Chapter 303

“Hehe!” The middle-aged police officer laughed without saying a word. They remained silent all the way until they left the territory controlled by Nan Hongmen. Then he ordered the convoy to stop and smiled at Dong Xinlei, saying, “Get out of the car.” Dong Xinlei raised his eyebrows, thinking he might have heard wrong. He stared at him and asked, “What do you mean?” The middle-aged police officer laughed, took out a cigarette, and simply said, “Director Ren is my boss!” “Oh!” Dong Xinlei let out a long sigh. So that’s why the other party wanted to set him free! He laughed and asked, “What about my brothers?” The middle-aged police officer replied, “The police station doesn’t have enough money to support such a large group of people.” After saying that, he took out a walkie-talkie and gave orders to his subordinates to release all the people from Bei Hongmen. However, the dozen or so disciples from Nan Hongmen provided by Xiao Fang remained untouched—they were really going to be taken to the police station. Dong Xinlei got out of the car, leaned on the roof, and bent down to ask, “There’s one thing I still don’t understand. Who sent you here? This area doesn’t seem to be under your jurisdiction.” The middle-aged police officer sat in the car and smiled, saying, “It indeed isn’t under our jurisdiction. Without the director’s orders, I certainly wouldn’t have come all this way. As for why our director sent us here, you’ll have to ask your boss.” He waved his hand and said with a smile, “I have other things to do. I won’t see you back.” Then he ordered the driver to drive away. Wu Chang beside him sighed and said, “So it was Brother Dong’s idea! Brother Dong is so amazing. How did he know we couldn’t escape and ask Director Ren to help us?” Dong Xinlei shrugged and laughed, “Only God knows!” “Where are we going now?” “Where else? Back home. Diandian lost so many people. Sigh! Nothing’s gone smoothly since we came to Shanghai!” It was Xie Wendong who asked Director Ren to help Dong Xinlei get out of trouble. He was meticulous and thoughtful, able to plan further than ordinary people. Xie Wendong predicted that Dong Xinlei would try to escape within the territory of Nan Hongmen, which was already prepared, and realized it wouldn’t be easy for him to do it on his own, so he called Director Ren to ask for assistance.

At exactly 11 o’clock, at the Fresh Flower Hotel, the Zhongyi Gang had been lying in wait two li away for a long time. Just after 11 o’clock, Bo Zhanhui gave the order to attack. Dozens of cars of various sizes split into three groups and headed straight for the Fresh Flower Hotel. The two members of the secret team watching from afar finally sensed that something was wrong. One of them exclaimed in surprise, “Looking at the direction they’re going, it seems like… No way!” The other swallowed hard, muttered “Damn it,” and quickly took out his phone to call their boss, Liu Bo. As soon as the call connected, he almost shouted, “Boss, something’s bad! The Zhongyi Gang has gathered no less than two hundred men and is heading to the Fresh Flower Hotel. It seems they have ulterior motives.”

Liu Bo was in the Yongsheng Mall, organizing people to pour gasoline when he heard the news from his subordinates. His head buzzed, and he cursed, “Has Bo Zhanhui gone crazy?” He hung up the phone and immediately called Xie Wendong. Upon hearing this, Xie Wendong also gasped in shock. The Fresh Flower Hotel and Tianyi Bar were things he had worked hard to obtain. If anything went wrong, he would be in a desperate situation again. Not to mention anything else, just ensuring the safety of his hundreds of subordinates would be a huge challenge for him. At that point, let alone competing with Xiang Wentian, just staying alive would be fortunate. He clenched his fist secretly, raised his arm slightly, and waved. Jiang Sen, being smart, stepped forward quickly, bent down near Xie Wendong, and asked, “Brother Dong, what’s the matter?”

Xie Wendong spoke in a low voice, “Lao Sen, our place has been attacked by the Zhongyi Gang. Hurry up and tell the brothers fighting downstairs to rush to provide support.”

Jiang Sen’s expression changed—the situation was serious. Without saying more, he nodded and said, “Understood!” Then he strode out the door. Gao Qiang didn’t know what was going on, but from Jiang Sen’s expression, he could tell something unexpected had happened. With so many people around, he didn’t dare ask, so he simply became more cautious and disengaged the safety of his pistol.

Xiang Wentian and Bai Ziyi also noticed Xie Wendong’s abnormality. Just as the latter was about to ask, Xiang Wentian’s phone rang. He answered it and heard it was Xiao Fang calling. “Brother Tian, Dong Xinlei has been arrested by the police. I’m not very familiar with the police officer in charge at that time. I don’t know if he’s one of Jing Xuewen’s men, but I couldn’t ask in front of everyone. What do you think…”

Xiang Wentian was initially stunned, but after a moment of realization, he understood. Coupled with the hint of urgency on Xie Wendong’s face after receiving the call, he thought Xie Wendong was worried about receiving news of Dongxin Lei being captured. Smiling, he said, “Don’t worry, it’s fine!” Only then did Xiao Fang breathe a sigh of relief and mutter to himself, “Now I’m relieved. I don’t need to call Jing Xuewen anymore, so he won’t complain that I keep disturbing him in the middle of the night.” Xiang Wentian laughed heartily.

