After a single night, Azure Dragon woke up with an aching waist and sore back. Early in the morning, he and A’Ying brought several young brothers to collect a debt. Standing in the narrow, filthy corridor of a public housing block, he raised his hand to knock on the door—only to suddenly grimace, bracing himself against the wall in silence for quite a while.
“Damn, what’s wrong with you?” A’Ying asked in surprise.
Grinding his teeth, Azure Dragon replied, “Don’t even mention it. I slept with Liu Yi last night—he clung to my waist the whole time.”
A’Ying burst out laughing. A neighbor across the hall, annoyed by the noise, poked their head out to curse—but upon seeing four or five delinquent youths standing in the corridor, each holding machetes or gasoline cans, they immediately withdrew at lightning speed.
After laughing, A’Ying looked at the still-closed door. “You sure he’s inside?”
“Early in the morning? Of course he is.”
“Move aside,” A’Ying said. “I’ll kick it in.”
Azure Dragon stepped aside. A’Ying gathered his strength and kicked—“Thud! Thud!”—but it was completely useless. The debtor had clearly barricaded the door from inside.
“Burn it?” A’Ying asked.
“How do you burn it? There are people living all around,” Azure Dragon gestured at the tightly packed doors lining both sides of the corridor.
“Who cares? Burn it all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Azure Dragon slapped his forehead lightly and lowered his voice. “Go check the balcony outside. Climb over from there.”
A’Ying went reluctantly. After a while, Azure Dragon heard a loud Bang! from inside, followed by the sounds of punching, kicking, and screams. Shortly after, the door opened from within. A’Ying grinned and gestured, “After you.”
Azure Dragon led his men inside. The homeowner knelt on the ground, bruised and swollen, while his wife and children huddled together trembling. A’Ying stepped forward and kicked the man again. “Still hiding?!”
“No more, no more! Spare me, spare me!”
Azure Dragon flipped through the account book in his hand. “Principal and interest—two thousand four hundred eighty wen.”
The homeowner, his face swollen like a pig’s head, cried out, “I have no money, I really don’t!” Seeing that Azure Dragon looked refined and spoke gently—completely unlike the other vicious thugs—he rushed forward and clutched his leg, begging. “Boss, I have elders above and children below—please give me a few more days! Please!”
“Take his wife and children next door,” Azure Dragon said mildly.
Two lackeys dragged them away. Azure Dragon bent down in front of the man, grabbed his hand, and pulled out a palm-sized pair of pliers from his pocket.
“One day, one fingernail. Two days, two fingernails. How many do you want to keep?”
“What? No, no—ahhh!!”
A bloodied fingernail fell to the ground. Azure Dragon held the pliers, still wearing that gentle expression. “Do you want the rest?”
The man nodded frantically through tears. “Yes, yes…!”
“Tomorrow—two thousand four hundred eighty wen. Understand?”
“I understand… I understand… sob…”
Azure Dragon straightened up expressionlessly. “Take his wife and children. Bring money tomorrow to redeem them.”
“What?! No—please, please, Boss…!”
……
They escorted the crying woman and children back to their base—a dilapidated large house in the Walled City. Azure Dragon wiped the pliers with a towel and said to A’Ying, “Lock the door. No one is allowed to touch his wife. Whoever does—I’ll cut off his root.”
“Wow, that’s harsh,” A’Ying said, glancing at the somewhat attractive woman. “The brothers have been holding it in for a long time.”
Azure Dragon pulled out his wallet and tossed it to him. “Take them to the brothel tonight.”
“Understood!” A’Ying grinned, kissing the wallet. Seeing Azure Dragon about to leave, he asked, “Where are you going? Back to babysit again?”
“You already know, why ask?”
“Hahaha! You’re miserable—haven’t even married, yet already dragging around two burdens! Why not keep the girl as a child bride?”
Without turning back, Azure Dragon flicked his hand and threw the pliers at him. “Shut your mouth.”
……
After Azure Dragon left, the thugs crowded around A’Ying excitedly. “Brother Ying, let’s see how much is in there!”
“No matter how much—it’s not yours!” A’Ying smacked one of them on the head, shaking the wallet proudly. “Tonight we’re going to the brothel to have some fun! Dragon Boss is treating!”
The group erupted in cheers.
“Dragon Boss is so generous!”
“Long live Dragon Boss!”
“By the way, why doesn’t Dragon Boss ever go with us?”
“Is he… not capable?”
“With that strength when he fights, how could he not be?”
“Maybe he doesn’t like women?”
“If not women, does he like men? Then he’s a ‘Rabbit Lord’, hahaha—”
Elio’s notes: Rabbit Lord is a traditional folk deity in northern China, especially Beijing. He’s a rabbit-shaped moon figure associated with healing and protection—basically a harmless, even cute cultural figure. Over time, “兔子 (rabbit)” became slang for a gay man, especially in older or street/criminal contexts.
Bang!!
A table overturned suddenly! The loose-tongued thug was slammed to the ground by A’Ying! Grabbing a broken brick, A’Ying smashed it into his face—blood burst forth instantly! His claw-like hand gripped the man’s throat, his gaze sharp as a hawk. “Who the hell is a ‘Rabbit Lord’? Say that again and I’ll kill you!”
The thug trembled, crying, “I’m sorry, Brother Ying! I won’t dare again!”
A’Ying shoved him aside and stood up, blood still splattered on his face, looking terrifying. The others trembled in fear.
“What are you standing around for? Keep talking. Keep laughing,” A’Ying sneered. Suddenly, he grabbed another thug by the collar. “Laugh! I told you to laugh!”
