Chapter 28

Sanyan said to the tall boy, “Qiangzi, I leave this to you!”
The boy laughed and said, “Brother Sanyan, don’t forget to leave me some breath!” With that, he waved his sword at Feng Hai’s remaining men. A flash of blade light, and one man screamed as he fell to the ground, his arm brutally severed by Qiangzi.
Sanyan took two men with him and chased after the injured Feng Hai. Now, Feng Hai no longer had the imposing presence he had when he first arrived; he was like a stray dog fleeing toward Hakushin. There was still a glimmer of hope in his heart—he wanted to reach Hakushin quickly, where dozens of his brothers were waiting! But Sanyan didn’t intend to give him that hope. With his long legs, he closed in from behind. Hearing breaths behind him, Feng Hai turned around and was terrified—Sanyan was less than five meters away, smiling viciously.
As he turned, Feng Hai didn’t pay attention to where he was stepping and tripped over a brick. By the time he got up, Sanyan was already behind him, grabbing his clothes. “Damn you! Where do you think you can run?”
Sanyan pulled hard, but Feng Hai was cunning—he quickly stripped off his clothes and kept running. Unprepared for this move, Sanyan lost his grip and stumbled back several steps. Fuming, he shouted and chased after him again.
Scared by the earlier incident, Feng Hai now used all his strength, pushing his body to its limit. Sanyan tried hard but couldn’t catch up.
The sign of Hakushin could be faintly seen ahead. Anxious, Sanyan rushed forward with all his might. Feng Hai was also at his limit, and the distance between them narrowed. When Feng Hai finally reached Hakushin’s entrance, Sanyan caught up as well. Gathering all his strength, he swung his sword at Feng Hai, who shouted as he tried to block the attack. With a loud crash, the swords collided—Sanyan’s powerful strike split Feng Hai’s sword in two, sending him flying into Hakushin.
At first, Feng Hai was shocked, then relieved—after all, he had finally made it inside. Lying on the ground, too weak to get up, he shouted, “Brothers, kill those bastards outside!”
Two people passed by and helped Feng Hai up, but he ignored their kindness, pushing them away and saying, “Damn it! Didn’t you hear me?! Go kill that kid outside!”

“Do you think they’ll listen to you?” A cold voice came from deep within the dance hall. Feng Hai was shocked; no one in the gang had ever dared speak to him like that. Looking up, he saw a young man sitting on the sofa he usually used, dressed in school uniform, his long, narrow eyes glowing coldly at him. There were also people standing all around him. Feng Hai’s heart turned to ice, cold sweat sliding down his forehead as he asked in a trembling voice, “Who… who are you?”
The young man slowly said, “Xie Wen Dong!”
Feng Hai’s head buzzed. He knew the leader of the Wen Dong Gang was named Xie Wen Dong. Since he was here, it seemed everyone he had with him in Ba Shen was doomed. If he fell into his hands, his life and property would be in danger. With that thought, Feng Hai’s legs gave out, and he knelt on the ground, tears and snot streaming down as he pleaded, “Brother Dong, please forgive me this time. I’ll never dare oppose you again. Please forgive me!”
Xie Wen Dong stared at Feng Hai coldly, expressionless, and said, “Your mistake is unforgivable!” At that moment, San Yan also came in from outside, stepped behind Feng Hai, and kicked him down, saying, “Do you still remember what I said? The seventeen cuts on my brother will be replicated on you!” With that, he added another wound to Feng Hai’s back with his knife.
Feng Hai’s heart clenched in pain, almost fainting. He rolled aside to avoid the blows, shouting nonstop, “Brother Dong, I was wrong! Please don’t kill me!” He still held out a glimmer of hope.
San Yan snorted, “It’s time for you to pay back your debts!” He used his knife to lift the tables on either side and walked toward Feng Hai. The sound of the knife hitting the tables echoed like a heavy hammer striking Feng Hai’s heart repeatedly. He could only keep trying to crawl forward. Xie Wen Dong’s men surrounded him, kicking him away every time he got close enough.
“Twenty-first cut!” San Yan counted the wounds on Feng Hai’s body, while the latter continued to crawl around, blood dripping all over the ground. But he didn’t dare stop, as San Yan’s knife was right behind him. If he stopped, the knife would strike him again.
San Yan tried to control his force, not wanting him to die too quickly. By the time he had made thirty-five cuts, Gao Qiang entered the dance hall. Seeing Feng Hai on the ground, he smiled and said, “Brother San Yan, save some for me later!” Then he walked up to Xie Wen Dong and said, “Brother Dong, all those little pests outside have been dealt with. Few escaped!”

