Friends, do you know that to convict someone of intentional homicide, a complete chain of evidence is required?
Among these, the murder weapon is the most indispensable link. Of course, some murder convictions don't require a weapon, but without one, it is very difficult to form a complete chain of evidence.
The moment the words "blood oath" (toumingzhuang) popped out of Xu Rang's mouth, I knew why it had to be just Xu Rang and me doing the dirty work today, with no one else allowed to help.
After toppling Liuzi, Chen Qiang was the only Big Brother left in Liuxiang Town. Xu Rang and I had played very prominent roles in the event of handling Liuzi.
Whether it was crippling Wang Hai, kidnapping the Hunchback, or watching Liuzi die.
Any one of these things was enough for Xu Rang and me to make a name for ourselves in Liuxiang Town.
From now on, we were "characters," genuine members of the underworld society, qualified to have followers of our own.
But Xu Rang and I were too clean. We hadn't left any leverage (handle) in Chen Qiang's hands.
If Xu Rang and I used this reputation to successfully rise in the underworld of Liuxiang Town...
There was no guarantee we wouldn't become the second Liuzi. And even if we didn't become a second Liuzi, there was the possibility of us becoming "a tail too big to wag" (too powerful to control).
Liuzi was dead. As for Wang Hai and Old Fish, whether we handled them or not, they couldn't stir up any waves.
But Xu Rang and I had to handle two people. Who we handled didn't matter; what mattered was that we did it.
We needed to leave the murder weapon—evidence sufficient to charge us with murder, the critical link in the evidence chain that could sentence us to death—in Chen Qiang's hands.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Heaven was looking out for us, and neither Xu Rang nor I succeeded—or rather, Chen Qiang didn't succeed.
The stove fire in the clinic burned steadily. A kettle sat on top, the water inside boiling with a gulu-gulu sound, the steam making the whole room warm.
Xu Rang stood by the window, smoking one cigarette after another. I swallowed with difficulty.
Neither the stove fire nor the steam could make me feel the slightest bit of warmth; it was as if I were standing in a world of ice and snow.
"Xu Rang, did you let Old Fish go on purpose?"
Xu Rang shook his head. "At first, I didn't think about all this either. It was only on the way back, when Chen Qiang said we didn't handle the job 'beautifully,' that I snapped out of it."
This time, Xu Rang didn't say "Big Brother"; he called him directly by his name, Chen Qiang.
It seemed that deep down, Xu Rang also held a trace of resentment toward Chen Qiang.
I was covered in cold sweat. Suddenly, I had the urge to kowtow a few times to that kid who bumped my hand.
If I hadn't let go of that triangular scraper and had actually stabbed Wang Hai to death, my life would have been firmly gripped in Chen Qiang's fist.
Filled with the relief of surviving a disaster, I asked, "Xu Rang, did we dodge a bullet here?"
Xu Rang threw his cigarette butt on the floor, stepped on it, and ground it viciously back and forth.
"Hmph, dodge my ass. Number Two, believe it or not, sooner or later we have to submit this blood oath to Chen Qiang."
I let out an "Ah," unable to figure out why Xu Rang would say that.
"We're all following him. Is he unwilling to give us even this little bit of trust?"
Xu Rang sneered. "Trust? How can he trust us? Number Two, do you remember the question he asked you when he handed you the gun that day?"
I remembered. Of course, I remembered.
At that time, Chen Qiang asked: Chu Shanhe, are you a man who holds a gun?
"We've handled so many things with him. Just the Liuzi incident alone is enough to send him inside for many years. You tell me, how can he trust us?"
I thought back, and it was true.
These past few days, whenever something important happened, it was Liuzi taking us and Mustache Yang—the three of us—to handle it. That included watching Liuzi die.
As for those hatchet men, they only saw Chen Qiang handle the Hunchback, and the Hunchback and his crew didn't die.
If no one died, it didn't count as a major incident.
Xu Rang and I were the witnesses to Liuzi's death, which was exactly why Chen Qiang couldn't rest easy about us.
Xu Rang lit another cigarette, his tone filled with melancholy. "Number Two, you shouldn't have taken the gun that day. Now, whether we want to or not, we have to pay this blood toll."
I remained silent, not knowing what to say.
I could only light a cigarette myself and smoke silently.
After a moment, nursing a sliver of wishful thinking, I said, "We didn't kill anyone this time. Chen Qiang shouldn't force us again, right?"
