According to what Azure Dragon had once told Xia Liu Yi, his godfather had originally been a subordinate of Kun Zhang, a major drug lord in the Golden Triangle. More than a decade earlier, he had lost the use of his lower body during a conflict with the Burmese government. Taking the alias “Golden Maitreya,” he withdrew to Thailand and began managing Kun Zhang’s drug business throughout Southeast Asia. When Azure Dragon’s father was young and living in exile in the Golden Triangle, he once saved Golden Maitreya during a period of unrest, and the two became sworn brothers. Azure Dragon was therefore regarded as Golden Maitreya’s honorary nephew. When Xia Liu Yi was twenty, Azure Dragon brought him to Thailand. Golden Maitreya saw that he was clever and quick-witted and, with Azure Dragon strongly recommending him, accepted Xia Liu Yi as his godson.
Besides Xia Liu Yi, Golden Maitreya had four other godsons who remained by his side. They were known as the Four Great Bodhisattvas. Thailand traditionally followed Theravada Buddhism, worshipping Shakyamuni Buddha without the same bodhisattva pantheon, but Golden Maitreya was half Chinese and believed in Mahayana Buddhism. Not only did he ostentatiously donate money to build several Chinese Buddhist temples, he also feigned charity by adopting four orphans and raising them into four vicious beasts that helped a tiger commit evil. He gave each of them an alias based on a bodhisattva’s title: Ksitigarbha, Samantabhadra, Manjushri, and Jade Guanyin.
Elio’s Notes: Theravada Buddhism, dominant in Thailand and much of Southeast Asia, differs from Chinese Mahayana Buddhism in its religious traditions and bodhisattva devotion. Ksitigarbha, Samantabhadra, Manjushri, and Guanyin are major bodhisattvas in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism; “Jade Guanyin” is an invented alias based on Guanyin’s name.
Among them, the youngest, “Jade Guanyin,” was the most favored. Golden Maitreya kept his identity deeply concealed and was rarely seen. Jade Guanyin usually appeared on his behalf and conveyed his orders. Only someone of Xia Liu Yi’s standing could receive Jade Guanyin’s guidance through a maze of twists and turns before finally being granted an audience with the old man.
Golden Maitreya was cautious to the point of paranoia. Although he had once claimed to trust Xia Liu Yi as much as he trusted Azure Dragon, and although he had accepted Xia Liu Yi as his godson, Azure Dragon’s sudden death more than two years earlier immediately made him suspect that Xia Liu Yi had murdered his elder brother and seized power. He sent men to Hong Kong to investigate and only resumed dealings with Xia Liu Yi after discovering that Xu Ying had caused the trouble. Xia Liu Yi understood that Golden Maitreya remained wary of him, so he behaved with equal caution whenever they met, presenting himself as humble, deferential, and obedient.
This time, Xia Liu Yi had greatly increased the quantity of goods he wanted, and the method of the transaction had also changed. Golden Maitreya naturally became vigilant and questioned him at length. Since they had not seen each other for a year, he also had to display the benevolent concern expected of an elder. Between negotiations and expressions of care, Xia Liu Yi remained inside the reception room for more than half an hour before emerging.
Jade Guanyin lay across the sofa outside with faintly flushed cheeks. Her dress had somehow been torn open along a large section, exposing her bare thighs, and she was holding a mirror above her face while touching up her lipstick. The moment Xia Liu Yi opened the door with a composed expression, she released a coquettish murmur and pressed herself against him.
“Ordinary people come out drenched in nervous sweat,” she whispered coyly, playing with Xia Liu Yi’s hair. “How come you can meet Godfather and look completely fine?”
“Godfather wants you inside,” Xia Liu Yi said woodenly.
“Kiss me first, and then I’ll go.”
With no other choice, Xia Liu Yi cupped her heavily powdered face and planted a loud smack on her forehead. “Go inside!”
“You’re so good to me!” An innocent, radiant smile blossomed across Jade Guanyin’s face. She tried to return the favor with another loud smack on Xia Liu Yi’s mouth, but he tilted his head away, leaving her lips to land only on his chin. Still unsatisfied, she hummed and whined as she entered the room. Even from outside, they could hear her drawling sweetly, “God—fa—ther—”
Frowning, Xia Liu Yi continued walking away while wiping his chin, uncertain how much lipstick had been left on it. At the entrance to the main hall, he saw Xiao Ma waiting with the bodyguards—and Xiao Ma was also desperately wiping lipstick from his mouth. His clothes were in disarray. Part of the shirt beneath his suit jacket had been torn open, his belt was nowhere to be seen, and his other hand was miserably holding up his trousers.
