A violent storm arose in everyone’s heart. Ksitigarbha’s reaction went without saying. Xia Liu Yi was equally stunned. He had been dragged into the feud between Golden Maitreya and Jade Guanyin and would probably be unable to escape this forest. But what about the mysterious black-and-white photograph, the person who had informed Golden Maitreya, the unanswered questions surrounding Azure Dragon’s death, and the vengeance that remained unfinished? What about Xiao Qi Hall, which was waiting for him to manage its affairs? Most of all, what about He Chu San, who knew nothing and was waiting for him at home? How could he allow himself to be arrested here?
As the other person present with a dual identity, Qin Hao was equally conflicted. He had known nothing about Jade Guanyin being an Interpol informant. Perhaps she had feared that advance coordination would leak the operation and therefore had not allowed the Thai authorities to inform Hong Kong. Otherwise, Xie Jia Hua would certainly have instructed him to assist her. Before he came, Xie Jia Hua had ordered him to play the long game, earn Xia Liu Yi’s trust, and eventually bring down Xiao Qi Hall in one sweep. If Xia Liu Yi were caught early because of Golden Maitreya’s case, his personality made it highly likely that he would shoulder all the blame himself. Cui Dong Dong remained in Hong Kong. Even without Golden Maitreya, Xiao Qi Hall could find another partner. As long as its foundations remained intact, it could revive at any moment. What use would there be in arresting Xia Liu Yi alone?
Should he help Jade Guanyin capture them, or should he act as a loyal bodyguard and save Xia Liu Yi?
As for Xiao Ma, he was not stupid. Although his head had been stuffed with an incomprehensible stream of Thai, he could roughly understand what was happening from everyone’s behavior and expressions. The Madam Ma he had so eagerly rescued had suddenly become everyone’s target, apparently the cause of that evening’s entire disaster, and was now aiming a gun at all of them—most importantly, at his Boss. After all the twists that night, with one predator stalking another while a third waited behind them both, Xiao Ma’s mind was even more chaotic than the incomprehensible Thai he had been hearing.
The roar of the helicopter drew closer. The powerful wind from its blades bent the treetops, while dazzling white light appeared nearby. Gunfire and searchlights began converging chaotically upon them. The police were almost there.
Driven into a corner and heedless of everything, Ksitigarbha suddenly roared and charged directly toward Jade Guanyin’s gun, knocking her to the ground. The weapon discharged, and blood burst from his waist and abdomen. Jade Guanyin was pinned beneath him and lacked the strength to escape. Ksitigarbha raised his dagger to stab her in the head, but Xiao Ma suddenly lunged forward and seized his wrist. Ksitigarbha struck at Xiao Ma with his free hand. Jade Guanyin took the opportunity to drive her knee into Ksitigarbha’s abdominal wound. In an instant, the three became locked in a chaotic struggle.
The veins bulged across Xiao Ma’s arms as he used all his strength to restrain both Ksitigarbha and Jade Guanyin. He looked back and shouted at Xia Liu Yi and Qin Hao, “Boss! Go! Qin Hao, take the Boss away!”
Xia Liu Yi ignored him and rushed forward to help. He did not know which side he intended to help, but saving Xiao Ma came first. Qin Hao caught him from behind, wrapping both arms around his waist and arms, and dragged him backward.
“Let go of me!” Xia Liu Yi shouted, struggling violently.
“Take the Boss away!” Xiao Ma continued roaring.
Ksitigarbha suddenly exerted all his strength and threw both Xiao Ma and Jade Guanyin aside. The three struggled up from the ground and prepared to fight again. Ksitigarbha released a thunderous roar and charged like a wild bull, slamming into Xiao Ma and Jade Guanyin and driving all three of them toward the cliff beside the secret path. He intended to perish together with them.
“Xiao Ma!” Xia Liu Yi screamed. With one violent effort, he tore free from Qin Hao and lunged desperately over the cliff. Qin Hao threw himself forward and caught one of his legs. Xia Liu Yi seized Xiao Ma’s arm with one hand. Xiao Ma’s other hand held Jade Guanyin, while Ksitigarbha clung tightly to her leg. Four people hung from the cliff, supported only by Qin Hao at the top.
Suspended in midair, Ksitigarbha roared and thrashed continuously, trying to drag everyone down to die with him. Xia Liu Yi watched Xiao Ma’s arm slowly slipping from his grasp and shouted in grief and fury, “Xiao Ma! Let them go!”
