20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 551: The Rumble at the Three Friends Club

The shrill whistles sounded from west to east, echoing among the buildings.

Wherever the noise passed, lights in more than a dozen windows lit up one after another, and in the pitch-black night, it seemed as if a baby was crying in fear.

What followed was a series of rumbling footsteps.

Zhao Guoyan subconsciously pressed the pistol on his waist and looked into the distance, only to see more than twenty Chinese and foreign patrolmen on the main road, armed with live ammunition, running at full speed towards the river.

A casual glance among the crowd revealed that there were actually a few red-headed Indians.

It seems that they must be people from the British Concession Police Station.

Zhao Guoyan breathed a sigh of relief, dropped his hands by his side, then frowned, looking a little confused.

Only after the patrol team passed by and gradually disappeared into the distance on the street did he cross the road and gaze thoughtfully toward the river.

Just at this moment, three or five citizens from the concession came towards us from not far away.

Several of them looked panicked and excited, walking in close steps as if fleeing. They were talking to each other, and although they spoke in local accents, if you listened carefully, you could barely understand a few of their gossips.

"See, I've said it before. The war is going to happen sooner or later. This time the guys from northern Anhui are targeting the people from Guangzhou." One of them said with certainty.

The other one sneered and said, "A fight? What fight? The Axe Gang has come all the way to the British Concession to seize the territory of the Guangdong Gang. I think they are in great danger this time and there is no way back."

"Oh, you can't say that. There is always a thief who steals for a thousand days, but there is no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days. No matter how strict you are, there will inevitably be loopholes."

"How do you know it's a flaw and not a trap? The Yue Gang is not a bunch of scoundrels, okay? Wang Laojiu can't beat them, just wait and see!"

The Axe Gang is taking action! ?
Hearing this, Zhao Guoyan's heart trembled. He hurriedly slowed down his pace and pretended to approach those people slowly without any intention.

I wanted to continue eavesdropping on some rumors, but the two sides met in the middle of the street. When I wanted to listen carefully again, those citizens of the concession had already walked far away.

Zhao Guoyan didn't want to take the initiative to ask, so as not to arouse suspicion and then expose his whereabouts, so he hesitated for a moment, looked at the time, then turned up his collar, and finally followed the direction where Lao Chai went, facing the riverside Hongkou District, and hurried away...

……

……

About an hour ago.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, business at the Sanyouhui Restaurant was at its peak and the noise of guests could be heard from a long distance away.

However, it was already late.

Old man Yin Baokun could not bear it any longer, so he called his servants to come up to the private room and make arrangements to go home.

After shouting twice, the person who pushed the door open was not a waiter from the restaurant, but a guy under Cheng Maoling.

"Uncle Kun, what do you want me to do for you?" the guy asked respectfully.

Yin Baokun nodded, stood up and said, "Oh, it's getting late, and I'm a little sleepy. Let them get ready, I'll go back first."

"Uncle Kun, Brother Ling and the others will be back soon. Please wait a little longer. It will be safer to take a bus back."

"Well, don't wait any longer. Just go get a rickshaw."

Seeing that the old man was about to leave, the young man immediately stepped forward to block the door and said with difficulty: "Uncle Kun, this is a special period, please wait a little longer. If I go back at this time, what if I get stuck on the way... Please don't make it difficult for me!"

Seeing this, Yin Baokun stopped being stubborn.

In the final analysis, the situation that the Guangdong Gang is facing now is all due to his own meddling, which led to the mess. As a result, he has to ask these young people to help clean up the mess. The old man feels a little embarrassed, especially in front of Cheng Maoling's brothers, it is even more inconvenient for him to act arbitrarily.

After a long pause, Yin Baokun said, "Then you go downstairs and take a look first. I'll clean up here. When Cheng Maoling comes back, tell him to wait outside. I'll be down right away."

"Okay, Uncle Kun, you take a seat first."

The guy finally breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly took his leave. He then closed the door of the private room, ran down the stairs, and came to the gate of the Three Friends Association, where he and a few other brothers worked together to guard the safety of the restaurant.

In order not to interfere with Uncle Kun's business, a few guys on guard had to gather across the street from the restaurant, smoking and chatting while looking around.

The night is dark and everything remains the same.

There was no sign of any unusual movement on the street. In another three or two hours, the restaurant would be about to close.

The guys couldn't help but slack off a bit, and discussed quietly with each other where to go for a few drinks later.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, twenty or thirty young and strong men suddenly gathered in front of the Sanyouhui Restaurant.

