Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Duanzhou Brotherhood

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“The Duanzhou Gang! A group calling themselves the Duanzhou Gang!” Saijigad repeated emphatically, afraid Ding Li might have misheard, then quickly explained, “I heard it from our brothers—those people claimed to be the Duanzhou Gang. They couldn’t stand the sight of our Nanhai Gang and, without any reason, assaulted over a dozen of our brothers at the docks!”

“How many of them are there? Have you ever heard of this Duanzhou Gang before?” Ding Li’s brow furrowed slightly. This sudden emergence of a new group was completely unexpected, especially since they had started a fight without so much as a word. Ding Li dared not take them lightly, wary of falling into some trap.

“One of our brothers said there were probably fifty or sixty of them!” Saijigad’s stride was brisk, as if he was desperate to rush over and seek revenge. He shook his head in frustration and added, “As for the Duanzhou Gang, I’ve lived in Guangzhou my whole life and never heard of them. I even asked a few brothers just now, and none of them had heard of this group either!”

“Enough! When the enemy comes, we’ll meet them—if floodwaters rise, we’ll build a dam!” Ding Li shook his head. Since the matter had already happened, it had to be faced. He gestured to Saijigad and quickened his pace. “Come on! Let’s go see for ourselves, before they slip away!”

“Exactly! If gods block our way, we’ll slay gods; if buddhas block us, we’ll strike down buddhas!” Saijigad, having enjoyed considerable prestige of late, now carried himself with newfound confidence from head to toe. Especially now, following Ding Li, he was brimming with self-assurance.

The residence wasn’t far from the docks, and with Ding Li’s recent rise in status, he now traveled by carriage. In about fifteen minutes, they arrived at the piers. Ding Li flung aside the curtain and leapt down. The laborers who had joined the Nanhai Gang immediately crowded around, but most gathered around Saijigad, noisily voicing their grievances.

“Shut your damn mouths!” Saijigad, his head throbbing from the commotion, suddenly waved both hands furiously to silence the crowd. He then pointed to Ding Li and introduced him, “Quiet, all of you! This is Brother Li, the boss of our Nanhai Gang! He already knows what’s happened, so there’s no need to make a scene. In a moment, stay sharp—settle your scores and pay back your debts! Beat those outsiders to a pulp!”

“Brother Li!” With Saijigad’s deliberate introduction, the crowd fell back a step in unison, each battered and bruised man greeting Ding Li in turn.

“That’s enough, brothers—no need for formality! Since I’m here, I’ll see to it that justice is done for all of you!” Ding Li cupped his hands in a respectful salute, his expression calm and his tone polite. Then he turned to Saijigad and asked coldly, “Where are those Duanzhou Gang fellows? Take me to them!”

“Let’s go, brothers! Let’s find those out-of-towners!” Saijigad eagerly motioned to the others, raising his voice with aggression.

“No need to look! We, the so-called outsiders, have arrived!” A booming voice sounded from outside the crowd. The men parted, clearing a path for Ding Li. A group of men armed with clubs and iron rods strode up, their demeanor fierce. The leaders, all towering over six feet, displayed powerful, muscular arms—each a testament to their immense strength.

“Nanhai Gang, you just want to bully us outsiders, don’t you?” Stopping a dozen meters ahead of Ding Li’s group, the burly leader hoisted his iron rod onto his shoulder, swept his gaze over Ding Li’s men, and snorted contemptuously. “Hmph! I, Xu Hong, want to see just what right you have to push us around!”

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“Are you here for revenge on behalf of Laiwu?” Ding Li stepped forward, his face calm as he regarded the other man and asked plainly.

“Laiwu? He’s nothing!” The burly man shot Ding Li a cold glare, clearly displeased by the question. At the mention of Laiwu, he spat disdainfully to the side, tapping the iron rod against his shoulder before sneering, “Kid, who are you? If you’ve no business here, I suggest you step aside. Let someone from the Zhang Trading Firm come out—I, Xu Hong, want to settle things today. Why should you suppress us outsiders? Just because you’re locals, you think all the work at the docks belongs to you?”

“The Zhang Trading Firm is engaged in honest business. As for how the dock labor is divided, they don’t interfere.” Ding Li, mindful of his benefactor, replied coldly, then stepped closer and said, “If you’re looking for trouble, deal with me. If you want a resolution, speak to me. Whether here or in the Nanhai Gang, I, Ding Li, have the final say.”

