Chapter 344
“Mm!” The man in black nodded in satisfaction. With a flick of his arm, a check appeared between his fingers. He held it in front of the madam and said coldly, “This is from Mr. Xie for you. You know what to do. There’s no need for me to tell you. Once the task is done, this money will be enough for you to live comfortably in any country for the rest of your life.”
The madam stared at the check in the man’s hand without blinking, almost drooling. Just the long string of zeros was enough to excite her. “Heh… Mr. Xie is really… so generous. It’s such a small favor—how could I dare accept it?!” As she spoke, she reached out to take the check, clutching it tightly in her palm as if afraid the man would snatch it back. “For money received, one must eliminate troubles. You take the money, but if the task isn’t completed, Mr. Xie will be very angry. Your fate will be unbearably tragic, no matter how far you run.” The man in black turned and walked away, disappearing in an instant at the open window at the end of the corridor. Yet his gloomy voice still came from outside.
The madam was stunned for a while before coming to her senses. She glanced at the check in her hand, then at the dark, empty window outside, sighed, and walked away silently.
Just as Du Tingwei grew impatient, the madam led a group of girls over. Five girls, each as beautiful as a flower, with delicate makeup that couldn’t hide their flawless skin. They had slender figures and long, graceful legs. Du Tingwei looked at one after another, his eyes almost overwhelmed. He waved his hands to push the girls sitting beside him aside, stared at the five girls, and waved them over with a smile, saying, “Come on, sit here.” The girls seemed shy, looking at each other and not daring to approach. One of them even coughed twice, her delicate eyebrows furrowing, adding a touch of sickly beauty under the dim light in the private room. Du Tingwei couldn’t contain his desire—he wanted to grab one of them and ravage her right away. But with the madam present, he couldn’t be too explicit. Pretending to be calm, he took out another stack of cash and shoved it into the madam’s arms, asking, “Is this enough?” The madam was clever enough to realize his offer of money was fake, while his request to leave was genuine. She was glad to avoid further talk, took the money with a smile, and left.
As soon as she closed the door, Du Tingwei’s lewd laughter and the girls’ screams came from inside the private room. The madam sighed in relief, knowing that Mr. Xie’s task entrusted to her was almost completed. She was so pleased she couldn’t stop smiling. She didn’t want to know or care where those girls came from, nor did she want to know or care what twisted methods Du Tingwei would use to torment them. As long as she got paid, she wouldn’t mind anything. She went into the dressing room, changed into her everyday clothes, and quickly left the nightclub. She was afraid that if Du Tingwei noticed something amiss, her life would be in danger. The sooner she left this troubled place, the better. She had already prepared her passport long ago. Not daring to use the main entrance for fear of arousing suspicion, she slipped out through the back door. The back door of the nightclub led to a dark and hidden alley that was hard for ordinary people to find. It was because of this escape route that the nightclub had managed to avoid being raided several times by the police during large-scale anti-prostitution operations. As she walked, the madam kept looking back to see if anyone had noticed her departure. Her attention was focused on behind her, so she didn’t notice a person standing in the road ahead. “Bang!” The madam collided head-on with someone. The person didn’t move at all, but she was knocked back several steps before she could steady herself.
“Blind, are you?!” The madam’s heart burned with anger. She was about to curse loudly, but when she looked up at the person, the insults she wanted to say were swallowed back. The person wasn’t tall but extremely muscular. It was dark in the alley, so she couldn’t see their face clearly, but the murderous aura emanating from them was chilling. “Who are you?” The madam trembled, feeling fear instinctively, and mustered the courage to ask. The person didn’t answer but instead asked, “How did you handle the task I assigned you?”
“Are you Mr. Xie’s man?” The madam guessed suspiciously upon hearing the tone of the person’s voice. “Correct,” the person replied, without any emotion in their voice.
Realizing it was Mr. Xie’s man, the madam finally breathed a sigh of relief. With a flattering smile on her face, she stepped closer, acting as if she knew the person well, and said, “Mr. Liu came to see me just now. I told him everything would be fine. Right now, that kid Du is in a private room, indulging with those girls.”
