Recaps

Lou Fengyun took control of the off-track horse-racing operations and reflected on how far she had risen under Song Tianyao’s plans. At the pier, Xu Minjun told Xu Enbo that a Brazilian merchant ship and its crew would serve as his scapegoats, before the story shifted to the history of the Harp Restaurant.

• Lou Fengyun put Ah Chuan in charge of collecting money from Yulan Ming’s establishments and assigned him a ten-percent share.
• Lou Fengyun’s horse-racing network was linked to Song Tianyao’s plan to divert bets from the Hong Kong Jockey Club and use the profits to secure British support.
• Lou Fengyun recalled her new position and fell asleep in the conference room while Yulan Ming and Ah Chuan remained frightened.
• Xu Minjun met Xu Enbo at the pier and said that a Brazilian merchant ship and everyone aboard it would be his scapegoats.
• Xu Enbo said he had come to inspect the goods Song Tianyao needed him to transport, and the narrative introduced the Harp Restaurant’s history.

Tan Jingwei killed three Thai soldiers who had tried to sell drugs in Hong Kong, while Song Tianyao prepared for a confrontation at the Harp Restaurant. The chapter ended with three people roasting rats and heating a branding iron in a leaking shack on Peng Chau.

• At the Harp Restaurant, Hong Kong’s Chinese power brokers gathered under a tense mood, and Song Tianyao noticed that Duan Sanbao and others were watching one another.
• Chu Xiaoxin left the restaurant with Suki, while Qi Weiwen joined Song Tianyao and offered to help identify his enemies.
• Song Tianyao told Qi Weiwen that someone planned to move against her and said he would handle them that night.
• Tan Jingwei wiped blood from his hands after killing three Thai soldiers and sent the frightened food sellers home.
• On Peng Chau, three people roasted rats over a campfire and heated a branding iron inside a rain-soaked shack.

Han Chongshan and his men tortured Lengzai on Hanging Neck Ridge to force him to reveal information for Mr. Tam, but Lengzai refused to betray anyone. Han Chongshan left with two companions, while Drunkard Liang stayed behind to guard Lengzai and the men continued saving money to get their families to Taiwan.

• Han Chongshan watched as Drunkard Liang and two companions tortured the bound Lengzai, then offered him money and a quick death in exchange for information.
• Lengzai spoke of his father's warning against dying in disgrace, then cursed Han Chongshan and mocked him despite his injuries.
• Han Chongshan stopped a companion from striking Lengzai and threatened to capture his family before ordering Drunkard Liang to stay behind while the others left.
• Han Chongshan took roasted rat meat for Xiu Wen, who was watching at the foot of the mountain, and went out into the rain with his companions.
• Drunkard Liang stayed with Lengzai, eating rat bones while the men continued saving their pay to bring their families from Hanging Neck Ridge to Taiwan.

Xu Minjun showed Xu Enbo aircraft parts removed from the seventy-one planes held by the two Chinese airlines in Hong Kong and explained why Song Tianyao was trying to move the assets. Xu Enbo feared the plan would destroy his family and leave them in danger.

• Following Xu Minjun's instructions, Xu Enbo boarded the fishing boat and entered its cabin.
• Xu Minjun opened a sealed crate and revealed aircraft parts packed inside.
• Xu Enbo recognized the parts as aircraft flap actuators and accused Song Tianyao of dragging the Xu Family into a dangerous scheme.
• Xu Minjun explained that workers from the two airlines had removed whatever they could from the seventy-one planes and that British authorities planned to seize the assets.
• Xu Minjun said an American airline had sought US military help to take the planes from Hong Kong, prompting Song Tianyao to meet shipping magnates and arrange to move the assets.

Xu Minjun confronted Xu Enbo over the aircraft parts and revealed that Song Tianyao had committed his fortune to force Xu Enbo to cooperate. Xu Enbo was left furious and shaken by the price Song was willing to pay to bring the Xu Family under pressure.