Seeing this, the brothers were suddenly startled. When they looked closely, they saw that the group of people suddenly opened their clothes, and each of them had a short-handled sharp axe on their waist, which was undoubtedly the symbol of the Axe Gang.

It turned out that the Axe Gang came here not for a huge show, but only for a surprise victory, so they divided the gang members into small groups and quietly sneaked into the Hongkou District of the British Concession. When there was an opportunity, they would regroup and go straight to Yin Baokun's lair.

Under the cover of the dark night, they had quietly arrived at the door of the restaurant in just a dozen seconds.

Looking at the leader from afar, it was none other than the core member of the Axe Gang - Chen Lixian!

Seeing this, the brothers knew they had failed in their duty and did not dare to hesitate any longer. They hurriedly crossed the road and shouted loudly towards the Sanyouhui Restaurant:

"Hey, come on, come on, guys upstairs, grab your weapons! The Axe Gang is coming to kill us!"

As soon as a few Cantonese gang members crossed the road, the Axe Gang members immediately separated a team of brothers, turned around, put their backhands on their waists, pulled out sharp axes, and started chopping without saying a word.

The guys hurriedly took two steps back to avoid the attack.

Only one person was a little slow in movement and was hit by the axe on his left shoulder. He staggered and fell to the ground, rolling and crawling to avoid the pursuit. Occasionally turning his head, he saw that his left shoulder was torn and bleeding, and he screamed in pain.

The Axe Gang members did not pursue and kill the gang members. After knocking down the gang members, they immediately turned around and headed straight for the Sanyouhui Restaurant.

At this time, the Cantonese gang members who were watching over the restaurant heard the noise outside and picked up their sticks and machetes, rushed to the door, and started a battle with the Axe Gang members. Although they were equally powerful, there were only a dozen or so gang members.

The leader of the gang held a sword in front of them and asked sternly, "Axe Gang, every grievance has its perpetrator. You have a grudge against the Green Gang, why don't you go to them and come to our territory? You can't afford to offend the Green Gang, so you really think you can afford to offend the Yue Gang?"

Chen Lixian spat fiercely, holding a sharp axe, and yelled back at the other party, "Fuck you, no one from the Green Gang or the Yue Gang can escape. Yin Baokun came out to guarantee it, and now there is trouble. He is hiding here like a turtle. Does he really think that the Axe Gang dare not touch him?"

"Don't be so arrogant, you idiot. This is Uncle Kun's place. If you, the Axe Gang, dare to smash it, you will have to fight with the Yue Gang. I advise you to think it over carefully first." "Fuck, I'm making this clear today. There is no business in the entire foreign land that our Axe Gang dare not smash!"

After that, Chen Lixian raised his axe and shouted to the Axe Gang members behind him, "Brothers, smash the Sanyouhui Restaurant!"

As soon as the words fell, the two sides immediately engaged in close combat.

The Axe Gang was numerous and powerful. They swarmed forward in an instant, holding sharp weapons and hacking wildly. In the blink of an eye, they heard a series of "crackling" sounds. They first broke open the two door panels of the Sanyouhui Restaurant, and then filed in, shouting and killing.

The Guangdong gang had very few members, so they had to retreat to the lobby, brandishing swords and pressing each other with sticks, not trying to turn defeat into victory, but just trying to delay as much as possible to buy time for the Guangdong gang brothers who came to support them, or for Lao Chai from the police station to come and settle the matter.

But the members of the Axe Gang rushed forward to kill. Their attack was fierce and fearless. They did not hesitate at all and left no room for maneuver behind them. They just hacked left and right, kicked forward and backward. It was really like: the flash of swords and the shadow of axes happened in a blink of an eye, and a life was taken in an instant!

On this side, the Anhui and Guangdong sides were hacking and chopping with knives and axes, and blood was splattered; on the other side, the guests in the lobby were running away in panic, screaming in fear.

The Sanyouhui Restaurant suddenly fell into chaos.

Before long, more than half of the Cantonese gang members had been killed and fell to the ground, dead or injured. It was hard to watch.

The Axe Gang members were still not satisfied, so they immediately sent a group of people to sweep the lobby, overturning tables, smashing chairs, chopping up cabinets and breaking windows, causing all the diners to flee in panic.

Chen Lixian, with Zhang Luan, Han Shu and the rest of the men, wielded axes to clear a path, and rushed up the stairs in a hurry.

At this moment, the remaining few guys from the Guangdong Gang were already covered in blood and looked in a miserable state. They had no choice but to retreat up the stairs and use long sticks to delay the Axe Gang and others.

"My dear Lei Lao Mu, why haven't Brother Ling and the others come back yet?"

