Immortal Child and Corpse Against the Current

My real name is Liu Tianliang. Mother said I was born just before dawn, so Father named me Tianliang. When I first entered the hall, everyone called me “Sha Liang.” Later, Zu Ye said, “Once you’ve entered the hall, you’re family. Don’t call him Sha Liang anymore.” Er Batou asked, “Then what should we call him?” Zu Ye looked at me with a smile and said, “His head’s so big, just call him Da Tou.” From then on, everyone called me Da Tou. Er Batou often said to me, “Your head’s pretty big, but it’s just full of mush.”

Zu Ye would sometimes ask me, “Da Tou, do you regret following me?”

Actually, over the years, I’ve thought about this question over and over again—do I regret it or not? Zu Ye clearly knew I wasn’t cut out to be an A’Bao, yet he let me join the hall…

I was originally a waiter at a teahouse. If Zu Ye hadn’t frequented the place for tea, I would never have met him. I always reserved his table for him, and I’d wipe the table and chairs spotless before he arrived. When he dropped his fan, I’d pick it up for him. When he lost a copper coin, I’d chase after him to return it. Over time, Zu Ye stopped treating me like an outsider. Every time he came, he’d call out loudly, “Sha Liang, brew me a pot of Dragon Well tea!”

I’d respond happily, “Coming!”

I was fat and looked rather foolish, so everyone at the teahouse called me “Sha Liang.” But whether I was actually foolish or not, I knew in my heart. For a common person like me in those chaotic times of war and disorder, acting a bit foolish wasn’t a bad thing.

Once, while drinking tea, Zu Ye asked me, “Sha Liang, who do you have at home?”

I said, “Master, I only had a mother who passed away from illness earlier this year, and a younger sister who married far away. I’m the only bachelor left at home.”

Zu Ye asked again, “So how much money can you make here in a year?”

I smiled and said, “Master, I don’t have any real skills, I can only run errands. Our shopkeeper is generous—as long as he gives me food to eat, I’m satisfied. How would I dare ask for money?”

Zu Ye was silent for a moment, then said, “After closing time, come find me at this address. I have something to tell you.” He then left me a slip of paper with his address on it. I was fortunate to have attended a private school for a few days, otherwise I wouldn’t even be able to read.

After the teahouse closed, I took the slip of paper and went to Zu Ye’s place. My heart was pounding the whole way. I didn’t know what this master wanted with me, but my instinct told me it probably wasn’t a bad thing.

After turning several corners, I finally arrived at Zu Ye’s residence—a very large estate. The main gate faced south. After entering, there was a large jujube tree, with a large water vat in the middle of the passageway. There were side rooms on both the east and west, and further in was the main hall. Upon entering the main hall, there was a hall shrine with a hanging scroll in the center—an imitation Song Dynasty ink painting of an immortal. On either side was a couplet. The upper line read: “The benevolent heart does benevolent and righteous deeds.” The lower line read: “Preserve harmony, preserve goodness, preserve great peace.” I later learned that Zu Ye had written this couplet himself.

When I arrived at Zu Ye’s place, he was holding a meeting with a group of people—about six or seven of them. I had just arrived when the meeting ended. After the butler led me inside, Zu Ye waved his hand and all those people left.

Zu Ye invited me into his study and said, “Sha Liang, sit down. Let me chat with you.” He then ordered his servants to bring tea.

I was just a waiter—normally others sat while I stood, others drank while I watched. When he told me to sit, I didn’t even know where to put my rear end.

Zu Ye could see I was very nervous and said with a smile, “Don’t be so stiff, don’t be so stiff. Sit down, sit down.”

I sat down trembling. After a short while, a female servant in her fifties brought a pot of tea and poured two cups. She handed one cup to Zu Ye and said, “Master, please.” Then she handed me a cup. I quickly stood up and nervously accepted the teacup. Zu Ye laughed, “Sit down, sit down. Today you’re my guest.”

I felt the muscles in my face tighten as I smiled and said, “Thank you, Master, thank you, Master.” I took a sip—barely avoided scalding myself to death. This made Zu Ye and the old woman chuckle.

Zu Ye said to the servant, “You may go.” The old woman glanced at me and left.

Only Zu Ye and I remained in the room. I turned the teacup in my hands, not knowing what to say.

Zu Ye took a sip of tea and said, “Sha Liang, do you plan to be a waiter for the rest of your life?”

I said, “Master, I don’t have any other skills. I can only run errands. Being able to earn a meal is already good enough.”

Zu Ye said, “You keep calling me master, master—haven’t you ever thought about becoming a master yourself?”

When I heard this, I nearly dropped my teacup. I hastily said, “Master, what kind of talk is that! I was born to serve people like you, Master. My fate is lowly—how could I have your kind of fortune!”

Zu Ye’s face darkened. “Spineless creature!”

I froze. This wasn’t about having spine or not—who wouldn’t want to be a master and have people serve them? But you need to have the ability for that! I lowered my head and said nothing.

Zu Ye sighed and said, “Sha Liang, do you know? I used to be worse off than you.”

“Huh?” I raised my head, not understanding what he meant.

Zu Ye said, “Come with me.”

Zu Ye stood up and I followed behind him. I followed him out of the main hall and into the west wing. As soon as I entered, I got a fright—inside were memorial tablets for the dead. I looked carefully and saw “Deceased Father,” “Deceased Mother,” as well as eldest brother, younger sister, younger brother. I was confused and stared blankly at Zu Ye.

Zu Ye lit a stick of incense, inserted it into the incense burner, and told me about those old events.

Zu Ye’s ancestors had been members of the Tiandihui and participated in the Taiping Army in the late Qing Dynasty. By his father’s generation, their days were fairly comfortable. After the Xinhai Revolution, his father even held an important position in the Nationalist government. Later, he participated in the “Constitutional Protection Movement.” As a result, because he firmly supported Sun Yat-sen’s advocacy of armed constitutional protection, he was assassinated by Guangxi warlords in the army. To eliminate the roots, several executioners also broke into Zu Ye’s home at night and killed the entire family.

Zu Ye’s grandfather and grandmother were stabbed to death before they could even make a sound. His mother and older brother fought desperately with those killers. Mother’s belly was stabbed numerous times, her intestines spilling out. She crawled on the ground, clutching the killer’s legs tightly, and shouted to Zu Ye, “Quickly, take your brother and sister and run!” Zu Ye fled in panic with his younger brother and sister, running dozens of miles overnight before stopping. Afterward, Zu Ye held his younger siblings in his arms, and all three cried bitterly.

That year, Zu Ye was 15, his younger brother was 10, his younger sister was 8, and his deceased older brother was 18. From then on, the three surviving siblings became homeless, begging for survival.

One day, the three were begging on the street when several men approached them. One man wearing dark glasses handed them a few flatbreads, then said, “Kid, I have some odd jobs. Help me out, and I’ll pay you when you’re done.”

Zu Ye looked at them, then at his hungry siblings, and said, “What kind of work?”

The man said, “Just washing dishes and wiping tables. Not tiring.”

Zu Ye thought for a moment and said, “Alright. Where?”

The man said, “Very close. Follow me.”

At this point in the story, Zu Ye’s eyes reddened. He let out a long sigh and said to me, “If… if I could live that moment over again, I’d rather have let my brother and little sister starve to death than take them to that place.”

Those men led Zu Ye and his siblings through twists and turns to a deserted, dilapidated house. As soon as they entered, all three had handkerchiefs pressed over their noses, and then they knew nothing more.

It turned out those men were all local A’Baos. To set up a scheme, they didn’t hesitate to create a massacre that destroyed all humanity. That year, there was a severe drought in the area, and the crops were nearly dead from dryness. The A’Baos spread rumors that this was divine retribution for the local people not doing good deeds. They said there would soon be “immortal children appearing in dreams,” that everyone should pay attention while sleeping, and that the “Two Immortals of Harmony and Union” would choose a date to reveal their physical forms in the river, performing “corpses against the current” to warn the world.

After the A’Baos spread these rumors, they began looking for scapegoats. They didn’t dare easily touch children from normal families, but they happened to encounter three begging children. These street children could be killed without anyone looking for them, so they used knockout drugs to render all three siblings unconscious. Because Zu Ye’s younger brother and sister were close in age and similar in height, they strangled them both to death, dressed them in matching red and green clothes to make them look like the “Two Immortals of Harmony and Union,” tied bamboo rafts to the backs of the corpses, and soaked them in the water. A long rope was attached beneath the rafts, extending all the way upstream. The next day at noon, two A’Baos slowly pulled the rope from upstream while other A’Baos made a commotion by the river, attracting many onlookers.

Because the river was quite wide and the distance was far, no one could see the trick clearly. Thus, the two corpses of a boy and girl drifted against the current. The A’Baos shouted loudly, “Corpses against the current! Corpses against the current!” Seeing that many people had gathered on the shore, they sent a few men into the river who secretly cut the rope with scissors and carried the two small corpses ashore.

The A’Baos said these two “immortal children” were incarnations of the “Two Immortals of Harmony and Union,” that they had repeatedly appeared in many people’s dreams, and now they were manifesting to teach by example—everyone must do more good deeds!

At this point, people deeply believed the A’Baos’ words. The A’Baos poured diesel oil on the two corpses and set them on fire. After burning them, they mixed the ashes with mud and molded them into two clay dolls, which they enshrined in a temple. From then on, local people flocked to burn incense and donate money to the “Two Immortals of Harmony and Union,” and this A’Bao gang made a fortune.

Because Zu Ye had grown too big, he was useless to them. After they drugged him, they strangled him with a rope for a while. The A’Baos thought they had strangled him to death, so they threw him on the back mountain to feed the wolves. But that night there was a torrential downpour, the wolf pack didn’t appear, and Zu Ye miraculously survived. He didn’t die.

When Zu Ye woke up, his younger siblings were gone, and he didn’t know where he was. In the pouring rain, he frantically shouted, “Little brother! Little sister!”

He shouted until his throat was raw. The sound of rain and rumbling thunder drowned out everything. Standing in the heavy rain, Zu Ye cried in despair.

After dawn, Zu Ye made his way back to the city. Afraid of running into those men again, he stole some clothes that were hanging out to dry at the edge of town and disguised himself as a child from a respectable family. As soon as he entered the city, he heard people everywhere discussing the immortal children and corpses against the current. He immediately had an ominous premonition. He followed the crowd to the riverbank. At that moment, several A’Baos had already pulled the corpses ashore. When Zu Ye looked, they were indeed his younger brother and sister. His heart felt as if it had been stabbed with a knife—the pain nearly made him faint.

He wanted nothing more than to run over and bite those A’Baos to death. He wanted even more to throw himself on his siblings’ corpses and have a good cry. But he held back. His heart was broken, but his consciousness wasn’t broken. If he wanted revenge, he had to endure. Otherwise, it would only be a dead end. This wasn’t something an ordinary person could do, but the 15-year-old Zu Ye did it. That’s why he became Zu Ye.

