I came to Brother Chong’s office without understanding why.

“A’Jin, sit.” He lit a cigarette, dismissed everyone around, then pulled open a drawer and threw a stack of bills on the table.

“Brother Chong… what’s this?”

“Master Rong is in Guangdong. I’ll give you the address—go find him.” Brother Chong said plainly.

“What?” I was a bit confused. “Didn’t they say the whole gang is hunting down Master Rong? So you knew his location all along?”

“Yes.” Brother Chong nodded. “Hunting him was just a smokescreen I put out.”

“But why?”

“A’Jin, I know Master Tong’s intentions. Rather than that two million, he wants you as a talent—you can earn him another two million. But if I told Master Tong this news, according to underworld rules, he’d have to go kill Master Rong. How would he recruit you then?”

I frowned slightly, still unable to understand.

“So this information can only stop with me. What to do next—you’ll have to figure that out after you see Master Tong.”

“Brother Chong, you say Master Tong wants to recruit me, but after all, I’m Master Rong’s man…”

“A’Jin, the ones with grievances are the two bosses. You’re just following orders. Master Tong can’t possibly not understand that.” Brother Chong exhaled smoke, his expression somewhat sorrowful. “It’s just that you disappointed him.”

My expression also became somewhat dim.

“Brother Chong, I’m a simple person who sticks to principles. If Master Rong is my boss for a day, he’s my boss for life. Now he’s on the run—I should go take care of him.”

“You might regret this.” Brother Chong said through gritted teeth. “Some people sound good with their words but make you do life-threatening jobs behind the scenes. Some people seem impersonal but genuinely want to keep you as a talent…”

I’m simple, but I’m not stupid.

How could Master Rong want my life?

He had me learn boxing, made me keep practicing even with broken hand bones—that was to train me.

He had me fight over thirty people alone—that was to temper me.

He had Jiu Ge and me draw lots to serve prison time for him—that was only to test me.

I’ve paid respects to Guan Yu. I understand all these principles.

“Brother Chong, thank Master Tong for me.” I interrupted him, stood up, and took the bills from the table. “I’ll find a way to repay this travel money.”

Seeing that I was impervious to reason, Brother Chong also lost his temper.

“Damn stubborn fool… go then! You’d better die in Guangdong!”

He sat in his swivel chair with his back turned, furiously waving his hand. “Get lost already.”

Before leaving, I stopped and turned back to ask, “Brother Chong, why does Master Tong value me so much?”

I saw Brother Chong’s silhouette continue puffing smoke. He pondered for a long time before finally saying faintly, “Because in this era, it’s hard to find someone with such pure ‘underworld spirit’ as you have. Kindness is kindness, grudges are grudges. You’re not doing good deeds, but you try to be a good person. You’re very much like we were when we were young.”

He pulled out a necklace from his chest and tossed it to me without looking back.

I caught it and turned it over to see a small copper medallion with the character “Tong” engraved in the middle.

“If you finish your business and want to return to the gang, this thing can help you. Now scram.”

I tucked the copper medallion into my shirt pocket and bowed deeply to Brother Chong.

There are many people in this world who have been kind to me. After I repay Master Rong’s kindness, I’ll definitely come back to repay Master Tong’s and Brother Chong’s kindness.

…

The next day, I arrived in Guangzhou.

According to the information Brother Chong provided, Master Rong was now living in a fairly upscale apartment.

Knowing he was doing well put my mind at ease.

In the evening, I knocked on Master Rong’s door.

It took a long time before there was any movement. When the door slowly opened, I saw him.

Master Rong was still the same—no different from four years ago.

“A’Jin…?”

He was first stunned, then showed a delighted expression, but then immediately suppressed the delight.

Three different expressions in just one second—his emotions seemed very complex.

Master Rong invited me into the apartment. The decor was simple, with only some essential furniture.

There was another person in the room. I thought it would be Jiu Ge.

But it turned out to be a woman.

“Brother Rong… who is this?” the woman asked.

“Jinglan, this is A’Jin.” After Master Rong finished speaking, he looked at me. “A’Jin, this is your sister-in-law.”

I bowed my head to the woman and called out, “Sister-in-law.”

Master Rong waved his hand, having the woman leave temporarily.

Before the woman left, she kept looking at me suspiciously, and I stared back at her unflinchingly.

