Chapter 271

“Yah!” The other five cried out, rolling up their sleeves and throwing punches and kicks at Gao Qiang.
Ten minutes later, Xie Wendong and the other two walked out of the dance hall, holding handkerchiefs to wipe the blood from their hands before tossing them into the trash can. Jiang Sen moved his arms, which made a creaking sound, and sighed, “It’s been so long since I’ve had such a satisfying fight.” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “There will be plenty more opportunities like this in the future.” Gao Qiang asked blankly, “Brother Dong, are you referring to the Nan Hongmen?” “That’s right!” Xie Wendong sighed and said, “The Nan Hongmen aren’t just lowly scoundrels. Especially in the south, their influence is deeply rooted—far beyond gangs like the Soul Group or the Tiger Gang.” Jiang Sen smiled and said, “Even so, Brother Dong still managed to take control of Nanjing and advance all the way to the heartland of the Nan Hongmen—Shanghai!”
As they talked, they walked over to the car. One of the underlings, who had already seen them come out of the dance hall, respectfully opened the car door for them. Once in the car, Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “The reason we were able to defeat the Nan Hongmen in Nanjing was because Xiang Wentian didn’t have time to focus on us. I only fought him once briefly; strictly speaking, I lost that fight.”
“Brother Dong, it’s the outcome that defines a hero!” Jiang Sen said. “Anyway, right now we have an advantage over the Nan Hongmen in terms of morale, which is very beneficial for us.”
Xie Wendong nodded and said, “That’s why we must return as soon as possible and join forces with Lao Lei, so as not to give Xiang Wentian a chance to recover.” Hearing this, Gao Qiang suddenly asked, “When do you plan to leave?” “The sooner, the better!” Xie Wendong counted on his fingers. He had been away for at least two months, and who knew how many things might have happened during that time in the conflict between the north and south. After pondering for a moment, he said, “Let’s prepare for two days. After that, we’ll head south in one go.” “Isn’t that a bit hasty?” Gao Qiang asked worriedly. Xie Wendong laughed and said, “I’m not comfortable leaving Lao Lei to confront Xiang Wentian alone. Though Lao Lei is clever, he’s still no match for Xiang Wentian. I certainly don’t want another bloody battle in Nanjing.”
On the way back to the villa, there were armed police and spies from the Security Bureau everywhere, especially near the villa area. Often, groups of strangers would appear, glance around suspiciously, and then vanish without a trace. Xie Wendong dismissed them with disdain. Right now, Huang Zhen probably couldn’t imagine that Peng Shulin was already on a train to Russia.

If headless flies aren’t allowed to crash into walls, how would they know what pain is? Xie Wendong rubbed his chin, squinting in thought, when suddenly an idea struck him—he remembered someone. He snapped his fingers and called Sanyan. Sanyan was quite free at the moment, drinking at home with Li Shuang. Upon receiving Xie Wendong’s call, thinking something serious had happened, he quickly stood up and asked, “Brother Dong, what’s the matter?” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “I didn’t visit the governor this time, and I feel quite guilty. Please help me send some gifts over.”
“Oh!” Sanyan’s tense nerves relaxed—so it was for that! He laughed and said, “Brother Dong, we’ve already ‘offered tributes’ plenty of times. And it’s not easy to find something that can catch this old bastard’s eye!” “If I remember correctly, there are only two things he cares about: money and women,” Xie Wendong said with a smile. No matter how glorious or carefree a person seems on the surface, they always have their favorite things. Once you know what they like, it’s like having their weakness in hand. “Spot on!” Sanyan fully agreed with Xie Wendong. He had dealt with the governor for even longer than Xie Wendong did, so he knew exactly what the governor liked. “He’s the head of a province—money isn’t an issue for him. No matter how much we give, he won’t think it’s enough. In that case,” Xie Wendong said slowly, “Brother Zhang, please send him a beautiful woman. Right now!” “Oh…” Sanyan was stunned and asked, “Right now?”
“Yeah!” Xie Wendong replied firmly, then whispered a few words to Sanyan. After a while, Sanyan hung up the phone and said to Li Shuang helplessly, “Fatty, I can’t drink any more.” As soon as Li Shuang heard it was Brother Dong who called, he knew Sanyan must be restless. He took a leisurely sip of his drink and said mockingly, “Sigh! It’s all humans, yet our fates differ vastly. Some suffer, some enjoy life; some are busy, some are idle!”
“Exactly!” Sanyan nodded, grabbed Li Shuang by the collar, and started walking out, saying as he went, “Since you’re so idle, I’ll show mercy and find you something to do!”

