Chapter 322

Time seemed to have stopped. The two headless corpses still hadn’t fallen, yet their heads were already on the ground. Two figures appeared in front of the Soul Group, covered in mud, especially one of them—his dark face featured a pair of long, glowing eyes emitting a cold light. The remaining four members finally realized what was happening and were about to pull out their guns to shoot, but it was too late. The two “mud men” held knives in one hand and pistols in the other—silver-black Browning pistols loaded with twenty bullets each. Though neither of them was an expert marksman, not even decent at shooting, at such close range, even a blind person wouldn’t miss. “Bang bang bang…” By the time the pistols were empty, the four unfortunate members of the Soul Group could no longer breathe. The two mud men took deep breaths, having held their breath underground for nearly five minutes; their lungs were almost bursting. The mud on their faces revealed their true identities: Xie Wendong and Ren Changfeng. The latter touched his cheek; his hand was sticky with blood—someone’s bullet had left a two-inch-long gash on his face. Rubbing his hands, Ren Changfeng said in awe, “That was really close!” At that moment, Jiang Sen and the others also crawled out from behind the corner. Seeing the corpses on the ground, they laughed and praised, “Brother Dong, what a clever plan!” Xie Wendong replied helplessly, “It was a risky move! If the members of the Soul Group had been more careful, Changfeng and I would have been in danger.” Li Shuang sat on the ground, surrounded by corpses, with the pungent smell of blood filling the air, making him feel nauseous. Frowning, he looked up and asked, “I wonder if the Soul Group still has assassins left?” Gao Qiang replied, “Of course, there are more, probably quite a few.” “How do you know?” Li Shuang questioned skeptically. “It’s simple!” Gao Qiang casually grabbed one of the Soul Group members’ corpses, swung his arms forcefully, and made it stand upright. The corpse’s head just emerged from the ditch. With several muffled thuds, Gao Qiang quickly stopped, and the corpse collapsed softly to the ground. Everyone looked down in horror—the corpse’s head had been shot at least five times; half of its head was almost gone, with blood covering the ground. “What brutal tactics!” Jiang Sen, who was already known for his ruthless style, realized today he had met his match.

Li Shuang shuddered and said, “The Soul Group has snipers, hidden in the shadows. There’s nothing we can do against them. How about…” He paused, first checking Xie Wendong’s expression, then looking at the others, before continuing, “How about we crawl along the gutters and look for another chance to settle accounts with them later?” Jiang Sen shook his head, disapproving. He would only choose to flee when there was truly no other way out. Now wasn’t the time. He said, “The gutters eventually end. Even if we reach the end, we don’t know if there are snipers from the Soul Group lurking nearby once we come out. So, the only thing we can do now is…” “Hmph!” Xie Wendong sneered, “Wait for the Soul Group to send more people or for the police to arrive.”

The Soul Group didn’t send any more people, and the police didn’t arrive as quickly as Xie Wendong had hoped. Instead, someone he least wanted to see at this moment showed up—Xiang Wentian.

Xiang Wentian was originally ahead of Xie Wendong. Just as he was about to leave South Road, his informants reported that there were many suspicious strangers on South Road, the exact number unknown, but many of them were hidden in the shadows, seemingly carrying firearms. Upon hearing this, Xiang Wentian first thought of Xie Wendong and the North Hongmen and Wendong Society. But then he reconsidered, thinking it didn’t make sense. If it were Xie Wendong who sent them, his own side wouldn’t have been able to leave South Road so easily and unharmed. So who could it be? What was their purpose? He turned to ask the few Heavenly Kings beside him, “What do you think?” Zhou Ting replied, “It should be people sent by Xie Wendong. Seeing that we have many reinforcements, he’s too afraid to act right now.”

