Chapter 264

If he were to take action at this moment, he was still confident enough to kill Xie Wendong, but a sharp shout from the door dismissed his thoughts. “Put down the gun!” Five fully armed guards appeared at the door, each holding a Type 54 pistol, pointing them at the company commander who was holding Huang Zhen at gunpoint and shouting loudly. Cang Lang secretly shook his head, quickly retracting the twin swords with blade tips visible at his cuffs. He looked at Xie Wendong and said calmly, “You might be someone else’s nightmare, but I will be yours as well.” With that, before anyone else could react, he leaped toward the window. With a crisp crack, the glass shattered, and Cang Lang dashed out of the window.

Xie Wendong was shocked—this was the fifth floor! No matter how skilled Cang Lang might be, he was still just a human. Xie didn’t believe he could survive a jump from that height unharmed. He rushed to the window sill, leaned over the frame, and looked down. Aside from a few pieces of broken glass, there was not a single figure in sight. Xie Wendong scanned the area thoroughly before sighing and admitting that, in less than five seconds, Cang Lang had disappeared. How terrifying! he thought to himself. Seeing Cang Lang escape, the company commander became even more panicked. His pistol was pressing hard against Huang Zhen’s head, threatening to cause bleeding, as he shouted, “Move aside! Otherwise, I’ll kill him! Move aside!” The guards exchanged glances, unsure what to do.

More and more people gathered at the door, most of them guards who had come upon hearing the news, along with some senior officers. Seeing the company commander tightly holding Huang Zhen, they couldn’t immediately figure out what was going on. Xie Wendong turned around and said to the company commander, “I think you’d better let Colonel Huang go. If anything happens to him, things will get even worse, and then no one will be able to save you.” The company commander let out two painful laughs, but his laughter sounded even worse than crying. He pulled Huang Zhen back step by step until they were pressed against the wall, feeling a bit safer then. With ahehe sound, he said, “Do you think I still have a chance to be saved? I have no powerful backers behind me. And even if I can return to Beijing, someone will have to take all the blame. Whether I kill him or not, I’m dead in any case. What’s there for me to care about?” Xie Wendong nodded and said, “If that’s the case, running away now won’t help. Let Colonel Huang go, and maybe I can help you.” “You?” The company commander laughed loudly, tears almost welling up. “Who would believe you, Xie Wendong? Even if I die, I’ll drag a few others down with me.” Xie Wendong shook his head and smiled. “You can’t drag anyone with you.” The company commander gritted his teeth and shouted, “Then I’ll take your life first!” As he reached out with his arm to kill Xie Wendong first, a gunshot rang out. The company commander felt his wrist go light, then numb. Looking down, he saw a large hole in his palm, with blood gushing out, and his gun had been blown far away by the bullet. The company commander slumped to the ground, holding his wrist, his eyes wide open, seemingly numb.

“I said you can’t kill anyone,” said Jiang Sen, who had fired the shot and was standing among the guards. Xie Wendong spoke calmly. With the danger gone, the guards didn’t even bother to wonder how Jiang Sen had gotten in. A few guards rushed forward, kicked the company commander over without hesitation, and then started kicking him wildly. This was a characteristic style of Chinese military and police—before capturing someone, they first ensured the opponent had no chance to resist. The edges of their military shoes could be as sharp as knives, especially when used with force. In no time, the company commander’s face was covered in deep cuts, with skin torn back and flesh mangled. Huang Zhen, on the other hand, acted like a general. He adjusted his uniform, waved his hand to stop everyone, and said firmly, “Don’t kill him. We still need to take him to Beijing!” Only then did the guards stop and tie the company commander tightly with belts.

Xie Wendong curled his lips in disdain. Seeing Du Tingwei standing there in shock, staring blankly at the company commander, he stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder affectionately, and said, “Take a good look at him. I guarantee your fate will be worse than his.” After saying that, he ignored him, nodded at Huang Zhen, and said, “Commander Huang, the rest is an internal military matter; I shouldn’t interfere. Goodbye!” He shook off his coat and left the room. The guards in the corridor automatically made way for him, with countless curious eyes fixed on him.

Jiang Sen was unwilling and followed Xie Wendong, asking in a low voice, “Brother Dong, are we just giving up like this?” “What else can we do?” Xie Wendong retorted. Jiang Sen mused, “If Du Tingwei is sent back to Beijing, chances are nothing serious will happen.” Xie Wendong looked at Jiang Sen amusedly and said, “When I planned to come to the military region, it seemed you and Changfeng both opposed it!” “Yeah, I just didn’t expect the Political Department to have such influence that even a high-ranking colonel would yield to them,” Jiang Sen sighed.

