The villa had been more than half burned down. A’Ying, who rushed over after hearing the news, laughed himself silly with delight. He invited Azure Dragon’s family to stay at his place while the villa was being repaired. Azure Dragon happily accepted, Xiao Man went along with it without complaint, but Liu Yi was not very pleased. Partly because he had caused this disaster himself, and partly because he did not want to owe A’Ying any favors—ever since the “black eats black” incident, he had held a grudge against A’Ying.
Like a small animal sensing a natural predator, he had an instinctive feeling that A’Ying had never liked him. Especially when, as a child, he stuck to Azure Dragon like a rice cake and followed him everywhere, A’Ying had looked at him the way one might look at a wolf cub encroaching on his territory.
But Azure Dragon had been right. No matter how many faults A’Ying might have had, he had once saved Liu Yi’s life as well—albeit incidentally while saving Azure Dragon. Liu Yi might have been mischievous and troublesome, but he was neither spoiled nor unreasonable. In front of A’Ying, he still obediently addressed him as “Brother Ying,” never provoking him or causing trouble. As Azure Dragon had instructed, he gave A’Ying a measure of “face.”
A’Ying, however, clearly had no intention of returning the favor. In front of Azure Dragon, he treated Liu Yi and Xiao Man like a friendly older brother, but the moment Azure Dragon was absent, he began openly and subtly keeping the siblings in line. One night, while Azure Dragon was out entertaining inspectors, A’Ying deliberately invited a crowd of dubious friends over to make a racket. Among them were two spoiled rich boys hooked on white powder, along with several skinny prostitutes whose arms were covered in needle marks. Xiao Man was so frightened that she hid in her room. Liu Yi had been slower to escape and was caught by A’Ying, who insisted on dragging him into the festivities with the women.
He was hauled into the middle of the group and subjected to endless teasing. A’Ying and several of his lackeys forced alcohol down his throat and pressured him to play kissing games with the women. One of the spoiled rich boys even tried to get him to take white powder with him. Liu Yi decisively escaped through a window, but he did not dare run far—he was afraid A’Ying would take it out on Xiao Man. Instead, he hid in a corner downstairs and kept a vigilant eye on Xiao Man’s window. Only after Azure Dragon’s sedan returned late that night did he finally turn and leave.
He went to Cui Dong Dong’s place and woke her from a sound sleep, demanding that she accompany him to “watch the sunrise by the sea.” Miss Cui’s morning temper was formidable. She pinned him against a wall and beat him senseless. “Only beautiful girls are allowed to wake me up, you little brat! Who wants to watch the sunrise with you, little bastard?!”
In the end, sporting a bruised and swollen face, he still found himself riding on the back of Cui Dong Dong’s motorcycle toward the coast. Along the way, he expressed his heartfelt wish to stab A’Ying. Cui Dong Dong, while ridiculing his idiotic dream, analyzed the situation for him: Xiao Qi Hall had many elders and complicated factions. Azure Dragon had become Hall Master at a young age and inevitably faced manipulation and restrictions from the elders. A’Ying represented a significant force within the organization, and his bond with Azure Dragon had been forged through life-and-death experiences. He supported Azure Dragon wholeheartedly and was the only truly reliable power under him. Azure Dragon absolutely could not afford to fall out with A’Ying, and Liu Yi absolutely could not stir conflict between them at such a time. As for Liu Yi, he was a brat who could neither speak properly nor think clearly, who caused trouble all day and accomplished nothing useful. Compared to A’Ying, he was lacking in every respect. If A’Ying bullied him, he should simply endure it. After all, A’Ying could help Azure Dragon. What could Liu Yi do for his precious Eldest?
Liu Yi remained silent for the entire journey. After returning from watching the sunrise, he asked Cui Dong Dong to teach him arithmetic and bookkeeping. Then, with the utmost humility, he returned to A’Ying and formally bowed his head to become his student, saying that he had been young and foolish before, that he was grateful for Brother Ying’s life-saving kindness, that he admired Brother Ying’s formidable combat skills, and that he hoped to learn close-quarters fighting techniques from him—particularly the family-inherited Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms.
From that point onward, if A’Ying told him to go east, he would never go west. No matter how much alcohol A’Ying forced on him, he drank it all. When A’Ying used training sessions as an excuse to beat him in the boxing ring, he neither fought back nor held a grudge. Every “Brother Ying” came from his mouth respectfully and appropriately. Even though he knew A’Ying withheld techniques and deliberately misled him while teaching him martial arts, he still pretended to study diligently, and he frequently praised and thanked A’Ying in front of Azure Dragon. The only thing he absolutely refused to touch was white powder. Fortunately, A’Ying remained wary of Azure Dragon and never truly dared drag him into that world.
