Night hung heavy. A Haishi van led the way, the Bluebird carrying me and Chen Qiang's crew followed in the middle, and we charged straight into Liuxiang Town.
Captain Xu from the yamen had already said it— he wouldn't allow Chen Qiang and Tumor to settle things inside town. But judging from the situation now, neither of them gave a damn about what the yamen said.
The yamen's plan was simple: make it look like they were going to arrest Tumor in town, forcing him to flee, and letting Chen and Tumor settle it outside Liuxiang.
But now— Tumor never left town, and Chen intended to finish him in town.
Xu Rang and I sat in the back seat (back then big brothers and bosses always sat in the front passenger seat). I didn't know how Xu Rang felt, but I was fired up.
Tumor had kept me sleepless for so long— tonight, finally, there would be an answer.
If we lost— whether they killed me, or forced me to run for my life— I'd accept it.
If we won— then just like Luo said, I, Second Chu, would be a somebody in Liuxiang.
Whatever the result, after tonight, that stone in my chest would finally drop.
"Old Second, you think Luo got wronged?" Xu suddenly asked, catching me off guard.
I thought for a moment—then it hit me.
Yeah, Luo didn't even know Chen and Tumor had gone to war. He was dragged straight from home. Chen asked him where Tumor was hiding— even if he wanted to talk, how the hell could he know?
I nodded gently. "He was pretty damn unlucky."
Goat-Beard, who was driving, let out a cold laugh. "Unlucky? If you're in this life, don't talk about being wronged. Not just Luo—any of us gets done, none of us has the right to cry about it."
True. Goat-Beard wasn't wrong. Anyone walking this path— if they get shot or chopped— they fucking deserve it. None of us are innocent.
I'd been out of university less than a month. Already took down Wang Hai, then Luo.
In this world, every last one of us deserves a firing squad. Not a single wrongful one.
So whether the law handles me, or the streets handle me, I've got no right to complain.
Chen opened his eyes, speaking lightly: "Save that useless bullshit for later. Old Second, Xu Rang—hand over your guns. No shooting tonight."
We nodded and passed the five-shot pistols from our waists to him.
This was my first time touching a gun. Even without firing, that cold, solid weight gave me a huge sense of security.
Years later, when I fled to Vietnam— I couldn't even sleep without a gun.
Goat-Beard also handed his gun to Chen. Chen rested his hand on his thigh, tapping his fingers slowly— clearly he wasn't calm either.
There were seven guns in total. Four with us.
So where were the other three?
Were the other gunmen in the other vans? Or did Chen send them on another job?
Before I could think more, the cars stopped.
We'd arrived at Tumor's lover's place. A wooden tile-roof house, sitting on the east side of Liuxiang, far from my home.
Once the car stopped, Xu Rang pulled four machetes from under the seat.
I took one, Goat-Beard took one, but Chen waved his hand, got out, opened the trunk, and grabbed two things:
A steel pipe— and a heavy machete with a threaded handle that could screw into the pipe.
This thing was called a pipe-killer.
In my memory, pipe-killers came from Xiangnan. The real beasts who wielded them were all from Xiangnan too.
Over there they didn't call it "mixing in society" or "the underworld." They called it daliu—running the streams.
Pipe-killers were mostly homemade. A machete plus a steel pipe— basically a crude pole-blade. Sometimes one hand held the pipe, one hand held the machete. Anyone who could use it well— was a fucking monster.
The pipe in pipe-killer wasn't a noun. It was a verb.
"Pipe" didn't mean steel pipe. It meant: handle the killing, don't handle the burial.
Chen screwed the machete into the pipe. With that bald head of his, he looked murderous.
"You three wait outside. If the ones who come out aren't us, cut them to death. Kill whoever— I'll take the blame."
"Huzi, Xu Rang, Old Second— you're coming in with me."
I nodded. Oddly— when I heard the words "handle business" now, I felt nothing. Just calm. Numb, even.
Chen was the big brother. Big brothers didn't do their own killing lightly. Him taking out the pipe-killer tonight meant he was ready to personally kill Tumor.
Knife-men from the vans spread out, surrounding the house, leaving a straight path for us.
Chen held the pipe-killer, walked to the front, and chopped at the wooden door.
The blade was an inch and a half thick at the spine. Heavy as hell. One strike ripped the wooden door apart.
Then he kicked— and the door burst open.
Xu Rang led the way. Goat-Beard and I followed. Chen marched behind us with the pipe-killer.
These wooden tile houses in the southwest were split into front and back rooms. Front for cooking, back for sleeping.
The bedroom door wasn't latched. Xu pushed it open with his machete.
"Tumor! Your granddaddy's here for your life tonight!"
Goat-Beard stayed calmest. He felt around beside the door, found the light-string for the tungsten bulb, and pulled.
A dim yellow light flickered on. Chen squeezed inside as well.
Four big men with machetes surrounded the only wooden bed— but Tumor wasn't there.
Only a pretty, charming woman in her thirties.
Chen took a deep breath, slammed the pipe-killer on the floor, grabbed her hair and dragged her off the bed.
"Bitch, I'm asking once— where the hell is Tumor?"
The woman had never seen anything like this. She was trembling uncontrollably, eyes unfocused. She couldn't even form a word.
Xu and I were too young to rough up a woman, but Goat-Beard didn't hesitate.
Two giant slaps cracked across her cheeks, shocking her back to awareness.
Goat-Beard glared, pressed his machete to her neck. "My big brother is asking you something. Wasn't Tumor here? Where is he?"
"You don't talk, and I cut you open right now."
She jolted, body shivering hard, and burst into tears.
"Please don't kill me— I really don't know! He was sleeping here earlier tonight, but just now he suddenly got up, dressed, and left!"
Chen frowned, looking down at her trembling on the floor.
"Left? How long ago? Where to?"
She shook her head. "I—I don't know… I was too sleepy… didn't see what time it was…"
Chen didn't answer. He closed his eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
I knew— if we didn't catch Tumor off guard tonight, we'd never get another clean shot. Once he regained his footing, no way we'd settle this quickly.
And Xu Muye only gave Chen five days. Tomorrow would be the third.
If five days passed and Tumor wasn't dealt with— Xu would come collect all debts, old and new. Chen would be the one getting handled.
If Chen fell— Tumor would never spare me.
So it wasn't just Chen who was anxious— I was the same.
Chen was still thinking, and dawn light began to bleed into the sky when suddenly—
Two gunshots cracked outside Liuxiang.
Chen's tense expression loosened instantly.
"Go! Tumor ain't no damn Monkey King reincarnated. I don't believe he can escape my hand."
Chen led us back to the cars, racing toward the gunshots.
Seven guns total. Four with us.
So those shots— were they from the other three?
Besides me, Xu Rang, and Goat-Beard— the other three who could carry guns for Chen—
who the hell were they?