Cold sweat covered Xiao Ma’s forehead. He looked down at Jade Guanyin, who was nearly unconscious, then raised his head and spoke with difficulty to Xia Liu Yi. “Boss, I’m sorry.”
“Let her go!” Xia Liu Yi’s forehead was equally drenched in sweat. He could feel Qin Hao losing his grip and being dragged gradually toward the edge with them. “She’s working for the police! Let her go!”
Tears filled Xiao Ma’s bloodshot eyes and fell one after another. “I’m sorry, Boss. It’s all my fault. I never should have saved her. I didn’t know she came here to harm you. I’m sorry…”
“Shut up!” Tears also gathered in Xia Liu Yi’s eyes. “Don’t apologize! I don’t blame you. If you want to save her, then save her! I’ll pull all of you up!”
That was clearly impossible. They could not maintain their current position for much longer, and even if they did, the approaching police would simply pull them all up and arrest them together. Xiao Ma shook his head in agony, tears running down his face. “Boss, you must escape. Sister Dong Dong is waiting for you, and that He brat is waiting too. I don’t like him, but he makes you happy, so I accept him. Boss, people always say that brothers share this life but not the next…”
Gathering all his strength, he shouted, “But Xia Liu Yi! Please remember me, Ma Ru Long! When I’m reincarnated in my next life, I still want to acknowledge you as my Boss!”
He jerked violently and tore his arm free from Xia Liu Yi’s grasp.
A hoarse, heart-rending wail escaped Xia Liu Yi as he watched Xiao Ma’s figure disappear into the darkness of the mountains. His mind went completely blank. In a daze, he felt his body shift as Qin Hao used all his strength to drag him back onto the cliff. Qin Hao shook him while pulling him away. “The police are here! Go!”
A distant voice called for surrender. Ksitigarbha’s remaining subordinate had fled toward the police, turned himself in, and revealed the others’ location. A searchlight swept toward them, followed by shouted commands and warning shots.
That’s right. I don’t even have time to grieve, Xia Liu Yi thought numbly. Xiao Ma was right. I have to escape.
He suddenly regained his senses, turned to support Qin Hao, and together they stumbled away from the exposed passage and slid down the steep forested slope on the opposite side of the ridge.
Xia Liu Yi pulled Qin Hao along, forcing his way through thorns beneath their feet and before their faces. They fell, rolled, and slid downward without regard for anything else. When the police warnings failed, shots were fired. Bullets passed close to their bodies and struck tree trunks ahead and around them. Xia Liu Yi ran while breathing violently, every mouthful of saliva carrying a suffocating taste of blood.
Almost no moonlight penetrated the dense forest, and endless darkness stretched ahead. Xia Liu Yi had experienced such dangerous escapes countless times, yet this was the first time he truly felt afraid. He realized that he might not escape. He might die here, struck by a stray bullet, or be arrested, imprisoned in Thailand, and sentenced to execution. He had never feared death. Once, he had charged alone into a hopeless situation carrying two blades and carved a path through blood. They called him the Blood Asura, said he came from hell, called him cold-blooded and fearless. Why, then, was his heart pounding like thunder for the first time? Why were his teeth trembling? Once, he had found life meaningless. Apart from hatred and responsibility, nothing in the world had seemed worth clinging to. Why, then, did he now feel terror as death advanced step by step and despair at knowing he could not escape?
A heavy weight suddenly struck him from behind. Qin Hao knocked him to the ground, interrupting his chaotic thoughts. They fell into the mud. Xia Liu Yi pushed Qin Hao off his back and saw blood spreading across the man’s shoulder. Qin Hao had taken a bullet while throwing himself forward to protect him.
“Leave me. Go,” Qin Hao said weakly.
Xia Liu Yi wasted no words. He hauled Qin Hao onto his shoulder and continued fleeing, half carrying and half supporting him. His foot suddenly found empty air. Both men slipped and tumbled down the slope.
Late that night, He Chu San awoke from a nightmare. The darkness was utterly silent. Only his breathing and his violently pounding heart struck against his eardrums.
He closed his eyes but could not fall asleep again. He could only sit up and stare blankly for a while before rising to pull apart the tightly closed curtains and open the window. Moonlight wrapped around him, and a night wind carrying the smell of the sea rushed against his face, washing over his taut nerves.
