Chapter 280
The Gray Wolf was stunned and said nothing. He bent down, his face close to the flour. Habits can kill people—this was absolutely true. To others, this habit of his might seem insignificant, but once discovered by Xie Wendong, it became a fatal flaw. Seeing him bend over, the young man knew his chance had come and swiftly slapped the flour bag.
The blow was forceful; the light flour was sent flying everywhere under the impact. The Gray Wolf saw only white before everything blurred. Even though he reacted quickly, some flour still got into his eyes. “Yah!” he cried out, closing his eyes as he kicked the flour bag in front of him toward the young man while retreating rapidly.
Xie Wendong’s carefully laid trap wouldn’t let him escape so easily. From all sides, no fewer than twenty members of Xie Wendong’s group, disguised as ordinary people, drew their knives. Without a word, they charged at the Gray Wolf with full force. San Yan had already declared that a cut on the Gray Wolf would earn 100,000, amputating a limb 200,000, and his head 500,000. High rewards always attract brave men—this has been true since ancient times. In an instant, knives flashed, and the air was filled with murderous intent. The onlookers, unaccustomed to such a scene, ran away crying, fearing they would be cursed by the bloodshed. Though the Gray Wolf’s eyes were blinded by flour, his ears and superhuman intuition remained sharp. He spun around, his sleeve sword falling from his sleeve into his hand. Using the momentum of his spin, he swung his arms, producing a series of clanging sounds as sparks flew everywhere, creating a strikingly beautiful sight in the dimming evening light.
No one had time to admire it; they had only one goal. The young man who sold rice and flour had been hit by the flour kicked by the Gray Wolf. He staggered back several steps, covered in flour, unable to stand, and collapsed to the ground. He couldn’t get up for a long time, his body seemingly broken as if struck by a sledgehammer, in excruciating pain. He remembered what Xie Wendong had said to him: “If you want to stand out, cut off the Gray Wolf’s head.” Gritting his teeth, the young man mustered his strength, took out the machete given to him by Xie Wendong, and slowly moved toward the Gray Wolf.
At this moment, Canglang was not in an easy position. Surrounded by over twenty burly men and unable to see clearly, he could only utilize a fraction of his martial skills. It was not easy for him to break through their encirclement, and it was even harder for those twenty men to bring him down. He used few attacks, spending most of his time dodging and defending. Yet whenever he drew his sword, bloodshed ensued. To those men, he was too fast—leaving them no chance to dodge. One of the men roared and swung his knife at Canglang’s back of the head. Canglang sidestepped effortlessly; seemingly without moving, he was sent flying sideways. Before he could stand up, the man closest to him saw his chance and thrust a knife at his soft underarm. The strike was fast and vicious. Just as everyone thought Canglang couldn’t avoid it, he performed an action beyond imagination—bending his waist like a snake into an S shape, allowing the knife to skim past his clothes. Even the man with the knife was stunned; such a move was beyond human capability. Unfortunately, Canglang didn’t give him time to process this. With a swift swing, his sword flashed forward.
The man instinctively stepped back, feeling a chill in his throat and struggling to breathe. When he touched his hand, it was covered in hot blood. He let out a muffled cry and collapsed to the ground. Canglang’s lightning-fast slash had already severed his throat in two. Everyone around him felt a chill, filled with an indescribable fear of Canglang. At that moment, two men in black rushed out from the crowd, carrying a rope over three meters long. Taking advantage of Canglang’s temporary blindness, they positioned themselves on either side of him. They exchanged a glance, nodded, and simultaneously began circling him low. The rope formed a noose at Canglang’s feet. With a sharp pull, the noose tightened, instantly trapping his legs. It was then that Canglang realized something was wrong, but it was too late. These two men were different from those who had attacked him earlier—they were the true elites of the Wendong Society, the secret force.
They worked in perfect coordination. The moment the rope tightened, they shook their hands, causing Canglang to lose his balance and fall to the ground with a thud. “Go!” Jiang Sen appeared behind the crowd at some point and shouted. The men as if waking from a dream saw Canglang already on the ground. Seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they charged forward with their knives, determined to turn him into minced meat.
Everyone rushed forward quickly but retreated even faster. The moment the Gray Wolf fell to the ground, it let out a growl; the thumb-thick rope was torn apart by its powerful legs. It quickly got back on its feet, swung a sword, and pushed everyone back. Jiang Sen watched from behind and couldn’t help but marvel at the Gray Wolf’s extraordinary skills—unique in the world. Facing such an opponent, he wondered whether to feel happy or afraid. The Gray Wolf’s ferocity ignited his fighting spirit. Drawing his sword with one hand and hiding a Type 54 pistol in the other, he shouted, “Gray Wolf!” and charged at it, slashing downward with great force. Due to the intensity and speed, the sword scraped against the air, emitting a sharp screeching sound.