Xia Liu Yi immediately understood. Veins bulged across his forehead. “Xiao Ma—!”
“Boss! It had nothing to do with me!” Xiao Ma burst into tears. “She—she suddenly ran out, looked at every one of us, then pinned me down and kept kissing me. She tore my clothes and pulled down my trousers. Ask the brothers if you don’t believe me. They all saw it…”
“So you tore her dress?!” Xia Liu Yi demanded in a low, furious voice.
Xiao Ma cried even harder. “She tore it herself… She even climbed on top of me and tried to force herself on me in front of everyone… But when I saw that she actually had a dick down there, I went soft from fright… She called me useless, kicked me, and left…”
“You went soft from fright? So you were damn well hard before that?!” Xia Liu Yi slapped him across the top of his head.
Clutching the swelling on his head, Xiao Ma whimpered and muttered, “I’ve never seen tits that amazing. They felt so good… Ah! Boss, don’t—don’t hit me! I was wrong! I’ll never provoke her again!”
Xia Liu Yi was so furious that his temples throbbed violently. He ordered the bodyguards to throw this disgraceful fool back into the car, then sat alone on the sofa in the hall and slowly calmed his breathing.
When he had emerged from that room moments earlier, he had not been drenched in sweat, but he had to admit that even someone as bold and unrestrained as he was still felt nervous and wary around Golden Maitreya.
Seven years earlier, during his first visit, Xia Liu Yi had witnessed Golden Maitreya’s methods. Golden Maitreya possessed the benevolent appearance of a Buddha, but his mind was far more vicious than Jade Guanyin’s. One part of the ceremony in which Xia Liu Yi formally acknowledged him as his godfather involved killing two recaptured traitors. Xia Liu Yi knew that even if he refused, the men would not survive, so he shot one dead without blinking. The other somehow escaped his bonds and lunged toward Jade Guanyin. Seeing that she was the only “woman” in the room, he tried to take her hostage and escape. Xia Liu Yi did not know Jade Guanyin’s true nature at the time and intervened to save her. He was then fortunate enough to witness the methods Golden Maitreya and Jade Guanyin used to deal with the fugitive, leaving the still-young Xia Liu Yi covered in cold sweat. After leaving Thailand, he secretly asked Azure Dragon why they associated with such sinister people. Azure Dragon answered, “He can guarantee your safety and prosperity. Why shouldn’t we? Remember, you are one of his own. Unless you have absolutely no choice, never defy him.”
Inside the reception room just now, every sentence Golden Maitreya uttered had contained a trap, with hidden meanings layered beneath his words. Fortunately, Xia Liu Yi genuinely had nothing to hide and had behaved openly, preventing any suspicion from falling upon him. Once Golden Maitreya’s doubts were dispelled, he truly did treat Xia Liu Yi as one of his own and did not demand an unreasonable price for the goods. Before long, Jade Guanyin emerged from the room with new instructions and told Xia Liu Yi to remain in Thailand for several more days because Godfather “wanted to take him on a tour of the factory.”
Xia Liu Yi understood that Golden Maitreya had seen his rising influence and promising future in Hong Kong and wanted to draw him closer, expanding his own power there and making future operations more convenient. Xia Liu Yi respectfully accepted the invitation, arranged to meet Jade Guanyin again the following day, and entered the car her people had prepared to escort him to his hotel.
After Jade Guanyin’s large entourage departed, Xia Liu Yi dragged Xiao Ma into the toilet and cursed him from head to toe. Jade Guanyin was unpredictable, suspicious, and temperamental. Apart from Golden Maitreya, no one could restrain her, and she was someone they absolutely could not afford to provoke. Once his anger subsided, Xia Liu Yi lay on the bed, smoking with his eyes closed as he considered the situation. Xiao Ma was ultimately capable of only minor cleverness and could not handle such major occasions. On future trips to Thailand, Xia Liu Yi would probably have to bring Cui Dong Dong instead. Yet if Cui Dong Dong left, no one capable of stabilizing the overall situation would remain in Hong Kong, which still left him uneasy. After considering it repeatedly, he concluded that he lacked another truly capable lieutenant.
