Futile Devices Scans

Late at night, Xia Liu Yi opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a television playing the evening news.

“At 10:33 this morning, police surrounded and sealed an office building in Yau Ma Tei and removed several employees for questioning. Relevant authorities state that the case remains under confidential investigation and that further details cannot presently be disclosed…”

His head was still foggy. He tried to sit up and discovered that he could barely move–his wrists and ankles were secured by four separate handcuffs to the four bedposts, stretching him out into a long X across the mattress.

He turned his head and looked around, discovering that he had been locked inside an unfamiliar basement. The room was almost completely empty, containing only a bed, a television, a washbasin, and a toilet. A heavy iron lock hung on the door, and the entire place had been arranged like a sealed prison cell.

He Chu San sat with his back toward him at the side of the bed, absorbed in the television.

Xia Liu Yi stared at him in bewilderment and was just about to call his name when the television report abruptly changed.

“At 12:15 this afternoon, police surrounded a private residence on XX Road. Nearby residents reported hearing an intense exchange of gunfire lasting for some time before the residence subsequently exploded…”

The ruins of the villa suddenly appeared on-screen behind police tape. The familiar street and broken masonry instantly ripped Xia Liu Yi fully awake, while a deafening roar exploded inside his mind–that was Azure Dragon’s villa, the place where he had sent Cui Dong Dong to retrieve the Dragon Head ledger! Why had the police surrounded it? Why had there been a gunfight and explosion? Where was Dong Dong?!

On the television, several paramedics carried two stretchers containing body bags from the ruins. A strand of charred black hair protruded from the edge of one.

Xia Liu Yi’s breathing accelerated violently, and his four limbs began struggling desperately. The cuffs fastening him to the bedposts rattled furiously.

Only then did He Chu San notice that he had woken. He turned his head to look at him, stood, and walked over to the head of the bed. “Awake?”

Xia Liu Yi glared at him and yanked violently against the handcuffs. “What the hell is going on?!”

He Chu San stated calmly, “Qin Hao is undercover. I fed him incriminating material on all of you and helped him bring down Xiao Qi Hall. I also planted the explosives in the villa.”

Xia Liu Yi stared at him in shock, utterly unable to believe anything happening before him or a single word coming from He Chu San’s mouth. Yet the ruined walls on the television screen were a brutal reminder that all of this had genuinely happened.

“What did you say? Why would you do that?” he asked hesitantly.

He Chu San reached out and gently stroked his face. His warm fingertips traced Xia Liu Yi’s tightly furrowed brow and slid down the bridge of his nose, tenderly playing with him as though he were a little child who would never grow up.

His gaze followed his own fingers across Xia Liu Yi’s face as he said softly, “You’ve forgotten what I told you. I’ve always wanted to lock you up, cuff you to the bed, and never let you go anywhere.”

Only belatedly did Xia Liu Yi feel the cold. It seemed as though all the blood inside his body had begun flowing backward, and at last he realized something was terribly wrong. “Stop talking nonsense. What are you trying to do? Where’s Dong Dong? Where is she?”

“I really don’t want to make you sad,” He Chu San said, but he continued anyway. “When the explosion happened, she and Xiao Luo were inside the villa, surrounded by police.”

The two black body bags he had just seen on television flashed through Xia Liu Yi’s mind, while the thunder of the explosion seemed to sound again in his ears. He remained frozen for a long time, still unable to believe it. “What the hell are you talking about?”

He pulled desperately against the cuffs, trying to reach He Chu San. “A’San! What’s wrong with you?! Is someone threatening you?!”

He Chu San caught his wrist, tore the elegant cufflink from Xia Liu Yi’s shirt sleeve, snapped it open, and pulled out a listening device hidden inside. Then he picked up Xia Liu Yi’s leather shoe from the foot of the bed and removed a tracking device from its heel.

He held both objects up for Xia Liu Yi to see. “Your phone, your car, and your office all have these. I know exactly where you go and exactly what you’re planning.”

He reached into his clothes and pulled out an old notebook, waving it in front of Xia Liu Yi. “This is what you sent Sister Dong Dong to the villa to find, isn’t it? I took it out beforehand. She searched until the end and never found it.”

Xia Liu Yi stared blankly at the notebook in He Chu San’s hand. It was Xiao Qi Hall’s Dragon Head ledger, something that should never have been connected in any way with the clean, innocent, pure, and shy He Chu San who existed in Xia Liu Yi’s mind. Everything before him made him feel as though he had fallen into an abyss, catching him completely unprepared. If anyone else in the world had put him in this situation, Xia Liu Yi might still have been capable of thinking calmly and responding steadily, but now his mind was utterly blank. Was the person standing in front of him really He Chu San?