Feeling cold, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and glanced at the brick phone beside the bed. Xia Liu Yi had vanished without a trace since the day he left. Five days had passed, and he had not made a single call.
He sighed softly, rubbed his aching temples, and forced himself not to think too deeply. Going into the living room, he turned on the bulky computer in the corner and began reviewing work data.
…
“Brother Liu Yi? Brother Liu Yi?”
“Wake up. It’s time to eat.”
“It’s raining outside today. Let’s stay home and watch videotapes together, all right?”
Xia Liu Yi awoke from deep darkness with He Chu San’s gentle voice still echoing beside his ear. He could not help curving his lips, but then his brows tightened as a sudden pain in his chest dragged him back to reality.
He opened his eyes. Mud slid down his bruised face. Raindrops fell from the sky and clung to his lashes before rolling down his cheeks like tears. His vision was blurred, darkness surrounded him, and the rushing sound of water filled his ears. For a moment, he could not tell what day it was or where he had fallen.
Breathing with difficulty, he shook his head and struggled to look around. At last, he realized that he was lying within the forest. Torrential rain poured down, streaming through gaps in the leaves and soaking him completely. Pain throbbed through his entire body. He slowly raised one arm and wiped the muddy water from his face, finally regaining full awareness.
He remembered crashing into a large rock. He had forced himself onward for a short distance before losing consciousness. His chest now hurt terribly, and even breathing was difficult. He had probably injured his ribs. With effort, he rolled over, crawled several steps, grasped the nearest tree, and used enormous strength to pull himself unsteadily upright.
He saw a curled human figure nearby and forced himself toward it. Kneeling, he checked Qin Hao’s breathing and released a breath of relief. He lightly slapped Qin Hao’s face until the man awakened.
Qin Hao’s breathing was unstable. It took a long time for his unfocused eyes to regain clarity. Xia Liu Yi made him hold the tree while laboriously helping him stand. Covered in mud and stepping through sludge, the two supported each other through the forest. They had not gone far before Qin Hao collapsed from exhaustion again.
Xia Liu Yi no longer had the strength to lift him. The rain forest was so dark that he could not determine their direction, and forcing themselves onward would accomplish nothing. He dragged Qin Hao into a small clearing between the trees, gathered broken branches, and constructed a shelter measuring less than one square meter. He removed both their soaked coats and spread them over the branches to block the rain, then used all his remaining strength to push Qin Hao inside before squeezing in after him.
The two grown men sat packed tightly into the tiny space, unable to move. The shelter bulged and threatened to collapse. Xia Liu Yi could no longer worry about his aversion to physical closeness. He stretched out his arms and pulled Qin Hao against his chest. Only then did he finally settle, utterly exhausted, while thinking helplessly that A’San would probably lose his mind if he saw this.
Xia Liu Yi genuinely possessed a physical aversion to close contact with unfamiliar people. His circle of familiar people consisted only of He Chu San, Cui Dong Dong, and Xiao Ma, and even with the latter two, his tolerance extended no further than throwing arms over shoulders. Holding Qin Hao’s cold back in such an awkward and uncomfortable embrace raised goose bumps along Xia Liu Yi’s arms, yet he suppressed the urge to shove him away. Qin Hao had thrown himself forward and saved his life again. They had now endured life and death together several times.
Qin Hao had developed a fever, and his breath was already hot. Sensing Xia Liu Yi’s hesitation and discomfort, he tried moving aside, nearly knocking over the shelter. Xia Liu Yi pulled him back.
“Don’t move,” Xia Liu Yi said.
Qin Hao breathed weakly. His consciousness was fading, and his eyes repeatedly drifted closed, only for Xia Liu Yi to shake him awake. “Don’t sleep.”
Xia Liu Yi feared that if Qin Hao fell asleep, he would never wake again. “Stay awake. If you have any strength, talk.”
Qin Hao had little strength left but retained the instinct to save himself. He forced himself to speak. “About what?”
“…”
Xia Liu Yi truly had nothing to discuss with him. After thinking for a long time, he considered asking why Qin Hao had taken the bullet for him. Before the words emerged, however, the situation suddenly felt familiar.
“Brother Liu Yi, are you awake?”
“If you’re awake, don’t sleep. Be careful—you might sleep yourself to death!”