Lu Kou rolled his eyes, shook his head slightly, chuckled, and said nothing. Xiang Wentian asked doubtfully, “Littlebandit, why are you laughing?” Lu Kou replied, “I’m laughing at Xie Wendong’s appearance when he was beaten and forced to flee in panic.” “What do you mean?” Zhou Ting asked angrily. “Those people definitely weren’t sent by Xie Wendong. On the contrary, they wanted Xie Wendong’s life,” Lu Kou asserted. “Oh?” Xiang Wentian asked, “Give us your reasoning.” “It’s simple,” Lu Kou said. “Xie Wendong is the kind of person who acts on his impulses. If he had sent assassins, he would have made thorough preparations in advance, learning everything about us. Even if there were reinforcements, he would have taken that into account and not just watch us leave the southern route. Those people had guns and were hiding in the shadows—clearly assassins ready to carry out a strike. They let us pass so that we could deal with Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong has many enemies, but domestically, especially in Shanghai, no one has ever been so bold as to use guns openly. Including us, so the assassins must be from abroad. Xie Wendong only has two enemies abroad: the Russian Tiger Gang and the Japanese Soul Group. I think the latter has a higher chance.” He spoke so quickly that Xiang Wentian and the others were stunned, especially Zhou Ting, who pursed his lips and muttered, “It sounds like real talk. How do you know Xie Wendong only has those two enemies abroad?” Lu Kou smiled and said, “There are many connected groups, but those two are indeed his enemies. Although I’m abroad, that doesn’t mean I don’t understand domestic situations. I have my own sources of information.” Zhou Ting refused to be convinced. “Then why not the Tiger Gang? Why the Soul Group?” Lu Kou shrugged. “I’m not 100% sure it’s the Soul Group. I’m just saying their chances are higher. First, their hatred for Xie Wendong is deep-rooted. Second, the members of the Soul Group are better suited for carrying out assassinations in China.” Zhou Ting wanted to say more, but Xiang Wentian waved his hand and said, “Have the convoy turn around. We’re going back.” “Right!” Zhou Ting cheered. “Whoever they are, as long as they want to kill Xie Wendong, they’re our friends. This time, we’ll take care of them, haha!” Although Lu Kou didn’t speak, he nodded repeatedly to show his agreement.

Xiang Wentian glanced at the two of them and smiled, saying, “If they really are assassins sent by the Soul Group, let’s go back and surround them!” “Yeah! Huh…?” Lu Kou and Zhou Ting nodded immediately before suddenly freezing in shock, asking in confusion, “Surround the Soul Group?” They thought they had heard wrong at first, but seeing Xiang Wentian nod firmly, Zhou Ting became disheartened and said bitterly, “Brother Tian, it’s one thing if we don’t go back to add to their suffering, but why do we have to help Xie Wendong? It was he who injured Xiao Fang, and he even just stole our Harbor Hotel…”

Lu Kou looked at Xiang Wentian and sighed silently, saying nothing more. Xiang Wentian exhaled and said, “The conflict with Xie Wendong is, after all, an internal matter of our Hongmen. Outsiders shouldn’t interfere. No matter who wins or loses, Hongmen will continue to exist. Compared to that, the threat posed by the Soul Group is far greater than that of Xie Wendong.”

Lu Kou said, “It would be good if Xie Wendong had such thoughts too.” “Him?” Zhou Ting sneered, “Don’t count on him. He’s the worst scumbag in the world!”

By the time Xiang Wentian arrived, Xie Wendong had already wiped out the first wave of attacks by the Soul Group. The road was littered with burned-out car frames and corpses whose bodies still hadn’t cooled. Xiang Wentian’s convoy quickly filled the road. Hearing the noise on the road, Xie Wendong looked up and saw only members of the South Hongmen. After thinking for a moment, he said to everyone, “Let’s go, hurry up!” “What’s wrong?” Jiang Sen and the others asked. “It’s the South Hongmen. If they see us in such a sorry state, they’ll laugh their heads off!” As he spoke, Xie Wendong began climbing along the ditch toward the corner. The others groaned inwardly—like the tiger wasn’t dead enough, now wolves were coming! Today truly brought one disaster after another! Not daring to delay, they followed Xie Wendong quietly, moving stealthily. Xiang Wentian stayed in the car without acting immediately but observed the situation for a while. After a while, he got out of the car, walked over to the corpses on the road, and bent down to take a look. The members of the Secret Group and the Soul Group wore similar clothes, though the former’s clothes were darker in color. Xiang Wentian approached the corpse of a Secret Group member—this person had been shot between the eyebrows and killed instantly, with no signs of struggle. By judging the location of the wound and the posture of the corpse, he quickly determined the whereabouts of the Soul Group assassins. Pointing toward the grasses to the south, he shouted, “Search over there! If anyone resists, kill them without mercy!”

