Xiang Wentian agreed or not. If successful, he would head straight for City T. He led about two thousand men to attack Xiang Lingmin, but Xiang Lingmin seemed well-prepared, determined to hold his ground firmly. No matter how much he provoked them, they refused to engage in battle. At this point, Xiao Fang felt the strain of having insufficient troops. After several days of fighting, they only captured some unimportant small areas; they didn’t even scratch the surface of the key regions.

Had Xie Wendong really returned to City T? Indeed, he had, and in great haste. Before leaving, he warned Xiang Lingmin and Wei Zidan that after he left, Xiao Fang would surely launch an attack, and the Nan Hongmen would not miss such a great opportunity. Although they had defeated over a thousand enemies in one battle, Xiang Wentian could deploy more troops, so they must not be careless. If faced with the enemy, they should only defend firmly; even if Xiao Fang was full of tricks, he was not a threat. As for Xiao Fang actually launching an attack, Xie Wendong was right about that. But Xiang Wentian not sending additional troops was beyond his expectations. Because if it were him, he would not miss this opportunity and might even lead troops in person to attack. However, Xiang Wentian was not Xie Wendong.

The reason the Soul Group targeted the old man directly was entirely due to Xie Wendong. The blood feud between Xie Wendong and the Soul Group grew deeper and deeper; as a thorn in their side, the Soul Group resolved to eliminate him at all costs. But Xie Wendong had two backers—Wendong Society and the Northern Hongmen. Wendong Society had deep roots in the Northeast, and as a native of the region, he was extremely difficult to deal with, causing the Soul Group to suffer many losses in this regard. So they decided to attack the Northern Hongmen first. Although powerful, it also had many enemies, especially its greatest rival—the Southern Hongmen. The Soul Group realized that if they attacked City T, the Southern Hongmen would seize this opportunity to invade in force. With both sides working together, the Northern Hongmen would surely be defeated. Without the Northern Hongmen’s support, Xie Wendong would have to return to the Northeast, where they could then focus all their efforts on him, making success likely. The Soul Group’s plan was well thought out, but they still overlooked some things.

Xie Wendong returned quickly. As soon as he received the urgent call from City T, he didn’t hesitate. He handed control of Nanjing to Lingmin and rushed back to City T with his men.

City T was in complete chaos. Jin Peng was trapped in the headquarters by the Soul Group. Although the number of attackers wasn’t large, they were the elite forces of the Soul Group from around the world. These men had received special training, excelling in marksmanship and assassination skills—far surpassing the disciples of the Southern Hongmen. Dong Xinlei went into battle despite being injured. After several attempts, he returned empty-handed, with many of his brothers killed or wounded, causing widespread panic. Xie Wendong’s return finally brought some relief to everyone. He gathered his followers and planned to first rescue Jin Peng from his predicament.

The headquarters in City T was truly enormous. Though called a villa, it was several times larger than ordinary villas. It had mountains, waters, forests, and even a sacrificial hall built by the Hongmen themselves. Xie Wendong wanted to first observe the situation of the Soul Group near the headquarters. He rode in the same car as Dong Xinlei, escorted by Jiang Sen and dozens of Blood Kill members. There was still a long way to go to the headquarters. Dong Xinlei ordered the car to stop. Seeing Xie Wendong’s puzzled expression, he said with difficulty, “If we go any further, we’ll enter the Soul Group’s attack range.”

The Hongmen headquarters was located in the suburbs, a sparsely populated area with strange trees and a rugged path wide enough only for two cars to pass side by side.

Xie Wendong got out of the car and looked around. The majestic silhouette of the sacrificial hall inside the headquarters could be faintly seen. He said, “Let’s walk forward!” After walking half a mile, the square in front of the headquarters became clearly visible. Seeing Xie Wendong squinting and tilting his head, Jiang Sen handed him a miniature telescope. Xie Wendong smiled, took it, and examined it carefully. There was a slight mist around the villa, making things hazy, but the surroundings were still visible. He was surprised, put down the telescope, and asked, “Why don’t I see a single person around the headquarters?”

Dong Xinlei smiled bitterly and said, “If the enemies were in the open, I would have already driven them out of City T. The problem is that they keep hiding in the shadows and firing surprise shots. Whether trying to enter or leave the headquarters, no one can escape their deadly shots. This is also the main reason why there are hundreds of brothers inside the headquarters yet no one can get out.”

“Oh!” Xie Wendong nodded in understanding and muttered to himself, “Can’t see them, but they fire surprise shots from the shadows—pretty impressive!” He looked up and asked, “Lao Lei, have you sent people to search the nearby forests?” Dong Xinlei sighed and said, “We have. The members of the Soul Group are definitely in the forests, but it’s too dark in there, and we’re in the open, so we can’t get in at all. I’ve sent people to search three times, and each time, a dozen or so brothers get injured.” Xie Wendong scratched his head and fell into thought. After a while, he asked Jiang Sen, “Are the brothers from Xue Sha good at jungle warfare?” Hearing this, Jiang Sen already understood what Brother Dong meant and replied, “Pretty decent.”