Zu Ye watched as his younger siblings’ bodies burned. He bit his lip until it bled. He smelled the charred flesh of his brother and sister. He silently watched everything before him, his eyes blood red.

Suddenly, one A’Bao in the crowd spotted Zu Ye and gave the other A’Baos a look. Two A’Baos rushed toward Zu Ye. Seeing something was wrong, Zu Ye turned and ran. The two A’Baos chased for a while but lost him. Zu Ye found a corner and hid.

After sunset, when Zu Ye returned to the riverbank, the crowd had dispersed. Zu Ye had a good cry. In less than a month, his family had been destroyed and everyone killed—something he never could have imagined in his dreams. For the first time, he thought about suicide. Dead, dead—death would end everything. But thinking of his mother’s heart-wrenching cries and his siblings’ helpless eyes, he kept telling himself: I can’t die. If I die, it’s all over. I must get revenge, I must!

For some time afterward, Zu Ye begged secretly while searching for traces of those A’Baos. He also disguised himself as a child from a respectable family and quietly followed some old ladies, like a grandson accompanying his grandmother to burn incense, sneaking into that temple. Looking at the clay dolls on the altar made from his younger siblings’ ashes, Zu Ye suppressed his grief. While burning incense, he silently said in his heart, “Little brother, little sister, rest assured—I will definitely avenge you!”

Zu Ye knew the temple’s abbot was in league with those A’Baos, so he didn’t dare stay long. After burning incense, he left. He had to first find those A’Baos, then figure out how to kill them. He staked out the temple for several days but found no clues. Thinking it over, he suddenly remembered that dilapidated house. He and his siblings had been drugged there, but before being drugged they were conscious. Zu Ye had an extraordinarily strong memory and remembered the route. He planned to return to that house and stake it out to see if he could find any clues. So one night, after eating his fill, he made his way back to that house.

It was a courtyard among some old residences in the suburbs. The walls had partially collapsed. Zu Ye crouched outside the wall and listened for a while—no movement. He barked like a dog twice—still no movement. So he climbed over the wall into the house.

Inside it was pitch black. Zu Ye groped around and found nothing but some broken furniture. He planned to take a nap there that night, then hide in a haystack not far from the house at dawn to keep watch. Just as he was thinking this, suddenly urgent footsteps came from behind the house. Zu Ye’s heart skipped a beat. The footsteps got closer and closer. Zu Ye hurriedly tried to run out but was tripped by something and nearly fell.

By moonlight, Zu Ye saw it was a long poker. A poker was an iron rod that people used to poke stoves at that time, about as thick as a finger. One end had a wooden handle for gripping, while the other end was sharpened to a point so it could poke all the way to the bottom of the stove. Zu Ye grabbed this poker and jumped over the wall to the outside. At that moment, several people had already broken through the main gate of the residence. Zu Ye hid behind the wall and peeked. He saw several men carrying two boxes inside. There seemed to be people groaning inside the boxes.

Those men carried the boxes into the house. One of them took out a flint stone, struck a fire, and lit an oil lamp. Now it was clear—Zu Ye saw those men’s faces. Two of them were the very A’Baos who had lured him and his siblings to this residence that day. At this moment, a leader said to those two A’Baos, “You two guard this place tonight. Don’t just focus on drinking, and be careful these two old geezers don’t escape, or Fourth Master will have your lives!”

Those two A’Baos quickly said, “Second Brother, don’t worry! Second Brother, don’t worry!” Then the leader left with the other A’Baos. The two guards took out a large jug of wine, sat on the ground, and pulled out a package of meat from their clothes, eating and chatting.

Zu Ye’s eyes were fixed on these two A’Baos. He thought to himself, “I must kill you!”

But Zu Ye knew clearly in his heart that if he rushed out rashly now, he definitely couldn’t beat these two strong and robust A’Baos. He had to wait for an opportunity—wait until these two guys had drunk enough and were dizzy, then he could make his move.

Zu Ye stared motionless for over an hour. Seeing that they had almost finished the wine and their tongues were no longer working properly, he gripped that long poker, slowly climbed over the wall, and quietly walked toward the house. Just as he reached the middle of the courtyard, one A’Bao suddenly stood up. Zu Ye was startled and quickly crouched behind a pomegranate tree at the edge of the courtyard. That A’Bao staggered over, mumbling, “Take… take a piss…”

The A’Bao walked to the pomegranate tree, pulled out his penis, thrust his lower abdomen forward, and began pissing with a splash. While pissing, he sang, “The young widow goes to the grave, the light rain drizzles…”

Zu Ye crouched behind the tree, and urine splashed through the branches onto his face. Zu Ye had planned to strike from behind after the man finished pissing and turned to walk back, but this guy’s piss lasted a very long time, and urine kept splashing onto Zu Ye’s face. Zu Ye became furious and couldn’t hold back anymore. He grabbed the poker and suddenly stabbed it toward the guy’s lower abdomen. This stab used all of Zu Ye’s strength and happened to pierce the guy’s bladder. Immediately there was no more urine from his penis—a big hole opened in his belly, and both urine and blood spurted out from this hole.

The guy let out an “Ah!” of agony and fell to the ground clutching his lower abdomen, rolling around. Zu Ye stood up and immediately thrust the poker into his throat. The throat was pierced through, blood gushed out, and though the guy wanted to shout, he couldn’t make a sound. Soon he stopped moving.

The other A’Bao heard movement outside and frantically shouted from inside the house, “What… what’s going on? Don’t… don’t scare me!”

Zu Ye rushed in swiftly and knocked the man down with a knee strike. Before the other could react to what was happening, Zu Ye raised the poker high and stabbed it into his throat. This time he used even more force—the poker pierced out through the back of the neck. The guy kicked his legs a few times and soon stopped moving too.

After Zu Ye killed these two men, the groaning sounds from inside the boxes grew louder.

Risking Life to Save His Mortal Enemy

Zu Ye approached to look. The boxes were nailed together with thick wooden boards. Zu Ye inserted the poker into a crack between the boards and exerted great effort to pry the boxes open. Inside were two people bound hand and foot. They were tied with expert technique—both hands bound together, both feet bound together, then a rope drawn through the middle to pull the hands and feet forcefully together. This way, all four “limbs” were bound together, and the entire person was like a shrimp ball, hunched and lying inside, unable to move at all.

Zu Ye pulled out the cloth wads stuffed in their mouths. After a bout of coughing, the two people expressed their endless gratitude. “Thank you, young brother, for saving our lives!” By lamplight, Zu Ye looked at these two men. One appeared to be about fifty years old with a goatee, while the other was probably sixty or seventy years old, his face full of wrinkles but clean-shaven.

Zu Ye began helping them untie the ropes. They were all dead knots that couldn’t even be bitten open with teeth. Finally, the older man said, “Young brother, take off the lamp shade from this oil lamp, bring the lamp over, and burn them directly.”

Zu Ye slapped his forehead. “Right! Why didn’t I think of that!” He quickly fetched the oil lamp. The two men worked together through the gaps, and soon the ropes were burned through. Suddenly, Zu Ye’s scalp tingled—how come this old man’s voice just now wasn’t like a normal person’s? It had an eerie, strange quality to it.

The fifty-year-old man now also spoke. “Young brother, may I ask who you are? How did you come to be here to rescue us?”

This question stumped Zu Ye. He thought to himself: I originally came here to find clues and seek revenge on my enemies. I didn’t expect to incidentally save two people. How should I explain this? Should I tell them the truth? I can’t! Maybe they’re in league with those people—it might create more trouble if I do!

The drastic changes in his family had hit Zu Ye too hard. He could no longer trust anyone! Zu Ye smiled and said, “I… I’m actually a fugitive wandering the rivers and lakes. Last year, my family had a conflict with the land bailiff over paying land rent. In anger, I struck that black-hearted bailiff and have been wandering far from home ever since. Just now I happened to pass by here and saw several people carrying you into this residence. I’m the kind of person who can’t stand injustice. Moreover, saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, so I couldn’t resist and took the risk to save you! Actually, it’s nothing—seeing injustice and helping out, that’s what all righteous heroes do.”

After hearing this, the two men looked at each other in bewilderment. After quite a while, they said, “Young brother, so young yet with such courage and chivalrous heart—we admire you!”

The fifty-year-old man clasped his fists and said, “I am Zhou Zhenlong.” Then pointing to the sixty-seventy-year-old man, he said, “This is my master, Zhang Dancheng. May I ask young brother’s honored name?”

Zu Ye also clasped his fists and replied, “You’re too kind. My surname is Wang, given name Yixing—meaning ‘wholehearted cultivation.'”

Zhang Dancheng nodded. “Mm, good name, good name!”

Zu Ye’s scalp tingled again, and goosebumps rose all over. This old man’s voice was too peculiar—thin and reedy, like a bleating sheep, making one’s whole body feel cold.

In fact, Zu Ye was lying. Ever since his father had offended the warlords and suffered the massacre of his family, he never dared reveal his real name again. This name was something he made up on the spot, and its meaning only he himself understood: Yixing—one person walking alone and lonely in the world.

Zhou Zhenlong said, “This place is not safe to stay long. Let’s go somewhere else to talk!”

Zu Ye hadn’t wanted to go with them, but thinking that these two men could be mixed up with those villains, either they were enemies or they were in league with them—in any case, there was a connection. Why not take the opportunity to fish for information? On that day when the scheme was set up on the street to trick Zu Ye and his siblings away, there had been three villains total. Now two were dead, but there was still one wearing glasses who hadn’t been found.

So the three men hurriedly left under the moonlight. They waded across a small river, turned through several alleys, and came before a residence. Zhou Zhenlong took out a key and opened the door. At this time, dawn was just breaking. After the three entered the house, Zhou Zhenlong didn’t rush to have everyone sit down. Instead, he lifted the mat on the kang. Underneath was exposed a wooden board. He then lifted the board to reveal a hole with a ladder standing upright inside. Zhou Zhenlong said to Zhang Dancheng, “Master, let’s go down to talk.”

Zhang Dancheng nodded. Zhou Zhenlong supported him and let him go down first. Then he turned to Zu Ye and said, “Brother Wang, please.”

Zu Ye stared in astonishment at this large hole in the kang, completely dumbfounded. He thought, what kind of mechanism is this—digging a big hole in the middle of the kang? Then he also bent down and descended. Zhou Zhenlong was the last to go down. After descending, he used his hands to support himself and put the wooden board and kang mat back in place.

After Zhou Zhenlong lit the oil lamp, Zu Ye could see clearly. This was a cellar supported by four pillars with a low table in the middle. On the right side was a dark tunnel extending inward—who knew where it led.

