39: War has broken out

Night fell.

In Xiagang Village to the west of Changan Town, the neon lights of a nightclub flickered.

Uncle Chen frowned as he walked quickly toward the main entrance, followed by a nightclub manager dressed in a suit and leather shoes.

"President Chen, closing suddenly for a day will result in no small loss..."

The manager rubbed his hands together with a troubled look on his face.

Uncle Chen waved his hand without looking back. "If I tell you to close, then close. Why all the nonsense?"

He pulled out his phone to check the time. "The entire security department is working overtime tonight; patrol all night long."

Neither of them noticed the hunched-over cleaner in the corner.

The young man kept his head down, pretending to wipe a vase, his lips moving slightly. "He's out."

Just as Uncle Chen pushed open the nightclub's main door, a crisp gunshot suddenly pierced the night sky.

He instinctively tried to duck, but it was already too late—

His vision went black, and he fell straight to the ground.

"President Chen! President Chen!"

Only then did the manager react.

He lunged forward in terror, shaking Uncle Chen's body, and roared at the stunned security guard nearby.

"Call an ambulance, quick!"

On the rooftop of the residential building across the street, Old Zhou deftly disassembled a long gun and packed it into a cloth bag.

He glanced at the chaotic scene at the nightclub entrance below, then turned and vanished into the darkness of the fire escape.

The entire process took less than thirty seconds.

Before long, an ambulance came screaming in, and medical personnel hurriedly lifted Uncle Chen onto a stretcher.

As the ambulance sped away, only a few puddles of dark red blood remained in front of the nightclub.

Less than ten minutes later, seven or eight vans roared up and screeched to a halt at the nightclub entrance.

The van doors slid open with a clatter.

A group of men in black, wielding machetes and steel pipes, swarmed out and charged into the nightclub with murderous intent.

—

Meanwhile, in a ward at Changan Hospital,

Li Zhan leaned against his hospital bed, bored, flipping through several newspapers and magazines.

A Zhen and the others had all gone to work; only Xiao Wen stayed behind to take care of him.

Xiao Wen had just mentioned going downstairs to buy some fruit and snacks, leaving the ward quiet once again.

Suddenly, his phone chimed with a text message notification.

Li Zhan picked it up casually; there were only a few brief words on the screen:

"Mission accomplished. Calling it a day."

An involuntary smile played across his lips as he tucked the phone back under his pillow.

Just then, Xiao Wen pushed the door open, carrying a bag of fruit.

She placed the bag on the nightstand and said softly, "Brother Zhan, I bought the bananas you like."

The hospital ward's lights were deathly pale,

shining on the back of Xiao Wen's neck where her ponytail was tied; her profile behind her glasses looked exceptionally delicate.

Li Zhan felt a surge of warmth and pulled her into his arms.

Xiao Wen turned back to meet Li Zhan's burning gaze and immediately knew what he wanted. She blushed and tried to push him away.

"Brother Zhan, we're in a hospital..."

"Just lie with me for a bit, just a little while..."

Li Zhan pulled her into his embrace without allowing any argument, his hand already reaching under her sweater.

Xiao Wen's breathing immediately quickened, and she half-yielded, saying,

"Don't... someone might hear..."

Li Zhan pulled the quilt over both of them.

His kisses fell on her earlobes and neck. Xiao Wen's body gradually softened, and she began to respond awkwardly... the hospital bed let out a faint creak,

...—

At 8:30 PM, in Master Bai's villa in the western suburbs of Changan Town.

Master Bai had just brewed a pot of Pu'er tea, but his right eyelid wouldn't stop twitching.

He set the teapot down irritably and paced back and forth in the living room.

The telephone rang abruptly.

Master Bai's heart tightened. When he answered, Ghost's raspy voice came through the receiver.

"Uncle Chen is dead. The people from South City are smashing up several of our places."

Having identified the source of his unease, Master Bai grew increasingly calm, though his gaze became sharper.

"How is it over at the Wharf?"

"I just asked Shi Rong; everything's fine over there," the voice on the other end replied.

