2 Roaming the Four Seas

The cold air was turned up to the maximum, and the old-fashioned fan bellows clattered noisily.

“Are you cold?” Huang Zhixian finally noticed that Jia Yi Sheng was soaked almost halfway through.

She had rushed to the police station in the pouring rain early this morning, bedraggled and breathless, forced to witness the autopsy before being taken to this room for interrogation.

Duan Zonglin’s body had turned pale from soaking; those who knew him couldn’t help but cover their faces. Yet Jia Yi Sheng watched the entire process expressionlessly, as if the figure lying before her was merely a wax statue.

“No, I’m not cold.” Jia Yi Sheng shook her head.

Her cheeks were frighteningly pale, and she looked as if she might collapse at any moment. Yet she sat upright, exuding an involuntary stubbornness.

Huang Zhixian couldn’t help but recall the first time he saw Jia Yi Sheng—through a photo Duan Zonglin had handed him.

In the picture, Jia Yi Sheng was only twelve, already possessing stunning beauty, though somewhat underdeveloped, with the same pale complexion and frailty, lacking the refined aura she now carried. Her current elegance was something cultivated quickly and lavishly—Su Jingwan never spared expense in this regard. She always believed that the benefits of nurturing Jia Yi Sheng would far outweigh her current investment.

Duan Zonglin had said she was Su Jingwan’s daughter. Back then, she was called Sheng Wan. She had given birth to this daughter with a British man long ago, and for reasons unknown, she never abandoned her but instead brought her to Hong Kong.

“She takes her mother’s surname,” Duan Zonglin explained as he and Huang Zhixian smoked on the rooftop of the Yuntong Building, cigarette butts scattered on the ground.

Duan Zonglin, a police academy graduate with a decent appearance, was overshadowed by the presence of the mother and daughter from the Sheng family, no matter how handsome he was.

Beautiful women always attracted many men, and if they were both beautiful and intelligent, men would only become their playthings. Huang Zhixian could predict the outcome—Duan Zonglin’s suppressed nature meant he was no match for such a woman.

“A Wan said she could help us, but on one condition.”

“What condition?”

“Take her and Jia Yi out of here, give them both perfect identities, make them true citizens of this city.”

Huang Zhixian crushed his cigarette under his shoe. “I’m telling you clearly, that’s impossible. Wan holds a high position there, many people know her. And her daughter—Jia Yi—has those eyes, one in a million. Anyone could easily find her. Bringing them out would be like carrying a bomb with a tracker. Who would take responsibility for that?”

Duan Zonglin shook his head. “If we don’t agree, Wan won’t help us. Sir, you know the background. Her attitude is crucial. We’ve worked so hard for years, and now we’re close to results. Are you really going to give up?”

Give up? Of course Huang Zhixian wouldn’t. If he succeeded this time, he would soon be promoted to Chief Superintendent. He could accomplish what previous chiefs couldn’t; he would become a legend.

“No,” Huang Zhixian insisted. “This is my bottom line. Duan Zonglin, don’t be blinded by beauty. Even if Wan weren’t in Hong Kong, she has places to go—Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam... With her skills, it’s easy to go anywhere. If she insists on coming out with you, aren’t you afraid she has ulterior motives? No, she definitely does.”

“She can leave, but her daughter cannot,” Duan Zonglin said. “Sir, she wants Jia Yi to have a good education, and Hong Kong is the best place.”

“A touching mother-daughter bond,” Huang Zhixian said coldly.

“Actually, their relationship is distant. I’ve never seen Wan consider a way out for Jia Yi—except this once.”

“What sparked her interest this time?” Huang Zhixian pulled out another cigarette, held it in his mouth, cupped his hand over it, and bent down to reach the flickering red flame of the lighter.

“Perhaps she sees in Jia Yi a chance to change their fate.”

At dusk, the clouds on the horizon were dyed crimson. Neon signs lit up one by one, arranged densely above the undulating streets. Utility poles tangled among billboards; double-decker buses passed below, their gusts lifting clothes hung on bamboo poles outside tenement windows. A red pair of trousers swayed precariously.

