Chapter 268

Liliana let out a sigh. She had intended to outwit Xie Wendong, but he wasn’t fooled at all—instead, he turned the tables on her. The higher-ups at Black Belt still valued their relationship with Xie Wendong greatly; otherwise, Vladimir, the second-in-command, wouldn’t have traveled all the way to China to win him over. Moreover, Wendong’s group had gradually become the primary source of drugs for Black Belt. If she caused conflict between the two groups, she wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences. With that in mind, she flashed a sly smile, crossed her fingers under her chin, and said, “Mr. Xie, I’ll give you a satisfactory answer by 8 p.m. tonight.” As she spoke, her long eyelashes fluttered up and down like two little fans.

Xie Wendong wasn’t deceived by those “little fans.” He smiled cheerfully and said calmly, “I’ll wait eagerly for good news.” He raised the red wine in front of him, toasted Liliana, drank it in one gulp, then picked up his coat. As he put it on, he said politely, “Miss Liliana, I have much to do. Please excuse me.” Seeing that he was leaving, Liliana said with slight disappointment, “Mr. Xie, are you leaving so soon?” Xie Wendong shrugged helplessly and replied, “Time always seems very limited to me. Let Brother Zhang accompany you—he’s an old friend of yours, so you’ll feel more at ease with him than with a stranger like me.” After getting dressed, he stepped outside, followed by seven or eight people. At the door, he stopped, tapped his head, turned back, and said with a smile, “By the way, I’m not the kind to take advantage of others. I remember everyone’s help to me. If you encounter difficulties in the future, come to me!”

Although he left the bar, his bright smile lingered in Liliana’s mind for a long time. Xie Wendong was a mystery in himself—his unpredictability made it impossible to read his true thoughts. Sanyan came and sat next to her. Seeing that she was still dazed, staring blankly at the door, he sighed helplessly, snapped his fingers in front of her face, and said with a smile, “Come back to reality! If your head doesn’t snap back to normal soon, I guarantee your neck won’t be spared tonight.”

Liliana finally snapped out of it and looked at Sanyan doubtfully, asking, “What did you just say?” “Nothing,” Sanyan replied nonchalantly. “Weren’t you always eager to meet Brother Dong? Today you got your wish. How do you feel?” Liliana pondered for a while before slowly saying, “I can’t figure out this man.” Sanyan smirked. If Brother Dong were easy to understand, he wouldn’t be Xie Wendong. He comforted her, “It’s not your first time meeting him. Even I sometimes can’t understand him!”

After leaving the bar and getting into the car, Xie Wendong first called Jiang Sen. He asked, “Has Huang Zhen left?” Jiang Sen laughed heartily and said, “He ran away with his tail between his legs. He carried out a thorough search but didn’t find a single clue. In the end, his face turned red and white alternately; I even felt embarrassed for mocking him a bit.” Xie Wendong laughed and said, “It seems he’ll go back and settle accounts with the Security Bureau.” “Yeah!” Jiang Sen said with a sly smile, “The Security Bureau’s compound probably won’t be as peaceful as before.” Xie Wendong hung up the phone in high spirits. The car headed straight to the villa. Once inside, he saw that everyone there had gloomy expressions and lowered their heads when they saw him. Puzzled, Xie Wendong grabbed one of the underlings who was trying to sneak away and asked, “Did anything happen while I was away?”

“Oh…” The junior member scratched his head awkwardly and glanced at the others. Everyone he looked at quickly stepped aside, making it clear it was impossible to find someone to help him get out. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to say, “Brother Dong, that… that Li Yingnan… she ran away!” “Huh?” Xie Wendong doubted his own ears and looked at the junior member in confusion. Seeing he didn’t understand, the junior member resolved himself and said again, “She took advantage of our inattention and ran away secretly. But don’t worry, Brother Dong—we’ve already sent people to look for her. She’s just a girl; she can’t have gone far.” “Ran away? Ran away?” Xie Wendong silently let go of the junior member and walked back and forth in the hall, his lips moving as if muttering something. Suddenly, he kicked over the coffee table beside him and said coldly, “A living person could run away right under your noses, and you didn’t even notice? And you still dare to claim you can find her in front of me?!” He used the word “still” three times, his voice slightly trembling. Xie Wendong rarely lost his temper, especially with his own people, but this time he was truly furious. After taking several deep breaths to calm himself down, he narrowed his eyes and looked around at everyone, asking seriously, “Do you think I’m an idiot, or are you idiots? Huh?” Everyone’s faces turned red. Meeting his gaze felt like being cut by a knife, burning intensely, so they quickly lowered their heads. Xie Wendong sighed and said, “If a girl can easily run away here, then what good are all of you if enemies come? What use am I to you?” Hearing this, the junior member he had caught earlier suddenly collapsed to his knees, his voice choked with sobs, “Brother Dong, please forgive us this time.”