After the three sat down, Zhang Dancheng spoke again. “Brother Wang’s life-saving grace—this old one has no way to repay. Da Batou, in a moment, take out more gold goods and ask Brother Wang to accept them with a smile.”

Zhou Zhenlong nodded and said, “Yes.”

This was the first time Zu Ye heard the term “Batou.” Zu Ye’s mind was focused on finding clues and getting revenge. He wanted to extract some information from these two men and didn’t care much about the gold. So he said, “A real man living between heaven and earth should naturally be true-hearted. If Mr. Zhang sends me off like this, it would really be too much!”

Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong looked at each other again. They were bewildered by this young man before them. “Then… you… how should we repay you?”

Zu Ye smiled. “That I could meet you two gentlemen is also fate. In other words, it’s also that you two were not meant to die—good people have their own heavenly protection. I merely played the role of savior. If you two gentlemen want to give thanks, thank Heaven.”

The two men froze, then burst into hearty laughter, laughing until tears came out. They thought this young man before them was too endearing.

Hearing Zhang Dancheng’s threadlike, shrill laughter, Zu Ye got another layer of goosebumps.

Zu Ye couldn’t wait any longer and said, “Why were you two gentlemen bound by those thieves? Could it be you offended them?”

The two men’s laughter ceased. Zhou Zhenlong said, “We climbed the incense!”

Zu Ye didn’t understand what this meant. “What incense?”

Zhou Zhenlong glanced at Zhang Dancheng, silently asking whether he could continue. Zhang Dancheng nodded. “Brother Wang is our lifesaver. He gave us our lives. But—speak—without—concern.”

When Zhang Dancheng spoke those last four words, he drew out the sounds long and slow. Zu Ye frowned—he really wanted to plug his ears. This ghostly voice was truly too grating.

Zhang Dancheng noticed this detail and smiled slightly. “Young brother, do you find my voice unpleasant? Neither human nor ghost?”

Seeing he’d been found out, Zu Ye smiled and said, “No, no, I’m just not quite used to it.”

Zhang Dancheng curled his lip and said, “You’re my lifesaver. If it were anyone else, I’d have already had them slapped! Hmph, though no one else would dare anyway.” After a moment of silence, he continued, “Young brother, do you know why I sound so eerie and strange, neither male nor female?”

Zu Ye said quietly, “I don’t know.”

Zhang Dancheng said, “Because I have one testicle.”

When Zu Ye heard this, his ears nearly exploded. “One testicle” was a vulgar insult in the local area. How could this old gentleman say such a thing about himself?

As Zhang Dancheng narrated his story, Zu Ye gradually understood what was really going on. It turned out they were a gang of swindlers called the “Jiang Xiang Sect,” and this Zhang Dancheng was the local leader, also known as the “Great Master Father.” In his early years, while running scams, he swindled a Manchu prince in the palace. It was a major operation—Zhang Dancheng had set it up for three years. That prince had always treated Zhang Dancheng as a close friend, without any suspicion. Unexpectedly, when the net was finally being drawn in, someone in the middle got greedy and “turned traitor,” and the scam was exposed. After Zhang Dancheng was captured by that prince, he was prepared to die. Unexpectedly, the prince still valued their old relationship and said, “Death can be avoided, but punishment cannot escape. Since you have such audacity, I’ll just dampen your sharp edge a bit.”

As a result, Zhang Dancheng was held down by several Qing soldiers, and a young eunuch used a knife to cut off one of his testicles. Blood flowed all over the ground at the time, and he nearly died. From then on, Zhang Dancheng became a literal “one testicle,” and his speech gradually became eerie and strange. At that time it was still the Qing Dynasty’s reign, so there was no choice but to return to the countryside and live under an assumed name. After the Xinhai Revolution, when the Qing government was overthrown, Zhang Dancheng emerged again. He set off firecrackers for three days in celebration, then reorganized his team and continued swindling.

Zhang Dancheng’s team wasn’t large—he had four Batous under him. Zhou Zhenlong was Da Batou, who had started out with Zhang Dancheng. The other three were all discovered and cultivated gradually later. This time, those three Batous had joined hands to “climb the incense.” Zhang Dancheng wasn’t unaware of the scent in the air, he just acted too late.

According to Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong’s description, among those three Batous, the one who led the rebellion was Si Batou. This fellow had been dissatisfied for a long time, complaining that Zhang Dancheng wasn’t ruthless enough and that the hall’s silver was getting scarcer. Since last year, he’d been urging Zhang Dancheng to “kill the rich!”

“Killing the rich” was a major taboo in the A’Bao circle. Violating this rule would result in collective pursuit by the A’Bao community. So-called “killing the rich” meant “cutting” a fat and wealthy mark, directly robbing them of all their money.

Swindling was different from robbery and theft—it emphasized a steady stream of income. Otherwise, it would cut off the hall’s source of wealth. Even with mortal enemies, if you “cut” someone without asking for permission first, you’d receive the most severe punishment. So unless absolutely necessary, you absolutely could not “kill the rich.”

Zhang Dancheng understood that Si Batou’s talk of “killing the rich” for the hall’s benefit was all an excuse. Ultimately, it was because he was bewitched by lust. Zhang Dancheng had long seen through his petty schemes. Last year, while making a house call to adjust the feng shui for a wealthy man, Si Batou had taken a fancy to the man’s beautiful wife. After thinking it over, he couldn’t come up with any good way to get this beauty for himself, so he used the hall’s tight finances as an excuse to repeatedly request “killing the rich.” Once that wealthy man was killed, he’d have his chance.

During this period, Zhang Dancheng felt that Si Batou was becoming increasingly off. He was just about to discuss countermeasures with Zhou Zhenlong when those men joined forces with the other two Batous and struck first. They tied you up but didn’t kill you first. They made you watch helplessly as he embraced the beauty and “ascended to the throne,” and only then would they kill you, making you die in shame—that was satisfying!

Speaking of this, Zhang Dancheng gnashed his teeth in hatred, cursing continuously!

Zu Ye completely understood now. It turned out to be internal strife. Zu Ye asked, “Then the immortal children appearing in dreams and corpses against the current a few days ago…”

Zhou Zhenlong chuckled, “What immortal children in dreams? It was all fake, all a scheme we set up. This scheme was implemented by Si Batou. It was also his smokescreen—he performed well before the rebellion, and both my master and I were lulled into complacency.”

Zu Ye’s body trembled, and his heart ached faintly, but then he regained his composure. He had the clues now—Zhang Dancheng was the mastermind, and among the several Batous who rebelled under him, there must be the murderer who killed his younger siblings. Although Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong hadn’t personally done it, they were also involved. Zu Ye’s mind raced: Should I kill these two people I just saved? Right now I have no weapons, and fighting these two I’m probably no match… I can’t kill them! If I kill them, I won’t be able to find that Batou who murdered my siblings. I need to use their hands first to kill that Batou, and then deal with them later!

Various ideas collided in Zu Ye’s mind like meteors. Zu Ye fell into deep thought.

Seeing Zu Ye in a daze, Zhang Dancheng asked, “Brother Wang, what’s wrong?”

Zu Ye hurriedly replied, “This… this Si Batou is truly despicable! I’m also angry on your behalf!”

Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong looked at each other. Zhang Dancheng said, “Young brother, if you save someone, save them completely; if you escort a Buddha, escort them all the way to the west. Now the two of us can’t show our faces. Most of the hall’s brothers have been turned against us. We can’t kill our way back on our own. I’ll immediately write a letter. You take a ferry to Shanghai and deliver it to a person called Ninth Master. I’ll tell you the specific address, and he’ll help me. I’m troubling you, brother!”

At the time, Zu Ye didn’t know who Ninth Master was. Later, history answered him—Ninth Master was the famous Jianghuai hero Wang Yaqiao, who shocked China and the world. Three days later, Zu Ye met Wang Yaqiao for the first time. Zu Ye was only 15 years old at the time, while Wang Yaqiao was 31. Wang Yaqiao patted Zu Ye’s head and said, “Kid, good courage, good spirit!”

Wang Yaqiao was Zhang Dancheng’s old friend and valued jianghu loyalty above all else. He quickly dispatched more than a dozen armed subordinates to rush back with Zu Ye. After those killers secretly consulted with Zhang Dancheng and Zhou Zhenlong, they decided to launch a general assault on the hall on the night of Si Batou’s “enthronement.”

After all, the A’Baos weren’t killers. The few guns the hall had were all Qing government-made imitation German Mauser 1898 rifles, with rotten stocks that always jammed. As a result, more than a dozen killers wielding revolvers climbed over the walls and opened fire. In less than half an hour, some A’Baos were dead, some were wounded, and the rest were all crouching against the wall with their heads in their hands.

Zhang Dancheng gave the order: “We must capture these Batous alive!” He wanted to personally cut down these bastards!

As a result, except for Er Batou who slit his own throat when he saw things going badly, both San Batou and Si Batou were captured alive, tied with ropes, and bound to pillars.

Zu Ye hid behind the crowd and watched. He recognized Si Batou at a glance—he was exactly the person who had tricked him and his siblings on the street that day. Although he wasn’t wearing glasses that night, that profile, that chin, and that large black mole at the corner of his mouth—even if he turned to ash, Zu Ye would recognize him.

Zu Ye’s teeth ground audibly, but he didn’t dare act rashly. He was worried that Si Batou would recognize him. Although they were fighting among themselves, they were still family after all, while he was still an outsider. If Si Batou shouted, “This is the little bastard who escaped!” who knew what variables might appear.

Zhang Dancheng sat in the hall’s courtyard and asked Si Batou, “Do you submit?”

Si Batou threw his head back and laughed loudly, “You eunuch! If you’re going to kill me, just kill me!”

Zhang Dancheng immediately got angry. Technically speaking, a man with one testicle couldn’t be called a eunuch, but he most hated hearing the word “eunuch.” Actually, the reason Si Batou was able to rebel successfully was because he’d been privately spreading the word: “The old man is a eunuch himself, yet he restricts the hall’s brothers from finding women?!” The A’Baos were mostly people driven by greed and lust. Hearing Si Batou’s incitement, they all got excited, their pants bulging, and resolutely followed Si Batou.

Zhang Dancheng waved his hand, “Da Batou, cut out his tongue for me!”

Zhou Zhenlong said “Yes” and came forward with a knife. Actually, cutting out a living person’s tongue was the most difficult. This was different from cutting a pig’s tongue. A pig’s tongue was large and long. Before a pig was slaughtered, it would squeal. After the blood was drained, the pig’s mouth was still half open. You’d remove the pig’s head, pry open the pig’s jaw, hold the pig’s tongue with one hand, and chop with the other hand—then you’d have the tongue. But a living person’s bite force was very strong. Two lackeys used all their strength but still couldn’t pry open Si Batou’s mouth. Finally, Zhou Zhenlong swung an iron rod and smashed Si Batou’s mouth open, knocking out his front teeth. Then two lackeys, one prying the upper jaw and one prying the lower jaw, allowed Zhou Zhenlong to finally cut out half his tongue. Si Batou’s mouth was full of blood, but you could tell he was still cursing, though his voice was already indistinct.

