Chapter Twenty: You Call Yourself One-Eyed Leopard?
The He Lian gang’s headquarters were also in Wan Chai, not far from the Hong Sheng Lian’s base.
At this moment, One-Eyed Leopard was cautiously attending to a young man in his early thirties with a crew cut inside the hall.
This young man was one of Wu Tianhao’s top lieutenants, nicknamed “Damned Life Qiang” — Li Hengqiang.
Li Hengqiang had been running with Wu Tianhao since he was sixteen.
Back then, he had ventured into the Golden Triangle with Wu Tianhao, playing Russian roulette with a revolver against the drug lords’ henchmen. He went through seven rounds without blinking an eye, utterly reckless with his own life.
Although Li Hengqiang’s skills were somewhat lacking, his sheer recklessness earned him a place under Wu Tianhao’s command.
“I’m telling you, One-Eyed Leopard, are you sure Di Wei can handle this? I’ve never felt so awkward about a job assigned by Boss Hao before. If there’s another accident next time, you should know what’ll happen!” Li Hengqiang sneered viciously, tapping One-Eyed Leopard’s head with contempt.
Yet One-Eyed Leopard, a big shot in the triads, bowed and scraped before Li Hengqiang, utterly humble.
“Don’t worry, Young Master Qiang. I’ve known that guy Di Wei for a while. Taking care of a small-time Forty-Niner is no problem at all. It won’t delay Boss Hao’s plans. By the way, some new girls just came to my place—big breasts, slim waist. Young Master Qiang, want to try them first?” One-Eyed Leopard offered cautiously.
Li Hengqiang replied coldly, “No need. Boss Hao’s orders aren’t finished yet. I’m not interested in the top girls on Po Lan Street right now.”
One-Eyed Leopard quickly praised, “Young Master Qiang is truly loyal to Boss Hao!”
After flattering, he cautiously asked, “By the way, Young Master Qiang, what kind of method does Boss Hao have to change the draw results? Won’t the other gangs find out?”
Perhaps sensing that One-Eyed Leopard was about to join their side, or simply because he already knew the plan’s details, Li Hengqiang did not hide anything.
“Do you know why the Dragon City Championship is held inside Kowloon Walled City?” he asked.
One-Eyed Leopard thought for a moment and answered, “Because it’s safe? If someone dies outside, the cops come knocking the next day. But inside Kowloon Walled City, no one cares. Deathmatches happen every day without issue.”
Li Hengqiang said calmly, “It’s not just that. It’s also because Song Changli acts as the referee, which makes the gangs accept the results. Otherwise, whoever hosts this Dragon City Championship would be picked apart, accused of unfairness.”
“Song Changli? The old man who’s the referee?” One-Eyed Leopard asked.
“Yes, that’s him. But he’s no ordinary old man. He’s the legitimate successor and current head of the Weiyuan Hall of the Hongmen society. When he was young, he even served as Sun Yat-sen’s bodyguard captain, one of the elite sent by Hongmen to protect Sun Yat-sen personally.
“In fact, all Hong Kong gangs connected to Hongmen call him the Old Chief Patron. But after Sun Yat-sen’s death, Song Changli became disillusioned and retired into the Kowloon Walled City. Though he still bears the Weiyuan Hall plaque, he no longer accepts followers, only teaching less than ten disciples martial arts and medicine.
“This time, the Dragon City Championship’s referees were invited by the leaders of all major gangs collectively.”
One-Eyed Leopard nodded in understanding.
Though the He Lian gang was also a branch of the He family with a long legacy, it had long declined, and One-Eyed Leopard’s background was dubious, so he was unaware of these underworld secrets.
Only now did it dawn on him why Luo Rong had been scolded by that referee elder during the Dragon City Championship, yet Luo Rong didn’t dare utter a word in response.
He could disregard Chai Jiu but dared not disrespect the Hongmen founder.
If Luo Rong had dared to speak ill of Song Changli, it would be tantamount to offending all the Hongmen-affiliated gangs in Hong Kong.
One-Eyed Leopard admired, “Tsk tsk, Boss Hao is truly Boss Hao. Even someone like Song Changli listens to him.”
Li Hengqiang looked at One-Eyed Leopard as if he were an idiot and said, “If Boss Hao could command Song Changli, would he need to go through all this trouble to fix a match? That old guy is stubborn and indifferent to worldly gains. He only acts as referee because he wants fewer deaths among the gangs.
“At the Dragon City Championship, at most a dozen people die. But if two major gangs go to war, casualties would be in the hundreds.”
“So what’s Boss Hao’s plan then?” One-Eyed Leopard asked.
Li Hengqiang sneered, “That old guy can’t be bribed, but his disciples can. Song Changli’s disciples learned all sorts of skills, yet they’re stuck treating prostitutes and beggars inside Kowloon Walled City. Are they willing to live like that forever?
“Boss Hao just took one disciple who went out to buy herbs for a stroll down Po Lan Street, laid a million in front of him, and he immediately agreed.
“That guy will be eliminated right after he makes his move. Even if Song Changli realizes the draw was tampered with, he won’t know which group was rigged or which gang did it.
