Baima Street was close to Jiefang Road. By day, it was a commercial street, but after night fell, it hosted many the night market. It was Liyun Town’s busiest place.

Gao Sheng couldn’t hide his excitement at the thought he’d soon meet the Liyun Town’s “mafia boss.” He carried Lin Jingzhe’s bag and walked down the stalls. Even the fragrance of grilled skewers from the barbecue stall didn’t slow his steps. Occasionally, he’d get too far ahead and have to backtrack to his irritatingly slow friend.

“Jingzhe, Jingzhe.” He daydreamed of the future. “What should I do if Zhou Haitang’s big brother recognizes my worth? I heard not only is he powerful, but also—rich! You know the game room on the street behind the school? It’s owned by him. Zhou Haitang must’ve burned a ton of incense in front of his ancestors’ graves to get to know this guy.”

Burned incense? Don’t you mean dug up their graves and desecrated corpses? Lin Jingzhe ambled, staring at the ground, both hands in his pockets. His lowered head made people unable to see the expression on his face. “Uhm,” he replied perfunctorily.

He wasn’t listening to Gao Sheng. Instead, he recalled the memories of his past life.

The public order in Liyun Town was poor and would be for years to come. Before the government took severe measures to deal with criminal activities, all kinds of gangs and underworld dwellers had free run of the place.

However, in his impression, these gangs were small fries, satisfied with collecting protection fees and owning a disco or games room. Things continued like that until an outside force appeared in 1998—only then did Liyun Town learn the real underworld. Compared with them, the local “mafia” was like a flock of herbivores and was swallowed clean in less than a week. Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang’s gang disappeared just like that.

He pondered as they walked when something suddenly attracted his attention, and he looked back. The red-haired man in a leather jacket walking some distance behind them was caught unaware and didn’t manage to look away in time.

The man kept close to the wall, trying to be unobtrusive. Realizing he had been noticed, he pretended to act—poorly—as if nothing was wrong, and hid in the crowd. He had “I’m not a respectable person” written all over him—he seemed to be a low-ranked gang member.

Deng Mai’s warning flashed through his mind: Jiang Run said he’s gonna ask his ‘big brothers’ to teach you a lesson.

A plan hatching in his mind, Lin Jingzhe calmly kicked away a stone under foot.

The easternmost stall of the night market was a large food stall; the fragrance of its fried noodles spread through the whole street. They hadn’t reached it yet when they heard a loud, excited voice calling them: “Jingzhe! Gao Sheng! Here! This way!”

Lin Jingzhe looked up, and the expression in his eyes became deep upon seeing his old friend. On the street not far from the food stall, there stood two round, plastic tables packed with people. The long-not-seen, still childish-looking Zhou Haitang stood among them, jumping and waving.

Lin Jingzhe’s hands clenched in his pockets, moist with sweat. He kept recalling the prematurely aged Zhou Haitang he visited in prison in his previous life and wanted to bash this youthful, cheery face in.

You fucking idiot, of all stupid things, you just had to get involved with the fucking underworld!

He took a few deep breaths to repress the violent impulse.

Gao Sheng had already run over. However, apparently in awe of the “big boss,” he abruptly slowed down before crossing the food stall’s gate, and his steps became cautious.

Zhou Haitang took upon himself to break the ice: “Let me introduce you. This is Big Brother Xu Liang, the number one man in Eastern Earthquake Gang! Brother Xu, these are my good friends, Gao Sheng and Lin Jingzhe—I mentioned them to you, please take care of them from now on.”

Xu Liang was tall and fat, looking about 220 pounds; the plastic chair almost collapsed under him. He had a high, shiny forehead, afflicted with seborrheic dermatitis, and a brutish face. Though it was a cold spring evening, he only wore a low-cut jacket under a big, undone coat, revealing the tiger’s head tattoo in the middle of his chest. A single glance was enough to see he was not an upright citizen.

For a former “reformed-through-labor” prisoner, he really could bluff.

When Gao Sheng saw the tiger’s head, he immediately greeted him respectfully: “Brother Xu.”

What power and prestige! He eyed the people sitting at the two tables, who were obviously Brother Xu’s men, and was filled with reverence. Red and yellow-haired men, wearing leather and denim jackets… These people were obviously from a different world than him. Eastern Earthquake Gang—with such a domineering name, they must be an existence that calls the wind and summons the rain in Liyun Town. If he could become a member of such an organization, would anyone dare to bully Hu Yu again?!

