Chapter 105 Returns to Hong Kong

Bangkok port, 2 a.m.

A rusty seafood cargo ship was being loaded, the fishy smell mixed with the salty seawater permeating the night.

Fang Che, dressed in dirty work clothes and with oil stains on his face, squatted in the shadow of the container, his stomach churning.

"Brother Li," he covered his mouth, "this taste...it's like my soul is being pickled in it..."

Li Hanzhou, dressed similarly, stood upright, his eyes scanning the dock: "Renren, the ship is about to depart."

"I can't stand it..." Fang Che didn't finish his sentence before he vomited.

It's all acidic water.

Li Hanzhou patted his back, the movement practiced.

The Thai laborer next to him looked over, grinned, and revealed yellow teeth: "First time at sea?"

Fang Che wiped his mouth: "First time... on a boat transporting fish... Brother, do you usually eat while smelling this?"

The laborer laughed even harder, handing over a crumpled lemon: "Suck on it, it'll stop you from vomiting. You'll get used to it, this tastes good with rice!"

Fang Che took the lemon, thanked it, and popped it into his mouth. His face scrunched up from the sourness: "My god, this is so sour! Did this lemon and the vinegar jar become sworn brothers?"

Looking at him, Li Hanzhou couldn't help but smile.

The ship has set sail.

The cargo ship sailed out of the port and into the high seas, where the wind and waves gradually increased.

Fang Che lay on the cramped lower bunk of the crew cabin, feeling like a sock being thrown into a washing machine as the ship rocked.

"Brother Li..." he called weakly, "I might be going to die here... My back injury hasn't healed yet, and I'm seasick..."

Li Hanzhou sat beside him, holding his hand: "No."

“I will…” Fang Che closed his eyes, “Brother Li, if I die, scatter my ashes in the Songhua River… tell Tiezi and Xirong that their Brother Che didn’t lose face, he just died a pathetic death, he vomited to death.”

"Don't talk nonsense." Li Hanzhou wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Get some sleep, we'll be in the Philippines tomorrow."

"I can't sleep..." Fang Che got up again to vomit.

After vomiting, he collapsed by the bed, cursing with all his might: "Jiang Tianqi, I'll fuck your grandpa... When I get back... I'll kill you... and this lousy boat... I'll buy it and turn it into a toilet when I have the money..."

After cursing, he fell into a deep sleep.

Li Hanzhou stayed by his side all night.

The following afternoon, the ship stopped at a deserted island in the Philippines for a transfer.

The boat that came to pick us up was an old fishing boat. The captain was a dark-skinned Chinese man surnamed Lin. He was a man of few words and had a faded dragon tattooed on his arm.

"Get on the ship," said Boss Lin. "We'll set sail tonight and arrive in Saigon tomorrow morning. There might be patrols at sea, so stay in the cabin and don't make a sound."

Fang Che was helped onto the fishing boat. The cabin reeked of fish and mildew, and the boat rocked even more violently.

He hugged the bucket and vomited, too exhausted to even curse anymore, only able to groan.

While taking care of him, Li Hanzhou kept an eye on the sea and also kept an eye on Boss Lin!

Zhou Wenxuan said this person was reliable, but the world is dangerous, so we must be careful.

Night had fallen, the sea was pitch black, and only the chugging of diesel engines could be heard.

Fang Che, having vomited all his fluids, leaned weakly against Li Hanzhou's chest, his voice soft: "Brother Li..."

"Um?"

"When I get back to Hong Kong... I'm going to eat for three days and three nights... morning tea, afternoon tea, supper, I'll have it all..."

"good."

"I need to sleep for three more days and three nights... Anyone who calls me that will get mad at me..."

"good."

"And also..." Fang Che's eyelids drooped, "...to erect a monument for Seventh Brother...even without a body, he needs a place...to be remembered...so that when I'm old, I can go and talk to him..."

Li Hanzhou tightened his grip on her arm.

"good."

Fang Che was asleep, tears still clinging to his eyelashes.

Li Hanzhou looked out at the dark sea and recalled Qi's last look.

Calm, resolute.

I also remembered the old wounds on his shoulder, layer upon layer.

That knife almost turned into a "person".

Li Hanzhou closed his eyes, feeling a tightness in his chest.

He whispered, "Seven, if you're still alive... I'll come find you once A-Che is settled. If you're dead... may you be reborn into a better life and not become an assassin."

The waves crashed against the boat, making a splashing sound.

Sai Kung, Hong Kong: a barren beach.

It was four in the morning, just before dawn.

The fishing boat turned off its engine and paddled to shallow water: "This is the only way we can go. There are mangroves ahead, and beyond that are mudflats. Someone will meet us there."

Li Hanzhou carried the half-conscious Fang Che on his back and jumped into the waist-deep seawater.

The water was cold, and Fang Che woke up with a start: "Have we arrived?"

"arrive."