Zhang Dancheng laughed coldly, “Do you submit?”

Si Batou tilted his head, blood flowing continuously, his expression still showing defiance.

Zhang Dancheng became furious. He grabbed a gun, stood up, and aimed it at Si Batou’s head, about to shoot. Zu Ye had been silently watching all this. Thinking that the time for revenge had finally come, he walked toward Zhang Dancheng and said, “Shooting him dead would actually be letting him off easy! Right now he wants to die—he’s hoping you’ll pull the trigger!”

Zhang Dancheng was startled. “Brother, what do you mean?”

Zu Ye’s mind was full of images of his younger siblings. After a moment of silence, he viciously squeezed out a few words: “Light—the—human—candle!”

This shout startled Zhang Dancheng. How could this kid be so ruthless? How could he know that Zu Ye was acting out of hatred!

At this moment, Si Batou had already recognized Zu Ye. He opened his mouth wanting to say something, but his mouth was a bloody mess and he couldn’t say anything clearly. Finally, he shook his head and actually smiled. He accepted his fate.

“Lighting the human candle” and “death by a thousand cuts” were two of the most cruel punishments in ancient times. Death by a thousand cuts meant cutting flesh piece by piece, while lighting the human candle meant soaking a person in an oil vat, then pulling them out, tying them upside down to a pillar with their head down and feet up, and lighting them from the feet. The punished person could watch the flames burn up from the soles of their feet, hear their own skin sizzling and burning, feel their melted flesh dripping onto their face, and finally die in incomparable pain and terror.

Zu Ye wanted to light his human candle because Si Batou had personally killed his younger siblings, then burned them to ash, and mixed the ash into clay to mold clay figures. At this moment, retribution had come, not a bit off.

Soon, Si Batou was stripped naked, doused all over with oil, and tied upside down to a pillar. Due to excessive blood loss, his consciousness was already blurred. Zu Ye placed a torch against his feet, and the flames leaped up immediately. Accompanied by the sizzling sound of burning, his skin began to blister in large bubbles. Si Batou actually started laughing, then made “uh—uh—” sounds, looking very comfortable and ecstatic, as if it wasn’t him being burned.

Everyone was stunned. Zu Ye silently watched the billowing smoke and fire. Suddenly, he picked up a gun and with a bang, shot Si Batou dead. He really couldn’t watch anymore.

Putting down the gun, Zu Ye sighed toward the heavens, saying in his heart, “Little brother, little sister, rest in peace. Your brother can’t possibly kill everyone!”

Suddenly, Zhang Dancheng pointed at Zu Ye and shouted, “Tie this kid up for me.”

The Jiang Xiang Sect: A Branch of the Tiandihui That Robbed the Rich to Help the Poor

Zu Ye was shocked.

Zhou Zhenlong was also baffled. “Master, why is this? He’s our lifesaver.”

Zhang Dancheng still shouted, “Tie him up!”

Zhou Zhenlong didn’t dare disobey. Together with two lackeys, they rushed forward and tied up Zu Ye.

Zhang Dancheng smiled coldly and said to Zu Ye, “We’re neither relatives nor friends, yet you risked your life to save us. You and Si Batou had no grievances or enmity, yet you wanted to light his human candle. Don’t you find this very strange?”

Zu Ye’s heart pounded nervously, but he said nothing.

Zhang Dancheng circled around the tightly bound Zu Ye, then suddenly pointed at Zu Ye’s head and said, “You’re that beggar who escaped!”

Zhou Zhenlong stepped back two paces in fright, saying in a daze, “Is he… is he the kid Si Batou said slipped through the net?”

Zu Ye closed his eyes, thinking: So be it, so be it. Then he said calmly, “Since you’ve seen through me, be quick about it. I can also reunite with my family.”

Zhang Dancheng let out a long sigh. “Not repaying kindness makes one no gentleman; it leaves a name cursed through the ages. I, Zhang Dancheng, have walked the jianghu for decades, surviving by the word ‘righteousness.’ You saved my life. If I kill you, that would be inhumane and unjust. I won’t kill you, but… I also won’t release you!”

Zhang Dancheng knew that this child before him was too ruthless. Releasing him would be like releasing a tiger back to the mountains.

So Zu Ye was imprisoned. In the back courtyard of the hall was an underground cell, specially used to detain A’Baos who had made mistakes.

In the second week after his imprisonment, someone came specifically to guard Zu Ye—a man about fifty years old who was lame. Zu Ye really couldn’t understand why, with so many able-bodied A’Baos in the hall, Zhang Dancheng would send a lame old man.

Later he learned that this lame man was no ordinary person. He’d followed Zhang Dancheng for decades. When Si Batou rebelled, he wasn’t at Zhang Dancheng’s side. After hearing the lackeys come to report, he immediately rushed to the hall, but it was already too late. Outnumbered, after killing several A’Baos, he took advantage of the chaos to climb over the wall and run off on his lame leg. After Zhang Dancheng killed his way back to the hall, he returned.

Though his leg was lame, his skills weren’t. He was considered one of the hall’s first-rate assassins. His skill wasn’t in his legs—the leg had been crippled years ago during a conflict with a gang when protecting Zhang Dancheng. His most formidable skill was “flying nails.” With force channeled through his hands, from over ten meters away, he could drive an iron nail into wood several inches deep. This technique supposedly originated from the “Swallow’s Gate” in the Central Plains region. Later, many rumored versions evolved “flying nails” into “flying knives” because “flying knives” were more spectacular and moving. Actually, in that era, even “flying axes” existed but not “flying knives.” First of all, “flying knives” weren’t something you could just obtain. Before the Industrial Revolution, there was no large-scale blade cutting technology. All flying knives were hand-polished. Making flying knives as thin as cicada wings was both time-consuming and laborious. Even if you managed with great difficulty to make a few handy flying knives, they weren’t very useful in actual combat, because thrown flying knives couldn’t be immediately retrieved. You could kill a few people at most, and then you’d just be waiting to be killed. Moreover, flying knives were generally thrown secretly, and after throwing you’d run. This meant that flying knives that took dozens of days to make would be gone after one battle. Next time you needed them, you’d have to polish them again—totally impractical.

Nails, on the other hand, were easy to obtain, though the nails of that time weren’t the same as today’s nails. Today’s nails are called “foreign nails,” and like “foreign matches” and “foreign oil,” they’re imports that crossed the ocean. Ancient nails were relatively large, all made by blacksmiths, with diameters three to four times that of modern nails. The supply of nails was also quite large. You could carry dozens at a time. For a master with good skill, every shot hit its mark. In one gang fight, you could kill at least a dozen people. Next operation, you’d still load up a bag—no need to worry about tools.

Zu Ye told me that if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, you wouldn’t believe such masters existed in the world. That lame man raised his hand, the iron nail flew out with a “whoosh,” and with a “thunk” it embedded itself in the wooden pillar of the cell door. Zu Ye was shaken, and he also understood why Zhang Dancheng would send such a person to guard him.

“Master said you’re his lifesaver but also his mortal enemy. He told me not to neglect you, but also not to trust you.” On the first day they met, the lame man said this to Zu Ye.

At first, the two were mutually on guard. One sat inside the cell door, one sat outside the cell door, not talking much. Later, after getting familiar with each other, they gradually began to converse.

The lame man’s name was Tu Yiming. He was one of the first batch of disciples after Zhang Dancheng started out. After his leg was crippled, Zhang Dancheng basically stopped assigning him to fieldwork. This leg was broken for Zhang Dancheng’s sake, and Zhang Dancheng swore in front of the hall’s brothers to support him for life. Actually, there was no need for support—Tu Yiming had worked in the hall for so many years and had plenty of silver. He wasn’t short of money.

Zu Ye asked him why he didn’t take the opportunity to leave the hall and go somewhere else to live under an assumed name. Tu Yiming chuckled, “You don’t understand. When a person has mixed in a hall for decades, the hall becomes home. This kind of feeling can’t be exchanged for money. Living, you’re a brother of the hall; dead, you’re a ghost of the hall. I’m used to days together with my brothers. After I was crippled, although I no longer do fieldwork, I’m still essential for behind-the-scenes planning and scheming. I’m someone who can’t stay idle, and I’m even more unwilling to freeload. You just happened to come along, and Master asked me to guard you, saying you’re a dangerous person.”

Zu Ye smiled bitterly to himself. For some time afterward, Zu Ye lived fairly comfortably. Every day he had three meals with meat, and on the first and fifteenth of each month, he could even drink a couple of sips of rice wine. Zhang Dancheng’s move was too brilliant—time could smooth over everything. The rage and depression in Zu Ye’s heart gradually began to diminish. At night, Zu Ye often talked to himself. He reminded himself to remember the hatred: Although his younger siblings weren’t killed by Zhang Dancheng’s own hands, he was the hall’s leader… If I hadn’t saved them back then… But he hasn’t killed me now… Every night, Zu Ye would fall asleep with these unresolved knots. In his dreams, he often returned to the past, back to his father and mother’s side, the whole family talking and laughing. When he woke up, the room was empty, and he’d be in a daze again.

Zu Ye had also thought about crashing into the wall corner and being done with it, but then he couldn’t figure out why he should die. His family was already destroyed—shouldn’t he continue the family line? He’d also thought about a hunger strike, but why should he go on a hunger strike? Could he not eat his enemy’s food? Only by eating his fill could he stay alive. Only by staying alive could he get out. Only by getting out could he get revenge. Not only should he eat, he should eat well!

Every ten days to two weeks, Zu Ye would come out of the dungeon wearing shackles to get some air. Tu Yiming would sit in the courtyard watching him, iron nails hidden in his sleeves. Sometimes Zu Ye would say, “You don’t need to be nervous. I won’t run.”

Whenever this happened, Tu Yiming would smile and say, “Others wouldn’t, but you would. At fifteen you dared to kill two people and light one person’s human candle. If I’m not careful, I won’t even know how I died.”

Actually, Tu Yiming genuinely liked Zu Ye from the bottom of his heart. He often said to Zu Ye, “Kid, if you weren’t our enemy, we’d definitely become good brothers. You shouldn’t spend all day thinking about revenge either. To speak fairly, when Master set up that scheme, he didn’t know those were your younger siblings. Si Batou just happened to run into you while wandering the streets…”

“Don’t mention this again!” Zu Ye interrupted him.

“Even if you don’t want me to mention it, I’ll mention it. I’m telling you, Master already sent people to the temple long ago to bring back the clay figures made from your siblings’ remains. He bought two large coffins, buried them, erected tombstones, and sends people to burn paper money every month. Right now the hall’s brothers all advocate killing you, but Master just won’t agree…”

“Stop talking! You lame man!” Zu Ye cursed.