---

“Sir, you should meet Jia Yi,” Duan Zonglin said. “Then you’ll understand that true jewels are hard to tarnish.”

“Too much brilliance can harm those around you,” Huang Zhixian sighed. “Are you willing to risk your life to help her, Zonglin? I didn’t know you had such a strong sense of justice. There are countless men, women, young and old in the world who need saving. Two more or two less won’t make a difference. Leaving this mother and daughter alone, they will survive somewhere new. Maybe not as well as in Hong Kong, but we’re not obligated to fulfill everyone’s dreams, right?”

“You make a valid point, sir,” Duan Zonglin said. “But I’m a policeman.”

The harbor breeze blew out Huang Zhixian’s lighter.

He blinked, and the world turned white before his eyes.

“I heard you’re planning to study in the United States?” Huang Zhixian asked Jia Yi, regaining his composure. “When are you leaving? Given the current situation, you’re in danger. The sooner you go, the safer you’ll be.”

“Do you want me to leave?” Jia Yi didn’t answer his question but instead asked him, “Do you think I should leave?”

Huang Zhixian replied, “It depends on the perspective. As an elder, I hope you leave soon. You’re still so young, and you’ve come this far. There’s no need to get involved in this mess.”

“And as the Chief Superintendent?”

“Then naturally, I hope you stay.”

“Your mother disappeared so abruptly. Whether she jumped into the sea to die or not, Duan Zonglin’s death is definitely connected to her. She’s at least a person in the know. I understand her character—if she’s gone, she’s gone. Hong Kong police can’t find her; every trace has been erased except one—that’s you.”

“She won’t come back for me,” Jia Yi said.

“But someone will come looking for you,” Huang Zhixian said, pointing to her eyes. “As long as you stay here, the truth will one day come to light.”

Jia Yi thought for a moment. “Why should I do that? I have no reason to put myself in danger.”

Huang Zhixian stared into her eyes, then smiled.

He handed her an old piece of paper, his face full of certainty.

It was a quatrain:

It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.

---

[“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley (1849–1903)]

The elegant italics made Jia Yi’s eyelashes flutter.

“This is what I wrote,” she whispered.

“Your father gave it to me,” Huang Zhixian said. “You hadn’t taken any English classes back then, right?”

Jia Yi caressed the rough paper.

“I personally forged your identity documents. Jia Yi, you must understand what this means for me if it’s exposed. I could be investigated by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, lightly disciplined or warned, or severely dismissed and even imprisoned. And I’m doing all this not for you, but for Zonglin—he was my best student. He was willing to vouch for your mother and daughter, even marry your mother and recognize you as his daughter. His devotion was so deep that I have no words. I can only take this risk for him.”

“Now that he’s dead, and I don’t even know who killed him, I want to avenge my student but can’t. What about you, Jia Yi? Will you choose to leave everything behind—this identity he fought for and the fortune your mother left you—and start a new life in America?”

“You can ignore the truth of Zonglin’s death and not care about your mother’s fate. That’s your right because you are clean, Jia Yi. Everyone tacitly avoids involving you, keeping you out of the conflict. But that’s too unfair. Jia Yi, why should you remain aloof?”

“He died because of you. What right do you have to begin a new life?”

“Have you said enough?” Jia Yi cut him off.

She stared coldly at him, her gaze unnerving Huang Zhixian.

“I will stay. I won’t go anywhere.”

“Are you satisfied with this outcome?”

She was not afraid. Death had never been terrifying to her; she once awaited that day like the first light of dawn.

Huang Zhixian lowered his head. “Very well, but I must warn you, the police cannot guarantee your safety.”

“I will find my own way,” she said. “You are you, and I am me. I am responsible for myself.”

Her swift concession left Huang Zhixian somewhat at a loss. “What kind of way could you think of?”

But Jia Yi refused to say more.

She turned to look out the window.

In the pouring rain, the lights were dim, casting shadows on branches swaying wildly in the wind.

There was still an hour until dawn.