He remained dazed for a long time before finally producing a hoarse, weak voice. “Why?”

He Chu San bent down beside his ear and laughed softly. “Weren’t you planning to do something dangerous? I destroyed your society, chained your hands and feet, and killed your strategist. Let’s see what you can do now.”

“Are you crazy?!” Xia Liu Yi finally screamed hoarsely.

“Yes. That’s it,” He Chu San said instead. “Louder. Get angrier.”

Xia Liu Yi’s throat seized, leaving him unable to produce another sound. He stared at He Chu San in horror, convinced the man had completely lost his mind.

“Never mind. That’s enough.” He Chu San reached over and stroked Xia Liu Yi’s ice-cold cheek.

Then He Chu San turned off the television and walked toward the basement door. The bodyguard outside immediately locked the door after him, and his footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Xia Liu Yi lay rigidly on the bed, his mind in chaos, everything feeling like a dream.

…

He Chu San climbed the stairs into the small house and shut the side door leading down to the basement. Master Qiao and his adviser were sitting grandly on the living-room sofa, while Kevin stood beside them, bent over pouring red wine.

“Brother He, want a glass?” Master Qiao asked cheerfully, behaving more like the owner of the house than a guest. He motioned for Kevin to fill a glass for He Chu San as well.

He Chu San sat down openly opposite him and accepted the wine Kevin handed over. “Master Qiao, you heard?”

“Heard everything! Hahahaha!” Master Qiao laughed so hard that his old face wrinkled into folds. “Brother He, that was beautifully played! I think Xiao Liu is going to die of rage because of you! Back then, you started a war between He Yi Society and Xiao Qi Hall all by yourself, then escaped from my establishment on your own. I knew from then on that you weren’t simple! This time, you played Xia Liu Yi and the cops in circles, then rose to power without breaking a sweat. Truly a promising young man! Hahahaha!”

“You flatter me. It was only because you trusted me, Master Qiao, agreed to support me as Dragon Head, and even provided manpower and explosives. Otherwise, how could I possibly have managed all of this alone?”

“But why keep Xia Liu Yi alive?” Master Qiao suddenly stopped smiling, suspicion and killing intent appearing in his shadowed eyes.

He Chu San smiled. “No Dragon Head Staff, no change of Dragon Head.”

Master Qiao frowned. “You still haven’t found the Dragon Head Staff?”

It was an old underworld rule: every Dragon Head secretly chose one person he trusted absolutely to safeguard the Dragon Head Staff. If anything happened to the Boss, the staff-holder could summon the elders and members to choose another leader. Only someone recognized by the membership and holding the Dragon Head Staff could become the true Dragon Head. That was why Xu Ying had been unable to seize power immediately after killing Azure Dragon years ago: Uncle Yuan, who had been entrusted with Azure Dragon’s Dragon Head Staff, had refused to appear.

He Chu San said, “Xia Liu Yi has disappeared. Cui Dong Dong is dead, yet the Dragon Head Staff still hasn’t appeared. My guess is that Cui Dong Dong was Xia Liu Yi’s staff-holder. As long as there is no confirmation that Xia Liu Yi is dead and the Dragon Head Staff remains missing, he is still Xiao Qi Hall’s Dragon Head, and I am merely the Acting Hall Master. This is what they call holding the emperor hostage to command the lords…”

He paused, lifted his red wine, took a sip, and smiled faintly at Master Qiao. “Besides, you don’t really think he slept with me all these years for nothing, do you? I should collect what he owes me.”

“Oh!” Master Qiao immediately understood the meaning behind his smile and burst into laughter. “So Brother He has been swallowing humiliation all these years! Hahahaha!” As he laughed, he leaned closer to He Chu San with a filthy expression and asked, “Tell me, someone like Xia Liu Yi–in the eyes of people like you–is he especially good to fuck? Especially exciting?”

“Would you like to try him, Master Qiao?”

“No, no! I don’t have that hobby! Hahahaha!” Master Qiao leaned back against the sofa, laughing until his face twisted, completely missing the flash of icy coldness that crossed He Chu San’s eyes.

The atmosphere became enthusiastic and friendly once again, and the two men exchanged warm, brotherly pleasantries as though they were the closest of allies. Master Qiao slapped Kevin on the back. “Kevin’s been helping you. Are you satisfied with him?”

Although Kevin had formally joined Xiao Qi Hall, from the very beginning he had actually been one of Master Qiao’s plants inside the society. After He Chu San approached Master Qiao and proposed cooperation, Master Qiao had assigned Kevin to He Chu San, partly to provide manpower and assistance and partly to monitor He Chu San’s every move.

