Chapter 310

A massive convoy of vehicles, with all their lights on, formed a dazzling dragon-like line on the road. The same destination, the same route—Xie Wendong was taking this path for the second time, but his mood was vastly different from before. The last time he had acted in haste, but this time he was well-prepared with a complete team, ready to unleash a force as fierce as a storm.

In truth, Xie Wendong didn’t hate Bo Zhanhui to the bone. The Loyalty Gang’s surprise attack on Beihongmen last time had caused significant losses, including several deaths, but the enemy also gained nothing, suffering far more casualties. Yet, to expand and strengthen his power, Xie Wendong had to eliminate those who stood in his way. After the Loyalty Gang’s attack, he found a legitimate excuse. Xie Wendong, Sanyan, Dongxinlei, and Jiang Sen were in the same car. When half of the journey was completed, Xie Wendong felt uneasy, though he couldn’t explain why—perhaps it was just instinct. He turned to look outside, trying to figure out what was wrong. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes, tapped the driver’s seat in front of him, and said, “Stop!” The driver didn’t understand what was going on, but since Xie Wendong gave the order, he dared not disobey and quickly stepped on the brakes.

The vehicles ahead and behind also stopped and pulled over to the side of the road. Sanyan looked around, frowned, scratched his head, and asked puzzledly, “Brother Dong, what’s wrong?”

Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said, “Brother Zhang, don’t you think something’s strange about this journey?” “Huh?” Sanyan opened his mouth wide, not realizing he was offending him, and asked, “Strange? What’s strange?” Xie Wendong replied, “What time is it?” Jiang Sen answered, “It’s past ten.” Xie Wendong smiled slightly and said, “Past ten isn’t too late, but there shouldn’t be a single other vehicle on the road—except for ours, of course.” “Uh… oh!” Sanyan gasped, quickly opened the car door, jumped out, and looked both ways. Indeed, aside from their own vehicles, there wasn’t a single other car on the road. The entire road was eerily quiet. Sanyan’s expression changed slightly. He bent down and asked Xie Wendong in the car, “Brother Dong, what’s going on? Could it be that the Loyalty Gang knew we were coming and set an ambush?”

Xie Wendong smiled upward and said, “In Shanghai, there’s only one person who has both the courage and the strength to block a road.” “Xiang Wentian!” Dong Xinlei blurted out. “Who else but him?!” Xie Wendong sighed deeply and said with a laugh, “It seems some people are quite unhappy about our plans to take over the Zhongyi Gang’s territory!” With that, he waved his hand and said, “Lao Lei, tell the brothers to withdraw.” “What?” San Yan and Dong Xinlei exclaimed in unison, “Withdraw? Brother Dong, just leaving like this seems a bit…” Before they could finish, Xie Wendong shook his head and said with a smile, “I’m telling you to withdraw.” “What about you, Brother Dong?” San Yan and Dong Xinlei were shocked. “I still have to go.” “How many people will you take?” “Qiangzi and I are enough.” Dong Xinlei blinked, unable to believe it, and asked, “Do you mean… just you and Qiangzi going to the Zhongyi Gang?” Xie Wendong nodded firmly, raised his eyebrows, and said with a smile, “Any more questions?” Dong Xinlei’s mouth hung open as he was stunned for a long time. He shook his head helplessly at San Yan, signaling that Brother Dong had gone mad—just the two of them going to the Zhongyi Gang’s headquarters was tantamount to walking into a tiger’s den; even without the Nan Hongmen members, just one person from the Zhongyi Gang could tear them to pieces. San Yan asked seriously, “Brother Dong, have you made up your mind?” “Mm!” San Yan rubbed his nose and nodded. “Since Brother Dong has made up his mind, I’ve never had any doubts. But we definitely won’t leave. We’ll wait here for you. If Brother Dong doesn’t return in two hours, no matter what happens, Lao Lei and I will storm in. Whether it’s a mountain of knives or a den of tigers, I, San Yan, will stick by Brother Dong through thick and thin.” Feeling warmed, Xie Wendong didn’t insist any further. He nodded in agreement, closed his coat, got out of the car, and boarded the vehicle where Gao Qiang was. Li Shuang, still confused inside the car, was pulled out by him, who said, “Xiao Shuang, go sit in Brother Zhang’s car.” After closing the door, he said to Gao Qiang, “Qiangzi, head to the Zhongyi Gang’s headquarters.” Gao Qiang looked around and asked, “Just the two of us?” Xie Wendong smiled upward and asked back, “Isn’t that enough?” Gao Qiang nodded expressionlessly. He never disagreed with Xie Wendong’s decisions; even if it was a sea of fire ahead, as long as Xie Wendong said it was okay to go through, he would move forward without hesitation.

