Chapter 4

When Yu Congyi was nine years old, which was his second year in the Jiang family, the young woman that Jiang Yiqun was keeping at Yuxianglou gave birth to his son.

He didn't have time to formally marry the woman, because three days after giving birth to the baby, she suffered severe bleeding during childbirth and soon passed away. Jiang Yiqun was saddened, but not devastated. Approaching forty, holding his only son, he felt a mixture of sorrow and joy, suddenly sensing that the latter half of his life might be about to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

He named the baby boy Jiang Fengming, with "Feng" meaning boundless glory and "Ming" meaning blazing light.

…

Jiang Fengming's fingertips lingered on Yu Congyi's collar for a moment, then moved down, smoothing his coat from the front to the hem. Yu Congyi lifted his sleeve and suddenly noticed that a metal button on his shoulder had fallen off sometime during the night, leaving a lonely loose thread. A sudden pang of unease washed over him, and an indescribable sense of frustration returned.

"Brother, go back and change your clothes." Jiang Fengming's hand stopped under his clothes and looked at his face.

“Tang Lishu is dealt with,” Yu Congyi said as he and Jiang Fengming entered the hall. Jiang Fengming sat down on the huge leather sofa in the living room, took off his coat and threw it aside. A box of Brussels cigars sat on the red sandalwood tea table in front of him, and his gaze lingered there.

“Fengming,” Yu Congyi stood to the side, “I saw Aunt at the Lin Mansion. She was beaten to death.” Jiang Fengming nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Yu Congyi, his face showing little surprise or sadness. “Oh? I haven’t seen Aunt for a long time since she married into the Yang family. How could this be?”

“I’m sorry, Fengming, I don’t know. I couldn’t protect my aunt. I saw the assassin, so I followed him. I saw him go upstairs to the second floor and into the reception room. I didn’t dare go in again, afraid of being exposed. I don’t know who he is. His client is a foreigner.” Yu Congyi’s hands trembled. As he spoke, he shuddered slightly, a burning resentment in his heart.

"Brother," Jiang Fengming pondered for a moment, then beckoned to him, "come and sit down."

Yu Congyi didn't move, but looked at him, wanting to say, "Fengming, I will kill those two to avenge my aunt." He suddenly stopped, because he knew that no one knew his true thoughts. Not even Jiang Fengming might know.

He stood silently for a while, then said, "Fengming, I'm a little tired. I'm going upstairs now."

Jiang Fengming looked at him and nodded. "Okay, big brother, you," he pulled out a lighter, his voice lowering, "I'll come up later."

Exhausted, Yu Congyi tugged at his collar and haphazardly took off his uniform, which was missing a cufflink. The attendant was already standing by and caught him. He almost stumbled up to the second floor and locked himself in the bathroom.

…

When Yu Congyi was thirteen, Jiang Yiqun used his connections to send him to the Army Officer Academy. He had his own thoughts about this adopted son. Not malicious, but he had to consider his own fate after death.

He inherited the Jiang family bloodline four years ago, and he cherished and pampered this son, raising him like a young master. He knew from the bottom of his heart that this child was different from Yu Congyi.

Perhaps when he leaves this world one day, his elder brother Yu Congyi will still be there to protect his pampered youngest son, offering him unwavering protection. His family business has grown considerably. The blade in his hand is never thin; the opium in the docks seeps blood, and he can hear the cries of agony when the Haihe River rises. In Tianjin, the Jiang family is indeed a force to be reckoned with. When Feng Ming inherits this legacy, he will always need a closest confidant, a most trusted assistant, or perhaps, the sharpest blade. If Yu Congyi were to achieve great things one day, the Jiang family would have something to rely on in the military. Jiang Yiqun first sent Yu Congyi to the Hebei Military Academy, and later, through various connections, transferred him to the Tianjin Military Academy, where he trained diligently for six years.

When Yu Congyi was twenty, Jiang Yiqun, not yet fifty, fell seriously ill. Perhaps due to the heavy karma of killing in the first half of his life, this illness left him bedridden. The family doctor, whom they had hired at great expense, could not diagnose his condition, only saying that it seemed to be a tumor in his brain, which could only be treated with craniotomy. However, such surgery was extremely dangerous, and who in the entire Republic of China, let alone Tianjin, could truly perform it?

