Chapter 87: The Yimen Counterattack

“W-what are you going to do? Have you lost your mind?” The young inspector was struck pale with alarm. The police around him tensed at once, every black barrel swinging toward Chen Erpao.

At the same moment, the men of Righteous Gate sprang to their feet, and the atmosphere inside the room turned taut in an instant. Commissioner Lu watched Chen Erpao step closer and closer to the young inspector, and deep in his heart there was, contrary to expectation, a kind of hope, a secret delight, a wish that he would simply be killed.

“To me, you are nothing but an ant.” Standing before the young inspector, Chen Erpao spoke slowly, word by word, his voice firm and forceful. His overwhelming confidence and bearing made it impossible for anyone to doubt him in the slightest. “And what is an ant? It means I can have you die if I wish, or live if I wish.”

The young inspector’s face went deathly white in an instant. He felt a crushing pressure that nearly robbed him of breath, and with it came an even greater surge of rage. His father was the district council chairman of Tuen Mun, a man of real influence in the area, and the family also owned a well-known conglomerate in Tuen Mun. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he had enjoyed smooth sailing even after joining the police force; even his superiors had to show him respect. Yet now he truly felt death closing in, and terror seized him. Still, in front of so many colleagues, he could only force himself to remain calm, struggling to suppress the fear within.

“You, you... what are you doing? There are so many police here. If you make a move now, it’ll be suicide.”

Chen Erpao smiled faintly and abruptly withdrew that surging, overwhelming aura. “Who said I was going to make a move? If you’re this frightened, why become a policeman at all? And this flower on your shoulder probably wasn’t earned by your own effort, was it? Ask your colleagues whether any of them respect you. In my view, Commissioner Lu is the first to look down on you.” As he spoke, he pointed at the badge on the man’s shoulder.

The young inspector’s face flushed red and then turned white with fury, yet there was nothing he could do against Chen Erpao. They had no evidence at all at the moment; today’s visit was merely a routine inspection of a triad gathering, meant to serve as a show of force. They had no warrant for arrest whatsoever.

“Just wait. Sooner or later, I’ll get you,” the young inspector said angrily.

Commissioner Lu’s expression was not much better. He had not expected that the first routine inspection and intimidation campaign against Righteous Gate would be ruined by this arrogant second-generation official, and he could only helplessly order the police to withdraw.

The moment the police were out the door, the people of Righteous Gate erupted in cheers and jeers.

Chen Erpao smiled lightly at the blond-haired youth. “You did well just now. You’re getting more and more quick-witted.”

The blond-haired youth grinned. “Isn’t that all thanks to what I learned from Brother Xing? I’m slowly turning into a slippery little eel myself.”

Wang Xing immediately rolled his eyes and kicked the blond-haired youth hard in the backside, saying unhappily, “I’m an upright man, so don’t go ruining my reputation.”

Everyone burst into laughter together. The tension left behind by the police’s arrival vanished in an instant, and the meeting resumed as before. Liu Huagang proposed that he lead the Blood Hall in striking first from Jiahua Street, the outermost street of the Heng Hall territory, because there were many leisure establishments there, the so-called brothels and nightclubs, and the income from that street alone accounted for roughly thirty percent of the revenue across the streets under Heng Hall’s control.

Wang Xing also nodded in agreement. The blond-haired youth had been somewhat hesitant at first, but seeing everyone else agree, he too voiced his support.

Halfway through the meeting, the thunderous voices of the Black and White Fiends suddenly rang out. Hearing how excited the two sounded, everyone began to wonder whether they had truly brought Tian Yi’s head back with them.

“Brothers, take a look.” As they spoke, the Black and White Fiends simultaneously placed two blood-soaked bundles on the table and opened them. What appeared before everyone’s eyes were two dead heads, staring blankly in death.

Seeing this, Chen Erpao threw back his head and laughed. He had not expected the Black and White Fiends to actually bring back the heads of these two men.

