Avenging Brother Sin

"Brother Sheng, where'd you pick her up?" The moment Big-Eyed Hua saw Gu Sheng coming downstairs, he couldn't resist sidling over to ask.

After all, how could a boss matter more than a girl? Especially for a low-level lackey like him-how many times did he even see the boss in a year?

Big-Eyed Hua couldn't help grumbling.

Gu Sheng kicked him again.

"You're the only one with so much fucking crap to say. We're going to the bar. Someone actually killed Brother Xin. If I find out who did it, I'll skin the bastard alive!" Gu Sheng looked vicious.

Big-Eyed Hua wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Handsome Sheng seemed more menacing than usual today.

Gu Sheng checked the pager at his waist. There were quite a few messages, but he'd already muted it because he couldn't be bothered with the noise.

Aside from Big-Eyed Hua's pages, one phone number had contacted him several times and left the message "666."

That message caught Gu Sheng's attention. If he remembered correctly, this was his superior contacting him. Turn 666 upside down, and it became Hong Kong Island's emergency number.

He was probably asking for the inside story on Ah Sin's shooting.

Gu Sheng curled his lip. I'm busy right now. Who's got time for you?

And that's why I say this superior of mine is a fucking idiot. Using the emergency number upside down as a secret code-does he really think every gangster is stupid and blind?

Gangsters weren't exactly bright-if they were, they wouldn't become gangsters-but that didn't mean they were idiots!

He headed straight to the bar street and found it packed with Hongxing lackeys, many of them tapping iron bars against the ground.

Strictly speaking, Gu Sheng wasn't high-ranking, but he was still well above these lackeys. At least Ah Sin had taken notice of him. It was just that Ah Sin had been so stingy he hadn't even given him a venue to run. Served the bastard right for getting killed.

He went straight to the biggest bar. Inside, a crowd had gathered, arguing noisily.

"This was definitely that bastard Thunderclap Tiger's doing. He asked Brother Xin to negotiate, then Brother Xin got shot before he even made it upstairs. Who else could it be? We should go chop that bastard up right now and avenge Brother Xin!" The speaker was the hot-tempered Mad Dog.

"What's the rush? We still don't know what happened, and we haven't found the gunman. You say it was Thunderclap Tiger, so that makes it him? What about the boss's wife? The moment something happened to the boss, she disappeared-and took all the money with her. Maybe she hired someone to do it." Four-Eyed Kid sat in the middle, analyzing the situation.

Both of them had a point, and the others couldn't make up their minds.

More importantly, their boss was dead, and King Boxer Yung, the most respected among them, was missing, his fate unknown. There was no one with enough standing to take charge.

As soon as Gu Sheng heard their discussion, he shouted, "Obviously, the boss's wife and Thunderclap Tiger were in on it together!"

The entire bar fell silent. Everyone turned to see which bastard had spouted that bullshit.

"Isn't it obvious? Without Thunderclap Tiger, how could the boss's wife have known where the boss was going to negotiate? Where would she have found a gunman? Besides, Thunderclap Tiger had already said he wanted Brother Xin dead. Why would he suddenly ask to negotiate? He clearly lured Brother Xin there on purpose.

"If the boss's wife wasn't working with Thunderclap Tiger, why did she disappear the moment the boss got shot? That bitch clearly teamed up with Thunderclap Tiger to kill him! If you ask me, those two knew each other long ago! The boss was the only one kept in the dark."

The others listened. As outrageous as it sounded, it somehow made sense. They couldn't find a hole in it.

"Since when was it your turn to speak here?" Four-Eyed Kid asked grimly.

He was one of the sharper minds among them, and something about this didn't feel right.

Thunderclap Tiger had come down from the teahouse afterward, and his reaction hadn't looked like an act.

Besides, Four-Eyed Kid had kept men ready all evening, yet Tung Sing hadn't come to seize their venues. That made him doubt even more that Thunderclap Tiger was responsible.