Xie Wendong chuckled and said, “When I planned to come to the military region, I didn’t intend to do anything to Du Tingwei. I just wanted to scare him into not getting away too easily.”

“And the result…?” “The result turned out like this. I didn’t expect it either. It seems there’s still a lot the Political Department can be used for!” Xie Wendong laughed heartily. Li Shuang, Ren Changfeng, and the others were waiting in the hall. When they saw Xie Wendong coming down, they followed him outside. Li Shuang asked, “I heard gunshots just now, Brother Dong. What happened?”

Xie Wendong kept walking and said, “We’ll talk about it when we get back.” The group got into a car and quickly left the military region. When Xie Wendong’s car passed by the guard post at the entrance, the soldier still remembered to give a proper military salute. In the car, Xie Wendong thoughtfully said, “Actually, Du Tingwei isn’t that scary. No matter how powerful his father is, he won’t amount to much. It’s the guy by his side—the one called Canglang—who’s inscrutable and hard to deal with. But why have I never heard of such a special person before?!”

Li Shuang laughed and said, “Maybe because he’s not good-looking, it’s a bit harder for him to become famous.” His words made everyone laugh. Ren Changfeng spoke honestly, “His swordsmanship is indeed amazing. I’ve only seen something like it once in my life, and even Lao Lei can’t compare to him.” Xie Wendong said coldly, “Having such an enemy around is definitely not comforting. Lao Sen, find a way to track him down.” Jiang Sen stuck out his tongue. His intelligence network covered every corner of City H, but finding someone without a background, no identity, and whose next move was unknown was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He said anxiously, “Brother Dong, I’ll do my best!” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said slowly, “It seems that when someone succeeds too often, they even forget their true nature.” He looked at Jiang Sen, raised his eyebrows, and said, “I used to never hear the words ‘do my best’ from Lao Sen. If it works, it works; if not, it doesn’t!”
Jiang Sen was shocked, his face turning red, and he immediately replied, “Brother Dong, don’t worry. As long as he’s still in City H, I’ll definitely find something out within three days.”
Hearing this, Xie Wendong nodded in satisfaction and praised, “That’s the kind of thing my old friend Lao Sen would say.”
When Xie Wendong and the others returned to the villa, Sanyan was confronting Peng Ling. One wanted to find her father urgently, as Peng Ling felt that something might have happened to him—otherwise, there would be no reason to keep her from seeing him. The other was worried that she might be in danger if she left, and Xie Wendong had specifically given instructions. Neither would budge. Sanyan’s temper was already poor, and under Peng Ling’s pressure, the two started shouting at each other. As soon as Xie Wendong returned, Sanyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly handed Peng Ling to him, and said, “Brother Dong, I have something to do. I’m leaving first.”

Sanyan was eager to leave, and Xie Wendong noticed this. He pulled him aside and whispered, “Brother Zhang, Xiao Ling’s father’s condition is not optimistic. Domestic medical technology can’t save him; he needs to go to a hospital in the U.S. Time is of the essence—think of a way to get a passport as quickly as possible.” Sanyan pondered, “Getting a passport isn’t a problem, but time might be an issue. Brother Dong, the passport process is complicated. Most importantly, it requires approval from the U.S. embassy. It won’t be ready in just a month or so.” Xie Wendong said, “That’s why I’m asking you to find a solution. There’s not much time—only three days!” “Three days?” Sanyan frowned and thought for a moment before saying, “Okay, leave it to me. I’ll figure something out.” With that, he left quickly. Seeing Xie Wendong and Sanyan whispering at the door, Peng Ling pricked up her ears but couldn’t make out what they were saying. After Sanyan left, she couldn’t hold back any longer and stepped forward, asking, “Wendong, how is my father? Is he in danger?” Seeing her worry, Xie Wendong patted her flushed cheeks and reassured her, “Don’t worry. He’ll be fine.” Peng Ling shook her head, tears in her eyes, and asked, “What exactly is wrong with my father? I want to see him!” Realizing he couldn’t hide it from her, Xie Wendong said helplessly, “Peng… Your uncle was shot three times. One bullet hit a vital area. Although he’s not in life-threatening danger with domestic treatment, he might suffer lasting effects. I plan to send him to the U.S. for treatment to ensure everything’s taken care of.” “Really?” Peng Ling still didn’t fully believe it. Xie Wendong gave her a reassuring smile, gently wiped away the tears from her eyes, helped her sit on the sofa, and said seriously, “When have I ever lied to you?!” Peng Ling felt a little relieved. She slumped weakly in his arms, her tension easing. Exhaustion quickly overtook her, and she murmured, “Dad will be fine. He’s a good person.” As she spoke, she unconsciously fell asleep. Too much had happened to Peng Ling that day; she was truly exhausted. Xie Wendong lifted her up, looked at her restless face, narrowed his eyes, and said to Peng Ling as if to himself, “In this world, when have good people ever had good luck?”

