Chapter 212

This was the scene Xie Wendong saw when he entered the room. Even Ren Changfeng couldn’t help but shiver, thinking to himself, “What a fast gun!” Xie Wendong bent down to pick up an maple leaf on the ground, with two lines of small text on it: “Under the Hongwu Gate, talents abound.” Clenching his fists, he said coldly to himself, “Red leaves!” He looked around again—there wasn’t a single disciple of the Southern Hongwu Gate in the hall; only a high-end speaker was playing, with people’s voices and laughter coming from it. Xie Wendong smiled slightly and praised, “What a clever Xiang Wentian!”

Ren Changfeng went to the window, which was wide open. Clearly, the assassin had escaped through here. He looked outside, but everything was pitch black, making it impossible to distinguish anything, let alone people. At that moment, he realized they had fallen into an ambush and shouted loudly, “Everyone, follow me and retreat!” He tried to run outside, but saw Xie Wendong standing still. He stepped forward and asked, “Brother Dong, we’ve fallen for Xiang Wentian’s trick. Let’s leave quickly!”

Xie Wendong gave a bitter smile and said, “It’s easy to come in, but hard to go out. Since it’s an ambush, do you think Xiang Wentian will let us leave so easily?”

Ren Changfeng was stunned. He rushed outside, climbed to a high place, and looked down at the foot of the mountain. There were lights twinkling at the base, and faint figures could be seen moving around—a sea of darkness from which it was hard to tell how many people there were. Alarmed, Ren Changfeng rushed back inside in two strides and asked, “Brother Dong, what… what should we do now?”

Xie Wendong said, “Don’t panic. The only advantage we have now is that it’s easier to defend here. Send people to guard the mountain paths. Even if more people from the Southern Hongwu Gate come, I don’t think they can attack us anytime soon.” Ren Changfeng nodded repeatedly and sent people to guard the villas and key mountain paths. After making arrangements, he took out his phone and said, “Brother Dong, there are quite a few people at the foot of the mountain. It seems Xiang Wentian has gathered all his forces to wipe us out in one go. Should we ask others for help? The Four Great Leaders, Lao Lei, Tian Xing, and their subordinates together have tens of thousands of men—they can fight against Xiang Wentian.”

Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “No! The plan for tonight still needs to go ahead. I think Xiang Wentian must have anticipated that others will come to rescue us once we’re trapped, and he’s surely made preparations in secret. Calling for help now would only fall into his trap. It’s better to follow the plan and surprise the Southern Hongwu Gate.”

Ren Changfeng worriedly said, “But I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold out!” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said, “We still have to hold out. Otherwise, after tonight, Nanjing might not be ours anymore.”

Ren Changfeng smiled bitterly and said, “It doesn’t matter if Nanjing is ours or not anymore. What worries me is whether Dongge can break through the encirclement.” Xie Wendong laughed heartily and declared, “I’ve faced even more dangerous situations before, and I’m still alive.” Ren Changfeng had nothing left to say. He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped his knife, thinking about how to escape. Xie Wendong patted his shoulder, took out a pistol from his pocket, and handed it to him, saying, “Take this in case we need it.”

Ren Changfeng rarely used guns and never carried one, believing that a knife was far more useful in actual combat. But today was different—there were countless disciples of the Nan Hongmen outside, and they were in grave danger. He silently took the pistol and asked, “What about you, Dongge?” Xie Wendong tapped his waist and smiled, “I always carry two guns.” With that, he stood up and turned off the lights in the villa’s hall, plunging the entire place into darkness. Confused, Ren Changfeng pulled at his clothes and asked, “Dongge, what are you doing?”

Xie Wendong replied seriously, “This is to create confusion, so that the Nan Hongmen won’t dare to advance easily. Besides, we’re in the open while they’re hidden. If the Red Leaves come again, we might be at a disadvantage.” Ren Changfeng sighed inwardly, admiring Xie Wendong’s thorough planning. At that moment, chaos erupted outside the villa, with loud noises. Moments later, a man rushed in in panic, shouting, “Master, the Nan Hongmen have started attacking!” Ren Changfeng asked, “How many have come?” The man shook his head. “I don’t know. There are tons of them, everywhere!” Ren Changfeng picked up his knife and said, “Dongge, wait inside the villa. I’ll go take a look!” Xie Wendong also drew his knife and smiled, “Don’t forget—my position as master wasn’t earned by talking.”

