Chapter 201

The crisis in City T was resolved, and Xie Wendong had hoped to enjoy some peace for a few days. But then, Liu Bo, who hadn’t been seen in ages, appeared out of nowhere and rushed to City T. He first went to find Jiang Sen—their relationship could only be described as extremely close. Having grown up in the same village, joined the army together, and later joined the Wendong Gang together, with one responsible for the covert team and the other leading the Blood Killers, their bond was obvious. When Jiang Sen brought Liu Bo before Xie Wendong, he could hardly recognize him. Xie Wendong stared at him for a long time before bursting into laughter. Liu Bo had once been a fair-skinned young man, but now his skin was dark and shiny, his hair messy, and he was tall and muscular—truly like a bear transformed into a man! Xie Wendong couldn’t help asking, “Liu, how did you end up like this?”
Liu Bo smiled self-mockingly and said helplessly, “I’ve been running around in the deep mountains all year. This appearance is already pretty good.”
Xie Wendong perked up and asked, “Has the covert team been trained?” Liu Bo replied proudly, “They’re all elites!” Xie Wendong asked, “How many?” Liu Bo said, “One hundred and fifty!” Delighted, Xie Wendong looked at Jiang Sen and asked, “How do they compare to the Blood Killers?” Liu Bo laughed knowingly and said, “Jiang can’t beat me!” Jiang Sen was so angry he almost bit his tongue. He snapped, “Whether I can beat you or not is aside. Even if it’s true what you say, the men you trained might not be as good as my subordinates.” Liu Bo rolled his eyes and said, “If you don’t believe it, we can give it a try!” Jiang Sen rolled up his sleeves and said, “Fine, let’s have a fight first.” As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and suddenly kicked Liu Bo in the buttocks. Their relationship was too close, and they were used to joking around together. After not seeing each other for so long, they had to use fists and feet to express their friendship.
Liu Bo was kicked so high he jumped several times. He wanted to charge forward but held back, calmly saying, “I won’t settle with you now. I have important matters to discuss with Brother Dong.”
As soon as Xie Wendong saw Liu Bo, he knew he must have something important to discuss; otherwise, why would he travel all the way from Province H to City T? He asked, “Liu, what’s so important that you had to come in person?”
Liu Bo whispered, “I know where Ma Feng is and what he plans to do next!”

Xie Wendong was shocked and asked urgently, “Where is he?” Liu Bo replied, “He’s in DL, and it seems he intends to target the Gao sisters.” Hiss! Xie Wendong gasped and muttered to himself, “Ma Feng actually went to the northeast?!” He looked up and said, “Then aren’t Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu in great danger now?” He didn’t want what happened to Qiu Ningshui to happen to the Gao sisters again—or else he’d go crazy. Liu Bo said confidently, “Brother Dong, don’t worry! The brothers in my secret group aren’t just good at idling around.”

Hearing this, Jiang Sen felt relieved. Liu Bo wasn’t someone who spoke without action—he would definitely do what he said. Jiang Sen joked, “Not idling around? It seems like you’ve been idling for over a year already!” It was better not to bring this up; whenever it was mentioned, Liu Bo got angry. He shouted, “If we hadn’t assigned all our people to Xue Sha during the split, could our secret group have ended up in such a miserable state?!” Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that it was Xie Wendong’s idea to assign everyone to Xue Sha. He quickly shut his mouth and glanced sideways—Xie Wendong wasn’t paying any attention to their argument; his mind was already in DL.

Xie Wendong paced back and forth in the room before suddenly stopping and saying, “I need to go to DL.” But then he shook his head and muttered, “I really can’t put my mind at ease about the South Hongmen!” Jiang Sen stepped forward and said, “Brother Dong, leave this to me and Old Liu. We’ll definitely protect the two sisters!” Xie Wendong shook his head. “No! Ma Feng is very cunning. I’m afraid you two might suffer losses.” After pondering for a moment, he went to the desk, picked up a pen, wrote a few lines on paper, folded it, and handed it to Jiang Sen, saying, “Mail this to Xiang Wentian for me.”

The gist of the letter Xie Wendong wrote was that the war between the north and south was causing casualties and financial losses, which went against the will of heaven. He hoped both sides could exercise restraint, seek common ground while reserving differences, and maintain the status quo. If the South Hongmen shared this sentiment, he was willing to return their former territory in Nanjing. The letter was written in a polite tone. After taking it, Jiang Sen asked doubtfully, “Will Xiang Wentian agree to a ceasefire?” Xie Wendong smiled bitterly. “Only heaven knows!” After sending the letter, Xie Wendong made arrangements in City T and rushed to DL with Jiang Sen, Liu Bo, and others.