I’d grown up at Master Rong’s side since childhood and had no memory of this sister-in-law.

“Master Rong, where’s Jiu Ge?” I looked around, feeling this place couldn’t accommodate three people.

“A’Jin…” Master Rong pulled out a cigarette. “A’Jiu is dead.”

My pupils trembled slightly. I hoped I’d heard wrong.

“What happened to Jiu Ge?”

“On our way escaping to Guangdong, A’Jiu was hacked to death by Fat Tong’s men.” Master Rong took a deep breath and lowered his head in regret.

What?

Jiu Ge was hacked to death by Master Tong’s men?

I felt my heart suddenly skip a beat, as if I’d lost something important.

Countless fragments flashed through my mind, but those fragments were like fireworks exploding in the air—when I tried to reach out and grab them, they burned painfully.

I remembered when we were eleven, Jiu Ge had said to me with a carefree laugh, “A’Jin, you have strength, I have brains—let’s follow Master Rong together!”

But now the “fist” had returned, yet I no longer had the “brain.”

Master Rong and Master Tong had given me completely opposite accounts. With just my own wisdom, I couldn’t figure out what was really going on.

“When did this happen?” I asked with a trembling voice.

“More than ten days ago.” Master Rong shook his head. “A’Jin, I’ve wronged A’Jiu and wronged you. You got out yesterday—I couldn’t go see you.”

I slowly sat down, feeling my mind go completely blank.

What was really going on?

I felt everything was somewhat strange, but I couldn’t articulate what the problem was.

Did Master Rong deceive me… or did Master Tong deceive me?

At a time like this… if it were Jiu Ge, what would he do?

I’m really too simple.

“A’Jin, prison was hard on you.” Master Rong said. “Rest here at my place today.”

“Today?” I shook my head. “Not just today, Master Rong. I still want to continue following you.”

“Follow me?”

I nodded.

“Yes, just like over ten years ago.” I said. “You’re my benefactor. I haven’t yet repaid your kindness.”

Master Rong paused slightly, and cigarette ash fell to the floor.

“A’Jin, don’t think about it. I’ll take you downstairs to eat something.” He stood up and put on his outer coat.

I also followed him out the door.

We ordered beer at a street stall. Master Rong was very quiet, and I was also very quiet.

He ordered a serving of braised bear paw—something I’d never even seen before.

Watching him eat ravenously, I thought, that thing must be delicious, right?

Yes, bear paw must be delicious.

If Master Rong ate it, it was as if I’d eaten it too.

After several bottles of beer, my heart felt somewhat oppressed.

I really missed Jiu Ge. He was my brother. I never imagined that after four years in prison, I wouldn’t even get to see him one last time.

Thinking of this, I opened a bottle of beer and poured it on the ground.

A toast to my brother.

Seeing my expression, Master Rong helplessly shook his head, then stood up and paid the bill.

He seemed to want to say something, but couldn’t get the words out for a long time. Then he noticed the sign for a video hall nearby.

After pondering for a while, he spoke up, “A’Jin, you don’t like whoring or getting high. Let me take you to watch a movie to clear your head.”

It was a movie made by foreigners called “The Terminator.”

I’d never seen a movie like this in my entire life.

Then again, thinking about it, I’d never had money to watch movies.

But this didn’t prevent me from loving “The Terminator.”

Are movies all about stories that really happened?

It was so shocking that at one point I forgot about Jiu Ge’s death.

Even after the movie ended and the screen went black with English credits, I was reluctant to get up and leave.

If only Jiu Ge could have seen this.

He was so smart—he could have definitely told me how these robots were made.

They’re clearly machines, yet they were willing to let people film them.

It’s a pity Jiu Ge will never see it.

“A’Jin, I want to wash my hands of this life.”

Master Rong’s voice came from beside me.

“What?” I turned to look at him.

“I’m getting old. It’s not appropriate for me to continue like this.” Master Rong shook his head. “You should go.”

“Go…?” I blinked. “Master Rong, where do you want me to go?”

“Don’t walk this path anymore. Go anywhere.” He smiled bitterly. “Heaven and earth are vast. Remember? Heaven and earth are inherently vast, yet the petty-minded make them narrow.”

How could I not remember?

Those are the words on my back.