The sedan broke away from the convoy and drove alone on the road. The road was still eerily quiet, with only the whistling sound of the car moving through the air. Xie Wendong knew that Nan Hongmen was surely not quiet at this moment. As he had expected, Nan Hongmen’s secret spies quickly passed the news to Xiang Wentian’s ears. Xiao Fang and the others who were with him were shocked upon hearing it and didn’t understand what Xie Wendong was planning. Xiang Wentian pondered for a long time, silently shaking his head and sighing at Xie Wendong’s cunning, though he also had to admire his courage. Xiao Fang said in a low voice, “Xie Wendong only brought one driver. This is a good chance to take him out. Brother Tian, what do you think?”
Xiang Wentian smiled bitterly. “Not much. Xie Wendong isn’t that easy to kill.” “Is there some trick involved?” Xiang Wentian shook his head helplessly. “No trick. Xie Wendong is just betting that I won’t use the advantage of numbers to overwhelm him, that I won’t risk everything to get rid of him with underhanded methods. He’s betting that I’m a hero.”
Xiao Fang said anxiously, “I see! Brother Tian, such an opportunity doesn’t come often. Even if it means taking huge risks and earning a lot of criticism, we’re willing to endure it as long as we can make him disappear from this world forever. If you’re not willing, then let me do it—I’ll take the blame!”
Xiang Wentian remained silent, slowly walking to the window and gazing into the distance, lost in thought. Xiao Fang paced anxiously behind him, but since Xiang Wentian said nothing, he had no idea what to do.
On the road in the southern area, inside the sedan, Gao Qiang asked while driving, “Brother Dong, why do we have to go to the Zhongyi Gang? Since Nan Hongmen is involved, Bo Zhanhui must be on guard.” Xie Wendong shook his head. “Not necessarily yet. If we pull back just because we’re scared of Xiang Wentian, Bo Zhanhui will definitely become wary. On the contrary, he might start to doubt Xiang Wentian and move closer to us. Since we can’t get rid of him now, there’s no need to create another enemy behind our backs. We should keep him under control as much as possible, and it would be even better if we could create a rift between him and Nan Hongmen.” Gao Qiang didn’t quite understand and couldn’t figure out how to create a rift between Bo Zhanhui and Xiang Wentian.

There was no conversation along the way. Soon, the sedan approached the headquarters of the Zhongyi Gang. This area was a trade development zone, naturally not as bustling as the city center, but its overall planning was quite good, with well-connected roads and joint ventures from home and abroad everywhere. Xie Wendong had never been to the Zhongyi Gang’s headquarters before, but Liu Bo had drawn an accurate map, and he had firmly memorized all the prominent landmarks in the vicinity. The sedan turned left and right before finally stopping in front of a building that resembled a factory. Xie Wendong looked around carefully—it matched exactly what Liu Bo had described. The large courtyard had a flat concrete surface, with rotary street lights on both sides keeping the area brightly lit like day. In the center stood a large flower bed half a meter high, filled with fragrant flowers that were exceptionally eye-catching. Behind it stood a five-story, ivory-white semi-circular building that occupied a vast area, looking grand and imposing, with an air of dominance. Xie Wendong liked it at first glance and shook his head secretly—although it was also a factory, it was worlds apart from the factories he had been in before.

Outside the six-meter-wide gate stood several burly men in security uniforms. When they saw the sedan where Xie Wendong was sitting stop in front of their gate, they stepped forward. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, went over and knocked on the car window. Gao Qiang turned to look at Xie Wendong, and only after the latter nodded did he lower the window. The man asked in a harsh, cold tone, “Who are you looking for?”

His tone was cold, but Gao Qiang’s was even colder. He was direct, without a word of nonsense, and said, “Bo Zhanhui.” The man was stunned for a moment, then glanced closely at Gao Qiang in the car, seemingly sensing something, and asked, “Who are you?” “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that my brother wants to meet your boss,” Gao Qiang said, expressionless, word by word.

The man’s eyes shifted to Xie Wendong in the back seat. Seeing that he was just a young man in his early twenties, he snorted dismissively and said arrogantly, “First, tell us your name.”

Just as Gao Qiang was about to speak, Xie Wendong opened the car door and got out, smiling and saying, “I’m Xie Wendong. Please inform them inside.”