Tu Yiming chuckled, “You little brat, if someone talked to me like this on the street, I’d seal his throat with one dart.”

Zu Ye couldn’t get angry at this man. “How long does Zhang Dancheng plan to keep me locked up?”

Tu Yiming shook his head. “Hard to say. Maybe a few years, maybe a dozen years, maybe decades. As long as Master is alive—even if he dies, you still won’t be released. You’re the enemy of our entire hall. If you get out, we can’t survive. So I estimate you’ll die of old age here. Isn’t that pretty good? You have food and drink. When you grow up a bit more, Master might even find you a girl… Haha…”

Zu Ye felt confused. Was this how his life would be?

Days passed one by one. Zu Ye had made up his mind to stay alive. Every day after eating his fill, he’d stretch his arms and kick his legs in the cell, sometimes even doing handstands to train his strength and endurance. When Tu Yiming was bored, he’d go up and sit in the courtyard, driving iron nails one by one into the big tree, then limping over to pull them out, limping back, driving them in again, going over again, pulling them out again.

Once, Zu Ye said to Tu Yiming, “Hey, how about you teach me how to throw iron nails?”

Tu Yiming narrowed his eyes and smiled, “You think I’ve gone senile? If I teach you, one day you’ll nail me in the head with one. Am I looking for death?”

Zu Ye also laughed, “Measuring a gentleman’s heart with a petty person’s ruler!”

People are emotional creatures. Over time, feelings develop and mutual wariness diminishes. Once, after Tu Yiming arrived, he sighed repeatedly. Zu Ye took the opportunity to ask, “What’s wrong?”

Tu Yiming said, “Master lost his temper! The scheme almost got exposed! These bastards are too greedy!”

Zu Ye smiled, “Tell me about it.”

Tu Yiming glanced at Zu Ye. Zu Ye smiled again, “I’m already part of the hall anyway, and I can’t run away. Whatever I hear will rot in my stomach. No need to be so nervous, right?”

Tu Yiming let out a long sigh, “So be it. Today’s A’Bao ranks are different from before…”

Zu Ye asked, “How are they different? Aren’t they all swindlers?”

Tu Yiming shook his head, “They’ve lost the Way, lost the Way.”

Zu Ye said, “What Way do swindlers have?”

Tu Yiming’s face darkened, “What do you know! We of the ‘Jiang Xiang Sect’ take Heaven as father first, Earth as mother second. Cross the bridge with honor and loyalty, die under the blade without honor or loyalty. Rob the rich to help the poor with Heaven as witness, greed for wealth and lust brings Heaven’s retribution! You ask what Way swindlers have? Master knows full well you’ll kill him, yet he doesn’t kill you—instead he keeps you fed. That is the Way!”

Zu Ye was stunned and immediately said, “Then is killing people also the Way?”

Tu Yiming said, “Killing bad people is the Way. Killing good people is losing the Way.”

Zu Ye thought for a moment, “What about killing innocent people?”

Tu Yiming knew Zu Ye was thinking of his younger siblings again. He lowered his head for a moment and said, “That is losing the Way. Sometimes people have difficulty controlling themselves. For the hall’s benefit, sometimes you can’t worry about so much…”

When Zu Ye heard this, he became furious, “Can’t worry? Can’t worry so you indiscriminately kill the innocent? They were just children, they understood nothing, they had no grudge against you!”

Tu Yiming also got angry, “Who knew they were your younger siblings? Look at how many beggars are on the streets! If they don’t starve to death, they freeze to death—sooner or later they all die! Right now, tonight, how many beggars will freeze to death, do you know? Can you manage them all? This is a world that eats people! If the A’Baos don’t eat them, the world will eat them!”

Zu Ye said coldly, “This is your Way?”

Tu Yiming sighed and said, “You think Master doesn’t feel remorse? Do you know how much silver the hall gives out each year to help the poor? Do you know how many doses of medicine Master sends out each year? Do you know that people for miles around consider Master a living Bodhisattva? A few beggars’ lives in exchange for a large group of people being fed and clothed—isn’t that worth it?”

Zu Ye said, “What if the dead were your daughter or your son?”

Tu Yiming fell silent.

Zu Ye said, “They were all born of fathers and mothers, all the flesh of their parents’ hearts.”

Tu Yiming said, “You don’t know—Master is already good. Look at the several halls in other provinces, what have they become? Swindling wealth and sex, burning, killing, raping, pillaging, committing all evils, beasts!”

Zu Ye said, “You’re not much different from beasts.”

Tu Yiming was furious, “You…” His right hand lifted.

Zu Ye said, “Going to hit me? Beast! You’re just a beast! Beast!”

Tu Yiming looked at Zu Ye and silently retracted the iron nail in his hand back into his sleeve, “I won’t lower myself to your level!”

Both fell silent. After a long while, Tu Yiming said, “If you want to hate, then hate, but I’ll tell you, true A’Baos are not beasts! Years ago, when Grandmaster Fang Zhaoyu, one of the Five Ancestors of the Hongmen, founded the ‘Jiang Xiang Sect,’ he echoed heroes from all walks of life, robbed the rich to help the poor, opposed the Qing to restore the Ming. The common people all secretly cheered! After Grandmaster passed away, disciples of the four great houses—Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li—all strictly followed their master’s teachings, harbored kind thoughts, didn’t covet wealth or lust, punished evil and promoted good, robbed the rich to help the poor.”

Zu Ye fell silent. What he said was all true, because Zu Ye’s ancestors were also part of the Tiandihui. The Tiandihui was the Hongmen. When Zu Ye was small, his grandfather often told him stories of the Tiandihui opposing the Qing to restore the Ming. It was just that this “Jiang Xiang Sect” branch had gradually drifted away from the Tiandihui, so his grandfather rarely mentioned it.

Seeing Zu Ye wasn’t speaking, Tu Yiming didn’t know what he was thinking, “Why aren’t you talking?”

Zu Ye thought for a long time and said with a heavy heart, “Actually… my ancestors were also part of the Tiandihui…”

This statement was like a thunderclap, making Tu Yiming’s body shake. In his eyes, Zu Ye was just a beggar of unknown origins. Previously, Zhang Dancheng had asked him to inquire about Zu Ye’s real name and background, but Zu Ye wouldn’t say, and they had no way to force him. Later they simply stopped asking. Who would have thought they came from the same origin!

Feudal society placed the greatest importance on tracing ancestry. Tu Yiming quickly pressed for detailed information. Zu Ye explained methodically, talking about how his ancestors opposed the Qing to restore the Ming, later joined the Taiping Army, and so on. He just didn’t mention his father’s affairs.

This was enough to leave Tu Yiming dumbfounded. He timidly asked, “Kid, do you know what character your generation holds? Or do you know what character your father held?”

What he meant by “what character” referred to the fixed character in each person’s name according to the feudal family genealogy, usually the middle character. This character directly reflected a person’s generational rank. These characters were established by the earliest ancestors and set in a fixed order, passed down generation by generation. For example, if someone surnamed Zhang belonged to the “Yun” character generation, then he and his brothers would all be called Zhang Yun-something, like Zhang Yunshan, Zhang Yunteng, Zhang Yunlie, etc. If the next generation was the “Qing” character, then their children’s middle character would be “Qing,” like Zhang Qingwen, Zhang Qingcai, etc. People of the same clan could tell at a glance from the name who had higher or lower generational rank.

Generational rank was the foundation of the ethical code. The Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues were the ideological cornerstone of feudal society, so disrupting generational rank was a great offense. Beating or cursing elders, killing elders, or having illicit relations with elders were unforgivable grave crimes.

Zu Ye remembered the character for his generation. He held the “Guan” character, and his father held the “Lin” character. Zu Ye told the truth. This revelation was serious—Tu Yiming’s legs went weak, and he scrambled away on all fours to report to Zhang Dancheng.

Zu Ye Enters the Way

After hearing this, Zhang Dancheng was greatly shocked. He quickly brought out the Tiandihui genealogy to check. Tracing back all the way to the Yongzheng era, everything was exactly as Zu Ye had said. All the names matched up. Zhang Dancheng was dumbfounded. According to this calculation, his “Dan” character came right after the “Guan” character. He was one generation lower than Zu Ye. Zu Ye should be his Master Uncle!

Ordinary families valued generational rank, but halls valued it even more. Zhang Dancheng had now essentially imprisoned his own elder, and had even killed two people of the uncle generation. If this got out, he couldn’t continue in the jianghu. Thinking of this, Zhang Dancheng broke out in cold sweat.

“What should we do, Master?” Tu Yiming asked.

Zhang Dancheng pondered for a long time, then let out a long sigh, “Sinful, sinful.”

Zu Ye didn’t pay much attention to this matter. It was just that hearing Tu Yiming mention the Tiandihui gave him a sense of familiarity, so he told him about his ancestors. After Tu Yiming left, he sat there in a daze, not knowing what would happen next.

Suddenly, the dungeon door opened, followed by a rush of footsteps. Zhang Dancheng led Zhou Zhenlong, Tu Yiming, and several A’Baos inside. When Zu Ye looked, he was startled—they were all bare-chested with gleaming large knives stuck in their backs. Before Zu Ye could speak, they all knelt down with a thud.

“The thirteenth generation head of the ‘Jiang Xiang Sect’ Muzi Lotus Hall, Zhang Dancheng, pays respects to Master Uncle! This junior was blind and committed a monstrous crime. Today I’ve specially brought all disciples to receive punishment. Please, Master Uncle, execute the family law! Dancheng offers his neck in apology!” Zhang Dancheng lowered his head, stretched out his neck, and raised the large knife before Zu Ye.

Zu Ye was stunned. His brain raced, and suddenly he understood: they were all descendants of the Tiandihui, and his own generational rank must be higher than theirs!

For a moment, Zu Ye didn’t know what to say or what to do. The dungeon was completely silent.

After quite a while, Zu Ye hurried forward to help Zhang Dancheng up. After all, he was about seventy years old, kneeling there bare-chested. Zu Ye’s heart couldn’t bear it.

Zhang Dancheng absolutely refused to get up, saying, “This is a grave crime, unforgivable. Cut off my head to pay respects to the spirits of the two elders in heaven!”

Zu Ye’s feelings were mixed. Thinking of his younger siblings, tears flowed unbidden. They flowed silently for a long time. In this situation, how could he bring himself to strike? “Elder sir, please rise. When will grievance and revenge ever end?”

Zhang Dancheng raised his head and said to Zu Ye, “Master Uncle is magnanimous and benevolent. Counting this time, you’ve saved my life twice. Death can be avoided, but punishment cannot escape.” As he spoke, he placed his left hand on a wooden stool, raised the knife with his right hand, and with a chop, cut off his own little finger. Dark red blood immediately spurted out.

