Chapter 176

Wen Zi was taken aback and didn’t understand what he meant. Since it was Xie Wendong who asked, she nodded reflexively. Xie Wendong smiled and said okay, then picked up the phone to call Liu Dexin, the city bureau chief he had promoted. After some polite exchanges, Xie Wendong got to the point and said, “Lao Liu, I want to assign someone to the city bureau for you to handle.” This was a piece of cake for Liu Dexin, who agreed without hesitation. Xie Wendong thanked him and hung up, then said to Wen Zi, “From now on, your task is to protect Peng Ling—openly or secretly. You need to stay by her side all the time. Can you do that?”
Wen Zi nodded confidently and said, “No problem. Is someone trying to harm Peng Ling?” Xie Wendong sighed, “It’s better to be cautious! It’s always good to take precautions. In this world, one wrong move can lead to destruction.”
Wen Zi nodded repeatedly. Though she didn’t fully understand, she felt it made sense because it was Xie Wendong who said it.
Anxious, Xie Wendong greeted the leaders of his gang, took five people with him, left City H, flew straight to Beijing, and then transferred to Kunming. San Yan, worried about Xie Wendong’s safety, discussed the situation over the phone with Jiang Sen in City T and sent a large number of Blood Kill members to chase after them on the next flight.
Xie Wendong arrived in Kunming exhausted. As soon as he got off the plane, he called Ma Feng. Ma Feng’s spies at the airport had already informed him that Xie Wendong had arrived with five people. Confident, Ma Feng spoke more boldly. “Xie Wendong, you really came!”
Xie Wendong said, “I’m not here to listen to your nonsense. If there’s any plan, show it to me.” Ma Feng laughed triumphantly and said, “So, even you get anxious sometimes.” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “Ma Feng, don’t force me to hate you.” Ma Feng was furious but held back, nodded, and said, “I’m waiting for you at the old ‘Fulai’ factory in the northern suburbs. You know how to get there, right?”
Xie Wendong said nothing more and hung up. The six of them took a taxi straight to the northern suburbs. The driver knew the location as soon as he heard it and said while driving, “That place has been abandoned for a long time. What are you guys going there to do?” Before Xie Wendong could respond, someone beside him said coldly, “Just drive. Stop talking so much.”

Seeing the unfriendly expressions on the men’s faces, the driver quickly shut his mouth and focused on driving. The five men brought by Xie Wendong were the Five Elements Brothers—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. When it came to fighting, their skills were no less than those of people like Sanyan Gaogiang; especially their rapid shooting skills, which gave Xie Wendong great confidence.

After over forty minutes, the taxi arrived at the old Fulaigai Processing Factory mentioned by Ma Feng. As the driver had said, it was desolate and sparsely populated, with open grasslands surrounding it, and the factory stood alone in the middle. Entering it gave the feeling of stepping into a monster’s mouth. A murderous atmosphere hung over the factory, making it hard to breathe.

Xie Wendong strode in, with countless unseen eyes watching him. Though he couldn’t see where they were, he sensed there were many ambushers around. After entering the factory yard, the door to one of the buildings was open, and a man sat in the middle—none other than Ma Feng. As Xie Wendong walked in, he whispered, “Be careful everyone; they might attack at any moment.” The Five Elements Brothers nodded slightly to show they understood, quietly raising their vigilance and removing the safes from their guns.

Ma Feng sat in the center of the building, with a large table in front of him filled with beer and peanuts. He ate happily, laughing all the time. The thought of watching Xie Wendong die right in front of him made it impossible for him not to be happy. When Xie Wendong approached, Ma Feng waved his hand and said, “Brother, sit down. H City isn’t close from here; you must be tired from the journey.”

Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Brother Ma is really considerate.” Without hesitation, he sat down across from Ma Feng and asked, “Where’s my friend?”

Ma Feng chuckled and said, “Brother, you’re so impatient.” Pointing inside the building, he said, “She’s in that small room over there.”

