Chapter Summaries

Yan Hung struggled to control the aftermath of Song Chengqi’s massacre at the welfare home while waiting for Song Tianyao to decide what to do about the surviving Foreign Devil. Qi Weiwen urged Yan Hung to kill the Foreign Devil and find a scapegoat, but he insisted on waiting for Song Tianyao.

• Yan Hung watched the handcuffed Song Chengqi and reflected on how the old man had killed eight people at the welfare home.
• Yan Hung offered Song Chengqi a cigarette and refused to let him go kill the Foreign Devil, saying they had to wait for Song Tianyao’s decision.
• Qi Weiwen reported that she and her people had searched the welfare home and returned the trapped people to the holding room.
• Yan Hung resented Qi Weiwen for involving him, while recognizing that she and Xie Erdi had ordered and carried out the killings of the fake social workers.
• Qi Weiwen urged Yan Hung to kill the Foreign Devil and use a scapegoat, but Yan Hung said they should wait for Song Tianyao.

Lam Kong arrived with Song Tianyao’s plan to kill the Foreign Devil doctor and cover up the welfare home’s crimes. Qi Weiwen challenged the plan’s risks, but Lam Kong explained how the scandal would be exposed and the British distracted, leaving her unsettled by Song Tianyao’s foresight.

• Qi Weiwen warned Yan Hung that Song Tianyao had not appeared and advised preparing an excuse and scapegoat.
• Lam Kong arrived and told Yan Hung that Song Tianyao had sent him to free Song Chengqi and handle the Foreign Devil’s killing himself.
• Lam Kong explained that he would stage the doctor’s death as a kidnapping and shootout, using two gunmen and a hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars as cover.
• Qi Weiwen pointed out that the deaths and blood-selling at the welfare home would arouse suspicion.
• Lam Kong said 14K would dispose of the bodies and escape disguised as social workers, while reporters and Po Leung Kuk would expose the scandal and divert the British’s attention.
• Qi Weiwen admitted that Song Tianyao had anticipated the possible problems, and felt unsettled by his planning.

Song Tianyao met Lei Yingdong at Liwan Small Pier, where Lei arranged reporters, witnesses, and boats to support Song’s plan against the foreign doctor. The chapter ended as two boats arrived and signaled that everything was safe.

• Song Tianyao thanked Lei Yingdong for helping bring reporters from Macau to expose the Liwan Welfare Institute.
• Lei Yingdong explained that he had arranged for trusted men on Dengba Road to serve as witnesses when the police investigated the planned shooting.
• Lei Yingdong described his friends in Macau and Dengba Road, who were willing to risk their lives and help him.
• One of Lei Yingdong’s men spotted two boats arriving from Sheung Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui, both signaling that the seas were calm and everything was safe.

Song Tianyao met Cheng Yu-tung and Ho Hung-sang at the pier, where they arranged help for his plan against the Foreign Devil. Ho offered to have Huang Liu carry out the killing or shelter Song in Macau if things went wrong, leaving Song with an ally and an escape route.

• Lei Yingdong's men brought two speedboats to the pier with a display of skill that impressed Song Tianyao.
• Cheng Yu-tung arrived and told Song that his men had prepared the gold smelting plant on Dunbar Road to help him.
• Ho Hung-sang arrived with three reporters and introduced Huang Liu as his attendant.
• Huang Liu told Song that Ho had offered to let him kill the Foreign Devil and take the blame, and promised Song a welcome in Macau if he needed to flee.

Song Tianyao arranged for a Foreign Devil to be killed and prepared to let reporters investigate the welfare home afterward. As the group waited, Ho Hung-sang described the grenade attack on his Macau refinery, and the men joked together to ease Song Tianyao’s nerves.

• Song Tianyao thanked Huang Liu for the offer of help and said he had already made arrangements to handle his own affairs.
• Cheng Yu-tung invited Song Tianyao and Lei Yingdong to watch the planned killing, but Lei Yingdong said they only needed witnesses to give truthful statements.
• Song Tianyao asked Ho Hung-sang about his gloomy mood, and Lei Yingdong explained that grenades had been thrown into Ho Hung-sang’s refinery warehouse.
• Ho Hung-sang said He Xian had arranged a meeting with the attackers and that he had paid them twenty thousand in medical expenses after his men beat them.
• Ho Hung-sang, Lei Yingdong, Cheng Yu-tung, and Song Tianyao teased one another about bad luck and laughed together as they waited.

