Chapter 15: Reunion Once More

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Evening, Wan Chai, Yong Kee Tea Restaurant.
“Hey, Wisdom’s here?” Boss Yong, wrapped in his chef’s apron, scooped up the freshly fried pork chops and skillfully sliced them, the crisp sound of the crackling crust ringing out with each cut.
Deng Gengyun, helmet in hand, stepped into the restaurant. Surprised to see the boss still remembered Wisdom, he exclaimed, “Brother Tanhua, you still come here often?”
Zhong Zhihui found a table in the bustling restaurant and sat down, smiling warmly. “After ’77, I’m the only one left working in Central. Sometimes when I don’t know what to eat, I just come to the old spot.”
Deng Gengyun nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been transferred to Tsuen Wan. Across the harbor, I can’t get what I want to eat. Why would the boss remember me?”
Just then, Boss Yong set down two large bowls on the table. “Yun, you’ve tanned a lot. How’ve you been lately?”
“Good, Boss Yong.” Deng Gengyun showed a genuine smile, baring his teeth.
Seeing this, Zhong Zhihui picked up his chopsticks, handed one to his brother, and said with a grin, “The road we walked, the days we shared — how could I forget?”
“Dianlou contacted me.”
Deng Gengyun took the chopsticks and bit into a crispy, juicy pork chop. “He wants me to help Brother Sheng.”
“With no eating, drinking, gambling, or womanizing, how can he be the ‘Five Poisons Detective’?” Zhong Zhihui took a sip of iced lemon tea and got straight to the point: “We all go back and help Brother Sheng together!”
Deng Gengyun’s expression softened, disbelief evident. “Brother Tanhua, you’re a senior inspector. You’d still get involved with us?”
“So what if I’m a senior inspector? When you’re out in the world, it’s about power. Without a stronghold, I’ll be a mere inspector for life. Brother Sheng is just a police station chief. If he returns to the scene, he’ll soon surpass me.”
“Whether underground or aboveboard, those who once followed Brother Lok—his uncles and cousins—were the first to support Brother Sheng.” Zhong Zhihui saw things clearly.
Brother Lok isn’t dead yet. A phone call back to the island would gather some loyalists. If Brother Sheng didn’t step up to rally the troops, the remnants would gradually fall apart. But since Brother Sheng dares to go against the tide, anyone wanting a comeback has no choice but to gather around him.
Everyone’s guessing what cards Brother Sheng holds—what Lu and Han Sen’s people left behind. For example, Deng Bo has repeatedly asked Brother Sheng to come out of retirement for that very "thing."
Though Brother Lok never openly acknowledged it, overseas calls hinted at naming Lin Tiansheng as his heir.
It’s because the most important asset is with Brother Sheng!
Many nights, Zhihui pondered whether to get deeply involved with the remnants. In the end, he concluded the elite faction would never accept him, and old brothers certainly wouldn’t let him off easily.
Rather than wavering, it’s better to risk it all.
“Don’t forget, Yun, without Brother Sheng, we’re nothing.”

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Deng Gengyun nodded slowly, accepting Zhihui once more. “Let’s call Safety and go find Brother Sheng together, no matter what department or rank our brothers hold.”
“Same as before, same as now.”
Zhong Zhihui smiled. “Yun, I envy your naive heart. Actually, before coming, I called Safety, but he ignored me.”
“Three years have passed. Everyone’s positions and identities have changed. You can’t just rely on words to go back to how things were.”
“Why hasn’t Brother Sheng contacted us? Because he fears we’ve changed. To return to him, we must first prove our loyalty.”
Deng Gengyun’s eyes widened slightly. “How do we prove it?”
Zhong Zhihui said, “Before, I was under Brother Sheng in an official capacity. Now we’re in different departments; we have to find a different way—burning joss paper, beheading a chicken, swearing blood oaths, you get it?”
“Like a society?”
Deng Gengyun frowned slightly, not exactly displeased, just a bit surprised.
“No.”
“It’s about following ancient customs and tradition. Only by forming sworn brotherhoods can we truly trust each other. But to swear brotherhood, you need a token of allegiance.” Zhong Zhihui explained.
“A token of allegiance... how do you write one?” Deng Gengyun looked puzzled.
Zhong Zhihui lowered his head, leaned in, and bit his lip. “With a life.”
“That bitch Lily stole Brother Rong’s fortune and slept with Xu Xu Yong. Serves her right. I’m in the Criminal Intelligence Division; I can easily track her movements.”
“Bring her to see Brother Sheng and Brother Rong. Then, no matter what, our brothers will reunite.”
Deng Gengyun licked his lips, suddenly savoring the pork chop rice even more, and quietly replied, “Should we include Safety?”
“A brother isn’t begged for. If he ignores us, we act on our own.” Zhong Zhihui answered.
Deng Gengyun shook his head, quickly clarifying, “No, I mean we should drag that traitor Chen Safety along to see Brother Sheng, so Brother Sheng knows not one of the Four Big Sand Generals will be left behind.”
“Only death, no escape!”
Zhong Zhihui’s spine chilled, a cold shiver rising within, his eyes fixed on Deng Gengyun. “Enforcing the family code is the boss’s business. As the junior, you must have limits.”
“You can’t overstep your bounds.”

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Deng Gengyun nodded slowly. “Makes sense, Brother Zhihui. You really are the smart one.”
“Get ready tonight. Wait for my call. Your pager number hasn’t changed, right?”
“Nope.”
After finishing their talk, Deng Gengyun lowered his head and ate seriously, not only finishing the entire bowl of pork chop rice but also picking up a scallion from the soup and popping it into his mouth.
Deng Gengyun wasn’t a glutton; he simply had to eat every last bit.
Late at night, eleven o’clock, Zhong Zhihui waited beneath an old tenement building in Happy Valley. He pulled out the car’s mobile phone and called the pager station: “Page 50031, Happy Valley, 18 Jing Guang Street. Bring tools, we’ve got work to do.”
“Sir, please hold.”
Lying on the sofa in his rented room, reading comics, Deng Gengyun heard the pager buzz, sprang up immediately, grabbed the landline to call back, confirmed the address, then pulled a backpack from under the sofa. He hurriedly left and hailed a cab.
After getting off on Jing Guang Street, he had barely taken a few steps when Zhong Zhihui called out from a corner, “Yun.”
“Brother Zhihui, where’s that bitch?” Deng Gengyun asked. Zhong Zhihui, cigarette dangling from his mouth, pulled out a red demon mask. “She’s inside the tenement. Four Number Gang thugs guard inside and out. Put on this mask first.”
Deng Gengyun donned the mask and hid in the alley, whispering, “Do the Number Gang guys carry short guns?”
“Don’t know. We’ll probe inside quietly—no gunshots if possible. She’s just a mistress; chances of guns are slim.” Zhong Zhihui also put on a blue mask. From Deng’s bag, he took out a folding knife and hung it at his waist, then handed Deng a black star pistol. “But better safe than sorry. If we meet shooters, shoot them in the heart.”
Deng Gengyun’s eyes burned with excitement, his tone ruthless. “Damn it, anyone who dares mess with our brothers’ money deserves to die. Those who crossed us these years, one by one, should be dead.”
“Let’s go!”
Zhong Zhihui changed into a white tracksuit and edged along the street toward the tenement. Coordinating with Yun, they quietly climbed into the courtyard within minutes.
Immediately inside the still-lit three-story tenement, shouts rang out:
“Hey, we’re the Number Gang, Yi Zi faction!”
“Who the hell are you?”
“Fuck you, your old man’s here too!”