“Don’t… please don’t!” Li Shuang kicked and punched, even using his teeth, but still couldn’t break free from the Three-Eyed Man’s iron grip. Eventually, he gave up and said weakly, “Brother Three-Eyed, can you at least let me put on some clothes?” The Three-Eyed Man turned around and saw that Li Shuang was only wearing underwear and slippers. It was hot in the room, and as a fat man who hated heat, Li Shuang had already thrown away his jacket and sweater while drinking. The Three-Eyed Man laughed and said mockingly, “Weren’t you always complaining about the heat? Well now, you can finally cool off!”
After getting in the car, the Three-Eyed Man said seriously, “Fatso, are there any pretty girls at the nightclubs you manage?” Most of the clubs under the Three-Eyed Man’s control had already helped the newly established Little Dragon Gang expand into new areas, so he didn’t have much influence in City H. Hearing this, Li Shuang laughed and said mysteriously, “Does Brother Dong want to…? But Peng Ling just left. Isn’t it too much for Brother Dong to do this right away…” The Three-Eyed Man swatted Li Shuang hard on the head with his fist and snapped, “Do you think Brother Dong is like you?” “Then why?” Li Shuang asked, holding his head and refusing to give in. “To give gifts!” the Three-Eyed Man chuckled. Li Shuang managed no less than ten nightclubs, and asking him to find the prettiest girl among them really stumped him. After thinking for a while, he slapped his head and said, “I’ve got it!” “Who?” the Three-Eyed Man asked eagerly. “A woman whose beauty makes a man unable to take his eyes off her.”
The woman Li Shuang referred to was Shu Xiaomei. Indeed, as he described, she was a woman who could captivate a man’s heart. When the Three-Eyed Man saw her, for a moment, his own heart beat faster as well. Shu Xiaomei wasn’t just beautiful; she had an innate charm. Her almond-shaped eyes, even when giving a casual glance, seemed to cast flirtatious glances, unconsciously drawing people in. The Three-Eyed Man slapped his thigh and laughed, “Alright, she’s the one. Even the governor, let alone the Jade Emperor, would be tempted!” Li Shuang said proudly, “Of course. It’s just that Brother Dong isn’t here. Otherwise, who knows… hehe…”
“What do you mean, ‘who knows’?” Xie Wendong leaned against the doorframe, smiling.
Li Shuang’s eyes widened almost like two small light bulbs. He couldn’t believe it and looked at the Three-Eyed Man. The latter tapped his phone and nodded affirmatively, saying, “I called as soon as I arrived at the nightclub. Coincidentally, Brother Dong was also nearby. And then…” Li Shuang turned his head blankly, forcing a painfully ugly smile and saying, “Hello, Brother Dong.”

Xie Wendong shrugged and said, “Not good! There’s always someone speaking ill of me behind my back. How can things go well for me?” After saying that, he glanced toward the back of the room at Shu Xiaomei, who looked puzzled. He couldn’t help but admire her—truly a natural beauty! He nodded and said, “Not bad! Brother Zhang, do as I say.”
“Understood!” Sanyan took out a stack of bills from his pocket and placed it in front of Shu Xiaomei, saying, “As long as you do as I say, all of this will be yours.”
“What do you want me to do?” Shu Xiaomei looked at the bills—all hundred-yuan notes, worth at least tens of thousands in total. Sanyan smiled and said, “Act out a scene!”
Xie Wendong started a fight in the nightclub, quickly drawing the attention of the Security Bureau. After he left, they kept following him secretly. At first, Xie Wendong’s car was heading toward the villa, but for some reason, it suddenly changed direction. The Security Bureau agents tracking him sensed something was off and quickly informed Huang Zhen. The “false news” from the last incident had caused the Security Bureau a lot of trouble, and Huang Zhen had exploded in anger in their office, calling them idiots. Although the military and the Security Bureau were separate agencies, Huang Zhen, though powerful, didn’t have the authority to criticize the Security Bureau. But this time, the Security Bureau really felt they were at fault, so they blamed everything on Xie Wendong. They were determined to find evidence that he was hiding Peng Shulin, so he could never get a chance to recover. Just as Huang Zhen was frantic because he couldn’t locate Xie Wendong, he suddenly heard that he had been found. He immediately perked up and told the Security Bureau agents to keep watching secretly while he rushed over himself.
Before leaving the nightclub, Xie Wendong sent two clever henchmen to scout and check if there were any military agents spying from outside. After looking around for a while with no abnormalities, they hurriedly signaled back inside. Soon, Xie Wendong came out with a group of people through the main entrance. The Security Bureau agents parked their car at the end of the street, about fifty to sixty meters away from the nightclub. They kept most of their bodies hidden below the windows, leaving only their heads exposed, using night vision goggles to observe nervously, not daring to breathe loudly.
“Look!” One of them quickly pulled at his companion’s clothes and whispered in alarm, “Who’s that?” Shortly after Xie Wendong came out, another group followed, with several of them helping a person covered in black cloth, whose face couldn’t be seen. That group quickly got into another white van and drove away together with Xie Wendong’s car.