“Master!” Zhou Zhenlong, Tu Yiming, and the others crowded around Zhang Dancheng while kneeling.

Zhang Dancheng picked up his severed finger, raised it up, and said to those around him, “You do the same.”

Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming looked at each other, then also placed their fingers on the wooden stool. The knife flashed, and two more severed fingers lay on the ground. The remaining A’Baos looked at each other, then finally gritted their teeth and all chopped off their fingers.

Lord be lord, subject be subject, father be father, son be son. Zu Ye was deeply shaken by this ethical code. Tears streaming down his face, he helped Zhang Dancheng up and said, “Everyone rise. As I said, when will grievance and revenge ever end? Let’s write off all past matters.”

Zhou Zhenlong said tearfully, “Yes, after all, we’re all family.”

Zhang Dancheng said, “Quickly send word to prepare a feast. I want to drink heartily with Master Uncle.”

It was already the midnight hour. The butler woke up the cook again and fired up the large stove. They roasted chicken and cooked goose, and soon a table of delicacies was ready.

Zhang Dancheng had Zu Ye sit in the seat of honor, while he sat to the right, Zhou Zhenlong to the left, and Tu Yiming below.

Only then did Zu Ye dare reveal his true background, talking about the warlords assassinating his entire family. Zhang Dancheng’s eyes shot sparks, “Bastards! These warlords have the same character as the Manchu Qing!”

After three rounds of wine, Zhang Dancheng sighed and said, “What does Master Uncle plan to do next?”

This question stumped Zu Ye. Recently, his mind had been full of avenging his younger siblings. Now that this revenge had been resolved, next was his parents’ great grievance. But going to kill warlords now was simply impossible. He didn’t know how to answer.

Seeing Zu Ye silent, Zhang Dancheng asked, “Why doesn’t Master Uncle stay at the hall?”

Zu Ye was shocked. Stay at the hall? Become an A’Bao? A swindler?

Zhang Dancheng said, “I won’t hide it from Master Uncle. The first time I saw you, I felt you were an extraordinary hero with both courage and strategy. I’m old. In a few more years, I’ll be seventy-three. Seventy-three, eighty-four—the King of Hell doesn’t call but you go yourself. I’ve managed this hall for decades, yet managed it into this miserable state. What face do I have to meet Grandmaster? Sigh… Back in the day, how prestigious I, Zhang Dancheng, was! Back then, Zhang Dancheng in the East, Duan Jinshan in the West, Qiao Wumei in the South, Kang Shaohua in the North—four great halls echoing each other, Qing Dynasty nobles bowing their heads, jianghu heroes vying to follow. Who could have predicted I’d fail? As a result, not only did I become this neither-male-nor-female hermaphrodite, I also implicated brothers from the other halls to fall together. Sigh…”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming felt deeply melancholy, “Master.”

Zhang Dancheng said, “Zhenlong, Yiming, you’ve followed me for so long, loyal and devoted. I don’t have many years left to live. The hall must have someone to manage it. Our ancestors’ legacy cannot end in my hands. After Si Batou’s rebellion, my heart felt even heavier. Right now, there’s no one… Zhenlong is generous and honest, fair in his dealings, but too merciful. A woman’s soft heart ultimately cannot command the overall situation and will bring disaster upon himself. Yiming’s martial arts are superb, but he lacks in strategy and acts too impulsively. He also cannot properly oversee the hall. As your master, I think about succession every day. It’s difficult.”

Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming looked ashamed, “Master.”

Zhang Dancheng continued, “Master Uncle, today before my two disciples, I request that you stay. No matter what, we’re family. After I die, you’ll lead the hall, with Zhenlong and Yiming assisting you. What do you think?”

Before Zu Ye could speak, Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming said together, “We respectfully obey Master’s teachings. We’ll definitely serve like dogs and horses!”

Zu Ye was confused, his thoughts in complete disarray. Never mind anything else, just Zhang Dancheng calling him “Master Uncle” over and over gave him the chills. In feudal society, there were plenty of cases of nephews watching their uncles grow up, but when this situation of being young in age but high in generational rank actually happened to him, he still felt somewhat unaccustomed. “I’ll think about it. Also… elder sir is much older than me, just call me by my name, otherwise…”

“No, no. Before I didn’t know, so calling you anything was fine. Now that I know, if I call you incorrectly again, wouldn’t that be a great offense!”

Zu Ye was speechless.

Zu Ye spent a full three days repeatedly thinking. He thought of his parents, thought of his younger siblings. They had died because of this hall, and now he was about to join this organization. How would their spirits in heaven view this?

If he didn’t join, where would he go? His home was gone. If he returned to his ancestral roots, this place was home. Zhang Dancheng was full of sincere intent—how could he refuse?

But this ultimately wasn’t the righteous path—it was swindling. From childhood, he’d read the Four Books and Five Classics, always speaking of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. Although the “Jiang Xiang Sect” originated from the Tiandihui, now they had lost the Way…

While he was thinking, Tu Yiming came. Tu Yiming was a rough man, but his words always hit the mark. His few sentences helped Zu Ye make his final decision: “You asked what the Way is, right? If you inherit Master’s position, that is the Way. Right now, the entire A’Bao community has lost the Way and needs someone to turn it around. Your own younger siblings died. Have you thought about this—if the hall is controlled by people without conscience, how many more innocent people will be killed? How many innocent people will be swindled? How many more sins will these A’Baos commit? The great Way’s revival depends on you!”

This struck right at Zu Ye’s heart. The great Way’s revival—cut off the evil energy, promote the good energy, restore the original Hongmen Five Ancestors’ righteousness of robbing the rich to help the poor, turn the A’Baos from beasts back into humans. Perhaps this was the Way he sought.

Zu Ye finally joined the A’Bao ranks. He passed through the forest of knives, drank the blood oath wine. First he bowed to Heaven as father, second he bowed to Earth as mother. Zu Ye entered the Way.

The Buddhist verse says: “As a person, don’t do things against your conscience. Three feet above your head, there are spirits. Good and evil will ultimately be repaid; the only question is whether it comes early or late.” Five years later, Zhang Dancheng passed away. Before his death, he suffered terribly from illness, but ultimately had someone to care for him—Zu Ye was at his side. The day he died was the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. He had been tortured by disease beyond recognition—withered and thin like firewood, his belly sunken, two rows of ribs protruding, his head hanging as if broken, unable to lift it. Zu Ye could only feed him water with a small spoon.

That evening at the hour of the Pig, he entered a coma, three breaths out to one breath in, more air going out than coming in. Sometimes he would occasionally raise his arm, as if pushing something away, or as if struggling to break free. When he died, a tear flowed from the corner of his eye. Zu Ye knew he had no descendants. To die without descendants was most desolate. He had always wanted a child. In his youth when he was in his prime, he was busy with swindling. Later, when he wanted children, someone had cut off his testicles, and his dignity as a man was cut away along with them. On his deathbed, he had a brief moment of lucidity when he tightly grasped Zu Ye’s hand and weakly squeezed out two words, faint but clear to Zu Ye: “Retribution.”

Zhang Dancheng was gone. Zu Ye “ascended the throne.” In those five years, he had learned all the skills an A’Bao should possess. Additionally, he had qualities that ordinary A’Baos lacked—superhuman wisdom, extraordinary courage, and especially that deeply rooted sense of kindness, which made him from inside to out an incomparable Great Master Uncle.

After Zhang Dancheng left, Zhou Zhenlong also saw through the mortal world. He had followed Zhang Dancheng for over thirty years through all hardships and storms. At this moment, he felt he should also leave. Zhou Zhenlong requested permission from Zu Ye to leave the hall. Zu Ye asked where he planned to go. Zu Ye wasn’t trying to stop him, but worried that in his old age, he’d have no one to care for him. Zhou said he’d already decided where to go and would tell Zu Ye in the future. Zu Ye didn’t ask further. Before his departure, Zu Ye prepared a large amount of gold and silver for him, but Zhou didn’t take it. He asked Zu Ye to distribute all his belongings to the poor around them. Just like that, alone and solitary, he left.

Tu Yiming didn’t leave. He always considered the hall as home. He had long ago passed his “flying nails” skill to Zu Ye. Now when he had nothing to do, he’d accompany Zu Ye for tea. Sometimes the two would spar in dart-throwing skills, and Zu Ye would let him win to make him happy.

After Zu Ye took charge of the hall, he conducted a major personnel reshuffle, abolished the hall’s hierarchical system that had lasted hundreds of years, and established a new reward and punishment system. Because Zu Ye opened a new era for the “Jiang Xiang Sect,” his style and character similar to the Hongmen Five Ancestors of old, some lackeys suggested calling the new hall master “Zu Ye”—both respectful and affectionate. Thus the title “Zu Ye” was born. At the same time, news also came from Wang Yaqiao’s side that the warlord who had ordered the assassination of Zu Ye’s entire family had died in internal strife. It was said he took seven bullets—one in the head, six in the chest.

At the end of that year, Zu Ye led several lackeys back to his hometown. After inquiring, he learned that after those assassins left that year, it was the neighbors who helped bury his family’s bodies. Under the neighbors’ guidance, Zu Ye came to that burial ground. The whole family was buried in that large pit. The grave site had been unattended for years and had grown thick with mugwort. Zu Ye fell to his knees with a thud, face toward the sky, tears streaming down.

After the memorial service, the neighbors all invited Zu Ye to their homes for New Year’s Eve dinner. Zu Ye didn’t go. He gave the neighbors some money and returned to his own home. During the day, he’d already had the lackeys clean the dust. The house was much cleaner.

Sitting in the empty house, Zu Ye’s thoughts surged like tides. The faces and voices of his loved ones churned in his mind. The night sky was cold and desolate. On New Year’s Eve, the sound of firecrackers came from the distance. Every household was joyfully bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. Zu Ye walked out of the house, stood in the courtyard looking up at the heavens. Fireworks blooming at the horizon decorated his lonely world. He sank into endless melancholy.

Humiliation at the Tea House

Zu Ye spent the entire night telling me about his past. When he finished, dawn was nearly breaking.

I had never heard such a thrilling story. I didn’t know what to say, nor did I know why he would tell me so much. I sat there dumbly, the water in my teacup long since gone cold.

“Sha Liang,” Zu Ye said, “now you know why I said earlier that I used to be worse off than you, right? I was just a beggar, and now I’ve become a master. You’re at least a waiter. Tell me, couldn’t you also become a master?”

I didn’t know how to answer. I thought to myself: Who can compare with you? When I kill a chicken, both my hands shake. You killed two people without blinking. I don’t have that kind of courage and spirit.

Seeing I wasn’t speaking, Zu Ye continued, “Sha Liang, do you want to follow me?”

