Lu Guang Ming brought a bouquet of carnations and a bouquet of white roses to the cemetery.
Tang Jia Qi and his parents happened to be buried in the same hillside burial ground. He placed the carnations before the shared grave of his parents halfway up the hill, then continued to the summit and laid the white roses before Tang Jia Qi’s grave.
It had rained heavily the entire day. The rainwater almost immediately submerged the rose petals, and streams of water gurgled across the faded name engraved on the tombstone, just as ten years of time had flowed away.
Not long afterward, He Chu San, dressed entirely in black, also arrived at the grave and set down the white chrysanthemums in his hands. He glanced at the roses beside the tomb and instantly understood Lu Guang Ming’s feelings for Tang Jia Qi. When he looked at Lu Guang Ming again, there was an added trace of sympathy and resolve in his gaze.
Rain hammered against their umbrellas, and both the umbrellas and the trees lining the road swayed violently beneath the raging wind, yet the two men stood as straight and steadfast as pine trees.
Amid the roar of the rain, Lu Guang Ming spoke first.
“Have you made contact with the Old Shopkeeper?”
“Almost.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“I need to borrow something from you.”
“What?”
“Your life.”
Lu Guang Ming laughed.
“Sure. As long as it helps avenge my parents and Brother Jia Qi. Take it.”
…
Naturally, He Chu San did not truly intend to take his life. Hidden beneath the cover of the torrential rain, he explained his plan. Lu Guang Ming’s identity had already attracted Master Qiao’s attention and had perhaps long since been noticed by the Old Shopkeeper as well. Without paying a price in blood, there would be no way to deceive a devil who had spent his life bathing in murder, so He Chu San wanted Lu Guang Ming to fake his death as the final step in gaining the Old Shopkeeper’s trust.
Lu Guang Ming approved of the entire plan and showed absolutely no fear of the dangers involved.
He Chu San brought out a large pile of bloody props—which, according to him, had been left over from the film company Xia Liu Yi used to run in the Gaau Lung Walled City—and proceeded to apply a corpse-like makeup job on him. He pasted on several fake wounds and covered him in blood. The craftsmanship was crude, but on a stormy night with poor lighting, it would be convincing enough.
He Chu San meticulously strapped bulletproof armor and protective guards around his torso, arms, and legs. The bindings were so tight that Lu Guang Ming could barely breathe. His face turned deathly pale, making him look even more like a corpse. Next, He Chu San wrapped blood packs all over him, layer upon layer, before dressing him in blood-soaked clothing and placing him inside a thick burlap sack in the trunk of a sedan.
Finally, He Chu San hid a pistol in the corner of the trunk and said to him, “It’s loaded with blanks. If the two of us perform well tonight, we shoot you. If we mess it up, we shoot him. They’re only blanks, but they’ll be enough to scare them. It’ll give us time to jump into the sea and escape.”
“And what about this? Is this also just to scare them?”
Lu Guang Ming squeezed He Chu San’s unusually thick arm. Curious, he rolled up the sleeve and discovered a layer of waterproof fake muscle hidden underneath.
“Looks real, doesn’t it? Had it custom-made.” He Chu San sounded rather proud of himself. Turning around, he showed off his back as well. “I stuffed some in here too. I specifically chose a stormy night. Once my clothes are soaked through, these muscles will show. I want him to see how mighty and powerful I am, scare him into forgetting to examine you too closely.”
“…”
“What?”
“Actor He, could you please tell me in advance what role you’re about to perform? I’m afraid I’ll break character from laughing.”
So He Chu San proceeded to explain the script.
Lu Guang Ming laughed so hard he could barely catch his breath.
“How did you even come up with this? Can you really pull it off? Honestly, why didn’t you become an actor?”
“Actors don’t make enough money.”
“How could that be? Those award-winning actors make a fortune… Oh. Right. Not as much as you do. After all, you’re the man of a big boss.”
After they had gone over the entire plan, He Chu San checked the time and saw that it was almost time to leave for the rendezvous. He reached up to close the trunk lid.
Suddenly, Lu Guang Ming stuck out a hand and stopped it.
“What is it?”
“If—I’m only saying if—something happens to me, could you pass a message on to Xie Jia Hua for me?”
“Xie Jia Hua?” For a moment, He Chu San could not quite understand what connection there was between the two of them. “What message?”
Lu Guang Ming thought about it for a long time. In the end, he could not force out a single word. All he could do was sigh.
“Forget it. Some things are better left unsaid. Just thank him for me.”
…
He Chu San arranged to meet the Old Shopkeeper’s proxy at the Kwai Chung Container Terminal. On one hand, it helped create a sufficiently terrifying atmosphere; on the other, it was convenient both for disposing of a body and for making an escape.
Before filming began, Lu Guang Ming lay inside the burlap sack imagining countless scenes of life and death. He even pictured Xie Jia Hua standing cold-faced before his grave, saying, “Although I could never love you, I wish you were still alive.” For that alone, he viciously cursed that bastard Xie in his heart.
But once the performance actually began, he became so nervous that he nearly wet himself. Forget life-and-death farewells—he devoted every ounce of his energy to keeping himself from laughing and ruining the act. Because He Chu San was simply too serious, too convincing, and too insane. Especially at the end, when He Chu San fired three shots into him in succession and then approached with a twisted expression to tie up the burlap sack. Before being sealed into darkness, Lu Guang Ming squinted through the rain and stole one last look at He Chu San’s face. He Chu San was so professional that even the bulging veins on his forehead looked flawless. The rain soaked through his clothes, and the “mighty and powerful” fake muscles on his arms looked genuinely intimidating.