The atmosphere inside the Nan Hongmen was somewhat gloomy. Watching Xie Wendong defeat the Soul-Piercing Group and relieve T City of its troubles, the disciples there harbored much resentment toward Xiang Wentian, believing it was a pity to have missed the chance to send troops. Xiao Fang was currently resting at home. His body was healthy, but his mind was troubled; he lay in bed every day, refusing to see anyone. One day, his subordinate came to report that news had reached T City—Xie Wendong hadn’t returned to Nanjing but had gone to DL instead. Upon hearing this, Xiao Fang, who had been listless, suddenly became energetic. He jumped up from bed and asked urgently, “Do you know why?” The subordinate scratched his head and said, “There are no rumors about that.” While getting dressed, Xiao Fang said, “As long as he hasn’t gone to Nanjing, Nanjing is within our reach.” Moments later, dressed in a suit, he rushed to the headquarters to see Xiang Wentian, thinking, “This time, your boss surely has no excuse not to send troops.”

Upon arriving at the headquarters, he was told that the leader was in a meeting. Xiao Fang’s spirits lifted, thinking that military action was about to begin. When he entered the meeting room, he saw quite a few people inside—five of the Eight Heavenly Kings, all four elders, along with various officials. There were at least fifty people in the room.

Upon seeing Xiao Fang, Xiang Wentian smiled and asked, “Xiao Fang, you’re sick, right? Why aren’t you resting at home today? What are you doing here at the headquarters?”

Xiao Fang found a seat and said, “I heard that the boss is about to launch a military campaign today. Even if I were seriously ill, I still had to come and check.”

Xiang Wentian was puzzled and asked, “Launch what campaign?” Xiao Fang was also stunned and asked, “Isn’t this meeting meant to attack the northern rebels?” Xiang Wentian smiled, handed him a letter written by Xie Wendong, and Xiao Fang took it suspiciously. After opening it, anger surged within him. With a slam, he threw the letter on the table, eyes wide with fury, and said urgently, “This is Xie Wendong’s tactic to buy time. He must have some important matter that forces him to go to DL, and he’s afraid we’ll use this opportunity to attack Nanjing. That’s why he wrote this letter. If the boss believes what he says about peace talks, we’ll be deceived. Once he finishes his business, he’ll drop his disguise and attack our Hongmen. By then, it will be too late to regret it!”

Xiao Fang truly had a certain understanding of Xie Wendong’s character, and it was a deep understanding. He had fought against Xie Wendong twice and lost both times; it was impossible not to know much about such a person. Upon hearing his words, everyone gasped in shock. None of those present knew Xie Wendong better than Xiao Fang, so they were skeptical about his words. Xiang Wentian nodded, inwardly praising him. In fact, he already had plans—whether Xie Wendong wanted peace talks or not, he would not stop his advancing forces. The Hongmen factions in the north and south must be unified, and a legitimate leader must be chosen. However, with the Soul Group involved in the crisis in City T, it was difficult to intervene. Now that the Soul Group had withdrawn, he no longer had any reservations. Standing up, Xiang Wentian looked around and declared loudly, “Xiao Fang is right. Peace talks are out of the question. No matter whether Xie Wendong is sincere or not, as the legitimate representatives of the Hongmen, how can we negotiate with a traitor?! I decide to send troops tomorrow. Xiao Fang will lead 5,000 men as the vanguard, joining forces with Zhang Jufeng who is staying in Nanjing. I will continue to gather troops in Guangzhou to support you.”
After hearing this, some people shook their heads while others were excited. Some, having faced Xie Wendong twice, felt fear and thought peace talks might be a good idea. Others believed it was just Xie Wendong’s luck—peace talks? Absolutely not! Among them, the happiest was Xiao Fang. He stepped forward, bowed, and declared loudly, “This time, I will surely not fail in my mission!”
The next day, Xiao Fang led 5,000 men on a mighty march toward Nanjing. With such a large force, every available mode of transportation was used—ten planes were rented alone, showing Xiang Wentian’s firm determination. Turmoil arose in the south, and the north was also not at peace.