“If you want to sleep, talk to me…”
That had been shortly after he first met He Chu San, when they were hiding from Xu Ying’s pursuers. He Chu San had still been thin and slight, carrying Xia Liu Yi through the cramped alleys and narrow paths of Kau Lung Walled City. Although he had been panting from exhaustion, he had not forgotten to keep Xia Liu Yi awake, speaking between gasps for breath.
The injury in Xia Liu Yi’s chest began hurting violently again. His throat tightened until he could not speak. He turned his head and looked at the endless rain flowing through the darkness.
“Is there anyone you want to see right now?” he asked instead.
Qin Hao closed his eyes briefly, then smiled through the blood covering his face. “Yes.”
It was the first time Xia Liu Yi had seen him smile. The young man usually wore a rigid expression, as though the entire world had nothing to do with him, revealing neither emotion nor preference.
“Your sister?” Xia Liu Yi asked.
Qin Hao neither confirmed nor denied it. He slowly opened his eyes and also looked toward the rain outside the shelter.
“This isn’t the worst time of my life…” he said dazedly.
“At my worst… I had nothing. I didn’t even have a place to sleep. Someone tricked me into underground boxing. They broke my leg, I earned nothing, and I ended up buried in debt. I couldn’t afford treatment, so I went to an illegal clinic. They gave me no anesthetic. They forced the bone back into place, tied a wooden stick to it, and called that treatment. At night, I wandered the streets, stealing things, collecting rubbish, opening car doors for people, and washing cars. During the day, I slept beneath bridges, and even the homeless people chased me away…”
Later, a triad “big brother” had approached him and asked him to transport “goods.” Because Qin Hao was underage and walked with crutches, the police were unlikely to search him. Desperate for food, he had agreed.
“That was when he appeared…”
He had stopped Qin Hao from following the wrong path and arrested the people who manipulated him.
“He gave me food, helped me find somewhere to live, and visited me every day…”
He had provided food and clothing, taught him right from wrong, arranged his school registration, and tutored him. Eventually, Qin Hao chose the same path and applied to the police academy.
“I don’t regret coming here. I don’t regret taking the bullet for you. You paid for my sister’s operation, so I owed you. But I don’t want to die. I want to survive and go back to see him…”
Xia Liu Yi assumed Qin Hao had been speaking about his half sister from beginning to end. Thinking of Xiao Man, with whom he had once depended upon for survival, he felt deeply moved. He lightly patted Qin Hao’s arm in consolation.
Unable to support the weight of his own head, Qin Hao leaned against Xia Liu Yi’s shoulder and asked weakly, “What about you? The person you want to see… is it Mr. He?”
Xia Liu Yi almost admired his directness, but he saw no reason to deny it. Qin Hao had witnessed him and He Chu San embracing inside the village house. There was no hiding it.
He nodded and murmured an acknowledgment.
Qin Hao smiled faintly. “The brothers in the society all say… he’s a good person and very intelligent…”
Xia Liu Yi smiled as well, remembering the little bastard’s skill at winning people over. “Did you buy shares too?”
“No… but I heard that every brother who had money bought some.”
Xia Liu Yi’s laughter pulled at his injured chest, forcing several painful breaths from him. His longing for He Chu San made his eyes grow warm. He stopped speaking and fell silent.
Feeling Xia Liu Yi’s chest tremble with pain and grief, Qin Hao asked, “Is this the worst time of your life?”
Xia Liu Yi shook his head. “No.”
This was not the worst time of his life. Even his childhood, when he suffered hunger and abuse every day and stumbled through the streets holding Xiao Man’s hand while escaping their worthless father’s beatings, had not been the worst.
The worst time had come after he lost Xiao Man and Azure Dragon, when he lost the last people tying him to the world and remained alive entirely alone. During the day, he was the Dragon Head, busy with countless affairs and surrounded by brothers who treated him like the center of the universe. Behind the noise, however, lay nights as silent as a tomb and a heart filled with lightless desolation. He suffered insomnia throughout the night, unable to find his place or understand what reason remained for living. Apart from hatred, nothing else sustained him.
Only then did he suddenly wonder whether the relationship between him and He Chu San had truly been driven solely by He Chu San. Had Xia Liu Yi not been sinking within a swamp of loneliness, misery, and despair, subconsciously reaching for the ray of sunlight that approached him? Had he not persistently entangled himself with that innocent student, summoning He Chu San to report to him with or without reason, demanding that he accompany him to play ball, eat, and watch films?