• Xu Enbo argued that the dangers of shipping goods from Hong Kong made him unwilling to risk his life for profit.
• Xu Minjun explained that Xu Enbo was already implicated and revealed the scheme involving the shipping families and Song Tianyao.
• Xu Enbo admitted the younger generation had planned to exploit a staged shipping conflict, but said he could leave and report the scheme to the Hong Kong Government.
• Xu Minjun warned that Yu Shiting's apparent beating was a deliberate ruse and that Song Tianyao had chosen Xu Enbo to either cooperate or face the Yu Family.
• Xu Minjun revealed that Song Tianyao had offered Yu Shiting his stocks, cash, property, factories, and other assets in exchange for joining the British in striking the Xu Family if Xu Enbo left.

In storm-lashed Shau Kei Wan, Hong Lai-sau waited anxiously for Zhen Yaofu and his men to return with the goods they were guarding. Zhen Yaofu assured him the goods were safe, while the chapter recounted how Guangzhou refugees and former Kuomintang soldiers had made Shau Kei Wan their home.

• Hong Lai-sau watched the rain from a shop while Zhen Liudi brought him hot soup and then opened an umbrella for him.
• Hong Lai-sau spotted more than a dozen figures approaching through the flooded street and went out to meet them.
• Zhen Yaofu returned with his men and assured Hong Lai-sau that the goods were securely guarded in Shau Kei Wan.
• The chapter described how Guangzhou refugees transformed Shau Kei Wan into a distinct community and how Zhen Yaofu's former soldiers settled there after Guangzhou fell.

Zhen Yaofu recounted how his brothers and Zhong Xiufeng’s Yue Army brigade had fought and died defending Guangdong, and explained why he and his comrades hoped to return to the mainland. As he prepared to help Hong Lai-sau move aircraft parts there, Hong refused to leave Hong Kong, knowing the transfer put him in grave danger.

• Zhen Yaohua’s regiment held the Zengcheng pass against the Japanese until reinforcements arrived, and he died in the battle.
• Zhen Yaoguo took command after his regiment’s commander was wounded and was killed by aircraft machine-gun fire.
• Zhen Yaoxing died in a Japanese air raid, while Zhong Xiufeng fought on without reinforcements and ultimately shot himself.
• Zhen Yaogui was carried away after trying to die with Zhong Xiufeng, later died fighting the Japanese in Hong Kong, and Zhen Yaofu survived to care for their mother.
• Zhen Yaofu told Hong Lai-sau that the shipment offered him and his comrades a chance to return to the mainland, while Hong said he would remain in Hong Kong.

Chu Xiaoxin learned that rumors accused Song Tianyao of siding with the Shanghai people and conspiring with the British to impose new rules in Hong Kong. Refusing to believe the accusations, he set out to find Song Tianyao and ordered Yan Hung to track down whoever spread them.

• Yan Hung rushed to Chu Xiaoxin at the Peninsula Hotel and reported rumors that Song Tianyao had sided with the Shanghai people.
• Yan Hung said Song Tianyao had used Widow Yun’s British connections to bring the British Army to seize society men and had slapped Yu Shiting.
• Yan Hung reported that people claimed Song Tianyao had agreed with the British and Shanghai people to establish new rules for the China people in Hong Kong.
• Chu Xiaoxin rejected the rumors and told A Wai to call the Harp Restaurant and prepare a car so he could see Song Tianyao.
• Chu Xiaoxin told Yan Hung to find the rumor’s source and insisted that Song Tianyao was still his brother, even if he no longer depended on the Chu Family.

Song Tianyao deduced that a wealthy Hong Kong local was backing Tan, though he could not identify which of his many enemies it was. As tension filled the Harp Restaurant, Lam Kong noticed a soaked plainclothes officer being kept outside and sent a man to investigate.

