Chapter 177

Though he couldn’t see, he knew of his brother’s tragic death. An armored man couldn’t hold back and screamed as he rushed out of cover. Still in mid-air, he fired two shots, but was immediately pierced in the chest by four bullets. “Thud!” The man’s eyes widened as his body fell to the ground. Yet one of his shots hit Xie Wendong as well.

Xie Wendong felt a pressure in his chest, followed by a bitter taste in his mouth, realizing he would vomit blood. But he gritted his teeth and forced the blood back down. It took him a while before he could breathe heavily again. Water Jing, who was behind him, asked softly, “Brother Dong, are you okay?”

Xie Wendong shook his head and smiled, saying, “Nine bullets hit me before and I was fine—what does one more matter?”

By then, Ma Feng, who had been leisurely eating and drinking in the factory yard, had long disappeared. He had thought that since Xie Wendong only brought five men, his own hundreds of men would be enough to kill them all. But he never expected those five to be so formidable, able to remain calm amidst hundreds of enemies and shoot them down one by one. Even he, who was outside, shuddered, blaming himself for being too careless and not bringing in the members of the Soul Group for help. When his three subordinates were injured, Ma Feng sneaked away. Though he was quite skilled, at least as good as Xie Wendong, facing him alone always made him feel inferior, filled with an indescribable fear. Perhaps this was the principle that one thing is overcome by another.

With Ma Feng’s escape, his subordinates became even more chaotic. Aside from his six capable assistants, most of his men were mere amateurs without anyone who could take charge. But with five dead and one injured among those six, they were of little use. With their leader gone, the others had no desire to fight further; no one wanted to risk their lives, so they scattered in all directions. Some didn’t escape, and the injured man was one of them. His injuries weren’t serious—just a hole in his lower abdomen—so escaping shouldn’t have been difficult for him. But he gave up. Watching his subordinates rush out in panic, he sighed deeply. He had once regarded Ma Feng as a hero, his idol. But today, that hero had silently slipped away, leaving his injured brothers behind and ignoring his bloodthirsty enemies, fleeing in shame.

The man’s heart was dead. Seeing Xie Wendong approaching, he smiled helplessly and said, “It seems I really chose the wrong master.”

Xie Wendong saw the lifelessness in his eyes, sighed, and said, “The path is chosen by oneself. Once you make a choice, don’t regret it—Heaven won’t give you a chance to do so.”

“You’re right!” The burly man smiled, picked up his gun, pressed it to his forehead, gritted his teeth, and pulled the trigger. Xie Wendong watched coldly as the bullet shattered the man’s forehead—he didn’t even blink. Even if the man hadn’t committed suicide, he wouldn’t have kept him alive. His heart was bleeding now; the sight of several men pressing down on Qiu Ningshui would haunt him for life—this was his lifelong pain.

Xie Wendong said to the men behind him, “Catch someone alive. I need to know where Ma Feng is.”
The men nodded and scattered. Gunshots rang out from time to time, breaking the silence.

Shui Jing set Qiu Ningshui down. There was not a trace of life in her face—her gaze was vacant like still water, and her complexion was grayish-white. Xie Wendong pursed his lips, unsure what to say. Perhaps any words of comfort now would only hurt her. He sat beside her and said softly, “I’ll make Ma Feng pay with his blood.”

Qiu Ningshui showed no reaction, as if she hadn’t heard him. Xie Wendong knew she was listening, as he saw a slight movement at the corner of her eyes. He continued, “Consider this a nightmare. It’s dawn now, and the nightmare is over. If you’ll allow it, let me take care of you for life—forever.”

Tears streamed down Qiu Ningshui’s face as she said in a hoarse voice, “It’s a pity I’m no longer worthy of you. I don’t want your pity either.”

Xie Wendong held her shoulders and made her look into his eyes, saying seriously, “I mean it.”

Qiu Ningshui hung her head in silence, tears falling like beads from a broken string. At that moment, Jin Yan and the others returned, carrying another man. They threw him to the ground and said, “Brother Dong, we caught one alive.”

Xie Wendong looked at the captured man and asked, “I want to know where Ma Feng went. Tell me, and you can go.”
The man shook his head. “I… I don’t know either.” Xie Wendong sighed. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a heat in his chest. He quickly covered his mouth with a clenched fist and coughed violently twice. When he opened his hand, it was covered in blood. Though his clothes protected him, the bullet from earlier had injured him badly. Letting out a long sigh, he looked up at Jin Yan. Seeing the blood dripping from his hand, Jin Yan quickly asked worriedly, “Brother Dong, are you…”

