The blaze at the pier warehouse had already been extinguished. Police cars and fire engines had cordoned off the area, while firefighters moved in and out carrying stretchers.
Wearing plastic gloves, Xie Jiahua bent down and lifted a white sheet, revealing beneath it a charred, blackened human form. At the same time, the scent of roasted flesh rushed up, thick and nauseating.
Beside him, a young policewoman suddenly shoved the folder in her hands into a colleague’s arms, covered her mouth, and ran off. Moments later, the sound of violent retching echoed from afar.
Xie Jiahua remained expressionless. He lifted the sheet further, then reached beneath the corpse and retrieved a revolver warped by fire, placing it into a transparent evidence bag handed over by a subordinate.
“It’s said that Xia Liuyi’s right hand has an old injury and can’t exert force—he likely favors a revolver. Take this to Forensics later and see if any biological samples can still be extracted.”
“Yes, sir!”
He removed his gloves and tossed them aside, pressing his fingers against his temples with a frown—the relentless overtime and sleepless nights had left a throbbing ache there.
“Sir Xie?” A colleague called from beyond the cordon.
Xie Jiahua walked over. It turned out to be a worker from a snack shop across the street. “Officer, your milk tea—less sugar—and your sandwich with egg.”
“I didn’t order anything.”
“Someone treated you. It’s already been paid.”
At that moment, his mobile phone rang. With one hand, he answered the call; with the other, he took the bag containing the sandwich and milk tea.
“Hello?”
On the other end, the caller sat inside the snack shop sipping milk tea. Three adhesive bandages were neatly lined across his cheek, disguising a handprint as though it were an injury sustained in the line of duty. With a cheerful smile, he said, “Sir Xie.”
Xie Jiahua’s gaze instantly turned cold. He stepped aside to a secluded spot.
“Why so silent, Sir Xie? Still angry with me?”
Xie Jiahua laughed in fury. “You deliberately leaked information to Master Qiao, putting He Chusan in danger—just to provoke a clash between Xiaoqi Hall and He Yi Society? Have you even properly investigated He Chusan? Do you know he’s an innocent outsider? Do you have any principles or bottom line at all?!”
“Now, now, Sir Xie, no need to put it so harshly,” the man replied lightly. “I know you have people on Qiao Er’s side—you could rescue He Chusan. What I didn’t expect was that Xia Liuyi would actually dare storm Qiao Er’s turf for him. Looks like I was right—there’s something quite unusual about Xia Liuyi and He Chusan’s personal relationship…”
“Lu Guangming!” Xie Jiahua snapped angrily, cutting him off. “Do you even realize nine people just died in that fire?!”
There was a brief pause. Then, in a tone disturbingly casual, the man replied, “That many? Then He Yi Society and Xiaoqi Hall have truly become mortal enemies. Should make for quite the spectacle.”
“Lu Guangming! That’s nine human lives! If those two factions go to war, even more will die!”
“These triad dogs commit every evil under the sun—they got what they deserved. Why should you pity them, Sir Xie? Isn’t this the perfect chance for you to use their conflict to gather evidence against Xia Liuyi and Qiao-Er, and bring them to justice?”
“So this is your ‘gift’ to me?” Xie Jiahua’s voice turned icy. “You stirred up chaos to fish in troubled waters—but it’s not for my case, is it? It’s for your own!”
“You can fish, I can fish—police and ICAC, one heart, mutual benefit,” Lu Guangming said with a chuckle.
“Lu Guangming.” Xie Jiahua’s voice suddenly turned eerily calm.
“Yes, Sir Xie?”
“Look up.”
Instinctively, Lu Guangming raised his head—only to find that the man had somehow entered the shop and was standing right in front of him. Xie Jiahua’s arm swung—
Slap!
A resounding crack echoed through the shop.
—This time, the other cheek finally got its turn.
Xie Jiahua tossed aside the now-unwanted milk tea and sandwich and walked away. Lu Guangming’s ears rang, his vision darkening as he stood frozen against the wall for a long moment before slowly turning his head back.
“Brutal,” he muttered, baring his teeth as both cheeks swelled. Then he took another sip of milk tea.
……
He Chusan had been in the hospital for less than two hours before he was packed up—cast and all—and transported straight to the triad’s stronghold: Boss Xia’s village house.
With He Yi Society and Xiaoqi Hall now at each other’s throats, his rented apartment and workplace were no longer safe. Since he had already been planning to change jobs, he simply called in sick to resign, then phoned his father with a lie about going on a month-long business trip—thus beginning his blissful life of being “kept”… no, recuperating.