11:15. Inside the Fresh Flowers Hotel, Jiang Lin was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. Yawning, she got up and glanced at the Five Elements Group of five people in the corner, still enthusiastically playing dice. She shook her head in admiration at their boundless energy. Weakly, she said, “Go on playing. I’m going upstairs to rest. If Mr. Xie comes back, don’t forget to let me know.” “Sure! Go ahead and sleep!” the Five Elements Group replied eagerly. As soon as Jiang Lin stepped onto the stairs, she heard a rumbling of vehicles outside, followed by noisy voices.

“What are you doing?” A few members of the North Hongmen, standing outside, saw dozens of unfamiliar cars and couldn’t immediately tell if they were allies. They stood in the road and shouted loudly. The cars didn’t slow down and showed no sign of stopping, rushing straight at the disciples in the road. “Oh no, it’s the enemy!” the members thought simultaneously. They quickly dodged to both sides of the road. The cars stopped abruptly in front of the Fresh Flowers Hotel. All four doors of each car opened, and countless burly men armed with knives and clubs jumped out. Without wasting time, they started attacking. The few North Hongmen members left at the door were instantly overwhelmed by the enemy crowd. With a loud crash, one of them was thrown violently against the hotel’s glass window, shattering it. He fell into the hotel lobby, covered in glass shards, turning into a bloody mess. The members of the Loyalty and Righteousness Gang rushed into the hotel like mad. Before Jiang Lin could figure out what was going on, the Five Elements Group had already taken action. Jin Yan waved his hand, and the bamboo tube holding the dice flew out, hitting the head of the first person to rush in. The tube shattered, and the man’s head split open. He clutched his head, bent over, and knelt down, crying in pain.

His screams only provoked the primitive brutality of the members of the Loyalty and Righteousness Gang, who rushed forward and trampled the injured under their feet. Before long, there was no sound left. Jin Yan shrugged, pulled out a pistol from under his clothes, and fired several shots at the crowd. “Bang! Bang!” With each gunshot, three men were hit in the forehead and collapsed backward. The gunshots and bloodshed halted the advance of the gang members. Seizing this opportunity, he turned to Mu Zi and the others, who stood frozen in place. He sneered, “Are you all idiots? Can’t you see so many people have come? Hurry up and fight!” Mu Zi replied with a bitter smile, “What should we use to fight?” “Guns!” “Guns? Aside from you, weren’t all our guns sent to the front line?” Mu Zi’s words reminded Jin Yan. He slapped his head—true enough! The guns of Mu Zi and the others had been “seized” by San Yan and Ren Changfeng under the pretext that “you can’t fight without guns,” and later divided among Dong Xinlei on the grounds that “it’s extremely dangerous in the heartland of the South Hongmen.” By now, the only pistol left among the five of them was his own.

Sighing, Jin Yan gathered his strength and asked confidently, “Who are you? Do you know who we are? Get your boss to talk to me!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd parted, and two men stepped forward. The one in front was nearly fifty years old, with thick hair, a dark red complexion, thick eyebrows, and a rough-looking appearance. The one behind him looked much better, with a fair face, large eyes, and gold-rimmed glasses, giving him an intellectual air. These two were the core members of the Loyalty and Righteousness Gang: the leader Bo Zhanhui and his advisor Xuan Zidan. The latter stepped forward, unafraid of Jin Yan’s gun pointed at him, and said proudly, “We are the Loyalty and Righteousness Gang. We’re here to collect a debt.”

“Oh?” Jin Yan raised his thin eyebrows and smiled. “Collect a debt? What debt?” Xuan Zidan replied coldly, “A debt of blood!” “Haha!” Jin Yan laughed wildly. “We owe countless debts of blood. We don’t care about adding one more. But first, you need to tell me what exactly happened.” “There’s no need for me to explain the incident at Tianyi Bar—those who did it know well enough.” Xuan Zidan spoke each word firmly. Jin Yan tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. “That’s right! I admit that debt. But it seems you still have something to say?” Xuan Zidan gritted his teeth and said, “One arm of your brother’s son.” “Your brother’s son?” Jin Yan looked confused and shook his head. “As far as I remember, there’s no such person.”