He still occasionally visited brothels with Dong Dong, continuing to disguise himself as a normal adolescent boy with ordinary desires. He also deliberately increased the distance between himself and Azure Dragon, no longer calling him “Eldest” with such intimacy. His behavior and speech became disciplined and proper. Whenever he went out, he no longer caused trouble but instead learned to be generous and win people over, gradually gathering a large entourage of snot-nosed blond-haired younger followers behind him. Little by little, he began to carry the bearing of a “young boss.”
Over the course of two years, he matured at an astonishing pace. By the time he turned eighteen, even the elders of the organization had begun looking at him with new respect. On that day, Uncle Qiu and Prince Duan attended the birthday banquet Azure Dragon held for him on June 1st. During the celebration, they remarked, “Xiao Liu has become much more sensible these past few years. He’s a real man now.” “Remember how, when you were younger, you were always causing trouble for your Eldest? Do you remember the time you ran away even with a broken leg? Your Eldest thought enemies had kidnapped you and mobilized all us old-timers in the middle of the night to search for you.” “And a few years ago, Brother Qiang Dong of the He Sheng Society bought some purebred long-haired dog from Britain for two hundred pounds. The dog barked at Xiao Man a few times and frightened the girl so badly she fell down. You little rascal sneaked into their courtyard in the middle of the night, drugged the dog, and shaved off every strand of its most valuable fur! Was the He Sheng Society someone we could afford to provoke? In the end, it was your Uncle Duan, who happened to have closer ties with them, who personally brought compensation money to apologize on your behalf…”
Azure Dragon coughed lightly, signaling to the uncles and elders that the reminiscing about hard times had gone on long enough. The elders immediately switched to talking about happier things. “Things are great now. The kid’s useful now. I heard people from the Sha Family Gang came to smash up one of our venues last month, and it was our Xiao Liu who led the men and drove them off…” “The sports betting business he opened with Dong Dong is doing well too. We’ve all seen the profits these past few months…”
“Dong Dong is a good girl too,” Prince Duan said. “Brother Yuan wants her to help with the accounting next month. Azure Dragon, what do you think?”
Taking advantage of the fact that they had started discussing Dong Dong, Liu Yi picked up his wine glass and slipped away. He went around the banquet offering drinks to the older brothers in the hall one by one. A’Ying could not be bothered to give him face and had skipped the banquet on the pretext of being busy. Liu Yi found one of A’Ying’s underlings, respectfully toasted this particular Brother So-and-So, and asked him to bring a bottle of fine red wine back to A’Ying.
As Liu Yi grew older, he learned to conduct himself flawlessly and endure things without showing emotion. A’Ying, meanwhile, gradually became arrogant from being favored and increasingly unrestrained. Relying on the fact that he was Azure Dragon’s right-hand man and his most “inseparable” brother through life and death, A’Ying became more and more tyrannical within the hall. Aside from still showing some respect to Elder Yuan and Elder Ge, the two senior and influential elders, he no longer placed the other elders in his eyes. Internally, he acted arbitrarily, squeezed out dissenters, indulged in debauchery, and did whatever he pleased. Externally, he was ruthless and merciless, and he had even secretly resumed engaging in “black eats black” schemes, making many enemies for Xiao Qi Hall both openly and behind the scenes.
One bitter winter afternoon, a cold sea breeze blew outside while a warm heater glowed in the villa’s living room. A’Ying and Azure Dragon had a fierce argument in the sitting room because A’Ying had acted on his own without informing Azure Dragon, wiping out one of a rival gang’s operations and tying up the rival hall master’s entire family before throwing them into the sea from a dock. To this day, neither the living nor the dead had been found.
Azure Dragon accused him of being too cruel and of not even sparing the other family’s ten-year-old child. A’Ying, however, believed Azure Dragon had become indecisive. After years of listening to the elders’ lectures, he had become as nagging and cautious as an old man, far removed from the ruthless decisiveness he had shown when he first rose to power.
“Do you even understand what it means to balance kindness and authority? What it means to win people’s hearts?” Azure Dragon shouted angrily. “Do you want every gang in Kau Lung Walled City to become an enemy of Xiao Qi Hall?”
“I only know that those who obey me prosper, and those who oppose me perish!” A’Ying roared back. “Hack those bastards to pieces, and the entire waWalled City will have to buy from Xiao Qi Hall! Doesn’t Master Maitreya want you to expand our business routes as quickly as possible too? Everything I’ve done was for your sake! What did I do wrong?!”
“You didn’t do this for me at all! You did all this for yourself!” Azure Dragon snapped.
A’Ying’s expression changed instantly, a look of wounded disbelief flashing through his eyes. “What did you say? Say that again.”
He stepped forward aggressively, closing the distance between them. “I kill for you. I move merchandise for you. I helped grow this gang from a few dozen men into more than two hundred brothers. Every day I go out with my life hanging by a thread so you can sit comfortably in the position of boss and enjoy all the glory, and you say I did it for myself?!”