• Chu Xiaoxin rejected rumors that Song Tianyao had turned against the Chu Family and angrily ordered Yan Hung out after Yan Hung mentioned Huang Liu’s meetings with Shanghai figures.
• Song Tianyao told Lu Yuanchun and Qi Weiwen that Tan had likely acquired Zeng Chunsheng’s business with the support of a wealthy Hong Kong local, not Taiwanese money.
• Lu Yuanchun and Qi Weiwen agreed that Tan must have someone powerful to rely on, while Song Tianyao explained why the British would scrutinize Taiwan’s banks and why Tan would avoid using them.
• Song Tianyao admitted he could not guess which wealthy Hong Kong enemy was backing Tan.
• Lam Kong surveyed the tense Harp Restaurant and ordered one of his men to find out why a soaked plainclothes officer was waiting outside.

Lam Kong told Song Tianyao that gang leaders had been shot dead and that rumors tied the killings to Song’s alliance with the Shanghai people. The story then shifted to Chen Tai, who had lost his backing and gang holdings and was working at a dockyard to survive.

• Lam Kong reported that Golden-Tooth Lei, Chan Ah-sap, and several other gang leaders had been killed, with rumors blaming Song Tianyao and the Shanghai people.
• Lam Kong said Sister Yun had taken jianghu figures from the Peninsula Hotel with British soldiers, strengthening the rumors against Song.
• Song Tianyao acknowledged that he had allied with the Shanghai people and said someone had forced him onto that path by making the killings appear to be his pledge.
• Lam Kong questioned Song about Brother Six’s absence and the circumstances of Song’s evening with Chu Xiaoxin.
• Chen Tai practiced punches at Asia Dockyard and reflected on losing Bo Ming, his gang holdings, and most of his followers.
• Chen Tai refused offers to change allegiance or take backing money and took a ship-repair job at the dockyard.

Handkerchief Qing confronted Chen Tai about Xianyu Shuan’s family and revealed a ten-million-dollar bounty on Song Tianyao. Tan Jingwei invited Gu Linshan to take her business to Taiwan, but she refused and denied that Billy was her boyfriend.

• Handkerchief Qing arrived at Chen Tai’s workshop with several men and asked whether Chen Tai still belonged to the He-prefix gangs.
• Handkerchief Qing asked Chen Tai where Xianyu Shuan’s wife and daughter lived, saying he wanted to use them to force Scribe Hui to call him.
• Chen Tai realized Handkerchief Qing was targeting Scribe Hui over Song Tianyao’s actions and objected to involving Xianyu Shuan’s family.
• Handkerchief Qing revealed that a secret ten-million-dollar bounty had been placed on Song Tianyao, payable for his corpse.
• Tan Jingwei asked Gu Linshan to move her business to Taiwan, but she declined and said Billy was no longer connected to her.

Gu Linshan and Tan Jingwei discussed Song Tianyao, He Xian’s plans for him, and their scheme to force him to reveal his hand. Gu Linshan left Tan Jingwei to return to his hotel, while he mused about Yu Shiting’s adopted daughter.

• Tan Jingwei teased Gu Linshan about her interest in Song Tianyao, but she said she wanted to test him and warned Tan to focus on staying alive.
• Tan Jingwei and Gu Linshan discussed how He Xian had made Yu Shiting’s adopted daughter his goddaughter and may have planned to bring Song Tianyao to Macau as his disciple.
• Tan Jingwei said no one caught in the coming storm would leave alive, while Gu Linshan argued that Song Tianyao should be forced to play with his cards face up.
• Tan Jingwei and Gu Linshan compared business and battlefield rules, and Gu Linshan told him to put away his desires and return to his hotel.
• After Gu Linshan left, Tan Jingwei dismissed the idea of pursuing her and lamented that Yu Shiting’s adopted daughter was unavailable.

Han Chongshan and his men went to Lengzai’s family shack in Shawan to abduct his children and silence the rest of the household. After noticing a suspicious longevity lock on Gui Xiu Wen’s belt, Han Chongshan interrupted the raid and narrowly escaped a bayonet attack, then opened fire into the shack.

