Chapter 191

Upon hearing this, He Cheng thought to himself, “What the hell do you know? Don’t get things wrong. Say what you want; I’ll do my own thing.” He hung up the phone, ordered the people in the entertainment room to be watched over, and led others to search outside the building for Xie Wendong. But before he could even leave the entertainment room, chaos erupted outside as if something had blown up—shouts of battle filled the air. Looking out the window, he saw people downstairs, each armed, surrounding the building tightly. He Cheng’s head buzzed; he realized they had indeed set an ambush! He shouted, “There are ambushers outside! Don’t be afraid—fight with me!” Everything had gone too smoothly. The people, emboldened by the fight, treated the outsiders as if they were the ones in the entertainment room, ignoring them completely. They thought, “What can a dozen or so of these guys possibly do?” They raised their knives and charged outside. A fight had already begun downstairs. He Cheng had left a dozen men at the entrance before entering, and upon seeing the sudden influx of countless people, they were shocked. At first, they thought their main force had arrived, but when the crowd came into view, they realized these people were definitely not their own. All of these men wore neat Sun Yat-sen suits; hundreds of them in the same style and color was truly spectacular. Their eyes were wide open, gleaming in the darkness, with black cloth tied over their mouths. Having never seen such dressed people before, they couldn’t help asking, “Who are you?” No one answered them. The hundreds of men surged forward like a sudden tide, instantly drowning the dozen men. Within five seconds, the crowd retreated and stood back in place as if they had never moved. Only a dozen corpses, covered in wounds, lay on the ground. This was what He Cheng saw when he led his men out. The dozen men left behind had died silently without even trying to resist—it was utterly terrifying. He looked up and thought, “Good heavens, I have no idea what kind of outfit these people are wearing. Black Sun Yat-sen suits, black cloth over their mouths, and the darkness around them makes them seem to blend in with it.” In the middle of the crowd stood a young man—the only one without a cloth over his mouth. His appearance was ordinary, but his eyes were narrow and sharp, with a glint inside. His gaze was like a sharp knife aimed straight at He Cheng’s face. He Cheng felt a chill and instinctively lowered his head. Even before the battle began, he already felt inferior to them. He wished he could slap himself for not daring to meet the young man’s gaze fearlessly. He asked, “Who are you?” The young man nodded, thinking to himself, “Not bad. He Cheng is indeed no ordinary person.” He smiled loudly and said, “Xie Wendong!”

“Ah!” He Cheng gasped in shock—this young man was Xie Wendong. No matter what he thought or said about him being a fool, seeing Xie Wendong in person still filled him with fear. This was the dominant figure in the region, the supreme leader of the Northern Hongmen. How could He Cheng not tremble? After a while, he asked, “You’ve been waiting here in ambush?”
Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said, “That’s right! I’ve been waiting for you. But you’ve come a bit late.” He paused, then calmly said, word by word, “No one here will be able to leave today!” His tone was eerily calm, but to He Cheng’s ears, it sounded threatening. His body shook as he glanced at his men and then at the crowd surrounding them, assessing whether he had a chance to break through.
Without giving him time to think, Xie Wendong stepped back, waved his hand, and ordered, “Attack! Capture He Cheng, no matter what!” As soon as he spoke, hundreds of men rushed forward with swords, engaging in a fierce battle with He Cheng and his men. He Cheng fought desperately too. Without hesitating, he charged at Xie Wendong with his sword. Surprisingly, no one stopped him. In just a few steps, he closed in on Xie Wendong. As he wondered what was happening, a cold slash came from the side—extremely fast, with a whooshing sound, aiming straight at his neck. Thanks to his military background, He Cheng was agile and quick-witted. He deflected the sword with a sharp clang, sparks flying. He felt numbness in his arm, and the sword nearly slipped from his grasp. He stepped back several times before stabilizing himself. Looking up, he saw a tall, handsome man standing in front of him, smiling faintly as he stared at him. He Cheng snapped, “Who are you?”
The man smiled lightly and said, “Mu Zi!” “Mu Zi?” He Cheng raised his eyebrows and sneered, “What kind of name is that?” Mu Zi laughed and said, “Just for that remark, you deserve to die!” With that, he rushed forward, closing the distance in two strides, and lunged at him with his sword. This sudden attack startled He Cheng—how could the other man strike so quickly? He quickly dodged and engaged in battle with Mu Zi. Xie Wendong glanced over and saw that He Cheng was no match for Mu Zi. He turned his gaze to the chaotic fight, where swords flashed and blood flowed in a fierce battle. In just a short while, hundreds had been killed or injured. If it weren’t for his untreated old wounds, he might have rushed in as well.