With one leg encased in plaster, everything became inconvenient. Eating, bathing, even using the toilet—all required assistance. Xiao Ma enthusiastically volunteered to hire a top-tier caretaker to look after this “crippled” He—but Xia Liuyi, who hated strangers in his home, grabbed an ashtray and hurled it, driving both Xiao Ma and the caretaker out together.
“I swear your brain usually works fine—how are you this blind right now?” Cui Dongdong came out holding a bottle of cold beer to press against Xiao Ma’s forehead, mocking him mercilessly. “You’re kissing ass and hitting the horse’s leg instead.”
“Damn it,” Xiao Ma grumbled bitterly, “is that kid made of gold or something? Why does our boss have to serve him personally?”
Cui Dongdong looked at this still-clueless straight man and sighed. “Enough. There are bodyguards around. Stop meddling where you shouldn’t.”
Clutching the cold beer bottle to his equally chilled heart, Xiao Ma sniveled and drove off.
At last successfully moved in, He Chusan lay on his Brother Liuyi’s bed, listening as cars outside started up one after another. Knowing all the irrelevant people had left, he couldn’t help but raise both hands toward the ceiling in a triumphant V-sign!
Well done, A-San! Thank you, Master Qiao!
Just then, Xia Liuyi pushed the door open. He Chusan instantly dropped his hands and covered his eyes, putting on a dazed expression as though blinded by sunlight. “Mm… Brother Liuyi?”
Ever since forcibly kissing a civilian, Boss Xia would instinctively avert his gaze whenever their eyes met. Walking stiffly to the window, he pulled the curtains halfway closed and cleared his throat. “I’ll have A-Nan and A-Sen clean out the guest room. You’ll stay there for now—once things are settled, you can go back.”
A-Nan and A-Sen were his current bodyguards.
He Chusan looked concerned. “Hasn’t the guest room been unused for a long time? It’ll be hard on them to clean. Actually, I can just sleep on your—”
“My bed is not for you! Damn it, He A-San, I’m warning you—don’t push your luck—” Xia Liuyi exploded halfway through, only to realize He Chusan had been about to say, “your sofa is fine.”
The two froze for a moment. He Chusan turned his head aside, shoulders trembling again in that familiar way.
“……”
“Ahhh! It hurts! It hurts! I was wrong, I was wrong, Brother Liuyi! I won’t laugh anymore—don’t step on my injured leg! It hurts, it hurts—!”
While Xia Liuyi sat in the bedroom watching over the crippled He as he had just taken a couple of bites of takeout, Cui Dongdong called. The elders had tasked her with contacting the boss—on the surface to discuss strategy, in truth to demand an explanation.
Leaning against the headboard, Xia Liuyi habitually lit a cigarette. Though his tone remained calm, his gaze at the corner of the wall carried a chill. “Book a private room at Lin Heung Tea House. I’ll treat them to lunch.”
He hung up and looked up with a dark expression—only to see He Chusan gnawing on a chicken claw while staring at him.
“What are you looking at? Eat your food!” Irritated, Xia Liuyi snapped at him. Then, remembering the doctor’s warning against smoking and drinking, he frowned and stubbed out the cigarette he had just lit.
He Chusan lowered his head obediently and silently placed a chicken drumstick into his bowl.
After eight full bowls of beef offal in the middle of the night and a bloody fight that morning, Xia Liuyi felt nauseated at the sight of meat. Completely unappreciative, he dumped the drumstick back into He Chusan’s bowl, stood up, and changed clothes. In front of him, he opened the wardrobe drawer and took out a new gun and a row of bullets.
“I’m heading out. The bodyguards are outside—if you need to piss or shit, call them.”
He Chusan continued eating while watching him silently, finally speaking, “Brother Liuyi.”
“Mm?”
“The one who saved me was a cop.”
Xia Liuyi’s hand paused mid-load. He turned sharply, surprised. “What?”
“The police know about this incident. They know where I was being held.”
Frowning, Xia Liuyi studied him for a moment before saying, “Rest well. Don’t worry about anything else.”
He took a step toward the door, then stopped and turned back with a glare. “Once the guest room’s ready, get your ass over there!”
……
Downstairs, the two bodyguards stood side by side by the window, basking in the sun. One of them asked in confusion, “Brother Sen, are we really not cleaning the guest room? What if the boss blames us later?”
A-Sen—who had followed right behind Cui Dongdong into the hospital earlier and now wished he could erase his own memories to avoid being silenced—sighed meaningfully. “You think the boss actually wants us to clean? Just make it look like we did. If he asks later, tell him the bed’s broken.”
