Chapter Summaries

Song Tianyao went to the police station to ask Yan Hung to intervene after Chu Xiaoxin’s fight with Cheung Wing-kam’s godson. Yan Hung realized the request could give him a chance to advance his career.

• Rotten-Life Ju and Fish Stall Kun discussed Song Tianyao and the money he had offered them outside the police station.
• Song Tianyao found Yan Hung in an interrogation room, where Yan Hung ordered a beaten prisoner taken away to be drowned.
• Song Tianyao told Yan Hung that Cheung Wing-kam’s men might seize Chu Xiaoxin and asked for help settling the conflict.
• Yan Hung considered why Chu Xiaoxin had approached him instead of his father and recognized the request as a possible career opportunity.

Yan Hung weighed whether helping Chu Xiaoxin could win him the support of Chu Yaozong, then chose to act despite the danger. He arranged for a marine police launch and sent A Wai to protect Chu Xiaoxin before crossing the harbor with Song Tianyao to Tai Ping Shan.

• Yan Hung recalled how losing Yiu Muk as a patron had stalled his advancement, and how he joined Fuyixing to seek support from the Chiu Chow faction.
• Song Tianyao urged Yan Hung to seize his chance to help Chu Xiaoxin, and Yan Hung agreed to take the risk.
• Yan Hung borrowed three hundred dollars from Song Tianyao and sent A Wai to pay a marine policeman to arrange a launch at Central Pier.
• Yan Hung ordered A Wai to keep Cheung Wing-kam's men from taking Chu Xiaoxin and refused to notify Lai Yau-man.
• Yan Hung and Song Tianyao drove to Tsim Sha Tsui Pier to cross the harbor late at night for Tai Ping Shan.

Yan Hung crossed the harbor with Song Tianyao and his men to seek help from retired police chief Yiu Muk, hoping to use the favor owed for a hundred thousand dollars to help Young Master Shun. Yiu Muk recognized Yan Hung at his gate and decided to hear him out, sending A-Fen to open the door.

• Yan Hung called to the boats at Tsim Sha Tsui pier for a ride across the harbor, and Qian Rong offered to take him and his companions.
• Song Tianyao agreed to cross despite the wind and waves, and Yan Hung told him he intended to visit Yiu Muk and use the favor owed for Young Master Shun.
• Yiu Muk heard the villa doorbell, recognized Yan Hung outside, and recalled the hundred thousand dollars Yan Hung had given him years earlier.
• Yiu Muk went downstairs and told A-Fen to open the gate.

Yan Hung brought Song Tianyao to visit the retired Yiu Muk late at night, where they met Yiu Muk’s devoted maid, Sister Fen. Yiu Muk received them and Yan Hung explained his respect for the former police chief, leaving the visitors poised to discuss their business.

• Yiu Muk told A-Fen to open the gate to the late-night visitors, and she let Yan Hung, Song Tianyao, and the others inside.
• Yan Hung explained to Song Tianyao that A-Fen was Yiu Muk’s longtime self-combed maid and the only person who could care for his painful leg.
• Song Tianyao thanked Rotten-Life Ju and Fish Stall Kun for waiting outside, then entered Yiu Muk’s living room with Yan Hung.
• Yan Hung saluted Yiu Muk and introduced himself, but A-Fen scolded him for shouting and urged the visitors to keep their conversation brief.
• Yiu Muk told A-Fen to rest, then invited Yan Hung to sit and have tea; Yan Hung respectfully noted Yiu Muk’s inspector-grade adviser position.

Song Tianyao explained how Yiu Muk’s offer to let him and Yan Hung stay the night would force Cheung Wing-kam to seek negotiations through Yan Hung. The plan left Yan Hung positioned to represent Chu Xiaoxin and earn Chu Yaozong’s gratitude.

• Yiu Muk deduced that Chu Xiaoxin had offended someone in the police force and questioned Yan Hung about how he had become involved.
• Yan Hung admitted he wanted a connection to the Chu Family, and Yiu Muk invited him and Song Tianyao to stay at his house.
• Yiu Muk noticed Song Tianyao’s reaction and asked what he thought of the offer.
• Song Tianyao explained that the news of Yan Hung staying with Yiu Muk would leave Cheung Wing-kam unable to act against Chu Xiaoxin without seeking a way to negotiate.
• Song Tianyao said Cheung Wing-kam would likely approach Yan Hung through Lai Man-yau, allowing Yan Hung to represent Chu Xiaoxin and gain Chu Yaozong’s favor.

Song Tianyao advised Yan Hung on how to handle the growing conflict with Cheung Wing-kam while they stayed at Yiu Muk’s home. Before dawn, Lai Man-yau’s men arrived to watch the villa, and Song urged Yan Hung to wait calmly for Yiu Muk and protect the Chaozhou people’s standing.