Xu Liang let out a deep hum and raised his eyelids to glance at Gao Sheng, then his gaze swept over Lin Jingzhe, who followed behind.

Lin Jingzhe looked him up and down with an ambiguous expression. The corners of his mouth twitched. “Brother Xu,” he said.

In Liyun Town of the early nineties, Xu Liang was probably the most “evil man” people could imagine. Lin Jingzhe, however, was speechless—why the hell did Gao Sheng and Zhou Haitang decide to follow such an incompetent buffoon in the previous life? Fuck, he really wanted to get a camera and take pictures so he could show them to those two fools in twenty years, to let them remember their so-called rebellious youth.

It was the first time Xu Liang met a teenager who didn’t shake in his boots at his sight. He looked at Lin Jingzhe and, inexplicably, felt his prestige as a gang leader was threatened.

So, he threw down his chopsticks and said—to Zhou Haitang, but staring at Lin Jingzhe all the while: “I didn’t expect you to have such an… extraordinary brother, huh.”

A little anxious, Zhou Haitang sprang to his feet and rushed to Lin Jingzhe’s side. It took Lin Jingzhe by surprise, and he moved aside, avoiding him, but Zhou Haitang didn’t care about that. He grabbed his friend and urged in a low voice, “Don’t be like this, Jingzhe. Brother Xu has powerful connections and much influence in our Liyun Town. They say he can kill without batting an eye; don’t provoke him!”

Speechless, Lin Jingzhe looked at his genuine nervousness and said with a blank expression, “Okay.”

Zhou Haitang smiled with embarrassment. “I haven’t seen you for only a week, how come I think you’re getting more and more good-looking?” He felt the protruding shoulder bones under his palm, and his attention immediately shifted. There was a flash of pain in his eyes. He rummaged through his pockets and fished out a wad of banknotes held together with a rubber band. “Here! This is the salary Brother Xu gave me. I missed your birthday, so take this and get yourself a birthday cake.”

The condition of Zhou Haitang’s family wasn’t good. Both of his parents used to work in Liyun thermos factory, but last year one was laid off, and their economic situation worsened even more. There were about a hundred yuan in that roll of banknotes—that year, it was a big sum of money for young people. Lin Jingzhe had no doubt this was all Zhou Haitang had on him, and this gesture warmed him (though he wasn’t short of money).

He pushed Zhou Haitang aside, giving him a cold glance, but his expression eased a bit. Actually, the person he was truly disgusted with was Xu Liang.

Although the man was just a ratbag and bully, not some hardened criminal, heavens only knew how many innocent teenagers went astray because of him!

One corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk. He watched Xu Liang unblinkingly for a moment then, under the man’s malicious gaze, walked to the table and picked up an unopened bottle of beer. He expertly knocked it against the iron rod supporting the awning—with one move, the bottle cap fell.

”Brother Xu, I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said. “My buddy was fortunate to have met you. Let me offer you a toast.”

Then he raised the bottle to his lips and drained it in two gulps.

The “gangsters” gathered in the stall were still at an impressionable age. Witnessing Lin Jingzhe’s actions, they couldn’t help applauding and shouting, “Good!”

Xu Liang’s dignity, which he felt had been damaged, was immediately pacified.

Lin Jingzhe glanced around while he drank and noticed a few pedestrians on the other side of the street, staring their way.

Snorting inwardly, he put down the bottle and gave Xu Liang a much more sincere smile. “I heard Zhou Haitang say your Eastern Earthquake Gang is the most powerful gang in Liyun Town, Brother Xu.”

One had to brag as if there was no tomorrow when recruiting flunkies. Xu Liang believed he might possibly get two new subordinates today and, at the moment, felt quite contented. “Aw shucks, this is all because of my brothers’ united effort.”

”That’s impressive.” Lin Jingzhe nodded, then said, his eyes slightly narrowing in a smile, “Actually, I offended a student in my school, and he’s making trouble for me. Brother Xu, can you help me deal with him?”

School? Isn’t he going to Liyun No. 1 High School? The students there are just a bunch of nerds, what kind of trouble can they stir up? Xu Liang sized Lin Jingzhe up, thinking that though this kid might’ve had a bit of presence, he was still pretty shallow.

Oh well, to recruit “younger brothers,” he needed to give them a taste of sweetness. He lowered his beer glass and agreed without thinking. “What’s this now? You call me brother, so of course, your brother will take care of that little thing.”

