Chapter Summaries

Song Tianyao’s precautions kept Xu Minjun under guard as she went to meet Xu Enbo, while Tan Jingwei suspected Song and Xu Enbo had joined forces over the shipment. Tan ordered his men to find Xu Enbo and wait for Song’s next move.

• Huang Liu complained that Song Tianyao had ordered him and Ah Si to stay close to Xu Minjun because others might guess Song was meeting Hong Lai-sau and his wife.
• Xu Enbo’s driver arrived to take Xu Minjun to the pier, and Huang Liu insisted on driving her car so he could guard her.
• Sheng Zhaozhong reported to Tan Jingwei that Hong Lai-sau and his wife had disappeared from Shau Kei Wan.
• Tan Jingwei sent Sheng Zhaozhong to find Xu Enbo, reasoning that Song Tianyao and Xu Enbo had made an agreement and that the shipment was likely in Xu Enbo’s hands.

Xu Minjun went to meet Xu Enbo at Causeway Bay Pier while Sheng Zhaozhong’s men watched, convinced the engines were hidden with Xu Enbo. An unseen observer, Uncle Leung, chose not to attack Tan Jingwei’s men, leaving the next move unresolved.

• Tan Jingwei heard that Secretary Zhu from Taiwan was calling about the Thais and went upstairs to take the call.
• Xu Minjun arrived at Causeway Bay Pier with Huang Liu and Ah Si to meet Xu Enbo at a warehouse.
• Sheng Zhaozhong and Di Zhen watched Xu Minjun’s party but decided not to act until they confirmed the engines were with Xu Enbo.
• Sheng Zhaozhong told Di Zhen to report back to Tan Jingwei and keep Xu Enbo under surveillance.
• Uncle Leung and A-Zhong watched Sheng Zhaozhong’s men from an abandoned truck, and Uncle Leung rejected A-Zhong’s suggestion to silence them.

Xu Enbo tried to seize control of the warehouse meeting and threatened Song Tianyao’s representatives, but Uncle Leung intervened before anyone was shot. Xu Minjun later told Song Tianyao what happened, while his joking response left her wondering what he was relying on.

• Uncle Leung sent A-Zhong back to tell the family he would bring Enbo home for lunch, then reflected that Xu Enbo had made a poor move by meeting at the docks.
• Xu Enbo questioned Song Tianyao’s absence, then offered Xu Minjun a place in the Xu Family’s businesses and ordered his bodyguards to draw their pistols.
• One bodyguard fired a warning shot at Huang Liu and Mute Ah Si, and Xu Enbo threatened them over Song Tianyao’s dealings with the Two Airlines Uprising workers and Yu Shiting.
• Xu Enbo ordered his bodyguards to fire, but Uncle Leung arrived and stopped them, shocking Xu Enbo.
• Xu Minjun recounted the warehouse incident to Song Tianyao, who joked with Huang Liu, leaving her unsure what gave him confidence.

Song Tianyao took control of the newspaper dispute by handing the Business Weekly and Horse Racing Guide to Xu Minjun and Hong Lai-sau, while Xu Pingsheng saw through Xu Enbo’s staged feud with Song. The chapter ended with Xu Pingsheng acknowledging that Xu Enbo’s act had successfully fooled others, though not him.

• Song Tianyao reassured Xu Minjun that he would handle Xu Enbo’s shipping-route dispute and offered to leave the Business Weekly and Horse Racing Guide to her and Hong Lai-sau in exchange for shares.
• Xu Minjun accepted Song Tianyao’s offer, and Song privately reflected that Xu Enbo had staged his own convincing performance for the Xu family.
• Huang Liu mistook Song Tianyao’s warmth toward Xu Minjun for an attempt to seduce his friend’s wife, prompting Song to angrily threaten to send him back to Macau.
• Xu Pingsheng told Xu Enbo that he had seen through his staged feud with Song Tianyao and praised how convincingly he had acted.

Xu Enbo argued that working with Song Tianyao would benefit the Xu Family, but Xu Pingsheng privately decided to contact Song Tianyao about the shipment supporting the Two Airlines Uprising employees. Meanwhile, Sheng Zhaozhong told Tan Jingwei what he had witnessed involving Xu Enbo and Song Tianyao, and Tan Jingwei remained grim and silent.

• Xu Enbo told Xu Pingsheng he wanted to work with Song Tianyao to gain connections and shipping advantages through Shek Chi-yik, He Xian, and the Lu Family.
• Xu Pingsheng sent Xu Enbo away, then complained to Lu Youliang that his son cared only about profit and foreign connections.
• Xu Pingsheng asked Lu Youliang to call Song Tianyao on the Xu Family's private line about the Two Airlines Uprising shipment.
• Sheng Zhaozhong recounted to Tan Jingwei what he had seen from Jicun Wai to the Causeway Bay pier and shared his views on Xu Enbo and Song Tianyao.
• Tan Jingwei stayed silent for several minutes, leaving Sheng Zhaozhong to ask what had happened.