• Han Chongshan led Gui Xiu Wen and two other men through the storm-soaked Shawan shantytown to Lengzai’s family home.
• Han Chongshan ordered Gui Xiu Wen to check the shack, take two children, and kill the other family members.
• Han Chongshan spotted a child’s longevity lock on Gui Xiu Wen’s belt and suspected something was wrong.
• After Gui Xiu Wen and the others entered, Han Chongshan called for everyone inside to come out.
• A bayonet stabbed through the shack’s sheet-iron wall where Han Chongshan’s head had been, and he dodged behind a neighboring house.
• Han Chongshan fired bursts into the shack as figures moved inside.

Chen Tai refused Handkerchief Qing’s demand to reveal where Xianyu Shuan’s family lived, then reflected on whether loyalty to the He-prefix gangs was worth betraying his old friends. He remained uncertain about his place in the jianghu but came to understand why Xianyu Shuan and Scribe Hui had wanted to leave it.

• Handkerchief Qing asked Chen Tai to identify the home of Xianyu Shuan’s wife and daughter so the gang could pressure Scribe Hui, but Chen Tai refused.
• Handkerchief Qing kicked his disrespectful lackey out of the factory and accepted Chen Tai’s decision to stay out of the affair.
• Handkerchief Qing reminded Chen Tai to consider whether he stood with the He-prefix gangs or outsiders, then left.
• Chen Tai thought about his loyalty to Bo Cong and his memories of working with Xianyu Shuan and Scribe Hui for Song Tianyao.
• Chen Tai concluded that Xianyu Shuan and Scribe Hui had been wise to seek respectable lives beyond the jianghu.

Chen Tai went to protect Sister Fen and Xiu'er from the gangs, but Lui Lok and armed men surrounded him outside their grocery store. Chu Xiaozhong told Chu Yaozong about the gang upheaval and the bounty on Song Tianyao, leaving the Chu Family to decide how to respond after Brother Ten's death.

• Chen Tai left the factory to defend Sister Fen and Xiu'er, while Handkerchief Qing followed him with other men.
• Chen Tai found Sister Fen's grocery store shuttered and heard an unfamiliar man inside deny knowing her or Nine-Tattooed Dragon.
• Armed men closed in on Chen Tai as Lui Lok offered him a chance to get into his car and talk.
• Chen Tai pushed back his hood and asked who would come forward to give him a light.
• Chu Xiaozhong told Chu Yaozong that Song Tianyao had taken gang bosses to a military camp, where several prominent men were shot dead.
• Chu Xiaozhong reported Xu Enbo's apparent kidnapping and a ten-million-dollar bounty on Song Tianyao, as Chao Yong Yi's people asked what the Chu Family would do after Brother Ten's death.

Chu Yaozong realized that someone was targeting Song Tianyao and anticipated his attempt to implicate the Chu Family. When Jiang Yongen arrived with gifts from Song Tianyao, Chu Yaozong instructed Chu Xiaozhong to publicly add to the bounty on him.

• Chu Yaozong told Chu Xiaozhong that someone had forced Song Tianyao into a dangerous conflict.
• Jiang Yongen arrived at the Chu Family home with British specialties from Song Tianyao.
• Chu Xiaozhong feared Jiang Yongen's visit would make the other families believe the Chu Family backed Song Tianyao.
• Chu Yaozong told Chu Xiaozhong to receive Jiang Yongen politely and then add two million dollars to the bounty on Song Tianyao.
• Chu Yaozong went to bed and left Chu Xiaozhong to handle the visit.
• Lu Peiying reproached another woman for waiting until then to tell her she was getting engaged.

Tiffany told Lu Peiying that her family had arranged her engagement to Song Tianyao, whom she had met under the name Scribe Hui. Lu Peiying praised Song Tianyao and described how much the people around her admired him, but Tiffany said she already knew what he had done to earn their praise.

• Tiffany admitted that she had not met the man she was engaged to marry and questioned how her family could arrange the match without her meeting him.
• Tiffany showed Lu Peiying a photograph from Oxfam’s founding and identified the man circled in red as the person she had met using the name Scribe Hui.
• Lu Peiying recognized him as Song Tianyao and explained that he was Oxfam’s treasurer and her neighbor.
• Lu Peiying recounted how her father, Chu Xiaoxin, and others praised Song Tianyao’s intelligence, loyalty, and steady judgment.
• Tiffany said she already knew what Song Tianyao had done to earn those people’s praise.