At that moment, the door opened and Gao Qiang walked in. Seeing everyone kneeling inside, he didn’t understand what was going on and looked doubtfully at Xie Wendong, who was standing in the middle, panting heavily. Seeing his wide-eyed, confused expression, Xie Wendong laughed heartily and said loudly, “Don’t look at me; look at them.” Gao Qiang blinked and picked up one of them, asking, “What’s going on?” The man explained everything in detail, and only then did Gao Qiang understand why Xie Wendong was so angry. Pretending to be angry, he said, “Brother Dong is right—we’ve had too many peaceful days, and our spirits have slumped. This is a lesson for you to see if you’ll still dare to muddle through life carelessly!” After saying that, he stepped beside Xie Wendong and whispered, “Brother Dong, since this has already happened, just give them a lesson. After all, these are all elders who have followed you for years.”

“Hmm!” Xie Wendong sighed deeply. Gao Qiang made a good point. If he drove these elders out just because of this, it would indeed be heartless. Yet, he still wasn’t satisfied. Shaking his head with a bitter smile, he said, “Why are you still kneeling here? Go and get punished at the Enforcement Hall by yourselves.”

Upon hearing this, the men’s faces lit up with joy as they exclaimed, “Thank you, Brother Dong!” They jumped up and rushed to find Zhang Yanjiang. Under normal circumstances, they would stay far away at the sight of the head of the Enforcement Hall, fearing getting punished by him. Xie Wendong had no intention of letting them off easily. Before they even left the door, he added, “After getting punished, go out and find people. Use whatever methods or tactics you need—by tomorrow night, I want to see living people! If you disappoint me again, then you’ll know what to expect!” With that, he swept his sleeves and went upstairs, leaving behind a group of men who were half happy but also doused in cold water.

Sighing, Xie Wendong returned to his room. Li Gensheng had already died because of him, and he didn’t want Li Yingnan to follow in her brother’s footsteps, as that would make him ashamed for life. As he said, he was someone who didn’t want to owe others favors. “Knock, knock!” There were knocks at the door. Fatigued, he sat in his chair without getting up and simply said, “Come in.” Gao Qiang pushed the door open, carrying a plate of food, and gently placed it on the table. “Brother Dong, eat something.”

Xie Wendong forced a smile and shook his head. “I don’t even have the appetite to eat.” Gao Qiang laughed. “Man is iron, food is steel. That’s something Brother Dong always says.” “Hehe!” Xie Wendong nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating randomly. Before he could finish, the phone rang. When he answered, it was Lilia from the Black Belt group. His mind finally felt a bit relieved, and he smiled. “Miss Lilia is really punctual. It’s not even seven o’clock yet.” “That’s right, Mr. Xie. We Black Belt members are always reliable!” Lilia replied casually. “So, have you already decided?” “Yes. I want your friend to take the China-Russia train at 10 p.m. into Russia, and then we’ll arrange for him to fly to the United States. What do you think, Mr. Xie?” Xie Wendong had no objections to others helping out. He chuckled and said, “I trust you, and I trust you Black Belt members even more. I’ll leave everything to Miss Lilia’s arrangement. See you at 10 p.m.” The two said goodbye and hung up. With Peng Shulin’s matter resolved, Xie Wendong was relieved of one concern, and the disappearance of Li Yingnan was put aside for now. He ate his meal without the lack of taste he had earlier. As he chewed slowly, he suddenly found the food quite tasty. He looked up and asked, “Who cooked this?”
“Of course, it’s me!” With a clear voice, Jin Rong jumped in from outside, followed by Peng Ling. Gao Qiang smiled knowingly and left the room.
Xie Wendong was stunned. He glanced at Jin Rong and then at Peng Ling behind her, and said blankly, “The girl hasn’t gone home yet. It’s almost seven o’clock. If she doesn’t leave now, her parents will worry.” Jin Rong waved her phone in front of him with a smile and said proudly, “Don’t you know there’s something called a phone these days?” Xie Wendong shook his head helplessly. This girl was becoming more and more disrespectful in front of him. Now she even dared to mock him. If it weren’t for Peng Ling being there, he might have spanked her. He turned to Peng Ling and said seriously, “I’ll take my uncle to Russia tonight. I’ve already arranged for people there to take him to the United States for treatment as soon as possible.”

