The Boss Sunk in the River, Hongsheng Cart Company

"Where did this River-Crossing Dragon come from?"

Xu Chun was patching a tire and did not even look up. "What's so strange about that? In Tianjin, shops open and close every day. Ping'an Cart Company is an old name with powerful people behind it. Some ordinary River-Crossing Dragon won't be able to bring it down."

"This time is different!"

Li Gou lowered his voice. He glanced around before saying, "This company has one hell of a backer! It's the Dragon King Society's own son!"

"The Dragon King Society?"

At those words, the pipe in Ma Laifu's hand trembled. "Don't they run the docks and river shipping? Why are they trying to take the cart companies' livelihood too?"

"It's called Hongsheng Cart Company!"

Li Gou said, "They say the boss is Qi Hongsheng. He used to be a poor wretch who fled here from out of town, begging for food. Somehow, he ended up Jiang Hailong's Son-in-Law!"

"Son-in-Law?"

Uncle Jin cut in. "I heard Jiang Hailong's daughter drowned a while back..."

"Exactly! The dead one!"

Li Gou slapped his thigh. "Qi Hongsheng married into the family! A ghost marriage! They say he not only bowed before her memorial tablet at the wedding, but at night he even had to... ahem, share a bed with her. That's what you call eating a meal that breaks your backbone!"

The carriage drivers around him sucked in cold breaths, their faces twisted with expressions beyond words.

They were poor, but most of the men still had some limits.

Marrying a corpse—how desperate did a man have to be? Or rather, how greedy?

Qin Geng was astonished too.

Sure enough, if I turn down that meal, someone else will rush to eat it.

Qi Hongsheng?

He'll do even that for wealth and status. He's ruthless, even toward himself.

"They call Qi Hongsheng 'Master Qi' now!"

Li Gou went on, "Hongsheng Cart Company opened in grand style. Anyone who brings his own cart pays half the usual dues! If you don't have a cart, they give you a new one as soon as you join—all with Rubber Wheels, light and easy to pull! They say quite a few men from Ping'an Cart Company have already slipped over."

"I reckon they'll start fighting over territory in a few days. When the killing starts, this fat prize of a dock will be first."

A trace of worry crossed Li Gou's face.

"Get out of here."

Ma Laifu tapped Li Gou's head with his pipe. "We've got Xiao Wu. With his skills and reputation now, both sides will be falling over themselves to recruit him. This is a fight between big shots. It won't come down on poor wretches like us. Don't worry."

"That's true."

Li Gou chuckled. "Brother Wu's the pillar holding us up now."

Qin Geng said nothing. He only gazed at the river, his eyes unreadable.

"The dues are lower over there, and they even give out new carts. Why don't we go make a living there too?"

Li Gou sounded tempted.

After all, who would turn down money?

Boss Lin and his people at Ping'an Cart Company had been bleeding them far too hard.

"Let's see how things develop. There's no rush."

Xu Chun spoke steadily. "Pies don't fall from the sky. A man willing to marry a dead woman for money might turn out even more ruthless than Ping'an Cart Company once he's rich. Let's not make any moves yet."

As they talked, a long steam whistle suddenly sounded from far out on the river.

Woooo—

Then a passenger steamer slowly pulled alongside the dock.

The dock instantly came alive.

"Work's here! Look sharp!"

"Line up! No pushing!"

The carriage drivers rose, took hold of their cart shafts, and prepared to surge toward the exit to wait for the fat sheep coming off the boat.

Just then, hurried, uneven footsteps came from the side.

"Out of the way! Move!"

"Dragon King Society business!"

A group of men in black short jackets with red sashes around their waists stormed onto the dock.

They were dressed like the Porters commonly seen there, but every one of them looked fierce and carried either an iron club or a wooden staff.

What drew the eye most were the five men held between them.

The five were bound hand and foot, with filthy rags stuffed in their mouths. Their clothes were soaked, and they had clearly just taken a beating.

Qin Geng looked closely. His pupils contracted, and a chill shot up his spine.

The man at the front, being dragged along with a limp, was none other than the Dragon Head of Ping'an Cart Company—"Lame Second" Guan Ershun!

Behind him came Boss Lin and three other bosses of Ping'an Cart Company, all in the same sorry state.

"Is that... Master Guan?!"

"My god, even Master Guan got caught?"

"How is that possible?! When Master Guan came back from Shanghai a few days ago, he made such a grand entrance!"

The carriage drivers erupted. Their eyes nearly popped from their heads; they could scarcely believe what they were seeing.

Only days earlier, Guan Ershun had returned from Shanghai in triumph.

Back then, the whole dock had to clear a path for him, and the carriage drivers had to wait with bowed heads and bent backs.

Even when Yi He Shantytown hired the fiendish Chen Sanpi to settle a dispute, the moment they heard Guan Ershun was passing through, they had to stand obediently by the roadside. They did not dare let out so much as a fart until he had gone, and only then dared to act.

How imposing he had been! How much killing intent he had carried!

But now...

Guan Ershun's silk gown had been torn to shreds, his face was covered in bruises, and none of his old arrogance remained.

Still, he had once been a Dragon Head. Though his face was ashen, he said nothing. His cold, hawklike eyes only stared at the churning river, as if he had accepted his fate.

As for Boss Lin and the others behind him, where was their usual swagger now?

Their faces were swollen and bloody, their hands and feet bound tight with thick hemp rope. They were dragged along like pigs awaiting slaughter.

They thrashed wildly, letting out muffled, wretched cries through their gags. Desperation and pleading filled their eyes, while tears and snot smeared their faces.

"These five bastards oppressed carriage drivers, preyed on ordinary people, and committed every evil they could!"

The leader strode straight to the end of the dock's gangway, where the current ran fastest. Pointing at Guan Ershun and the other four on the ground, he shouted:

"Today, Master Qi will deliver justice on Heaven's behalf!"

Boss Lin was still struggling with all his might. He looked toward the carriage drivers in the crowd, seemingly begging them to save him.

But the drivers he had bullied for so long felt more than shock now. A fear they could not put into words gripped them.

If even someone like Guan Ershun had fallen, who would dare step forward?

"Master Qi has given the order!"

The man gave Boss Lin no chance. He swept a hand through the air, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a few stones.

"Sink them in the river!"

Before the words had faded, more than a dozen burly Porters stepped forward.

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

Boss Lin and the other three bosses began thrashing violently, roaring like trapped beasts through their gags. Their eyes bulged in their sockets.

Guan Ershun shuddered. Then he slowly closed his eyes, still without making a sound.

"Over they go!"

The Porters shouted together. Several men lifted each prisoner, their movements perfectly in unison.

Splash!

Splash!

Five heavy splashes sounded in quick succession, throwing up great sprays of water.

The Dragon Head of Ping'an Cart Company, who had once called the wind and rain in South City, and the four bosses under him were thrown into the bone-chilling Tianjin River.

Their hands and feet were tied, their mouths were gagged, and stones weighing dozens of jin had been fastened around their waists.

Once they hit the water, they had no chance to struggle. They bobbed on the surface a few times and sent up a handful of murky bubbles before the swift current swallowed them, leaving no trace.

A Dragon Head of his generation vanished without raising so much as a ripple.