Lu Guang Ming managed to hold it in until He Chu San threw him into the water. The moment he was airborne, he burst out with three muffled laughs.
“Pff-haha! Pff-haha! Pff-haha!”
Then he plunged beneath the surface.
The icy seawater instantly swallowed his laughter. He accidentally gulped down a mouthful of salty water and struggled to hold his breath. A deafening roar filled his ears, making it impossible to hear what was happening around him. The three blank rounds had struck his chest through the bulletproof vest. They were not powerful enough to kill or cripple him, but at such close range they had still bruised his cartilage. The intense pain, combined with the crushing pressure of the deep water, made panic begin to set in.
He always claimed he was not afraid of death. But when death was suddenly so close, fear was unavoidable. He found himself thinking about all the regrets left unfinished in his life. And aside from the blood feud he still carried, there was one thing he desperately wanted to do.
He wanted to hug Xie Jia Hua one more time.
Saying “I love you” felt too ironic. Asking “Can I be your boyfriend?” felt too unrealistic. Though he had always clung shamelessly to Xie Jia Hua, he had never truly expected any sort of relationship to develop between them. He simply could not forget the warmth of that embrace. Before going to heaven to reunite with his parents and Brother Jia Qi, that warmth was his final regret.
He wanted to hold Xie Jia Hua one last time.
Tightly.
The tragic, heart-wrenching romance playing out in his imagination came to an abrupt end when someone sliced open the sack from the outside. An oxygen mask was pressed over his face, and the ropes around his wrists and ankles were cut away. After a brief struggle, he was pushed to the surface by Kevin, who was dressed as a diver. Together they removed their masks, discarded their oxygen tanks, and climbed aboard a small boat waiting nearby.
Fearing that the Old Shopkeeper’s proxy might send people to verify the kill, and with the storm raging and the sea violently churning around them, neither of them had the leisure to talk. They simultaneously grabbed the oars and rowed for their lives toward the distance. Half an hour later, they finally reached another dock and made it ashore.
The moment his feet touched land, Lu Guang Ming collapsed to the ground. Every part of him hurt. He was exhausted. He could not even summon the strength to move a finger.
Kevin was in slightly better condition. Stumbling and swaying, he managed to retrieve a car and called for Lu Guang Ming to hurry over. After tremendous effort, Lu Guang Ming finally dragged himself into the back seat. He collapsed onto the cushions like a puddle of mud. His entire body felt swollen from being soaked in sweat, blood, seawater, and rainwater. He looked utterly miserable.
Through his haze, he heard the car engine start. Weakly, he opened his mouth.
“K… K…”
Kevin glanced back anxiously.
“Huff… What is it, Mr. Lu? Huff… Are you alright?”
“Where… are we going?”
“Mr. He made arrangements. Huff… A safe house. You’ll need to stay hidden there for a while.”
Curled up in pain, Lu Guang Ming let out a miserable whine that sounded close to tears.
“It hurts… I’m cold… That brat A’San… One shot wasn’t enough… He shot me three times… I don’t want to go to a safe house… I want Big Sweet Potato…”
“Sweet potato?”
Kevin blinked in confusion.
“You want roasted sweet potatoes? The safe house only has emergency rations. I can bring you some in a few days if you’d like.”
Lu Guang Ming weakly scratched at the seat with one hand.
“Not that sweet potato… Sweet Potato… I have a place that’s safer… much safer than a safe house… Please take me there…”
He no longer had the strength to explain properly. After giving Kevin Xie Jia Hua’s address, he curled into a ball and clutched his aching chest. The rest of the journey passed in a blur.
He had no idea how much time had gone by when Kevin shook him awake.
“Mr. Lu?”
“Ah… Are we there?”
“Which floor is it? Should I help you upstairs?”
“No… absolutely not. What if someone sees? Hurry and leave. I can manage on my own.”
After finally driving Kevin away, Lu Guang Ming draped his soaking jacket over his head and sneaked past the drowsy security guard. He slipped into the luxury apartment building where Xie Jia Hua lived.
Worried about surveillance cameras in the stairwell, he moved in short bursts—walking a little, resting a little, stopping and starting over and over. By the time he reached the sixth floor where Xie Jia Hua lived, he was practically crawling on all fours.
Like a seal dragging itself across a beach, he slowly wriggled his way to Xie Jia Hua’s front door. He no longer had the strength to stand and knock. All he could do was collapse on the floor and silently pray:
Big Sweet Potato.
Open the door.
I know you’re home.
Open the door.
Big Sweet Potato.
Of course, prayers were useless. After lying there for half an hour without seeing Big Sweet Potato open the door, he gradually recovered a little strength. He forced himself upright and knocked repeatedly. No response.
Only then did he accept that Big Sweet Potato really was not home.
So he pulled a lock-picking tool from his pocket—one that he kept attached to his own keyring—and, trembling all over, picked the lock.
The apartment was pitch-black.
He crawled to the sofa first. After lying there for a while, catching his breath, he discovered that Xie Jia Hua had forgotten to close the windows before leaving. The luxury apartment that the young master had purchased was designed with north-south ventilation, which meant the cross-breeze was freezing. He shivered uncontrollably.
With no other choice, he dragged himself off the sofa. Cursing Xie Jia Hua under his breath, he leaned against the wall and staggered toward the bedroom like an elderly woman with tiny, unsteady steps.
Then he collapsed headfirst onto Xie Jia Hua’s bed.
Taking a deep breath, he inhaled the lingering scent of Xie Jia Hua from the pillow. Then he burrowed beneath the blankets, curled himself into a tiny ball, and quickly sank into a deep sleep.
Futile Devices Scans 
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