The two went ashore and hid in the mangroves.

The number of mosquitoes was frightening; Fang Che gasped for breath from the bites and dared not make a sound.

The person who came to meet them was a hunched old man pushing a broken tricycle piled with fishing nets and rotten fish.

"Change your clothes and get in the car."

The two changed into coarse cloth clothes, wiped off the mud, climbed onto the vehicle, and curled up under the fishing net.

The tricycle creaked and rattled as it rode up the dirt road, jolting Fang Che's back injury aggravated, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

As dawn broke, we entered the Kowloon city district.

The old tenement buildings on Temple Street are hidden deep in the alley. Downstairs is the newly opened "Fugu Karaoke", with neon lights flashing pink and purple, and the music making the building tremble.

The attic is on the top floor, and the stairs are steep.

Fang Che was out of breath halfway up the mountain and had to be half-supported and half-carried to get to the top.

The attic was narrow, but clean.

There's a bed, a stove, and a small window facing the night market.

On the table were clothes, medicine, food, and an old television set.

Fang Che collapsed onto the bed: "Finally, I have a bed... a bed that doesn't move..."

Li Hanzhou checked the doors, windows, and food before sitting down to catch his breath.

Then the TV turned on by itself.

The snowflakes flickered, and an image appeared—

It's Jiang Tianqi.

At the dinner party, he raised his glass and smiled at the camera.

"Thank you all for attending my father's memorial service." The voice came through the loudspeaker, echoing, "And thank God that the murderer who killed my father, Li Hanzhou, perished in the flames!"

Applause erupted.

Jiang Tianqi's smile deepened, but his eyes flickered for a moment: "From today onwards, the Dongsheng Society will cooperate with the former members of the Li family to develop Portland Street! The old era has passed, the new era belongs to us!"

The camera cuts to an aerial view of Portland Street, with a large area circled in red, including the old entrance of the Wo Yee Tong church.

Fang Che stared at the screen, his fingers digging into his palm.

Li Hanzhou's eyes were icy cold, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

The TV flickered again, the picture disappeared, and it turned into static on an encrypted channel.

An aged and steady voice came out; it was Uncle Chen.

"Hanzhou, Ache, please respond if you hear me."

Li Hanzhou picked up the radio microphone from under the bed: "Uncle Chen, we're here."

"Good, good." Uncle Chen's voice was a little excited. "Agui and Tie Niu have sent a message."

"First, Jiang Tianqi is not only sweeping up land, he wants to join forces with Boss Zhao of the 'Yongsheng Group' to acquire Portland Street land at a low price and carry out 'old district reconstruction'. On the surface it is development, but in reality it is to erase the traces of Heyitang, and the ancestral hall will also be demolished."

“Secondly, Miss Li Ruoxue…” Chen Bo paused, “She is close to Jiang Tianqi, but Tie Niu sent a message from prison saying that she is secretly transferring the Li family’s old assets, and her actions are secretive, so it doesn’t seem like she has completely surrendered.”

Fang Che grabbed the microphone: "Uncle Chen, I saw her before I went to Thailand! She gave me Jiang Kun's photo and said sorry... I thought she had woken up!"

Uncle Chen was silent for a few seconds: "Ah Che, the world is a long and winding road, and people's hearts are unpredictable. Giving out the photos could be a genuine awakening, or it could be another scheme. Be careful."

Fang Che was stunned.

Li Hanzhou took the microphone: "Xi Rong and the others?"

"They haven't found them yet, but they should be safe," Uncle Chen said. "There's an unidentified force protecting them, and their methods are clean. They're not Jiang Tianqi's people, nor are they ours. I suspect..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Li Hanzhou and Fang Che were thinking of the same person.

seven.

If he were still alive, he could do it.

"Deal with Jiang Tianqi first," Li Hanzhou said in a deep voice. "Uncle Chen, meet the brothers who can still be trusted tomorrow night at the usual place."

"Understood. I'll arrange the location; the signal will remain the same."

The call has ended.

Fang Che lay back down, staring at the moldy spots on the ceiling: "Brother Li, Li Ruoxue, she..."

"We'll ask him face to face when we meet." Li Hanzhou lay down and pulled him into his arms. "Now, let's sleep."

Fang Che hummed in agreement, but couldn't fall asleep.

Outside the window, the neon lights of Temple Street lit up one by one, and the night market grew increasingly noisy.

The night in Hong Kong has begun.

Their war has only just begun.

Li Hanzhou held Fang Che tightly and whispered:

"Starting tomorrow, we'll calculate everything, one by one."

Fang Che snuggled closer to him and said in a muffled voice:

"I'm fine with the bill, but Brother Li, can we at least have something decent to eat first? I'm just bloated with stomach acid..."

Li Hanzhou smiled and kissed his forehead:

"I'll take you to eat wonton noodles tomorrow, with double the shrimp."

Three servings, please!

"good."