Old Ding

Biodata

Appearance

• Pale, heavily overweight man with a bulging belly, weighing well over two hundred pounds 18.
• His face has pronounced fleshy folds that bunch together when he smiles 18.
• Black fur and sharp claws grow from his right arm when he prepares to defend himself 19.

Personality

Old Ding presents himself as a gracious businessman, welcoming important visitors, brewing tea, and professing to value friendship. That courtesy conceals intimidation and financial calculation: he pockets Mr. Li’s settlement check, then threatens him when negotiations turn toward control of Red Three Street. He prefers the respectable address “Mr. Ding” over “boss” 18 19.

He understands the limits of his position. Although powerful on the streets, he relies on political protection and submits to Flower Boss’s orders. He recognizes that Mr. Li’s public charity campaign makes a direct attack costly, and he tolerates Young Master Hua’s boasting because he cannot afford to offend the Hua Family 20 33 35.

His attachment to A Lang and his family breaks through this calculating exterior. He tries to rescue A Lang despite the danger, mourns his death openly, and later remains behind to distract pursuers while his wife and daughter escape. Facing ruin, he acknowledges that his lifetime of wrongdoing has earned him punishment, but hopes to spare his family 31 47.

Abilities & Skills

Fourth-Awakening Combat Strength

Old Ding is already a Fourth-Awakening fighter when Mr. Li assesses the danger of confronting him; no advancement to that realm is shown in the supplied chapters 28.

• His strength makes a direct confrontation dangerous for the newly awakened Old Ninth 28.
• Five Third-Awakening contract killers attacking together are more than he can handle 47.
• Police-issued special handcuffs suppress an Awakened’s abilities, reducing him to the condition of an ordinary person 48.

Bear Summoning

A three-meter-tall giant bear emerges from behind Old Ding when contract killers attack his villa 47.

• He summons it while resisting the ambush, then breaks through a window to escape 47.
• The bear’s name and specific combat techniques are not identified 47.

Physical Transformation and Toughness

Old Ding can manifest black fur and sharp claws on his right arm 19.

• He readies the transformed arm when Little White Tiger reaches into his jacket 19.
• His thick, tough flesh withstands a blade strike to the shoulder while he flees his villa 47.
• He endures a severe burn to his palm from Mr. Li without crying out 19.

Underworld Organization and Political Connections

Old Ding commands more than a thousand men and can mobilize much of West Garden’s underworld 20 27.

• Maintains police informants and corrupt official contacts; Zhang Yang’s purge removes nearly all his informants within five days 35.
• Bribes city-gate personnel to move sensitive shipments after the normal closing time 36.
• Pays established bandit groups along transport routes, though roaming gangs and figures such as Smoke Fiend remain outside his control 36.
• Relies on Flower Boss’s protection to shield his criminal activities from investigation 20 33.

Equipment / Items

• Ledger — Retained as leverage against Flower Boss. Old Ding sends it away with his wife and later identifies it as essential evidence for bringing Flower Boss down 47 50.
• Secret passage — An escape route from his villa used by his wife and daughter while he stays behind 47.
• Trafficking trucks — Five trucks with barred cargo beds transport skeletal children for the Three Suns Society exchange 36.
• Special handcuffs — Police restraints he is forced to wear after Old Ninth captures him; they suppress his awakened power 48.

Relationships

• Flower Boss / Master Hua / Master Flower — Patron and superior; the real power behind Old Ding’s position in West Garden. Flower Boss considers sacrificing him to recover his kidnapped son, though he later genuinely attempts to arrange his escape from the city 33 40 47.
• A Lang / Brother Lang — Trusted lieutenant, second-in-command, and longtime sworn brother. A Lang claims responsibility for the assassination attempts to draw retaliation away from Old Ding, who tries unsuccessfully to save him 24 27 28 31.
• Red Hair — Subordinate involved in intimidation and attacks on Old Ding’s enemies. After A Lang’s death, he volunteers to escort the trafficking shipment and retrieve the Wasteland Artifact 19 20 36.
• Mr. Li / Li Youxian — Rival whose attempt to install Little White Tiger on Red Three Street triggers their conflict. Mr. Li combines money, public support, and police pressure to undermine Old Ding 19 20 34.
• Little White Tiger — Challenger to his territorial control. Little White Tiger rejects buying his own safety, helps kill A Lang, and later pressures Old Ding to expose the Hua Family 19 31 50.
• Old Ninth — Enemy who retaliates against the assassination attempt on his life, kills A Lang with his companions, and captures Old Ding. He forces cooperation through threats against Old Ding’s family and a public appearance at Flower Mansion 26 31 48 50.
• Zhang Yang — Police commissioner investigating his crimes. Zhang Yang removes his police informants, takes him into custody, and offers to retrieve his family in exchange for cooperation 35 49 50.
• Young Master Hua / Hua Yougui — His patron’s son, whose messes Old Ding has repeatedly cleaned up. Old Ding accepts the Three Suns Society exchange after the young master promises to deal with A Lang’s killers 35.
• Wife — Unnamed minor local celebrity. She warns him not to trust Flower Boss and keeps the ledger during their family’s flight 47 50.
• Daughter — Unnamed young child whom he sends away with her mother to protect her from the consequences of his downfall 47.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Conflict over Red Three Street