Xie Wendong looked in the direction he indicated and indeed saw a small room with its door tightly closed. Ma Feng grinned and added, “Don’t worry. Since I promised not to kill her, I definitely won’t. But your friend is really beautiful—she caught my heart. I couldn’t help myself and took her. You won’t blame me, right?” With a satisfied expression, Ma Feng closed his eyes and sighed, “It was absolutely delicious.”

Xie Wendong’s heart was in agony as he stared at Ma Feng in silence. Ma Feng pretended to be surprised and asked, “She’s in that room. Why don’t you go see her? I think she must really want to see you too right now.” Xie Wendong nodded, his face regaining its smile as he narrowed his eyes and said, “Brother Ma, it seems you and your dead brother share the same interests. I just wonder if your deaths will be the same as well.” Without waiting for his reaction, he headed toward the cottage. Ma Feng’s expression turned as gloomy as frost; he gritted his teeth inwardly, but he didn’t want to act yet, as Xie Wendong hadn’t seen the horror yet.

When Xie Wendong reached the door, his emotions were mixed. He didn’t know how to face Qiu Ningshui. Although he didn’t have deep feelings for her, he was still grateful to her, as he felt uneasy and guilty for having been hurt. He slowly pushed the door open. The light inside was dim, but enough to illuminate the cottage. Upon seeing what was inside, Xie Wendong’s mind went blank. It took him a while to react, his eyes filling with tears.

In the room, Qiu Ningshui was naked and tied to the bed. Three burly men, also naked, stood around laughing obscenely as they touched her inappropriately. One of them was lying on top of her, moving incessantly. Qiu Ningshui was unconscious, only emitting painful moans instinctively.

Xie Wendong closed his eyes, took a deep breath, reached behind him, stepped forward, grabbed the hair of the man on top of Qiu Ningshui, and pulled hard. The man fell off the bed. Somehow, Xie Wendong now had a silver gun in his hand, which he used to shoot the man in the head. “Bang!” The man’s eyes widened as a hole the size of a thumb appeared between his brows. The other two men, realizing things were going wrong, screamed and rushed at Xie Wendong. But before they could get close, five bullets were fired from outside the door, killing the three men before they could even figure out who had shot them. Xie Wendong turned around and said coldly, “I want Ma Feng’s life!”

The five men saw Xie Wendong in pain and felt pain themselves. They already hated Ma Feng deeply. They lined up and almost simultaneously turned to shoot in the direction where Ma Feng had been sitting. But by then, there was no sign of him. Suddenly, countless people rushed in from all sides—some with guns, some with knives—shouting as they charged at the five men. Ma Feng’s voice came from outside: “Xie Wendong, there are three hundred people here who want your head. I wonder how you’ll get away! Haha!” He then burst into wild laughter. Somehow, his men had brought out tables again, eating and drinking in the factory yard while watching the fight inside.

The enemy had a large number of men. The five of them were forced to retreat inside, using the walls as cover to defend the small door. Their shooting skills were fast and accurate—each shot sent someone collapsing in pain. Although Ma Feng’s men were numerous and brave, they weren’t reckless to the point of ignoring their lives. For now, they dared not advance too quickly and took cover, leaving over a dozen corpses on the ground. Ma Feng watched clearly from outside and said to the three men beside him, “What a bunch of useless idiots! You three go help them and take Xie Wendong’s head as revenge for our three fallen brothers!” The three men, with icy expressions, nodded and quickly grabbed their guns.

These three were among the six men who had gained fame alongside Ma Feng in the Golden Triangle. The other three had already gone to meet their end—one killed by Xie Wendong, two by the police. Originally, the six of them were like brothers, but now three were gone, filling them with rage toward Xie Wendong. The three men walked over with their guns, exchanged glances, nodded, and fired almost simultaneously. Their three bullets hit the wall at the same spot—the first created a hole over two inches wide, the second penetrated it further, and the third shot straight into the room, whizzing past Golden Eye’s temple and making him break into a cold sweat. The five men glanced at each other and thought, “A master!” It was difficult for them to show themselves now; the three men’s shooting was incredibly precise, and any carelessness could result in being hit by stray bullets. They had no choice but to stick their guns out and fire based on instinct. The battle between the two sides was intense.