Jiang Yiqun had considered traveling to Europe for treatment, so he called Yu Congyi home from school beforehand, intending to give him some instructions. However, suffering from unbearable pain and listless, Yu Congyi did not survive the short six months. The day after Yu Congyi returned home, Jiang Yiqun lay in bed, unbearably thirsty. He got up to take a sip of water, when suddenly his wrist trembled violently, and his entire body became uncontrollably numb and trembling. The glass shattered on the floor. He lay stiffly on his side on the edge of the bed, his eyes still open, his arm outstretched—when the servants arrived at the sound, Master Jiang, with his eyes open, had already passed away.

Yu Congyi returned from the pharmacy with the medicine and was about to instruct the kitchen to prepare it when he heard loud shouting and wailing from the second floor. He ran upstairs and saw his adoptive father's gruesome death. He immediately dropped everything he was holding and crawled on his knees to get to his father's side.

“Godfather, Godfather,” he cried, touching Jiang Yiqun’s face, the body already lifeless. Yu Congyi knelt on the ground, feeling his fingertips go numb, and his whole body went cold. He suddenly lunged forward and hugged Jiang Yiqun’s neck tightly, burying his face in the crook of the neck and back, his whole body trembling. He didn’t shed tears, but his eyes ached with grief, his temples throbbed. He rarely cried because his tear ducts were not well-developed, and even in his heartache, he could only breathe rapidly and tremble all over. Holding Jiang Yiqun’s body, Yu Congyi shook like a leaf.

Jiang Yiqun had been kind to him, as if he had been given a second life. His godfather had passed away, and he hadn't even been able to say a word to him before he died, but he knew what his godfather must have wanted most.

That year, Jiang Fengming was eleven years old.

With his godfather gone, Jiang Fengming will become the ultimate master of the Jiang family. Yu Congyi never thought of seizing or acquiring anything; he didn't have the heart, or perhaps, the brains or the guts. Given the vast extent of the Jiang family's illicit activities, one can only imagine what Jiang Fengming will gradually and completely transform from an innocent child into this person over the next year.

When Jiang Yiqun was still alive, Jiang Fengming and Yu Congyi's relationship was one of natural, playful interaction between an immature child and his much older brother. Jiang Fengming knew from a young age that Yu Congyi wasn't their father's biological son, and although this older brother was much older, this didn't make him wary of him. He often deliberately "bullied" Yu Congyi for no reason, with the annoying antics of an ignorant child. He would cry and scream when Yu Congyi hugged him, disturbing his peace; or he would shirk responsibility when he made a mistake, blaming his brother and leaving him helpless; or he would occasionally reach out his chubby little hand and lightly slap Yu Congyi… Yu Congyi never retaliated, perhaps out of habit of not arguing with children, or perhaps out of respect for Jiang Yiqun. Sometimes, Jiang Fengming would get bored after a while, thinking, "This older brother is too cold, too heavy!"

A month after Jiang Yiqun's death, Jiang Fengming found Yu Congyi at his residence. He still looked like a child, but his expression and tone were much more mature. He told Yu Congyi with a stern face that he didn't want to go to school anymore.

Yu Congyi asked why.

Jiang Fengming replied that the Jiang family is currently too busy with too many internal and external affairs to attend to the school. It would be better to let him take charge of the Jiang family and revive these businesses.

Yu Congyi asked you how old you are this year.

Jiang Fengming replied, "Ten years and another year."

Yu Congyi told him, "You are at the age where you should be studying. Your elder brother and the steward can handle the household affairs for now. It won't be a problem for three to five years. When you have thoroughly mastered your studies, come back to do business. You will understand more principles and be much more capable than you are now."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fengming was somewhat annoyed. Children of that age are at the age where they are unwilling to admit defeat. He thought for a moment and suddenly blurted out, "Big brother, if you want me to go to school like this, are you after my father's position?"

Yu Congyi was stunned for a moment after hearing this, realizing that he hadn't considered Fengming's thoughts. Of course, he hadn't meant it, which was why he had never revealed his intentions. Now, hearing this question, his heart ached, and his throat tightened. What could be harder to express than that he had no intention of usurping power? If you were to look into his heart, there would be absolutely no scheming against the Jiang family. Yu Congyi held little Jiang Fengming's shoulders, slowly squatted down, looked into his eyes, and softened his tone, "Fengming, although your brother doesn't have the surname Jiang, I consider my godfather and you to be the closest people in this world. Godfather is gone, Fengming, you are my only family in this world. I wouldn't do such a thing. What I want to see most now is for you to grow up quickly and inherit Father's wishes, do you understand?" Suddenly, he hugged the child Jiang Fengming's body, his face almost pressed against the other's chest, "Fengming, whether you believe me or not, just remember, I will never hurt you."