• Yiu Muk asked Song Tianyao how he had become Young Master Shun’s secretary, and Song said they had met only four and a half hours earlier.
• Song sent Rotten-Life Ju back to tell Young Master Shun to disperse Chao Yong Yi’s men and not resist Cheung Wing-kam, while Fish Stall Kun stayed to guard the house.
• Song slept at Yiu Muk’s villa after reflecting on his spending and his confidence that he would soon earn more than three thousand dollars.
• Yan Hung woke Song before dawn and showed him Lai Man-yau’s two men waiting outside the villa.
• Song told Yan Hung to wait for Yiu Muk, remain composed, and seek Chairman Chu’s support while preserving the Chaozhou people’s face.

After leaving Yiu Muk’s villa, Song Tianyao and Yan Hung went to Central Pier with Fish Stall Kun and Rotten-Life Ju. There, Song ran into his cousin Zhao Wenye at work and invited him home for soup, leaving Zhao puzzled by his sudden rise among the gang bosses.

• Song Tianyao and Yan Hung left Yiu Muk’s villa, while Yan Hung told Lai Man-yau’s officers he would see their boss after handling Yiu Muk’s business.
• Yiu Muk’s driver took Song Tianyao, Yan Hung, and Fish Stall Kun to Central Pier, where laborers and gang figures greeted Yan Hung and Fish Stall Kun.
• Rotten-Life Ju met the group at the pier and sent an underling to inform Brother Ten that Yan Hung and Song Tianyao had arrived.
• Song Tianyao spotted his cousin Zhao Wenye unloading cargo, called him ashore, and invited him to visit for soup after work.
• Song Tianyao gave Zhao Wenye a handkerchief and cigarettes, then told him they could talk at home that evening.

Lai Man-yau fumed over Yan Hung defying him to help Chu Xiaoxin, while Song Tianyao and Yan Hung met with Uncle Yan at the Liheng Trading Company. Yan Hung’s eagerness to ingratiate himself with the Chu Family showed as he insisted his aid had been a duty, while Lai Man-yau threatened to strip him of his uniform.

• Lai Man-yau learned Yan Hung had angered Cheung Wing-kam by standing up for Chu Xiaoxin and resolved to punish him.
• Lai Man-yau’s men reported that Yan Hung had gone with Yiu Muk to Central Pier and was carrying out Yiu Muk’s orders.
• Song Tianyao and Yan Hung met Uncle Yan in the Liheng Trading Company’s accounting room.
• Uncle Yan thanked Yan Hung for helping Chu Xiaoxin, and Yan Hung said he had acted out of loyalty and Teochew duty.

Song Tianyao interpreted Chu Yaozong’s instruction to let Chu Xiaoxin handle his own mess as a chance for Yan Hung to settle the dispute with Cheung Wing-kam. He proposed resolving it over the original two thousand dollars and a woman, then began guiding Yan Hung on how to give Cheung Wing-kam face without escalating the matter.

• Uncle Yan told Yan Hung that Chu Yaozong had instructed Chu Xiaoxin to clean up his own mess, while Chu Xiaoxin remained at Kowloon Police Station.
• Song Tianyao claimed Chu Xiaoxin had already entrusted the outside handling to Yan Hung and suggested settling the dispute for two thousand dollars, as it had begun.
• Uncle Yan accepted Song Tianyao’s explanation and asked Yan Hung to bring Chu Xiaoxin home for soup at seven that evening.
• Yan Hung questioned how two thousand dollars could settle a clash with Cheung Wing-kam’s godson, and Song Tianyao explained that Chu Yaozong was giving him a chance to prove himself.
• Song Tianyao advised Yan Hung to find a way to preserve Cheung Wing-kam’s face, then rejected Yan Hung’s suggestion of asking Liu Fu to intervene because it would make the dispute bigger.

Song Tianyao laid out a plan to resolve Chu Xiaoxin’s trouble by arranging a banquet and using Lee Jusheng as a peacemaker. He told Yan Hung that Yan would have to take the blame and surrender his detective sergeant’s post, leaving Yan to suspect Song had planned to sacrifice him all along.

• Song Tianyao told Yan Hung to seek money from Fuyixing chairman Golden-Tooth Lei by offering the gang future benefits from Yan’s police territory and connections to Chairman Chu.
• Song Tianyao instructed Yan Hung to book a banquet, invite both sides, and have Lee Jusheng mediate while Chu Xiaoxin apologized and paid two thousand dollars in compensation.
• Song Tianyao said Yan Hung would need to apologize to Cheung Wing-kam and offer to give up his detective sergeant’s post in exchange for a uniformed reservoir guard position.
• Yan Hung realized Song’s plan made him bear Cheung Wing-kam’s anger and asked whether Song had intended to sacrifice his position from the start.