Mr. Li brings Little White Tiger to Old Ding’s office and offers a two-hundred-thousand check to settle the matter of Old Xie. Old Ding accepts that settlement but refuses to relinquish Red Three Street’s profitable logistics market, invoking the powerful interests backing him 18 19.

The meeting escalates when his men surround the office. Little White Tiger injures Red Hair, while Mr. Li burns Old Ding’s hand and forces their departure. Little White Tiger then returns alone, retrieves the check from Old Ding’s jacket, and challenges him to a confrontation on Red Three Street 19.

Assassination Attempts and A Lang’s Death

Mr. Li’s charity foundation gains District Council backing, making an open attack on Red Three Street politically costly. Old Ding’s organization instead targets Little White Tiger outside the city and Old Ninth while he is recovering; a captured attacker identifies A Lang as the organizer 20 24.

The failed attacks provoke retaliation against A Lang’s KTV. Little White Tiger brings armed reinforcements to support Old Ninth, and their group kills A Lang before Old Ding can arrive. Old Ding reaches his headless lieutenant’s body ten minutes later and howls in grief 28 29 31.

Police Pressure and the Artifact Exchange

Old Ding’s search for revenge attracts Zhang Yang’s attention. Flower Boss orders him to stop his activities and lie low, explicitly warning him not to implicate his patrons. After seeing evidence of children imprisoned in Old Ding’s warehouse, Zhang Yang chooses to cooperate with Mr. Li’s group rather than act against them 33 34.

With his police network being dismantled, Old Ding accepts Young Master Hua’s request to handle a Three Suns Society exchange involving trafficked children, gold, and a Wasteland Artifact. Red Hair escorts the children out of the city, but Old Ding’s enemies intercept the deal after extracting its details from the kidnapped young master 35 36 37 38.

Exposure and Failed Escape

A news report names Ding Changyan as the mastermind behind a major trafficking case. His official contacts refuse his calls, and his wife warns that former allies may kill him to prevent him from exposing them. He sends her and their daughter through the villa’s secret passage with cash and the ledger 47.

Five Third-Awakening killers attack, claiming Flower Boss sent them. Old Ding resists and escapes, then refuses a ride from Flower Boss’s butler because he believes it is another attempt to silence him. Flower Boss’s subsequent conversation with the butler reveals that the escape offer was genuine 47.

Capture and Cooperation

Old Ding offers the city-gate squad leader one million to let him escape, only to discover that the officer has sold him out and armed men are waiting outside. Old Ninth demands his surrender, while Hi Dog claims that Little White Tiger already has his wife and child. Old Ding submits to special handcuffs and offers evidence against Flower Boss in exchange for his family’s safety 48.

Old Ninth brings him to Young Master Hua’s funeral, publicly placing him beside Flower Boss’s enemies. Zhang Yang then takes him into custody. During interrogation, Little White Tiger admits that the claim about holding his family was a bluff; with his wife and daughter still at risk, Old Ding reveals the ledger’s location and calls his wife. Old Ninth and Little White Tiger subsequently retrieve her and the child 49 50.

Notable Quotes

“I don't like people calling me boss. Call me Mr. Ding.” 18

“Fuck! Wait for me! I'll save you today, no matter what!”
— To A Lang during his final phone call 31

“I've spent my whole life doing evil. I deserve to die. I only hope I don't drag you into it.”
— Before sending his wife and daughter away 47