Tan Jingwei learned that Secretary Zhu wanted him to help the Thais seize a share of the Golden Triangle’s opium trade, and he resolved to defy the order and stop their plans in Hong Kong. He went downstairs with Sheng Zhaozhong to meet Thai General Sai Charoenwang.

• Tan Jingwei told Sheng Zhaozhong that Secretary Zhu had ordered them to help the Thais divide up the Golden Triangle’s opium trade and set aside the matter of the two airlines’ employees.
• Tan Jingwei rejected the order, and he and Sheng Zhaozhong agreed to stop the ship carrying the employees and keep the Thais in Hong Kong.
• Tan Jingwei asked Sheng Zhaozhong to explain the alleged secret collusion between Xu Enbo and Song Tianyao.
• A clerk reported that Thai General Sai Charoenwang had arrived to speak with Tan Jingwei.
• Tan Jingwei and Sheng Zhaozhong went downstairs, where Sai Charoenwang greeted Tan Jingwei.

At Siam Buddha Residence, Cai Bao and Wenren boasted about their high-interest lending and Hong Kong’s gangs until Nai Khun warned them to stay cautious. A punk then entered the shop asking for a loan, and Wenren explained the terms.

• Cai Bao and Wenren discussed the nearly million dollars they had lent through the amulet shop and mocked Hong Kong’s gangs for not retaliating.
• Nai Khun reprimanded them for acting arrogantly and reminded them to keep a low profile and stay alert.
• Nai Khun sent Cai Bao to get cash from Paitoon at the Japanese people’s place.
• A punk bumped into Cai Bao at the entrance, apologized, and went inside Siam Buddha Residence.
• Wenren offered the punk a high-interest loan, saying a borrower received $9,500 for every $10,000 borrowed and paid $10 monthly interest.

Wenren and Nai Khun used counterfeit money to lure Hong Kong borrowers into Siam Buddha Residence, while arranging armed escorts to learn where debtors lived and ensure they repaid the principal in real money. When local gang loan sharks learned of the Thai operation’s cheap terms, they feared losing their business and Lan Kou Zha threatened to burn down the shop.

• Nai Khun lent a punk twenty thousand dollars and sent two armed Thais to escort him home and discover where he lived.
• Wenren and Nai Khun watched the punk leave, pleased that the counterfeit loan money could be converted into real repayments.
• Scribe Hua, Lai Li Bing, and Lan Kou Zha gathered outside Tai Wong Hung Shing Temple after hearing about the Thai lenders’ low rates.
• The punk showed the gang loan sharks the twenty thousand dollars he had borrowed, and Lai Li Bing examined the bills.
• Lai Li Bing and Scribe Hua warned that the Thai operation threatened their businesses, while Lan Kou Zha vowed to burn down the shop.

Scribe Hua, Lan Kou Zha, and Lai Li Bing decided to gather senior gang members and approach Lam Kong for help against the Thai threat, though Scribe Hua feared the gangs would become subservient to the Royal Hong Kong Police. The chapter then shifted to police officers waiting outside the Golden Source Club for a white Chevrolet.

• Lan Kou Zha proposed confronting the Thais, but Scribe Hua and Lai Li Bing warned him that acting without the gang chairmen could bring disaster.
• Scribe Hua suggested contacting Lam Kong, who could reach British officials through Lou Fengyun's Police Club.
• Lai Li Bing and Lan Kou Zha left to gather senior members from their halls for a meeting with Lam Kong.
• Scribe Hua privately feared that asking the police for help would leave Hong Kong with the Royal Hong Kong Police's Official-prefix gang as its only gang.
• Uniformed police officers waited outside the Golden Source Club and straightened up when a white Chevrolet sedan arrived.

Zhao Wenye arrived at a club meeting with prominent Chinese police officers and used his growing Marine Police influence to snub Lui Lok. The meeting began with tensions between the two men unresolved.

• Zhao Wenye arrived at the club, where officers greeted him as a powerful Senior Detective Sergeant in the Marine Police.
• Zhao Wenye learned that Lam Kong, Yan Hung, Lui Lok and Hon Sam were waiting upstairs, then joined them in the conference room.
• Lam Kong welcomed Zhao Wenye and introduced him to Hon Sam, while Yan Hung and Lui Lok also stood to greet him.
• Zhao Wenye greeted the others but deliberately ignored Lui Lok, then leaned back with his feet on the table and pretended to sleep.
• Lui Lok grew angry at Zhao Wenye’s disrespectful display.

Lui Lok was pulled back into a drinking gathering with Lam Kong, Zhao Wenye, Yan Hung, and Hon Sam. Elsewhere, Sai Charoenwang waited outside Kondo Kohei’s hospital and explained his caution toward the Japanese, saying opium would soon be outdated.