Song Tianyao forced Yan Hung to accept a countryside posting as the price of taking responsibility for Cheung Wing-kam’s anger, while promising the Chu Family could later help him advance. Uncle Yan reported to Chu Yaozong that Song Tianyao, not Yan Hung, had likely devised the previous night’s plan.

• Song Tianyao admitted he had chosen Yan Hung to answer for what happened and argued that accepting the countryside post would preserve his chance of returning to the city.
• Yan Hung asked whether he could remain at Yau Ma Tei Police Station, and Song Tianyao suggested he build a relationship with Lee Jusheng and aim for a future promotion.
• Yan Hung realized Song Tianyao had manipulated him into taking the blame and concluded that he had to follow through with the plan.
• Uncle Yan told Chu Yaozong that Song Tianyao had likely devised the previous night’s move and described Yan Hung as an unremarkable yes-man.
• Chu Yaozong asked Uncle Yan what Song Tianyao had said that puzzled him.

Song Tianyao’s plan made Yan Hung the scapegoat for Cheung Wing-kam, winning the Chu Family’s approval without its members needing to intervene. Song then traveled with Fish Stall Kun to Kowloon City Police Station, where Cheung’s position and influence were explained.

• Uncle Yan told Chu Yaozong that Song Tianyao had proposed settling the trouble with two thousand dollars and a woman.
• Chu Yaozong explained that Song intended Yan Hung to take the blame, pay the costs, and give up his position, while earning the Chu Family’s favor.
• Chu Yaozong decided not to meet Song Tianyao and arranged for him to dine with Ah Sin instead.
• Song Tianyao and Fish Stall Kun crossed the harbor and took rickshaws to Kowloon City Police Station.
• The chapter described how Cheung Wing-kam had taken the Kowloon District detective sergeant position, built his base at Kowloon City Police Station, and expanded the Sze Yap Gang’s influence.

Song Tianyao arranged for Chu Xiaoxin to receive a message in the police station and waited at Lu Yu Teahouse for news. At the docks, Zhao Wenye was surprised when Brother Cha suddenly offered his uncle paid rest and a better position.

• Song Tianyao bribed a young officer to tell Chu Xiaoxin to offer Cheung Wing-kam two thousand dollars and a toast at the reconciliation banquet, while Yan Hung handled the rest.
• The officer returned and told Song Tianyao that Chu Xiaoxin understood the message.
• Song Tianyao went to Lu Yu Teahouse, ordered pu'er, and invited the pipa-playing girl to sing again.
• Brother Cha called Zhao Wenye ashore, gave him his uncle's wages, and said his uncle could rest with pay before returning as the dock's tallyman.
• Zhao Wenye remembered that Brother Cha had driven his uncle away the previous day and struggled to understand the sudden change in treatment.

Rotten-Life Ju rewarded Zhao Wenye with command of a lucrative harbor-run ship after learning he was Song Tianyao’s cousin. Zhao planned to clear up Brother Zha’s trouble at dinner, and Rotten-Life Ju invited him and Song Tianyao for drinks afterward.

• Brother Zha warned Zhao Wenye not to reveal that he had chased Song Tianyao’s father away from the pier.
• Zhao Wenye promised to keep quiet and said Song Tianyao had invited him to dinner.
• Rotten-Life Ju questioned Zhao Wenye about his work and praised his loyalty to Chao Yong Yi.
• Rotten-Life Ju assigned Zhao Wenye six brothers to escort a Liheng Trading Company oil ship around the harbor.
• Rotten-Life Ju invited Zhao Wenye to celebrate at Taibai Seafood Restaurant and asked him to bring Song Tianyao along.

Rotten-Life Ju relayed Chan Ah-sap’s effort to win Song Tianyao’s favor by offering work and money to his relatives, while Song rested at the Taibai Seafood Restaurant. The chapter ended with Chu Xiaoxin arriving triumphantly with Yan Hung and A Wai, whose plainclothes sidearms were gone.

• Rotten-Life Ju told Zhao Wenye to invite his cousin Song Tianyao out for drinks, and Zhao agreed.
• Chan Ah-sap gave Rotten-Life Ju money to repay Song and instructed him to arrange a matching banquet and hire the girl who had entertained Song.
• Song asked the pipa-playing girl how much she owed her master, then let her play while he rested and fell asleep.
• Chu Xiaoxin entered the room with Yan Hung and A Wai, and Song noticed that the two officers no longer carried their sidearms.

