20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 533 Night Run
Dark clouds covered the sky, the air was humid and hot, the air pressure was getting lower and lower, and suddenly there were a few flashes in the clouds, illuminating the world with a pale white light.

Thunder rumbled, the weeds on the roadside were pressed very low by the wind, and spots of rain were already falling.

The gunfire from the pursuers gradually became less frequent.

Li Zhengxi covered everyone's retreat. The asphalt road was not far away, and the American Concession was naturally also close at hand. Seeing this, the man in the peaked hat behind him seemed a little discouraged and his pace couldn't help but slow down.

"Hurry! The American Concession is just across the street! Hurry!"

The Axe Gang members urged him a few times in a hurry. When Li Zhengxi heard the noise, he was no longer obsessed with fighting back, but quickly put down his gun, turned around and ran away.

Several people carried Wen Tingge across the road, and immediately a series of "thump thump" footsteps were heard from the front.

Chen Lixian hurried over to help, shouting, "Master Jiu, are you all right?"

"Have you found the boat?" Wang Laojiu asked breathlessly.

"Found it, right in front!"

"Okay, hurry up and get on the boat!" Wang Laojiu turned around and called out, "Xifeng, don't worry about them, just follow us!"

"You retreat first, I'll be there soon!"

Although he had already arrived at the American Concession, Li Zhengxi did not dare to let his guard down. He still raised his gun and looked back at the pursuers behind him, keeping fully alert.

However, the foreigners' leased land seemed like the "demon-subduing circle" drawn by Sun Wukong with his golden cudgel. It had an indescribable pressure that immediately drove away the railway patrolmen who rushed over in a hurry.

There were obviously no foreigners around, not even Chinese patrolmen hired by foreigners, but those officers in caps did not dare to shoot, let alone cross the border to chase the criminals.

They just gathered across the street, at a loss, watching Wang Laojiu and others walk away. The scene was ridiculous.

Li Zhengxi stared at the pursuers across the border, and could not help but be stunned for a moment. Then he snorted twice, spat on the ground, and cursed in a low voice:

"Coward!"

After saying that, he immediately turned around and chased in the direction of Wang Laojiu and others, and as expected, no more gunshots were heard behind him...

Two realms, three pipes, and five directions mixed together.

How could such an area not give rise to gang forces?

Li Zhengxi didn't run far before he and everyone else arrived at the bank of Suzhou River.

This small river is not very wide, but because it runs across the International Settlement, the river channel is extremely regular, and the banks on both sides are made of bricks and stones.

On weekdays, there are often black-sailed boats and small sampans cruising back and forth on the river, ensuring smooth traffic. At night, they moor nearby.

When Chen Lixian came over just now, there were three or two boatmen on the shore. Now it started to rain, and there were continuous gunshots. When he looked again, the boatmen had already scattered and disappeared without a trace.

If you don’t have a boatman, do it yourself!
The crowd picked two black-sailed boats by the river, forcibly untied the ropes on the shore, and prepared to steal the boats and sail away.

"Where's my brother?"

Li Zhengxi wiped the cold rain and hot sweat from his face and looked around anxiously, but he still couldn't find Jiang Lianheng.

"Don't worry!" Chen Lixian replied loudly, "The boat is too small. Boss Jiang left first. He is waiting for us at the river mouth!"

"Someone come and lend a hand, help carry this brother onto the boat!" said the two Axe Gang members in embarrassment.

Wang Laojiu and Chen Lixian jumped and landed on the deck with two "bangs". The sloop immediately tilted and swayed for a while before finally steadying itself down.

The two Axe Gang brothers panted and carried Wen Tingge to the shore.

Seeing this, Li Zhengxi hurried over to help.

At this time, Wen Tingge's consciousness had long been blurred. He had only managed to hold on along the way thanks to his instinct for survival and the support of his brothers. Now that he had reached the river, his nerves relaxed a little and he collapsed as if he was heavier than a mountain of gold.

He was shot in the back and the right shoulder blade. His face was as pale as paper and he looked like he was in the afterlife.

It took everyone a long time to help him into the cabin.

"Constitution, sail!"

Wang Laojiu immediately took off his shirt and pressed it on Wen Tingge's wound, then leaned over to the shore and shouted, "You three take the boat at the back and go directly to the river mouth. Lixian and I will take him to the foreign hospital and then we will meet up with you!"

Hearing this, Li Zhengxi fumbled around, hurriedly emptied all his pockets, grasped all the banknotes in his hands, leaned over and handed them to the bow.

Human life is at stake, so the more money the better.

