91: Aftermath

Li Zhan walked out of the side door of Phoenix City.

The rain had stopped.

The streets, washed clean by the rain, shimmered with a cold light.

The air was thick with a mixture of dampness and the scent of blood.

Li Zhan stood outside the side door of Phoenix City, watching his men assemble one after another.

Shui Sheng and Big Courage came over, supporting the injured Tie Zhu, Little Black, and A-Wang.

A-Wang's right arm hung limp, but an excited smile was plastered on his face.

"Senior Brother, we took down all those Thai Guys."

"We didn't lose face for Master or you!"

Li Zhan's gaze swept over the three of them—

Tie Zhu's shoulder was a bloody mess, Little Black's right eye was too swollen to open, and A-Wang's leg was twisted,

yet they all stood tall, their eyes burning with fervor.

His throat tightened slightly, and his eyes reddened.

He reached out and gently patted their shoulders.

"Good job..."

But the words that followed simply wouldn't come out.

He waved his hand at Shui Sheng.

"Take them to the hospital."

"Take the other injured brothers as well, and arrange for the best doctors."

Shui Sheng nodded.

He immediately called for men to help the wounded into the cars.

Li Zhan turned to look at Old Zhou,

the latter had already brought a team of security personnel and was standing by.

"Arrange for a security squad to take over Ninth Master's territory as soon as possible."

"For Ninth Master's original men who are willing to stay, arrange for them to work at the Nancheng venues with their original benefits."

"For those who aren't, let them go."

Old Zhou responded in a deep voice and turned to leave.

At that moment, Big Ox strode over,

he was covered in blood but was grinning widely.

"Senior Brother! That was so satisfying!"

"That Thai Guy's elbows were tough, but I still took him down!"

Li Zhan laughed and punched him playfully.

"You did well tonight. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

He paused, then added,

"Take the brothers with minor injuries back to shower and change."

"Then go to Heaven on Earth."

"I've had private rooms arranged; there will be plenty of booze and women."

Big Ox's eyes lit up, "Great! I want three!"

With that, he turned and shouted for the men to leave.

Li Zhan shook his head with a smile and turned his gaze toward the shadows of the side door—

Brother Biao, Fat Bo, A Long, and A Tai sat there in silence,

although they were injured, none of the wounds were fatal.

He walked over and took out some cigarettes, handing them out.

Fat Bo huffed and turned his head away.

A Tai took one first, and Brother Biao sighed, reaching out to take one as well.

"A-Zhan, I didn't expect you to develop so quickly..."

Brother Biao exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone complex.

A Long clutched his ribs as he also took a cigarette, grimacing.

"Who was that kid just now?"

"He sent me flying the moment we clashed. He broke two of my ribs!"

Li Zhan smiled, "My Junior Brother.

You consider yourself lucky; he held back. Otherwise..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

He looked at Brother Biao,

"Brother Biao, regarding Phoenix City, everything stays the same."

"If you're willing to stay, you can keep managing it for me."

A Tai leaned in and asked tentatively, "Really? Everything stays the same?"

Li Zhan took a drag of his cigarette, the smoke slowly dissipating into the night.

"Now all of Chang'an is mine, and my territory will only grow larger in the future."

"I need people. Does it matter who you follow?"

"At least, along the way, have I, Li Zhan, ever mistreated anyone?"

A Tai nodded,

he knew Li Zhan was indeed loyal to his people.

He then kicked Fat Bo,

"Stop grumbling, it's not like you lost an arm or a leg!"

Fat Bo, feeling helpless, finally took a cigarette and muttered,

"I was fucking unloading goods when I was knocked down out of nowhere..."

Li Zhan grinned,

"Alright, consider this my offense this time."

"From now on, in Phoenix City, everything stays the same..."

The night breeze was slightly cool,

everyone smoked in silence.

Once upon a time,

they used to squat by the side door like this, smoking and bragging.

Now,

everything seemed unchanged, yet everything had changed completely.

—

While they were chatting idly,

AZu walked over quickly, carrying a black briefcase.

He nodded to Li Zhan, his gaze steady.

Li Zhan patted Brother Biao's shoulder and said calmly,

"Brother Biao, coordinate with AZu to handle the handover of some of Ninth Master's things."

Brother Biao was silent for a moment.

He crushed the cigarette butt on the ground, the sparks instantly extinguished in the damp air.

He stood up, brushed the dust off his pants,

and said in a low voice, "Alright..."

Without any unnecessary words,

he turned and walked into the interior of Phoenix City,

his back looked slightly hunched, as if he had suddenly aged ten years.

AZu stepped forward to follow...

Li Zhan watched them leave,

then took out his phone and walked toward his mercedes-benz.

The call connected,

Captain Zhao's voice came through, tinged with caution.

"Did things go smoothly?"

"Smoothly enough..."

Li Zhan pulled open the car door and sat in the driver's seat,

"You guys withdraw. I'll meet with you in a couple of days once I've cleared things up."

Captain Zhao paused, his tone serious.

"Fine. Remember to clean up properly. Don't let the media get a whiff of this."

Li Zhan gave a cold laugh,

"Don't worry, I want trouble even less than you do."

Hanging up the phone, he leaned back in his seat to rest.

The night outside the window remained deep,

but the heavy rain had stopped,

the air was filled with the scent of earth and blood.

In the distance,

several ambulances drove away with lights flashing, carrying the injured to the hospital.

Big Ox and a group of brothers got into a van, laughing and joking,

heading toward Heaven on Earth.

Old Zhou's men quickly departed to take over the various venues left by Ninth Master.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

But Li Zhan knew that the real storm had only just begun.

—Ninth Master was dead, but his game wasn't over yet.

The Chaoshan Gang, Young Master Liu, Bai Shaqiang...

These people wouldn't sit by and watch him swallow all of Chang'an.

Li Zhan opened his eyes and started the car.

Go back, take a shower, then head to the victory banquet.

He stepped on the gas,

the mercedes-benz slowly drove away from Phoenix City, heading into the depths of the neon-lit night.

Twenty minutes later, the car came to a steady stop at Lianhua Residential Area.

Li Zhan turned off the engine,

his gaze fell on a lit window on the 15th floor.

Lili and Feifei were still at work; at this hour, only Xiao Wen was home.

When he pushed the door open and entered, Room 1502 was quiet.

The lights were on in the living room, but it was empty,

only a warm yellow light shone from Xiao Wen's room.

Li Zhan took off his blood-stained trench coat and threw it on the floor,

he walked lightly to the door,

he saw Xiao Wen hunched over her desk, writing and drawing.

Under the lamp, the girl wore tight jeans,

her pink sweater hugged her impressive curves.

Her high ponytail swayed gently with her writing,

her eyes behind the lenses were focused and bright.

Sensing movement,

she looked up and saw Li Zhan standing at the door,

the fire of desire in those eyes made her burst into laughter.

"Where did you get stimulated this time?"

Xiao Wen took off her glasses, stood up, and walked over to wrap her arms around Li Zhan's neck.

Before he could answer, she stood on her tiptoes and offered a fragrant kiss.

Li Zhan directly lifted her sweater,

"Wait..."

Xiao Wen panted as she pressed down on his wandering hands,

"First tell me, why so sudden tonight..."

Before Xiao Wen could finish,

Li Zhan had already scooped her up by the waist.

The girl gave a startled cry,

her whole body was tossed onto the soft bed.

"Hey, you—"

Xiao Wen wanted to say more,

but she saw Li Zhan strip off his clothes in a few quick motions,

then he pounced on her like a hungry wolf...

...