Chapter 300

Sanyan shook his head and said, “With Xuesha around, we don’t need to worry too much. Besides, Lao Liu’s secret team didn’t work for free.” He himself wasn’t entirely sure how many people were stationed around the mall—North Hongmen made up the majority, but there were also quite a number from Xuesha and the secret team. This time, Xie Wendong was determined to take action. By using Bai Ziyi to hold a birthday party, he aimed to distract Xiang Wentian and his elite followers, so as to launch a major attack or at least create trouble for Xiang Wentian.

Most of North Hongmen’s core members were gathered here, but Dongxinlei was missing. He wasn’t idle either; he led no less than two hundred of his followers and “silently” entered the territory of South Hongmen. His goal was simple: to divert South Hongmen’s attention. As soon as Dongxinlei and his men entered South Hongmen’s territory, they were detected. The news first reached Zhou Jun, who couldn’t figure out North Hongmen’s intentions and, not wanting to take any chances, quickly called Xiang Wentian. At that moment, Xiang Wentian was sitting at the same table as Xie Wendong, Bai Ziyi, and others, laughing and drinking. After receiving the call, his expression remained unchanged as he calmly said, “If they don’t move, I won’t move. We’ll just adapt as the situation unfolds.” Then he hung up the phone.

After hearing this, Zhou Jun understood what to do. He gathered several hundred of his followers near the headquarters and ordered those in other locations to be on high alert. The moment Dongxinlei showed any sign of movement, they were to surround and eliminate him. He prepared himself to wait for the enemy to attack, but it seemed Dongxinlei had no intention of taking action. Instead, he acted as if he were just strolling around, wandering randomly through South Hongmen’s territory. Xie Wendong’s plan worked—Dongxinlei indeed served to draw the enemy’s attention, leaving South Hongmen unable to focus on anything else. Even though they knew their forces were spread too thin and their headquarters was vulnerable, they remained complacent. In Xie Wendong’s view, the only group in Shanghai with the strength and courage to attack him was South Hongmen. Yet, no matter how carefully he planned, he overlooked one person—Bo Zhanhui, the leader of Zhongyi Gang. Initially, Bo Zhanhui hadn’t intended to confront North Hongmen head-on, but now he had an unshakable reason: to save his only son’s arm. Zhongyi Gang’s headquarters wasn’t far from the Flower Hotel; it would take half an hour to get there if driven quickly.

Bo Zhanhui knew that Xie Wendong would attend Bai Ziyi’s birthday party that evening. He had originally been included in the invitation list, but he didn’t feel like going. Early in the morning, he gathered the main members of his gang and told them to get ready for a major operation that night. He didn’t dare reveal the plan to attack the North Hongmen—firstly, out of fear of leaks, and secondly, so as not to make his subordinates feel uneasy. It wasn’t until nearly 9 p.m. that Bo Zhanhui revealed the target of the attack, giving his men no time to hesitate. After announcing it, he led them onto the cars that had been prepared in advance—sedans, vans, and jeeps—dozens of them in total, none of which had empty seats. There were at least 200 people in total. Following his instructions, the convoy split up and drove slowly along various roads, large and small, toward the Flower Hotel. Before setting off, Bo Zhanhui issued an order to kill everyone—no survivors allowed. Even if they couldn’t kill Xie Wendong, they should at least cause him enough pain for a while. The Zhongyi Gang’s operation was extremely secretive and didn’t draw anyone’s attention at first. Xie Wendong had instructed Liu Bo to “keep an eye” on the Zhongyi Gang, but Liu Bo paid no real attention, thinking the Zhongyi Gang posed little threat to his side. In terms of strength and reputation, the two gangs were not on the same level at all. He merely sent two or three people to monitor the Zhongyi Gang’s area symbolically, and it was these two or three people who had an unexpected impact. At first, they didn’t think much of it, seeing cars from the Zhongyi Gang leaving one after another. Finally, they sensed something was wrong and called Liu Bo to report. Liu Bo was then wandering around the Yongsheng Mall, secretly observing the number and locations of the security guards inside. After hearing the report, Liu Bo didn’t hesitate and said, “Why are you meddling with them? I told you to monitor them, not to get involved in their affairs!” Just as he was about to hang up, he added, “Never mind, it’s fine if you follow them and see what’s going on. If the Zhongyi Gang is taking such drastic action, it must be because they’re facing a strong rival. It’s good to keep an eye on the movements between gangs.” At that moment, Liu Bo could never have imagined that the “strong rival” he mentioned was actually themselves—a sharp dagger was about to pierce their hearts.