Xie Wendong nodded, stood up, and went over to Feng Hai. He kicked him in the head and said, “Feng Hai, I’m asking you—was it Sister Shui who brought you the message last time?!” By this point, Feng Hai was already delirious. After nodding at Xie Wendong’s words, he tried to crawl forward. Gao Qiang came over and kicked him over. Feng Hai lay on the ground, turning over, until he finally had no strength to get up again. Xie Wendong crouched down and looked at Feng Hai, asking, “Why would she bring you messages? What’s your relationship?” Feng Hai’s eyes were unfocused as he mumbled, “Because… I used her… nude photos to threaten her! Please… kill me…” Xie Wendong glanced at him with disdain and said to Gao Qiang, “Leave it to you!” Gao Qiang showed a cruel smirk, grabbed Feng Hai by the hair, and said, “What? You want to die now? Don’t worry, you won’t die that quickly!” Xie Wendong stepped away from the club, hearing faint screams of Feng Hai coming from inside. The cold night wind blew across his body, making him shiver. He had avenged Li Shuang, but thinking of Feng Hai’s expression, he felt no joy—only an inexplicable sadness. It wasn’t because of Feng Hai, who was in a life-or-death situation, nor because of Li Shuang, who was severely injured. He was sad for himself, sad for having descended to the level of a beast! What was the difference between him and a beast now?! He was even more cruel, using every means at his disposal to torture his own kind. Xie Wendong shook his head firmly, pushing those thoughtless ideas out of his mind. He told himself, “I’m not wrong. I’m doing this to protect myself, my friends, my brothers. And for the ideals in my heart.” He remembered Li Shuang’s weak smile and his tearful eyes full of passion. They too had followed him for their ideals, even willing to sacrifice their lives. His ideals were no longer just his own—they were held in high regard by everyone around him. With that thought, Xie Wendong gazed firmly into the distance. Though it was pitch black, he knew that dawn would eventually come. The next day, Feng Hai’s body was found with a black card on it, bearing a blood-red character that read “Kill.” Upon examination, there were fifty-one wounds on his body, with the fatal wound being a stab to the heart. The police took this case very seriously and began investigating it.

Xie Wendong learned from Feng Hai that it was Sister Shui who had betrayed them, but she had done so out of necessity. Sanyan handed the film to Sister Shui without saying anything, but Sister Shui was in tears as she recounted what had happened. It turned out that Sister Shui and Feng Hai met in a dance hall; they hit it off and regarded each other as close friends. Unbeknownst to her, during one drinking session, Feng Hai slipped her a sedative in her drink while she wasn’t looking. He then took the unconscious Sister Shui to a small hotel, raped her, and took nude photos of her. Afterward, Feng Hai often used these photos to threaten her, and it was the same this time. Xie Wendong and the others did not punish Sister Shui—partly out of sympathy, but mainly because the boss was a ruthless man, and they didn’t want to cut off their source of income.

After the incident with Gao Qiang, Xie Wendong realized that good and evil could intersect. In the underworld, without the support of legitimate forces, one could never achieve much. That night, Xie Wendong took Gao Qiang to Director Chen’s house under the pretext of expressing gratitude. Upon seeing Director Chen, Xie Wendong first apologized for his rude behavior last time.

Director Chen laughed and said, “It’s okay. Young people are often impulsive!”

Xie Wendong offered a few more polite remarks, then pointed at Gao Qiang and said, “Director Chen, this is my brother who was arrested. I owe you a lot for your help!” Director Chen glanced at Gao Qiang and said, “The young man seems quite energetic!” Then he turned to Xie Wendong and said, “My experience tells me you must have another request this time, right?”

Xie Wendong inwardly praised him for being sharp and said with a smile, “Director Chen really has a keen eye. You saw through me right away. I indeed have another request!”