The Gray Wolf moved its eyebrows slightly and blocked with its sword. “Clang! Clang!” Sparks flew, and the intense sound of metal colliding was deafening. All the strong men around rushed back, covering their ears. Jiang Sen stepped back five times; half of his body went numb, his hand gripping the sword trembled slightly, and blood flowed from his palm down the sword and onto the ground.
“Drip!” Others might not hear the sound of blood drops hitting the ground, but the Gray Wolf heard it clearly. It bent down and rushed toward Jiang Sen like an arrow, drawing its sword with all its strength using its superhuman sense. At that moment, Jiang Sen only felt one thing: speed! It was too fast. He didn’t even see how the Gray Wolf jumped. In a blur, the opponent was already in front of him, the deadly sword pressed against his chest. Ignoring his own status, he rolled away like a lazy donkey, sliding four or five meters. Even so, a large wound appeared on his chest, with flesh peeling out in shock, and blood gushed out, soaking the bottom of his clothes. The Gray Wolf didn’t relent and chased after him again, swinging another sword at Jiang Sen with his eyes closed. Jiang Sen reacted quickly. Ignoring his severe wound, he rolled and, before stopping, instinctively raised his hand and fired a gun. The Gray Wolf’s weakness was its eyes. If its vision hadn’t been blinded by flour, it would have seen the hidden gun in Jiang Sen’s hand and avoided the shot. But now it was too late. He heard the gunshot and even the sound of the bullet hitting something inside the gun. It was still too late to dodge. No matter how fast a person moves, they can’t outpace a bullet. Unprepared, the bullet instantly struck his knee.
“Crack!” In an instant, he heard the sound of his bones breaking, followed by intense pain in his leg as if a wave of agony surged through him. Canglang was indeed a formidable man, far beyond the comparison of Ma Wu and Ma Feng. Gritting his teeth, he didn’t utter a sound, fearing Jiang Sen would shoot again. With a powerful push off one leg, he flew backward. The three or four burly men behind him were knocked off balance by his force, falling in disarray. Canglang’s leg had lost all sensation; although he had knocked down the men behind him, he couldn’t stay standing. Stumbling a few steps, he fell to the ground, and his sleeve sword slipped from his hand. Coincidentally, he landed near the young man who had tried to trick him with flour earlier. Without hesitation, the young man swung his sword at Canglang’s head. His strike wasn’t fast, but it was forceful rather than precise. Under normal circumstances, even ten such men combined wouldn’t have made Canglang blink, but now he felt as if a tiger had fallen into a valley. Using one hand to prop himself up, he tried to avoid falling, while with the other, he swung his sword to block the young man’s attack.
“Clang!” The young man’s hand went light, and his sword spun through the air, flying more than ten meters away. He stepped back in surprise. “Clap, clap!” Applause came from not far away. He froze briefly, then turned to see Xie Wendong and the Three-Eyed man walking slowly toward him, about seven or eight meters away. The former was clapping cheerfully, though it was unclear whether he was applauding Canglang or himself. With Xie Wendong’s arrival, it was as if a shot of adrenaline had been injected into the young man. Without saying another word, drawing strength from somewhere, he grabbed a bag of rice, raised it high above his head with all his might, and hurled it viciously at Canglang.
“Whoosh!” Hearing the ominous sound, Canglang didn’t hesitate and swung his sword back in a strike. “Snap!” “Whoosh…” His sword was fast and sharp; with one swing, the rice bag split in two, but the rice kept falling like a rainstorm, covering him head to toe. Seizing the opportunity, the young man grabbed a kitchen knife and started slashing wildly.
First, Canglang was blinded by the rice, and then the young man’s reckless attacks followed. Unfortunately, despite his skilled martial arts, he didn’t even get a chance to react. In his panic, his arm hurt, and blood splattered everywhere. “Ugh…” A cry of pain, mixed with indescribable anger and despair, echoed as Canglang leaped into the air, fleeing blindly without direction. Unable to use one foot properly, his speed remained astonishing. Jiang Sen fired several shots, but none hit their mark—Canglang had already disappeared into the darkness.
“Chase him!” Sanyan was in a hurry; he grabbed Chen Baicheng from the crowd and shouted, “Organize some people to capture Canglang! I want to see him alive, or at least his corpse!”
