Elio’s Notes: Since Father He and Auntie Wu are getting married, and Chu San is addressing her as Mum, we’ll call her Mother Wu in the narration.
He Chu San’s private office was located inside a small building along the Wan Chai waterfront. Directly opposite stood Phase One of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, completed four years earlier. The enormous complex rose high into the clouds and possessed what was then the world’s largest glass curtain wall. Its blue-glass façade faced the harbor and reflected the glittering sunlight with dazzling brilliance. Beside it, He Chu San had rented an unremarkable office inside an equally unremarkable little commercial building and quietly established a data-analysis company.
Hidden behind that world-famous waterfront landmark and within Hong Kong, the world-famous Asian financial center, the small firm operated behind the scenes in several major transactions, growing quietly while making money without attracting attention.
Very few people knew the address of the small company. The bodyguards sent by the Boss had recently been stationed downstairs in disguise to protect his wife. Therefore, when a narrow-eyed young man appeared in He Chu San’s office without warning and handed over his business card with a slight smile, He Chu San looked curiously at the words printed upon it: “Lu Guang Ming, Investigator, Independent Commission Against Corruption.”
“Investigator Lu, I wasn’t informed that I had a visitor. How did you get inside?”
“The emergency stairwell,” Lu Guang Ming said with a smile. “Fortunately, your office isn’t on a very high floor.”
He Chu San’s assistant, who had been working outside, discovered the intruder and hurried into the room. He Chu San waved him away and instructed him to close the door.
He rose, guided Lu Guang Ming toward a nearby sofa, and personally poured him a cup of tea. “Investigator Lu, please.”
Sitting on the sofa opposite him, He Chu San calmly regarded the ICAC investigator, who looked even younger than he did but possessed eyes filled with cunning. “Investigator Lu, I’m merely a law-abiding small businessman. This company has barely a dozen employees. Surely an operation this small doesn’t warrant the ICAC’s attention?”
Lu Guang Ming shook his head. “Don’t worry. There is nothing wrong with Mister He’s company. It is every bit as clean as Mister He himself. You’ve only practiced professionally for two years, yet you’ve already established your own company and become investment adviser to several companies under Xiao Qi Hall. In the underworld, you’re known as the Little Fortune-Bringer. Yet no matter how thoroughly anyone investigates, they can’t find a single flaw. That itself is somewhat strange. Unless you deliberately prepared from the very beginning, how could everything be so completely airtight?”
“Perhaps I’ve simply never done anything I shouldn’t have done,” He Chu San replied calmly.
“Perhaps.” Lu Guang Ming smiled. “Mr. He graduated from a prestigious university and is an outstanding young talent. Naturally, you operate on a different level from the ordinary gangsters on the street.”
He Chu San did not wish to continue circling around the point. “After saying so much, Investigator Lu, what exactly brings you here?”
“I want to make a deal with you.”
“What sort of deal?”
“Xia Liu Yi, the Dragon Head of Xiao Qi Hall. I know that your relationship with him is far from simple. I possess a fatal weakness of his—something sufficient to reduce Xiao Qi Hall to ashes and send Xia Liu Yi back to prison. This time, it wouldn’t be for a mere three months. He would remain there for the rest of his life. Give me what I need, and in exchange, I can eliminate this disaster for him.”
He Chu San remained relaxed and composed upon the sofa. “I’m sorry, Investigator Lu, but I don’t believe you. You’re an ICAC investigator. If you truly possess such decisive evidence, wouldn’t it be easier to arrest him directly rather than obtain what you want through me?”
He rose to show his visitor out. Knowing that He Chu San was merely posturing, Lu Guang Ming stopped circling the issue and said directly, “I possess the identity file of a police undercover officer working under Xia Liu Yi.”
He Chu San looked down at him and frowned. “An undercover officer? You’re an ICAC investigator, yet you’re willing to expose a police operative in exchange for your own interests?”
Lu Guang Ming laughed. “From the way you speak, Mister He, you clearly understand what Xia Liu Yi would do to an undercover officer. I may not possess much of a conscience, but I still have a small bottom line. If I truly wanted that undercover man harmed, I wouldn’t have taken such a roundabout route to negotiate with you. I would have gone directly to Xia Liu Yi. Mister He has more of a conscience than I do. If you make this deal on Xia Liu Yi’s behalf, the undercover officer’s life will be in your hands.”