Wang Laojiu did not refuse. He took the money and immediately ordered Chen Lixian to set sail.

The black-sailed boat drifted slowly in the wind and rain towards the east, going down the river, and soon it was some distance away.

However, Li Zhengxi suddenly froze in place, staring at his palm in a daze - it was blood!

The rain gradually got heavier. In just a blink of an eye, Wen Tingge's blood was washed away by the rain in his palm and dripped into the Suzhou River.

He turned his head and looked into the depths of the dark awning, his throat dry and speechless.

The clouds flashed a few more times, and a strong light passed by, and Li Zhengxi's face looked particularly ferocious.

From the stabbing at the station until now, only about twenty minutes have passed. Looking back now, it seems like a dream. Many details have become blurred, and only a few frozen images remain in my mind, which are those of panic-stricken faces.

There are only pictures, no sound. More than a decade of bits and pieces are condensed into a few fragments, like slides, passing by before our eyes in a flash.

Li Zhengxi's cheeks had bulging veins, his breathing became heavier, and his whole body was filled with a heat that could not be extinguished by the rain.

Two Axe Gang members jumped onto the black-sailed boat and shouted to the west wind in the misty rain: "Brothers, get on board!"

Li Zhengxi didn't hear anything, but there was a roar in his ears, louder than thunder.

"Brothers, get on board!" the two Axe Gang brothers shouted again, "Although this is a concession and those gangsters don't dare to come over, it's not absolutely safe!"

"Come on, I have something to do!"

Li Zhengxi said this in a stern voice, then turned around and ran towards the British and French concessions. The accumulated water under his feet made a crackling sound, and he was hidden among the buildings in the blink of an eye.

"Hey! Where are you going? Are you crazy? Come back!" An Axe Gang member stood at the bow and shouted loudly.

Another brother immediately dragged him into the cabin and shouted at him: "Don't bother with them, start the boat quickly, if he doesn't want to live, you won't want to live either!"

The two men had just risked their lives to save a brother of the Jiang family, and felt that they had done nothing wrong. At this moment, they were already exhausted and out of breath, so they didn't bother to meddle in other people's business. They shouted twice, and seeing that the west wind refused to turn back, they rowed the boat hurriedly, braving the heavy rain, and gradually went away towards the Huangpu River.

……

……

The west wind was strong, and he could not swallow this humiliation. His blood was boiling and he was furious. He just ran wildly in the night and killed his way towards the French Concession.

"Fuck you, you bastard, a life for a life!" Blood debt must be paid with blood. Li Zhengxi was eager for revenge, gritting his teeth and not looking back.

In the case of the stabbing at the train station, whether it was Du Yong's betrayal or Zhang Xiaolin's secret planning, it made no difference in his eyes. After all, the two families were in the same place and no one was wronged.

He did not complain. The world is full of intrigue and people's hearts are treacherous, but if you make an enemy, there is no way out.

Li Zhengxi firmly believed that since the "three tycoons" had decided to carry out the assassination, all those they sent out would be good fighters; accordingly, there would naturally be some vacancies in the Zhang and Du mansions.

Even though there were certainly many Qing Gang disciples guarding his house, he had already made up his mind to fight to the death, even if there was no return.

The most important thing is that after suffering such a shock, the first reaction of ordinary people must be to escape, and the second is to seek stability. After all, saving lives is the most important thing.

But Li Zhengxi chose to do the opposite. When the "three tycoons" thought they had won and relaxed psychologically, he risked his life and took revenge!
There was heavy rain and thunder and lightning.

At this moment, the bustling foreign concessions finally came to a halt, and even on the main roads in the city, there was not a single person to be seen.

Li Zhengxi ran very fast, but the rain hitting his face made his vision a little blurry.

After entering the French Concession, he soon turned into a residential alley.

The mansions of the Zhang and Du families were not far away. Li Zhengxi stopped running, stood where he was, and took a few breaths.

He wanted to charge forward in perfect condition and fight hard in this decapitation battle to avenge Liu Yansheng and regain face for his elder brother and sister-in-law.

This sounds stupid, but when you are in the world, face is more important than anything else. Face is your job and the foundation of your livelihood.

Knowing that there is a tiger in the mountain, you still go there, this is the duty of a younger brother.

He can fail, but he cannot be a coward. If he is, the Jiang family will be finished and will never be able to settle down in Shanghai again.

There was a light bulb hanging at the end of the alley. The raindrops hit the copper-green lampshade, making it shake. Only then did Li Zhengxi realize how heavy the rain was.

After a short rest, he started again.