Ren Changfeng laughed. Indeed, Xie Wendong had earned his position as master through his own strength. Those hellish three trials were beyond the reach of ordinary people. The two stepped out of the villa, where the mountain path was already filled with clashing swords and blades. The men in white clearly had the upper hand in numbers, but the narrow path didn’t give them much advantage. Ren Changfeng rallied his courage, let out a loud shout, and charged forward with his sword. The path was packed with people, making it difficult to reach the heart of the battle. After struggling for a long time, he was pushed back by the crowd. Annoyed, he raised his voice and shouted, “Everyone, move aside!”

That loud shout was like a thunderclap, causing the ears of those around to ring. Turning to look, they saw Ren Changfeng with blood-red eyes and his lips slightly raised, revealing a gleaming white canine tooth. No one had ever seen the usually aloof Ren Changfeng with such an expression, so they instinctively stepped aside, creating a path wide enough for one person to pass. Ren Changfeng dashed through the crowd in a few strides and arrived at the heart of the battle. There, he saw a man at the forefront of the South Hongmen faction, wielding a blade so swiftly that not even the wind or rain could penetrate it; seven or eight North Hongmen disciples already lay dead beneath his blade. Ren Changfeng rushed at him, raising his Tang sword high. Without saying a word, he swung his arm downward with great force—using the man’s momentum against him and the sword’s inertia to deliver a devastating strike. The man, mid-battle and in high spirits, sensed a dangerous wind approaching. Glancing sideways, he saw a young man with a pale face whose sword was already before his eyes. The speed was so great that he didn’t even have time to dodge. Gritting his teeth, he raised his own sword to block. With a clang, sparks flew as the blades collided. The man felt darkness before his eyes, his head spinning, and he was flung backward. His sword was nowhere to be seen—probably shattered by Ren Changfeng’s strike. He fell to the ground, rolled instinctively, and stood up, only to feel a tightness in his chest and a sweet taste in his mouth. Unable to hold back, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Ren Changfeng, already filled with murderous intent, wasn’t about to let him go so easily. Seeing the man fly backward, he chased after him. By the time the man stood up, spitting blood, Ren Changfeng was already close by. He grabbed the man’s hair, pulled down hard, and thrust his other hand with a blade. The blade entered the man’s neck, its tip emerging at his throat. The man didn’t even cry out before collapsing. Ren Changfeng drew back his Tang sword, didn’t even glance at the corpse, and turned to attack the others.

The disciples of the South Hongmen on both sides were stunned. Things were changing too fast—originally their side had the upper hand, but suddenly a fair-skinned young man emerged from the enemy crowd and killed their leader with a single slash. This was unbelievable. As they stood in shock, Ren Changfeng wasn’t idle. Wielding his Tang sword, he sent people falling to the ground with cries of pain or groans. His swordsmanship was fast and eerie; every strike targeted a vital point, without any wasted moves. Xie Wendong watched from behind clearly, raising his thumb in admiration. He had some knowledge of swordsmanship, but it paled in comparison to masters like Dong Xinlei and Ren Changfeng. Seeing Ren Changfeng kill a general of the South Hongmen in just moments, his fighting spirit was ignited as well. He grabbed a sword taken from Ling Min and charged forward. With his participation, along with Ren Changfeng’s bravery, the morale of the North Hongmen disciples soared. Even their leader charged at the front, and the rest followed bravely, driving the hundreds of men from the South Hongmen into a rout.

At the foot of the mountain, there was a sea of people, seemingly endless. As the saying goes, when there are over ten thousand people, there’s no end in sight. There were probably more than ten thousand here now. In the center stood a young man in his thirties, with thick brows and big eyes, exuding a bold aura—this was Xiang Wentian. Beside him were Xiao Fang, the Spear King, the Wolf King, and Yu Dian, one of his right-hand men. Behind him stood another man dressed entirely in black, wearing sunglasses, his lips tightly pressed together, expressionless, as if he had merged into the darkness, radiating a murderous aura. This man was Hou Xiaoyun, the leader of the Hongye Organization under the Tai Hongmen. The assassin left in the villa hall was one of his subordinates. He had thought that whoever rushed in first would be either Xie Wendong or one of his high-ranking officers, but it turned out to be just an ordinary low-level member of the North Hongmen. Xiao Fang used a telescope to observe for a while, shook his head, and handed it to Xiang Wentian, saying helplessly, “Eight hundred people, yet they were driven back by just two hundred.”

Xiang Wentian took the telescope and saw it for himself—his side was indeed being routed on the mountainside. Upon closer inspection, most of those lying on the ground wore white clothes. Pointing and smiling, Xiang Wentian said, “That North Hongmen disciple at the forefront seems to be the one who tried to assassinate me last time. His name is Ren Changfeng, right?!”