Song Tianyao reassured Qi Weiwen that Mr. He had not forced him into the dangerous situation, but refused to explain his plans before the night was over. As he waited at the Harp Restaurant for someone, Chen Tai fought off attackers in the rain while Lui Lok watched.

• Qi Weiwen warned Song Tianyao that his new entanglement was more dangerous than the jianghu and asked how he would survive the night.
• Song Tianyao said Mr. He could not have forced him and promised to explain his changed behavior another time.
• Lu Yuanchun told Qi Weiwen that Song Tianyao would adapt to events as they unfolded, but Song denied that either woman understood his situation.
• Song Tianyao said Qi Weiwen and Lu Yuanchun had to leave with him because he was waiting for someone and had one hour until the restaurant closed.
• Chen Tai disarmed one attacker and cut down another as he fought a group of men in the rain.
• Lui Lok watched Chen Tai fight and asked Handkerchief Qing whether his men had been going hungry.

Sheng Zhaozhong, a sidelined Kuomintang officer assigned to protect Tan Jingwei in Hong Kong, waited in his car and reflected on his stalled career. A radio report said the men from Hanging Neck Ridge had completed their job, obtained a bolt, and learned the target’s whereabouts on Peng Chau Island.

• Sheng Zhaozhong waited in a black Ford on Watson Road and watched the stormy bay.
• Sheng Zhaozhong recalled his Whampoa and Blue Shirts Society service and how internal rivalries had left him isolated and removed from active duty.
• Sheng Zhaozhong recounted how Teng Jie eventually arranged for him to protect Tan Jingwei and oversee relief work in Hong Kong.
• Sheng Zhaozhong complained that his new assignment felt like running errands, then drank from a concealed flask.
• A voice on the radio told Sheng Zhaozhong that the men from Hanging Neck Ridge had finished the job and returned with a bolt and the target’s whereabouts.

Sheng Zhaozhong negotiated with Han Chongshan to retrieve the hidden goods and drove toward the Shau Kei Wan warehouse, while Chu Xiaoxin headed to the Harp Restaurant despite warnings that Song Tianyao was in danger. The chapter left Chu Xiaoxin unconvinced that Song Tianyao had recklessly sided with the Shanghai people.

• Sheng Zhaozhong insisted that Han Chongshan lead his men to the goods before receiving payment, and ordered his own men to guard the search with explosives.
• Huang Liu introduced himself to Sheng Zhaozhong, and Gui Xiu Wen identified the Dafa Fish Market warehouse on Old Cantonese Street in Shau Kei Wan as the hiding place.
• Huang Liu told Sheng Zhaozhong that his men had tortured Lengzai’s family to make him reveal the warehouse’s location.
• Sheng Zhaozhong drove toward Shau Kei Wan, saying the operation was meant to force Song Tianyao into a difficult position.
• Yan Hung warned Chu Xiaoxin that the Harp Restaurant might be dangerous, but Chu Xiaoxin continued there to question Song Tianyao.
• Chu Xiaoxin dismissed the idea that Song Tianyao had foolishly helped the Shanghai people, while A Wai said he had sent armed men ahead.

Chu Xiaoxin dismissed rumors about Yu Shiting wanting A-Yao as a son-in-law, while Huang Liu and Sheng Zhaozhong discovered that their warehouse meeting was a setup and fought in a rain-soaked car. They killed their companions, then ended with empty guns pressed to each other’s foreheads.

