Chapter 231

Political Department? The middle-aged police officer didn’t know what kind of department this was. From the name alone, it seemed important, so he didn’t dare neglect it and said, “Please wait a moment!” He quickly returned to the reception room to call the chief. Through the window, Jiang Sen saw the police officer gesturing wildly while on the phone, with no expression on his face. He simply murmured, “Brother Dong, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?” Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, everything’s fine!” After all, Jiang Sen was a thief, and despite his boldness, he still felt uneasy in the police station. A few minutes later, the police officer ran out, wearing a forced smile, and said, “The chief asks the two of you to come in. His office is on the right side of the fourth floor.”

Xie Wendong smiled faintly, thanked him, and stepped steadily up the stairs. Jiang Sen instinctively placed his hand on his waist and followed closely behind Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong turned around, winked at Jiang Sen to reassure him not to be nervous. After reaching the third floor and looking to the right, they indeed saw a sign reading “Chief’s Office” hanging on the wall, very prominent. Xie Wendong walked over, knocked on the door first, and entered without waiting for a response. The chief’s office was quite large, about forty square meters, with a huge brown solid wood desk by the window. Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man who was short and thin. From the moment Xie Wendong saw him, he felt that the man was out of proportion to the room. Xie Wendong strode over to the desk and asked, “Are you the chief?” While observing the middle-aged man, Xie Wendong also watched him closely.

After a while, the middle-aged man smiled and said, “I am! You must be Xie Wendong, right?!” Xie Wendong was taken aback. Regardless of whether the chief agreed or not, he sat down across from him and said with a smile, “You know me?” The middle-aged man handed him a cigarette pack from the desk. After Xie Wendong took one, he also took one, lit it, and said, “I’ve heard of you. Not long ago, Brother Zhang from the Political Department called and sent a fax as well…” Xie Wendong smiled and asked, “And what else?” The middle-aged man replied, “You also caused quite a stir in Kunming, didn’t you? How could I not know you?” Xie Wendong smiled. Indeed! He had once fought fiercely with Ma Feng. If the city chief was unaware of such events, he should have been fired long ago. He said, “But it seemed like you didn’t do much at that time.” The middle-aged man rubbed his eyebrows and said, “You killed a military lieutenant on your first day in Yunnan. How could I dare interfere with your affairs?” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said, “It seems nothing I did in Yunnan is hidden from you?” The middle-aged man nodded and said, “That’s right, including your trip to the Golden Triangle.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Sen behind Xie Wendong’s back saw a cold glint in his eyes as his hand instinctively went to his waist. With just the slightest hint from Xie Wendong, he would pierce the head of the director in front of him within a second. But Xie Wendong gave no hint, merely smiling at the director. After a while, he said, “Every year, most of the goods from the Golden Triangle pass through Yunnan, and Kunming is the hub of Yunnan. They must deliver quite a lot each year, right?” The director just smiled, leaned back in his chair, and said, “It’s nothing compared to Mr. Xie.” Understanding the unspoken agreement, Xie Wendong didn’t say more and changed the subject, saying, “I’m here this time to take the goods out. Normally, such a simple task shouldn’t require me to make the trip personally.” The director shook his head with a wry smile and said, “Even if I had a hundred heads, I wouldn’t dare hand over the goods on my own, even though I’m the director.” Xie Wendong understood that he indeed lacked the courage and ability, nodded, and said, “So can we do it now?!” The director grinned wickedly and said, “With the Political Department involved, what am I afraid of?”

Being able to return these goods to the Golden Triangle allowed the director to breathe a sigh of relief. Holding this hot potato in his hands had kept him awake at night, not only because of the huge annual payments owed to the Golden Triangle but also out of fear of the terrifying revenge from those ruthless drug lords. When the Golden Triangle threatened to use “dark flowers,” although it wasn’t aimed at him, his heart beat much faster than Qiu Ningshui’s. If Qiu Ningshui were killed, he would likely be the next target. With the focus shifted, he was naturally happy. He asked with a smile, “Will Mr. Xie take the goods straight back to the interior?” By now, the underworld knew that these goods from the Golden Triangle were meant for Xie Wendong, and as the director, he had heard about it as well, which led to his question.

Xie Wendong raised an eyebrow and said, “You’ll know what you need to know. It’s better not to ask about things you shouldn’t know.” With that, he stood up, waved his hand, and said, “I’ll wait downstairs.”