"South City's fire is all concentrated on our establishments."

Master Bai picked up his teacup and drained it in one gulp. He didn't even notice the scalding tea flowing down his throat.

After a moment of silence, he said in a low voice,

"Let them smash. Everyone, pull back and defend.

As long as the people are okay, it's no big deal—especially you—

Don't show your face for the time being."

He hung up the phone.

Master Bai slowly sat back in his armchair, the decorative walnuts in his hand clicking loudly as he squeezed them.

—

The door to the rooftop tea room in Phoenix City was suddenly burst open, and Brother Biao rushed in, panting.

"What happened?"

Ninth Master's brow furrowed, his teaspoon stopping mid-air.

"You're in your dozens, yet you're still so flighty."

Brother Biao wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The people from South City have made their move!

I heard that even Master Bai's strategist, Uncle Chen, has been taken out!"

"Oh?"

Ninth Master's eyes lit up. He stood up abruptly and began pacing the tea room.

"Should we..." Brother Biao asked tentatively.

"Do nothing."

Ninth Master suddenly stopped and gave a couple of sinister laughs.

"Let them fight amongst themselves like dogs. Those two old geezers aren't that simple."

As if suddenly remembering something, he turned sharply to stare at Brother Biao.

"What is that kid Li Zhan doing now? Is he still in the hospital?"

Brother Biao's expression immediately became strange.

"He's at the hospital... I just got word. The brothers keeping watch said they heard the bedboards in his ward creaking, and a woman's..."

He gave a couple of awkward coughs.

Ninth Master was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and cursed, "That little bastard, he only has this one hobby..."

He shook his head. "Forget it, let him be. As long as he has nothing to do with this."

He sat back down at the tea table.

He unhurriedly rinsed the tecups, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

—

At 10:00 PM, at a roadside stall near the back gate of Changan Hospital.

The charcoal in the grill was glowing hot, and the oily smoke mixed with the scent of cumin drifted far away.

Li Zhan, his waist still wrapped in bandages, pulled out a plastic stool and sat down, shouting to the owner,

"Twenty chicken wing tips, forty beef skewers, twenty oysters, and a case of ice-cold beer!"

Old Zhou used his chopsticks to pry open two bottles of beer, the foam trickling down the sides.

"I heard that as soon as I pulled out, the South City people arrived." He took a gulp of beer.

"God is really fucking helping us."

Li Zhan grabbed a skewer of char-grilled chicken wing tips.

"Smashing a few places doesn't mean shit."

He sneered. "Those two old foxes won't really put everything on the line to fight.

You'll see, it'll quiet down before long."

"They've fought to this extent, and they can still sit down and have tea?" Old Zhou asked while eating from a skewer.

"In this life, it's all about territory, interests, and people. Once they're tired of fighting and it starts to hurt, they'll naturally stop."

Li Zhan wiped the grease from his mouth. "Who among those who reach these positions isn't shrewd?

Besides..."

He pointed at the sky. "The people above won't let them keep making a scene forever."

Old Zhou paused, then raised his beer bottle. "You've got a sharp mind."

Their beer bottles clinked together.

After half a case of beer, Li Zhan suddenly turned serious.

"We need to start recruiting.

Do any of your old comrades or people from your hometown want to come out?

Have Big Courage and Water Life ask around too."

He bit open a bottle cap. "We'll have more places later on, so we need our own people."

Old Zhou stared at the flickering flames on the grill for a long time before saying,

"Once you step onto this path, there's no turning back."

"Your mother's illness..." Li Zhan started to say but swallowed his words.

"Her illness is incurable; we're just keeping her hanging on."

Old Zhou took a large gulp of beer. "I sent her back to our hometown a while ago. I just need to send money back every month."

He waved his hand. "Let's drink."

The two beer bottles clinked gently, and the noise of the stall suddenly seemed very far away.

The owner brought over another plate of sizzling, oily oysters. The aroma of garlic mingled with the night breeze, drifting toward the neon-lit streets in the distance.