“The matches will already be over, so it’s too late to backtrack.”
Just as One-Eyed Leopard was about to flatter again, a commotion of shouting and fighting erupted outside.
One-Eyed Leopard had just stood up when a junior burst through the door, panicked, shouting, “Boss, bad news! Hong Sheng Lian’s men have come knocking!”
Both One-Eyed Leopard and Li Hengqiang froze.
They had suspected Di Wei might mess things up, but never imagined Hong Sheng Lian would dare attack first!
Wasn’t this the same Hong Sheng Lian that, whenever there was a gang dispute, just held banquets to apologize and drag things out?
“Bang!”
Before they could react, the junior at the door was kicked flying.
Yang Sheng strode in, grinning, “So you’re the one called One-Eyed Leopard?”
Seeing Yang Sheng’s smile, a chilling coldness stabbed One-Eyed Leopard’s heart. He quickly crouched behind Li Hengqiang, shouting, “Young Master Qiang! Save me!”
Li Hengqiang narrowed his eyes at Yang Sheng. “Kid, didn’t Di Wei tell you this was Boss Hao’s plan? You killed Feng Le and messed up Boss Hao’s arrangement. He might have let it slide before, but now I’m giving you one last chance: take Hong Sheng Lian’s men and retreat, lose a match for Boss Hao on the stage.
“I’ll make sure you get into the Chao Yi Yong. Isn’t that better than wasting your life with a trash gang like Hong Sheng Lian?”
Yang Sheng glanced at One-Eyed Leopard and said coldly, “Fine. But that guy colluded with Di Wei to harm me. Kill him, and I’ll agree to join Chao Yi Yong.”
Upon hearing this, Li Hengqiang’s expression instantly darkened.
One-Eyed Leopard was practically with Wu Tianhao now. If he killed One-Eyed Leopard after accepting Yang Sheng, what would Chao Yi Yong become?
Would it mean that, in the future, as long as the profit was enough, Chao Yi Yong could casually send their own brothers to be killed?
Yang Sheng’s demand was impossible; he was merely playing them!
“Death wish!” Li Hengqiang roared and lunged at Yang Sheng, whipping a leg down like a battle-axe.
Yang Sheng’s toes planted firmly; he surged forward, raising his arm to deflect the strike, then spun and hammered a heavy punch down!
A Tai Chi cannon strike! The force was unmatched. Had Li Hengqiang been hit in the leg, he would have shattered bones and ligaments on the spot.
He tried to pull aside midway, but the cannon punch grazed him, staggering him to the ground into Yang Sheng’s arms.
Yet from his sleeve, Li Hengqiang flicked out a tiny five-inch dagger, thrusting it straight at Yang Sheng’s chest!
Under Wu Tianhao, Li Hengqiang was not renowned for his fighting skills. He had never systematically studied martial arts or combat techniques, relying solely on recklessness to survive.
Just like now, his entire body was full of openings, but his eyes fixed only on that small dagger.
No matter how Yang Sheng struck, Li Hengqiang intended to trade wounds for wounds, life for life!
But Yang Sheng’s body twisted backward at a strange ninety-degree angle, narrowly dodging the strike.
He then exploded upward like a drawn bowstring, firing a punch into Li Hengqiang’s abdomen.
A tremendous force surged inward; Li Hengqiang spat a mouthful of fresh blood and bent over like a shrimp.
Yet he still refused to give up, attempting to slash Yang Sheng’s abdomen with the dagger, only for Yang Sheng to grab his wrist and wrench it fiercely!
“Ah!” Li Hengqiang screamed in agony as his left hand bent at a grotesque angle.
But he didn’t beg for mercy, snarling fiercely, “You’re dead! You blocked Boss Hao’s path. You won’t survive the Dragon City Championship!”
Yang Sheng squatted down and gently slapped Li Hengqiang’s face. Calmly, he said, “I know Boss Hao is mighty—mightier than the Governor.
“But do you know? Even if Jesus himself came now, he couldn’t save you!”
As Yang Sheng finished speaking, he suddenly applied force, smashing Li Hengqiang’s head brutally into the sharp corner of the tea table.
With a crisp crack, half of Li Hengqiang’s head was embedded in the table, blood streaming down.
One-Eyed Leopard was nearly paralyzed with terror.
Seeing Yang Sheng’s gaze fixed on him, he suddenly collapsed to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face, begging for mercy.
“Please don’t kill me! It was that bastard Di Wei who wanted to harm you, not me!
“I’ll give you all my properties and money I’ve saved over the years. I don’t want the He Lian gang anymore. Please spare me!”
Yang Sheng walked over, patted his head gently, and sighed softly.
“If I had known it would come to this, why bother at all?
“Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?
“I could have developed quietly, but because of you, I had to change plans, act early, and bribe two old bastards—Huang Wen and Fisher Qiang.
“A senior once said: when you’re out in the world, debts must be paid sooner or later.
“You, a worthless nobody, have reached this point in life. Consider yourself even.
“Leopard, rest in peace. Your life has just bought a double-flower red staff.”
Just as a look of horror flashed in One-Eyed Leopard’s eyes, Yang Sheng twisted his neck—and broke it.
The end.