Chapter 198

The group arrived quickly and left even faster. The officials waiting for news saw their return and immediately knew it hadn’t succeeded this time.
Xie Wendong sat down, resting his elbow on the table and gently scratching his head. Dong Xinlei wanted to say something, moved his lips, sighed, and swallowed his words back. After a while, Xie Wendong asked, “How many days has the old man been trapped?” Dong Xinlei replied, “Almost three days.” Xie Wendong asked, “Is there enough food in the headquarters?” Dong Xinlei thought for a moment and said, “Enough for over 200 people to eat for more than a month.” Xie Wendong nodded and narrowed his eyes, saying, “We need to eat. The people in the Soul Group aren’t immortals either; they also need food. Where do they get their food?”
“Ah… well…” That question left Dong Xinlei speechless. He really hadn’t considered that. He muttered to himself, “Yes! How do the Soul Group get their food?”
Xie Wendong frowned in anger. “I’m asking you, and you turn around and ask me.” He flicked his sleeve, narrowed his eyes, and left the room. Jiang Sen was quite smart. Seeing Xie Wendong glance at him as he left, he immediately followed. Seeing no one around, he asked, “Brother Dong, is there something?”
Xie Wendong smiled approvingly and said, “Lao Sen, go investigate the source of the Soul Group’s food. Don’t make a fuss if you find anything—report to me right away.” Jiang Sen nodded and said, “Don’t worry, Brother Dong. I understand.” Jiang Sen was extremely efficient. Just after noon, he hurried back to find Xie Wendong. Seeing him resting with his eyes closed in the room, he didn’t dare disturb him. All these Hongmen-related matters had kept Xie Wendong very worried—traveling back and forth between Nanjing and City T. Even the strongest person couldn’t endure that, let alone someone whose wounds hadn’t fully healed. Just as Jiang Sen was about to leave the room, Xie Wendong, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes and asked, “Any news?”
Jiang Sen nodded and said concernfully, “Brother Dong, rest for a while first. Don’t exhaust yourself!” Xie Wendong sat up, stretched, and smiled, “I’m not that lucky! Tell me, what have you found?” Jiang Sen sighed inwardly. He suspected that this young man was probably the busiest person in the world—there was no difference between day and night for him. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Someone delivers food to the Soul Group.” Xie Wendong nodded and smiled, “It must be someone from within the Hongmen!” Jiang Sen gasped in surprise, looked at him in shock, and asked, “Brother Dong, how did you know?”

Xie Wendong shook his head without answering and asked, “Whose subordinate is it?” Jiang Sen replied, “I’ve checked—it’s Lian Tianfeng’s confidant.” “Lian Tianfeng?” Xie Wendong tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes. After a while, he shook his head again and said, “Lian Tianfeng is under house arrest now; it can’t be him.” Jiang Sen said, “I’m thinking that maybe someone bribed Lian Tianfeng’s subordinate to do their work, so as to conceal their identity and shift the blame onto Lian Tianfeng—a win-win situation.”
“Hmm!” Xie Wendong nodded, got out of bed, and took a can of Coke from the fridge. After opening it, seeing Jiang Sen hesitating, he smiled and said, “Go ahead and speak if you have something to say.”
Jiang Sen hesitated for a moment before taking out a photo from his pocket and handing it to Xie Wendong. The latter was stunned, took it, glanced at it, and threw it on the table, asking, “Why give me a photo of Xiang Wentian?”
Jiang Sen said, “Brother Dong, don’t you think he looks a lot like someone?” Xie Wendong frowned and picked up the photo again to examine it closely. After a long while, he narrowed his eyes and said, “He does resemble Xiang Huishan!” “Exactly!” Jiang Sen stepped forward and said, “Since Brother Dong asked me to keep an eye on him last time, I’ve investigated his background thoroughly. He joined the Hongmen at the age of 20, but few know much about his life before that—apparently, he was just a small-time thug. However, He Cheng, the one Brother Dong captured, said Xiang Wentian’s father’s name is Xiang Huichuan, and he has an older brother who disappeared years ago with no news since. I guess this Xiang Huishan might be…”
Xie Wendong pondered for a moment before shaking his head and saying, “If Xiang Huishan really has any kinship with Xiang Wentian, the old master must know about it.”
Jiang Sen said, “Right now, Xiang Wentian is at the peak of power in the Southern Hongmen. But before he became the leader, his father was completely unknown within the organization, and even less so his brother. Not to mention the old master—probably even within the Southern Hongmen, few know Xiang Wentian has such a close relative.”
Xie Wendong nodded and mused with a smile, “Xiang Wentian, Xiang Huishan… heh, interesting.” He asked, “What do you think Xiang Wentian is doing now?” Jiang Sen replied, “He? With the old master trapped, chaos reigning within the Hongmen, and everyone in panic, and Brother Dong tied down in City T with no time to spare, how could someone as smart as Xiang Wentian miss this opportunity? Chances are high he’s leading a large force on his way to Nanjing. If I’m not wrong, he might already be on his way.”