Xia Liu Yi had been the one who dragged He Chu San into the mire, yet He Chu San had become the one who saved him. But now Xia Liu Yi had left him. He had left the warm home from his dream. Where was he now? He was in a foreign country, trapped within a narrow, freezing forest on a rainy night. He had killed his enemy but lost his brother. He was covered in wounds, utterly wretched, and close to death.
Looking at the vast curtain of rain outside the shelter, he released a long sigh.
…
Two weeks later.
Inside the bright, spotless executive office at Xiao Qi Hall’s headquarters, Cui Dong Dong leaned crookedly in the boss’s chair and stared blankly at the night view of Victoria Harbour beyond the floor-to-ceiling window. The brilliant lights reflected in her empty eyes.
After looking for a while, she reached for a photograph on the desk. It had been taken during a seaside barbecue. The picture showed her and Xiao Luo, the Boss and A’San, Scarhead, and Xiao Ma.
Her fingertip traced Xiao Ma’s broadly grinning face. She had watched Xia Liu Yi accept that smooth-talking little rascal as his disciple when she and Xia Liu Yi were only twenty. The rascal was two years younger than they were. Despite being tall and large, he had been timid and cowardly. Seven years had passed, and he had finally grown into a fearless man of iron.
Her breath caught. She turned her face away and forced back her tears, wiped the corner of her eye, and deliberately straightened her expression.
Her fingertip then moved to Xia Liu Yi’s face. One eyebrow was slightly raised, and his expression was thoroughly pleased with himself. While smiling toward the camera, he had secretly raised two fingers behind He Chu San’s head in a V, as though declaring ownership.
She sighed and placed the photograph facedown on the desk. Hurried footsteps and the bodyguards’ attempts to stop someone sounded in the corridor. She turned the chair and faced He Chu San as he forcibly pushed open the door.
“Boss.”
“Boss.”
The bodyguards followed him inside and greeted her awkwardly. They looked as though they had tried to keep Adviser He outside but lacked the courage to lay a hand on him.
“It’s fine. Leave,” Cui Dong Dong said, waving them away.
He Chu San walked directly toward her desk and stopped on the opposite side. Standing over her with an intimidating presence and a cold expression, he displayed an authority he had never revealed before her.
“Where is he?” he asked, suppressing his anger.
“Didn’t I tell you everything over the phone this morning?” Cui Dong Dong maintained a normal expression and deliberately spoke lightly. “Why come all this way? Look at how badly you frightened those brothers outside.”
“Why is his phone turned off? Why hasn’t he contacted me? Why are you sitting in his office?” He Chu San ignored her joke and fired his questions one after another, his eyes filled with the oppressive stillness before a storm.
“I already told you. He’s inspecting the countryside near Guangzhou!” Cui Dong Dong’s temper flared. “The signal is poor out there, so he can’t make calls. Why come here and throw a tantrum at me? I’m the deputy hall master. When the hall master is absent, I can sit wherever I want. What business is it of yours?”
She glared at He Chu San. He returned her stare, his gaze blazing as a trace of ruthlessness suddenly entered his eyes.
“Sister Dong Dong, I know you and Brother Liu Yi are secretly plotting something. I don’t care what you’re doing. I only care that Brother Liu Yi is safe. I want to hear his voice, and I want to see him. More than half the company’s accounts pass through my hands, and many of the brothers entrusted their life savings to me. Refuse to tell me where he is, and I can destroy the entire Xiao Qi Hall within minutes.”
Cui Dong Dong stared at him in shock. Her fury became laughter, and she slammed her palm against the desk.
Her expression also turned vicious. She smiled darkly. “Sammy Boy, try it if you have the courage. Let’s see whether you dare touch even a single hair on Xiao Qi Hall. Use your head and think. When Liu Yi returns and learns what you’ve done, what will he think? What will he do to you? Do you dare?”
He Chu San’s breathing grew heavy. After standing rigidly with a cold expression for several moments, he turned and stormed out.
The two bodyguards poked their heads in through the doorway, hoping to ask whether the lady boss was all right. Cui Dong Dong waved irritably, and they withdrew and closed the door.
Agitated, Cui Dong Dong repeatedly ran her fingers through her hair. She snatched the cigar case from the desk, lit one, and angrily filled the air with smoke. Turning the photograph upright again, she jabbed the burning tip against the Boss’s face twice and cursed, “Boss, Boss, you didn’t raise a little fox. You raised a lion that bites!”