Jiang Sen was being too modest. Xue Sha had been trained in the Northeast, where there are many mountains and dense forests, and jungle warfare is precisely their specialty.

Xie Wendong pondered for another moment and said, “Let’s act tonight. Jiang Sen, take charge of fighting the Soul Group in the forests, while Lao Lei leads people to take advantage of the situation and storm into the headquarters to rescue the old man.”

During the day, Dong Xinlei selected 200 elite members from the Hongmen organization, while Jiang Sen brought in 50 members from his own group, Xue Sha. Xue Sha originated from the group known as An, which later split into Xue Sha and An Group, each responsible for assassinations and intelligence gathering respectively. However, all the people trained by An Group were assigned to Xue Sha, leaving An Group with few members. Liu Bo, in charge of An Group, was busy training new recruits and thus unavailable for the time being, so Xue Sha, which was originally responsible for assassinations, temporarily took on the task of intelligence gathering as well. With limited numbers, after multiple rounds of selection, only about 200 people remained. These 200 were divided into four large teams; one team was assigned to protect Xie Wendong’s parents in City J, while others were tasked with gathering information unfavorable to the Wendong Group. In reality, fewer than two teams were available for Jiang Sen’s use. Deploying an entire team this time meant a significant sacrifice on Jiang Sen’s part.

Just after 1 a.m., wheels rolled along the rugged path. In the faint light, at least dozens of cars could be seen approaching slowly, their bright headlights resembling a glowing giant snake winding its way through the dense forest. When the convoy reached the foot of another hill, revealing the headquarters of the Northern Hongmen, it stopped. Hundreds of people stepped out of the cars. The young man with narrow eyes at the front was Xie Wendong. He walked to the foot of the hill, looked into the distance where nothing but darkness could be seen, and listened—only the chirping of crickets was audible. Although it was deep night, not a single bird call came from the vast forest, making it obvious to anyone that something was amiss here.

Xie Wendong grabbed Jiang Sen and warned him, “Be careful. If you’re at a disadvantage, retreat from the forest immediately. We’ll think of another plan then.” Jiang Sen nodded and smiled, saying, “Don’t worry, Brother Dong. I know what to do.”

Jiang Sen was exceptionally intelligent and seemed to get smarter by the day. Initially, he joined the Wendong Group with Liu Bo. Back then, he still retained a rural mindset—shy, simple-minded, and somewhat insecure, with a tendency to keep to himself. But now, he had become more cunning. With his already broad and honest face, he always wore a smile and spoke sparingly, yet he was highly strategic. This was why Xie Wendong appreciated him—more importantly, he was the kind of person Xie Wendong considered both reliable and trustworthy.

Jiang Sen counted the number of people, checked his weapons, then waved his hand and led them into the jungle. In the blink of an eye, the figures of 50 people disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Dong Xinlei did not charge in right away; he was waiting for news from Jiang Sen.

After a while, a gunshot suddenly rang out in the dense forest, tearing through the silent night sky. Especially in the gloomy jungle, it sounded particularly piercing, with echoes lingering for a long time. Following the first gunshot, more shots followed one after another like beans bursting. Dong Xinlei nodded at Xie Wendong and led everyone toward the headquarters.

Xie Wendong held a night vision scope, watching the surroundings from behind. Dong Xinlei’s wounds hadn’t healed yet, but it didn’t slow him down at all. He rushed toward the headquarters like an arrow leaving the bow, with the others closely following, tense and not daring to relax even slightly.

At that moment, with a “bang!” a man behind Dong Xinlei suddenly collapsed, blood gushing from his chest—clearly exhaling more than inhaling. Then another gunshot sounded, and someone screamed before falling to the ground, rolling twice before staying still. Xie Wendong saw it clearly through his scope. In less than half a minute, eight people had been shot. If this continued, all 200 of them would be killed before reaching the headquarters. He quickly picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Lao Lei, retreat!”

Dong Xinlei was helpless. He couldn’t use his strength, couldn’t even see the enemy, and already eight of his comrades had been shot. How could they continue fighting? He shook his head in despair and shouted, “Retreat!” As they retreated, nearly ten more people were shot. When those who were hit were carried back to safety, half of them were beyond saving. Dong Xinlei’s heart ached, and tears almost streamed down. If these comrades had died openly on the battlefield, he wouldn’t have been so sad, but to be killed by hidden enemy shots was an unworthy death!

Just as Dong Xinlei retreated, Jiang Sen also led his men out of the jungle. Xie Wendong didn’t need to ask—Jiang Sen surely hadn’t achieved much either. Many of the 50 Blood Kill members were injured, with two of them carried back with serious wounds. Jiang Sen was about to speak when Xie Wendong waved his hand to stop him, saying, “Talk about it when we get back.”