Yu Congyi had never been so gentle to anyone in his life; the only time he showed such tenderness was when Jiang Fengming was eleven years old. Perhaps this wasn't his true nature, but faced with the child of someone he had been kind to, he had no choice but to do so.

Jiang Fengming slowly lowered his head in Yu Congyi's arms. Finally, Yu Congyi heard a very low voice from above him, "I'm sorry, brother."

At the end of that year, Yu Congyi graduated from school and secured a position as deputy captain in the Tianjin Garrison Command.

From that time on, Jiang Fengming became incredibly dependent on Yu Congyi, sometimes even to the point of being smug. In the summer when Jiang Fengming turned seventeen, he left school completely, tore off his school uniform, and became the head of the Jiang family, beginning a period of his illustrious and influential life. At this time, Yu Congyi was already serving as the deputy sergeant of the Tianjin Garrison Military Police Command and was about to assume the position of chief of staff.

From this moment—as Jiang Yiqun had wished—Yu Congyi truly became a sharp blade under Jiang Fengming's command. At this point, he only listened to Jiang Fengming. He walked on the edge of day and night, stepping forward into the radiant dawn, and backward into the eternal night, a sea of ​​blood and mountains of corpses. Sergeant Major or assassin? In the eyes of his colleagues, he was undoubtedly the former, the path of light; yet, with a turn of his head, he stepped into darkness.

…

Yu Congyi, half-naked and rubbing his hair with a towel, returned to the room. The door was open, and he saw Jiang Fengming sitting on the bed, a cigarette in his hand.

Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw Yu Congyi standing at the door. He glanced at the other man's half-naked body, then his gaze was fixed on the cigarette butt between his fingers. "I was thinking about it just now. There's something fishy about my aunt's murder."

Yu Congyi thought that he had never had any feelings for his aunt and did not expect her to give any instructions. After thinking for a moment, he nodded slightly, "Neither you nor I know the murderer. It is indeed strange. Perhaps it is an enemy from the Yang family."

"Not necessarily," Jiang Fengming said, his tone somewhat hesitant. "Brother, are you sure Aunt died at the hands of those foreigners?"

“I saw it clearly,” Yu Congyi replied.

Jiang Fengming said in a deep voice, his eyes still fixed on the cigarette butt, "I'm afraid someone has their eye on the Jiang family."

Yu Congyi understood the meaning behind his words. Jiang Fengming had a distant relationship with his aunt and didn't care about Jiang Jiejie's death or any love or hate. However, if her murder was related to him, then his younger brother would be extremely worried.

Yu Congyi didn't want Jiang Fengming to worry about this, and he also felt it was unnecessary. He went into the room and sat down beside him, trying to comfort him, "Don't worry, I will definitely find out who killed your aunt."

Jiang Fengming frowned, his lips pressed into a thin line, and he remained silent. Ever since he assumed the position of head of the Jiang family, he had become increasingly thoughtful and sometimes gave the impression of being inherently suspicious. However, Yu Congyi remembered that he wasn't like this when he was a child. As a child, Jiang Fengming was so innocent and naive about the ways of the world.

Jiang Fengming was unaware that he had changed so much over the years. He pondered for a long time, then suddenly reached out a hand, grasped Yu Congyi's hand, and held it in his palm. He said, "Brother, you said you would protect me, right?"

“Of course.” Yu Congyi turned his head and saw Jiang Fengming’s lowered profile. He was twenty-two years old, but still had a childlike look on his face. However, his brows were furrowed, and he looked somewhat gloomy.

"How come this child is learning all of my traits?" Yu Congyi sighed softly to himself, reaching out to hug his now grown-up brother. "Don't worry."

Jiang Fengming leaned against his chest. To outsiders, this might seem a little strange, but for Jiang Fengming, it was a rare opportunity to act coquettishly. However, he had no one to act coquettishly anymore, and he was long past that age, so he just leaned there quietly, listening to Yu Congyi's deep and steady heartbeat.

Yu Congyi felt a tightness in his chest. He knew that Feng Ming's intentions regarding Jiang Jiejie's murder were entirely self-serving. He couldn't even see a trace of grief on Feng Ming's face for his aunt's death, while he himself showed the complete opposite. Feng Ming's attitude was such that this unspoken emotion made him feel a bit resentful towards him, yet he couldn't vent it, because more than resentment, he felt a helpless acceptance.

No one could ever make him do that again.

He was all alone. Yu Congyi thought to himself, head bowed.