…
He Chu San drove home at tremendous speed. He swept the decorations in the living room onto the floor with a series of crashes, then sat on the sofa clutching his head. For the first time, he discovered that he too could lose control and behave irrationally.
Nineteen full days had passed since Xia Liu Yi left. He Chu San had received no information whatsoever, and Xia Liu Yi had not called even once. He had said that he would be gone for one or two weeks, yet nearly three weeks had passed. No matter how remote the countryside near Guangzhou might be, surely there had to be a telephone somewhere nearby. In the past, regardless of how angrily Xia Liu Yi quarreled with him or how long he refused to make contact, He Chu San could always find some way to learn about his situation. This time, however, He Chu San knew that Xia Liu Yi had gone to meet a drug lord. Not only had Xia Liu Yi broken his promise, but he had also vanished for nineteen entire days. Combined with Cui Dong Dong’s agitated, peculiar attitude and her perfunctory, clumsy lie, how could He Chu San avoid imagining the worst? How could he not become frantic?
Still fully dressed, he rushed into the bathroom and poured cold water over his head, trying to calm himself. But what use was calmness? He genuinely could not think of any solution. Searching every photograph he had taken of the ledger had revealed no clue. He could not discover Xia Liu Yi’s location anywhere, and even threatening Cui Dong Dong produced nothing. Surely he could not report Xia Liu Yi missing at a police station.
He emerged from the bathroom dripping wet, stripped off his soaked clothing, tossed it onto the floor, and crawled naked beneath the blankets. He desperately inhaled the lingering scent upon Xia Liu Yi’s pillow. The longer he breathed it in, the more restless he became. He climbed out of bed, opened the wardrobe, pulled out Xia Liu Yi’s clothes, gathered them into his arms, and curled beneath the covers with them. Exhausted and anxious, he eventually fell into a confused sleep.
Nightmare followed nightmare. In the middle of the night, he jolted upright. The shirt belonging to Xia Liu Yi that he had pressed against his chest was soaked with cold sweat. The brick phone suddenly rang in the living room, startling him so violently that he scrambled out of bed, rushed into the living room, and searched frantically until he found it.
“Hello? Hello?” he asked urgently.
The familiar voice he had longed desperately to hear sounded from the other end.
“Idiot. Everyone says you’re clever, but I think you’re genuinely stupid. Women hold grudges. Don’t provoke your Sister Dong Dong.”
Xia Liu Yi deliberately chose a playful line to tease He Chu San and kept his tone light. No reply came from the other end. After a moment, he heard muffled sobbing through the receiver.
The instant He Chu San heard Xia Liu Yi’s voice, tears began falling. He remained frozen for a long while before finally recovering his voice. “Where are you?”
“Why are you crying?” The previous time Xia Liu Yi had seen him cry was when Father He suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was taken to the hospital. Confused, he asked, “What’s gotten into you? I’m perfectly fine and calling you now, aren’t I?”
“Stop pretending! Your acting is terrible!” He Chu San wiped away his tears and spoke urgently. Beneath Xia Liu Yi’s casual tone, he could hear weakness in his breathing and sense something deeply wrong. “Where are you? What happened?”
“I’m in the countryside near Guang—”
“Brother Liu Yi, do you truly think I’m stupid?” He Chu San interrupted furiously. “I waited nineteen days for you. The number you’re calling from isn’t even from mainland China. Where are you? I need to see you immediately!”
He paused briefly, then added with vicious determination before Xia Liu Yi could answer, “Lie to me one more time and I’ll throw away the ring. We’ll end this. You’ll never see me again for the rest of your life!”
“…”
Silence lasted for a long time before Xia Liu Yi finally spoke in a weary and helpless yet gentle and patient voice. “Little bastard, why are you throwing such a tantrum? I truly am in the countryside near Guangzhou. I accidentally fell on a mountain and was injured. I didn’t contact you because I was afraid you would worry.”
He Chu San breathed heavily, his voice trembling with pain.
“Liar.”
He ended the call.
Naked, he crouched upon the floor with both hands clutching his head. His fingers dug fiercely into his scalp as he waited, breathing unevenly.
He won the gamble. After one minute that felt like an eternity, the brick phone rang again.
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