At this moment, a burst of gunfire suddenly came from behind!
"boom--"

The sound of gunfire echoed among the empty buildings, the bullet whizzed in, and with a "click", it went deep into the puddle beside it!
At the moment when the water splashed, Li Zhengxi suddenly turned around and fired two shots at the entrance of the alley.

However, the bullet missed.

Li Zhengxi wiped his face and looked towards the alley entrance in the dim, swaying light; there was no one there.

He frowned, raised the gun with both hands, and quickly leaned against the brick wall. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly moved towards the corner of the street.

But just after taking two steps, there was another crisp "pop" sound behind him!
Li Zhengxi turned around and saw that the alley suddenly went dark, with the fragments of the light bulb pouring down with the rain.

Before he could come to his senses, another gunshot rang out in the alley!
"boom--"

This time, the bullet hit the wall not far from him and was immediately reflected into the water.

Li Zhengxi was like a frightened bird. He quickly leaned against the wall on the other side and swept the muzzle of his gun, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right. However, at that moment, there was a rumbling rain, thunder and lightning, and the sound of gunfire spread among the buildings, making it so chaotic that no one knew where it came from or where it was going.

"boom--"

Another gunshot was heard. Not only was it impossible to tell the direction, but we didn't even know where the bullet went.

"You want to capture him alive?"

Li Zhengxi couldn't help but mutter to himself, his heart pounding against his ribs violently, making a "boom boom" sound, and his breathing became more and more rapid.

At the same time, the hot blood that was rushing to his head gradually cooled down.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

It would be a lie to say that he was not afraid. Li Zhengxi's whole body was tense. He walked slowly towards the entrance of the alley, sticking to the wall. Only when he was close enough could he distinguish the source of the gunshots!

"boom--"

"Bang bang bang!"

Finally, Li Zhengxi confirmed that the gunshots came from the alley on the right behind him. The moment he turned his head, he even vaguely saw the hem of a piece of clothing by the wall. He then fired several shots, ran over quickly, and stopped at the corner of the wall.

He crouched down slightly, keeping the muzzle of his gun pointed toward the alley entrance.

After a moment's silence, I suddenly heard the sound of "pattering water" coming from the other side of the corner.

"Fuck you, you're trying to run!"

Li Zhengxi cursed loudly, then leaned sideways and fired several shots, "Bang, bang, bang", until the gun barrel suddenly made a crisp "click" sound, and there was no bullet!

However, there was no one on the other side of the corner.

Li Zhengxi hurriedly took out the ammunition bridge and was about to load bullets into the box gun, but he glanced and saw a one-foot-long strip of rag hanging on the wall at the corner of the street!

At the same time, I heard a sudden "pop" sound just behind me, as if something fell from mid-air.

Li Zhengxi's heart shuddered, and he felt all the hair on his body stand on end. He didn't have time to think about it, so he just changed his left hand to hold the gun, used his heel as the axis, twisted his waist, swung his arms and smashed behind him!

But he had just turned halfway when the man behind him grabbed his upper arm with his left hand.

Li Zhengxi looked back and found that the man had anticipated his attack again. He saw that he opened his right palm and hit Xifeng's face hard, and then pushed his head hard against the brick wall.

With a loud bang, Li Zhengxi suddenly felt dizzy and his feet felt weak.

The man behind him didn't wait a moment, he raised his foot and kicked Xifeng in the inner knee. Li Zhengxi staggered and knelt on one knee. The man behind him immediately raised his knee to press against Xifeng's left arm ring, twisted his hand with his backhand, and the box gun immediately fell into the puddle with a "click". Li Zhengxi immediately knelt on the ground.

"Fuck you, Du—"

Li Zhengxi supported himself with his right hand and was about to stand up, but the man behind him immediately struck him in the back of the neck with a knife.

Li Zhengxi suddenly felt his eyes go dark, his scalp go numb, and all the strength in his body is instantly drained away.

"Snapped--"

Another thump on his head, Li Zhengxi fainted immediately, and with a "thump", he finally fell into the puddle like a corpse.

It took only three to five seconds from the fight to the defeat. The man moved as fast as the wind and was decisive. Li Zhengxi had no power to resist and was easily subdued in the blink of an eye.

"Crack - boom -"

Suddenly, there was lightning and thunder, and a strong light flashed in the alley for a moment, and a dark figure loomed over Xifeng.

The man stood quietly for a while, then took a step forward, walked closer, took out a big sack from his arms, slowly squatted down, lowered his head and looked at it silently, and finally snorted twice in a mocking manner, and said lazily:

"Tsk! These two moves are really embarrassing!"

(End of this chapter)