With Xiao Qi Hall’s Dragon Head imprisoned, White Paper Fan Pao-zai joined forces with Elder Qiu and attempted to seize power. Deputy Hall Master Cui Dong Dong dealt with him according to the society’s rules, then launched a sweeping purge throughout Xiao Qi Hall. Those who had plotted against them were either publicly executed or disappeared without a trace. The organization stabilized and passed through the minor crisis caused by the Boss’s imprisonment without serious harm. In the past, some people in the underworld had mocked Cui Dong Dong for being a woman. After this, they were forced to reassess the clever, decisive female boss whose ruthless methods were no less formidable than any man’s. Her reputation rose, and others treated her with far greater respect. The finer details need not be described. It is enough to say that the undercurrents continued for roughly a month before gradually settling.
Once the storm had passed, He Chu San finally emerged from hiding and returned to Father He’s home. Father He had only recently recovered, but his voice was as powerful as ever. He slapped and swatted the son he had heard only over the phone but had not seen for weeks, beating him thoroughly. “You brought Xin Xin back, but then you disappeared yourself! Busy with work, busy with work? I think you broke your leg again because you were too busy dating! Are you going to bring me an illegitimate grandchild next? Which rich family’s daughter have you seduced? You unfilial son!”
With a large handprint on his face, He Chu San went to prison to visit Father He’s mysterious daughter-in-law. During the past month, Prison Tyrant Xia had run rampant inside. He fought Limping Sha over beds, competed with Shrimp Skin for chicken legs, and whenever he sat beside the exercise yard during recreation, a crowd of followers immediately gathered around him. One massaged his legs, another kneaded his shoulders, while several others sang or told jokes.
Life had been comfortable, and with nothing else to do, he had gained weight. In the visitation room, he hummed while peeling a hard-boiled egg. When a guard brought He Chu San over, Xia Liu Yi stretched out his hand and stuffed the white egg into his mouth. “I saved it for you.”
“Cough.” Forced to bite off half the egg at once, He Chu San nearly choked. “You don’t have to. I already ate at home.”
Xia Liu Yi sighed. “Your Brother Liu Yi doesn’t have anything good in prison. You don’t smoke, so this egg is the only thing I can give you…”
He Chu San hurriedly cupped the remaining half of the egg. He was still chewing and had to struggle for a long time before he could speak. “Cough. It’s delicious.”
Xia Liu Yi snorted with laughter and pinched his cheek. “I was teasing you. If you can’t eat it, give it back.”
Of course He Chu San refused. He tried to hide the remaining half inside his clothes, but Boss Xia grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer. Lowering his head, Xia Liu Yi ate the egg directly from He Chu San’s palm, chewing slowly as he looked up at him with amusement.
He Chu San swallowed. He felt as though Boss Xia were slowly chewing his heart one bite at a time.
“How’s your little sister?”
“She’s going through rehabilitation at Xiao Luo’s place. They say she’s doing all right.”
“I heard from Dong Dong that bastard A’Sen broke into your home looking for you that night?”
“Mm.”
“Were you hurt?” Xia Liu Yi turned He Chu San’s arms over and examined them carefully, failing to notice the scar at his temple that He Chu San had deliberately hidden beneath his hair.
“No. I knocked him unconscious.” Without the slightest change in expression, He Chu San claimed Xin Xin’s achievement as his own.
Xia Liu Yi traced the long life line across He Chu San’s palm and sighed. “Move somewhere else as soon as possible. I don’t feel safe with you there. Or let Dong Dong assign two bodyguards to you. She said she wanted to, but you refused.”
“I’m really fine,” He Chu San said. “It would be inconvenient to bring bodyguards to work. Besides, other than A’Sen and A’Nan, no one knows where I live.” Xiao Ma and Dong Dong knew now too, but they were his own people.
“There’s still A’Nan. Maybe I should have Dong Dong silence him too.” Xia Liu Yi toyed with He Chu San’s hand. The boy’s ten fingers were long and pale. It was a shame he did not play the piano.
“Don’t. A’Nan is a good person,” He Chu San said with a smile. “If he hadn’t injured A’Sen first, I might not have been able to subdue him. After learning that I had been… frightened by A’Sen, he even cooked chicken soup and brought it over. He apologized and blamed himself for being too stupid and letting A’Sen escape.”
“Why the hell did he bring chicken soup?” Xia Liu Yi glared. “Why would he bring chicken soup just to apologize? Is that bastard trying to seduce Sister-in-law?”
He Chu San lowered his head and laughed quietly without answering. Xia Liu Yi pinched the back of his hand repeatedly. “What are you laughing at, little bastard?”
