Chapter 22: Clearing Out the Underworld Forces of the Wholesale Market

Chen Sheng and Jiang Butong made their way to the kitchen.

"Xiao Tong, when did you get here?" Jiang Dazhuang was flipping a wok, looking every bit the part.

"I just arrived. Haven't seen you for a day, and your cooking has improved a lot, Dazhuang," Jiang Butong replied with a smile.

"Don't leave later—try my dishes," Jiang Dazhuang said, wiping the sweat from his face.

Seeing that Jiang Dazhuang was a bit overwhelmed, Chen Sheng told him to help prep the ingredients while he took over the stove himself.

Jiang Butong stepped out of the kitchen. Watching the bustling scene of the restaurant, with people coming and going, he felt truly content.

He wondered if his first fortune would come from the restaurant or from cassette tapes.

The anticipation was intoxicating.

Late at night.

In a ward at Jiming Hospital.

Wolf lay wounded all over on the hospital bed, one leg hoisted high in a cast.

His eyes were vacant, his face ashen. He'd been on the streets since he was fifteen. Now twenty, he'd spent five years climbing from a lackey to a small boss. His ambitions weren't grand—just to become someone like Hou San.

All those dreams were shattered yesterday. When the doctor told him his right leg was shattered beyond repair, his heart sank to the abyss.

To this moment, he didn't even know the name of the one who had ruined him.

Wolf clenched the bedsheet with white-knuckled fists.

Hou San had visited, promising to avenge him.

But even if revenge came, his leg would never return.

Just then, the door swung open and Jiang Yuan strode in.

When Wolf caught sight of Jiang Yuan, terror filled his eyes.

This was his nightmare incarnate—the very man who had shattered his right leg with a steel pipe.

"What... what do you want?" Wolf stammered in fear.

"Tell me where Hou San is hiding," the young man demanded coldly.

Wolf's heart plummeted. He never expected his enemy to move so fast—Hou San hadn't even gone looking for him, and yet trouble had already arrived at his door.

A steel pipe slid from Jiang Yuan's sleeve.

"Believe me, I can cripple your other leg just as easily," Jiang Yuan said, fixing Wolf with a deadly glare.

"No... no... I'll talk... I'll talk..." Wolf broke down. To hell with loyalty, to hell with street code—he couldn't even keep his legs now.

"Building 3, Apartment 202, Garden Residence," Wolf betrayed Hou San without hesitation.

"Is there anywhere else besides that?" Jiang Yuan pressed. He wasn't stupid—if he went to the wrong place, it would all be for nothing.

"There's also Zhou's Warehouse, on Jiangyan Road."

"Did Hou San visit today? Did he say he'd avenge you?" Jiang Yuan continued.

"He did. He said he'd gather the brothers to get revenge for me. That's all I know..."

Wolf spilled every secret about Hou San.

"If you're lying, I swear I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth," Jiang Yuan threatened, his icy eyes boring a hole through Wolf. At the slightest hint of evasion, he wouldn't hesitate to cripple the other leg.

"I'm telling the truth, all of it! Please let me go—I won't ever come after you again..."

Wolf was completely subdued. All thoughts of revenge were gone—he just wanted to live.

"At least you know what's good for you." Jiang Yuan gave Wolf a final glance and left.

Wolf let out a heavy sigh of relief, his back drenched in sweat.

After leaving, Jiang Yuan climbed into a van provided by one of Chen Sheng's friends.

"Xiao Tong, there are two addresses. Which one do you think?" Jiang Yuan relayed the information he'd gotten from Wolf—all questions that Jiang Butong had taught him to ask.

"Let's go to Garden Residence," Jiang Butong replied.

"Shouldn't we check Zhou's Warehouse first?" Jiang Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Hou San's movements are out in the open; ours are in the shadows. If he plans anything, he'll first try to gather intelligence. The warehouse is just a rallying point—Hou San will eventually return to Garden Residence. All we have to do is wait for him to walk into our trap."

Jiang Yuan understood. He gave a signal to the driver, who headed for Garden Residence.

With a vehicle, they were much faster.

In just over ten minutes, the van stopped in a narrow lane by Garden Residence.

The van was silent, with ten men inside—seasoned veterans, calm and unflinching.