“This one is the old-timer Shrimp Uncle from Heng Hall, and this one is another veteran, Uncle Ping. Both of them followed the Camel in conquering the underworld, and in Heng Hall they held considerable power and prestige. After the Camel died, they were among the biggest forces helping Tian Yi rise to the top, and they also contributed greatly to Heng Hall’s quick submission to Heavenly Alliance. Now that the two of them are dead, it is undoubtedly a thunderclap inside Heng Hall. It has struck at their morale and severely weakened Tian Yi’s strength, and those who were already dissatisfied with him in hiding will probably not remain quiet much longer.”

At that moment, Black Fiend sighed. “We originally wanted to bring Tian Yi’s head back, but who knew that brat was so afraid of death? He always had dozens of men around him, and among that crowd we even sensed several powerful auras. Clearly, there were experts among them too. In the end, we had no choice but to cut these two men down instead. Fortunately, they weren’t hard to deal with.”

Though Black Fiend spoke lightly, the blood all over the two of them and the several shocking wounds on their bodies made it perfectly clear to everyone that taking these two heads had not been easy, and must have required a brutal and desperate battle.

Chen Erpao smiled and said, “You two brothers have worked hard. Rest well for the next few days. Before long there will be an even more important task for you. By then, the Assassin Hall will be relying on you. In the future, it will surely become one of our Righteous Gate’s trump cards. Tomorrow’s operation will be led by Liu Huagang and the brothers of the Blood Hall as we strike Jiahua Street. Wang Xing and I will serve as backup. Tian Yi certainly won’t sit by and watch us seize the most important street from him. After this battle is finished, next month I’ll have to report to school as well. I can’t keep extending the vacation forever. Having the identity of a security guard will also serve as a pretty good cover. As for the anti-triad unit, I’ll mention it to Brother Fan then. From the way he speaks, it sounds like even the Chief Executive of Hong Kong has to give him some face in certain matters.”

Another bloody scene would unfold tomorrow. Chen Erpao actually felt a faint thread of anticipation, as if he had returned to the days when he fought the nation’s drug traffickers, accompanied by blood and dancing with slaughter.

Since returning, with his extraordinarily keen sixth sense, he had constantly felt as though someone were watching him from the shadows. Though he had never caught sight of that person, Chen Erpao trusted his instincts; this person’s strength was absolutely no weaker than his own, even after he had advanced to the Grandmaster realm.

He himself was not worried. If gods came, he would slay gods; if Buddhas came, he would devour Buddhas. What he feared was that this person might move against Wang Xuemei. Fortunately, several days had passed and Wang Xuemei had not encountered any danger. It seemed that person’s attention had still never shifted away from him.

At daybreak, though the sky had not yet lightened, the brothers of Blood Hall were already prepared. Originally, his grandmother was leaving today, and he had planned to see her off. But because today’s battle was a special one, as the first counteroffensive launched formally by the master of Righteous Gate against Heng Hall, he absolutely could not leave lightly. It concerned the safety of nearly a thousand brothers, so in the end he had to let the blond-haired youth see her off in his place.

While Liu Huagang led the Blood Hall forces in their attack on Jiahua Street, Chen Erpao and Wang Xing also led a large contingent and lay in ambush on a highway that the reinforcements from Heng Hall would have to pass.

The order Chen Erpao gave Liu Huagang was to end the battle within two hours and completely seize Jiahua Street before daybreak, so that the bloodshed of a daytime war would not affect the citizens.

After nearly an hour, the fierce fighting on Jiahua Street was about to draw to a close. Close to twenty establishments had already been taken by the Blood Hall forces. Most of Heng Hall’s men had never imagined that Righteous Gate would launch an attack at this time, so their forces were scattered everywhere. The final result, unsurprisingly, was that each stronghold was seized one by one.

At this moment, Chen Erpao and Wang Xing were silently watching the road ahead. According to intelligence from their informants, Heng Hall had gathered nearly a hundred men, traveling in dozens of trucks and rushing over to reinforce the area. By the time schedule, they would likely arrive in less than ten minutes.

A brilliant new work, "King of the Striptease."

Brothers, if you’re enjoying it, please show your support for Chen Erpao!