By the time Xie Wendong arrived at DL, the Gao sisters had already received notice and protection from the secret group and entered the branch established by Wendong’s gang there. This place should have been under Sanyan’s responsibility, but he had gone back to H City to ask Yu Chao for money. Now, Wendong’s gang’s funds were mainly in Yu Chao’s hands, making him a veritable local tycoon. Sanyan needed to strengthen and develop the newly formed Xiaolongtang, recruit members, purchase weapons, and build connections at higher levels—everything required money. Yet Yu Chao was stingy to the extreme, refusing to give even a penny whenever asked. Sanyan had made several calls to ask for funds, but Yu Chao hadn’t sent a single cent, so he had no choice but to return to H City in person. He left Chen Baicheng behind to guard the place. The members of the secret group told him that Ma Feng had already arrived in DL and was planning to harm the two Gao sisters. Upon hearing this, Chen Baicheng shook his head vigorously and said, “Impossible! Unless Ma Feng’s crazy, how would he dare come to the Northeast?!” But then he thought that since the Gao sisters had arrived, they still needed to be entertained. After all, they were Xie Wendong’s women, and he couldn’t afford to offend them. He was polite enough to personally take the two sisters to the branch and treat them well, though he didn’t really take it seriously. As for bringing them to the branch—wasn’t it just Ma Feng? What power could he possibly have? He ordered his subordinates to investigate whether Ma Feng was indeed in DL. Before long, they reported that Ma Feng was indeed in DL, though he hadn’t dared stay in the city and was currently staying in a hotel in Lushun. The number of people he brought with him was unknown, but it was estimated to be around twenty. Hearing this, Chen Baicheng laughed. This guy really knew how to choose a place—staying in a military port with just over twenty men. He deserved to show up in person! He knew that Xie Wendong hated Ma Feng the most. If he could capture him, Xie would surely treat him differently, maybe even give him a position as gang leader. The more he thought about it, the happier he became. Anxiously waiting until late at night, he led his men—claiming to have hundreds of them—along with their main forces, and headed to Lushun Port with fierce determination.

This time, Chen Baicheng underestimated Ma Feng too much. Ma Feng did have some influence in the Northeast—though far less than that of the Wen Dong Gang, it wasn’t difficult to find a hundred or so loyal followers. Moreover, his brother Ma Wu had once been a prominent figure in the Northeast; although he was killed in a scheme orchestrated by Xie Wendong, his remaining forces hadn’t dispersed. After exploring the Northeast, Ma Feng managed to gather over two hundred people who were utterly devoted to him. Adding the remnants of his “old partner” Yamada’s Soul Group, he ended up with no less than three hundred men. Yet he didn’t dare to be too obvious, knowing full well how powerful the Wen Dong Gang was in the Northeast. Three hundred men could be overwhelmed with just a single spit from them, so he acted with extreme caution, never taking any risks. He planned to secretly capture the Gao sisters to blackmail Xie Wendong; even if he failed to blackmail him, killing those two would still cause him pain. There’s no wall that can keep secrets forever. Ma Feng’s plan was sound, but before he could take action, someone leaked the information. It was discovered by members of the newly formed Dark Group, who then reported it to Liu Bo. Upon hearing this, Liu Bo realized the severity of the situation and didn’t dare delay. He sent people to escort the two sisters to a Wen Dong Gang branch while rushing to City T himself.

Chen Baicheng, confident in his success, headed to Lushun. What should have been a straightforward task turned out to be extremely troublesome. Guided by his subordinates, he arrived at the hotel. At first glance, it was in terrible condition—its paint was faded, and large sections had peeled off. With a cold laugh, he waved his hand and ordered, “Search it! Whoever catches Ma Feng will receive a generous reward.” Chen Baicheng was talented and highly respected among his subordinates; he never changed his word, and in battle, he often led from the front, earning great loyalty. Hearing about the reward, they rushed inside desperately. Hundreds of people crammed into the small hotel, causing chaos as the building shook violently.

To their surprise, Ma Feng wasn’t found there; instead, the police were alerted. Dozens of police cars arrived with sirens blaring. Soon, his subordinates rushed back, reporting that Ma Feng wasn’t in the hotel. No matter how smart Chen Baicheng was, he immediately realized he had fallen for a trap. With all his main forces gone, his base was defenseless. Ma Feng might already be attacking the branch. If the Gao sisters fell into Ma Feng’s hands right under his nose, his own life would be in danger. Thinking this, cold sweat poured down his back as he frantically ran toward his car.

He hadn’t taken two steps when he was stopped by several police officers. They scanned him from head to toe and pulled out handcuffs to cuff him. Chen Baicheng became extremely anxious; he didn’t care about the police—he was worried about the branch office. He swung his palm and slapped one of the officers in the face, shouting loudly, “Blind your dog eyes! I’m Chen Baicheng!”