He Chu San smiled. “Very satisfied.”

“Then I’m giving him to you! From now on, if you need anything from your older brother, tell him and have him come back to me.”

He Chu San smiled at Kevin, knowing perfectly well that Master Qiao still did not trust him and wanted Kevin to remain beside him as a watcher. “All right. Thank you, Brother Qiao. Let me toast you again.”

…

Not long afterward, Master Qiao left with his adviser and climbed into the car outside the courtyard. With a cigar between his teeth, he puffed through the gap in his mouth and asked the adviser who had remained almost silent inside, “What do you think?”

“Xia Liu Yi once gave up a prime establishment to save that kid, yet the kid turned around and stabbed him straight through the heart. He’s ruthless,” the adviser said. “Still, he really is talented at making and laundering money. Xia Liu Yi may not have rescued him only because they were lovers; he may simply have been reluctant to lose such a profitable asset. The kid is useful to us, but he has too many schemes in his head. Master Qiao, you can’t completely trust him.”

Master Qiao cackled and slapped his thigh. “I know. Doubt the people you use, and use the people you doubt.”

…

He Chu San stood beside the living-room window and watched Master Qiao’s car disappear around the bend, then turned toward Kevin behind him. “What did Master Qiao tell you just now?”

“He told me to continue monitoring you and to pressure you into killing Mr. Xia,” Kevin replied.

He Chu San smiled faintly. “Humor him for now. Every few days, invent a few stories about me tormenting Mr. Xia and report them back to him.”

“Yes.” Kevin answered, then glanced toward the basement and lowered his voice. “Mr. Xia was furious. What are you planning to do with him? Just keep him locked up like this?”

He Chu San swirled the red wine inside his glass.

“Keep him there. Let him reflect.”

…

Qin Hao stepped out of the hospital room and looked toward the two men waiting outside.

“Brother Jia Bao, the Political Department will conduct an internal investigation into both of us tomorrow. Brother Jia Hua says we should go home early and rest so we can deal with it properly in the morning.”

Xie Jia Bao hesitantly glanced toward the hospital room, nodded, said goodbye, and left. Lu Guang Ming remained standing exactly where he was, smiling at Qin Hao as though they were old friends.

Qin Hao had known Xie Jia Hua for years and had never once seen this supposed “friend,” so he returned Lu Guang Ming’s smile with a cool, assessing gaze. “Brother Jia Hua wants you inside.”

Lu Guang Ming immediately slipped into the room, shut the door behind him, and walked over to Xie Jia Hua’s bed. “You actually want to see me?” he asked in disbelief.

Xie Jia Hua sat propped against the bed with a dark expression and slapped the photograph of himself and Qin Hao drinking together down in front of him. “Explain.”

Lu Guang Ming looked at the photograph in confusion. “Explain what?”

“Did you take this?! What does this have to do with you?! Or are you the mastermind?!” Xie Jia Hua demanded angrily. The only person who had followed him and witnessed him meeting Qin Hao was Lu Guang Ming; he could not think of anyone else capable of taking that photograph.

Lu Guang Ming picked it up and examined it carefully. Xie Jia Hua could not believe he was still pretending at a time like this and grabbed his pillow, ready to throw it at him. Lu Guang Ming immediately raised both hands. “Inspector Xie! Framing an innocent man is against the law!”

What kind of innocent man are you?! Xie Jia Hua nearly shouted aloud.

“Look carefully.” Lu Guang Ming held the photograph up in front of him. “This is fake. Someone cut your profile from another photograph, pasted it onto the body of the person drinking with your undercover officer, then photographed and processed the composite again. Both original photos were probably taken in bars or discos, so the lighting looks roughly similar, but if you look carefully at your face, there’s one area where the shadow falls in a completely different direction.”

“Think about it. If I had actually taken the photograph, why would I go to all that trouble?” Lu Guang Ming looked completely innocent.

Xie Jia Hua still held the pillow in one hand as he snatched the photograph back with the other and examined it carefully. The image was blurry and dimly lit; it was impossible even to tell where the two men were sitting, and only a small candle on the table illuminated their faces. After staring for a long time, he finally noticed several inconsistencies in the light and shadow, and he also realized that when he had met Qin Hao, he had never worn a collar like the one in the photograph. He had been too emotional to notice these tiny details just now, and Qin Hao had probably been too panicked at the time to study them either.

Xie Jia Hua lowered the pillow. Some of his anger faded, but none of his suspicion did. “How did you know I was hospitalized?”