"After all, he's not a psycho or a homicidal maniac. He wouldn't just kill someone for fun over nothing."
Xu Rang's face looked grim. He paused in the middle of smoking and looked straight at me.
"Number Two, you better pray that we still have the chance to submit this blood oath."
I froze, then couldn't help cursing, "Xu Rang, have you gone mental? You're actually thinking about killing someone just to cheer Chen Qiang up?"
Xu Rang's eyes were full of mockery as he said indifferently, "Given Chen Qiang's nature, if we don't submit this blood oath and become his true 'insiders,' what do you think our outcome will be?"
The cold sweat I had just stopped broke out again at Xu Rang's words.
If we couldn't be insiders, then we could only be dead men.
Xu Rang sighed. "Actually, I don't blame Big Brother. If I were him, I'd do the same thing."
My eyelid twitched. If Xu Rang and I didn't have a life-and-death bond, I would have cursed him out right then and there.
You motherfucker, you really are a piece of work. You can be broad-minded and understanding about something like this?
I suddenly understood what Mustache Yang had said earlier: Mixing in society and walking the Jianghu is a narrow sheep's intestine path; there isn't even room to turn around.
The Jianghu is fighting and killing; the Jianghu is worldly wisdom; but above all, the Jianghu is involuntary—you have no control over yourself.
Xu Rang patted my shoulder. "Number Two, don't overthink it. Since we're mixing in this society, this day would have come sooner or later."
Perhaps realizing my expression was off, Xu Rang hooked his arm around my shoulder and laughed. "Don't do anything rash. Let me tell you, now that Liuzi is gone, in the whole Liuxiang Town—aside from those cops in the Yamen and those beasts in suits in the government—Big Brother is the biggest."
"Even if the two of us were tied together, he could handle us with one hand, horizontally or vertically, until we couldn't move a muscle."
I pulled the corner of my mouth into a forced smile.
I hated this feeling of letting others dictate my fate.
I couldn't accept it from anyone.
Not even if Chen Qiang was my Big Brother.
Xu Rang continued to comfort me. "Actually, it's not bad. Once we submit the blood oath, we'll be Big Brother's true inner circle. We won't be short on benefits then."
I was getting annoyed, but I couldn't just snap at Xu Rang, so I replied perfunctorily.
"Yeah, yeah, we're following a good Big Brother."
Xu Rang didn't catch the dissatisfaction in my voice and replied with a grin, "That's the spirit. Although I'm not comfortable with it either, I can really understand Big Brother's thinking."
"Number Two, Big Brother treats us well. Following him, we won't lose out."
Now I didn't even have the energy to fake it. I lowered my head and smoked my sullen cigarette, puff after puff.
Seeing I wasn't in the mood to talk, Xu Rang patted my shoulder, left one last sentence, went back to his bed, and went to sleep.
Xu Rang said, "Once you enter the Jianghu, you are a person of thin fate."
...
When I first wrote about Xu Rang, I said that he was the only triad boss after the millennium who possessed the true temperament of a Jianghu Big Brother.
The main manifestation of this was his Loyalty (Zhong) and Righteousness (Yi). He followed only one Big Brother in his entire life: Chen Qiang.
In those few years when Xu Rang and I were showing our sharpest edges, two evaluations about us started circulating from somewhere.
The first was about me: Chu Shanhe, Chu the Second, can be a triad boss because his hands are black and his heart is ruthless. His heart is venomous, and he dares to gamble his life. He deserves to be a triad boss.
Xu Rang's was very simple: If a man as loyal and righteous as him doesn't become the Big Brother, then who does?
After 2012, I held the entire Southwest under my claws; no one in the underworld dared to challenge my sharpness.
Chen Qiang shot at me three times in total, hitting me twice. The reason I gave him a path to live was because Xu Rang used his own life to protect him.
If Xu Rang hadn't threatened suicide, Chen Qiang would have been sunk to the bottom of the Wujiang River long ago, his balls gnawed clean by the fish and shrimp.
In Xu Rang's life, he had only one sworn brother: me, Chu Shanhe. He saved me from death several times and never betrayed me. This is Righteousness (Yi).
He followed only one Big Brother: Chen Qiang. No matter the situation, he ensured that Big Brother's life was secure. This is Loyalty (Zhong).
Regarding those two evaluations, I have no comment on the one about me.
But the one about Xu Rang wasn't wrong in the slightest.
If he didn't become the Big Brother, who would? Who was worthy?