“What is it?”

“I hope Director Chen can turn a blind eye to Wen Donghui’s affairs in the future!” With that, Xie Wendong took out a bulging paper bag from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table, continuing, “Of course, we won’t let Director Chen help us for free. Please accept this small token of our gratitude.”

Director Chen looked at the paper bag on the coffee table and paused before saying, “Actually, I’d be happy to help you young people, but I have several deputy directors eyeing my position. If they catch wind of helping your friend, they might use it against me in the future…” It wasn’t that he didn’t care about money, but without his position, who would give him money?

Xie Wendong thought for a moment and said, “That’s easy. Write down the names and addresses of those who oppose you, and I’ll find someone to ‘talk’ to them. I guarantee they won’t bother you again!”

Director Chen was pleased upon hearing this, but pretended to be troubled: “They’ve been my comrades for many years. You won’t do anything to them, will you?! If something happens to them, people will suspect me!”
How could Xie Wendong not understand his meaning? He smiled and said, “Of course not. Besides, this has nothing to do with you at all, Director Chen! It’s a personal matter between me and them.”
Director Chen nodded and said, “Alright, the young man isn’t old, but he’s quite smart. So where exactly is Wendong’s group?”
“In Biannan!”
“Oh,” Director Chen felt relieved. Biannan was far from the city center, so it would be easier since it wasn’t under the municipal party committee’s watchful eye. He said, “I’ll talk to the head there, but one thing—don’t go too far, or I won’t be able to intercede!”
Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Please rest assured, Director Chen. We’ll be careful.” Director Chen glanced at the paper bag on the coffee table and said, “Well then, I’ll take this money. Hehe!” Xie Wendong and Gao Qiang exchanged smiles, delighted inwardly.
Xie Wendong stood up to take his leave. “Well then, Director Chen, we won’t keep you any longer. We’ll have to trouble you again in the future!” Director Chen also stood up and exchanged a few polite words. After Xie Wendong and the other left, he quickly opened the money bag. Inside were twenty stacks of hundred-yuan bills. Director Chen nodded, thinking that he wouldn’t lack money from now on.
After leaving Director Chen’s house, Xie Wendong and Gao Qiang walked outside. Gao Qiang asked, “Brother Dong, will this director really help us from now on?” Xie Wendong smiled and said, “Yes, definitely.” Then he took out a small portable recorder from his pocket and said, “By the time it comes to a critical moment, he won’t be able to refuse to help, because his position is in our hands!”
Gao Qiang laughed heartily. “Brother Dong, now that we’ve caught this big fish of a director, we don’t have to worry about anything!”
Xie Wendong shook his head. “No, just as he said, if we go too far, he won’t be able to protect us either!” “Oh!” Gao Qiang felt deflated. Xie Wendong smiled at him and said, “But in Biannan, we can still do it, haha!”
The next day, good news came from the hospital—Li Shuang had passed the critical stage safely. With a few months of recovery, he would be fine. This news also brought smiles to everyone in Wendong’s group.

After wiping out the Scythe Gang, the Wendong Gang naturally took control of the Hakushin Di Club. Its influence quickly spread throughout the border-south area of City J, with local gangsters joining them one after another. With the arrival of high-purity heroin, backed by the support of the city police, the Wendong Gang launched a vigorous drug business in that region. Due to the high purity of the heroin and its price matching market rates, drug users from far and wide flocked to it. Twenty pounds of heroin was sold out within a month, generating a profit of over two million.

As their numbers grew and power expanded, the Wendong Gang successively eliminated several other gangs in the border-south area, coming to control as many as six clubs. Within just a few months, it became the most powerful gang in that region. Every time the Wendong Gang eliminated a gang, they left behind a black card with the blood-red character for “kill” printed on it. Gangsters in the underworld referred to these cards as “Blood Kill.”

The rise of the Wendong Gang in the border-south area of City J also caught the attention of the major gangs in the city. The Axe Gang had become a mere shell, replaced by the Tiger Gang, whose strength was on track to surpass that of the Brothers Alliance and the Qing Gang. The Brothers Alliance was the first to reach out to the Wendong Gang, attempting to ally with them. Soon after, the Qing Gang followed suit…