“Oh.”
……
Having not slept the entire night, Xia Liuyi arrived at Lin Heung Tea House with dark circles under his eyes. As expected, he was subjected once more to a round of “concerned advice” that was little more than veiled criticism.
Within Xiaoqi Hall, the issue of elders interfering in leadership had long been a festering grievance. Over a decade ago, when Qinglong ascended as heir, he had been young and his foundations unstable. It was only through the support of several powerful elders that he managed to sweep aside obstacles and secure the position of Dragon Head. Even afterward, he relied heavily on their influence to gradually establish a firm foothold within Jiaolong Walled City. Though his wings had later fully grown and he cultivated capable confidants like Xia Liuyi and Cui Dongdong, the elders had, over the years, planted their own people throughout the organization. Their influence ran deep and intertwined, impossible to uproot overnight.
By the time Xia Liuyi took power, his style was utterly different from Qinglong’s cautious restraint and steady approach. He was ruthless, unrestrained, and aggressively expansionist—often acting without consultation, breaking conventions, and disregarding established rules. Coupled with several internal purges that weakened the Elders’ power, their dissatisfaction with him only deepened. They frequently offered their “guidance”—though with monthly red envelopes now several times larger than before, they could not openly criticize him.
Not long ago, Xia Liuyi had made a grand spectacle of eliminating Fat Seven. And now, against the wind, he had gone and burned down a den belonging to He Yi Society. While the underworld at large had yet to react, the dlders within Xiaoqi Hall were already in an uproar.
“Xiao Liu, every time you say you’ll ‘handle it yourself’ and won’t allow us old men to interfere. But this time, you’ve offended not just He Yi Society—you’ve offended the entire He clan! Their senior figure, Master Qiao Er, is a man of status in the underworld. He’s even met the ‘Old Shopkeeper.’ His identity and power are not comparable to our small faction. You’ve dragged his dignity from the heavens into the dirt—how do you intend to clean this up?” Elder Ge was the first to attack.
“Exactly. I heard he kidnapped one of your people. Who is this person, to make you turn the tables like this?” Elder Qiu added, puzzled.
“I have some personal ties with the He clan’s Grand Elder. Perhaps I could arrange a meeting tomorrow,” mused Prince Duan.
Xia Liuyi sat at the head seat, smoking calmly, not even lifting his eyes—treating their words as nothing more than air.
At last, Uncle Yuan spoke. “Xiao Liu, say your piece.”
Only then did Xia Liuyi move. He extinguished his cigarette, reached over to take a cigar from in front of Elder Ge, and leisurely lit it.
“Three points,” he said, removing the cigar from his mouth and lowering his gaze to the faintly glowing tip.
“First—Qiao Er captured last night is my investment consultant. The red envelopes you receive every month—his contributions are a large part of that. Whether he’s worth it—what do you think?”
“Second—I know exactly the position Xiaoqi Hall is in. And my own standing in the jianghu—I hope you all understand it as well. Times have changed. He Yi Society is not as glorious as you imagine. I dared to offend Qiao Er because I can afford to. What he should consider is whether he can afford to offend me, Xia Liuyi. He took my man first—he acted without righteousness. However I deal with him is justified. Even the ‘Old Shopkeeper’ wouldn’t intervene for him.”
“Third—” He drew on the cigar and exhaled slowly, his gaze sweeping across the elders present. “I am the boss now. Some forms of address… should be corrected.”
“……” The elders fell silent.
Xia Liuyi rose, cigar between his lips. Xiao Ma stepped forward to drape a black leather coat over his shoulders.
“Elders, please enjoy your meal. I have matters to attend to—farewell.”
Leaving the suddenly silent private room, Xia Liuyi strode toward the elevator with a dark expression. Casually, he stubbed out the barely-touched cigar into the trash beside it.
“Tell Cui Dongdong to wait for me at Tan Xiang Pavilion.”
“Yes.”
……
Manager Cui had already prepared wonton noodles and iced lemon tea, waiting respectfully in the general manager’s office at Tan Xiang Pavilion. She greeted him enthusiastically:
“Boss, a short separation feels like newlyweds reunited. After we left this morning, did you make full use of the time to ‘enjoy’ Xiao Sanzi?”
“Enjoy what?” Xia Liuyi didn’t catch on.
“Tsk. You know exactly what I mean.”
“…Damn it! Shut up!”
Cui Dongdong shot him a meaningful look—still shy at your age?—and fell silent, eating her noodles.
Xia Liuyi still had no appetite. After closing the door, the two began scheming in hushed voices for quite some time.