He Chu San is certainly clever and composed. Unfortunately, his fighting skills are a little lacking.
The thought suddenly appeared in his mind. Xia Liu Yi immediately shuddered and smack! slapped himself across the face.
The bodyguard outside reacted instantly. “Boss?!”
“Nothing,” Xia Liu Yi said. “Bring me a new brick phone.”
A bodyguard soon delivered one. Xia Liu Yi asked, “Jade Guanyin sent this?”
“Yes.”
Worried that the device had been tampered with, Xia Liu Yi set it aside and refused to use it. He merely instructed the bodyguard to keep it with him and destroy it immediately upon their return to Hong Kong. Then he ordered someone to bring Xiao Ma’s brick phone instead.
However, after entering the number, he suddenly became more cautious. While listening to the connection tone, he felt along the battery cover.
Just as He Chu San’s “Hello?” sounded from the other end, Xia Liu Yi frowned, pried open the battery compartment, and pulled out an extra small square object hidden inside.
While He Chu San sat on his bed staring blankly at the brick phone he could not call back, Xia Liu Yi was once again viciously beating Brother Xiao Ma. Useless thing! Worthless idiot! Bastard! Someone tampered with your brick phone, and you didn’t even notice! All you cared about was groping tits! All you cared about was groping tits! I’ll turn you into a ladyboy so you can spend every day touching your own!
Xia Liu Yi did not know why Jade Guanyin wanted to listen in on him. Golden Maitreya might have ordered it, or Jade Guanyin might have been harboring some private scheme. Either way, Xia Liu Yi refused to risk involving He Chu San and simply did not contact him again for the remainder of his stay in Thailand.
With no word from Xia Liu Yi, He Chu San worried until his heart and lungs seemed to itch. When he asked Cui Dong Dong, Deputy Hall Master Cui said everything was fine and Sammy-boy should relax because the Boss was perfectly safe. When he asked for the new telephone number, she refused, saying the cops had been watching them closely and might even have tapped He Chu San’s brick phone, so he should stop creating trouble. In short, he remained consumed by worry and tossed restlessly throughout every night.
Seeing that his son was about to fall ill from lovesickness, Father He finally relented and said his future daughter-in-law was permitted to visit him at home. He Chu San immediately imagined the chaos that would erupt once this “daughter-in-law” stepped through the door. The thought was unbearable. Weakly, he pulled the quilt over his head and continued playing dead.
Xia Liu Yi had promised to return before Christmas, but even by Christmas Eve there was still no news. Father and son did not particularly celebrate Western holidays, but they joined the festive atmosphere by preparing a table filled with good food and inviting a widow from downstairs and her teenage daughter to eat with them. The widow’s surname was Wu. She was also an old neighbor who had moved out of Kau Lung Walled City. Her husband had died several years earlier, and she had no proper employment, surviving by taking in sewing and mending work. After Father He opened the grocery shop, he officially hired Auntie Wu to help watch the store, though in reality he was also providing some financial assistance to the mother and daughter. Over time, the two families became close. He Chu San had been away from home for a long time, and as he watched the natural understanding between Auntie Wu and Father He throughout the meal, he felt that something good might soon happen.
He knew that Auntie Wu was kind and attentive, and he was genuinely happy for Father He. He wanted to enthusiastically encourage this later-life romance. Unfortunately, Auntie Wu’s daughter was in the rebellious stage of adolescence and refused to cooperate. Auntie Wu was timid and poor at disciplining her. No matter how she tried to reason with the girl, she would not listen. When Auntie Wu nagged a little longer, the girl actually slammed the door and ran away.
Sighing, Auntie Wu apologized to the He father and son. She explained that her daughter had recently begun dating a young gangster. Auntie Wu had tried to stop her, leaving the girl furious and resentful, and the two were now engaged in a cold war.
As He Chu San listened to them discuss these ordinary household matters, his eyelids grew increasingly heavy. He guessed it was because of the bowl of Chinese medicine he had drunk after dinner, so he returned with his crutches to his room, which was crowded with merchandise, and lay down to rest. Half asleep, he heard the two older people continuing to chat through the thin door—and gradually drifted to sleep.