“Ha ha ha… Brother Liu Yi, you’re so cute when you’re jealous…”
“Get lost!”
The two laughed, cursed, and played around for a while. The guard stepped aside to smoke and pretended not to notice.
When Elite He saw that the guard had turned his back, he secretly pulled Boss Xia’s hand against his chest and held it over his heart.
“Brother Liu Yi, I miss you so much.”
“Cough. Why are you being so sappy?” Xia Liu Yi turned his head away. The palm against He Chu San’s chest felt unbearably hot, and even the cheap jade Buddha resting against his own chest seemed to burn.
“I miss you every day. I want to live with you in our home again.”
“That broken apartment of yours is still rented,” Xia Liu Yi pointed out.
“A rented place can still be a home.” He Chu San continued shamelessly. “Anywhere you are is home.”
“Hey, that’s enough. If you get any sappier, I’m leaving.”
He Chu San closed his mouth. He held the back of Xia Liu Yi’s hand against his heart for a while, then lifted it and kissed it. His dark eyes fluttered as he gazed at Xia Liu Yi.
After looking at him tenderly for some time, he said softly, “Brother Liu Yi, after you get out, go legitimate. I don’t want us to be unable to see each other like this again.”
Xia Liu Yi’s heart softened under his gaze. “When has your Brother Liu Yi ever failed to keep a promise to you?”
“Then I’ll wait at home for you to come back.” He Chu San spoke sweetly, rubbing his cheek gently against the back of Xia Liu Yi’s hand while continuing to flutter his dark eyes at him.
Boss Xia smacked him across the face with the back of his hand. “Best Actor He, what the hell have you been watching lately? You’re disgusting!”
After saying goodbye to the overly dramatic Best Actor He, Boss Xia rubbed the jade Buddha against his chest and returned to the recreation yard in an excellent mood, smiling to himself. The moment he entered, he saw a crowd gathered in the distance.
Big Scarhead, who stood beside the yard, approached him. “Boss.”
“What’s happening over there?” Xia Liu Yi accepted the cigarette Big Scarhead offered and watched the growing crowd.
“A group of prisoners was transferred in today. One of them is a handsome young man, and Big Python from the Sha Family Gang has taken an interest in him.”
The young man had sharp, striking features and looked like a film star, making him exceptionally conspicuous among the vicious-looking men. Xia Liu Yi had never paid much attention to the appearance of other men—or women, for that matter. He glanced at him from more than ten meters away without looking closely, then tilted his head so a subordinate could light his cigarette.
At that moment, the young man slapped Big Python so hard that he staggered. The prisoners around them immediately began jeering. Several of Big Python’s brothers surrounded the young man. Although he looked thin and weak, he did not hesitate once the fight began. In only a few moves, he threw down two hardened members of the Sha Family Gang, then hurled one of them into Shrimp Skin, the He Sheng Society boss watching from the side.
The impact left Shrimp Skin dizzy. Once he recovered, he became furious and led his men into the fight. They attacked the young man while also using the opportunity to beat members of the Sha Family Gang. Limping Sha saw the disturbance and brought his own men over to help. More than twenty men from the two factions became tangled together in a chaotic brawl.
Big Scarhead asked, “Boss, what should we do?”
Xia Liu Yi smiled coldly. “Tell our brothers to move farther away and enjoy the show.”
The guards charged forward waving their batons, ordering everyone in the yard to crouch down. Xia Liu Yi led his followers aside and obediently squatted with his hands over his head. A cigarette hung from his lips as he narrowed his eyes and watched. The young man, whom the guards had already restrained, suddenly struggled upright and kicked Shrimp Skin in the face.
“Hiss!” Xia Liu Yi laughed softly. “That must hurt.”
“That kid is seriously strange,” Big Scarhead muttered. “He offended both factions on his first day here.”
Xia Liu Yi smiled again. “Find out who he is.”
The guards shocked the young man several times with electric batons. He collapsed, convulsing on the ground, and finally lost the ability to fight. Two guards dragged him upright and half carried, half pulled him across the yard, passing Xiao Qi Hall’s men. Xia Liu Yi squatted beside the path and gave him a careless glance. His expression froze.
Without warning, he shot upright and charged toward the young man.
Big Scarhead and the others rushed forward to restrain him, unable to understand why he had suddenly gone mad.
Xia Liu Yi lunged toward the guards. Both widened their eyes and raised their electric batons at him. Big Scarhead and the others caught up and forcibly dragged Xia Liu Yi aside, pressing him into a crouch.
“Boss! Boss, what’s wrong?!” They murmured urgently while hurriedly smiling apologetically at the guards.
