Chapter 189

When Xie Wendong arrived in Nanjing, he did so secretly. Xiao Fang didn’t know at first, but later he found it strange. Given Lingmin’s usual caution, she shouldn’t have remained completely silent; it was even less likely that she wouldn’t think of ambushing their base. Yet, in reality, those lurking around couldn’t see a single member of the North Hongmen all day long, let alone a large force coming to launch a surprise attack. Xiao Fang was utterly puzzled and increased the number of spies to find out what Lingmin was up to. Later, the spies reported that Xie Wendong was now inside the North Hongmen’s stronghold. Upon hearing this, He Cheng sneered coldly, feeling nothing but secretly rejoicing. He thought to himself, “Great! The leader of the North Hongmen has come in person. If I can capture him, how impressive that will be in front of the boss!” He nodded repeatedly, beaming with joy, and kept saying, “Perfect! Absolutely perfect!”

But Xiao Fang didn’t think so. Upon hearing that Xie Wendong had arrived, he gasped in shock. As the saying goes, “A person’s reputation is reflected in their shadow.” He knew Xie Wendong very well from his investigations. Terms like cunning or deceit didn’t even apply to him. If a skilled hunter could catch a sly fox, then a fox that could outwit such a hunter was still far inferior to Xie Wendong. He glanced over and saw He Cheng smiling foolishly. Xiao Fang was so angry he wanted to smash him in the head. Was it really that ridiculous just because Xie Wendong had arrived?

He Cheng, though bald, wasn’t stupid. Noticing Xiao Fang’s upset expression, he said, “Brother Xiao, Xie Wendong’s arrival is good news!” Xiao Fang scoffed and glared at him. “Good news? Tell me what’s so good about it?” He Cheng grinned widely and said, “Although Xie Wendong is just a young guy in his early twenties, he’s the leader of the North Hongmen. I heard…” He glanced around, wearing a sly smile, and whispered, “I heard he slept with Jin Peng’s granddaughter. Old Jin cares a lot about face, and if this got out, it would be disastrous. So he had no choice but to marry his granddaughter to this kid. In one fell swoop, this kid went from a nobody to Jin Peng’s son-in-law. It’s only natural that Old Jin would give him the position of leader out of favoritism! Sigh, what an apt guy—he got both the woman and the power.” He Cheng was filled with jealousy and regret, regretting that it wasn’t him. After a pause, he added, “What can a leader who got his position through connections achieve? He was just a thug from the Northeast before! If we capture him this time, how many people in the North Hongmen will die of shame! Haha!”

He Cheng laughed heartily, filled with genuine excitement. Xiao Fang also laughed, but it was out of anger. He sighed inwardly, wondering where He Cheng got these rumors. He didn’t care whether Xie Wendong had an affair with Jin Peng’s granddaughter; what really mattered to him was Xie Wendong himself. When he founded his gang, he was just a high school student, in his teens, yet he managed to establish a solid foothold and eventually became the de facto ruler of the city, like an unseen emperor. Was this by chance? Later, his gang expanded at an astonishing rate, driving away two major foreign forces—one after another. Could such a fool really do this? Looking at the smug He Cheng, Xiao Fang didn’t even bother scolding him. Instead, he said, “Pass my order: from now on, all brothers at the various bases must stay put and cease all attacks on the northern bandits. Do not step outside the city limits!”
“What?” He Cheng’s eyes widened as he shouted, “Brother Xiao, Great Heavenly King Xiao! I know you’ve been very tired lately, but you can’t… you can’t be so confused! Now that the big boss from the Northern Hongmen has arrived, if we don’t seize the chance to control him now, who knows when he might leave? Opportunity knocks only once!”
Xiao Fang replied calmly, “Do you really think Xie Wendong is a fool?! I’d rather he leave sooner, but he definitely won’t. That man is full of tricks. Acting rashly will only get us trapped in his schemes.” He Cheng sneered inwardly, thinking, What’s so great about a guy in his early twenties? Look how scared you are. He stepped forward and said, “Brother Xiao, give me two hundred men. I’ll launch a night attack on their ‘Hongwu Villa’ and definitely bring Xie Wendong back to see you!”
Xiao Fang shook his head firmly. “No, absolutely not!” Sending two hundred men on a sneak attack—if you can even catch Xie Wendong, it’ll be lucky if you don’t get caught yourself. He didn’t say this out loud, as He Cheng had good intentions and wanted to earn merits for the gang. There was no need to dampen his enthusiasm.
No matter what He Cheng said, Xiao Fang refused. This made the bald man pant in anger. Eventually, frustrated, he stormed off. Xiao Fang wasn’t afraid of Xie Wendong; he just wanted to observe him for a while to see what special qualities he had. After all, everything he knew about Xie Wendong came from his subordinates’ reports—written records, not the man himself.
Nanjing had suddenly become calm these past few days, but times were ever-changing. The seemingly calm sea could unleash massive waves at any moment.