He Chu San stared at him in disbelief. “What do you want in exchange?”
“Xiao Qi Hall’s ‘Dragon Head ledger.’”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing, and I won’t make any deal with you.” He Chu San decisively showed him the door. “Please leave, Investigator Lu.”
Lu Guang Ming stood leisurely. “As far as I know, this undercover operative has already obtained a great deal of incriminating evidence. The operation will be closed soon. Does Mr. He truly not intend to consider the interests of his ‘lover’?”
“I don’t have a ‘lover,’” He Chu San replied without changing expression. “If you’re referring to Xia Liu Yi, then you’ve misunderstood our relationship. I merely provide investment advice to his companies. As for the evidence of Xia Liu Yi’s crimes that you mentioned, if he has genuinely committed an offense, then he should bear the corresponding consequences. He is an adult capable of independent thought and action. He is responsible for his own conduct and does not require anyone else to consider matters on his behalf.”
Lu Guang Ming laughed again. “It seems Mr. He is an interesting person too. Never mind. I possess plenty of patience. Think it over carefully, and call me once you’ve decided.” He gestured toward the business card in He Chu San’s hand and took his leave.
He Chu San remained seated on the sofa, frowning at the card for a long time. Then he picked it up between two fingers and dropped it into the wastebasket.
He calmly returned to his desk and continued working, attaching no importance to the brief interruption. He could tell that Lu Guang Ming was bluffing. Precisely because the young man lacked genuine strength and experience, he had decorated himself with an appearance of cunning sophistication. Yet his words and conduct were so obviously calculated and impatient for results that they instead reduced his credibility to almost nothing. He Chu San concluded that Lu Guang Ming possessed neither a genuine fatal weakness nor the identity of any police undercover officer. He was probably trapped in some investigation and had come to invent a story in the hope of extorting something from him.
He Chu San did not take a single word Lu Guang Ming had said to heart.
…
Lu Guang Ming left He Chu San’s office building with a cheerful smile and climbed into a taxi. Half an hour later, he joined several colleagues outside Yau Ma Tei Police Station. Displaying their ICAC identification, they walked boldly inside and stopped before the desk of a mid-ranking officer.
“Officer Wang, two months ago, the ICAC received a report accusing you of concealing criminal evidence for Wui Fat Finance Company and accepting HK$2.85 million in bribes over the past three years. Our investigation has confirmed the allegations. You are now formally under arrest.”
Shocked, Officer Wang sprang to his feet in a fury. “How could there have been a report? I clearly did what he told me…” He abruptly realized that the ICAC officer had said the report arrived two months earlier, while the mysterious caller who had blackmailed him into investigating the photograph had only contacted him several days ago. The ICAC had already received the report long before that phone call.
“One of you set me up! Someone made a deal with me and used me!” Realization dawning, he pointed furiously at the investigators. Lu Guang Ming narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“Officer Wang, without evidence, please don’t casually slander ICAC officers. Walk enough dark roads and sooner or later you’ll meet a ghost. You chose to make a deal with the devil.”
At dusk, He Chu San finished the day’s work and was the last person to leave the office. However, just as the elevator doors were about to close, he abruptly pressed the button to reopen them and returned to his office.
After searching through the wastebasket, he retrieved the business card and slipped it into a hidden compartment of his briefcase.
…
Several days later, on Christmas Eve, Kan Hei Restaurant overflowed with celebration. He Chu San had booked the old neighborhood restaurant three months in advance. It stood near the former site of Kau Lung Walled City and had been operating for many years. Father He had worked diligently throughout his life as a skilled and honest dentist. He frequently assisted the elderly and the young, performed charitable deeds, and enjoyed acting as a peacemaker. Fond of reasoning with others, he often mediated disputes between neighbors and was deeply loved by the local community. Now that the old tree had finally blossomed, its fragrance carried for miles, drawing a large crowd of old friends, former patients, and their families to congratulate Father He on finding happiness late in life.