Xia Liu Yi panted heavily. His fists clenched so hard that his knuckles cracked, and his eyes were clouded as though he had been possessed. He struggled desperately, forcing several men to use all their strength to hold him. Only after the guards escorted the brawling prisoners out of the yard did Xia Liu Yi’s legs give way. He dropped to his knees, trembling all over, and remained rigid for a long time before an unconscious whisper escaped his throat.
“Eldest…”
“Boss, what did you say?” Big Scarhead had not heard clearly and was about to ask again when another follower who had spent several years in Xiao Qi Hall suddenly turned pale and covered his mouth.
…
The fight resulted in more than a dozen people being placed in solitary confinement, including the newly arrived young man and the two prison bosses, Shrimp Skin and Limping Sha. With two of the three tigers removed from the mountain, the prison lost its usual atmosphere of rivalry. The remaining tiger king, Xia Liu Yi, did not appear interested in ruling either. Over the following day, he spoke very little, drove every subordinate away, and sat alone smoking and staring into space.
“Does that kid really look like Boss Azure Dragon?” Big Scarhead crouched in a distant corner with another follower, secretly watching Xia Liu Yi while whispering.
“He does. I saw Boss Azure Dragon many times back then,” the man replied in the lowest possible voice. “Besides, if he didn’t resemble him, would our Boss act like this?”
“Could Boss Azure Dragon… still be alive?”
“How is that possible? Everyone saw the body. Besides, this kid looks barely over twenty. Boss Azure Dragon was already in his thirties when he died. They can’t be the same person.”
“Maybe his spirit returned in another body? Look at our Boss. He’s acting bewitched.”
“B-Big Scar, B-Brother Scar, d-don’t scare me. I-I’m terrified of things like that…”
The more they whispered, the more frightened they became. At that moment, Xia Liu Yi, who had been silent all day, released a long sigh. He began rubbing the cheap jade Buddha He Chu San had given him as usual and looked around for snacks.
“He’s normal again. He’s normal again.” Big Scarhead and the other man both sighed in relief.
The dead could not return to life. Xia Liu Yi had spent his entire life surrounded by blades and blood and had never believed in ghosts. After remaining lost in thought for an entire day, he eventually came to his senses. A counterfeit who merely looked similar was not worth losing himself over.
Three days later, everyone in solitary confinement was released and returned to the communal dormitory.
Thirty or forty men lived in the dormitory. A broad aisle ran through the center, with two-level metal bunk beds arranged along either side. The returning prisoners walked down the aisle one after another, Shrimp Skin in front. Xia Liu Yi was leaning against his bed smoking. When he saw Shrimp Skin’s face covered in purple bruises and one eye swollen like a panda’s, he burst out laughing.
“What are you laughing at?!” Shrimp Skin demanded.
Before Xia Liu Yi could respond, Big Scarhead and his followers surged to their feet. “What’s wrong with laughing at you?!”
Shrimp Skin’s men puffed out their chests and lined up beside him. The two groups confronted each other aggressively. Xia Liu Yi raised a hand and signaled Big Scarhead to step back. “Shrimp Skin, you just came out of solitary. Are you already looking for more trouble?”
Shrimp Skin could not afford to provoke him, and Xia Liu Yi was not his target that night anyway. He threw out the words, “Twin-Blade Xia, remember this!” then returned angrily to his bed.
Limping Sha entered next, walking with a slight limp. In terms of underworld seniority, he belonged to Azure Dragon’s generation and was already in his forties, making him steadier. He merely frowned at Xia Liu Yi, then sat in his own section. Two followers immediately approached and began massaging his legs.
Each of the three bosses occupied one corner of the dormitory, creating a three-way balance of power.
The last person to enter was the young man who had offended two prison bosses immediately after being transferred. Big Scarhead had investigated him. His name was Qin Hao. He had been convicted of intentional bodily harm and sentenced to five months.
Qin Hao had bruises on his face. With an indifferent expression, he stood in the aisle holding a washbasin, toothbrush, and cup. The moment Shrimp Skin saw him, he sat upright with murder in his eyes. Limping Sha also gave him a dark look.
Limping Sha’s subordinate Big Python—the man who had originally provoked Qin Hao only to be slapped aside—immediately led several members of the Sha Family Gang forward and blocked his path. Shrimp Skin and his men surrounded him as well.
Xia Liu Yi glanced toward the door. The guard on duty had disappeared, perhaps after accepting money from Limping Sha and Shrimp Skin.
Qin Hao was surrounded so tightly by both groups that there was no escape. He looked coldly around at the crowd without showing fear.
“Boss?” Big Scarhead asked.