Song Tianyao told Chu Xiaoxin that Yan Hung had been sent to guard the reservoirs in Sha Tau Kok after taking responsibility for Chu Xiaoxin’s dispute with Cheung Wing-kam. He arranged to host Yan Hung, A Wai, and Fuyixing’s boss at the Taibai Seafood Restaurant, using Chu Xiaoxin’s money to help Yan Hung keep face.

• Chu Xiaoxin told Song Tianyao that he had paid Cheung Wing-kam two thousand dollars and apologized, while Yan Hung and A Wai had been reassigned to guard the reservoirs in Sha Tau Kok.
• Chu Xiaoxin thanked Yan Hung and promised to seek a transfer for him, but Yan Hung hid his bitterness behind a polite smile.
• Song Tianyao told Chu Xiaoxin that Chu Yaozong expected him home for soup, then blamed Chan Ah-sap for informing Chu Yaozong about the incident.
• Song Tianyao offered to treat Yan Hung and A Wai at the Taibai Seafood Restaurant and suggested inviting Fuyixing’s boss; Chu Xiaoxin agreed and promised to support Yan Hung if others mistreated him.
• Song Tianyao asked Chu Xiaoxin for an advance on his wages, and Chu Xiaoxin gave him three thousand dollars to help Yan Hung keep face.

Song Tianyao tried to persuade Yan Hung that he could secure Fuyixing a foothold handling Likang Trading Company's dock business and help Yan Hung return to Yau Ma Tei as a sergeant. Yan Hung remained wary of Song's promises but recognized the potential value of the offer and pressed him to explain it.

• Chu Xiaoxin told Yan Hung that Song Tianyao would negotiate with Yan Hung's boss, then left for Likang Trading Company.
• Song Tianyao asked Yan Hung to invite his boss for a drink and offered to arrange dock work for Fuyixing and a future transfer back to Yau Ma Tei.
• Yan Hung reminded Song Tianyao that trusting him had cost him his detective sergeant position and said he had no reason to believe him again.
• Song Tianyao replied that Yan Hung was no longer important enough to trick, since he was being sent to guard a reservoir.
• Yan Hung asked whether Song truly intended to give Fuyixing the Likang Trading Company dock business, while suspecting the offer concealed another trap.

Song Tianyao returned home with money for his family and found Brother Hua threatening to take his sister over a debt. He stabbed Brother Hua to death and urged Li Laoshi to fetch the police, while Zhao Meizhen collapsed in shock.

• Song Tianyao agreed to ask his boss to wipe Yan Hung’s forty-thousand-dollar gang debt, then headed home with three thousand dollars for his mother.
• Song Tianyao found Brother Hua and his underling threatening Zhao Meizhen and demanding that she hand over Song Wenwen to settle a disputed debt.
• Song Tianyao grabbed Li Laoshi’s beef knife and stabbed Brother Hua twice, leaving him dead on the ground.
• Song Tianyao frightened Brother Hua’s underling into fleeing, then told Li Laoshi to call the police and explain that he had used his knife.
• Zhao Meizhen fainted after witnessing the stabbing.

Song Tianyao faced the police after stabbing Brother Hua, then confronted a Fuyixing gang that arrived to retaliate. The gang’s woman leader challenged his claim that he was the Chu Family’s secretary.

• Li Laoshi fetched two patrol officers, and Song Tianyao bribed them and claimed he was the Chu Family’s secretary.
• The officers agreed to cover up the stabbing and threatened Brother Hua, who lay wounded on the ground.
• More than twenty Fuyixing men arrived with weapons, and a woman among them ordered Brother Hua taken to a clinic.
• The woman offered money to men willing to take the blame and urged the gang to kill Song Tianyao and the officers.
• One officer fired a warning shot, and Song Tianyao demanded to see Golden-Tooth Lei and Sergeant Hung or face Fuyixing in a fight.
• The woman accused Song Tianyao of lying about his position and revealed that he had failed the police academy entrance exam the previous day.

Song Tianyao was cornered by Fuyixing members after Brother Hua was wounded, but Rotten-Life Ju arrived and drove them back with his knives. Song Tianyao spared Zhao Meizhen and her remaining men, ordering them to wait for Golden-Tooth Lei while making clear that he would not follow jianghu rules if they retaliated.

• Zhao Meizhen confronted Song Tianyao, and he told her to summon Golden-Tooth Lei or Sergeant Hung.
• Zhao Wenye arrived with Rotten-Life Ju, who stabbed three Fuyixing members as he fought his way to Song Tianyao.
• Song Tianyao and the two policemen pretended they were only having tea while Rotten-Life Ju attacked the surrounding Fuyixing members.
• Rotten-Life Ju wounded more than a dozen men, while Zhao Meizhen and a few survivors retreated beyond his reach.
• Song Tianyao threatened Zhao Meizhen and ordered her to take Brother Hua home, then sent her away to wait for Golden-Tooth Lei.