He Chu San and Xin Xin stood at the entrance welcoming guests and were startled by the unending stream of arrivals. Aside from their two children, Father He and Mother Wu had no relatives, so they had estimated that only thirty to fifty people would attend at most. He Chu San had therefore chosen this nostalgic and welcoming old restaurant, which was popular among the neighborhood residents. Its main hall was not especially large, with space for only four or five round tables and a small platform for the ceremony. Yet nearly one or two hundred people had now appeared. A table had already been added to either side of the platform, but that remained nowhere near enough. More guests continued arriving, and soon there would not merely be nowhere to sit, but nowhere even to stand.
Changing restaurants or reserving additional tables elsewhere was impossible on such short notice, and it would also be inappropriate to divide the guests between separate venues. He Chu San called Xin Xin over and whispered instructions for her to negotiate with the restaurant. Perhaps they could somehow squeeze in several more tables. Since the restaurant had no courtyard, they would have to place them outside the entrance along the roadside. The location was remote, and everyone had gone into the city center to celebrate Christmas Eve, so the tables would not obstruct pedestrians.
Xin Xin followed his instructions. The restaurant manager was also quick-witted. Upon hearing the suggestion, he immediately led his staff into a bustle of preparation. He hired a truck and borrowed several large tables from friendly neighboring restaurants, while also ordering additional dishes from them because his own kitchen could no longer handle the workload.
He Chu San arranged for Father He and Mother Wu to greet the guests and keep the atmosphere lively. He then dragged his two business partners from the data-analysis company out of their seats and put them to work maintaining order, arranging seating, laying tables, and urging the kitchen to serve the food. The restaurant lacked enough servers, so He Chu San called Xiao He. Without hesitation, she arrived with a group of her former sisters to rescue the occasion. The beautiful women applied light makeup and assumed the gentle, bashful demeanor of respectable young ladies as they greeted guests and poured drinks. Many elderly neighborhood men became completely dazed by the sight and only recovered after their wives dragged them back to their senses by the ears and scolded them.
Under He Chu San’s management, the lively banquet preparations remained busy but orderly. Just as everything appeared to be progressing smoothly, Xin Xin hurried inside and told him that two patrol officers had arrived. They said that placing banquet tables on the pavement obstructed public passage. Even if there was not a single pedestrian outside, the tables still had to be removed, or they would report the matter to the municipal authorities.
He Chu San personally went outside and politely negotiated with the officers, asking them to make an exception. The officers insisted on enforcing the regulations and demanded that the tables be removed immediately. He Chu San retreated a step and requested some time to rearrange matters, promising to have the additional seats transferred to other restaurants at once.
The middle-aged officer in charge had veins bulging across his face and was clearly in an extremely foul mood that evening. Refusing to let He Chu San speak further, he abruptly lashed out at a banquet table where half the dishes had already been served and several guests were seated. He flipped the entire table onto the ground. The startled guests scattered. When He Chu San stepped forward to intervene, the officer punched him directly in the right eye, causing him to clutch one side of his face and double over.
He Chu San’s vision blurred. Through the haze, he faintly heard A’Nan cry out anxiously, “Boss!”
He Chu San looked up in surprise and saw Xia Liu Yi rush forward with a dark face and bloodshot eyes, striking the middle-aged officer with a single punch that sent him crashing into the food and broken dishes covering the ground.
The Boss had prepared himself carefully for the occasion and arrived filled with anticipation. In the car, he had been chewing a lollipop and humming a tune, and he had even given every bodyguard on duty a large red envelope. The bodyguards assumed that something good was happening that day and happily accompanied their Boss to meet the sister-in-law. Yet before the car had even reached the destination, they saw their sister-in-law being struck.
Before the vehicle came to a complete stop, and before the bodyguards could get out, the Boss had already flung open the door and charged forward.
Xia Liu Yi hauled the officer upright and drove another vicious punch toward his eye. The younger patrol officer standing nearby had frozen in shock. Only then did he recover, shout loudly, and rush forward with an electric baton to strike Xia Liu Yi’s back—he was so nervous that he forgot to switch on the electricity. Xia Liu Yi spun and swept him to the ground with a kick, seized the baton, and turned back with the intention of driving it into the middle-aged officer’s eye. A’Nan and He Chu San threw themselves forward together and stopped him.