At this time, there were very few people in the Flower Hotel. It was already past 9 p.m., and most guests had left. Usually, the disciples of Beihongmen, as well as members of the Secret Group and Blood Killers, would still be making noise and eating inside the hotel, but now most of them had been sent away by Xie Wendong, leaving the hotel eerily quiet. Jiang Lin sat bored on the sofa next to the front desk, yawning as the waiters passed by with dishes and bowls. Before Xie Wendong appeared, days passed in the same way without her noticing anything special, but now that he had left, she found it hard to adjust. Although she had only known Xie Wendong for a few days. The Five Elements Group did not participate in this operation this time; they gathered around the coffee table in a corner of the hall, laughing and chatting. Mu Zi somehow obtained a set of dice for gambling, and the five of them drank while rolling the dice.

Laughter could be heard from time to time, which annoyed Jiang Lin. She frowned, checked her watch, stood up, and said to the hotel manager below, “There are no more guests. Let’s prepare to close.”

10:15, Yongsheng Shopping Mall. Customers were gradually dwindling, and the owners of various shops had already left. Security personnel began patrolling the mall, urging the remaining customers to leave. The security supervisor that night was a strong young man in his thirties, not very tall—just over 1.7 meters—but weighing around 150 pounds. With arched eyebrows, slanting eyes, and a few sparse hairs under his cheeks, he sat in the control room and could clearly see most corners of the mall through the TVs. As usual, the once busy corridors were now empty, with only security personnel passing by from time to time. After watching the screen for a while, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Be careful everyone. We’ve been instructed from above—don’t cause any problems.” “Got it!” came the weak reply from below after a while.

“Damn! This guy only knows how to give orders from inside the room. What problems could possibly arise?!” Two security guards in charge of the mall entrance walked to a corner. One of them cursed as he lit a cigarette and squatted down, complaining. The other smiled helplessly and said, “There’s nothing we can do! Do you think he became the supervisor by chance? I heard he has connections with people upstairs.” “People upstairs? Who?” “I don’t know either.” As they were talking, the walkie-talkie rang again: “Where are the people in the plaza? Let me see.”

“Damn it!” The first person to speak extinguished the half-smoked cigarette, held it in his hand, and quickly walked over to the camera located slightly above the square. He moved around and waved his hand to signal, “I’m here,” then returned to the corner, lit the cigarette again, and continued smoking. Looking at his companion who was standing against the wall with his head hung low, he said, “Damn, this is unbearable. If I ever decide to quit, I’m gonna beat him senseless!” “Why wait? Do it now!” “Are you crazy? I still…” Before he could finish, his companion collapsed like a wooden pole. Before he could understand what was happening, he felt a pain in the back of his neck, his vision went dark, and then he lost consciousness.

The security guard slowly fell to the ground, and behind him appeared a man dressed in black, tall and thin, holding a gleaming machete. It was he who had knocked out the security guard with a single strike. If not looked closely, it would be hard to notice a young man in black crouched in the corner, swinging a long sword back and forth. The two exchanged glances and nodded at each other. Needless to say, they were Sanyan and Ren Changfeng. Using the information provided by Liu Bo, they had sneaked past the camera surveillance and infiltrated the area.

Sanyan took out his phone and made a call to inform the Blood Kill members who were already hidden inside the mall to start acting. Then he called Xie Wendong: “Brother Dong, everything is going smoothly.”

Holding the phone, Xie Wendong raised his glass to Xiang Wentian and said, “Brother Xiang, to you.” Xiang Wentian was slightly surprised but immediately picked up his glass and drank it in one gulp. Seeing this, Xie Wendong smiled and said, both to Sanyan on the other end of the phone and to Xiang Wentian, “That’s how you drink. Only by drinking strong liquor all at once can you truly enjoy it.” After saying that, he also drank the liquor in his glass clean before hanging up the phone without a trace. Bai Ziyi, seeing them interacting, couldn’t stand idle. She picked up her glass and took a small sip, saying, “I don’t have your drinking capacity. Besides, wine is meant to be sipped. Drinking it all at once may seem bold, but it prevents you from appreciating its beauty.”

“You’re wrong!” Xie Wendong and Xiang Wentian said almost in unison. They exchanged glances and laughed heartily. The former gestured, “You go first.” Xiang Wentian politely nodded and said, “Drinking depends on one’s mood and temperament. A person’s boldness or stinginess can be shown in just one sip. What do you think, Brother Xie?”

