In a narrow alley late at night, a drunken man staggered along. He had not only been drinking, but had also taken white powder. His sunken eyes were half-lidded, his expression drifting in a blissful haze.
From the darkness ahead came a cold, sharp voice. “Snakeboy Xia?”
“What do you want!” the drunkard replied.
“I want to buy your daughter and your son. How much?”
“The girl… heh heh… the girl’s good, five hundred… hic… not a cent less… As for A’Hao, that wretched brat! He’s crazy! Disobedient, worthless—no matter how much you beat him, he won’t die! I’ll give him to you for free, no money, hahaha… If you don’t want him, I’ll go back tonight and kill him…”
A stack of banknotes was placed into his hand. Snakeboy Xia swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand, yet he still counted the money one note at a time. “…three hundred, four hundred, five hundred, five hundred and ten, hic… why did you give ten extra? You’re a good, good person…”
“To buy your worthless life,” the voice replied.
Puchi!
The blade plunged into flesh with a sickening, melon-splitting sound. Snakeboy Xia stared blankly at the knife embedded in his abdomen as the banknotes slipped from his hand and fluttered to the ground.
Azure Dragon supported his shoulder, calm and composed as he pulled the blade free—then drove it viciously back into his stomach!
Only then did Snakeboy Xia realize what was happening. He let out a hoarse, grating scream like a broken gong. His nerves, numbed by the white powder, felt no pain. He flailed wildly, reaching for the folding knife in his pocket. Before he could draw it, another puchi! sounded behind him.
His eyes widened as he turned his head. A’Ying stood behind him, wearing a sinister grin. The dagger in his hand stabbed in and out, again and again…
Held upright by the two of them—one in front, one behind—he was stabbed from both sides until his body became like a sieve of blood. Crimson dripped onto the ground, flowing outward in a spreading pool.
At last, his rag-like body collapsed into the blood, pressing down upon several hundred-yuan notes.
Azure Dragon bent down and picked up the only ten-yuan note that had escaped the blood. Using it, he wiped the blade clean, then casually tossed it onto the dead man’s unclosing eyes before turning to leave.
A’Ying called after him, “Hey, we’re just leaving the body?”
“He doesn’t deserve to have his corpse collected. Let him rot here.”
A’Ying skipped forward a few steps and slung an arm around Azure Dragon’s shoulders. “Damn ruthless! That’s my Boss! Hahaha! Tomorrow night at eight, you going or not?”
Azure Dragon walked steadily. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I go? If I don’t, what if you get hacked to death?”
……
He returned home and changed out of his blood-soaked clothes, bathing himself thoroughly. Yet the heavy stench of blood and death still clung to him.
The next morning, he sat at the table with the two children for breakfast. The half-sunken face of Snakeboy Xia, soaked in blood, still lingered before his eyes. A wave of nausea rose within him, and after only a few bites, he set down his knife and fork.
The two children, however, were stuffing food into their mouths with all their might—bread, fried eggs, red sausage. Xiao Man noticed he had stopped eating and immediately dared not continue. Reluctantly, she withdrew her greasy little hands, timid and hesitant. She secretly nudged her younger brother.
Her brother, cheeks stuffed like a hamster’s, hurriedly crammed in another piece of red sausage before stopping. His eyes remained fixed on Azure Dragon, chewing noisily.
“I’m fine. Keep eating,” Azure Dragon said.
The little girl cautiously picked up another piece of fried egg.
“Eat slowly. Don’t choke,” he added.
After a moment’s hesitation, she awkwardly picked up a fork and began eating slowly with it.
Her brother had no such reservations. Without even glancing at Azure Dragon, he devoured the food with both hands and mouth, as though wishing he could use his feet as well. Azure Dragon had never seen anyone eat with such gusto. Watching him for a moment, he said, “You can’t keep being called Cake.”
The little boy looked at him eagerly, his mouth too full to speak.
“See? Red sausage is good, right? Eggs are good too, right?”
The boy nodded blankly.
“You can’t be called Cake yesterday, Red Sausage today, and Egg tomorrow, can you?”
The boy nodded hopefully, then shook his head after thinking.
“I’ll give you a name,” Azure Dragon said. But he wasn’t well-read, and nothing came to mind. “When is your birthday? Many people in the Walled City use their birthdays as names.”
The boy shook his head blankly.
Azure Dragon looked toward Xiao Man. She lowered her voice. “Mother died of illness. I was still little then, so I don’t remember his birthday. I only know Mother said I was born on the Lesser Fullness of Grain, so she named me Xiao Man.”
Elio’s Notes: Xiaoman or Lesser Full Grain, 8th of the 24 solar terms, 21st May-5th June.
Azure Dragon sighed and gently stroked her dry, yellowed hair. Xiao Man imitated him, reaching out to stroke her brother’s bald head with affection.
The little bald head finally swallowed his food under their tender attention. “I want to be called Liu Yi,”
“What?” Azure Dragon asked.
“Children’s Day—you can eat cake,” the little bald boy said seriously. “I want my birthday to be on Children’s Day, so I can eat cake.”
Azure Dragon laughed. “Silly Liu Yi, you’re supposed to eat cake on your birthday anyway.” He patted the small bald head. “Follow me, and you can eat cake every day.”
Little Liu Yi widened his eyes eagerly and said without hesitation, “Then I’ll follow you for my whole life, and eat cake for my whole life.”
“Hahaha!” Azure Dragon burst into laughter. Turning to the servant nearby, he said, “Did you hear that? He wants to follow me for life. Fine—he’ll be your young master from now on, and this is your young lady.”
He then told the two children, “My name is Hao Cheng Qing. Everyone calls me Azure Dragon. From now on, I’m your big brother—call me Eldest.