“He’s named Boli!” Xuanzi Dan declared loudly. The name Boli was even more unfamiliar to Golden Eye, who looked puzzled at the other four people around him. Their reactions were the same—as confused as he was, with furrowed brows. Golden Eye shook his head and said, “I don’t know Boli.” Seeing disdain on Xuanzi Dan’s face, he added, “But I’ve already taken many lives; I don’t care about adding one more. What does it matter if it’s me who does it? Draw it out!”
“I can’t do anything to you—only take your lives!” With that, he shook his head, and the two men on either side raised their knives, ready to advance. At that moment, Bo Zhanhui waved his hand to stop them. Without looking at Golden Eye and the others, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Lin standing at the stairs. He asked doubtfully, “It seems like we’ve met somewhere before, right?!”
Jiang Lin slowly raised her head. When her eyes met Bo Zhanhui’s, a cold glint flashed in them, but it vanished instantly, replaced by a professional smile. She said, “I’m the owner here. Maybe you’ve been here for meals before; it’s quite normal for us to have met.” “No!” Bo Zhanhui insisted. “I’ve never been here. I think you look like someone else.” “Who?” “I can’t remember right now. What’s your surname?” Jiang Lin let out a silver-bell-like, sweet and melodious laugh. “Asking a lady’s name directly is very impolite. Aren’t you interested in me? But you’re a bit too old!” Unexpectingly, Jiang Lin spoke such boldly in front of so many people. Bo Zhanhui’s face turned red, leaving him speechless. The leaders on either side of him couldn’t hold back any longer. A bald man shouted, “Bitch, you’re quite bold! Don’t worry, we’ll teach you a lesson soon!” His lecherous eyes scanned Jiang Lin’s body. But Golden Eye, oblivious to the situation, stood in front of Jiang Lin, fiddling with the gun in his hand, and said with a laugh, “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t forget—the one who can take your lives at any moment hasn’t fallen yet!”
“I’ll take your life first!” The bald man, filled with rage, rushed forward in a flash and swung his arm, aiming to strike Golden Eye in the head.

Before Golden Eye could act, Mu Zi kicked out from the side. His toes were stretched straight like a sharp sword, hitting the bald man right in the chest. The bald man came fast and left even faster; along with his knife, he was kicked back by Mu Zi’s foot. After hitting the ground, he stumbled back several steps before several people below reached out to help him stand steady. He felt a sharp pain in his chest and a sweet taste in his mouth; he spat out a mouthful of blood and knelt down. Looking down, he saw a large dent in his chest—two ribs had been broken by Mu Zi’s powerful kick.

Xuan Zi Dan stepped forward to check, then slowly raised his head to look at Mu Zi and said coldly, “Brother, your methods are truly ruthless!” Mu Zi shrugged with a smile and said helplessly, “There’s no choice. Being kind to the enemy means being cruel to oneself. Don’t mind it; I’ve always been like this.” Xuan Zi Dan’s already pale face turned even whiter as he stared at him motionless, saying nothing. Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. Dozens of people from the Loyalty and Righteousness Gang raised their knives almost simultaneously and charged at Golden Eye, Mu Zi, and the others. Another fierce battle was about to begin! The five of them sighed inwardly, grabbed their weapons, and joined the chaos with the small group left behind by the North Hongmen. Golden Eye moved with ease, wielding a knife in his left hand and a gun in his right. Whenever he was about to be overwhelmed, he would shoot with his gun to save himself. Mu Zi and Tu Shan were not far behind. Although they didn’t have guns, it was difficult for them to fight, but it would take some time before the people from the Loyalty and Righteousness Gang could overcome them. Only Shui Jing faced the greatest danger. Her opponents took advantage of her being a woman and intensified their attack, hoping to capture her and force Golden Eye and the others to surrender.

If in an open space, Shui Jing could rely on her agile movements to engage in a fight, but the hotel lobby was crowded with over a hundred people from both sides—turning around was difficult, let alone fighting. Two reckless men charged forward; Shui Jing couldn’t dodge in time and instinctively raised her sword to block. The sword pierced them, but she was also hit by them, losing her balance and stumbling. Her sword remained stuck in them as she couldn’t pull it out. Someone nearby saw an opportunity and stepped forward to hug her around the waist. Just as he was about to shout in excitement, he suddenly felt numbness in his arm and then lost all sensation. He looked down and saw that three nearly foot-long silver needles had appeared in Shui Jing’s hand—these deadly needles had pierced his arm. The man’s arms drooped uselessly, and soon black blood began dripping from between his fingernails. Mu Zi rushed to Shui Jing’s side, handed her a sword, and scolded her lightly, “How careless!” Then, half-jokingly, he added, “If anything happens to you, our Big Brother Golden Eye will have to stay single for life!” Shui Jing’s pale face turned slightly red as she glared at him with her white eyes, took the sword he handed her, and snapped, “A dog can’t spit ivory!”