Chapter 33

When Li Xuan returned to Hong Kong, he received some bad news: his elder brother had been ambushed on the street two days ago and was stabbed in the ribs and left chest.

As soon as he landed, Li Xuan rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kowloon. On the way, he heard the details from Ming Zai, a junior brother under his elder brother. Last week, a bag containing over twenty venomous snakes was thrown into the factory of Keji after it had closed for the night.

The next day, when the workers arrived, they were terrified to find the snakes all over the place. Although no accidents occurred, the factory had to shut down for two days. Only after confirming that all the snakes were cleared did the factory resume operations. To calm the workers, Li Ke gave each of them an extra half-month's salary as a consolation fee.

Li Ke suspected that someone from another triad was behind it. A few days earlier, a boss from another triad had envied the arcade business of the Hele Tang and wanted to take a hundred arcade machines from Li Xuan.

With the factory running at full capacity, it could barely meet Brother Qiang's monthly orders, let alone have extra stock for others. Li Xuan naturally refused. A few days later, the factory was sabotaged.

Feeling wronged, Li Ke couldn't let it go. He had a junior brother bribe one of the other boss's underlings and got reliable information. It turned out that the snakes were indeed sent by the other side, orchestrated by a man named Bao Ya Cai.

Having identified the culprit, Li Ke decided to settle the score. He ordered his junior brothers to ambush Bao Ya Cai, blocking his car on a street corner as he returned home from a nightclub late at night, and gave him a severe beating.

Li Ke was still measured and didn't involve the boss behind the scenes. He didn't kill Bao Ya Cai, though he beat him up badly, leaving him with only superficial injuries.

After all, it was only fair to teach him a lesson for his underhanded tactics, especially since Li Xuan had caught him red-handed. Li Ke later informed his own boss, Brother Qiang, who personally called the other boss, who admitted his mistake over the phone.

According to the rules of the underworld, the matter should have been settled. However, Bao Ya Cai harbored a grudge and decided to repay in kind, ambushing Li Ke on the street with his men.

Fortunately, another branch of the Hele Tang happened to be nearby. Seeing their own people being attacked, they quickly came to the rescue, allowing Li Ke and his two junior brothers to escape.

When Li Xuan arrived at the hospital, Li Ke was joking with a young girl who looked no older than a teenager, with dyed blonde hair and heavy makeup. She spoke in a sweet, affected voice, but became more reserved when she saw Li Xuan enter.

Seeing his elder brother's chest and abdomen wrapped in bandages like a mummy, but still in good spirits and flirting with a woman, Li Xuan knew his injuries weren't serious. His heart, which had been in his throat, finally relaxed.

Seeing his younger brother arrive, looking travel-worn, Li Ke felt a bit embarrassed. He smiled reassuringly and gestured for the others to leave the room.

"Did you tell Dad and Mom?" Li Xuan noticed his elder brother's pale face, a sign of blood loss, indicating that the wounds were not minor.

"No, I had my men keep it a secret to avoid worrying them," Li Ke said softly. "I called them yesterday and said I was going out for a few days. They didn't suspect a thing. You know, I often don't come home for days, and they're used to it."

"Did you report it to the police?"

"No, if we involve the police, the Hele Tang will be laughed at by all the triads in Hong Kong. Matters of the underworld should be resolved by the rules of the underworld!"

"How are you going to resolve it?"

"What else!" Li Ke chuckled. "Uncle Jian called the son of the boss of Old K and gave him an ultimatum: either declare war or hand over the person responsible!"

Old K, the triad behind Bao Ya Cai, claimed to have 200,000 members and was one of the three major triads in Hong Kong, along with Xinji and Hetu, and was slightly stronger than the Hele Tang.

"Would Old K really back down?" Li Xuan was skeptical.

"The Old K of today is not the Old K of ten years ago. They have internal conflicts and frequent clashes. Why would they fight us, the soda factory? The 200,000 members are just a scare tactic for smaller triads.

The son of Old K, Kugan, is just a figurehead, not as authoritative as Uncle Jian. If he accepted the challenge, he would be ousted by the other bosses in his triad that same day!"

Li Ke smiled smugly, took a cigarette from the pack on the bedside table, lit it, and inhaled deeply, exhaling a light smoke ring. In contrast, the Hele Tang, with its various branches, was much more united.

The leader of the Hele Tang serves a five-year term, elected by the heads of the various branches. Internal conflicts are strictly prohibited, and disputes are resolved through mediation by the leader. If a resolution cannot be reached, a life-or-death duel can be arranged, but no retaliation is allowed afterward.

Under this strict system, while there are still various interest conflicts within the Hele Tang, they rarely escalate. Especially when facing external threats, the unity is strong, effectively maintaining the triad's combat effectiveness and underworld influence.

With a prestigious name and fair handling of affairs by the bosses, the junior brothers are willing to fight to the death, creating a positive upward cycle. This is the fundamental reason why the Hele Tang, originally a small branch of the Heji faction, has become independent and rapidly risen over the past decade.

"So, this is just a conflict between our soda factory and the Yi branch of Old K. The other branches under Old K definitely won't get involved; they just want to watch the show!"

Seeing his younger brother frown at the smell of the cigarette, Li Ke felt a bit awkward. He always felt a bit inferior in front of Li Xuan, who was so capable that even their boss, Brother Qiang, praised him.

"How are you going to resolve this?"

Li Xuan's frown wasn't because of the cigarette, but because of the pride in his elder brother's voice when talking about their triad, which made him feel a bit helpless.

"It's already resolved. The head of the Yi branch, Tang Yong, asked the son of Old K to mediate. They set up a peace banquet, paid 300,000 in medical fees, and handed over two nightclubs in Yau Ma Tei, which were originally under Bao Ya Cai's control, to our soda factory!"

"What about Bao Ya Cai?" Li Xuan was only interested in the person responsible for his elder brother's hospitalization.

"That lunatic!" Li Ke sneered. "He was punished by his boss. It's said that his hands and legs were broken, and he was tied to a stone and thrown into the sea in To Kwa Wan last night!"

People are selfish, and Li Xuan felt a sense of relief rather than sorrow upon hearing this news. At least he didn't have to worry about retaliation anymore.

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