Xie Wendong’s phone kept ringing nonstop, with updates coming in from time to time. The main force of the Nan Hongmen was still twenty li away from the villa—then ten li, then five li… He nodded, waved his hand, and shouted loudly, “Retreat!” Orders were absolute; those hundreds of men abandoned their opponents and retreated instantly. He Cheng’s men were puzzled—why retreat when they were clearly in the advantage? Before they could figure it out, hundreds more men emerged from hiding, dressed the same way, with black cloth covering their mouths. They didn’t say much either; they just started killing. The previous battle had already taken a toll on their strength and left many dead or injured. Now that an additional force had appeared, He Cheng’s men could hold on no longer and gradually retreated inside the building. With them gone, He Cheng was left alone outside. He was beaten by Mu Zi and could only defend himself, not daring to be distracted even for a moment. Still, he couldn’t withstand the attacks. Mu Zi swung his sword again; He Cheng had no way to dodge. Gritting his teeth, he raised his sword to block it, only to realize it was a feint. Mu Zi suddenly kicked him in the lower abdomen. He Cheng let out a cry as he was flung backward.

Lying on the ground, he couldn’t get up for a long time. His stomach felt as if it had been hit by a speeding train, with his internal organs crushed together. He shouted, “Someone, save me!” Mu Zi sneered as he stepped forward and said, “No one will come to save you!” He Cheng turned to look and saw people in Sun Yat-sen suits all around him. He couldn’t even see his own lower half. At that moment, he was stunned. Looking at the sword in Mu Zi’s hand, he asked in a trembling voice, “What do you want?” Mu Zi waved the sword and laughed, “To kill you!”

“No… please,” He Cheng backed away, terrified that Mu Zi would strike. Mu Zi spat, wiped the sweat from his face, and said coldly, “Killing you would dirty my sword!” With that, he turned and walked toward Xie Wendong. He Cheng’s expression changed. He held a high position in the Nan Hongmen. As a leader, he had never been humiliated like this before. Gathering his courage, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun, aiming it at Mu Zi’s back. Just then, a flash of golden light appeared, and He Cheng felt numbness in his wrist as the gun flew out of his hand.

Needless to say, it was Xie Wendong who had swung the blade. Mu Zi hadn’t seen He Cheng reach for the gun, but Xie Wendong had noticed the move and knocked the gun out of his hand with a single swing. Seeing the flash of light, Mu Zi knew something was wrong. Turning around, he saw blood on He Cheng’s wrist and a gun with the safety off not far away. Without a doubt, he understood everything. Looking at Xie Wendong, his face turned red with shame. Xie Wendong chuckled and said, “This is a lesson for you—never give your enemy even the slightest chance.”

Mu Zi nodded in agreement, then looked at He Cheng, his eyebrows raised high as he stepped forward ready to strike him down. But Xie Wendong waved his hand and said, “No! After all, he’s still the leader of one of the factions. He might be useful in the future!” Mu Zi snorted inwardly, thinking that even if he couldn’t kill him, he wouldn’t let him off easy. He raised his foot and kicked He Cheng right on his bald head. Before He Cheng could even scream, he fainted. Though he was unconscious, his men were still fighting bravely. Out of the two hundred elite fighters, less than fifty were still able to fight. Someone came up with the idea to have a dozen people from upstairs drag the captives from the entertainment room out, placing knives against their throats and shouting, “Back off, or we’ll kill them all! Back off!” The disciples of the Northern Hongmen were shocked and dared not advance any further. They turned to look at Xie Wendong, waiting to see what their leader would do.