Du Tingwei was escorted to Beijing by Huang Zhen. Huang Zhen hadn’t originally planned to send him off in such a hurry; there were still many things he didn’t understand—why Du Tingwei had killed Peng Shulin, for example. But with an order from the central authorities, he had no choice but to send Du Tingwei away by helicopter that very night. Standing by the window in his office, Huang Zhen watched the helicopter take off slowly, feeling a bit relieved. After all, getting rid of Du Tingwei, this troublesome problem, by handing it over to the central authorities relieved him of a burden. As he gazed out the window in thought, one of his personal assistants knocked on the door, came over, handed him a document, and said cautiously, “Sir, the central authorities have issued another order. Please take a look.” “Oh?” Huang Zhen was surprised, not knowing what more the central authorities wanted. After taking the document, he froze. After a while, he shook the blank paper in his hand and said with a bitter smile, “Is this really necessary?”
Xie Wendong helped Peng Ling lie down in bed and carefully covered her with a blanket. As soon as he left the room, he saw another person in the hall. He smiled and went downstairs, asking, “Rongrong, when did you arrive?” It was Jin Rong, looking anxious as she kept asking Li Shuang various questions. Li Shuang hadn’t had a proper meal that day either; his stomach was growling. With Jin Rong’s endless chatter, he was starving and kept pointing at Jiang Sen beside him, saying, “Ask him, ask him—he knows more than I do.” Jin Rong seemed to have a special fondness for the chubby Li Shuang and showed no intention of letting him go. Xie Wendong coming downstairs saved Li Shuang. He sighed and said, “Brother Dong, you’re finally here.” Jin Rong also saw him, spread her arms, and ran toward Xie Wendong to hug him tightly. Although hugs between them had become almost routine, Xie Wendong was still a bit uncomfortable. He patted her back, stepped slightly back, and asked, “Rongrong, why did you come?”
“I heard that Sister Ling’s father was ambushed and shot three times. Is that true?” Jin Rong held onto one of Xie Wendong’s arms tightly and raised her little face to ask.

Xie Wendong was stunned. Although Peng Shulin’s ambush could be considered a major incident, the news had been kept tightly under control—even few government officials were aware of it. So where did Jin Rong get the information? Puzzled, he asked, “Rongrong, you’re so well-informed. Who told you?” Upon hearing this, Jin Rong’s face lit up with pride as she said, “I have a big-mouthed crocodile by my side!” “A big-mouthed crocodile?” Xie Wendong was even more confused. “What’s that?” Jin Rong pointed at the door and said, “That’s him!” Xie Wendong glanced over and saw several burly men standing in the hallway. They seemed familiar to him. After a moment, he realized they were the undercover brothers he had placed around Jin Rong years ago to protect her from potential conflicts between the Northern and Southern Hongmen factions. These men had been protecting her for almost a year. She had gone from initially rejecting them to gradually accepting them, and now they were friends who could share everything. Xie Wendong was usually very busy, so Jiang Sen took care of keeping in touch with them. Jiang Sen would also inform them of any emergencies so they could be prepared. This time was no different. With Peng Shulin’s accident, Jiang Sen immediately thought of Jin Rong. This little girl was even more trouble than Peng Ling. If anything happened to her, Xie Wendong, Jin Peng, and even the Northern Hongmen would be devastated. One of these men had an especially big mouth and couldn’t keep secrets. Jin Rong liked to pester him the most. When Xie Wendong was in Nanjing, it was from him that Jin Rong got a lot of information about Xie Wendong. At that moment, the “crocodile man” was scratching his head, his face red as if it might bleed, while smiling foolishly at Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong also smiled and nodded at him sincerely, without any trace of blame. Instead, he felt a bit guilty, knowing how boring it must be for these strong men to spend their days accompanying a child who never grew up. It was because of these unsung heroes that he could fight boldly without worries, moving forward unimpeded. This was the importance of logistics!