Xie Wendong wasn’t idle. After waiting a few days and seeing that Xiao Fang remained inactive and took a defensive stance, he laughed heartily—he understood immediately that the other party was clearly testing him. Since Xiao Fang wasn’t making a move, Xie Wendong prepared to act. He selected three hundred clever brothers and divided them into several teams, each with only ten members. Every day, these teams entered Nanjing in batches, searching for Nan Hongmen’s territories—hotels, dance halls, nightclubs, or legitimate companies—destroying everything under their control and attacking anyone they encountered. The whole process took no more than two minutes. Before Nan Hongmen’s forces could arrive, the men would flee back to Hongwu Villa.

For a day or two, Nan Hongmen didn’t notice anything unusual, but Xie Wendong seemed to be reaping the benefits, sending people to cause chaos every day, only to flee after a couple of minutes. Xiao Fang remained calm, but He Cheng grew frustrated, receiving numerous reports of damages and injuries daily. As the person in charge of Nanjing, he had to account to Xiang Wentian. Although the boss hadn’t blamed him, he always sensed a change in Xiang’s tone during phone calls. In recent days, he had challenged Xiao Fang to a fight for three consecutive days, but the latter refused each time with a shake of his head. Xiao Fang sneered inwardly—Xie Wendong was clearly trying to provoke him into fighting. There must be an ambush in Hongwu Villa, and he couldn’t fall for it. No matter how much trouble Xie Wendong caused, he wouldn’t send troops. Let’s see what Xie Wendong could do! He sent many spies to hide around Hongwu Villa, keeping a close watch on its activities.

Xie Wendong indeed had an ambush set up in Hongwu Villa. Normally, after such provocation, he would have already attacked, but Xiao Fang was truly formidable—refusing to launch an assault. This time, Xie Wendong had met his match. Instead of worrying, he was delighted. It was like playing chess—masters naturally liked to face off against other masters, and encountering someone like Xiao Fang wasn’t easy. A few days later, as the eleventh festival approached, Xie Wendong took precautions and ordered people to go to Nanjing and nearby areas to find “ladies,” as long as they were young, beautiful, and healthy. He offered them free food, lodging, and entertainment, along with a daily income of five hundred yuan—whichever number of ladies they could find. His subordinates didn’t understand what their boss was up to. Recruiting “ladies” in such a critical time—wasn’t that ridiculous? But since he was the boss, they had no choice but to follow his orders.

A large reward attracts brave men, and plenty of money draws in fearless women. With such favorable conditions, it didn’t take much effort to gather over a hundred young and beautiful ladies in just one day. Soon, Hongwu Villa became a place filled with color, with heavily made-up women everywhere. At night, a bonfire party was held in the villa, and the sounds of laughter could be heard from afar. Xie Wendong’s men had a great time, but it was tough for the spies from the Southern Hongmen hidden in the shadows. Smelling the aroma of grilled meat and hearing the occasional delicate laughter of women, they lamented their miserable fate. A new spy said to the man next to him, “Damn it, bro, with this smell, I’m getting hungry too!” The burly man patted his shoulder and sighed understandingly, “It’s your first time here; you didn’t prepare, right?” Then he took out a pack of instant noodles from his pocket and handed it to him, saying bitterly, “Eat this instead!” “Damn!”