“Sigh!” Xie Wendong took a big gulp of Coke, almost using it as a substitute for alcohol. With a sigh, he said, “It’s troubles both inside and outside—there’s simply no way to handle everything!” Jiang Sen felt a pain in his heart and whispered, “I regret my incompetence; I can’t share the burden for Brother Dong.” Xie Wendong patted his shoulder and smiled, “With you here, I’ve already avoided a lot of trouble.”

Xie Wendong was wrong, and so was Jiang Sen. Not to mention Xiang Wentian personally leading a large force to attack Nanjing, not even a single subordinate was sent to assist Xiao Fang. Xiao Fang was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth in the room. He had only two thousand men under him, while Lingmin had over three thousand, and they were on the defensive. Under these circumstances, capturing Nanjing was even harder than climbing to the sky. Seeing him pace around, Zhang Jufeng grew annoyed and said, “Brother Xiao, if you keep walking like this, my eyes will go blind!”

Xiao Fang suddenly stopped, his eyes wide as he stared at Zhang Jufeng. This startled Zhang, who asked, “What’s wrong?” Xiao Fang kept staring for a long time before suddenly saying, “No, I have to go back to Guangzhou in person. If no one comes, I’ll…” He swallowed hard and gritted his teeth, “I’ll go home and hang myself!”

Zhang Jufeng nodded and stood up, saying, “Alright, I’ll go with you. We must persuade the leader to send troops.” Xiao Fang shook his head, saying, “It makes no difference whether I go alone or with you. Besides, if we leave together, what will happen to our men? If Lingmin attacks, can they stand a chance? With you here, I won’t have to worry about anything.”

Zhang Jufeng agreed, shook Xiao Fang’s hand, and said seriously, “Brother Xiao, you need to go quickly and return just as fast. The opportunity is fleeting—it won’t wait for anyone!”

Xiao Fang sighed and said, “I know! I’m just afraid… Sigh! Brother Zhang, you too need to be careful. Although Lingmin is a woman, she’s not a good person—don’t fall for her tricks.” With that, he closed his eyes and murmured, “Brother Li died so unjustly!”

Xiao Fang flew back to Guangzhou. Guangzhou’s economy is one of the fastest-growing in China, but the underworld here is equally rampant, proportional to its economic growth. As an immigrant city, the majority of its population consists of outsiders with complex identities living together. Even the migrant workers are divided into factions, so one can imagine the state of the underworld. Since Nan Hongmen set up its headquarters here, the underworld has become somewhat quieter. Xiang Wentian is loyal and fair, so most disputes among the underworld figures are brought to him for resolution.

Xiao Fang arrived in Guangzhou after 10 p.m. Without delay, he headed straight for the villa where Xiang Wentian was staying. As soon as he got in the car, two burly men suddenly appeared and asked coldly, “What are you doing?” Anxious, Xiao Fang glared at them and snapped, “It’s me! Xiao Fang!” The two men took a closer look and indeed saw it was Xiao Fang. They were puzzled—usually so easygoing, why was he so rude today? One of them stepped forward respectfully and asked, “Brother Xiao, weren’t you in Nanjing? Why have you come back?”

Xiao Fang had no time to waste on trivial talk with his subordinates. He asked directly, “Is Brother Xiang here?”

The man replied, “The leader is here, but…” Before he could finish, Xiao Fang pushed him aside and strode into the villa. Frustrated, he couldn’t understand why Xiang Wentian hadn’t sent troops. With T City in chaos, Jin Peng trapped, and Xie Wendong unable to help, could such a great opportunity be wasted? And Li Wangye die for nothing?

He entered the villa’s lobby. Xiang Wentian was sitting on the sofa watching TV, with a beautiful woman resting her head on his lap, still half-asleep. Seeing Xiao Fang storm in angrily, Xiang Wentian was surprised but still smiled and asked, “Xiao Fang, why have you come back?” The two were very close friends off the record. Xiao Fang walked over to the sofa, glanced at the woman lying there, and said helplessly, “Sister-in-law, I’ve been on a plane for hours. I’m exhausted.”