• Yan Hung pulled Lui Lok back to his seat after Lui Lok reacted angrily in the conference room.
• Lam Kong invited Zhao Wenye to drink, and the five men raised their glasses together.
• Sai Charoenwang rode with Nairen to Kondo Kohei’s hospital while reading a book about Japanese character.
• Sai Charoenwang read a passage about the Japanese aloud and told Nairen they should rely on themselves and be cautious of them.
• Nairen asked why Sai Charoenwang still dealt with the Japanese, and Sai Charoenwang replied that opium would soon be left behind by the times.

Nairen learned that Sai Charoenwang and Kondo Kohei were working together to refine highly addictive yellow arsenic from opium. At the Golden Source Club, Zhao Wenye demanded that Lui Lok hand over Handkerchief Qing, but Lui Lok refused and the gathering remained tense.

• Sai Charoenwang gave Nairen an English book about Japanese character and urged him to study it.
• Paitoon showed Nairen yellow arsenic and explained that the Japanese could refine it from opium and that it was far more addictive.
• At the Golden Source Club, Lui Lok confronted Zhao Wenye over Zhao’s anger about Chen Tai and Zhao’s demand for Handkerchief Qing.
• Zhao Wenye insisted that Lui Lok hand over Handkerchief Qing, while Lui Lok refused, saying the injured man was now known as Limping Qing and had been crippled working for him.
• Yan Hung and Hon Sam frowned at Zhao Wenye’s demand, while Lam Kong stayed impassive as the men avoided naming Song Tianyao and Tan Jingwei.

Zhao Wenye refused to help Lui Lok protect Handkerchief Qing and threatened to arrest him, while a counterfeit-note crisis summoned Lui Lok to Tai Kwun. Lui Lok ordered Chu Yau-chai to get A-Qing out of the hospital as he left, and Sai Charoenwang departed after promising to arrange an opium supply.

• Zhao Wenye rejected Yan Hung's attempt to smooth things over, insisted on a life for a life, and threatened to obtain an arrest warrant for Handkerchief Qing.
• After Lui Lok berated a uniformed officer, the officer reported that HSBC had filed a complaint about counterfeit notes and that the Commissioner had summoned district Detective Chief Inspectors to Tai Kwun.
• Lam Kong, Yan Hung, and Hon Sam stayed behind to discuss the meeting while Lui Lok left the club for Tai Kwun.
• Lui Lok told Chu Yau-chai to go to the hospital and get A-Qing out, refusing to hand him over even if a Foreign Devil came in person.
• After Sai Charoenwang drove away, Kondo Kohei asked Paitoon where Sai would obtain opium, and Paitoon said Sai Ba would keep his promise.

Tan Jingwei and Song Tianyao prepared to attend Xu Pingsheng’s banquet as they weighed the threat of a Brazilian ship that might carry seventy-one aircraft engines to the mainland. The chapter ended with Song Tianyao heading into an uncertain gathering while Huang Liu vowed to protect him.

• Sheng Zhaozhong told Tan Jingwei that a Brazilian-registered ship once owned by Xu Enbo would dock in Hong Kong and might be bound for North Korea or Dandong.
• Tan Jingwei revealed Xu Pingsheng had invited him and Song Tianyao to a banquet, and ordered Di Zhen and the others to prepare to act against the ship if needed.
• Tan Jingwei decided Sheng Zhaozhong should accompany him to the banquet rather than oversee the operation against the ship.
• Song Tianyao told Huang Liu that Xu Pingsheng had invited Hong Kong and Shanghai groups, along with Tan Jingwei, to dinner.
• Huang Liu promised to protect Song Tianyao at the Xu Family banquet, while Song Tianyao warned him not to let his guard down.

Song Tianyao sent Huang Liu to board a ship from Brazil while Lam Kong drove him to Xu Pingsheng’s banquet under police escort. Meanwhile, Nai Khun arrived in Macau with Cai Bao and their Thai companions, waiting for the seller.

• Song Tianyao told Huang Liu to leave for the ship from Brazil, then arranged to reach Xu Pingsheng’s home with Lam Kong and other guards.
• Lam Kong told Song Tianyao that Zhao Wenye had challenged Lui Lok and that counterfeit money and yellow arsenic had resurfaced in Hong Kong.
• Song Tianyao urged Lam Kong to tell Zhao Wenye to keep his head down and offered to help investigate the counterfeit money and yellow arsenic.
• Nai Khun disembarked in Macau with Cai Bao and several Thai companions, and Cai Bao asked what they should do while the seller was still absent.

At Xu Pingsheng’s banquet, Hong Kong and Shanghai shipowners speculated about Song Tianyao’s conflict with Tan Jingwei and the danger surrounding him. The powerful guests gathered separately inside the Xu Residence, where Song and Tan’s talks were about to begin.