“Good!” The person nodded, their flat voice leaving no indication of approval or disapproval. The madam asked again, “Then, may I ask your name? What brings you to see me?” “My name isn’t something you need to know,” the person said, the corners of their mouth lifting in a sinister smile. Their icy tone chilled her to the bone as they added, “I’m here to send you on your way!”
“Ah?” Before the mother could understand what was happening, a gleaming sharp knife appeared in the man’s hand. Within 0.1 seconds of her scream, the cold blade had pierced her heart. Her eyes widened in terror as she met the man’s heartless gaze. Realizing the dagger was stuck in her body with only its handle visible, she understood everything—but it was already too late. She tried to shout, but her mouth was filled with blood that flowed out along her lips.
“Thud!” The man pulled the dagger out, wiped it on the mother’s body, put it back in his pocket, and whispered in her ear, “Mr. Xie said there are people in this world who, even if they die ten thousand times, aren’t worth pity. You belong to that category.” “Oh, oh…” The mother tried to say more, but all that came out were weak moans, her eyes wide in defiance. Soon, she exhaled her last breath, her life force completely drained. At that moment, another figure emerged from the darkness—the burly man who had appeared first. He glanced at the mother’s lifeless body, shook his head, and said with a bitter smile, “Brother Dong still didn’t want her to live.”
The shorter man turned and laughed, “Brother Dong says not finishing things thoroughly is being cruel to oneself. Such people aren’t worth pity.”
“What about the body?” “We can’t let anyone find it yet. I’ve prepared a car. The Huangpu River will be her final resting place.” The shorter man lifted the mother’s obese body as if it were a chick, effortlessly, and disappeared at the end of the alley in a flash. The taller man sighed and followed.
These two were two of Xie Wendong’s most capable subordinates, in charge of the most secretive covert unit and the most ruthless assassination squad within the Wendong Gang: Liu Bo and Jiang Sen.
With this matter resolved, Xie Wendong was relieved of a major burden. Even if Du Tingwei didn’t die right away, the incurable virus would haunt him like a demon, shortening his life. He began preparing to bring the main forces of the Northern Hongmen back to City T; staying in Shanghai any longer was pointless. With the Northern Hongmen making moves and many of its members leaving Shanghai, rumors were swirling in the underworld. It seemed the war between the North and South had reached its end in Shanghai. Such a significant move naturally caught the attention of both the Southern Hongmen and Du Tingwei, but their reactions were vastly different.
Xiang Wentian felt relieved. Xie Wendong was undoubtedly the most troublesome and terrifying opponent he had ever faced. It was best to avoid a fight if possible—saving countless disciples’ lives, why not? Du Tingwei, on the other hand, thought differently. He felt at home in Shanghai and saw it as the perfect time to deal with Xie Wendong. Now that the latter was leaving, how could he just give up? He initially wanted to send someone to stop them but couldn’t find a proper reason, leaving him anxious and irritable. Over the past couple of days, Du Tingwei’s stress had taken a toll on his health; he often felt weak, dizzy, and had severe coughing. At first, he thought it was just a common cold, but the condition worsened until he could barely get out of bed without help. The bodyguards sent to protect him, worried that something serious might happen and they wouldn’t be able to take responsibility, rushed him to the hospital. Within a few days, the test results came back positive. Seeing the report, not only were the bodyguards shocked but Du Tingwei himself was stunned as well. He knew full well what a positive test meant—the horror of AIDS lay in its destruction of the immune system; what seemed like a minor illness could be fatal for AIDS patients. Du Tingwei was completely horrified and in a state of chaos. His bodyguards panicked and nervously asked if he always used condoms during sex—how could he have contracted this disease suddenly? Without thinking, Du Tingwei slapped the bodyguard who asked and roared, “How the hell am I supposed to know?” The other bodyguards shrank back in fear. They wanted to ask more but, seeing his furious reaction, held back, each inwardly cursing themselves. Du Tingwei, panting heavily and struggling to think, finally remembered that he had slept with a few foreign women at a nightclub he frequented not long ago. Perhaps the girls’ cries for help and resistance had triggered his primal instincts, and in his excitement, he forgot to use a condom. He slammed his fist against his head and cursed, “Damn those bitches! How dare they infect me with their disease!” He grabbed one of the bodyguards by the collar and ordered, “Go! Bring back the owner of that nightclub, those hostesses, and those foreign bitches! If I can’t survive, none of you will either!” Seeing Du Tingwei acting like a madman, spitting and flailing around, the bodyguards feared getting infected and quietly stepped back. But when they heard he wanted to deal with the nightclub owner, they saw it as an opportunity and volunteered to go catch them.
