I had lived in the small town my whole life; this was my first time in the county seat.
Compared to Liuxiang Town, which only had two streets, the county seat seemed infinitely more intricate and labyrinthine to me.
I was terrified—terrified that the cops' jeeps, with their flashing red and blue lights, would catch up and throw me into "university" (prison) to rot.
This was the first time I had ever seen Chen Qiang drive himself. He was obviously very familiar with the county seat. He didn't drive on the main avenues but stuck to the narrow alleyways. After a series of twists and turns, we shook off the wailing sirens.
Chen Qiang wasn't driving the Bluebird he usually drove. I didn't recognize the car logo, but in that moment, I was too nervous to care what kind of car it was.
Hearing Xu Rang panting slightly beside me, I finally realized he was covered in blood. Had he failed?
Xu Rang was clutching his lower abdomen, his face pale, sweat streaming down his cheeks.
I pulled off my hat and asked urgently, "Xu Rang, what happened? Did you miss?"
Xu Rang managed a forced smile. "Damn it, that Old Fish has some skills. I capsized in the sewer (unexpectedly failed)—I got slashed across the belly instead."
Xu Rang had used a military bayonet to handle Old Fish, but not the famous Type 56 bayonet. The Type 56 is also called a triangular bayonet, the same style as the triangular scraper I used.
(I will post a photo of the triangular scraper in the comments section at the end of the chapter.)
The bayonet he used was a knife-style bayonet with a long blood groove on the blade. Being stabbed by that thing would be fatal.
I hurriedly checked the wound on Xu Rang's waist. Fortunately, he wasn't stabbed; he was slashed.
But the gash was very deep. I felt like I could almost see his intestines.
Xu Rang lifted his hand and pushed my head away. "Don't look. It's a slit made by a knife, not a woman's slit. Nothing to see here."
Xu Rang sometimes spoke like the fighter jet of hooligans.
Driving the car, Chen Qiang let out a muffled hmph. "Number Two, Xu Rang, you guys didn't handle this job beautifully enough!"
Xu Rang and I didn't dare to reply. We had indeed botched it.
Wang Hai and Old Fish—we hadn't finished off either of them.
Mustache Yang spoke up from the side to smooth things over for us. "Big Brother, you can't blame them. The train station is a hard place to work, and the cops came too fast."
Chen Qiang gave another cold snort but said nothing more.
However, a fire began to rise in my heart. Chen Qiang, you motherfucker.
If you had gone with us, or if Mustache Yang had joined us, or if you had just called a few guys to help us, we would have finished Wang Hai and Old Fish long ago.
Would we have ended up like this? Not only did we fail the hit, but Xu Rang got injured too.
Just as I was about to explode, Mustache Yang, who was sitting next to me, placed his hand on my thigh and gave an imperceptible shake of his head.
His eyes were sharp. Usually, he was the smiling "mud-mixer" (peacemaker), but right now his gaze was like a knife, signaling me to shut up.
I was furious, thinking I should curse Mustache Yang out too, but Xu Rang also grabbed my hand and shook his head slightly.
My heart cooled down instantly. Yes, if eighteen-year-old me could see something so obvious, Mustache Yang and Xu Rang definitely saw it too.
Why did Chen Qiang only send Xu Rang and me to do the job? Why didn't he or Mustache Yang lift a finger, or even call anyone to help us?
Judging by the looks on Mustache Yang and Xu Rang's faces, they probably knew the reason, but neither of them would say it.
Chen Qiang didn't speak again and drove quietly.
The car passed through two main streets and arrived at the Ninth Street Intersection that Xu Feilin had mentioned.
Two men were already waiting there, standing next to the Bluebird that Chen Qiang usually drove.
I helped Xu Rang out of the car. Mustache Yang and Chen Qiang walked ahead. Chen Qiang sat in the passenger seat without a word, never once looking at Xu Rang or me. He simply said indifferently:
"Leave all the daggers, bayonets, scrapers, and axes you just used in that car."
Xu Rang handed me the bayonet and axe he used, clutching his injured belly as he supported himself on the door to get into the other car.
I took the axe and bayonet, along with my triangular scraper and dagger, and threw the whole lot into the first car.
The two men who were waiting immediately drove that car away.
They were probably going to clean up our mess.
Our car headed toward Liuxiang Town. It seemed this matter was truly over.
Liuzi had been handled. From now on, there was only one Big Brother in Liuxiang Town, and that was Big Brother Chen Qiang.
Those of us who followed him could be considered to have turned over a new leaf.
Especially Xu Rang and me. In this operation against Liuzi, we had shown our faces prominently in front of Chen Qiang's underlings.
The Hunchback's prophecy had come true; from now on, I, Chu Shanhe, was a somebody in Liuxiang Town.
I hadn't slept for two days and one night. Now that I was completely relaxed, I leaned back in the seat and fell into a deep sleep.
I didn't wake up until the car drove into Liuxiang Town and Chen Qiang dropped Xu Rang off at the town clinic.
Chen Qiang's expression was much softer than before. When he spoke again, there were no cold snorts.
"Number Two, Xu Rang, you two brothers have worked hard these past couple of days. Get your injuries treated first, then go back and rest well. Come find me at my house in two days; I'll treat you brothers to a drink."
The unhappiness in my heart had mostly dissipated on the way back. Coupled with Chen Qiang's kind words, I replied, "It wasn't hard work. It's what I should do, Big Brother."
Chen Qiang patted my shoulder, then turned and left with Mustache Yang.
I wasn't injured, just incredibly sleepy.
The wound on Xu Rang's belly needed stitches. He was given anesthesia, and by the time he woke up, it was already past midnight.
Xu Rang patted me awake. "Number Two, help me to the window. Let's burn a stick (smoke a cigarette)."
There were only two days left until the twelfth lunar month of 1995. The year was ending. Snow was drifting down, clothing the entire Liuxiang Town in silver.
Xu Rang lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth but didn't inhale. I couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong? Did getting slashed make you forget how to smoke?"
Xu Rang didn't answer me. He kept staring blankly at the heavy snow outside the window. I realized something was wrong.
"What is it, Xu Rang?"
Xu Rang took a fierce drag. That single drag consumed a third of the cigarette. A huge cloud of smoke sprayed from his mouth, obscuring his face with its thick eyebrows and big eyes.
"Number Two, looks like we failed to submit our Toumingzhuang (blood oath)."
I froze in place, unable to react for a moment.
Xu Rang took another drag. This time he inhaled all the smoke into his lungs, then slowly exhaled it through his nose.
He said in a muffled voice, "Number Two, have you thought about it? Liuzi is already dead. Why was it absolutely necessary to handle his cousin and Old Fish?"
"And why did it absolutely have to be the two of us doing it, with no one else allowed to interfere?"
I had thought about this question in the car earlier, but I hadn't found the answer.
Now, prompted by Xu Rang's mention of the "blood oath," the confusion in my heart instantly unraveled, and I had the answer.
Outside the clinic, the cold wind howled. The woo-woo sound of the wind was like a woman weeping.
Walking the Jianghu, mixing in the underworld... there's no such thing as brotherly love and tenderness.
The Jianghu is filthy, and the people who walk the Jianghu are filthy too.
Once you enter the Jianghu, you are a person of thin fate.