“So you’re Ding Li?” Xu Hong was clearly surprised; his gaze grew more serious as he sized Ding Li up, nodding slightly but without softening his tone. “You seem impressive enough. No wonder that good-for-nothing Laiwu was toppled by you. But don’t think that just because you brought down Laiwu, you can forget your place! Laiwu was bound to fall sooner or later. If not for the power backing him, I’d have dealt with him long ago!”

“Enough nonsense! No matter how useless Laiwu is, he wasn’t brought down by you, so spare the grandstanding—lest the sea wind twist your tongue!” Ding Li did not disagree; Laiwu’s downfall was inevitable. As Zhang Wu had told him, Laiwu was nothing more than a pawn for the Cao Trading Firm, meant to be sacrificed at the first sign of conflict.

“Don’t get cocky! Since I, Xu Hong, dare to defy you, I fear nothing!” Perhaps to bolster his own courage, Xu Hong stiffened his neck and barked loudly, then glanced at his men and announced his terms: “Today, we settle things. Your Nanhai Gang must return our previous work to us, and you are never to cross the line again. Otherwise—hmph!”

“Spare me the grunting! What you’re asking is impossible!” Before Xu Hong could finish his threat, Ding Li’s eyes flashed with disdain and he interrupted firmly, stepping forward. Seeing this, Saijigad immediately waved his arm at the Nanhai Gang crowd, shouting, “Brothers, get them!”

With that, Saijigad charged ahead, wielding an iron rod snatched from a subordinate. Ding Li felt a chill as Saijigad rushed past him, swinging the rod high at Xu Hong.

“For our livelihoods, brothers—fight!” Xu Hong was no less fierce. Dodging aside, he retaliated with a powerful swing of his own iron rod.

Clang!

The solid iron rods clashed with a thunderous crash, sparks flying, but the two were evenly matched. Xu Hong was larger and stronger, but Saijigad’s momentum gave him the edge. Even after missing his mark, Saijigad pressed the attack relentlessly, paying no mind to the threat of the Duanzhou Gang men converging on him.

Of course, the Nanhai Gang members were not mere onlookers. Seeing their deputy risk life and limb, and with their leader present, each was burning with vengeance. None would cease until the Duanzhou Gang was beaten to the ground.

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“Boy, you’re no match for me!” After fending off several attacks, Xu Hong seized an opening, sidestepped, and swung his rod, striking Saijigad’s shoulder. With a cold snort, he forced Saijigad back two steps. But undeterred, Saijigad lunged forward again, leaping with all his strength and bringing his rod crashing down on Xu Hong’s head with a roar: “Again!”

Xu Hong dared not be careless. The earlier exchange had brought him little advantage, and now, seeing Saijigad’s bloodshot eyes, he avoided meeting force with force. He retreated several steps, swinging his rod to knock a Nanhai Gang member to the ground, then lunged forward, aiming a ferocious blow at Saijigad’s ribs.

“Ah!”

What shocked Xu Hong was that, even in the chaos, Saijigad refused to yield. He gripped his rod and swept it sideways with all his might, meeting Xu Hong’s attack head-on.

Clang!

Another resounding crash, sparks flying once more. Saijigad staggered sideways, barely able to control his body. At that moment, two Duanzhou Gang members seized the opportunity to strike—one clubbing his left arm, while the other’s blow narrowly missed his head as he ducked. Saijigad tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before his men could help him up.

He shook his aching left arm, eyes blazing with fury, and charged again. The two who had attacked him quickly darted aside; though Saijigad looked battered, now he resembled a furious beast, his once-youthful face twisted with savagery, as if he meant to tear apart anything in his way.

“You brat! Courting death!” Xu Hong’s eyes flashed with menace. Narrowing them, he strode forward, iron rod raised for another direct clash.

Despite his bravado, Saijigad was clearly outmatched in strength. This time, after another setback, he was unable to retreat in time. Alarm flared in his eyes as he saw Xu Hong raise his rod once more.

In that instant, Saijigad seemed to hear the iron rod whistling through the air, felt as if he saw it coming down on him. Though he desperately tried to back away, he had nowhere to go.