The director didn’t mind Xie Wendong’s arrogance. He knew this young man had the right to be arrogant—probably ten of him put together couldn’t deal with him. He forced a laugh and asked, “Do you need me to send someone to escort you?” “No, thanks!” With that, Xie Wendong had already left. Jiang Sen hurriedly followed out and asked in a low voice, “Is it that simple?” Xie Wendong replied, “That simple! Everyone here is sensible. No need for all this nonsense. He can continue being his peaceful director, and we can continue collecting our goods.”

The two waited downstairs for about ten minutes before a medium-sized truck slowly drove out of the garage, with a seal on the container door. The truck stopped in front of Xie Wendong. When the door opened, a police officer in uniform jumped out, nodded at him without saying a word, and stepped aside. Xie Wendong stepped forward, tore off the seal on the truck, smiled at the officer, and got into the truck with Jiang Sen. They left the police station compound without any hindrance. After exiting, Xie Wendong and Jiang Sen got out of the truck, waved at Ah Shui, who was waiting, and the latter hurried over with a smile to greet Xie Wendong. He carefully checked the container and, seeing that the seal was intact, felt relieved and gave a thumbs-up, saying, “Mr. Xie, there’s no problem.”

Xie Wendong nodded and said, “It’s good that there’s no problem. As usual, you’ll deliver the goods directly to the northeast. San Yan will send someone to pick them up.” Ah Shui, who had delivered goods multiple times with Lao Gui and had frequent contact with San Yan, said with a smile, “Okay. Then, Mr. Xie, aren’t you going back?” Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “I have other matters to attend to. Please give my regards to Lao Gui.” Seeing that he intended to leave, Ah Shui quickly said, “We really owe Mr. Xie a debt of thanks this time. Otherwise, Brother Gui would be in trouble with the general. He even called just now, saying he wants to meet up with you properly after this is done.” Xie Wendong scratched his head. He didn’t want to waste more time in Kunming, as he was worried about the Southern Hongmen. But then he thought he did need Lao Gui’s help. If the Golden Triangle could assist him in dealing with the Southern Hongmen, even just their members in Yunnan, it would be of tremendous help to him. But although it sounded easy, it would be very difficult to get the Golden Triangle to do so. Xie Wendong sighed inwardly. It would be good to see Lao Gui and ask if he had any ideas on how to get the general on his side. He nodded and said, “Alright. Where is Lao Gui now?”

Ah Shui replied, “In the suburbs.” Xie Wendong rolled his eyes and said helplessly, “It seems Brother Gui is really turning into a ghost. He can’t live in crowded places, so he hides in deserted ones.” Ah Shui apologized with a few smiles and asked, “Shall we set off now?” “Yes!” Xie Wendong nodded. Everyone got into the truck and headed to the suburbs. In the truck, Xie Wendong closed his eyes to rest, his lips pressed into a thin line and slightly downturned. Once the truck left the city, Xie Wendong suddenly spoke to himself, “It’s really strange.”

Ren Changfeng, standing aside, asked in confusion, “Brother Dong, what’s so strange?” Xie Wendong stared out of the car window and said, “It’s strange that everything is so calm. We’ve been in Kunming for days, yet the Nan Hongmen here hasn’t shown any signs of activity. Could it be their information network is really that poor, and they don’t know we’ve arrived?” Ren Changfeng sneered, “What can they do even if they know we’re in Kunming? We can overcome Xiang Wentian, let alone those worthless scum. It’s wise of them not to provoke us.” As they spoke, two black cars sped past the van Xie Wendong was in at high speed. Jiang Sen glanced quickly and then looked back—several more cars were approaching rapidly. Frowning slightly, he said to Xie Wendong, “Brother Dong, something’s not right.”

Xie Wendong also saw it clearly and thought, As expected, they’ve arrived! That’s even better. He narrowed his eyes and smiled, saying, “It seems those who are meant to come will still come.” No sooner had he spoken than a harsh screech of brakes came from ahead. The two black sedans, like clamps with open mouths, rushed past the convoy and quickly blocked the road in the middle. The jeep at the front had no way to go and had to stop. Once it stopped, the cars behind it couldn’t move either. A Shui, who had been in a good mood, suddenly became furious. In his mind, no one in Kunming dared to stop a car from the Golden Triangle—except, of course, the police. He said to his subordinate beside him, “Go take a look. What’s going on?” “Okay!” the man replied and got out of the car. Almost at the same time, Xie Wendong also got out of the car and walked toward the black sedans, one in front of the other. The doors of the two sedans opened almost simultaneously, and eight men in black climbed out. One of them, a bald man with a cold gaze, swept his eyes over A Shui from the Golden Triangle before fixing his gaze on Xie Wendong behind him. His originally cold eyes suddenly lit up with intensity. The man carried an imposing aura, but A Shui, used to being arrogant, paid them no attention at all. He stepped forward, kicked the side of the sedan, and snapped, “Who the hell are you? Get lost right now!”