Chen Baicheng, held by Sanyan, could hardly breathe. In a panic, he nodded and waved his hand, leading a group of men in the direction where Canglang had disappeared.
“Hehe!” At that moment, Xie Wendong suddenly laughed. With his hands behind his back, he looked up at the sky and sighed, “Stars are visible—today’s a clear night.”
Sanyan was puzzled. Not understanding why Dongge still cared about the weather when Canglang had run away, he was about to ask when Xie Wendong added, “A wolf with one leg missing and one ‘tooth’ gone is no longer anything to fear.” Smiling, he pointed downward. Sanyan followed his gaze and saw blood mixed with scattered rice, with a severed arm sticking out, striking a harsh sight. Yet Sanyan felt no fear—instead, he was extremely excited, especially by the sleeve sword in the arm’s hand. He stepped forward, picked up the sword, examined it for a long time, then handed it to Xie Wendong, saying emotionally, “Canglang’s skills are exceptional, and his sword is unmatched.”
Xie Wendong took the sword, glanced at it briefly, raised the corners of his mouth, and narrowed his eyes. “Having unmatched bravery is certainly terrifying, but without a brilliant mind, he’ll never be considered great.” With that, he threw the sword onto the ground and walked over to the young man holding a kitchen knife, his expression a mix of excitement and fear. He patted the young man’s shoulder and said, “Well done, brother.” Then he nodded at him, stepped aside, lifted Jiang Sen up, and led him to the car that had already been prepared. Jiang Sen looked at his wound on his chest and said with a bitter smile, “Dongge, I can walk by myself. Don’t let my blood stain your clothes…” Xie Wendong remained expressionless, his grip not easing at all. He said calmly, “It doesn’t matter. My brothers’ blood is the most precious and dazzling in my heart.” Those simple words were enough to stir up waves of emotion. Jiang Sen felt his injuries were worth it!
The young man stared blankly as Xie Wendong disappeared inside the car. Soon, the car started and vanished into the endless darkness. Xie Wendong’s words echoed in his ears—soft and simple—but he knew they were enough to completely change his status within the Wendong Gang.
A trap carefully set up throughout the day came to an end with Canglang escaping, severely injured. Sanyan arranged for a medium-sized hospital and rushed there quickly. By the time they arrived, Jiang Sen had already shown signs of exhaustion due to blood loss. Without delay, they called in doctors and nurses and rushed him onto the operating table. His injuries seemed serious, but in reality, they only affected his skin; his muscles, bones, and internal organs were unharmed. Within an hour, the nurses brought him out to the ward. Sanyan asked, “Is my friend okay?” “Minor injuries!” the doctor said with a smile. “A few stitches and some medicine—within a month he’ll be back to full health.” Xie Wendong and Sanyan also smiled. Sanyan thanked the doctor, then generously took out a small stack of bills from his pocket, placed it in the doctor’s hand, and said with a smile, “Thank you for your hard work. This is just a small token.” The doctor glanced around, accepted the money graciously, exchanged a few polite words, and then left happily.
“Sigh!” After the doctor left, Sanyan sighed helplessly. “Lao Sen’s injuries won’t heal in just a day or two. It seems he won’t be able to join us in Shanghai.”
“Mm!” Xie Wendong nodded. “We can’t delay any longer. We’ll have to wait until Lao Sen recovers before joining forces again.” The two left a few men behind to take care of things while talking their way downstairs. Without Jiang Sen, the secret group lost its leader, which was very disadvantageous for Xie Wendong. If the secret group couldn’t function, it was like losing one of Xie Wendong’s arms. Sitting in the car, he tapped his head thoughtfully. Sanyan unbuttoned his shirt and took out a black card, saying regretfully, “I thought I’d put the black sticker on Canglang’s face tonight.”
Upon seeing the black sticker, Xie Wendong’s eyes lit up. He sighed deeply, filled with emotion. It had been a long time since he’d seen or used one. He had been too focused on the Hongmen and had almost forgotten about it. He couldn’t resist taking it from Sanyan’s hand, gently stroking it, his eyes narrowing as he said with a half-smile, “Don’t worry. The black sticker won’t just be given to Canglang—it will cause a stir and spread to every corner.” Sanyan smiled upward and said, “I really hope to take the black sticker to Japan and stick one in front of the Soul Group’s headquarters. I guarantee the expressions on those officials and leaders inside will be priceless and very amusing.” Sanyan never imagined that his joke at that moment would come true later on.