Chapter 37: Gaining Worldly Experience
Tonight, the streets of the Walled City were unusually quiet.
Chen Wujun brought his men to Elder Street, where he heard the sounds of fighting to the death coming from afar.
As they got closer, they saw over a hundred people crammed into the narrow streets fighting to the death, with others fighting near the alleys and in the corridors on both sides.
“Ah!” With a scream, a man fell from the corridor on the second floor nearby, his body covered in several cleaver wounds, blood gushing from his mouth.
“Our guys!” Curry glanced and then looked up, spotting through the gap between the two buildings people running and clashing above.
“Follow me up!” Chen Wujun took a deep breath, his steps quickening, his blood boiling.
Fighting to the death was everywhere—ahead, on the sides, overhead—He Tu’s men and Li Dong’s men all crammed together.
It was just like being on a battlefield, with comrades everywhere and enemies everywhere.
Two of Li Dong’s henchmen rushed out from a nearby alley, cleavers swinging down at Chen Wujun’s head.
Chen Wujun shifted to triangle step, circling directly to one’s side, slashing his neck with a cleaver, then kicking him into the other henchman.
Chen Wujun ignored the other henchman and continued rushing forward.
Curry and a few others hacked down that Li Dong henchman with random blows.
By now, Chen Wujun had pushed through the crowd for over ten meters, slashing any of Li Dong’s men he passed.
He took down five or six in a row.
He was like a sharp knife, leading his men to charge in.
After cutting down over a dozen, twenty or thirty followed behind him, charging straight into the middle of the battlefield, extremely conspicuous.
There was a small open space in front of Yong Fa Building where Chen Wujun spotted A Hao, currently fighting to the death with a tall youth who had delicate features and fair skin.
Both had wounds on their bodies, their weapons discarded somewhere, now engaging in bare-handed combat.
But A Hao was clearly at a disadvantage.
Seeing Chen Wujun arrive with reinforcements, having carved a bloody path, the tall youth kicked A Hao away and retreated.
He scanned the surroundings, seeing men from both sides falling from time to time, with no clear victor yet.
He put his fingers in his mouth and blew a loud whistle.
Then Li Dong’s men began to withdraw.
He Tu’s men also gathered around A Hao.
Hua Zai Rong and Cun Bao, covered in blood, jumped down from upstairs and stood by A Hao.
“Gao Sheng, is Ghost Dragon planning to start a war?” A Hao asked, blood at his mouth, face grim as he stared at the other.
“Someone paid! Since we can’t take it, no need to keep fighting!” The fair-skinned tall youth, Gao Sheng, grinned at A Hao; though smiling, the bloody aura from him was palpable.
Chen Wujun realized— no wonder Wen Long’s men were all scattered yesterday, yet so many came today.
Most of Sister Sha Jiu’s men were here, nearly a hundred.
The enemy had slightly more numbers.
“Gao Sheng!” A man emerged from a nearby alley— Wen Long’s subordinate, covered in blood, glaring angrily at Gao Sheng, feeling he hadn’t pulled his weight.
More followed behind him.
“We can’t take it… they’ve got reinforcements now! Blame yourselves for being useless.”
“We’ve done our best anyway!”
Gao Sheng gave them little face.
They were just there for the benefit to help Wen Long reclaim turf, not to fight to the death.
When the reinforcements arrived, if he hadn’t withdrawn, he’d likely be left here today.
Wen Long hadn’t even shown up.
Even if Wen Long was weak among the Five Dragons, he was still a harmony stage master.
If Wen Long had appeared, the enemy would’ve been scattered by now.
Wen Long feared Sister Sha Jiu; he barely escaped yesterday and naturally didn’t dare show today.
Ghost Dragon’s men wouldn’t die for him.
“Withdraw!” Gao Sheng waved, his men gradually retreating until they exited Elder Street.
Wen Long’s men had no choice but to withdraw helplessly.
Only then did A Hao relax, turning to look behind— many were missing, heavy losses this time.
“Treat the wounded first, those who can move clean the battlefield, drag their men to the street corner for them to collect the bodies.”
Whether dead or injured, this was the usual handling.
Only deep grudges warranted finishing blows.
“Send a few to watch the street corner!” Chen Wujun turned to instruct Ah Fei and Curry.
A Hao leaned against the wall, pulled out a pack of smokes, handed one to Chen Wujun, then to Hua Zai Rong and Cun Bao.
“You arrived just in time!” A Hao said.
This wasn’t sarcasm; when he called, they were already at the street corner— no chit-chat, straight to fighting.
Chen Wujun had rushed over upon hearing the news, arriving at the stalemate like a sharp knife, carving a bloody path that forced Gao Sheng back.