Xie Wendong waved his hand, not wanting others to know he was injured. “Ignore me. I’m fine,” he said. Then he pointed at the man and, somewhat weakly, ordered, “Make him tell where Ma Feng is hiding.” After that, Xie Wendong slowly stood up and leaned against the wall. Jin Yan didn’t know what to say anymore. He lifted the man off the ground and said, “Help me hold him down.” Mu Zi and Tu Shan rushed over and pinned the man to the ground. Jin Yan took out a steel knife from behind and waved it in front of the man’s face, saying, “Tell us if you don’t want to suffer!”
The man broke into sweat, shook his head, and said tremblingly, “I really don’t know.” Jin Yan replied coldly, “It seems you won’t talk unless we use extreme measures.” He looked up at Mu Zi and said, “Hold his hands down.” Mu Zi understood what he intended. With a laugh, she forced the man’s hands apart and held them firmly. Jin Yan slowly brought the knife close to the man’s fingernails and asked, “I’ll ask you one more time—where is Ma Feng?” The man seemed to realize what was coming. Crying out, he shouted, “I really don’t know!”
Jin Yan’s expression darkened as he said coldly, “If that’s the case, don’t blame me.” Then he slowly pushed the knife tip into the man’s nail grooves. His movements were slow, but for the man, it was as if he were in the deepest hell. Since the fingers are connected to the heart, the pain of the knife piercing the nails was beyond what most people could bear. The man screamed in agony, scrabbling at the ground, his body trembling violently. But it was futile—the strength of Mu Zi and Tu Shan wasn’t something that could be easily shaken.
The man’s screams were so agonizing that even the usually indifferent Qiu Ningshui was moved. Xie Wendong watched coldly. He didn’t want to see the man suffer so much, unable to die or live, but sometimes it was hard to achieve satisfactory results without such methods. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag, causing him to cough violently again.
The knife tip had already pierced the nail grooves. Jin Yan applied slight force, lifting the man’s nails off. With a cold laugh, he said, “Brother, this must be unbearable! You still have nine nails and ten toenails. You don’t want me to pick them all off, do you?” The man narrowed his eyes, nearly fainting from the pain, and gasped, “I really don’t know! But Ma Ge has a favorite woman living in the city. Maybe he fled to her place.”
Jin Yan turned to look at Xie Wendong. After pondering for a moment, the latter said, “Tell me where that woman lives.”
The man thought for a while before giving the address. At that moment, Mu Zi and Tu Shan released their grip, and the man curled up in pain. Jin Yan asked, “Brother Dong, what should we do with this guy?”

Xie Wendong sighed, “If we keep him, what if he goes and gives the others a warning?” Golden Eye nodded, spun his knife in his hand, and walked over ominously. The man said urgently, “You said you wouldn’t kill me just now. I’ve told you everything I know. I…” Xie Wendong interrupted him, stepped closer, and said calmly, “Believing a scoundrel means you’re an idiot! What’s the use of an idiot living in this world?” The man tried to say more, but Golden Eye slashed his throat with his knife. The man’s eyes widened as he made a gurgling sound.

Xie Wendong and the others left the old factory, got onto the road, and stopped several taxis. With a thought, he whispered to Shui Jing, “Xiao Jing, take Ning Shui to the hotel. Stay by her side—I’m afraid she might do something reckless.”

Shui Jing asked, “Brother Dong, what about you guys?” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said, “We’ll do what we have to do.”

The five of them followed the address the man had given and arrived at a residential area. It covered a large area, with both ordinary apartment buildings and small villas. There were squares and gardens inside, along with all kinds of public fitness equipment.

They came to a terracotta-colored villa. After checking the door number, Golden Eye smiled and said, “It seems to be this one.”

Xie Wendong nodded, strode to the door, held the gun behind his back, and pressed the doorbell gently. Soon, a woman’s voice came from inside, “Who is it?” It wasn’t loud, but extremely sweet—so sweet it was almost cloying. Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said cheerfully, “Is Brother Ma here?”

The woman peered through the peephole. It was a young man wearing a neatly dressed Zhongshan suit, with a handsome face and eyes curved into small slits from his smile. Thinking he was Ma Feng’s subordinate, she felt sorry that such a young man was involved in the underworld. Although Xie Wendong wasn’t particularly good-looking, his smiling expression was quite endearing—of course, only to those who didn’t know him. Still cautious, the woman opened the door slightly and said, “He’s not here!”

Xie Wendong let out a sigh, looked up, and inwardly praised Ma Feng’s taste. The woman was very beautiful, with fair, delicate skin that seemed to exude moisture at the slightest touch. Her large, sparkling eyes were captivating—likely enough to draw even other women’s attention. Since Xie Wendong wasn’t a woman, he took only a quick glance before asking, “When will Brother Ma be back?” Seeing his clear gaze, free from the lecherous look other men gave her, she smiled and said, “I don’t know, but… he’ll be back tonight.” As she spoke, her face turned red.

Xie Wendong chuckled and said, “If that’s the case, we won’t bother you any longer.” With that, he turned to leave. Just as he did, he scanned the surroundings quickly—since this was a villa area, there were few pedestrians around. Without warning, he suddenly kicked hard. The iron chain on the door couldn’t withstand his force and snapped instantly. Xie Wendong rushed into the room and covered the woman’s mouth with his hand. Jin Yan and the others darted into the villa and closed the door behind them.

It all happened in an instant. Not only was no one around to see it, but even if someone had, they would have thought they were guests of the villa owners.

Xie Wendong kept his hand over the woman’s mouth as he pushed her into the bedroom. He grabbed a blanket and tied her hands and feet together, then threw her on the bed. Coldly, he said, “We’re here to collect a debt from Ma Feng.” The woman’s eyes widened in terror as she trembled and said, “Do you want money? I’ll give you as much as you want, just don’t hurt me!”

Xie Wendong replied indifferently, “I have plenty of money. What I want is Ma Feng’s life.”

The woman shuddered and tried to stay calm. “Then go after him. Why come to me?” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and smiled. “I thought you’d help me!” She snapped, “Dream on!” He sighed, grabbed her clothes, and yanked them open, revealing her pink breasts. Coldly, he said, “I forgot to tell you—he also owes my friend her innocence. That debt can only be paid with you!” Remembering the men crawling over Qiu Ningshui and their expressions of pain and despair, Xie Wendong’s heart twisted into a knot, driving him almost mad. Morality and shame meant nothing to him now; he only wanted to vent his anger.

His eyes turned red, almost glowing, like those of a demon from hell. With a cruel smile, he turned to Jin Yan and the others and asked, “Is she pretty?”