The woman pouted and muttered, “That’s what you get! Who asked you to come back? If you’re coming back, just come back. Instead of not going home to rest, you have to disturb others late at night.”

Xiao Fang rubbed his nose. There was no point in reasoning with women. Even if you spoke beautifully, it might still sound like nonsense to them. He muttered, “It’s really hard to deal with women!” “What?” The woman, who had sharp ears, stood up, crossed her arms, and demanded, “Say that again!” Xiao Fang drooped his eyelids, pulled down his pants, and sat down next to Xiang Wentian. The woman was furious and stormed upstairs to her room, shouting, “You’re the most annoying guy in the world!” Xiang Wentian laughed heartily, patted Xiao Fang’s shoulder, and said seriously, “You came back because you want me to send more troops, right?”

Xiao Fang replied, “If it weren’t for that, would I have come all this way? Wangye…” His eyes reddened as he choked up, “Wangye fell for Xie Wendong’s trick. This revenge must be avenged. Besides, now is the best time to unify the Hongmen factions in the north and south. I don’t understand—Brother Tian, why haven’t you sent troops yet?”

Xiang Wentian stood up, walked around the sofa, and sighed, “Do you think I don’t know this is a good opportunity? Do you think I don’t want to fulfill my predecessor’s wish of unifying the north and south? Do you think I’m not saddened by Wangye’s death? But do you know who’s causing chaos in City T right now?” Xiao Fang was stunned and said, “It’s the Soul Group!” Xiang Wentian nodded and added, “That’s right, the Soul Group—a Japanese right-wing organization that rises under the banner of militarism, continuing to promote the slogan of shared prosperity in East Asia. They come to China, trying to assimilate the next generation and create pro-Japanese forces. What a vicious intent.” Xiao Fang said, “Compared to the Soul Group, Xie Wendong is even more vicious.”

Xiang Wentian shook his head. “I refuse to send troops so that Xie Wendong can focus on dealing with the Soul Group. Compared to the threats posed by the Soul Group, the conflict between the north and south is trivial. Under the Hongmen, many talents have emerged. Didn’t our founder establish the Hongmen precisely to deal with foreign enemies? Now that enemies are at our doorstep, if I were to attack the Northern Hongmen, it would be laughed at by everyone and also make the Soul Group laugh heartily. Most importantly, it would go against my conscience.” Xiao Fang blinked and said, “But this is such a rare opportunity. We could first eliminate the Northern Hongmen and then focus all our efforts on the Soul Group. That way…” Xiang Wentian waved his hand to interrupt him, saying, “Taking advantage of others in trouble is the deed of scoundrels. Moreover, since the Northern Hongmen is dealing with the Soul Group, I definitely can’t send troops. As a person, one must be upright before heaven and honest before the earth. My decision is final—no need to discuss further.”

“But…” Xiao Fang wasn’t giving up. What he feared most was Xie Wendong. Now that Xie Wendong had the Soul Group tying him down, and the Northern Hongmen had no one left to counter him, he was confident he could capture Nanjing and even advance all the way to City T. It was a pity Xiang Wentian wouldn’t provide him with troops. Even the cleverest cook can’t cook without ingredients. Xiang Wentian yawned and said, “I’m tired. You should go back and rest too. Rest well—there are still many things I need your help with!”

Xiao Fang had no choice. He didn’t even know how he left the villa. The night wind blew, carrying biting cold, making him shiver uncontrollably. He looked up to the sky and sighed deeply, “Is heaven deliberately teasing people? If it gave my Southern Hongmen an unparalleled hero, why did it create an equally extraordinary villain in the Northern Hongmen? Alas! My Hongmen is doomed!” As he spoke, tears streamed down Xiao Fang’s face in the wind. His black hair fluttered chaotically in the wind, and he seemed to have aged drastically. The subordinates beside him were puzzled, wondering if this was still the usual cheerful Xiao Fang, the Great Heavenly King.

Xie Wendong once said that even given a hundred chances, Xiang Yu would still not be able to defeat Liu Bang. Both were figures who watched the world’s changes with indifference, but this is the difference between a hero and a warlord. True warlords are rare; throughout history, how many can truly be called heroes? At least Xie Wendong isn’t one—he’s a villain. Yet if a villain has distinct characteristics, gains people’s support, and can dominate the world, then even such a villain can be considered a hero.