“That guy earlier was from Ghost Dragon?” Chen Wujun took the smoke, lit it, and drew a few puffs.
“Gao Sheng, tough bastard! Don’t think he left easy— he just didn’t want to go all out!” A Hao warned.
Chen Wujun nodded, committing the name to memory.
“Go sit over there! Stools there, why stand here?” Cun Bao headed to a nearby convenience store, banging on the door.
“Boss, bring out stools, and two cases of soda.”
When the fight started, the convenience store had immediately pulled down the iron gate.
Now that it was over, the owner cautiously opened the door and brought out two cases of soda.
A girl wearing glasses emerged, head down, carrying several folding stools.
The girl was sixteen or seventeen, with braces, and froze upon looking up and seeing Chen Wujun.
She never expected to see Chen Wujun here, dressed in suit pants and shirt that clearly weren’t cheap, though covered in blood.
Tall and upright, full of vigor, eyes exceptionally bright.
Completely different from before; the change was so great she almost didn’t recognize him.
He seemed to hold decent status among this group.
“Your family’s shop?” Chen Wujun was also surprised to see her.
He hadn’t expected to run into a classmate here.
“Yeah… didn’t expect to see you here.” The girl said, then turned and went back inside.
She had questions but feared these people, including Chen Wujun.
She’d seen from the window people hacked down, blood pooling on the ground amid the fighting sounds.
“Schoolgirl? You know her?” A Hao glanced at the girl and asked casually.
“Yeah!” Chen Wujun didn’t elaborate.
He studied outside the Walled City; among the dozen or so from the Walled City in his class, they knew each other.
A Hao, Hua Zai Rong, Cun Bao, and Chen Wujun smoked and chatted here; others cleaned the battlefield, arranging the lightly wounded aside and sending the severely wounded to the clinic.
Until after 11 p.m., confirming Li Dong’s men wouldn’t return, Chen Wujun took his men and left.
……
Over the next two days, Chen Wujun went to the martial arts school mornings, patrolling the casino and Elder Street with men afternoons.
The two sides fought once more; Li Dong’s men retreated again, but Sister Sha Jiu’s men took losses too.
In three days, the swelling on Chen Wujun’s wrist subsided a lot; he couldn’t use full strength yet but was fine otherwise.
On the street side, Chen Wujun held two strings of fish balls, eyeing the opposite alley.
The loan shark who’d come to his house before was in that alley.
He was short on cash lately.
“Brother Jun, the disc! The one you wanted that day.” Curry handed the disc to Chen Wujun.
Chen Wujun took it and glanced: C’est la vie, mon chéri.
He carried the disc back to the gambling den with Curry.
The gambling den had been closed these days; they’d idle inside, playing cards.
Chen Wujun also asked Ah Fei and Curry about new technique.
Both had reinforced reconstruction over 25% but under 30%.
From them, Chen Wujun gained much understanding of new technique.
At eight p.m., Chen Wujun got a call from Sister Sha Jiu.
“Tomorrow, come see some worldly experience with me. 2 p.m., bring a few men to the meeting, dress sharp!”
Chen Wujun’s heart stirred; a meeting now must relate to the recent war.
This meeting would reveal turf handling and let him show face in He Tu, meet people.
After all, big bosses and the Four Heavenly Kings would attend.
“Senior Sister, got it!”
Hanging up, Chen Wujun returned to the gambling den: “Ah Fei, Curry, tomorrow come with me to Sister Sha Jiu’s meeting!”
“Dress sharp!”
Both were excited hearing this.
They never had qualification for such meetings before.
At 10:30 p.m., figuring nothing more, Chen Wujun instructed Ah Fei and Curry, took the disc, and left.
He didn’t go home but after the seventh floor, turned down the corridor into another building.
A Yue rented a house here, similar size to Chen Wujun’s old one but cleaner, lower floor on the eighth, pricier at 3000 a month.
After renting, A Yue cleaned inside and out multiple times; Chen Wujun found it comfier than his doghouse.
A Yue cracked the door, saw Chen Wujun, flung it open with a beaming smile: “So early today.”
“Brought a disc to watch!” Chen Wujun shoved it to her.
“I’ve never watched a disc before!” A Yue held it, delighted, smile brighter.
……
A Yue nestled in Chen Wujun’s arms, tearing up at the protagonist convulsing on the ground, the female lead in wedding dress barefoot, anxiously stumbling in search.
Chen Wujun watched expressionless, unmoved throughout.
He’d seen too many dead bodies these days.
That’s how it was working out here.
And you had to use your head; no brains meant ending like the male lead.
The whole movie, he was most into the jewelry company robbery part.
It gave him some new ideas.
