Chapter 219

The next day, there was unrest inside Nan Hongmen, but no attack was launched. Two days later, there was still only commotion within Nan Hongmen, with no troops sent out. The officials in Bei Hongmen grew impatient. After discussing it with Ren Changfeng and Ling Min, they decided to go ask Dong Ge—continuing like this was not a solution. When they met Xie Wendong, the two shared their thoughts. Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Xiao Fang will come. Whether he dares or not, he will definitely show up.” Ren Changfeng wondered, “Dong Ge, how can you be so confident that Xiao Fang will come?”
Xie Wendong replied, “Although he is cautious, this incident involving Qian Xixi’s capture is directly related to him. With him right there, 200 men were sent to launch a surprise attack on us, yet Xiao Fang wasn’t aware of it at all. What would Xiang Wentian think? What would his subordinates think? If anything happens to Qian Xixi, Xiao Fang will bear full responsibility. To minimize that responsibility, he must rescue Qian Xixi safely. So, Xiao Fang will definitely come.”
Ren Changfeng scratched his head and said, “But… why hasn’t he taken any action yet? We’ve had Qian Xixi in our custody for three days!”
Xie Wendong shook his head. “I’m not a god. Like you, I don’t know what tricks Xiao Fang is up to.” Just then, his phone rang. After answering, he murmured, “What’s going on?” After a while, he said softly, “Seal the news—this must not get out!” He hung up and, seeing Ren Changfeng and Ling Min’s puzzled expressions, slowly said, “It was Lao Lei. Qian Xixi is dead.” “What?” Ren Changfeng’s mouth dropped open as he asked urgently, “How did he die?”
Xie Wendong replied calmly, “His injuries were severe. We didn’t take him to the hospital for emergency treatment. He lost too much blood, and he was also extremely irritable, cursing nonstop after being captured, which angered the guards who kicked him to death.” Ren Changfeng was both amused and frustrated—such a powerful figure as Qian Xixi killed by an unknown thug. He smiled helplessly and said, “Well, if he’s dead, so be it. People like Qian Xixi are just a source of trouble. I’m just worried about Xiao Fang…” Xie Wendong waved his hand. “I’ve told Lao Lei not to let this leak out, especially not to Nan Hongmen. Hehe, we’ll just wait for Xiao Fang to come and rescue him with a corpse!”

Lingmin, who had remained silent until then, suddenly said, “With the Soul Group appearing suddenly this time, I’m afraid Xiao Fang also knows about it.” Xie Wendong and Ren Changfeng were stunned. The latter asked, “So what if he knows?” Lingmin glanced at him and said, “Xiao Fang isn’t like Xiang Wentian; he doesn’t have as many concerns. I’m afraid he’s already contacted the Soul Group and joined forces with them in these past few days.” Ren Changfeng looked at Xie Wendong doubtfully and sighed, “That can’t be right, right?” Xie Wendong felt a stir in his heart and nodded, “It’s not impossible what Xiaomin said. If these two groups really have connected, things will get complicated.” “Sigh!” Ren Changfeng lamented, “It’s bad enough that the Soul Group showed up now—why exactly now? Brother Dong, what should we do?”
“You ask me? Who else can I ask?” Xie Wendong laughed. “We’ll have to adapt to the situation. Maybe Xiao Fang hasn’t yet contacted the Soul Group.”
That evening, the Nan Hongmen finally set out. In sparse groups, thousands of people entered the restricted area in batches, advancing unimpeded all the way. The routes were supposed to be guarded by the four major leaders, but this time they were very obedient, not interfering at all, just watching helplessly as Xiao Fang led his men into Nanjing. The secret team immediately passed the news to Xie Wendong. After hearing it, he laughed heartily—it seemed Xiao Fang couldn’t hold back after all, though two days later than he expected. However, Xiao Fang hadn’t wasted those two days; he had done many things, including contacting the Soul Group.
“The Nan Hongmen have crossed the city area.” “The Nan Hongmen have entered the northern suburbs!” “People from the Nan Hongmen are approaching Hongwu Villa.” One phone call after another came to Xie Wendong’s phone, and he had full knowledge of Xiao Fang’s whereabouts. Sitting in the hall, Xie Wendong listened with a smile, with Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng standing on either side of him. He said, “Xiao Fang only sent a thousand men—how can they withstand the combined attack from Lao Lei and Xiaomin? This time, he’s trapped.”