Jiang Yuan felt a hint of nervousness. He glanced at Jiang Butong, who was utterly composed, gazing out at the dark street.

Is my mental fortitude that lacking? Jiang Yuan wondered to himself.

Jiang Butong glanced at his watch—it was past midnight. The street was deserted.

"Xiao Tong, what if he doesn't come?" Jiang Yuan finally asked, unable to keep his patience.

"Yuan, lying in wait is like fishing—if the fish don't bite, you just keep waiting. Trust me," Jiang Butong reassured him, clapping his shoulder.

The clock ticked to one in the morning.

Jiang Butong noticed four or five men walking toward them from across the street, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, their steps unsteady—clearly they'd been drinking.

"They're here," Jiang Butong said calmly.

Jiang Yuan snapped to attention and saw Hou San approaching, followed by several henchmen.

"Gear up!" Jiang Yuan ordered, sliding the van door open.

"Xiao Tong, stay here. Your foot just healed," he told Jiang Butong, then led the others out.

Hou San rarely drank, believing it led to mistakes, but tonight he couldn't refuse the constant toasts. He'd already found out that the two men—Jiang Butong and Jiang Yuan—were acquaintances of Chen Sheng at the restaurant.

Just after leaving Zhou's Warehouse, where they'd been drinking, they planned to ambush Jiang Butong and Jiang Yuan at the wholesale market the next day.

He wanted to show Chen Sheng what it meant for the new wave to overtake the old.

As the group of four or five turned into the lane at Garden Residence, Hou San spotted a crowd rushing toward them.

"Damn! Out running at this hour?" one of the drunken thugs cursed in confusion.

Hou San squinted into the darkness, his face paling with fear—the man in front was Jiang Yuan.

Damn it! I haven't even gone after him, and he's come looking for me first!

Then he saw Jiang Yuan's backup—clearly, they'd come prepared.

"Run! It's an ambush!" Hou San shouted, bolting back the way he came.

His men, some stumbling drunk, barely had time to react.

Jiang Yuan was the first to close in, swinging a steel pipe down on one of the thugs.

The two groups collided in an instant.

The outcome was one-sided—Hou San's men were knocked down immediately, their cries and screams filling the night.

Hou San ran for his life, sweat pouring down his forehead. How did they know where he lived?

Damn it! If only I'd slept at the warehouse tonight.

Suddenly, blinding headlights flared ahead.

He instinctively shielded his eyes.

The roar of an engine grew closer.

Hou San realized the van was aiming straight for him.

Without thinking, he rolled to one side.

The van sped past, barely grazing his shoulder.

He hit the ground hard, scraping along the pavement.

Jiang Yuan was upon him, his face cold and menacing as he stared down at the fallen Hou San.

The van came to a stop, the door slid open, and Jiang Butong stepped out.

"So it's you..." Hou San stared at Jiang Butong.

Jiang Butong crouched in front of him, his gaze icy.

"Surprised that we struck before you did?"

Hou San closed his eyes in despair. The moment he saw Jiang Yuan, he knew he'd lost.

After a moment, he opened his eyes. "I admit defeat. I won't dare again. What will it take for you to let me go?"

Jiang Yuan glanced at Jiang Butong, surprised at how easily Hou San surrendered.

"Want to live?" Jiang Butong asked.

Hou San nodded desperately.

"Where are your men?" Jiang Butong continued.

"All at Zhou's Warehouse," Hou San replied, unsure what Jiang Butong intended.

"Take us there," Jiang Butong ordered, grabbing Hou San by the collar and shoving him into the van.

Jiang Yuan signaled for the others to get in.

"Xiao Tong, why not just finish him off?" Jiang Yuan asked.

"Don't you want to build your own power base?" Jiang Butong replied.

"Of course," Jiang Yuan said.

"If you want to expand your influence, it's not about wiping everyone out—it's about absorbing and consolidating their forces," Jiang Butong explained.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and understood Jiang Butong's plan.

So this was how Jiang Butong intended for him to take over Hou San's resources.

"You always think ahead. Let's go, then!" Jiang Yuan grinned.

The van sped off into the night.

At the entrance to Zhou's Warehouse.

It was already deep into the night, yet the place blazed with light, laughter and the clinking of glasses spilling out into the darkness.