Cui Dongdong was surprised by his decision. “If this incident was really manipulated by the cops, your handling is thorough. But after what Master Qiao did to Xiao Sanzi—you can really swallow that anger?”
Xia Liuyi let out a cold laugh. “No need to rush. When the time comes, I’ll settle the full account with Qiao Er.”
“And the elders? You openly clashed with them this time—aren’t you worried they’ll turn on you?”
“The company shares and the ‘account books’ are in my hands—what tricks can they play? I’ve given them enough face. Their yearly dividends are several times what they used to be. If they still don’t know their place, then don’t blame me for turning hostile. Leave them their petty scraps—for everything else tied to the syndicate, slowly pull it out from under them.”
“Understood.”
“If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving,” Xia Liuyi yawned, frowning.
“Wait,” Cui Dongdong gestured at a paper bag on the table. “Take that with you.”
“What is it?” Xia Liuyi opened it—
—and his face instantly darkened at the sight of an assortment of condoms and lubricants inside.
Cui Dongdong explained enthusiastically, “That blue bottle works best—smooth, less foam. But if you like more foam, then use the green one—”
Xia Liuyi grabbed the bag and hurled it out the window. Cui Dongdong leapt up in alarm. “Hey, hey! Throwing away the condoms is one thing—but you’ll regret tossing the lube! Definitely—hey, you actually threw it?! What the—”
“Bring me this kind of crap again—even if you’re a woman, I’ll still beat you!”
“Are you insane? Ungrateful bastard! Think you’re so great just because you’re the boss? Try touching me!”
Outside, the bodyguards only heard their boss and deputy suddenly erupt into a shouting match. In the end, Xia Liuyi stormed out, slamming the door, while Cui Dongdong chased after him, still mouthing off:
“What are you pretending to be—a saint? If you’ve got no drive yourself, you want him to suffer with you too? Dead chicken pretending to hold up a feast!”
Xia Liuyi halted, shrugged off his coat, and began rolling up his sleeves—only to be desperately restrained by the bodyguards.
“Boss! You’ve had a long day—go home and rest!”
“Boss, a real man doesn’t fight women—!”
Dragged away, Xia Liuyi turned back at Cui Dongdong’s continued insults—
She stood in the doorway, flipping him the middle finger—then used her other hand like scissors and snipped it off in the air!
A vein throbbed on Xia Liuyi’s forehead. Shaking off the bodyguards, he charged back.
“Holy hell! The Big Boss and Boss Dongdong are fighting!”
“Go get Boss Xiao Ma—quick!”
……
By evening, Xia Liuyi returned home with an extra bandage on his forehead, his hair disheveled from being yanked, his face full of murderous intent.
Thinking he had gone to settle scores with Master Qiao, He Chusan hurriedly tried to hop off the bed on his cast leg—only to wince in pain.
Xia Liuyi strode over, grabbed him, and tossed him back onto the bed.
“What happened to you?” He Chusan gasped, reaching up with trembling hands to touch his forehead. “Who hit you?”
Xia Liuyi brushed his hand aside impatiently. “Nothing. Just a scratch.”
He glanced at the thick books now stacked by the bedside. “Didn’t sleep? Had dinner?”
“I couldn’t sleep—was worried about you,” He Chusan insisted, still trying to touch his face. “I waited to eat with you.”
Xia Liuyi slapped away his hand again and shouted outside, “A-Sen! Order takeout!”
They ate together in the bedroom. Xia Liuyi was distracted, eating absentmindedly. He Chusan, brimming with affection, kept watching him as he ate—treating the boss’s face as his side dish.
Finally, Xia Liuyi slammed his chopsticks down. “What are you staring at?!”
He Chusan lowered his head to eat, though the corners of his lips still curled upward.
Xia Liuyi almost suspected the man had been tortured stupid at Master Qiao’s place. After examining him carefully, he frowned. “How did Qiao Er treat you? Besides your head and leg, were you hurt anywhere else?”
He Chusan shook his head. “Just my head. My leg—I injured it while escaping.”
Xia Liuyi snorted coldly. “Your boss will avenge you.”
Hearing that, He Chusan knew he hadn’t yet gone after Master Qiao—he felt somewhat relieved. This time, he refrained from saying anything troublesome like refusing to be his subordinate. Swallowing a mouthful of rice while watching Xia Liuyi, he asked softly, “How are you going to fight him?”
“None of your business. Stay home and recover. You’re not allowed out for a month.”
He Chusan had no objections to being “kept,” but still advised patiently, “The police are already watching you. Don’t act rashly. It’s not worth it to fight him because of me.”