Before the sound of his voice died away, a loud, piercing shout suddenly came from outside the stall—

”Which one is Lin Jingzhe? Get your ass out here!”

The other patrons of night market hurried to make themselves scarce. A moment later, a large group of people appeared on the street outside the stall—more than thirty, roughly counting.

They were led by a black-haired man who looked much more imposing than Xu Liang. He wore neither a jacket nor a shirt, and a tattoo of the Azure Dragon with clouds and puffs of wind, covering his right arm and a large area of his chest, was clearly visible.

Jiang Run followed behind him, his head snapping for side to side, looking for someone. A second later, his gaze fell on Lin Jingzhe.

He pointed at the food stall: “He’s there, Brother Zhang!”

Following his finger, the thirty-something people looked in Lin Jingzhe’s direction. Incidentally, they also noticed Xu Liang, whose face began to stiffen.

Xu Liang felt the situation wasn’t right. He took in the opponent’s forces and instantly, he was drenched in sweat.

”Brother… Brother Zhang.” He wiped the sweat from his face and took the initiative to speak. “Why are you…?”

The man called Brother Zhang raised his eyebrows. It took him a while to recognize the other man. “Hey, aren’t you Xu Liang?” He nodded, pleased with himself for remembering, then swaggered in, loudly chewing gum, and dropped in a free chair. One of his underlings immediately came up and lit him a cigarette.

”What’s this?” Brother Zhang took a deep drag of the cigarette, eyelids half-closed. The smoke curled around him but didn’t hide the sharp glint in his eyes. “Buddy, are you barging in on my business?”

This sentence scared Xu Liang out of his wits. He only opened a game room on the street behind the school and collected some protection fees—where was he an opponent of “Azure Dragon” Zhang, who mingled with the real underworld, owned several discos, and had dozens of subordinates?

”No way, why are you saying this?” He shook his head, moved the ashtray over and asked respectfully, “What wind blew you here today, Brother Zhang? You don’t usually bother with this small place.”

It was obvious the man looked down on Xu Liang. “You have this Lin Jingzhe here, right? Tell him to come out. The rest of you can scram.”

Xu Liang swallowed and nodded hurriedly. When glanced behind him though, he immediately realized there was a problem.

All of his brothers, along with Zhou Haitang, whom he’d received not too long ago, and Gao Sheng, who just greeted him full of awe, were watching him incredulously.

The power fantasy Gao Sheng just constructed in his mind shattered with a bang. Didn’t Zhou Haitang say that this Brother Xu was powerful?!

Zhou Haitang also felt his world collapsed. He couldn’t believe that fat man bending to hold an ashtray for someone else was the “big brother” he idolized.

Jiang Run, who stood beside “Azure Dragon” Zhang, haughtily pointed at Lin Jingzhe with his chin. “Brother, it’s the one wearing the school uniform.”

Zhang glanced at Xu Liang, his expression profound. “Is he one of yours?”

Xu Liang’s first instinct was to deny all involvement: “No! Of course not!”

”That’s good. Now get the fuck outta here,” Zhang sneered.

As if granted amnesty, Xu Liang rushed to leave, under the mocking gazes of Zhang’s men. However, he’d completely lost prestige in his subordinates’ eyes, and they refused to listen to him.

Beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. If he provoked “Azure Dragon” Zhang, his little game room would become a memory. This wasn’t a joking matter!

Zhang didn’t care about him. He beckoned to Lin Jingzhe, who obediently walked toward him.

In the end, it’s just a high school kid, wet behind the ears; scare him a little, and he’ll listen. What easy money.

Zhang pointed at Jiang Run with his thumb and approached Lin Jingzhe, saying, “You offended my younger bro, so you have to—”

Crash—

Before he could finish, an empty beer bottle smashed on his head and knocked him down to the ground.

All the people present were stunned by the crisp sound. Lin Jingzhe threw away the bottleneck that remained in his hand and sneered. He took off his leather belt, lifted Zhang’s head up by his hair, and wrapped the belt around his throat twice, tightening it.

Blood streamed down “Azure Dragon” Zhang’s scalp and soon covered half of his face. He couldn’t breathe because of the belt and began to struggle desperately, his eyes bulging.

Lin Jingzhe remained unmoved. He firmly held the belt with both hands, tightening it bit by bit, observing Zhang’s struggle emotionlessly as if watching an ant.

Abruptly, he turned his head to stare at Xu Liang, who was so frightened his face turned white, and gave him a faint smile.

”Brother Xu,” he said. “Come here and help me hold his legs.”