Song Tianyao left Lei Yingdong, Cheng Yu-tung, and Ho Hung-sang after urging them not to accept fate, then went to a dinner at Chairman Chu’s home. Meanwhile, Lam Kong tried to stage a rescue that would earn him a promotion, but an unexpected uniformed officer appeared as the plan turned violent.

• Song Tianyao told Lei Yingdong, Cheng Yu-tung, and Ho Hung-sang that he had made his own fortune and left to buy gifts for dinner with Chairman Chu.
• Lam Kong told Yan Hung that he planned to seize his own opportunity by killing someone, then set off with two gunmen recruited through Old Six’s Dark Flower Platform.
• Lam Kong and the gunmen drove to Dunbar Road, where he rammed their taxi and confronted them as part of a staged rescue.
• A uniformed officer unexpectedly arrived and ordered everyone to drop their guns.
• When the gunmen turned toward the officer, Lam Kong shot both of them in the head and showed the officer his police identification.

Lam Kong staged a shooting scene to conceal his murder of the uniformed officer and the Foreign Devil. At a family dinner, Chu Yaozong praised Song Tianyao in public, then angrily confronted him in private over the risks his new business had created.

• Lam Kong shot the uniformed officer after the officer approached him, then killed the bound Foreign Devil in the taxi trunk.
• Lam Kong shot himself in the thigh, discarded the gun beside a corpse, and hid his gloves beneath his car’s hood to make the scene look like a gunfight.
• Song Tianyao attended dinner at the Chu Family home, where Chu Yaozong invited him to sit beside him and praised his business success.
• After the women left, Chu Yaozong assigned Chu Shuheng and Chu Xiaozhong to discuss supplying Likang’s deworming medicine, then took Song Tianyao and Chu Xiaoxin to his study.
• Chu Yaozong scolded Song Tianyao for exposing his business to jealous rivals, and Chu Xiaoxin began explaining why his father was angry.

Song Tianyao explained why he had killed the Foreign Devil and how he planned to turn the fallout into an opportunity for his wig business. Chu Yaozong helped settle the police trouble and arranged for Song Tianyao to meet Lu Wenhui about Oxfam’s next move.

• Song Tianyao told Chu Yaozong that the Foreign Devil’s death avenged Bo Ming, created an opening for Oxfam amid the dispute between Po Leung Kuk and the British Red Cross, and gave him a chance to bring rivals into the wig trade under his rules.
• Song Tianyao offered to help others obtain wig-making machines and train workers, while Chu Yaozong recognized that he intended to establish a wig industry association and lead it.
• Chu Yaozong said he had arranged for Liu Fu and Yau Ma Tei Police Station to help resolve the trouble on their turf, and advised Song Tianyao to meet Lai Man-yau and offer him a benefit.
• Chu Yaozong told Song Tianyao that Lu Wenhui wanted to hear his ideas for helping Oxfam benefit from the scandal, and asked him to meet that night when he and Ah Sin took Miss Lu home.
• Song Tianyao agreed to meet Lu Wenhui and said he would need to prepare useful proposals for Oxfam.

Lai Man-yau confronted Political Department inspector Liu Qiming over the handling of a doctor’s murder investigation, then learned that Song Tianyao wanted to thank him for covering up evidence. Lai accepted Song’s invitation and a large cash gift after reflecting on his orders from Liu Fu.

• Liu Qiming arrived at Yau Ma Tei Police Station and berated Lai Man-yau for allowing the crime scene to be disturbed.
• Lai Man-yau defended his conduct, rebuffed Liu Qiming, and refused to yield control of the case without an apology.
• Liu Qiming received a phone call and withdrew with his Political Department officers, saying Group B would take over.
• Yan Hung visited Lai Man-yau after the officers left and invited him to a late-night meal with Song Tianyao.
• A Yue placed a bundle of at least one hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars on Lai Man-yau’s desk as thanks for his help covering up the crime scene.

Yan Hung settled the fallout from Chai Fa Chiu’s death and visited Lam Kong, who had been wounded during the operation. Song Tianyao and Chu Xiaoxin then met Lu Wenhui, who turned their conversation to Oxfam and asked Song whether its founding had been his idea.

• Yan Hung offered Lai Man-yau two vacant opium dens in exchange for helping smooth over Chai Fa Chiu’s death, and Lai accepted the chance to take another godson.
• Yan Hung visited Lam Kong at Kwong Wah Hospital and told him that Lai Man-yau had tied up the loose ends and the mastermind had confessed.
• Lam Kong agreed to keep the mastermind’s identity unknown and accepted Song Tianyao’s plan to arrange matters for him later.
• Song Tianyao and Chu Xiaoxin arrived at Lu Wenhui’s study, where Lu mentioned meeting Wang Wenxia and chatted with them.
• Lu Wenhui asked Song Tianyao whether founding Oxfam had originally been his idea.