“It can’t be Huang Zhen who they’re looking for!” muttered the security bureau officer doubtfully. The driver slapped his own head, suddenly realizing, “That’s right! We’ve spent so much manpower and effort, turning H City upside down, yet still couldn’t find Peng Shulin. It turns out Xie Wendong hid him in a nightclub—who would have thought? He’s truly cunning!” The security bureau officer quickly realized what had happened, slapped the driver’s head, and cursed, “So you think you’re smart! Since you know that, hurry up and drive after them!”
The driver cursed inwardly but obediently agreed on the surface and set off in pursuit. The efficiency of communication within the security bureau was indeed remarkable. In no time, there were five or six cars following Xie Wendong. No matter how smart Xie Wendong was, he must have noticed. He turned around and sneered, “It seems to be the security bureau again. You guys have really sharp noses! Qiangzi, tell Brother Zhang—we should split up.” “Okay!” Gao Qiang made a call, dialing Sanyan’s mobile phone.
At an intersection, two cars suddenly split left and right. This left the security bureau agents following them in a dilemma—should they chase Xie Wendong or the man who resembled Peng Shulin? The deputy director of the security bureau was among them. In his forties, he was obese, with a huge belly protruding significantly. His enormous face featured pair of small eyes the size of mung beans. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Xie Wendong can’t fly—he can’t get away. Just send one car after him. The rest, chase that white van. If you lose it, you can imagine the consequences. Don’t blame me if things go wrong!”
“Understood!” Through the walkie-talkie, the deputy director’s orders were quickly relayed, and most of the cars focused on the white van. The white van seemed to have noticed it was being followed as well; it suddenly accelerated, speeding along the road while brushing past other cars with a roaring noise. “It seems they’ve noticed us!” The deputy director scratched his sparse hair, then gave orders, “All tracking vehicles, withdraw now. Send in others.”

Military orders are unchallengeable, and no one dared question his words at that moment. Instantly, all the cars of the Security Bureau slowed down, and more personnel were dispatched from other places to continue the pursuit. This tactic proved effective—seeing the Security Bureau’s cars fall behind, the van took a few turns before also slowing down. Uninterrupted, it finally stopped at Shangri-La, the top hotel in City H. The people inside didn’t get out right away but waited patiently for over ten minutes. When nothing happened, the doors were pulled open, and several burly men jumped out. Finally, two of them helped the person covered in black cloth enter the hotel quickly, so fast that it was astonishing—the person was almost dragged along without touching the ground. When the deputy head of the Security Bureau arrived, several people rushed up, pointed at the hotel entrance, and said excitedly, “Boss, they’ve already gone in!”
The deputy carefully glanced at the hotel and said to them, “Are you sure you saw clearly? If anything goes wrong again, you’ll face serious consequences!”
The men replied eagerly, “Boss, don’t worry. This time it’s foolproof. We all saw them go in with our own eyes—there’s no mistake!” “Good!” The deputy nodded his bald head and said, “Since you’re so sure, I’ll call Huang Zhen. If we can find Peng Shulin this time, first, our Security Bureau will have achieved a great success; second, we can hold Xie Wendong accountable; and third, I want to see what Huang Zhen, that old fool, will do—let’s see who’s the idiot here!!!”
With a smug smile, he called Huang Zhen. Needless to say, Huang Zhen was already wandering around aimlessly. Upon hearing it was at Shangri-La, he immediately said, “I’m not far away. I’ll be there right away!”