Unfortunately, after arriving at the nightclub, the bodyguards didn’t find a single thing. The nightclub owner and those foreign girls were nowhere to be found, and the boss was abroad. The person in charge was a manager who knew nothing. To fulfill their mission, the bodyguards still brought back the unlucky manager to await Du Tingwei’s decision.
“I heard Du Tingwei is very sick?” Xie Wendong stood in front of the mirror, carefully adjusting his clothes. His neat, well-fitting black-blue Zhongshan suit made his thin frame appear even taller and more striking, adding to his delicate appearance. Liu Bo, standing beside him, sighed quietly. Brother Dong always seemed confident and in control no matter when or what faced him. Even after following him for years, it was hard to read his thoughts. Just then, Dong Fangyi called again, sounding urgent, saying that a high-ranking central leader wanted to meet Xie Wendong and hoped he would come to Beijing immediately. Before hanging up, Dong Fangyi casually warned, “Be careful.” Dong Fangyi wasn’t one to talk nonsense; every word he said carried meaning. With that single word, Xie Wendong understood that this trip likely wouldn’t be smooth. Jiang Sen also advised, “Brother Dong, I think the central government is planning to take action against us. It’s better not to go. Since we’re in Shanghai now, why not…?” “Why not?” “Go abroad! Any country will do.”
“Hehe!” Xie Wendong laughed and said, “Do you think I’m the kind to run away? High-ranking officials in the central government aren’t something everyone gets to meet. Since they’ve invited me themselves, I have no reason to refuse.” “But Brother Dong,” Jiang Sen urged, “Dong Fangyi’s warning to ‘be careful’ is already a hint. Going to Beijing might bring more harm than good.”
“Mm, I know. Old Sen, no need to say more. I know whether it’s dangerous or not.” Xie Wendong waved his hand, silencing Jiang Sen’s remaining words.
“Why are you quiet?” Liu Bo, lost in thought, was suddenly snapped out of it by Xie Wendong’s question. Remembering the question Brother Dong had asked him earlier, he hurriedly replied, “Du Tingwei is already a psychologically fragile person. Upon hearing he had AIDS, he completely collapsed. Three days ago, he arrested the nightclub manager and hasn’t released him yet. I’m afraid the manager is already…”
There was no need to say more; Xie Wendong could now imagine the fate of that unlucky manager. He carefully fastened the last button on his shirt, spread his arms, turned around, and said with a smile, “Wearing this outfit to meet the central leaders—is that too rude?!” “Brother Dong, this suit fits you well and suits your status,” Liu Bo said with a worried expression. The journey to Beijing was uncertain; perhaps… he didn’t dare to think further. “Liu, are you worried?” Through the mirror, Xie Wendong saw Liu Bo’s lifeless eyes. “Brother Dong…” “Mm.” Xie Wendong turned around, looked at his comrades who had shared life and death with him, laughed heartily, and said proudly, “What’s the matter? Why are all of you looking so gloomy? I’m just going to meet the central leaders—not going to face a tiger. What’s there to worry about?” “I’d rather Brother Dong go face a tiger that’s been hungry for three days,” Jiang Sen said with downcast eyes. Hearing this, Xie Wendong sighed and shook his head. “I originally wanted to go back to City T with everyone, but it seems that won’t be possible now. I’m going to Beijing, while you should head to Yunnan right away to find Lao Gui. If anything goes wrong, leave immediately for the Golden Triangle—it’s safe there, and even Interpol can’t do much about it.” “What?” Everyone was shocked. Dong Xinlei exclaimed, “Brother Dong, you don’t want us to go with you?” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Since everyone knows this trip is dangerous, it makes no difference whether I go alone or with a thousand people. If anything happens, I’ll take it on myself.”