“Watch for now,” Xia Liu Yi said quietly. He planted one foot against the end of the bed and pulled himself onto the upper bunk with one hand, claiming a better view.
“Kid, do you know how to write the word ‘death’?!” Big Python shouted.
The show was indeed entertaining. Shrimp Skin’s men immediately joined in. “Little bastard! You dared hit our Boss!” One stepped forward to punch Qin Hao, only for Big Python to block his arm. “The Sha Family Gang gets to teach this kid a lesson tonight!”
“Fuck! Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m your father! Get lost! Stop blocking me!”
The two grabbed each other by the collar, while the groups behind them began shoving. They had not even started beating Qin Hao, but they were already fighting over who had the right to do it first. Xia Liu Yi burst out laughing.
Limping Sha, who was watching from outside the circle, was irritated by the laugh. “What are you arguing about? Big Python, stop! Shrimp Skin, control your men!”
“Everyone stop!” Shrimp Skin shouted. “Limping Sha, this kid injured me. I’m not letting him go. We can settle our score another day. Tonight, he belongs to me!”
Limping Sha sneered. “Shrimp Skin, you know he can fight. Whoever defeats him tonight gets him. Fine. I’ll let you go first and see whether you can handle him.”
He was clearly provoking Shrimp Skin into fighting Qin Hao alone. Xia Liu Yi lazily leaned against the head of the bed with his arms folded, watching. He nudged Big Scarhead’s shoulder with his bare foot.
The well-trained Big Scarhead immediately opened a bag of potato chips and presented it to him.
With all his followers watching, Shrimp Skin did not want to lose face. Otherwise, people would accuse him of relying on numbers and being too frightened to fight a young newcomer alone. He rolled up his sleeves, picked up a kettle, and swung it at Qin Hao. Qin Hao raised his washbasin to block, spun, and kicked him squarely in the chest, sending Shrimp Skin flying into the men behind him. They hurriedly shoved him forward again. Roaring, Shrimp Skin threw another punch, but Qin Hao seized his wrist, ducked low, spun, and threw him over his shoulder while Shrimp Skin howled.
“What are you idiots standing around for? Attack!” Shrimp Skin screamed from the floor.
Xia Liu Yi casually ate his chips while watching Shrimp Skin’s men rush forward one after another. Qin Hao threw one left and smashed another right. Five or six attacked, yet not one managed to get close. Big Python grew impatient and charged in with a roar, only to be thrown aside before he finished shouting. Limping Sha finally lost patience and bellowed, “Damn it! What are you waiting for? All of you, get him!”
Both groups surged forward. Realizing the situation had turned against him, Qin Hao spun around and ran. The men chased him in a long pack like hyenas hunting prey. Qin Hao scrambled over beds and ducked underneath them, throwing pillows and overturning chairs like the Monkey King wreaking havoc in the underworld. Their screams echoed endlessly, leaving Xia Liu Yi delighted.
The pursuit lasted exactly as long as an entire bag of chips. Qin Hao’s breathing had grown uneven and his face was flushed, but he still showed no signs of losing.
Big Scarhead noticed some of Shrimp Skin’s men pulling out paper shivs and sharpened toothbrush handles. He leaned closer. “Boss, they’ve brought out weapons. Something might happen.”
Xia Liu Yi, already eating his second bag of chips, stopped chewing and thought for a moment. Then he jumped down from the bed and raised his voice. “Everyone stop!”
“Kill the bastard!” “Grab his clothes!” “Ow!” “Fuck!”
The room was too chaotic for anyone to hear him. Xia Liu Yi handed the bag to Big Scarhead. “Hold these.”
“Boss, why don’t I go?”
“It’s fine. Don’t steal any.”
Xia Liu Yi wiped his hands on his uniform and pushed into the crowd. Before long, a second chorus of screams erupted from the center. Limping Sha stood on his toes and stretched his neck to look. Xia Liu Yi leaped into a flying side kick and knocked one man’s head into another’s. The crowd collapsed like dominoes.
Kicking left and right without throwing a punch, Xia Liu Yi used his long legs to force his way into the center. After kicking away two more men from the Sha Family Gang, he seized a He Sheng Society follower’s wrist and smashed it against a bedframe. The sharpened toothbrush handle fell with a clatter.
“Goddamn it, all of you stop!”
This time, everyone heard him. They hesitated and lowered their hands.
“Twin-Blade Xia! Are you protecting him?!” Shrimp Skin demanded, both eyes bruised black.
“Twin-Blade Xia, what the hell does this have to do with you?!” Limping Sha demanded.
“Who the hell said I was protecting him?” Xia Liu Yi sneered.