“Go to Russia?” Peng Ling didn’t expect it to be this complicated. She asked, “Why not go to the United States directly?” Xie Wendong shook his head and sighed. “It’s not that simple. The central government has ordered the military to ensure Uncle Peng’s safety. I don’t know if their intentions are good, but one thing is certain: once the military gets involved, his illness will definitely be neglected. So I have no choice but to do this.” The military taking over! Peng Ling was shocked and immediately realized things wouldn’t be that easy. She wondered, “Could it be Du Tingwei’s father pulling the strings?” Smart! Xie Wendong silently praised her. Although Peng Shulin was a special envoy of the central government, his position wasn’t high enough to mobilize the military. Huang Zhen’s involvement was clearly under orders from above, and the person behind it was likely Du Tingwei’s father. For the sake of his son, killing to silence witnesses wasn’t impossible. Once Peng Shulin fell into the military’s hands, they could do whatever they wanted to him—an accident or a mistake could be enough to cause his death.

His expression darkened as he shook his head. “I hope it’s not like that!” He didn’t say it explicitly, but Peng Ling understood. Tears welled in her eyes. She felt it was unfair for her father—having dedicated his whole life to the country, only to end up in such a miserable situation. A lifetime in the military wasn’t even worth as much as the life of a privileged elite child born with a silver spoon. For the first time, she questioned life. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at Xie Wendong in confusion and asked, “Is there really no place where reason can prevail?”

“Reason?” Xie Wendong sneered at the word, laughing mockingly before looking up. “Reason isn’t discussed—it’s fought for with fists, built with blood and flesh. Whoever is stronger, that’s reason!” Peng Ling shuddered and shook her head weakly, feeling as though a heavy mountain pressed on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Seeing her helplessness, Xie Wendong felt pain in his heart. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and comforted her, “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’m here! If you can’t find reason, I’ll help you create one.”

“Really?” “I may not be a good person, but scoundrels never deceive their own people.” His words warmed Peng Ling’s heart. She took a deep breath, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, forced a smile, and changed the subject. “Wendong, are those Russians you mentioned reliable?” Though she trusted Xie Wendong, she was still worried about her father’s safety. Xie Wendong understood what she meant. After thinking for a moment, he said, “They’re my business partners. As long as I’m alive, they’ll definitely trust me.”

Peng Ling covered his mouth with her hand and shook her head, saying, “Don’t say such things.” Xie Wendong’s eyes curved into crescents as he pulled the hand away from his mouth and said, “Only someone worse than me could kill me. But I really doubt there’s such a person in the world?! ” Peng Ling was amused by his self-satisfied attitude. After a while, her smile faded, and she said firmly, “I want to go with Dad.” “Huh?” This reply was completely beyond Xie Wendong’s expectations. He had been worried that Peng Ling wouldn’t let Peng Shulin go, but he didn’t expect her to follow as well. Just as he tried to stop her, Peng Ling added, “Don’t try to persuade me. Mom died when I was young. It’s just the two of us, Dad and me. No matter where we go, I’ll stay by his side. Only that way can I feel at ease. Please don’t try to persuade me!” Peng Ling buried her head in Xie Wendong’s arms, knowing he would definitely object, so she preemptively silenced him with words. Watching the two embrace tightly as if she didn’t exist, Jin Rong suddenly felt an itch in her throat. With no other choice, she cleared her throat loudly. “Cough… cough!”