“Who said it’s because of you?” Xia Liuyi shot him a cold glance.
“……” He Chusan lowered his head and continued eating.
After a moment, he spoke again. “Brother Liuyi, I resigned this time. I…”
“Mm?”
“Can I help manage accounts at your company? The legitimate business only—I won’t touch anything illegal.”
Xia Liuyi paused mid-bite.
This was the second time He Chusan had brought it up. The last time, by the seaside, it had sounded like a joke. This time, he seemed serious.
Wasn’t this guy dead set against getting involved with the underworld before?
Suspicion flickered in Xia Liuyi’s mind, but he didn’t look up, continuing to eat casually. “Why the sudden idea?”
“I want to help you. Besides, I’ve only worked for a year—it’s hard to find a new job.”
Xia Liuyi scoffed. Even without knowing He Chusan’s top-tier performance, he could tell someone like him wouldn’t struggle to find work.
“No?” He Chusan sounded disappointed. “You don’t trust me?”
Only then did Xia Liuyi glance up. Seeing the hurt on his face, he snorted again and tapped his forehead lightly with chopsticks. “Your Brother Liuyi doesn’t trust you? Then whose house are you living in? Whose bed are you sitting on?”
“Then can I help you?”
Xia Liuyi picked up another bite, still sounding casual. “We’ll talk later. My company’s a bit messy right now—wait until I clear out those old fossils.”
He Chusan lowered his head, looking slightly aggrieved, but inside he was already calculating rapidly. Xia Liuyi’s attitude was ambiguous—half agreeing, half brushing him off. Who were those “old fossils”? When would they be “cleared out”?
Meanwhile, Xia Liuyi chewed his food, sneaking a glance at him, his own thoughts racing.
This brat’s definitely plotting something again. Does he really want to become the boss’s wife? Start a husband-and-wife business? Damn it—pushing his luck! No way! My place is a dragon’s den and tiger’s lair—what’s a clean guy like him doing stepping in? Better kick him out early!
Thus the two men, each harboring their own schemes beneath a warm façade, finished their meal in slow, awkward silence.
Afterward, He Chusan wanted to bathe—having been imprisoned overnight and scrambling through the mountains, he felt filthy.
Xia Liuyi helped him into the bathroom, filled the tub, stripped him, and dumped him in. Propping his cast leg outside the tub, he turned to leave—
Only to hear a loud splash behind him, followed by frantic thrashing.
“Damn it!” He rushed back and hauled the drenched He Chusan out. “You’re going to drown in a bathtub?!”
“Cough—cough—I… my leg won’t work. I can’t sit steady…” He Chusan coughed.
With no choice, Boss Xia dragged over a stool and crouched beside the tub to tend to him. He Chusan braced himself against the edge while Xia Liuyi personally scooped water over him, soaped him, and scrubbed him down.
Having never served anyone like this before, Xia Liuyi’s technique was atrocious—his strength poorly controlled. The scrubbing cloth left He Chusan’s body mottled in red and purple.
Yet He Chusan endured silently, sitting in the steaming water, eyes fixed unwaveringly on Xia Liuyi—who, though impatient and rough, was entirely focused.
Suddenly, He Chusan leaned forward. While Xia Liuyi’s attention was on the scrubbing cloth, he quietly pressed his palm against the man’s cheek, fingertips brushing the damp corner of his lips—then leaned in.
“Brat, I haven’t brushed my teeth all day,” Xia Liuyi said flatly before their lips met.
He Chusan paused, pulling back slightly, blinking at him. “Then what should we do?”
“What do you mean what? Sit back down!” Xia Liuyi barked.
With wide, watery eyes, He Chusan wiggled his injured leg slightly and said in a soft, wounded tone, “But… I want to kiss you…”
“……” Xia Liuyi.
He glared fiercely, as if about to dunk the man’s head underwater. He Chusan remained unflustered, blinking pitifully.
“……” Xia Liuyi.
With a flushed face, Xia Liuyi threw down the washcloth, got up, and went to brush his teeth—tossing He Chusan a cup and toothbrush as well.
Five minutes later, he returned—not only having brushed his teeth, but also splashed cold water over his burning face. Still dripping, he glared at He Chusan.
Beaming, He Chusan immediately leaned in and wrapped his arms around his neck.
The two lingered by the bathtub, kissing for quite a while. Tugging at his hair, Xia Liuyi muttered between breaths, “Damn it… stop clinging to me… tonight, get your ass to the guest room…”
“Shh… don’t talk… your lips are sweet… one more kiss…”
Futile Devices Scans 
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