The man forced out a smile uglier than crying.
“That’s better.” A’Ying patted his face, then looked at everyone. “Dragon Boss feeds you, lets you drink, lets you visit brothels. Whoever dares talk behind his back—I’ll gouge out your eyes one by one!”
……
Azure Dragon drove home alone, then took Liu Yi to the hospital—he had been muttering about tooth pain all night.
He carried Liu Yi into the dental room. The doctor, as practiced and calm as a veterinarian, pried open that little tiger mouth full of biting teeth and showed Azure Dragon. “At this age, you can’t let him eat cake every day. Look at this cavity.”
“Does it need to be pulled?”
“Yes.”
Liu Yi blinked blankly as the doctor approached with pliers, unaware of the danger. Azure Dragon quietly stepped back and covered his ears—
The next second, Liu Yi let out a piercing howl!
On the way home, Liu Yi refused to speak to him, clutching his swollen cheek and sulking in silence. While steering, Azure Dragon said, “From now on, brush your teeth properly. No more cake every day—once a week, alright?”
“Hmph!”
“Oh, you can still ‘hmph’?” Azure Dragon glanced at him.
“Wululululu,” Liu Yi mumbled indistinctly.
“When have I ever broken my word?”
“Wulululu!”
“It was the doctor who said it, not me.”
“Wululu…”
They bickered all the way home.
Xiao Man sat on the sofa hugging a doll, staring blankly. When she saw them return, she was happy but didn’t dare stand—she was still unaccustomed to her first monthly cycle.
Liu Yi shot toward her like a cannonball, first showing his swollen cheek, then mumbling, “Wulululu.”
“You had two teeth pulled? Let me see,” Xiao Man said softly.
“Wulu!”
“It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt—pain, fly away.” She handed him her doll. “Here, play with this.”
The two children huddled together on the sofa, playing affectionately. A maid sighed, “These two children are so close, Young Master. Whatever the Young Master says, only the Young Lady understands.”
Azure Dragon said, “Have Uncle Zhang move that folding bed from the storage room into my room. Prepare the bedding.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Wulululu?” Liu Yi glared up.
“Isn’t it better to have your own bed?” Azure Dragon replied.
“Wulululu!”
“I’m not sleeping with you—you’re too heavy.”
“Wulu!”
……
That night, Liu Yi slept resentfully on his small folding bed. Since childhood, he had always slept squeezed together with his sister in a shabby house. Now he was told he couldn’t sleep with her—fine, he could sleep with his big brother—but now even that was taken away. He felt utterly abandoned. His mouth still hurt faintly from the extraction. Though not as painful as past beatings, it was his first taste of being “betrayed” by his big brother—and he was deeply upset.
“You’re already ten years old. You’re a big boy now—big boys sleep alone,” Azure Dragon coaxed, tucking him in and placing a wooden puppet in his arms.
Only then did he realize it was Xiao Man’s puppet—Liu Yi’s own had probably been dismantled beyond recognition.
During this time, Azure Dragon had noticed: whatever good things the sister had—food or toys—she would give them unconditionally to her brother. And the brother was fiercely protective—anyone approaching his sister (except Azure Dragon and the maid) would be blocked by him, baring his little fangs.
Azure Dragon had no siblings of his own, and felt a trace of envy at their bond. But thinking of A’Ying, whom he grew up with, he smiled—back in their youth, A’Ying standing in front of him during fights, fierce and unyielding, was no different from this little tiger.
They had grown up on the same street. Though their personalities were completely different, their brotherhood had always been deep. A’Ying respected him as an elder brother and listened only to him.
Their only falling-out had been over a year ago. When his father established Xiao Qi Hall, Azure Dragon refused to let A’Ying join: “Once you enter the jianghu, you can never leave. You still have your father’s tattoo shop to take care of.” But unwilling to remain a tattoo artist forever, A’Ying secretly sought Uncle Ge, who introduced him into the gang. Azure Dragon had been furious—almost cutting ties.
In the end, A’Ying coaxed him back with his usual shameless grin, repeatedly promising, “Even if I join, I’ll only listen to you—never act recklessly.” He even dragged Azure Dragon into a sworn brotherhood, vowing: “We do not seek to be born on the same day, but we wish to die on the same day.”
Azure Dragon tucked Liu Yi in and thought he should invite A’Ying over more often, to let him bond with his younger brother and sister.
For adults, it was still early. He wasn’t sleepy, so he leaned against the bed, continuing to read the account book.
Liu Yi peeked at him from under the covers.
“Sleep,” Azure Dragon said gently.
Liu Yi quickly pulled the blanket back over himself, pretending to sleep.
Azure Dragon turned a page, feeling an unfamiliar peace. He had never raised even a small animal before—but now, he felt he was doing quite well.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. A maid said there was a call for him. Azure Dragon went out to answer. A’Ying’s urgent voice came through, “Azure Dragon, something’s happened! Go to Chun Hua Clubhouse, Rose Room—now!”
Azure Dragon hung up. Just as he stepped forward, he felt something latch onto his leg—it was Liu Yi, barefoot in his shorts.
“I have something urgent. Go back to sleep.”
“Wululu?”
“It’s nothing. Sleep first.” Anxious, Azure Dragon was slightly rough—prying Liu Yi off his leg and quickly stuffing him back into bed.
Liu Yi curled in the blanket, staring at him with wide eyes.
Without turning back, Azure Dragon closed the bedroom door and left.
Futile Devices Scans 
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