Soon, more news came in—the two sides had already started fighting close quarters. Xie Wendong was stunned, thinking to himself how fast things were progressing. Given Xiao Fang’s personality, he shouldn’t have rushed into action so easily. He scratched his head, stood up, and started walking, then suddenly stopped. He picked up the phone and dialed Liu Bo. “Liu, is it Xiao Fang leading the Nan Hongmen?” “It should be!” “What do you mean ‘should be’? It is or it isn’t!” “Brother Dong, we don’t dare get too close for fear of being detected by the Nan Hongmen. It’s too far, and it’s dark too. Xiao Fang is in the car—though I’m not sure if it really is him, but it’s his car!” “Huh?” Xie Wendong took a deep breath, thinking to himself, This is bad. If the person in the car isn’t Xiao Fang, things will get complicated. He had sent most of his men to Hongwu Villa. If Xiao Fang came not to rescue Qian Xixi but to launch a surprise attack, that would be dangerous. He hung up the phone and called the four key members, asking if anything unusual had happened. All four replied the same way—nothing out of the ordinary. Xie Wendong then called the undercover team to check if there were any signs of activity at the Nan Hongmen headquarters. Again, the answer was the same—no movement at all. Frowning, he muttered to himself, “Have I been overthinking it?” Ren Changfeng was puzzled and asked, “Brother Dong, what are you overthinking? What’s wrong? Has the situation changed?” Xie Wendong grabbed his coat and said, “We need to go to Hongwu Villa to see if it really is Xiao Fang there!” Ren Changfeng and Jiang Sen exchanged a glance, shook their heads helplessly, and blinked, signaling that Brother Dong was being too cautious. Jiang Sen smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, “It’s better to be careful—that way you’ll stay safe for years!” The three of them arrived at the first-floor hall, where a dozen subordinates were sitting. Seeing him come out, they quickly stood up. One of them stepped forward and asked, “Brother Dong, do you need a car?” Xie Wendong nodded and said, “Take me to Hongwu Villa!” “Yes!” The man was momentarily stunned but still nodded and rushed outside to get the car. Anxious, Xie Wendong followed him out. As soon as he stepped outside, he felt heat on his cheeks. He touched them—they were sticky. Without looking, his years of experience told him it was blood. The subordinate in front of him had collapsed, with a large blood hole in his head—his blood had splashed onto Xie Wendong’s face. There were assassins! Xie Wendong reacted quickly. As soon as the man fell, he ducked down and jumped back into the building, startling Ren Changfeng, who quickly stepped aside to let Xie Wendong in. At that moment, several more holes appeared in the door as bullets hit the walls, sending debris flying. Xie Wendong shouted, “Assassins! Lie down!”

The people in the hall were all experienced veterans. Before Xie Wendong could finish speaking, they had already sought cover to take shelter. Jiang Sen pulled Xie Wendong and Ren Changfeng to a corner out of reach from outside and asked, “How many are there?” Xie Wendong wiped the blood from his face and said with a bitter smile, “I can’t even see where they are, let alone how many there are.”

Jiang Sen poked his head out and saw a bullet hole at his feet. He touched it and sighed, “Only a sniper could shoot that deep into the ground.” Ren Changfeng muttered, “It must be a silenced sniper!” Xie Wendong said, “It seems to be the Soul Group!” Jiang Sen nodded and said, “It could also be Red Leaf.” Ren Changfeng said bitterly, “Whether it’s the Soul Group or Red Leaf, we need to find a way to break out.” Jiang Sen smiled and said, “Why break out? We’re inside the building now, safe. They can’t get in easily.”

Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “Changfeng is right. We have to break out. If I’m not mistaken, it’s not Xiao Fang who’s going to Hongwu Villa. He doesn’t intend to save Qian Xixi this time; his goal is Nanjing. All our men are at Hongwu Villa now, and the Four Great Leaders aren’t reliable. If he really sends people to attack, who can stop them?”

Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng were stunned after hearing this. They hadn’t expected that they, who had initially held the upper hand, would suddenly find themselves at a disadvantage. Xie Wendong took out his phone and called Dong Xinlei directly. “Lao Lei, don’t ask anything now. It’s very likely that Xiao Fang isn’t among the thousand people going to Hongwu Villa. Hurry up and take your men back to the city. Leave the villa to Xiao Min.”

Dong Xinlei had been following Xie Wendong for a long time. Without asking any questions, he gave Lingmin a brief notice and led his troops back to the city. Xie Wendong wasn’t idle either. He called the Four Great Leaders and told them that the plan had changed. If the Nan Hongmen attacked again, they must hold their ground at all costs and not let them in.

After rearranging everything, Xie Wendong let out a sigh of relief. Only then did he think of himself. He turned around and asked, “How many people do we have in our organization now?”

Jiang Sen counted on his fingers and said, “Less than a hundred.” “Huh?” Xie Wendong was shocked. He hurriedly said, “Gather everyone together. Quick, go now.”