Xie Wendong smiled, waved his hand to tell everyone to back off, and said, “I’ve said it before—none of you will be able to leave. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

One man mustered up the courage to shout, “If you dare move, I’ll kill these people first. We’ll just die together!” Xie Wendong shook his head calmly and said, “They won’t die. It will be you who die.” As he spoke, there was a loud noise of cars approaching from behind. Soon, over a hundred cars drove into the villa. As the doors opened, countless people poured out and surrounded Xie Wendong and his group from behind. He Cheng’s men saw this and became energized—their main forces had arrived. What was there to fear? This time, Xie Wendong was doomed.

Now, thousands of people gathered together, in layers inside and outside. Xie Wendong’s group surrounded He Cheng’s remaining troops, while Xiao Fang’s group surrounded Xie Wendong. The disciples of the Northern Hongmen began to worry. The enemy’s numbers were too large—a sea of people, likely several times more than their own side. How could they fight in such a situation?

Xiao Fang got out of the car and stepped forward, asking loudly, “Is Xie Wendong here?”

Xie Wendong smiled, walked through the crowd, and stopped about ten meters in front of Xiao Fang, looking at him with a smile. Xiao Fang immediately realized that this young man must be Xie Wendong. Although he seemed ordinary, even a fool could tell he was different and the leader of these hundreds of people. Since Xiao Fang wasn’t someone who would be fooled, he could see it even clearer. Still, he asked, “Are you Xie Wendong?”

Xie Wendong smiled and said, “That’s right! I am.” Xiao Fang also smiled and stepped forward two steps. It was too dark, and he wanted to see Xie Wendong clearly—to see what this legendary young man actually looked like. But he was disappointed. Xie Wendong was quite ordinary, no different from an ordinary person, with the only exception being his long, slender phoenix eyes. How could a person’s eyes be so bright! Xiao Fang sighed inwardly and said with a smile, “You don’t seem scared at all!”
Xie Wendong raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, “What should I be afraid of?”
Xiao Fang pointed backward and said, “There are a total of 2,155 people here, but I see less than 800 under your command.” Xie Wendong nodded. “There indeed aren’t 800. There used to be, but after the battle just now, there are now less than 800.” Xiao Fang said, “Although you’ve severely weakened He Cheng, 800 people can’t possibly defeat 2,000.” Xie Wendong nodded again. “They definitely can’t.” The disciples of the Northern Hongmen were almost amused by this, thinking that even if that were true, their leader didn’t need to be honest—wouldn’t that dampen their fighting spirit? Xiao Fang’s expression became serious as he asked, “Then how can you still smile?” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice, though it wasn’t really low at all—everyone present could hear him. He said, “Actually, I have reinforcements, so I’m not worried at all. Besides, not many of those 2,000 people you brought will be able to escape.”
“Reinforcements?” At these words, not only was Xiao Fang stunned, but the disciples of the Northern Hongmen, including Mu Zi, were also shocked. They wondered when their side had received reinforcements and why they hadn’t known about it. Xiao Fang stared at Xie Wendong for a long time, trying to read whether he was telling the truth from his face. But you could never find what you wanted to know on his face—a smiling face, no expression, eyes as calm as a deep pool. Xiao Fang sighed, shifted his gaze from Xie Wendong’s face to the others behind him, and after a while, he said with a smile, “You’re lying to me! You have no reinforcements!”
Xie Wendong replied helplessly, “I can’t do anything if you don’t believe me. But we can make a bet—reinforcements will arrive within ten minutes.”

Xiao Fang laughed with his head back and said, “You’re stalling, right?!” Xie Wendong replied honestly, “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Xiao Fang took a deep breath; the more straightforward Xie Wendong was, the more he felt that the other man was unfathomable, making him hesitant to launch an attack. Xie Wendong’s confidence left Xiao Fang in a dilemma. However, this was exactly what Xie Wendong had planned. He was right—Xiao Fang was indeed stalling. If they really attacked right away, the Northern Hongmen would suffer heavy losses. But Xiao Fang had his own estimates and didn’t dare give an order lightly. The two of them stared at each other, and the disciples on both sides thought to themselves, “What a strange battle—no need to fight; just killing with glances. Let’s see.” Well, the leaders of both sides stared intently at each other, while their disciples also gazed at one another, not knowing what to do since they couldn’t figure it out by just staring.