He dreamed that he followed Xia Liu Yi into that mysterious, unfamiliar foreign country, the Land of a Thousand Buddhas filled with temples. Xia Liu Yi’s figure disappeared behind an ancient, partially ruined stone wall. He Chu San tried to follow but was blinded by clouds of sandalwood incense. Within the spreading smoke, devout men and women could be faintly heard chanting. A meditating master who had lowered his head in worship asked him, You remain stubbornly deluded and are sinking deep into the mire. Why have you not turned back? He Chu San answered, Offering one’s body and cutting flesh to feed an eagle—are these not Buddhist teachings? The master replied, You cannot distinguish good from evil and assist a tiger in committing wickedness. Is this your idea of an offering? He Chu San answered, Without emerging from the mud, one cannot see the white lotus. If I don’t enter hell, how can I get him out of prison?
Knock, knock! Two soft sounds abruptly awakened Elite He from his childish, reckless heroic ambition. The sudden shock made his heart pound so violently that he could barely control it. Panting, he turned toward the window—and saw an enormous ghostly figure outside, nearly frightening him unconscious again.
Using superhuman willpower, He Chu San barely managed to steady himself and look more carefully. Xia Liu Yi was clinging to the windowsill, knocking on the glass with a dark expression.
He Chu San’s heart thundered. He hurriedly climbed out of bed, hopped once toward the window on one leg, and helped Xia Liu Yi inside.
“Bro-Brother Liu Yi, you… you…” He Chu San had been stunned senseless by this pie that had suddenly fallen from the sky and landed outside his window, and he began stammering again.
“Why did your Dad answer when I called you?” Xia Liu Yi frowned and asked quietly. As he disdainfully surveyed the tiny room surrounded by groceries, he brushed dirt and dust from his hands and clothes.
He Chu San froze. I’m done for. During dinner, he had left the brick phone on the table and, in his muddled state, forgotten to bring it into the room.
Xia Liu Yi’s flight had returned to Hong Kong that afternoon. He immediately presided over the Christmas Eve year-end gathering and distributed large red envelopes to the elders and brothers. The horde of demons and monsters celebrated until late at night before he finally found an opportunity to slip away from his own nightclub. His first action was to call He Chu San, only to be caught directly by Father He when he answered the telephone.
On the surface, Father He politely greeted the Boss, but in reality he subjected him to a thorough interrogation. He had not yet begun to suspect that Xia Liu Yi was his “daughter-in-law.” He merely believed He Chu San was working for Boss Xia and firmly concluded that Xia Liu Yi had something to do with his son’s broken leg.
Xia Liu Yi had no idea what lie He Chu San had told Father He and feared exposing it if he said too much. He stammered through the conversation, used poor reception as an excuse, and ended the call. Now he knew that He Chu San, that damn bastard, had slipped back home to live with Father He while Xia Liu Yi was away. Overcome by anger, he simply came over to “arrest” him.
Upon hearing this, He Chu San burst out laughing and lowered his head as his shoulders shook.
If Xia Liu Yi genuinely wanted to “arrest” him, he could have waited until Father He went to watch the shop the following day and entered openly through the front door. Climbing through a window in the middle of the night with such desperate urgency was not arresting anyone. He was clearly stealing a lover.
Seeing him behave this way immediately irritated Xia Liu Yi. Suppressing his voice, he cursed, “What are you laughing at, little bastard?”
“Pfft… Nothing. I wasn’t laughing at anything…” He Chu San said with laughter still in his voice. Then he limped forward and urgently kissed him.
He Chu San’s full weight forced Xia Liu Yi back against the window frame, leaving half his body leaning outside. The moment He Chu San caught his mouth, Xia Liu Yi’s legs instinctively weakened. To prevent the two of them from tumbling together through the window, he forced himself to remain composed, wrapped an arm around He Chu San’s waist, and turned them over with a burst of strength. Reversing their positions, he pressed He Chu San against the boxes of merchandise, bent his head, and began biting him without restraint.