The bald man didn’t even glance at him, his eyes fixed intently on Xie Wendong’s face as he said coldly, “Xie Wendong?”

Xie Wendong nodded with a smile. Before he could speak, the man from the Golden Triangle couldn’t hold back anymore. He had never suffered such humiliation before. Pointing at Xie Wendong’s bald head, he shouted, “Are you deaf? Can’t you hear me? We…” Before he could finish, Xie Wendong smirked at him and said darkly, “You’re the one we’ve been looking for!” His eyes were fixed on Xie Wendong, but his hands, which had been in his pockets, came out quickly. Like lightning, he grabbed the wrist pointing at his nose. With a slight twist of his iron-like grip, there was a crisp crack—as the man’s wristbone broke. His arm remained raised, but his hand drooped. The man was stunned. Only after seeing his broken wrist did he feel the sudden intense pain. But before he could scream, a sharp steel knife pierced his heart. His mouth was open, unable to utter a word, filled with blood. His wide eyes stared in disbelief at the bald man. It was indeed him who had stabbed him. The bald man pushed him in the face with his open palm, spraying blood from the man’s chest. The man took two steps back and collapsed straight down like a cut tree, his legs still twitching. From start to finish, the bald man’s gaze never left Xie Wendong. Yet it took him less than five seconds to kill the man from the Golden Triangle. Xie Wendong witnessed it clearly, so he couldn’t help but feel a chill. The Nan Hongmen truly had many experts. This unassuming bald man might not be weaker than Ren Changfeng, but his cruelty seemed to surpass it. The bald man didn’t give him much time to observe. Shouting, “Xie Wendong, your life is mine!” he brought the knife forward before his words even faded.

Before the blade reached him, its wind swept in first, still carrying droplets of uncooled blood that struck Xie Wendong’s face, burning hot. Xie Wendong wasn’t unprepared, but the strike was too fast, leaving no time to dodge sideways, forcing him to retreat. He stumbled backward urgently; due to the force, he lost his balance upon landing and rolled more than two meters away. Though in a sorry state, he had managed to avoid the fatal blow. At that moment, Jiang Sen, Ren Changfeng, A Shui, and others also got off the car. Everything happened so quickly that they couldn’t even see how the bald man had swung his blade—his brother from the Golden Triangle was already dead. Seeing his comrades bleeding profusely and clearly doomed, A Shui let out a pained scream, reaching for his gun only to find his waist empty. He suddenly remembered that the old ghost had taken their guns, fearing they might get into trouble since they were going to the police station—carrying guns would be hard to explain. Gritting his teeth, A Shui returned to the car and flipped up the seat cushion, revealing several rusting knives inside, seemingly unused for a long time. But he didn’t care now. Shouting, he said, “Brothers, grab weapons!”

The bald man was also surprised that his strike hadn’t hit. With such full force, few in the world could dodge it. It seemed Xie Wendong hadn’t just been lucky to get this far. He stepped forward quickly, delivering another slash from top to bottom before Xie Wendong could get up. This strike seemed even more powerful than the last—the blade’s ultra-fast downward swing produced a deafening whine as it cut through the air. Xie Wendong feared it might split him in two if it hit him. He might have been able to dodge if he’d used all his strength, but he didn’t. Looking down, he saw a pair of leather shoes—Ren Changfeng’s. He knew he wouldn’t be hurt even if he didn’t dodge.

“Clang!” Sparks flew as the blades collided. Ren Changfeng realized the force behind the opponent’s strike and resisted with all his might. When the two blades met, he felt his wrist grow heavy, his arm numb from the shoulder to the head, barely keeping the blade in control. The blades stopped just above Xie Wendong’s nose; just a little lower, and his nose would have been lost. Xie Wendong raised his eyebrows and quickly got up. Ren Changfeng stared at the bald man and asked coldly, “Brother, you’re not some unknown, are you?!”