“Boss, you can’t!” Honest-hearted A’Nan did not consider the consequences of obstructing his Boss at a time like this. He clung to the baton and pleaded desperately.
“Brother Liu Yi! Enough, enough! I’m fine!” He Chu San wrapped his arms around Xia Liu Yi’s waist and pleaded as well. Assaulting a police officer in front of so many witnesses—and apparently intending to beat the man to death—would create an enormous disaster.
Xia Liu Yi was vicious by nature. He threw aside the baton and He Chu San and charged forward to strike again. He had just raised his fist when he realized whom he had thrown away. Hastily turning back, he caught the staggering He Chu San and held his face between both hands, examining him carefully. “Are you all right? Can you see clearly?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Although He Chu San insisted that nothing was wrong, the corner of his brow was already swollen, his right eye was threaded with blood, and his gaze was visibly unfocused. Xia Liu Yi’s heart felt as though it had been cut by a knife, and his anger intensified. The battered middle-aged officer had recovered and continued adding fuel to the fire, cursing furiously from behind them, “You little bastard! May your whole family die! You dare assault a police officer?!”
“I’ll make your whole family die today!” Xia Liu Yi turned to attack again. The other man finally recognized him and cried out in shock, “Xia Liu Yi?!”
Xia Liu Yi slowed and also recognized the officer, whose face he had already beaten black and blue. “Inspector Wu?”
Well, now the flood had washed into the Dragon King’s temple, and members of the same family had failed to recognize one another. Inspector Wu had once been a moderately ranked detective in Kowloon City and had served eagerly beneath the former Chief Inspector Hua. He was accomplished in accepting bribes, freeloading, drinking, gambling, and visiting prostitutes, and he excelled most at bullying others through authority and flattering his superiors. During the height of his influence several years earlier, he had been a regular customer at the entertainment venues operated by Xiao Qi Hall and a premium VIP at Tanxiang Hall. He had drunk plenty of wine paid for by Xia Liu Yi and accepted many red envelopes slipped beneath cups and plates. After Chief Inspector Hua fell from power, the newly appointed Chief Inspector Mai swept away the corruption of his predecessor and announced his intention to establish a clean and honest new image for the Kowloon City police. Inspector Wu, a relic of the former administration and a seasoned freeloader, became one of the first people pushed aside. He was quickly excluded from management, and after two disciplinary violations were uncovered that year, he was demoted three ranks and sent onto the streets as an ordinary patrol officer. Filled with resentment and having nowhere to vent it, he regularly sought trouble to release his anger. Unfortunately, he had suffered especially bad luck today and chosen to harass Xiao Qi Hall’s sister-in-law.
Since they were old acquaintances bound by such deep affection, Officer Wu could no longer continue throwing his authority around, while Xia Liu Yi could hardly continue beating him in revenge. How much hatred could there possibly be between them? It had merely been a small misunderstanding. Xia Liu Yi personally helped Officer Wu to his feet, wiped his face, and apologized. Inspector Wu also expressed a small amount of regret regarding the wedding banquet and He Chu San. The two moved aside for a private conversation and expressed their sincere hopes that the police and citizens would continue their long-standing relationship of mutual assistance and cooperation. Xia Liu Yi promised to visit him with a generous gift in several days, and Officer Wu happily departed with his younger colleague.
After sending Officer Wu away with a few words, Xia Liu Yi watched his retreating figure and called A’Nan over to whisper several instructions. A’Nan left to carry them out.
Xia Liu Yi instructed the other bodyguards to restore the tables and chairs, clean the area, and invite the guests to sit again. He then tried to take He Chu San across the street to the car so that he could treat the injury with the emergency medical kit inside. However, He Chu San saw Father He and Mother Wu squeezing out of the restaurant from the corner of his eye. He quickly shook his head at Xia Liu Yi and pulled him forward to greet the older couple.
“Dad, look who came.”
“Oh! Mr. Xia! It has been far too long! Your presence brings honor to our humble establishment!” Father He appeared overwhelmed by the honor, still speaking in his scholarly manner. On the surface, he was flattering Xia Liu Yi, but his words also carried pointed reminders. The corner of Xia Liu Yi’s eye twitched, and his back molars began aching instinctively.