Song Tianyao proposed that Oxfam establish a blood-supply organization jointly overseen by Oxfam and the colonial government’s Medical and Health Department, giving Oxfam operational control and a path to greater influence. Lu Wenhui recognized the plan’s strategic value and said he had prepared a document for Po Leung Kuk to submit to the authorities.

• Song Tianyao told Lu Wenhui that Hong Kong hospitals faced a severe blood shortage and proposed that Oxfam create a blood-supply organization under joint jurisdiction with the Medical and Health Department.
• Lu Wenhui asked why Oxfam should share jurisdiction instead of controlling the organization outright.
• Song Tianyao explained that joint jurisdiction would reassure the government while allowing Oxfam to run the service and build lasting influence.
• Lu Wenhui understood how the plan could strengthen Oxfam and Chu Xiaoxin’s standing in Hong Kong.
• Lu Wenhui told Song Tianyao that his secretary had prepared a document for Po Leung Kuk to submit to the authorities.

Song Tianyao offered Lai Man-yau a chance to open a wig factory, giving him a business prospect beyond his uncertain Police Force career. After Song left Lai with Yan Hung, A Wai drove him home, where the car stopped at a red light.

• Song Tianyao met Lai Man-yau at Fung Yu Restaurant and offered to help him open a small wig factory by prioritizing his purchase of equipment.
• Lai Man-yau accepted the offer gratefully and imagined that the business might improve his family's standing over time.
• Song Tianyao left Lai Man-yau and Yan Hung to share a late-night meal, and Yan Hung praised Song's support for them both.
• A Wai drove Song Tianyao along Prince Edward Road West, where a red light brought the car to a stop.

Song Tianyao told Song Chengqi that he had killed the Foreign Devil, then tried to persuade his grandfather to leave Longjin Charity School and let him provide for the residents. Song Chengqi refused and planned to use the Foreign Devil’s money to start a small business, while Qi Weiwen suggested opening a restaurant.

• Song Tianyao visited Longjin Charity School and draped his trench coat over Qi Weiwen before going upstairs to see Song Chengqi.
• Song Tianyao told Song Chengqi that he had killed the Foreign Devil, and Song Chengqi wrote a farewell verse for Bo Ming before drinking the liquor.
• Song Tianyao offered to move Song Chengqi to Hong Kong Island and fund Longjin Charity School and the Elderly Home, but Song Chengqi refused to leave.
• Song Chengqi revealed that Ah Long had found 14,726 Hong Kong dollars in the Foreign Devil’s safe and said he would use most of it to start a business with the elderly residents.
• Qi Weiwen suggested that Song Chengqi open a restaurant where the residents could work and leftover food could be given to the poor.

Song Tianyao agreed that Song Chengqi could consider opening the Kowloon Restaurant, then escorted Qi Weiwen and Nine-Tattooed Dragon through Kowloon Walled City. Outside Qi Weiwen’s apartment, 14K’s Ge Zhixiong confronted them and accused them of colluding with the Chiu Chow Gang, leaving Song Tianyao to order Nine-Tattooed Dragon to fight Ge’s men.

• Song Tianyao approved Qi Weiwen’s restaurant idea and suggested calling it the Kowloon Restaurant before leaving Song Chengqi to think it over.
• Song Tianyao thanked Qi Weiwen for helping his grandfather and Yan Hung, offered her a ride, and gave Nine-Tattooed Dragon five hundred dollars to replace the flute he had left at the orphanage.
• As they walked along Longjin Avenue, Ge Zhixiong, Scribe Tan, and several 14K men confronted Qi Weiwen outside her apartment and accused her of colluding with the Chiu Chow Gang.
• Ge Zhixiong challenged Song Tianyao and Nine-Tattooed Dragon, and Song Tianyao told Nine-Tattooed Dragon to knock down Ge’s men while he smoked a cigarette.

Song Tianyao’s side clashed with Scribe Tan and Ge Zhixiong’s men, until Huang Liu arrived and swiftly defeated Heizai Jie. After humiliating Heizai Jie, Huang Liu joined Song Tianyao in his car to talk.

• Nine-Tattooed Dragon beat Scribe Tan, Ge Zhixiong, and Ge Zhixiong’s three followers after Song Tianyao finished speaking.
• Heizai Jie led more than a dozen men toward Song Tianyao and Nine-Tattooed Dragon, but Huang Liu intervened with a blade and a pistol.
• Huang Liu sliced Heizai Jie across the abdomen after Heizai Jie attacked him with his Bik Gaai Cha.
• Huang Liu urinated on Heizai Jie and challenged him to seek revenge on Macau Street.
• Song Tianyao invited Huang Liu to talk in the car.