He suddenly spun and punched at Qin Hao. Qin Hao instinctively leaned backward, but before he could straighten, Xia Liu Yi swept his legs out from under him and sent him crashing to the floor. Qin Hao sprang upright with a kip-up and roared as he fired more than ten rapid punches. Everyone heard a barrage of heavy bangs, while the punches moved too quickly to follow. Xia Liu Yi’s expression remained unchanged as he blocked with one hand and retreated. Then his hand shot through the blur of fists. He ducked, spun, and roared as he threw Qin Hao over his shoulder.
It was the same move Qin Hao had used against Shrimp Skin.
Qin Hao crashed down and tried to roll over, but Xia Liu Yi drove an elbow into his throat. His breath nearly stopped, and his eyes widened in agony. When Xia Liu Yi loosened his grip, Qin Hao could only curl up and cough violently. His arms were twisted behind him and pinned to the floor, leaving him unable to move.
Xia Liu Yi knelt behind him, one knee pressing into his lower back. His left hand held Qin Hao’s wrist while his right hand slowly reached into his pants and produced a cigarette. Big Scarhead pushed through the crowd and expertly lit it.
Xia Liu Yi exhaled a tired but satisfied stream of smoke and muttered, “A fake.”
Only Qin Hao heard him. He looked up without understanding. Xia Liu Yi raised his voice. “Limping Sha, Shrimp Skin, what do you say?”
“What do you mean?” Shrimp Skin demanded, clutching his bruised eyes.
“You said whoever defeated him tonight would get him. I won.”
“Twin-Blade Xia, what are you planning?” Limping Sha frowned. “You don’t have any grudge against him.”
“No grudge.” Xia Liu Yi spoke casually, removed the cigarette from his mouth, and shoved it between Qin Hao’s lips. “I want him.”
Qin Hao’s eyes widened. He spat the cigarette away with a Pah! Xia Liu Yi drove his knee down harder, forcing a cry from him. The moment Qin Hao opened his mouth, Xia Liu Yi shoved the cigarette back in.
“Everyone here has worked hard tonight. I’ll give every brother two packs of cigarettes,” Xia Liu Yi said with the amiable air of a man seeking harmony. “Limping Sha, Shrimp Skin, give me some face.”
“You think we’ll give him to you just because you say so—” Shrimp Skin began, but Xia Liu Yi’s suddenly freezing gaze silenced him.
Limping Sha gave Qin Hao a meaningful glance. He had met Azure Dragon personally and guessed that Xia Liu Yi had intervened only because of that face. He did not believe the nonsense about Xia Liu Yi wanting the young man, and probably no one else did either. His trusted subordinate Big Python was an incurable idiot who liked pretty boys, liked fucking them in the ass, and was always causing trouble. If Big Python were not his cousin’s son, fiercely loyal, physically strong, and useful in a fight, Limping Sha would have beaten him with clubs and thrown him out long ago. Limping Sha knew what men who liked playing with other men looked like, and Xia Liu Yi showed none of those traits.
Since matters had reached this point, Limping Sha followed the current. “Twin-Blade Xia, I keep my word. You defeated him, so he’s yours. Shrimp Skin?”
Shrimp Skin was obviously unwilling, but both other bosses had agreed to settle the matter privately. If he continued resisting, he would only suffer. “Hmph! We’ll leave it here this time. Kid, just wait!” He spat at Qin Hao.
The men lowered their weapons and began restoring order. Some moved beds while others mopped the floor. Before long, every trace of the fight had vanished. Xia Liu Yi ordered Big Scarhead to bind Qin Hao’s hands with a bedsheet and throw him onto a bed in the corner.
Qin Hao’s eyes were red with rage. The muscles and veins throughout his body bulged as he struggled and cursed in a low voice, “You damn queer! Don’t touch me!”
Xia Liu Yi threw a pillow at him. “Queer, my ass! Who the hell is interested in your asshole? Look over there. Big Python, the one who blocked you earlier—that’s the one who wants to fuck you. Big Scar, give me the fries.”
Big Scarhead respectfully presented the perfectly preserved bag of fries while seriously reassuring the new arrival. “Don’t worry. Our Boss isn’t interested in you. We already have a sister-in-law. Our sister-in-law is much prettier than you—as lovely as a flower…”
“Flower, my ass!” Xia Liu Yi kicked him in the backside.
Big Scarhead’s flattery had been far too clumsy, and his choice of words catastrophically inappropriate, leaving a profound shadow in his Boss’s heart. From then on, whenever the nights stretched long and sleep eluded Boss Xia, the thought of He A’San being “as lovely as a flower” made him toss and turn, scratching himself all over as goose bumps erupted across his skin.
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