• Chu Xiaoxin snapped at Yan Hung for repeating the rumor about Yu Shiting and A-Yao.
• Sheng Zhaozhong and Huang Liu arrived near the Fish Market Warehouse and realized neither side had brought the real goods or their main forces.
• Huang Liu and Sheng Zhaozhong admitted that Huang Liu had impersonated Han Chongshan and that Song Tianyao had arranged the deception.
• Huang Liu and Sheng Zhaozhong seized guns from their companions and exchanged fire inside the car.
• Huang Liu accidentally shot Gui Xiu Wen, and Sheng Zhaozhong’s subordinate was killed in the struggle.
• Huang Liu and Sheng Zhaozhong pressed their guns to each other’s foreheads and pulled the triggers, but both weapons clicked empty.

Sheng Zhaozhong and Huang Liu fought in the rain before calling off their clash, while Song Tianyao waited at the Harp Restaurant for news. After Huang Liu reported that the bait had failed and Song Tianyao’s family had reached Macau, Song refused Chu’s request to speak with him.

• Sheng Zhaozhong and Huang Liu fought their way out of a car, then agreed to stop without either man dying.
• Sheng Zhaozhong drove off with two corpses, and Huang Liu asked Zhao Wenye to take him to the Harp Restaurant.
• Song Tianyao warned Zheng Yutong to stay at the Cloud Palace Hotel because trouble might break out outside.
• Huang Liu called Song Tianyao and reported that the enemy had not taken the bait and that Song Tianyao’s family had reached Macau.
• A Wai told Lam Kong that Mr. Chu was waiting downstairs, but Song Tianyao refused to speak with him.

Chen Tai faced Handkerchief Qing in the rain to protect the people in the shop, despite being wounded and urged to leave. He charged into Handkerchief Qing’s whip attack, and blood spread across the flooded road.

• Handkerchief Qing offered Chen Tai a chance to leave, warning that he could not protect the people in the shop and that more gangsters would come.
• Chen Tai refused to back down and raised his long blade to fight Handkerchief Qing.
• Chen Tai muttered that he would return to the countryside after the fight, then charged at Handkerchief Qing.
• Handkerchief Qing struck the ground with his nine-section whip, sending water into Chen Tai’s face, but Chen Tai kept advancing.
• Handkerchief Qing’s whip struck flesh, and dark red streaks spread through the rainwater.

Chen Tai realized too late that Song Tianyao had protected the people from their past, while he fought Handkerchief Qing in a desperate, potentially fatal battle. Outside the Cloud Palace Hotel, underworld elders and their followers waited tensely for events to unfold.

• Chen Tai blamed himself for joining the gang and recognized that Song Tianyao had already moved Sister A-Fen and the others somewhere safe.
• Chen Tai and Handkerchief Qing exchanged grave wounds as Chen fought without regard for his own life.
• Lui Lok watched the fight and reached for his gun, realizing he might have to intervene.
• Underworld factions gathered in the rain along Queen's Road, watching the Cloud Palace Hotel.
• Senior Big Brothers reassured their followers that the restaurant would close after midnight and would not make an exception for Song Tianyao.

As rival gangs surrounded the Cloud Palace Hotel to capture or kill Song Tianyao, Chu Xiaoxin arrived and invited him to get a late-night meal. Lam Kong watched their reunion with relief, believing Chu Xiaoxin’s status could protect Song Tianyao from the gangsters.

• Gang elders ordered their men to block Queen's Road and capture or kill Song Tianyao, even if Lam Kong and the police opened fire.
• A black Rolls-Royce stopped outside the Cloud Palace Hotel, but Song Tianyao came out with Qi Weiwen and Lu Yuanchun and saw it was Chu Xiaoxin's car.
• Song Tianyao joked with Chu Xiaoxin about returning early from their plan to pretend to be Black Jockeys, then Chu Xiaoxin invited him to a late-night meal.
• Lam Kong watched Song Tianyao and Chu Xiaoxin's exchange in the rain and worried that Song Tianyao's choices had put him in danger.
• A Chevrolet Corvair arrived and flashed its headlights, while Lam Kong's men turned their attention toward it.
• Lam Kong felt relieved that Chu Xiaoxin had invited Song Tianyao into his car, since he believed the gangs would not dare attack Chu Xiaoxin directly.