My heart jumped. Could it be that he called me here today to make me join him? To become a swindler? I broke out in a cold sweat. We might be poor, but I’d never done anything against heaven or reason from childhood, nor did I dare. I timidly said, “Master, I don’t have that ability, nor that courage. As long as I have food to eat, that’s enough. I can’t compare with you…”

“Ha ha ha ha.” Before I finished speaking, Zu Ye laughed, laughing so hard my hair stood on end.

Zu Ye said, “You want to spend your whole life like this? Being a waiter forever? Don’t you want to earn money and marry a wife? Of the three forms of unfilial conduct, having no descendants is the worst.”

Zu Ye’s words struck right at my heart. When a man grows up, who doesn’t think of romance? Every day with customers coming and going, crowds of men and women, I only had the privilege of stealing glances from behind the door. Sometimes when a pretty girl came, while pouring her tea I couldn’t help but glance a few times at her bulging blouse buttons, then pretend nothing happened and quickly leave. At night I’d also think, imagining that one day I could have a wedding night in the bridal chamber, continue the family line. But thinking of myself as a pauper, I could only scratch my rear, pick my nose, and then cover my head and sleep.

Zu Ye suddenly asked again, “Sha Liang, how did your mother die?”

I answered, “Tuberculosis.”

Zu Ye said, “Did you take her to see a doctor?”

Mentioning this hurt my heart. I said, “We saw a doctor for a few days at first, but then we ran out of money and had nowhere to borrow from. The doctor sent a few doses of medicine which were quickly used up. After that we just waited it out. Later she started coughing up blood, and then later she…”

Zu Ye said, “How was she buried after death?”

I felt Zu Ye was poking at my sore spots. This was something that made me feel bitter for my whole life. After mother died, I couldn’t afford a coffin, so I wrapped her in a mat and put her in the chest used for storing clothes. The villagers helped carry her out, and that’s how she was buried. Mother suffered her whole life, and in the end she didn’t even have funeral clothes or a proper coffin. Every time I thought of this, tears flowed unbidden.

Seeing me cry, Zu Ye handed me a handkerchief and said, “If you still want to live this kind of life, go back to the teahouse. If you want to follow me, come find me.”

After leaving Zu Ye’s mansion, I jogged all the way back to the teahouse. Zu Ye’s words kept echoing in my ears. I didn’t know what to choose. I didn’t understand why Zu Ye would pick me. I wasn’t clever, I looked very pig-headed, and my courage could compete with a mouse’s. This was completely incompatible with being an A’Bao.

During the day, I still worked as a waiter. Having not slept all night, my eyes were dry and lifeless. Plus with my mind on Zu Ye’s matters, I was completely distracted. At noon, Zu Ye came. I didn’t dare look at him. As usual, he called out loudly, “Sha Liang, bring me a pot of Dragon Well tea!”

“Coming!” I sang out loudly and brewed him a pot of the finest Dragon Well.

As usual, he held his white paper fan, drinking by himself, fanning by himself.

I glanced at him twice. He didn’t acknowledge me. I busied myself attending to other customers.

After a while, two young men came in, loitering about. I hurried to greet them, “Masters, please come in.”

“Bring us a pot of good tea!”

“Right away!” I hurried to brew it for them. After brewing, I carefully carried the tea bowls to them. “Masters, please enjoy.” Just as I turned to leave, I heard a “crack” as a tea bowl fell to the ground. I didn’t know how it fell—probably my sleeve swept it when I turned.

The shopkeeper had instructed that when this happened, I should immediately apologize and check if tea had splashed on the customers’ feet. If a customer’s feet got tea water and tea leaves on them, I should immediately wipe them clean with my own sleeve.

I kept bowing and apologizing, “I’m sorry, master, I’m sorry, master.” Seeing that one person’s feet indeed had tea water on them, I quickly bent down, wanting to wipe them clean with my sleeve.

Just as I touched his foot, unexpectedly the other party kicked me away with one foot, right in the chest. I felt like I’d had the wind knocked out of me, unable to catch my breath for quite a while from the pain.

“Damn it! Do you know how much these shoes of mine cost? With those dirty hands of yours, you think you’re worthy of wiping these shoes?” the fellow cursed.

I crouched against the wall holding my chest. I knew I’d done wrong today. I’d encountered this kind of situation before and had been slapped. I just wanted this matter to pass quickly. I didn’t want to argue, nor did I dare to argue.

Seeing things were bad, the shopkeeper quickly emerged from behind the counter, his face full of smiles. “Masters, please calm down, please calm down. My young apprentice here doesn’t know better, clumsy and careless. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Today this tea is free—consider it my apology to you, masters.” Then he turned to me, “Why don’t you get inside quickly!”

Just as I stood up to leave, unexpectedly that fellow said, “Wait a moment,” then beckoned to me, “You come here.”

I figured he was going to slap me. I covered my cheeks and slowly shuffled over, looking at him fearfully.

He smiled at me and said, “Look at that face just asking for a beating! Here’s what—you lick the tea leaves off my shoes clean, and we’ll call this matter settled. Otherwise, I’ll smash this teahouse along with you today!”

I knew I was lowly. I’d been ridiculed plenty since childhood, but I’d never done something like licking shoes before. It seemed they really didn’t consider me human. I looked helplessly at the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper reluctantly nodded, indicating I should lick them immediately.

I suddenly thought of Zu Ye. I turned toward his seat with a look seeking help. I thought Zu Ye would surely help me—he was a chivalrous person after all!

Unexpectedly, Zu Ye didn’t even glance this way. He continued fanning his fan, leisurely drinking his tea, as if everything happening in this teahouse didn’t touch him in the slightest.

I despaired. I slowly crouched down, stuck out my tongue, and licked the tea leaves off the other party’s round-toed cloth shoes. Watching me lick his feet, the other party laughed heartily, happy beyond measure.

I felt I had no dignity left at all. After licking, I ran to the back hall, found a corner where no one was, and burst into tears.

That night, I quietly walked toward Zu Ye’s mansion. Halfway there, I hesitated and turned back. After walking back a bit, I turned around again. After going back and forth several times, I finally arrived at Zu Ye’s door.

I stood at the entrance, not knowing if he was asleep. I reached out to knock, and the door opened. The butler saw it was me and said, “Come in. Zu Ye is waiting for you.”

I was startled and followed the butler inside. Zu Ye was sitting in a chair drinking tea. Seeing me arrive, he said, “Figured it out?”

I lowered my head without speaking. After a while, I said sullenly, “Today… you saw everything… I thought…”

“You thought I’d help you, right?” Zu Ye cut off my words. “I’m telling you, I could immediately kill those two bastards, but that would be me, not you. You need to live out your own dignity!”

Zu Ye’s shout silenced me.

“It’s good that you understand. In this world, you can’t survive just by being honest! Starting tomorrow, come to the hall.” Zu Ye said.

I raised my head, “Zu Ye, I…”

Zu Ye said, “Don’t worry, I won’t have you doing things like murder and arson!”

And so, I followed Zu Ye.

My Years at Master’s Hall

Following Zu Ye meant food and clothing were secured. The hall had a “food stipend” every month—meaning a group meal. Generally, those with Batou status participated, though sometimes they’d bring along some well-performing lackeys.

Zu Ye always called me along. Er Batou was naturally happy because I was his person, but the other Batous didn’t understand—why should this stupid ugly thing get to sit at the table? Zu Ye had his explanation: “Sha Liang used to be a waiter. He’s good at serving tea and pouring water. Let him at the table!”

Actually, every meal had specialized servants attending, so there was no need for me to serve tea and pour water. But since I came to the hall, Zu Ye had me do these things. Every meal, I was exhausted to death. Others drank and ate while I poured wine for this one, poured tea for that one. Just as I sat down, someone else wanted to smoke. I’d quickly take out the flint stone and light it for them. By the end of a meal, my stomach had barely gotten any food, but I was exhausted with an aching back and sore legs.

But I didn’t mind. At least these were all my own people, not like at the teahouse where others treated me like a dog. Here, everyone was brothers. They were Batous, they were elders. This was what I should do. Though tiring, I was happy.

I discovered Zu Ye was a man of great determination. Every time we drank, he never drank little. When each Batou toasted him, he’d drink, but I’d never seen him drunk. Not like Er Batou, who every time drank until he was under the table, vomiting and defecating, and I’d end up having to clean up after him.

When I first arrived at the hall, I felt this was a harmonious family. I’d found again that long-lost feeling of home. But after eating a few meals, I discovered that between each Batou, and even between the Batous and Zu Ye, there were conflicts. It’s just that some things weren’t brought to the surface, but sometimes the atmosphere was very off. Once, Er Batou nearly got into a fight with San Batou over just a few words. San Batou laughed at Er Batou for being a “country bumpkin,” saying he should learn poetry and literature, otherwise he couldn’t shake off that “country bumpkin” energy. Er Batou naturally wasn’t having it and said, “What the hell do you know! How much silver do I bring back to the hall every year? All you know how to do is seduce women and frequent brothels!”

Whenever such moments occurred, Zu Ye wouldn’t speak, just watching them perform. When they discovered Zu Ye’s expression had suddenly changed and he was truly angry, they’d all fall silent. At this time, Zu Ye would act as if nothing had happened and say peacefully, “Eat, eat, drink, drink.” All the Batous would look at each other in bewilderment, gazing at Zu Ye with confusion. Zu Ye would continue smiling and say, “Drink, drink.” Everyone would drain their cups with Zu Ye. Then Zu Ye would laugh heartily. The others would first be dazed, then also laugh along with Zu Ye. I didn’t know if they truly understood Zu Ye or were just pretending to understand. In any case, I could never fathom Zu Ye’s heart.

Over time, I discovered several layers of relationships here. First was Zu Ye. He was the hall’s boss with absolute authority. When he glared, no one dared make a sound. Then there were Da Batou and Er Batou. They’d followed Zu Ye the longest and belonged to Zu Ye’s inner guard. In fact, their relationship was also very good. San Batou and Wu Batou got along best—both were cultured people after all! Though Si Batou hadn’t been in the hall as long as Da Batou and Er Batou, his relationship with Er Batou was good because the props he made were used most by Er Batou. As for Liu Batou, he was always running around outside, so you couldn’t tell who he was close to or distant from. Qi Batou was just Er Batou’s dog, with a servile appearance. I couldn’t be bothered with him.

Besides not worrying about food and drink, I also nearly touched a woman. This was a month after I joined the hall. One day after a hall meeting ended, Er Batou said to me, “Da Tou, Second Master will take you to see the world.” Going along were also San Batou and Wu Batou, plus several lackeys.

To be honest, I’d lived twenty years and never touched a woman’s hand. When we arrived at the brothel, I finally understood what Er Batou meant by “seeing the world.” Before entering, Er Batou told me, “Remember, now you’re a master! All the girls inside are here to serve you! Don’t hold back! Don’t be so thin-skinned!”

My heart was pounding. I looked at the other lackeys—they were rubbing their hands together, looking eager to try.

