As the yellow-haired youth stealthily infiltrated the second floor of the card room, eight or nine speeding vans pulled up in unison along the side of Fengyang Road...
Following them, a group of about forty to fifty people marched uniformly towards the group guarding the entrance of the barbecue stall.
The latter group also carried various implements in their hands.
Baseball bats, water pipes, cleavers, and the like – a dazzling array, with everything imaginable.
Within two minutes, the entire exterior of the barbecue stall was completely surrounded.
Both groups, in terms of numbers and weaponry, were almost evenly matched.
After both sides had taken their positions, even from a distance and from different vantage points, I could still sense a hint of impending conflict in the quiet street.
The atmosphere became instantly tense.
Seeing this, Cheng Minglang, who stood beside me, his face changed immediately: "It looks like you were right!
"That group was waiting for us here!"
Without even needing to guess, I knew why Cheng Minglang's demeanor had suddenly shifted and he was ready to yield.
It was because among the latter group, there were several familiar faces.
Although he had only spent a day with me at Su Liuli's establishment, Cheng Minglang had essentially followed me around the entire time from entering to leaving.
Therefore, among the security personnel, a few easily recognizable faces had already been etched into his memory.
Seeing that I remained silent, staring at the sea of people below, Cheng Minglang suddenly turned to me and asked, "Chen Xiang, after you learned that Han Jinlun was in trouble, you had already planned to use this situation to your advantage?
"To use Su Liuli's influence to save Han Jinlun?"
Upon hearing this, I didn't immediately answer Cheng Minglang. Instead, I took a deep drag of my cigarette and slowly exhaled.
After watching the gentle summer night breeze dissipate the grayish smoke, I finally spoke softly, "The martial world has never been just about fighting and killing."
"The true martial world is about the intricate schemes and machinations driven by self-interest!"
"If you weren't Brother Shan's sworn disciple, I wouldn't even bother talking to you!"
Hearing my words, Cheng Minglang's expression faltered slightly.
His lips parted several times, as if to retort, but upon seeing the weapons intermittently flashing with a cold glint in the hands of the thugs below, Cheng Minglang ultimately closed his mouth and remained silent.
Compared to Han Jinlun, who was driven by lust and only thought of women, Cheng Minglang, despite his fascination with gangsters and his rather chuunibyo tendencies, was not foolish.
Cheng Minglang knew that if I had followed his suggestion earlier and taken a taxi to rescue them, I would likely have been chopped to pieces by those thugs by now!
Seeing Cheng Minglang's silence, I continued, "All disputes in the martial world ultimately boil down to profit!"
"I won't claim to be kind, even though I once was!"
"In today's society, few people respect or treat kind people well."
"If you continue to maintain your current personality, you will soon understand what I just said."
"In the past, I encountered some difficulties and found myself in danger. After receiving help and kindness from others, I instinctively considered them friends."
"Little did I know that those difficulties were deliberately created by them to get close to me."
"Unfortunately, I didn't know the truth at the time."
"Not only that, but I foolishly went to repay their kindness based on the lies they spun."
"As a result, I gradually walked into the trap they had meticulously set, becoming completely ensnared."
"By the time I fully came to my senses, they had almost crippled me!"
"My feud with Zhang Zifeng was also due to that person."
"And Zhang Zifeng couldn't deal with that person, so later... he simply fixated on me."
"Considering all this, how could I possibly dare to trust others rashly again and make friends with them?"
This time, it was Cheng Minglang's turn to be speechless.
Seeing this, I didn't say anything further and shifted my gaze back to the crowd below...
At this moment, the two groups were no longer just exchanging insults but were frequently making physical contact.
Such provocative shoving would only lead to a more brutal fight.
With a clang...
"Son of a bitch! Ask around on Fengyang Road, who's the boss!"
"Brothers, let's go!!!"
Someone shouted with great fervor, like a pot of boiling water, and the restless crowd below immediately erupted into chaos.
In an instant, both sides swung their weapons and began to fight and wrestle with each other.
As they were well-prepared, it wasn't long before Su Liuli's summoned group began to gain the upper hand.
After about four to five minutes.
The thugs guarding the barbecue stall began to retreat while fighting.
As the saying goes: lose the battle, but not the formation.
In such a melee, although numbers provided a natural advantage, formation and morale were the key factors determining the outcome of the battle.
Once the first person began to retreat while fighting, it meant that a second, then a third would soon follow... until the last person also started to retreat, and the fight would essentially be over.
As expected, with more and more people fighting and retreating, the situation below became a one-sided affair.
In the blink of an eye, the group from the card room was chased to the end of the street by Su Liuli's forces!
With the overall situation decided, a woman's figure emerged from the vans that had been parked neatly along the street.
If my guess was correct, that woman should be Su Liuli.
Due to the distance and lighting, I couldn't see Su Liuli's face clearly, only that she was wearing a long, bright red dress.
Tap, tap, tap...
Around 1:30 AM, the Fengyang Street, which had gradually quieted down, was suddenly filled with the sound of high heels on the pavement.
With Su Liuli's grand entrance, the fighting at the end of the street also came to a close...
Just as I was preparing to go downstairs, Leng Meng sent me a message.
"Did you do something about Wang Yangming?"
Upon seeing it, I didn't reply.
Because I no longer wanted any communication with Leng Meng or Yu Shuang's group.
In the past, if I didn't reply to Leng Meng's messages, she would usually send another one, and if she still didn't get a reply, that would be the end of it.
But for some reason this time, Leng Meng didn't send another message but called directly.
After a moment of hesitation, and recalling the content of her previous message, I chose to answer the call.
However, I remained silent.
"Chen Xiang, did you see the message I sent you?"