The Treacherous Official and the Memorial Arch
"I believe you. Your third uncle doted on you the most back then, you won't forget that," Song Chengqi said slowly after staring at Song Tianyao for a few seconds.
After receiving those two words from Song Chengqi, Song Tianyao simply changed the subject. "I can't bring myself to say something like 'move in with my Dad,' which would please neither side. But I'll find you a nice neighborhood and rent you a small apartment in a tenement building on your own. What do you think?"
Before Song Tianyao could finish speaking, Song Chengqi waved his hand and said, "It wouldn't be bad to die here. After living here for decades, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I moved. Besides, I have to clean the council hall, and I have more than a dozen children waiting for me to teach them to read. Moreover, those old folks waiting to die in the Elderly Home are also waiting for me to take care of them. I don't want your parents to say that they rely on their son for their old age."
"I'm your grandson, not your enemy, nor my Dad. Do you have to treat me like this? When I was a kid, I helped you catch snakes to make snake soup with your drinks, and you never treated me like this then?" Song Tianyao lit a cigarette and said to Song Chengqi, "You know my Dad is a coward. Does the Song Family have to be like you and our deceased third uncle, only able to be heroes and not ordinary people? Your son has become a coward, and you don't even recognize your own son? You know perfectly well, Uncle, even if my Dad went down the ship with my third uncle, it would just mean the three brothers died together."
"Let's go, it's getting dark. I'll see you out of the city. It's a chaotic place at night, full of all sorts of people." Song Chengqi didn't want to continue the conversation with Song Tianyao about this issue. He flicked his cigarette ash and stood up from the rattan chair.
Song Tianyao did indeed have an appointment with Angie Perlis at the Dulles Hotel that evening. He didn't stay any longer, got up behind his grandfather, and the two walked downstairs. Song Chengqi escorted Song Tianyao all the way out of Kowloon Walled City. On the roadside, whether they were opium addicts, gamblers, or prostitutes, they all addressed Song Chengqi, who was walking in front of Song Tianyao, as Uncle Song or Uncle Song. The elderly people in the Walled City with gray hair called Song Chengqi Mountain Lord Song or Song Advisor.
It was nearly dusk when they arrived. They wrote some calligraphy and chatted at the Kuixing Pavilion. By the time they came out, it was getting dark. Song Chengqi turned to Song Tianyao, who was following behind him, and said, "If you want to do something to honor your grandfather after you've settled down and done your job properly, remember the couplet on the stone gate of Longjin Charity School. Also, the only people your third uncle has wronged are your third aunt and her daughter. She's been thinking of me all these years. Your third aunt loved you more than Yunzhi back then. If you ever become successful, bring them back with you. They're still a member of the Song Family. Don't let the Lin Family treat you badly anymore."
"Within six months, I will bring my third aunt and Yunzhi back to see you." Song Tianyao flicked away his cigarette butt and said to Song Chengqi with certainty, "Actually, I have more than 100,000 yuan right now, but the time is not right. I want my third aunt and Yunzhi to walk out of the Lin Family's gate with their heads held high."
Song Chengqi sighed, "It's no wonder your third uncle and aunt spoiled you so much back then. I was the one who wronged your third aunt and Yunzhi, but I'm an old man, and even if I wanted to go to the Lin Family and lose face, no one would be willing to take me in."
"Grandpa, your face is very valuable, but you just don't want to use it. May I ask you for a secret technique from your mountain stronghold? I think I can use it when dealing with those martial arts figures in the future. Don't worry, I won't do anything shady. At most, I'll scare those troublemakers when I'm doing business, and incidentally collect a little interest on Uncle San's revenge." Song Tianyao stood in the setting sun, looking at Song Chengqi gaze.
Song Chengqi paused for two seconds before speaking, "The Hung Mun is outdated. Does anyone still want to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming? It's pointless to tell you. The mountain's formula is: East Liang Mountain, Dingyi Hall, Kowloon Water, Golden Treasure Incense. The mountain gate's credentials are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Water, Metal; Tiger, Snake, Sparrow, Turtle, Dragon; Dongliang Defining, Together in Harmony; Kowloon Treasure, Settling Ten Thousand as a Mark. However, this set of mountain formulas and credentials won't intimidate anyone in Hong Kong. Only the 14K leaders belonging to the Hung Mun Great Hong Mountain Heavenly Treasure Mountain the He Yong Yi leaders belonging to the Hung Mun Tianbao Mountain might know them. The rest of the so-called Hong Kong Hung Mun societies are nothing more than thugs and hooligans who gather to cause trouble. The Hung Mun Great Hong Mountain originated from..." In 1813, Nanning, Guangxi the second year of the Jiaqing Emperor's reign, the Great Hong Mountain sect moved to Guangzhou in 1949 and was renamed Hongfa Mountain. Its motto was: Hongfa Mountain, Loyalty and Righteousness Hall, Pearl River, White Cloud Incense. The Hung Mun Heavenly Treasure Mountain sect originated in Foshan, Guangdong, in the ninth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. Its motto was: Heavenly Treasure Mountain, Blood-Soaked Hall, Extinguish-Qing Water, Restore-Ming Incense. If you recite your sect's motto and the other person also recites theirs, you can use the subsequent sect credentials to verify their identity. The few lines I passed on to you are my credentials. If the other person is also a member of the Hung Mun, once you recite those four lines of credentials, they will know that you are the current leader of the East Liang Mountain Triad Society of the Hung Mun Triads.
"Wow, such a high seniority? If the other party doesn't believe it, how can you scare him into doing anything?" Song Tianyao silently repeated the words Song Chengqi had just said a few times, and asked with some surprise.
Song Chengqi turned around, his back to the last rays of the setting sun, and walked towards Kowloon Walled City, saying in a nonchalant tone, "Can't scare him? Then let him come see me, and your grandpa will scare him for you."
Chapter 82 Traitors and Memorial Arches
Back at the Dulles Hotel restaurant, Angie Perlis was elegantly conversing with Chu Hsiao- Chu Xiaoxin at the table. Seeing that Chu Xiaoxin had already picked up a handkerchief to wipe his forehead, Song Tianyao guessed that his boss was not having an easy time dealing with the Foreign Girl lawyer.
Sure enough, as soon as he appeared in the restaurant, Chu Xiaoxin, whose eyes were darting around, spotted him and waved, "A-Yao, over here."
Aside from two cups of coffee, nothing else was ordered on the table. Song Tianyao sat down next to Chu Xiaoxin, nodded slightly to Angie Perlis across from him, and tilted his head slightly towards Chu Xiaoxin. Chu Xiaoxin then spoke to Song Tianyao in Cantonese, "You're a lucky star! I was wondering why you hadn't come to my rescue yet when you suddenly appeared. Hey, this Foreign Girl has no sense of romance; all she talks about is business. Luckily you arrived quickly enough, otherwise I would have been about to make an excuse to pee."
"Is such high-class treatment necessary? The head of the company's legal department and the boss are waiting for me, a lowly secretary, to have dinner together?" After hearing Chu Xiaoxin's words, Song Tianyao looked at Angie Perlis across from him, a slight smile playing on his lips. He turned to Chu Xiaoxin and said in a low voice, "Then why don't you change the subject? Let's talk about movies and music. Aren't those your forte?"