Suppressing the pain, Xia Liu Yi respectfully offered his congratulations. “Mr. He, congratulations!” He accepted a wrapped present from a bodyguard and offered it with both hands. “I heard that you aren’t accepting red envelopes today. This is only a small token of my regard.”
“Oh! Thank you, thank you!” Father He was clearly not especially interested in the gift. He casually tucked it beneath his arm and immediately began worrying about his son. “A’San, what happened outside? I heard there was a fight. Eh! What happened to your face? Is it serious? You should go to the hospital immediately!”
“It’s nothing serious. I had a small conflict with a police officer, and Brother Liu Yi persuaded him to leave.”
“Mr. Xia truly possesses three heads and six arms, with powers beyond ordinary men,” Father He said, offering another literary compliment. Xia Liu Yi’s teeth immediately ached again. “Mr. He is joking. Please, just call me Liu Yi.”
“How could I dare? That wouldn’t be proper.” Father He turned to Mother Wu and began explaining, “Qian Li, I haven’t introduced you yet. This Mr. Xia is remarkably successful for such a young man. He operates a particularly large ‘company’ and has countless men working beneath him…”
Seeing Brother Liu Yi’s face shift between green and white, He Chu San quickly pushed Father He and Mother Wu back inside. “Dad, Mum, I’ll take care of Brother Liu Yi. Please continue greeting the guests!”
He pulled Xia Liu Yi into the hall and led him deeper inside along the less crowded wall. As they walked, Xia Liu Yi said, “Your dad doesn’t want me here. I won’t stay for the banquet. Find somewhere quiet. I’ll say a few things to you and leave.”
“That isn’t true. Dad is very concerned about you,” He Chu San said. “And Xin Xin has wanted to—”
“Big Brother!” Speak of the devil—Xin Xin appeared. She wore a white bridesmaid’s dress, bounded toward them like a little white rabbit. She grabbed He Chu San’s other arm and stared at Xia Liu Yi with enormous eyes. “Wow—! So this is my sister-in-law—mmph!”
He Chu San covered her mouth.
Xia Liu Yi stared wordlessly at He Chu San.
“She started calling you that herself. I didn’t teach her…” He Chu San said helplessly. Before he could finish, Xin Xin escaped from beneath his palm and continued excitedly, “Sister-in-Law! Hello! I’m my brother’s younger sister. Just call me Xin Xin! Sister-in-Law, you’re so handsome! I finally get to meet you!”
Xia Liu Yi extended his right hand and gave her a mild, gentle smile. “Hello. My name is Xia Liu Yi.”
He Chu San silently lowered his head and wiped the corner of his eye. Xia Liu Yi’s left hand was viciously pinching the flesh at his lower back, nearly making him cry from the pain.
Xin Xin grasped Xia Liu Yi’s hand with eyes full of wonder and shook it vigorously. Speaking almost incoherently with excitement, she exclaimed, “Brother Liu Yi, you’re so handsome! How did you ever fall for my brother? I heard you’re a Boss, but you don’t look like one. You’re so young!”
Unable to tolerate the piece of flesh nearly being pinched from his lower back, He Chu San placed both hands on Xin Xin’s shoulders and pushed her away. “Go and help Dad and Mum greet the guests.”
“All right, all right. I won’t disturb your private time together.” Xin Xin walked away wearing a sly grin and pointed toward the far end of the hall. “There’s an empty storage room over there. You can go inside and talk privately. I’ll stand outside and keep watch for you.”
“Go, go, go.” He Chu San drove her away without mercy.
Watching Xin Xin walk off while repeatedly turning her head to look back, He Chu San faced Xia Liu Yi and defended himself sincerely. “I truly didn’t teach her to say any of that.”
Xia Liu Yi sneered. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He Chu San chuckled, looked around cautiously, and saw that the hall was bustling and no one was paying attention to them. He quickly caught Xia Liu Yi’s hand and hurriedly pulled the Boss into the secluded, empty storage room.
He Chu San locked the door securely and turned around. Xia Liu Yi looked at him with a broad smile.
“All right. Your Brother Liu Yi is here. What exactly did you want to tell me?”
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