He Chu San could not compete with him when it came to biting. Xia Liu Yi gnawed at him until he kept laughing, dodging between breaths. “Gently… Be gentler, Brother Liu Yi…”
“Tsk…” Xia Liu Yi grunted impatiently while kissing him. The two rustled, rustled beside the boxes, colliding and twisting together, until something suddenly went clatter above their heads.
Lost in passion, they had knocked over an enormous box of merchandise. Clatter! Crash!
“A’San?!” Father He called, awakened by the crash.
He Chu San’s voice came from inside the room. “Dad, it’s nothing. A box at the top fell down.”
“Are you hurt? Stay in bed. I’ll clean it up.” Father He had already reached the bedroom door.
“No, no, there’s no need! Dad, the—the box fell in front of the door and blocked it. It won’t open. I’ll clean it myself. Go back to sleep.” The voice behind the door was obviously panicked.
“Are you truly all right?” Father He asked suspiciously.
“I’m fine. I’m really fine.”
Suspicion rose in Father He’s mind. He pressed himself against the door and listened for a long while, then tried pushing it. It genuinely would not open—because Xia Liu Yi was behind it, desperately bracing the door with his backside. Still filled with doubt, Father He eventually returned to his room to sleep. Xia Liu Yi remained pressed against the door and listened carefully for a while longer before silently returning to the bed and sitting beside He Chu San.
Both men were still shaken. They sat blankly for a long while before simultaneously lowering their heads and laughing.
“Damn it, He A’San. Aren’t you supposed to be Best Actor He?” Xia Liu Yi cursed quietly through his laughter. “That performance just now was awful!”
“How am I supposed to act in front of Dad?” He Chu San said with complete justification. Father He had raised him for decades. The moment He Chu San lifted his backside, Father He already knew he needed to shit and could see through every little trick at a glance. Besides, he had just been frightened into a cold sweat. How could he possibly have been in the mood to act?
“…” Xia Liu Yi had no right to mock him. His own palms had also been wet.
He felt utterly pathetic. He was the mighty Dragon Head, yet he had to climb a wall in the middle of the night just to see his little lover—and had still been thoroughly intimidated by the man’s father. Golden Maitreya was not even half as terrifying as Father He.
“Damn it. How humiliating!”
“It’s all right. No one saw you,” He Chu San soothed him, pressing his lips against Xia Liu Yi’s again.
“Are you not a person?” Xia Liu Yi murmured while kissing and rubbing against him.
“I’m your person.”
“Sappy. Get lost.”
“Hehe.”
The two continued clinging to each other and making out for a long while on He Chu San’s narrow, ancient, dilapidated bed. Feeling mud and dust covering Xia Liu Yi’s hair, neck, and chest, He Chu San asked in confusion, “How exactly did you climb up here?”
“I climbed,” Xia Liu Yi replied impatiently.
“But your right hand…” It couldn’t exert any strength, could it?
Xia Liu Yi clicked his tongue. “You think that could stop your Brother Liu Yi? Your Brother Liu Yi is a martial-arts master. I can fly over rooftops and walk across walls. Satisfied?”
He absolutely would not admit that he had looped his necktie around iron frames and drainpipes along the way and climbed while holding it between his teeth. In truth, if He Chu San’s leg had not been injured, Xia Liu Yi would have thrown a stone at the window and ordered him to climb down the drainpipe instead.
The unlucky pair—one injured, one crippled—lay curled together on the bed. He Chu San carefully wiped the dirt from Boss Xia’s head and face with the cloth from his pillow, then asked quietly, “You aren’t leaving tonight, are you? Sleep here.”
He felt sorry for Xia Liu Yi. If he had to watch the man blindly feel his way down the wall again, He Chu San’s heart could not endure it. Yet if Xia Liu Yi left through the front door and awakened Father He, exposing the truth, Father He’s heart would be the one unable to endure it.
“It’s too cramped,” Xia Liu Yi complained.
“Sleeping close together is warmer. The temperature has dropped recently, and the bone I injured aches in the cold.”
Xia Liu Yi clicked his tongue with even greater disdain, but tightened his embrace around He Chu San and trapped his feet between his legs to warm them. “Fine. Sleep!”
The room remained silent for a long while.
“Brother Liu Yi, did you lock the door just now?”
“…No.”
“Hurry and lock it. Dad might secretly come in tomorrow morning.”
“…”
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