Xie Wendong nodded in approval and smiled, saying, “I completely agree.” “I’m not a stingy person!” Bai Ziyi’s face turned red as he stood up, raised his glass, and said, “It’s an honor for me, Bai, that everyone can gather here today. It also shows that although we brothers in this world operate independently, we still have unity. For a brighter future ahead, let’s drink!”
“Let’s drink!” The gang leaders still gave Bai Ziyi face by standing up one after another to clink their glasses, the sound of clinking incessant. The banquet reached a small climax. Xie Wendong sneered secretly. Bai Ziyi wasn’t very good of a person, but he knew how to speak well. At that moment, a middle-aged man in his forties took out a bottle of liquor, shook it, and walked over to Xie Wendong. He was short and stocky, with a red face, a full beard, and slightly drunk. In a deep voice, he said, “Mr. Xie, I’m just an unknown small fry in the East District. It’s truly an eye-opener to meet someone as important as you.” As he spoke, the man stretched out his hand. There was something implied in the middle-aged man’s words. Bai Ziyi was momentarily stunned before smiling and saying, “Brother Zhang, you’re too modest. ‘Little Axe’ in the East District is also quite well-known in Shanghai.” By “Little Axe,” Bai Ziyi meant the Axe Gang. However, this wasn’t the same Axe Gang as in City J—they had no connection. In China, any city might have gangs named after axes, and Shanghai was no exception. With one in the East and another in the West, two Axe Gangs coexisted. People in the underworld customarily referred to the one established earlier in the West as “Big Axe” and the one established later in the East as “Little Axe.” Though they shared the same name, the two gangs were separate, operating independently with little interaction. This middle-aged man was the leader of the Little Axe Gang—Zhang Hui. Xie Wendong didn’t know much about the Axe Gangs in Shanghai, having only heard Liu Bo mention them. But those with such names were generally not bad. He smiled slightly and said, “First, I’m not some big shot. Second, I’m not extraordinary enough to be truly eye-opening.” Still, he stretched out his hand to shake the middle-aged man’s. As their hands met, Xie Wendong immediately felt the pressure coming from the other man’s hand—a powerful force that seemed capable of crushing his bones. A cold glint appeared in his narrowed eyes, and almost instinctively, his left wrist moved, causing the golden knife to slide into his palm.

Xie Wendong took a deep breath secretly, glancing at Xiang Wentian, who was smiling at him. He held back from reacting, keeping his smile intact as he silently channeled his energy in response. When it came to brute force, Xie Wendong might not be Zhang Hui’s match, but the old Mr. Jin and the elder from Wangyue Pavilion had taught him some techniques for meditating and cultivating energy. Though they were only basic methods, they were sufficient for ordinary people. At first, Zhang Hui didn’t notice anything unusual, but soon he realized Xie Wendong’s palms were starting to heat up, gradually getting hotter. In just a short while, if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Zhang Hui would have thought he was holding a flame, so hot that it caused unbearable pain in his palms. The two stood there, shaking hands, neither speaking. They appeared close and smiling, but Zhang Hui’s smile was forced. Only he knew that his undergarments were already soaked with sweat. Sweat drops the size of mung beans rolled down from his temples. Unable to bear it any longer, Zhang Hui’s legs gave way, and he collapsed toward Xie Wendong.

Xie Wendong was quick-witted. He stretched out his arm to catch him and said with a smile, “Brother Zhang, it seems you’ve drunk a bit too much!” Zhang Hui’s face turned red. He grabbed the wine table to steady himself, then calmly reached his hand into his pants pocket. His fingers were already trembling, and his entire palm along with half of his arm were numb almost to the point of losing sensation. He had suffered a great loss secretly, but thanks to his experience, he showed no unusual expression on his face. Taking advantage of the situation, Zhang Hui said sheepishly, “Yes, yes. As I get older, even a little alcohol affects me. I thought I was fine, but my body can’t keep up. I’m no match for you young people. Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older!” The latter part was meant to imply something, but it also reflected his sincere admiration. Xie Wendong laughed silently, then gently pulled back his golden sword with a flick of his fingers and said, “Brother Zhang is still in his prime. It seems a bit early to talk about getting old.” Zhang Hui sighed dejectedly. Although the other man looked like a student, his strength was unfathomable, and his words exuded a sense of maturity, without any arrogance typical of those who are too confident because of their youth. It was clear that his position as the leader of the Northern Hongmen was no accident. Glancing sideways at Xiang Wentian, who was drinking calmly and leisurely, he felt deeply moved. With these two around, who in the world could compete with them? He raised his glass and said sincerely, “Mr. Xie, to you!”