• Nai Khun arrived in Macau, tipped a dock attendant lavishly, and told Cai Bao to find them a hotel and make a call.
• Nai Khun revealed that he had come to Macau to find Song Wenwen, while viewing the Golden Triangle opium supply as a chance to advance his ambitions.
• At Xu Pingsheng’s backyard reception, shipowners discussed whether Xu was protecting Song Tianyao and whether Song might leave the residence safely.
• A Shanghai shipowner noted that Chu Xiaozhong had placed a secret two-million-dollar bounty on Song Tianyao, adding another danger to the dispute.
• Xu Pingsheng hosted prominent Chinese tycoons, including Chu Yaozong and Yu Shiting, in a separate house as Song Tianyao and Tan Jingwei faced their talks.

At a family dinner with Hong Kong tycoons, Xu Pingsheng offered Yu Shiting the Hong Kong-to-South Africa shipping route as support for Song Tianyao, but Gu Quan turned the discussion into a challenge over backing Tan Jingwei. The gathering ended with the tycoons avoiding a political stance and Chu Yaozong deflecting Xu’s attempt to draw him in.

• Xu Pingsheng welcomed the Chinese tycoons and joked with Chu Yaozong and Zhou Xiyu about their prized tea.
• Xu Pingsheng offered Yu Shiting the South Africa route as an early birthday present for Yu Zhenzhong, presenting it as a way to keep the British from taking a share.
• Yu Shiting questioned Xu Pingsheng’s sudden generosity, and Xu tied the offer to supporting Song Tianyao and helping Chinese people.
• Gu Quan brought up his daughter Gu Linshan’s upcoming marriage and argued that Tan Jingwei, his son-in-law, was Chinese too.
• The tycoons stayed silent as the political stakes made taking sides risky, and Chu Yaozong responded to Xu Pingsheng’s prompt by inviting everyone to drink tea.

Song Chunzhong negotiated an opium sale in Macau when Nai Khun barged in and demanded the entire stock. In Hong Kong, Song Tianyao arrived at the Xu Family residence and was confronted by Chu Xiaoxin, who insisted he had known nothing about the bounty.

• Song Chunzhong rejected Singh's offer and acted ready to end their negotiations over the opium price.
• Nai Khun arrived with Cai Bao and demanded all of Song Chunzhong's opium, then charged at Singh's two White Russian bodyguards.
• Gu Tiancheng noticed Nai Khun mention Song Tianyao, but Song Chunzhong calmly told him to keep watching.
• Song Tianyao arrived at the Xu Family residence and asked Lam Kong to bring Michael Sandberg from HSBC to meet him after the banquet.
• Chu Xiaoxin hurried over in the courtyard and claimed his Big Brother had arranged the two-million bounty without his knowledge.
• Song Tianyao told Chu Xiaoxin that he believed him.

Nai Khun seized control of the opium deal in Macau after killing Singh, while Song Chunzhong maintained his false identity as a Golden Triangle army straggler. In Hong Kong, Song Tianyao met Tan Jingwei at the Xu Family residence, unaware that Tan had ordered his men to attack.

• Chu Xiaoxin told Song Tianyao that he had stayed in Hong Kong to protect him and that Chu Yaozong was upstairs waiting to see him.
• Song Tianyao realized he had to deal with Tan Jingwei that night before Chu Yaozong could send him to Britain.
• Song Tianyao encountered Tan Jingwei and Sheng Zhaozhong at the Xu Family residence and agreed to go upstairs with Tan.
• Tan Jingwei noticed Song Tianyao's bodyguard was absent and ordered Sheng Zhaozhong to tell Di Zhen and the others to make their move.
• Nai Khun's men shot Singh after he drew a pistol, and Nai Khun claimed the goods from him.
• Nai Khun questioned Song Chunzhong, who kept up his disguise as Zhang Xiantai, a Golden Triangle straggler with opium.

Song Chunzhong sold Nai Khun on a supposed ton of raw opium and learned that Nai Khun was looking for someone. In Hong Kong, Di Zhen and his men prepared to move against a freighter as it sailed, while Song Tianyao joined a gathering where Yu Shiting asked him about He Jiuliu.

• Nai Khun agreed to buy Song Chunzhong’s purported ton of opium and left a million Hong Kong dollars as a deposit.
• Song Chunzhong offered to show Nai Khun around Macau, but Nai Khun declined and asked him about someone he wanted to find.
• Di Zhen received Mr. Sheng’s order to act that night and told his men to move once the freighter put out to sea.
• Song Tianyao and Tan Jingwei joined the gathering at the Xu residence, where Yu Shiting asked Song Tianyao to call He Jiuliu about returning Shuxuan from Macau.