“Xie Wendong…” The burly man carefully chewed on those three words, finding them familiar. After a pause, he suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” with wide eyes, staring at the young man in front of him who was half a head shorter than him, and said in astonishment, “You… you’re Xie Wendong?” At that moment, Gao Qiang also got out of the car and said coldly, “It’s not you who can call him Xie Wendong. Get Bo Zhanhui out.” Not daring to delay, the burly man quickly took out his walkie-talkie and stepped aside to report inside. Before long, a group of people came out from the building in the courtyard—over a dozen in total. Leading them was Bo Zhanhui, a massive man who looked exactly like a black bear coming down the mountain. The electric gate slowly opened, and Bo Zhanhui stepped out first. Seeing that there was indeed only one person with Xie Wendong, just as his subordinates had reported, he was somewhat skeptical. He looked around; not a single soul was in sight within a hundred meters. Relieved, he spread his arms wide and laughed loudly, “I’m sorry for not greeting Mr. Xie properly upon his arrival!” With that, he stepped forward and gave Xie Wendong a big hug.

A strong oily smell filled the air. Xie Wendong frowned inwardly but showed no sign on his face, saying with a smile, “I came too suddenly. I hope Brother Bo won’t mind.” “Haha!” Bo Zhanhui laughed. “What are you saying? I still haven’t thanked you for sparing my life last time. It should have been me who came to visit first, yet you arrived first. I’m truly sorry! Haha!” As they exchanged pleasantries, they walked inside. Bo Zhanhui’s eyes flickered, and he asked casually, “Did Mr. Xie come alone?” Xie Wendong deliberately looked around and asked with a smile, “Did Brother Bo see anyone else?” Before Bo Zhanhui could respond, Xie Wendong added, “I actually brought quite a few people with me. But recently, I accidentally ran into one of my old enemies in Shanghai. For my own safety, I had to bring more people as a precaution.”

“An enemy?” Bo Zhanhui asked. “Who is this enemy Mr. Xie is talking about…?” “The Soul Group!” Xie Wendong replied immediately. “Ah!” Bo Zhanhui nodded quickly. The deadly conflict between Xie Wendong and the Soul Group had long been well-known and was no longer a secret. He paused for a moment and exclaimed in surprise, “The Soul Group appears in Shanghai?”

“That’s right,” Xie Wendong said. “And he’s a skilled fighter, operating in secret—hard to deal with.” Bo Zhanhui nodded; Xie Wendong made sense. Still puzzled, he asked, “Then why is only one person left with Mr. Xie?” Xie Wendong forced a wry smile and said, “If I brought too many people, someone might backstab me and accuse me of ulterior motives. I may be honest, but I still have to be cautious. So I left everyone behind along the way. I think Brother Bo understands my reasoning, right?”
Hearing this, Bo Zhanhui’s face turned red. He laughed loudly to cover his embarrassment, rubbed his hands, and snapped, “Who said Mr. Xie has ulterior motives? He must be blind. How could someone as honorable and magnanimous as Mr. Xie ever harm someone like me, an insignificant figure?! It’s utterly ridiculous. Please don’t take it seriously!” He spoke indignantly, secretly relieved. It seemed the information from the Nan Hongmen wasn’t reliable after all. Hadn’t they said Xie Wendong would attack him? But now he only brought one person, showing just how much trust he had in Bo Zhanhui. Bo Zhanhui was smart, yet smart people often overcomplicated things. He guessed the Nan Hongmen were afraid he might get too close to Xie Wendong, so they spread false rumors claiming Xie wanted to harm him, then used that to ally together and eliminate both Xie Wendong and the Northern Hongmen’s forces in Shanghai. If he really did that and accidentally killed Xie Wendong, he might not gain much benefit, but he’d face endless troubles—just the Northern Hongmen’s revenge would be unbearable, not to mention Xie Wendong’s status as head of the Central Political Department and the Wendong Association. He was secretly glad he realized this early and avoided falling for the Nan Hongmen’s trick. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced coldly at a burly man with his head bowed among the crowd behind him. His expression didn’t escape Xie Wendong’s notice. Following his gaze, Xie’s heart skipped a beat. Though the man kept his head down, Xie recognized him—One-Eyed Dragon, Tian Fangchang, one of the Nan Hongmen’s Eight Heavenly Kings.
Taking a deep breath, Xie Wendong calmed himself down. It seemed his move had been right—the Nan Hongmen were indeed involved, and they had sent their Eight Heavenly Kings. Tian Fangchang’s appearance meant the Nan Hongmen had considerable hidden strength near the Loyalty Gang. Tian Fangchang seemed to realize Xie had noticed something and, fearing complications, secretly signaled Bo Zhanhui that it was time to act. Bo Zhanhui grunted softly, turned his head away, pretending not to see, and instead started chatting animatedly with Xie Wendong.