Inside the room, Xie Wendong took off his coat and covered Qiu Ningshui with it, then untied the ropes around her arms. Seeing someone approaching, Qiu Ningshui struggled slightly but lacked the strength to resist and soon calmed down again. Xie Wendong gently wiped away the tears still on her cheeks and said softly, “Don’t be afraid! It’s me!”

Hearing his voice, Qiu Ningshui stared blankly at Xie Wendong’s face before bursting into loud sobs. Xie Wendong hugged her and said softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay!” He picked her up and handed her to Shui Jing, saying with narrowed eyes, “Take good care of her!” Then he grabbed his gun and jumped out of the room.

Ma Feng’s three men, seeing Xie Wendong jump out, became energized, their anger surging. As the saying goes, enemies look even more furious when they meet. Their eyes seemed to bleed as they fired simultaneously. Xie Wendong quickly rolled aside, and before he could steady himself, he had already fired five shots. The three men were also surprised by his agility, though their shooting skills were poor. They stood still as five bullets whizzed past them.

Xie Wendong seemed to be prepared. He stood up and looked at the three of them with a smile. Xie Wendong’s marksmanship was average, but there were those whose skills were a hundred times better than his—namely the Five Elements Brothers. By drawing the attention of the three burly men, Xie Wendong gave the five of them a rare opportunity. The moment he dashed out, they followed. Four guns, four bullets fired from four different angles at the three burly men. In a duel between experts, even a single opening was enough. The three burly men seemed to realize something was wrong, but it was too late. The four bullets left red marks on their bodies, blood mist rising as they all stepped back two steps. One of them fell to the ground and didn’t get up, while the other two jumped to coverings on either side. Hiding behind them, their bodies trembled as they had been shot—avoiding vital organs so they didn’t collapse, but the blood flowed profusely from their wounds. Their suffering wasn’t much less than that of their fallen comrade.

The man whose lung had been pierced by a bullet wasn’t dead; he was still writhing on the ground, struggling.

Xie Wendong walked over, with Shui Jing holding Qiu Ningshui behind him. The other four stood at the four corners, guns in hand, arms stretched out, ready to shoot anyone who showed themselves.

Seeing Xie Wendong approaching his injured brother, one of the burly men panicked. He grabbed a subordinate beside him and said, “Go, pull my brother back.”

That subordinate wasn’t stupid either. With four merciless killers standing outside the cover, going out now was tantamount to seeking death. He nodded in agreement but didn’t move. Angered, the burly man grabbed him by the collar and threw him out with force.

The subordinate let out a cry. Just as he tried to get up, he saw Xie Wendong’s smiling eyes. Though his eyes were smiling, they were extremely cold, like the bitter cold of winter. The subordinate couldn’t help but shiver and ran outside the factory. Reaching the gate, seeing the bright sunlight outside, his anxious heart finally calmed down. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. He felt his head go numb, a bright flash appeared before his eyes, and his body collapsed straight down uncontrollably.

Smoke rose from the golden-eyed gun’s barrel—it had just fired a shot that pierced the man’s head. Xie Wendong approached the fallen burly man, knelt down, and tapped his head with the gun tip, saying calmly, “You didn’t have to die. But you chose the wrong master!”

The burly man gritted his teeth, trying to stand up, but his body no longer obeyed him. He snapped angrily, “Xie Wendong, I curse you! If you’re going to kill me, just do it!”

“Since you want to die so much, what reason do I have not to fulfill your wish?” With that, he smiled as he aimed the gun at his chest. Looking around, he shouted, “Ma Feng, today I’ll return you a gift too!” Then he pulled the trigger repeatedly; gunshots rang out in succession, and the giant’s body jolted from the impacts of the bullets, with holes of blood appearing all over his chest.