"Brother Xin's been murdered, and instead of thinking about revenge, you're sitting here pulling rank? What fucking good is seniority? Our boss is dead! If we don't avenge him, what's the point of being gangsters? We might as well go home and suck on our mothers' tits." Gu Sheng shot straight back, showing him no respect whatsoever.

Four-Eyed Kid snorted, a shadow passing through his eyes.

"I never said we shouldn't avenge Brother Xin. But some things still aren't clear. Tell me, why did the boss's wife run?" Four-Eyed Kid pointed out the problem.

"Brother Xin suspected his wife was seeing someone. He even told me to keep an eye on her and report back to him. Barely a few days later, he was murdered. You all knew Brother Xin's temper. If she really was cheating and he found out, you know what would've happened.

"She must've been afraid he'd discover it, so she got her lover Thunderclap Tiger to kill him. We should go hack Thunderclap Tiger down right now and avenge Brother Xin!"

Quite a few people stared at Gu Sheng in surprise. There was more to it? And Brother Xin had actually entrusted this kid with something like that?

Clearly, Brother Xin had really taken a liking to him.

If Brother Xin hadn't died so suddenly, this kid might have moved up in a few months. No wonder he was so vicious. He was even more eager to avenge Brother Xin than Mad Dog and Chui Gai.

"Avenge Brother Xin!" Gu Sheng had stirred up quite a few of them.

"Chop up Thunderclap Tiger!" Gu Sheng shouted again.

"Chop up Thunderclap Tiger!"

Crash! Mad Dog smashed his beer bottle on the floor and sprang to his feet. "Let's go! We'll hack Thunderclap Tiger down and avenge Brother Xin!"

"Wait." Four-Eyed Kid stopped them again.

"Four-Eyed Kid, what the hell are you playing at?" Mad Dog and Chui Gai demanded angrily.

"Another ten or twenty minutes won't make a difference. Main Hall is holding a meeting, and it should be over soon. Let's see what Mr. Jiang and the branch bosses say. Even if we go to war, we need Main Hall's backing," Four-Eyed Kid said.

"Wait, wait, wait! We've been fucking waiting all night!" Mad Dog flipped the table and paced back and forth in a fury.

Less than two minutes later, the bar's phone rang.

Four-Eyed Kid answered it, and his expression immediately turned ugly. "Understood," he said quietly.

He turned to find everyone watching him. His face darkened as he said, "With Brother Xin gone, Main Hall has decided to put Big B in charge of Yuen Long. He's on his way here."

Seeing his expression, Gu Sheng immediately suspected that Four-Eyed Kid might have connections with one of the branch bosses. Maybe he'd even paid a price for support in taking over, only for it to fall through.

Why else would he look so sick?

Mad Dog and Chui Gai were furious at the news too. Mad Dog kicked the table. "Sure, Big B's a branch boss, but he's the boss of Tsz Wan Shan! What gives him the right to take over Yuen Long?"

With Brother Xin dead and King Boxer Yung's fate unknown, the three of them were the strongest candidates to take over.

Mad Dog and Chui Gai both wanted to kill Thunderclap Tiger, then claim the position with full justification. That was why they'd kept shouting about avenging Brother Xin.

After all, wasn't getting ahead the whole point of being a gangster?

Now Big B was being parachuted in, and both their hopes had been dashed.

Even the men under Mad Dog, Chui Gai, and Four-Eyed Kid looked unhappy. Only when their own bosses moved up could they rise too.

Gu Sheng didn't particularly care. Whoever took over, that seat wasn't going to be his just yet.

He simply hadn't been around long enough.

Big B would be here soon. He'd see what the man had to say.

In any case, Gu Sheng's goal was to move up first, build some seniority, then spend his free time finding shortcuts into girls' hearts.

Gu Sheng had figured it out too. These were chaotic times.

First, he'd climb the ranks of the gang, then rake in some money, and finally go legitimate.