But it was a bit late for him to say that. At that moment, the door opened—not people entered, but gun barrels did. Ten guns, ten submachine guns with silencers, all fired simultaneously, unleashing streams of bullets. Instantly, the room was filled with smoke. The sofa, coffee table, counters, lights—everything was riddled with bullet holes. The holes in the walls merged into one another, and the lights in the hall were shattered, leaving everything in darkness. The disciples of the Northern Hongmen huddled together, covering their heads, afraid to expose any part of their bodies. Even so, several of them collapsed, crying out in pain, writhing on the ground. Then another burst of gunshots silenced their cries. There were still many people upstairs who didn’t realize an attack was coming. Hearing the cries in the hall and not understanding what was happening, they had just started coming down the stairs when they were shot to pieces before they could even make a sound. Xie Wendong felt a sharp pain in his heart. Fearing more people would come to their deaths, he shouted loudly, “Enemy attack! Guns! Take cover!” He spoke succinctly. Indeed, there were still people upstairs who were about to come down. Hearing Xie Wendong’s shout, they didn’t hesitate and rushed back to their rooms to get their weapons. Xie Wendong’s shout also attracted the attackers. The gunshots stopped, and five men entered. These five were experienced; four of them kept a careful watch of their surroundings, while one rushed straight toward the corner where Xie Wendong and the others were. Ren Changfeng heard the footsteps, gritted his teeth, and drew his knife. Jiang Sen helplessly said in a soft voice, “What use is a knife at this point?” Heshook offed off his cloak, pulled out a pistol from his waist, quietly disengaged the safety, and stretched out his arm, ready to shoot the man the moment he showed up.

The footsteps grew louder, and Xie Wendong and the other two’s hearts rose to their throats. Just as the man was about to reach the corner, he suddenly stopped, his eyes shifting, his lips curling upward. He took out a grenade from his chest, disarmed it, but didn’t throw it right away—waiting a moment, fearing it might be thrown back by the person at the corner. Jiang Sen was extremely familiar with weapons; hearing the crisp “click” sound, he immediately realized the man had pulled the grenade’s trigger. There was no time to speak—he snatched the knife from Ren Changfeng’s hand and dashed forward like lightning. Perhaps due to the dim lighting in the hall, perhaps because of his sudden movement, or maybe because the man was too close to the corner, he didn’t even have time to react before Jiang Sen’s swift slash severed his trachea. The man stared in disbelief, his mouth wide open. He tried to shout but couldn’t utter a word; he tried to breathe, but with his trachea severed, the air he inhaled flowed out instead of reaching his lungs. His body collapsed forward, and Jiang Sen quickly caught him, standing close to him. The change happened so fast and silently that the four guards behind them didn’t realize their companion was dead and that the enemy was right in front of them.

All of this seemed slow when described, but actually happened in an instant. Jiang Sen glanced at the grenade in his hand, which was now smoking. Gathering his courage, he bent his arms and pushed forward sharply. The man’s body flew backward toward his four companions, along with the grenade he still clutched in his death grip.

The four guards, seeing him suddenly retreat, didn’t understand what was going on and reached out to stop him. Before they could ask questions, they felt a weight in their hands. Looking down, they saw blood—hot, uncooled blood—on their companion’s neck, along with the smoking grenade. All four couldn’t help but scream in shock, but screams couldn’t solve anything. It was too late to avoid it. With a loud explosion that made the ground tremble, flesh and blood flew everywhere in the hall. In an instant, five whole people turned into scattered fragments, with limbs and pieces hanging all over the walls. Jiang Sen, who had been prepared, crawled on the ground. Though covered by four human shields and with several cuts on his body, he endured the pain and got up. Just then, he saw someone rushing in from outside. Without hesitation, he raised his gun and fired straight at the intruder’s forehead.

As soon as that man fell, nearly a dozen gun barrels appeared outside almost at the same time, firing all at once. With no choice, Jiang Sen had to retreat behind a corner to take cover. Ren Changfeng, who had been watching secretly, saw everything clearly and was deeply impressed. He gave a thumbs up and praised, “Impressive! I’m not as good as you.” This actually stunned Jiang Sen, for Ren Changfeng was usually very proud, and few people ever received his praise. Jiang Sen felt somewhat flattered and, looking at the cuts on his arm, said helplessly, “It’s not that impressive after all!” He then turned to Xie Wendong and said, “The opponent definitely isn’t Hongye. I see quite a few of them—at least twenty—and Hongye has no more than twenty men in Nanjing altogether.” Xie Wendong sighed, “It’s the Soul Squad again!”