With a knife on his throat and a hatchet and dagger pressed to his cheeks, Hunchback Luo still stayed calm.
"Hold it back a bit. I know, ever since the day I stepped into this life, I knew this day would come sooner or later."
"You kids don't panic. Keep that dagger steady, don't slice my damn throat by accident. Since you're letting me talk, that means you're not dead set on killing me. I'll go with you."
I stood behind Hunchback Luo, my chest pressed tight against his hunchbacked frame. My palms were slick with sweat, my arms trembling.
Right then, I felt it—the feeling of holding someone's life in your hands. Just one downward slip, and I could cut his throat open. End him, right there.
But instead of feeling powerful or superior, all I felt was unease—deep, creeping unease.
Just like Luo said: from the moment he joined the underworld, he knew this day would come. Then what about me, Chu Jianghe? Will I someday get blocked at my own doorstep and taken out the same way?
Xu Rang eased his dagger back a little and growled, "Luo, you're an old fucking street dog. I don't need to lecture you. Behave. Don't move."
Luo let out a long breath, still weirdly calm. Not a trace of panic.
"So whose boys are you? Coming straight to my house to take me—kinda out of line, don't you think?"
Xu Rang shoved the dagger forward again, pressing the tip right against his throat.
"When I tell you to behave, you damn well behave. We're here to take you, not chat. Say one more goddamn word, and I'll twist your tongue into pulp."
Luo chuckled twice and shut up.
Xu Rang put the dagger away, stepped to my side, hesitated a moment, then handed me the motorcycle key.
"Old Second, you drive. I'll watch him."
He drew the five-shot scattergun from his waist and pressed it to the back of Luo's head. "Luo, my brother's about to let you go. You can test whether you're faster—or my gun."
He shot me a look; I nodded, let go of Luo's arms, and took the key.
Xu Rang pushed Luo forward, and the three of us walked out of the brick house.
Luo's hunchback was bad—really curved—but the man carried a brutal aura. Even just standing there, saying nothing, he felt dangerous.
Luo behaved himself. No need for Xu Rang to bark orders—he walked step by step on his own.
"You two little pups, relax a bit. If you were older, I might actually think about resisting."
"But you two teenage bastards… yeah, I'm actually a bit scared. Kids your age don't know how to control strength. Might really beat me to death."
He wasn't wrong. If a grown man in his thirties slapped you, you'd probably jump up and return two slaps.
But if some seventeen-eighteen-year-old hot-blooded kid slapped you? Better let it go.
That age—once he's holding a knife, he's got the nerve to kill. If you slap him back, he's already chosen what part of your body he'll stab.
When we reached the motorcycle, Xu Rang still didn't trust him. He told me to remove the strap from the cargo rack and tie Luo's hands tight.
Then I drove, Luo sat in the middle, and Xu Rang sat in the back, shotgun still on Luo's skull.
By the time we brought him back to Zhoujia Village, it was around three in the morning.
Four Toyota HiAce vans were waiting outside the village. Under the van headlights, I saw two men still kneeling on the ground.
I took off my knit mask and realized my hair was soaked with sweat.
We wore those so people in Luo Bay wouldn't see our faces and go report it.
As for Luo—he's a street man. If he went to the cops, he'd never be able to walk around Liuxiang Town again.
Xu Rang and I pushed Luo to Chen Qiang.
"Big Brother, it's done. Didn't hold things up, right?"
Chen Qiang gave a slight nod. "No delays." Then he walked toward Luo.
Luo sighed. "So it's Brother Chen. I wondered who wanted to take me."
"Brother Chen, should I kneel like Daisheng and Li Bieshu over there?"
Daisheng and Li Bieshu—both core men under Tumor. Chen Qiang and Old Goat-Beard must've already grabbed them.
Chen Qiang smiled and shook his head. "No need. Luo, you're past forty. Having you kneel to someone not even thirty—might shorten my life."
"Those two weren't obedient, so I gave 'em some harsher treatment."
Luo kept his usual grinning face. He glanced at me, then at Xu Rang.
"Brother Chen, you're something else. Where'd you find these two vicious little pups? Young as hell, never done real work, but damn—they handled things like pros."
"These two—if they don't die, don't go crippled, don't get taken by the cops within ten years—they'll both be someone."
I noticed Chen Qiang's expression change the moment Luo finished saying that.
"Alright, dawn's coming. Enough bullshit. Let's go. Get in."
Chen Qiang walked toward the Bluebird sedan.
I was about to push Luo toward the vans, when Xu Rang stopped me.
"They can handle this small stuff."
"Them" meant Chen's other boys.
I didn't quite get it—until Luo passed by me and said,
"Kid, if Bald Qiang wins and actually takes down Brother Tumor, you'll be somebody too."
"Because you took me, Luo. Saying that out loud ain't shameful. Small shit like this doesn't need you personally doing it."
My heart trembled a little. If Tumor falls… I, Chu Jianghe, could also have a name?
Xu Rang patted my shoulder. "Come on."
Inside the Bluebird, Old Goat-Beard handed me a cigarette and laughed.
"So, Old Second, first job—scared or not?"
I shook my head fast. "Brother Goat, you're kidding. What's there to be scared of? Honestly, I was thinking—if Luo didn't behave, I'd just kill him right there."
Old Goat-Beard burst out laughing. "You really are young. But you've got the talent for this life—same as your real brother."
The moment he said that, his face changed, like he knew he'd fucked up. He turned to look at Chen Qiang.
Chen Qiang, sitting in the front seat, narrowed his eyes. Sensing the look, he just said quietly:
"Enough. Cut the chatter. Drive."
I had no idea why Goat-Beard's face changed so suddenly. Did he touch a taboo? Offend Chen Qiang?
I didn't know. And this wasn't the time to figure it out.
The car drove toward town.
But the cops had already warned both Chen Qiang and Tumor: No fighting in town.
So why was Chen bringing three of Tumor's key men toward town?
Did he just not give a damn about the police?
What worried me most was that Tumor—the hardest one—still hadn't shown up.
If we couldn't find him, killing Luo and the others wouldn't matter much.
A "big brother" isn't a title anyone can hold. As long as Tumor wasn't taken out, all he had to do was wave his arm and people would gather again. Soon enough, he'd still be a boss equal to Chen Qiang.
The whole ride, Chen Qiang and Goat-Beard stayed silent. I didn't dare ask anything.
The car stopped two kilometers outside Liuxiang Town.
Luo and the other two were pushed out and brought before Chen Qiang.
Chen shot Goat-Beard a look. Goat-Beard nodded and fetched things from a van.
He came back with: two wooden planks about a meter long, a hammer, hemp rope, some bamboo pieces, and a big handful of one-inch nails.
The moment I saw the stuff, Luo—who had been calm this whole night—suddenly shivered hard, swallowing over and over.
"Bald Qiang… you're really gonna take it this far?"
Chen picked up the hammer, face cold.
"I can't find Tumor right now. But I know he's hiding somewhere in town. And he's definitely sent people to the county to get help—preparing to strike back."
"I brought two planks."
"Whichever one of you three tells me where Tumor is first— I won't do him."
"I'll do the other two."
I looked at the fear on Luo's face, and I didn't understand.
He didn't panic when a knife was literally on his throat. But two wooden planks made him shake?
What the hell was Chen Qiang going to do?