Xiao Fang, who had seen everything clearly, sighed and said, “That’s right, it’s him. Though he’s arrogant, he indeed has reason to be so—his swordsmanship is unmatched in the world.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Xixi let out a cry. Xiao Fang shuddered in fear and rolled his eyes. Qian Xixi pulled his donkey-like face downward, making his already long face even longer. He bowed and said, “Brother Xiang, I’ll go deal with Ren Changfeng and definitely bring his head back to see you!”
Xiang Wentian smiled and said, “There’s no rush. We have plenty of time, right?”
Xie Wendong and the others only stopped after driving hundreds of people from the Nan Hongmen back down the mountain. When they counted their losses, there were only about twenty dead or injured, while the Nan Hongmen had no less than a hundred. Under normal circumstances, this would be considered a great victory, but now it seemed like a drop in the bucket—losing over a hundred people was nothing to Xiang Wentian. Xie Wendong returned to the villa and was about to wipe the blood off his body when the phone rang. He staggered slightly. If someone was calling him now, did it mean the others had also encountered an ambush? He was right. It was Xiao Fang calling. Among the several groups, only Dong Xinlei’s group had smooth progress, as they hadn’t encountered any obstacles. This was because Xiang Wentian had pulled back all his forces from the city to the suburbs, allowing them to regain their lost ground easily. But the Four Big Bottles weren’t so lucky. They were tasked with attacking the hotel of the Nan Hongmen in the suburbs, but the enemy was well-prepared, with hidden ambushers who charged out with swords and shouts. Due to the darkness, it was impossible to tell how many enemies there were. Seeing that the Nan Hongmen had set an ambush, the three of them, except Fang Guodong, didn’t even try to fight and ran away immediately. Fang Guodong sensed something was wrong and fought for a while before realizing the Nan Hongmen didn’t have many men and were just bluffing. But since the other three leaders had already fled and he didn’t know if there were reinforcements, he had no choice but to withdraw as well. When Nie Tianxing heard that the Four Big Bottles had been ambushed and retreated, his expression changed drastically. He cursed under his breath and quickly called the four of them, telling them to hold their ground and not retreat further. Then he led all his men and rushed over.
As soon as he saw the four men, his first question was, “Since you knew Xiang Wentian had set a trap, why did you still retreat? Did you even think about the safety of our leader?!” The four men’s faces turned red upon hearing this. Nie Tianxing was right. Abandoning their leader and running away first was indeed unreasonable. Nie Tianxing reorganized his forces and headed back to the hotel. But this delay gave Xiang Wentian enough time to deploy three thousand elite soldiers along the road, ready to confront the Bei Hongmen’s attack. Xiang Wentian had planned everything carefully. Although these three thousand men weren’t many, they were enough to hold off Nie Tianxing for a while, allowing him to capture Xie Wendong in the meantime.

Nan Hongmen had a favorable location. Nie Tianxing and the four elite fighters attacked twice but returned empty-handed. In the end, with no other choice, Nie Tianxing had to call Xie Wendong to inform him of the situation there. Upon hearing this, Xie Wendong sighed. All the trouble was caused by those four men. He hadn’t expected that by bringing those four elite fighters to Nanjing, before he could even take action, they would instead be outmaneuvered by them.

Xie Wendong resolved in his heart that once this matter was resolved, he would definitely drive those four men out and appoint new people. Although Xie Wendong thought far ahead, whether they could break through the encirclement this time was still uncertain.

Ren Changfeng walked into the villa while wiping the blood off his knife. Under the moonlight shining through the window, Xie Wendong’s expression looked grim. He was startled and asked, “Brother Dong, what happened?” Xie Wendong tapped his forehead and said softly, “We can’t rely on those four elite fighters for help anymore. Now, we can only count on ourselves.”

“What?” Ren Changfeng was surprised and asked, “Could they have encountered an ambush too?” “Hmph!” Xie Wendong snorted coldly and said, “It’s worse than that!” He recounted what Nie Tianxing had reported. After hearing this, Ren Changfeng was so angry that he stamped his foot and shouted, “Those four men are too outrageous! What’s the use of keeping them? They were scared away just by someone’s bluff tactics. So, Brother Dong, what should we do now?” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said, “Since Tianxing is held back, we can try to break through on our own. That battle just now was a probe by Xiang Wentian. I think he’ll launch a full-scale attack soon. With more enemies than us, it’s not easy to fight head-on.”