Liu Yi poked his head out from his room and quietly hid a blade behind his back. He slipped silently down the staircase and concealed himself around the corner. He had noticed A’Ying’s increasingly violent gestures. A thin sheen of sweat covered his palm as he quietly drew the blade from its sheath.
A’Ying’s face was livid. Suddenly he charged toward Azure Dragon! Liu Yi’s heart lurched, and he moved to intervene with his blade, only to see A’Ying grab his own shirt and rip it apart, exposing a huge tattoo of a fierce eagle with outstretched wings. Across one wing ran a long, twisted scar, as though the eagle’s wing had been broken. It was the scar from the knife he had taken for Azure Dragon years ago.
“Who did I do it for? If you’ve got the guts, say it again while looking at this! Go on!” A’Ying bellowed, his eyes bloodshot.
Azure Dragon closed his eyes painfully. He placed a hand against A’Ying’s bare, trembling chest and gently stroked the scar before letting out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, A’Ying. I went too far.”
A’Ying lowered his eyes to look at the hand resting against his chest. His chest still rose and fell violently as he heard Azure Dragon continue, “But you went too far as well. When we became sworn brothers, we promised to remain brothers for life. You also promised that you would listen to me for the rest of your life. But what about now? You do whatever you want without consulting me. You know I’ll object, so you simply act first and tell me afterward. A’Ying, you’ve truly disappointed me.”
Azure Dragon’s cool hand pressed against his chest and gently pushed him away. “I won’t forgive you for this. Go back and reflect on your actions. I’m going to the Walled City shortly to discuss this matter with the elders and clean up the mess you’ve created. Leave.”
Hidden around the corner of the staircase, Liu Yi watched A’Ying leave the villa with a conflicted expression. Azure Dragon sat alone on the sofa, silently rubbing his temples.
Liu Yi put away his blade and walked over. “Eldest,” he called softly.
Azure Dragon looked up at him and gestured for him to sit nearby. Liu Yi obediently sat down about a meter away instead of moving closer.
“Even you aren’t close to me anymore,” Azure Dragon sighed.
“Eldest,” Liu Yi said seriously, “let me help you.”
“I’m eighteen now. I can do better than Brother Ying. Let me help you.”
Azure Dragon laughed and lightly smacked him on the forehead. “What nonsense are you talking about? I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet for the sports betting business you’ve been running with Dong Dong behind my back. What kind of foolishness is that for someone your age? Does this family really need the money you earn?”
Liu Yi opened his mouth to say something more, but Azure Dragon had no time to listen. “I’m heading out now. Tell Uncle Zhang to bring the car around.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“I’m meeting with the elders. What would you do there? Go to bed early tonight and stop wandering around the streets with Dong Dong. Oh, right. Next month Inspector Hua’s wife is throwing a birthday party. I’ll take you and Xiao Man along.”
Liu Yi swallowed the rest of his words and stood at the front gate, watching dejectedly as Azure Dragon’s car drove away from the courtyard.
That evening, Dong Dong did indeed call him, enthusiastically inviting him out to wander the streets, but he firmly refused. Long after midnight, after Xiao Man had already gone to sleep, he was still in the training room behind the courtyard, hammering away at a punching bag.
Thump! Thump!
I really want to grow up faster. I really want to become stronger and smarter as soon as possible. I really want to stand beside Azure Dragon sooner.
After finishing his training and taking a shower, he stood alone in the living room staring at the grandfather clock in the corner as its hands pointed to one in the morning. Something felt wrong. Most of the elders had families and rarely visited brothels or nightclubs. Azure Dragon was not someone who indulged in drink and women either. If he had not gone out for entertainment, why had he still not returned home so late?
A vague sense of unease settled over him. He threw on a long coat, strapped a pair of twin blades to his back, and quietly slipped out of the house. Carrying a flashlight, he sneaked into a nearby patch of woods and dug out a brand-new motorcycle he had hidden there. With the engine roaring, he headed toward the Walled City.
The motorcycle’s headlight cut through the darkness as he cruised aimlessly through the city, weaving through narrow, dim alleyways. He woke many residents already exhausted by life and earned no shortage of curses and complaints along the way. Most of the dog-meat stalls in the night market on the square had already closed. Only a few dim yellow lights remained lit. Elderly women stooped over as they collected bowls and chopsticks, while the stench of rot and blood drifted through the air.
After searching for a long time without finding any sign of Azure Dragon, Liu Yi grew increasingly restless. He parked beside the square, removed his helmet, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and looked around.
Suddenly, he heard the faint yet eerie sounds of fighting. The noises came carried by the wind from somewhere far away, near the edge of the Walled City, trapped within the maze of narrow alleys. He heard the clash of blades, angry shouts, and screams.
“Kill him—don’t let him get away!”
“Whoever kills Azure Dragon gets a reward!”
He flung away his helmet, leapt onto the motorcycle, and sped off at full throttle!
Futile Devices Scans 
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