The Northern Hongmen lived like gods—going out to cause trouble during the day and then resting. At night, there were songs and dances, along with plenty of meat and fish, with beautiful women by their side to drink with them. This was as good a life as a god could have. The spies from the Southern Hongmen kept sending reports back to their headquarters. When Xiao Fang heard this, he frowned. Xie Wendong was really going too far. Did he really think Xiao Fang was afraid of him? He clenched his fist tightly, then relaxed it, thinking that if Xie Wendong was bold enough, he must be well-prepared, trying to provoke him into falling into a trap! He laughed heartily and said, “Good! Very good! Let’s see who can hold out longer!” In his mind, Xie Wendong wouldn’t last long. His group of over a thousand people needed food, drink, and shelter every day, all of which cost money. The Northern Hongmen no longer had a base in Nanjing, nor any source of income. They couldn’t keep asking their headquarters for money. Xie Wendong would surely retreat soon. That was what he thought, but He Cheng didn’t agree. He believed Xie Wendong was nothing but a fool.

During the day, he sends people to cause trouble, not even daring to show up in front of his own people; they run away before they even arrive. At night, he indulges in women and feasts on delicacies. Xie Wendong truly lives like a god. He Cheng could no longer bear it and went to Xiao Fang’s room, barging in without knocking and shouting, “Brother Xiao, I want to fight!” The last few words were squeezed out through his teeth. Xiao Fang sighed. Even he had been so angered that he wanted to fight just now, let alone He Cheng. He said, “Let’s wait a little longer! A few more days!” He Cheng felt as if his heart was on fire. He raised his foot to kick over a table nearby but held back, after all, Xiao Fang was a Heavenly King, several ranks above him—he couldn’t go too far. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Xie Wendong treats us like fools. I really can’t hold back anymore! Brother Xiao, let me go fight! Just give me a hundred men, and I guarantee a complete victory!” Xiao Fang still shook his head. Seeing this, He Cheng almost smashed into the wall, but since Xiao Fang refused to let him fight, he had no choice.

The day after the eleventh, a scout came to report that a convoy had entered Hongwu Villa. “A convoy?” Xiao Fang was stunned. What was going on? He Cheng was even more confused and asked urgently, “Who’s in the convoy?” The scout shook his head and said, “The Northern Hongmen guards it tightly. We don’t know either. But after those people got off the carriage, we took a distant look—they were all plump and imposing, likely high-ranking officials from the Northern Hongmen!”

“Ah?” He Cheng was shocked and asked further, “How many people did they bring with them?” The scout shook his head again. “None! Not a single subordinate! Those officials came alone.” He Cheng took a breath, feeling puzzled. He didn’t understand what Xie Wendong was planning and turned to look at Xiao Fang. Even this Heavenly King was at a loss. He thought that given the current situation, Xie Wendong had no reason to send over a large number of officials. Even if he was worried, sending over so many officials without any followers made no sense! Unable to figure it out, Xiao Fang told the scout, “Go back and keep a close watch on every move in Hongwu Villa. Report anything immediately to me!” The scout nodded and rushed out of the room.

He Cheng shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “Could it be that Xie Wendong is living too luxuriously here and has summoned the gang’s officials to enjoy himself with him?!” Xiao Fang looked at He Cheng and sighed, “I hope not. Otherwise, I’ve been overestimating him all this time.”

That night, the scout reported that Hongwu Villa was filled with debauchery and excesses. The moans of women could be heard clearly even by the scouts outside the villa.

“Slam!” Hearing this, He Cheng slammed the table hard and stood up abruptly, startling Xiao Fang, who was drinking tea nearby, so much that his cup flew out. “What are you doing?”
He Cheng bowed and said, “Brother Xiao, give me a group of men. I’ll storm into Hongwu Villa tonight and bring Xie Wendong to see you.” As soon as he finished speaking, seeing that Xiao Fang was about to open his mouth, he trembled in fear—afraid that the king would say “no” again. He hurriedly added, “Brother Xiao, if I succeed in this mission, I won’t claim any credit, and you don’t need to acknowledge my efforts! If I fail, I, He Cheng, am willing to accept the family’s punishment!” He Cheng was truly desperate, and his words were extreme—no reward if successful, but willingness to face punishment if he failed. “Well…” Xiao Fang couldn’t bring himself to say no anymore. Seeing He Cheng’s red face, bloodshot eyes, and wildly flailing hair—even though he had no hair—knowing that if he refused further, this man might go mad, Xiao Fang gently set his teacup aside, stood up, and said, “Alright! I’ll give you two hundred of our best fighters. You lead the charge into Hongwu Villa, and I’ll bring all the others to support you from behind. If you’re indeed ambushed, I can strike hard at the enemy from behind while also coming to your aid!”