We entered the brothel, and the madam came smiling to greet us, truly courteous. Er Batou, San Batou, and Wu Batou were all familiar with the route, naturally assuming the manner of masters. We lackeys followed awkwardly behind. While drinking flower wine, we were divided into two tables—the three Batous at one table, us lackeys at another.

After the Batous ordered girls for themselves, they told us to order too. How would we dare? I didn’t even dare raise my head to look at the girls. Finally Er Batou said, “Cowards! I’ll order!” In one breath, he ordered several. Those girls happily came to our side.

Sitting beside me was a delicate girl—not tall, but very tender, with white skin and eyes that rippled with light. As soon as she sat down, a faint fragrance of rouge wafted over, making me a bit dizzy. She quickly grabbed my hand. I panicked, not daring to look at her, my face flushed bright red.

Afterward, one lackey said to me, “Brother, you know what? Your appearance then—your whole head was like a swollen red bull’s testicle!” I thought to myself: Look at you acting so great! The muscles around your nose kept twitching, just like a cow’s sphincter after taking a shit, contracting and relaxing.

Seeing we couldn’t relax, Er Batou glared at us! When he glared, we forced ourselves to loosen up.

While drinking, the girls would feed us food. In my whole life, aside from my mother, this was the second woman to feed me. I understood in my heart—with my cowardly appearance, what the girl was looking at was the money in my pocket. They must have thought: Feeding anyone is feeding—might as well be feeding a pig.

After drinking flower wine for two hours, the Batous went upstairs with the girls. Before going upstairs, Er Batou turned back to us lackeys and said, “Don’t just drink! We didn’t come here to drink!”

Wine emboldens. After drinking, courage grows. Watching the other lackeys embrace girls and go upstairs, I also involuntarily followed the girl up.

Entering the girl’s room, there was another rich fragrance. The bedding and gauze curtains in that room must have all been fumigated with incense. In any case, it was fragrant, making one’s head spin.

The girl said to me, “Master, wash up.” As she spoke, she pulled me to the basin stand in the corner. On the stand was a copper wash basin with half a basin of clean water inside.

I thought, I should indeed wash up—my head’s spinning. I lowered my head, scooped up water and splashed it on my face. After washing several times, I felt much more clear-headed. I turned to look at the girl and found her staring at me blankly, as if dumbfounded. I didn’t understand. I asked, “What’s wrong? Do you have a towel? Let me wipe my face.”

The girl giggled, leaving me bewildered. “What’s wrong?”

The girl covered her face and said, “Master, this isn’t for washing your face. It’s for washing down there.”

My head went boom, and I blushed crimson with shame. Washing down there? That meant countless people had used this basin to wash down there. But I’d just used it to wash my face. I felt a wave of nausea.

While speaking, the girl took off her outer garment, revealing her small body and red bellyband. “Master, let me help you wash.” As she spoke, she was about to undress me.

I suddenly dodged away. The girl didn’t understand. “Master, what’s wrong?”

I said, “How old are you?”

The girl said, “Sixteen.”

I pulled out a handful of money from my pocket, stuffed it into her hand, then rushed downstairs in a flash. Behind me came the girl’s voice, “Master, don’t go!”

Afterward, when everyone reconvened, Er Batou asked me how it was. I said, Great, great! Er Batou smiled and said, “You big-headed fellow, saying it’s great? Second Master will bring you often in the future!”

After returning to the hall, some time passed. One day after a hall meeting ended, Zu Ye said to me, “Da Tou, you stay. I have something to tell you.”

After the others dispersed, Zu Ye called me into the room. I didn’t know what he wanted to do. A servant brought tea up. Zu Ye said, “The finest Dragon Well. Try it.”

I didn’t know what medicine Zu Ye was selling in his gourd. I took the teacup and drank two sips.

Zu Ye opened his fan, fanning and smiling. “Why didn’t you do it?”

I was stunned. “Why didn’t I do what?”

Zu Ye coughed once. “With that girl!”

I was shocked. “Ah? How do you know?”

Zu Ye laughed heartily.

I suddenly understood—Zu Ye had sent someone to secretly monitor me.

Zu Ye said, “Tell me, why? Don’t be embarrassed. Tell the truth.”

I stammered, “She was only sixteen. At the time I thought of my own younger sister. At home they’re all the flesh of their parents’ hearts. None of them are there willingly…”

Zu Ye’s smile faded and he said gravely, “Who in the world doesn’t have sons and daughters? Men only know the pleasure of visiting prostitutes but never think—if their own daughter were under another man, what would their feelings be! Don’t impose on others what you yourself don’t desire. Da Tou, Zu Ye didn’t misjudge you.”

In my memory, this was the first time Zu Ye praised me. But thinking that even such matters were completely known to Zu Ye, I began to fear him.

Days at the hall seemed to pass so quickly. In the blink of an eye, several months had gone by. That former waiter had gradually transformed into a proper A’Bao. I had also gradually adapted to life at the hall. One evening, Zu Ye called me over again and once more asked if I regretted it. I really couldn’t guess what he meant.

While I hesitated, Zu Ye picked up the teapot and smiled, “This pot of tea has gone weak. Go brew a new pot. Since this teahouse waiter came to the hall, you haven’t properly brewed tea for Zu Ye yet.”

Others said that Zu Ye was very particular about tea. Every time he tasted tea, he could detect the slightest difference. I’d worked at a teahouse for several years. Though I couldn’t claim mastery of the tea ceremony, what you learn is different from not having learned. Tea, water, fire, vessels, atmosphere—I was skilled in each. In my early years learning from the teahouse shopkeeper, I was scolded plenty. I didn’t expect these skills would still come in useful now.

I carefully brewed a pot of tea for Zu Ye and poured him a cup. After tasting it, Zu Ye said, “Haven’t waited tables in several months—your skills have gotten rusty!”

I stood there dumbly, not knowing what to say.

Zu Ye raised his hand, indicating I should sit down. Then Zu Ye suddenly asked, “Da Tou, what do you think of me as a person?”

I didn’t expect Zu Ye would suddenly ask this question. When the hall’s boss asks his underling what he thinks of him as a person, aside from answering “good,” what else could an underling say?

I stammered in reply, “Pretty good, pretty good!”

Zu Ye smiled coldly. “Good? Killing people is good? Or arson is good?”

Sweat broke out on my head. “All good…” As soon as the words left my mouth, I immediately felt I’d said the wrong thing. “Zu Ye, I mean…”

Zu Ye laughed heartily, leaving me baffled.

Zu Ye glanced at me and continued, “I’ve killed many people and swindled many people. Among them, some deserved it, and some were out of necessity. Now the situation is turbulent. The ‘Jiang Xiang Sect’ has reached a moment of life and death. The fate of the four great halls is uncertain. Right now is the most difficult time to endure.”

Hearing Zu Ye’s words, my heart felt blocked. I felt my fate was particularly bad. My father died not long after I was born. My mother died just as I became an adult. I’d finally joined a criminal organization, only to catch the hall at its most difficult moment. It seemed wherever I went, decline followed.

What Zu Ye said was true. A few days ago, he’d just attended the great hall conference jointly convened by the East, South, West, and North four great halls to discuss each hall’s fate and how to deal with the current situation. Since Grandmaster Fang Zhaoyu founded the four great halls hundreds of years ago, they had echoed each other through all storms. Everyone cooperated with each other, walking through countless difficulties. This allowed the “Jiang Xiang Sect” to continue for hundreds of years, its lineage still thriving.

After the Liberation War broke out, the Kuomintang retreated steadily, and the days for the four great East, South, West, and North halls became increasingly difficult. Especially since 1948, the domestic situation had been turbulent. The Kuomintang collapsed for a thousand miles, and the territory where the “Jiang Xiang Sect” could operate grew smaller and smaller. In urgency, Zu Ye sent invitation letters to the leaders of the other three great halls, convening this great conference.

As the leader of the Eastern “Muzi Lotus” Hall, Zu Ye attended this meeting with several Batous. Zu Ye also brought the hall’s large amount of gold and silver as gifts to the other halls to help them weather the crisis. Actually, this kind of great conference where the four hall leaders met happened once a year. The “Great Master Uncles” of the other halls all knew Zu Ye’s legendary experiences and were fairly respectful of him. So when Zu Ye temporarily convened this meeting, everyone cooperated. Moreover, this time Zu Ye had brought out so much gold and silver for them—they were moved to tears.

The four great halls each had their own characteristics, and each “Great Master Uncle” also had his own traits. Our Eastern “Muzi Lotus” Hall was truly like a lotus flower, with the flavor of “emerging from mud yet remaining unstained.” Especially since Zu Ye took charge, he’d maintained the A’Bao’s Way, robbing the rich to help the poor, doing good deeds and charity. And our “Great Master Uncle”—Zu Ye—was very refined, efficient in handling affairs, civilized toward both subordinates and outsiders.

The Southern “Yue Haitang” Hall was entirely composed of female A’Baos. That Qiao Wumei whom Zhang Dancheng had mentioned was the thirteenth generation leader of “Yue Haitang.” Later, after Qiao Wumei died, the hall was handed over to Jiang Feiyan, known as the “Ice Beauty.” Jiang Feiyan entered the hall at twelve, clever and quick-witted. She took over the hall at thirty-one, cold as ice and frost. Using the honey trap, she took down high officials and underworld figures in the four regions of Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan. She nearly leveled the four southern provinces—truly a woman no less than any man! But she established one rule: the hall’s sisters could never marry. In their eyes, men were for using, not marrying.

The Western “Longxu Ya” Hall’s A’Baos were generally structured toward youth, possibly related to the West’s mountainous terrain. When people got older, their legs weren’t nimble. Old arms and legs—they might not even finish the scheme before falling to their deaths first. Once people in that hall got older, they’d retire, causing the hall’s personnel to become bloated. The old fellows didn’t work but just collected their stipends. Over time, internal strife appeared. Sometimes during one meal, several old fellows would die. Why? The young ones poisoned the old ones to death. So the Western faction was the most unstable hall. Their hall’s leader was called Qin Baichuan—tall, with a full beard, dark skin, and long-standing dealings with Western warlords.

The Northern “Xue Meng Cao” Hall was overall very scattered, possibly related to the Eighth Route Army opening up battlefields behind enemy lines. “Xue Meng Cao” had been operating with difficulty since the War of Resistance. After the Liberation War broke out, the people in the liberated areas accepted liberation ideology. Not many people deeply believed in ghosts and spirits anymore, so this hall actually existed in name only. “Great Master Uncle” Qian Linyue led a few A’Baos committing crimes while fleeing—they’d long since lost their base.

At the great hall conference, the leaders of each great hall reached a unanimous conclusion: the halls cannot be lost. They could initiate “going out to kill,” even “kill the rich.” First weather the crisis, then discuss further!