Xiao Man had already realized that she and her brother had been taken in. Her eyes immediately reddened as tears welled up. “Eldest…”
Little Liu Yi hurriedly stuffed another half piece of bread into his mouth and mumbled with puffed cheeks, “El… dest…”
……
Azure Dragon stayed with them until they finished breakfast, even rubbing Little Liu Yi’s belly when he started hiccuping from overeating. Then he prepared to leave.
The two children clung to him like sticky rice cakes, calling “Eldest,” but he refused. “Not today. Nanny Liu Ma, take them out to buy some toys and have a Western meal.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
He returned home late at night, once again carrying the scent of blood. His father, Hao Wei, sat on the sofa smoking. The two children sat quietly in a corner playing—Xiao Man behaved properly, but Liu Yi had already silently dismantled and chewed his wooden puppet into splinters.
“Dad.”
“Come with me,” Hao Wei said.
Hao Wei led him into the small ancestral shrine on the first floor, making him kneel before his mother’s memorial tablet.
“Look at your mother and tell her—what did you do tonight?” Hao Wei demanded sternly.
Azure Dragon lowered his gaze to the edge of the tablet. “A’Ying and I killed a boss from Qun Ying Society.”
A heavy blow struck his back! The impact knocked him to the ground, yet he rose without a sound, not even a gasp.
“I told you—we may walk the jianghu, but we must uphold righteousness! Killing and selling white powder must never be done—these are acts that doom one’s descendants!”
Azure Dragon knelt upright. “Ordering others to kill—is that any different from killing yourself? Haven’t you done enough things that doom your descendants? That money two years ago—where did it really come from? Do you dare tell the truth to me and Mother?”
Another blow struck his leg. He swayed but remained kneeling.
Hao Wei threw down the stick and turned away, trembling with anger.
Azure Dragon stood and supported his father, the enemy’s blood still staining his palm and transferring onto his father’s sleeve.
He spoke softly, “Our gang has only been established for just over a year. People’s loyalty is still unstable. Everyone is risking their lives—why should your son stand aside clean and untouched? Father, once you’ve set sail, you cannot disembark. You must let me help you. Who else is there but me?”
Hao Wei remained silent for a long time before finally sighing and patting his arm.
“What about those two children outside?”
“I picked them up. They’re well-behaved—they won’t cause trouble.”
“Have them take the Hao surname?”
“Forget it. What we do is condemnable—don’t drag them into it.”
……
Azure Dragon hired a private tutor for the children. Having never attended school, they couldn’t keep up, so they began learning at home.
They lived together on the second floor of a village house, spending their days mumbling through lessons. Every evening when he returned, he would hear the patter of footsteps upstairs—then Liu Yi would come crashing into him like a cannonball, wrapping around his waist.
Xiao Man was more reserved. She would hurry down, lifting her skirt slightly, then stand at a distance and softly call, “Eldest.”
That day, as usual, Liu Yi slammed into his arms. Azure Dragon winced, rubbing the short stubble growing on the boy’s head. Turning to Xiao Man, he asked, “I heard you can make cake now?”
Her cheeks flushed red as she ran into the kitchen, returning with a bowl containing a small cream cake saved just for him.
Azure Dragon took the cake and noticed Liu Yi staring intently at his hand. He raised it deliberately, and the boy lifted his head. Lowered it—and the boy lowered his gaze, eyes locked on the cake, clearly drooling over it.
He offered the cake to Liu Yi. The boy turned his head away reluctantly.
“You eat it,” he said.
Liu Yi shook his head vigorously. “You eat.”
Azure Dragon took a small bite and smiled at Xiao Man. “Delicious. Our Xiao Man is amazing.” Then he handed the rest to Liu Yi. “I’m full from dinner—help me finish it, alright?”
Liu Yi glanced at his sister. She smiled at him. With eager anticipation, he accepted the cake and devoured it in a few bites. Xiao Man stepped forward and wiped his mouth with her sleeve.
……
That night, the children went to bed early. Azure Dragon lay in the adjacent room, flipping through account books—lists of debts to collect from high-interest loans his father had recently assigned to him.
Suddenly, a piercing scream came from next door.
He sprang up, barefoot, rushing into their room. Xiao Man was curled at the head of the bed, screaming and crying. Her brother sat beside her, panicking, trying to lift her nightdress but being pushed away.
Azure Dragon threw off the blanket—there was a pool of blood. “Who’s hurt?! Where?!” he demanded anxiously.
Xiao Man cried and pushed him away, refusing to let him near. Xia Liu Yi, terrified, clung to his sister, tears welling up.
The servants rushed upstairs. A maid pulled Azure Dragon aside awkwardly. “Young Master… it’s her first monthly….”
“…”
Azure Dragon, barely in his twenties and inexperienced, flushed deeply.
“Oh—then… help her handle it? You can… handle it, right?” he stammered.
The maid ushered both him and Liu Yi out, gently comforting Xiao Man.
Azure Dragon carried Liu Yi back to his room. The boy looked miserable. “Sister is sick.”
“She’s not sick. It’s…” Azure Dragon didn’t know how to explain, so he avoided it. “She’s fine. You’ll understand when you grow up.”
After a pause, he added, “She’s a young lady now—not a child. You can’t sleep together anymore.”
Liu Yi blinked in confusion. “Why?”
“…You’ll understand when you grow up,” the awkward elder brother said. “From today on, you sleep with me.”
He tucked Liu Yi into bed. The boy asked blankly, “But you’re not a child either.”
“I’m a boy like you. Boys and girls are different, understand?”
“Why different?”
“No reason,” Azure Dragon said, covering him with the blanket. “Go to sleep.”
“Is it because boys have little wee wee?”
“Cough! Go to sleep!”
“I have a little wee wee—do you have one too?”
“Of course I do! Sleep!”
Futile Devices Scans 
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