Lu Guang Ming smiled brightly. “I was at the explosion scene. I was listening in on your police radio traffic.”

“…” Xie Jia Hua raised the pillow again.

“Hey, don’t, don’t!” Lu Guang Ming hurriedly protested. Being hit with a pillow would somehow be worse than being punched–it might ruin his newly styled hair. “I was there on legitimate business. I suspected Cui Dong Dong had gone to Hao Cheng Qing’s former villa to retrieve Xiao Qi Hall’s Dragon Head ledger. Otherwise, why would she rush there immediately after being hunted by the police? I only wanted to sneak over and take a look. Who knew I’d arrive just in time to see you get blown away…”

“You’re not exactly young anymore. Why are you still so impulsive? You didn’t even inspect the place before charging in.” He actually began lecturing Xie Jia Hua with perfect seriousness.

Xie Jia Hua, who was eight years older than him, silently raised the pillow again.

“Really, don’t. Don’t. Fine, fine, I’ll stop.” Lu Guang Ming backed away as he spoke. “I only came to see whether you were all right.” And, incidentally, to fish for information and listen at the door.

“You look fine. I’ll leave on my own.” He sensibly turned around.

Xie Jia Hua glared at him until he closed the door and disappeared, then threw the pillow aside and sank back onto the bed, even he himself feeling that his behavior just now had been remarkably childish.

He did not believe for a second that Lu Guang Ming had come solely to see whether he was safe. In Xie Jia Hua’s experience, the more confused and innocent Lu Guang Ming pretended to be, the more likely he was hiding something. Yet Xie Jia Hua could not understand what benefit Lu Guang Ming could possibly gain from interfering in this affair. Even harder to understand was why He Chu San would dare manipulate the police, go to enormous lengths to force Xia Liu Yi out, cause Cui Dong Dong’s death, and seize the position of the person calling the shots in Xiao Qi Hall. He Chu San did not seem like someone so greedy for power or reckless enough to behave insanely. Xie Jia Hua could not see his true objective.

Xie Jia Hua remained awake all night. He rang for the duty nurse and asked for paper and a pen, then drew out a relationship chart of all the people inside and outside Xiao Qi Hall, writing down every major event since Hao Wei, the father of Hao Cheng Qing, founded the society; every transition of the Dragon Head position; Xia Liu Yi’s unusual actions after taking over; and all the critical information Xie Jia Hua had obtained in each event.

He chewed on the end of his pen as he wrote and thought, and before he realized it, the sun had already risen.

He put down the paper and pen, climbed out of bed, walked to the window, and dialed a number.

“Hello? Officer Duan? It’s A’Hua. Sorry to bother you this early.”

“I’m fine. Mild concussion. Thank you for asking.”

“Yes, there’s something I’d like your help with. I want to contact Interpol’s Thailand office and request information on a drug lord called Golden Maitreya. I heard the Thai authorities carried out a major operation against him and his criminal organization last year… Yes, I want to know when Golden Maitreya first became involved in narcotics trafficking and details of his earlier history…”

“All right. I’ll leave it to you. Thank you.”

After ending the call, he opened the window and let in the fresh morning air. Amid the chirping of birds and insects, he took a deep breath, rubbed his temples, and turned around–only to find Lu Guang Ming smiling in the doorway, having apparently been standing there listening for who knew how long.

“…” was Xie Jia Hua’s only response.

After being tormented again and again by this man’s indestructible shamelessness, Xie Jia Hua had become completely numb and no longer possessed the energy to get angry.

“What are you doing here again?” he asked as he sat back on the bed.

“You’re alone and nobody’s taking care of you.” Lu Guang Ming held up the lunchbox in his hand. “I brought you breakfast.”

“I–”

Xie Jia Hua had not even finished before Lu Guang Ming suddenly staggered sideways, shoved aside by seven or eight young men and women pouring into the room behind him. The youngsters crowded around Xie Jia Hua’s bed like a flock of chattering sparrows.

“Boss!” “Boss, we came to see you!” “Boss! Are you all right? We were afraid of disturbing your rest yesterday, so we waited until morning before bringing breakfast!” “We brought pan-fried buns, rice noodle rolls, pineapple buns, milk, coffee…” “And my mother made congee for you!” “Idiot B even bought you a hamburger! Can a patient eat hamburgers?!” “Why can’t a patient eat hamburgers?!”

Surrounded by his subordinates, Xie Jia Hua found the room suddenly warm and lively. Through a gap in the crowd, he looked toward the doorway and saw Lu Guang Ming’s departing back. The lunchbox had been left behind all alone on a small cabinet near the door.