Upon receiving the order, the men of Nan Hongmen took out their weapons and cautiously made their way toward the bushes on the south side of the road. Facing the Soul Group, even though they were in the majority, Nan Hongmen wouldn’t dare be careless. Xiang Wentian found only two corpses of members of the Secret Group; the other four were left by the Soul Group. This meant that by the time he arrived, Xie Wendong and his core group were still fighting against the Soul Group. Since the Soul Group was on the south side of the road, it went without saying that Xie Wendong and the others must be on the north side. He glanced over and faintly saw another ditch beside the road on the north side, covered in bullet holes. Xiang Wentian was bold enough to walk straight over. Lu Kou, not understanding why, followed and asked, “Brother Tian, where are you going?”
Xiang Wentian smiled and said, “Since we’re here, we should go say hello to Xie Wendong.” Upon hearing this, Lu Kou pointed in the direction of the ditch and exclaimed in surprise, “They’re there.”
“There’s no mistake!” Xiang Wentian said confidently. “Come here!” Lu Kou waved his hand, signaling his men to gather around Xiang Wentian for protection. When they reached the ditch, Xiang Wentian didn’t jump in right away to check out what was there. Instead, he crouched down and asked softly, “Is Brother Xie here?” It was completely silent in the ditch, with not a single reply. “Is Brother Xie not here?!” Xiang Wentian asked again, but still nothing came from inside. Zhou Ting couldn’t bear it any longer. Without waiting for Xiang Wentian’s order, he leaped in with a whoosh.
As soon as he entered, a strong smell of blood hit him, causing him to stagger instinctively. Upon looking closely, he gasped in horror—there were at least eight or nine corpses lying around in the ditch, two of them headless, with their heads rolled far away, eyes wide open, mouths filled with mud… One corpse had its shirt torn off, lying on its back with its eyes gouged out, black fluid hardened on its chest, and a line of blood words carved there: “What’s given to us today will be doubled taken back tomorrow.” Signed “Respectfully, Wendong Group.”
“Yah!” Zhou Ting shuddered. He felt as if he had jumped straight into the netherworld, the lowest levels of hell—each corpse was horrifying.
Hearing his cry, Xiang Wentian, Lu Kou, and the others, not knowing what was going on, also jumped in. “Wow!” Some who jumped in quickly climbed out even faster, crouching by the road and vomiting violently. Xiang Wentian looked around. Aside from the corpses, there wasn’t a single living person. He covered his nose with a handkerchief and forced himself to examine each corpse one by one. He found neither Xie Wendong nor any other members of the Wendong Group or Nan Hongmen. Not knowing whether to feel relieved or disappointed, he said, “It seems Xie Wendong has already fled.”

Zhou Ting gritted his teeth and said, “Their car is still parked on the road; they can’t have gone far. Let’s chase after them and wipe them out completely!”
Xiang Wentian shook his head. Before he could speak, Lu Kou replied solemnly, “That’s not right. Deliberately attacking someone who’s already in trouble is the behavior of scoundrels. We are from a reputable and upright family—how could we resort to such tactics?”
Zhou Ting’s eyes seemed to burst with anger as he thought to himself, “What are you pretending to be a good person in front of Brother Tian? Everyone knows who we are!” He grunted in frustration, unable to speak. Xiang Wentian nodded and said, “Lu Kou is right. To defeat Xie Wendong, we must rely on our true skills. Even if we kill him now, it wouldn’t be a just victory.” Just as Zhou Ting was about to argue, Lu Kou quietly winked at him, gave him a subtle signal with his fingers, and stepped aside. Zhou Ting was puzzled, realizing he wanted to talk to him alone. Not understanding what was going on, he found an opportunity to leave and follow him. When he turned back, he saw that Xiang Wentian wasn’t paying attention to them, so he asked in a low, annoyed voice, “What’s the matter? Why be so mysterious? Can’t you just say it face to face?!”
Lu Kou looked anxious and said seriously, “This isn’t the time for jokes. We need to quickly select some of our best fighters to chase after Xie Wendong and eliminate him. If we miss this chance, it will be extremely difficult to get another one!” “Huh?” Zhou Ting was stunned and asked, “Then why did you…?” Lu Kou interrupted him urgently, “Don’t you know Brother Tian’s character? No matter how much we talk, it won’t help. Now we can only rely on ourselves. Once we kill Xie Wendong, our Hongmen will be safe. By then, I’ll accept whatever punishment Brother Tian decides to give me.”

“Ah! I see!” Zhou Ting suddenly understood, nodding repeatedly as he patted Lu Kou’s shoulder. Without saying much, he simply said, “I’ll take some men!” Then he prepared to climb out of the ditch. Worried, Lu Kou grabbed his sleeve and said, “If you’re going, let’s go together!” The two of them, without telling Xiang Wentian, took forty or fifty elite men with them. To avoid drawing his attention, they didn’t even dare drive a car and silently pursued him the whole way. Their pursuit was in the southern direction leading to the city—what any normal person would think. Since Xie Wendong had been assassinated, if he had to run, he would definitely head back to his own home, as no other place in the world could be as safe as his own! But the two of them forgot one thing: Xie Wendong wasn’t normal, or rather, his thinking went beyond what’s normal. He never acted according to conventional logic. The direction he chose to flee in was exactly the opposite—toward the headquarters of the Zhongyi Gang. Li Shuang didn’t understand and asked why he was running to someone else’s place. Xie Wendong laughed and said, “We don’t know how many waves of assassins the Soul Group still has unsent, but I know there will definitely be more assassins waiting in ambush on the way home. One problem after another—this is the Soul Group’s usual method.” Jiang Sen also laughed and said, “Besides, if we can divert the disaster to someone else’s home, that’s also a good plan!” Hearing this, Xie Wendong’s smile grew even wider.