The leader of the gang questioned loudly to those around him, but unfortunately no one could give an answer.

Originally, they were able to hold out against the Axe Gang members by relying on the terrain advantage. However, Chen Lixian was so eager for success that he pulled out an imitation Browning pistol from his bosom.

The leader's eyes widened immediately, and he reached out to stop him, saying, "Brother, you, you are crazy. There are so many guests in the restaurant. Firing a gun in public is no small matter. Put down your gun first."

This is not an exaggeration.

In the fights between gangs in Shanghai, even if people's brains were beaten to pieces or even a few lives were lost, it was just a small matter in the eyes of the foreign officials in the police station. But if shootings were fired in public places, the nature of the incident would change completely and an explanation must be given to the officials. At this time, the Axe Gang obviously did not have such powerful connections.

Those who are involved in gangs in the city know that guns are useful, but unless you have the power of the "Three Big Bosses" of the Green Gang, or have some support from the government, you should try not to use guns if you can, especially when you are in public.

But Chen Lixian just snorted coldly, then raised his gun and threatened:

"I'll tell you again, in this entire foreign land, there is no business that our Axe Gang dare not destroy, and there is no one that our Axe Gang dare not kill!"

All the brothers were stunned.

Chen Lixian pressed on step by step, went up to the second floor corridor, and asked sternly: "Don't believe it? If you don't believe it, you can try it! If you know what's good for you, get out of the way quickly, and let Yin Baokun get out to see us!"

"Don't go too far!"

Although the leader of the gangs took several steps back, his tone did not weaken.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a series of footsteps behind him.

The Axe Gang members looked in the direction of the sound and saw two more Cantonese gang members running towards the door of the private room at the end of the corridor with guns.

"Stop, don't move!"

Chen Lixian immediately raised his gun. Zhang Luan and Han Shu behind him also pulled out two homemade pistols. Although they could kill people, they always looked a bit shabby.

"Don't move, don't move!" The two guys with guns also refused to give in.

The two of them are the personal bodyguards arranged by the Guangdong Gang for Yin Baokun. Everyone has his own duties. No matter how fiercely or violently the brothers watching the scene downstairs fight, the personal bodyguards cannot leave their posts and go down to help, otherwise there will be chaos.

The two bodyguards were only responsible for the old man's personal safety. If the Axe Gang had not reached the second floor, they would never have come forward with guns drawn.

The two sides confronted each other and threatened and intimidated each other.

"Put down your guns and leave the Three Friends Society immediately, and we will consider giving you a chance to live!"

"Fuck you, if you have the guts just shoot, we brothers are going to massacre the Three Friends Society today!"

Neither side gave in and their anger grew. Just as a gunfight was about to break out, the door of the private room at the end of the corridor suddenly opened.

"Stop arguing and put your guns down!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yin Baokun walking out of the private room slowly with his hands behind his back and a sullen face.

The two bodyguards saw this and thought to themselves that something was wrong. They quickly stepped aside and reminded him, "Uncle Kun, go in quickly. I have already called the police station and Brother Hei, and they will be here soon."

"I told you to put the gun down!"

Yin Baokun's voice was like thunder, his expression like an angry King Kong, and in a trance he seemed to have returned to the style of his youth when he was a red stick.

Regardless of whether the two bodyguards obeyed his orders or not, he stubbornly walked towards Chen Lixian and others.

The old man has been wandering around the world for fifty years and has seen all kinds of battles. This little "small fight" can't scare him at all. Even when facing three guns, he can still keep a calm face and show no fear.

What really torments the old man is the guilt and remorse in his heart.

"Yin Baokun, you finally dared to show your face!" Chen Lixian cursed, "Come out as a guarantor, talk tea and negotiate peace. It's been so many days since the incident at Zhabei Railway Station. Why don't you go to our Ninth Master in person to apologize? How dare you stay here?"

The old man nodded slightly, walked over slowly, clasped his hands together, and apologized first:

"Brothers, I'm sorry. You came here today and caused all this. I won't pursue the matter. Rules are rules. I can lose face, but I can't bring shame to the reputation of the Yue Gang. How about this? I'll go with you to see Master Jiu and apologize. At that time, whether to kill or chop you up is entirely up to Master Jiu. It's better to resolve a feud than to create one. I hope you brothers won't vent your anger on the Yue Gang."

Seeing the old gangster, who is over 70 years old, making such a statement, the members of the Axe Gang felt a little uncomfortable.

Chen Lixian and others looked at each other and were about to speak when they suddenly heard a commotion downstairs.

From the noise, it seems that the reinforcements from the Guangdong Gang have finally arrived...

(End of this chapter)