Tang Jingyuan supervised the factory renovation late into the night, determined to prove himself after Chu Xiaoxin’s sudden rise. He instructed the workers to break through a wall and arranged food for them as they worked.

• Tang Jingyuan reflected on how Chu Xiaoxin’s new status and achievements had shaken him.
• Tang Jingyuan studied the renovation plans and told Uncle Sun to lead the workers in knocking down a wall to open the factory room into the next one.
• Tang Jingyuan offered the foreman a cigarette and said Ah Guan was bringing fried dough sticks and pig’s blood congee for the workers.

Tang Jingyuan brought a late-night meal to Tang Boqi and discovered that his cousin had devised a plan to build a Hong Kong wig-export business with sales channels in the United States. Tang Jingyuan was impressed by the strategy, while Tang Boqi said it was feasible in principle.

• Tang Jingyuan thanked the workers and arranged food for them during the factory demolition.
• Tang Jingyuan brought another meal to Tang Boqi, who was working late in a smoke-filled office.
• Tang Jingyuan read Tang Boqi's notes explaining how Hong Kong's low-cost labor could compete with American manufacturing.
• Tang Boqi's plan proposed creating an American company and using a Hong Kong branch to buy wigs from local factories and distribute them in the United States under standardized branding.
• Tang Jingyuan excitedly asked whether the plan could work, and Tang Boqi replied that it could, normally speaking.

Song Tianyao learned that Huang Liu had secretly killed Heizai Jie and Scribe Tan after their clash, while Yan Hung reported that the deaths had already become a major underworld rumor. Song Tianyao tried to send Huang Liu back to Macau, but Huang Liu planned to remain in Hong Kong for another week.

• Tang Boqi told Tang Jingyuan that Song Tianyao might have a hidden reason for giving them the business opportunity, but decided they should pursue it anyway.
• Song Tianyao met Yan Hung and asked him to pay Heizai Jie’s medical costs or arrange a fight with the Eastern Guangdong gangs if Heizai Jie refused to settle.
• Yan Hung told Song Tianyao that Heizai Jie and Scribe Tan had both died, and rumors blamed a killer hired by a powerful figure.
• Huang Liu admitted to Song Tianyao that he had killed Heizai Jie and Scribe Tan to prevent them from causing trouble.
• Song Tianyao offered Huang Liu money and a boat ticket to return to Macau, but Huang Liu said he would stay in Hong Kong for another week.
• Huang Liu explained that he had impersonated a doctor and injected air into Heizai Jie’s vein at the hospital.

Huang Liu told Song Tianyao that he had killed two men who threatened Qi Weiwen, then explained why he had spared the third. Song Tianyao realized Huang Liu’s ruthless Macau methods could cause trouble in Hong Kong, while Huang Liu insisted on staying to protect him.

• Huang Liu told Song Tianyao he had obtained Qi Weiwen’s information by claiming Song Tianyao had sent him to protect her, then killed two of her attackers.
• Song Tianyao stopped Huang Liu from pursuing Ge Zhixiong, whom Huang Liu had failed to find at his country villa.
• Huang Liu described Macau’s violent underworld and said he would kill anyone who continued to threaten Song Tianyao.
• Song Tianyao offered Huang Liu money and a trip abroad to get him out of Hong Kong, but Huang Liu refused and said he would stay a week.
• Song Tianyao considered how Huang Liu’s killing spree could provoke Hong Kong gangs and leave him responsible for the consequences.

Song Tianyao kept Huang Liu close at the factory and learned that Scribe Hui wanted to partner with Meng Wanqing’s father. The chapter then shifted to Scribe Hui, whose fast-growing supply business had left him exhausted despite making him appear idle.

• Song Tianyao asked Huang Liu about his interests, then brought him to the factory to stay nearby.
• Song Tianyao learned that most of Xianrong Company’s first-month payment had been moved into stock accounts, leaving only operating funds in the company account.
• Lou Fengyun told Song Tianyao that Scribe Hui had visited and sought a business partnership with Meng Wanqing’s father.
• Song Tianyao called Tianming Company to find out why Scribe Hui wanted to work with Meng Wanqing’s father.
• Scribe Hui’s grain-and-vegetable supply business had expanded to six trucks, forty employees, and two warehouses, leaving him busy overseeing deliveries and meeting barracks’ needs.