Chapter 156: Zhu Dachang's Rare Moment of Cleverness (Part 2)

Everyone has a past, even someone like Hou San, who drifts like duckweed. Ever since he can remember, he has never had a family.

He grew up wild in the mountains. He did not know who his parents were, but he could make an educated guess. He was brought into existence by the joint effort of three people: a man who provided one part of the cells, a woman who provided another part, and a third person who provided the womb.

Later, a man named Zhang Xiaoman came to the mountains where he was running wild and gave him a name.

"There's a kid a few years younger than you who was also born through the collaboration of others. His name is Nie Yi: 'The Dao produces One, One produces Two, Two produces Three, and Three produces all things.' Adding a Two to a name isn't very sophisticated. So... you look just like a little monkey, let's just call you Hou San!"

From that moment on, he became someone with a proper given and family name. He helped Zhang Xiaoman find Elm Willow Village, and then he acquired a true family member of his own. A tall, sturdy, and foolishly naive fat man.

If he wasn't a fool, why would he share half of his only steamed bun with someone else? If he wasn't a fool, why would he still call him Third Brother and obey his every word, even though he was clearly strong enough to beat him? If he wasn't a fool, why would he believe Zhang Xiaoman's words and wait every single day in the small grove of Elm Willow Village for Zhang Xiaoman to come back and find him?

Originally, on that day, he had planned to leave Elm Willow Village with Zhang Xiaoman. But for some reason, he suddenly didn't want to find Zhang Xiaoman anymore. Instead, he chose to stay in Elm Willow Village, staying right by the fat man's side.

That night, the fat man talked to him about a great many things. He watched the fat man for a long, long time, their two pairs of bare feet dangling and splashing in the river water until the dawn broke over the river.

After spending a long time together, he discovered that the fat man was someone who cried very easily. He cried when he was bullied, and he cried when he bullied others. Therefore, he decided to lead by example and make this fat man become strong. No matter how dangerous something was, he would always charge to the front. He was the first in line when climbing trees, the first in line when jumping into the deep river to take a bath, and even when encountering wild boars in the mountains, he was still the first in line—though that was in the order of running away.

Actually, most of the time he was terrified too—terrified of falling to his death, terrified of drowning, and even more terrified of being impaled in the backside by a wild boar's tusks.

But when someone you wanted to protect stood behind you, fear did not seem so important anymore. Later on, the fat man stopped crying, and the crying baton was passed to him for a very long time instead, while the fat man became the one who always charged to the front.

Recalling the past twenty-plus years and gazing at the snow-drifted streets, Hou San wished right now that time would pass faster. Because if he moved any slower, that fat man would truly become a thing of the past.

"Faster, just a little faster!" Hou San roared frantically in his heart, completely ignoring the injury on his knee as he actually started to run.

"Faster, just a little faster!" Wang Chao in the alleyway was also shouting inwardly, paying no heed to the disgusting yellowish-red mess all over his hands.

"Why isn't it here!" Hou San, passing by the first alley, and Wang Chao, squatting beside Zhu Dachang's stomach and rummaging around for a long time, uttered those words at almost the exact same time, though their tones were somewhat different.

One minute and thirty-seven seconds later, Hou San finally found the fat man, along with the grey jacket stained entirely with blood and filth. Glancing at Zhu Dachang, whose abdomen had been sliced open on the ground, Hou San drew the two improvised zip guns from inside his trouser legs. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he roared furiously, "I'll fucking kill your mother!"

Bang, bang, bang!

Three earth-shattering gunshots rang out, seeming to freeze even the falling snow for a fraction of a second.

Wang Chao's eyelids twitched. He rolled on the ground a few times, dodging the bullets that pierced through the snow flurries.

Hou San dropped the zip gun whose left-hand magazine was now empty. He glanced at the single bullet remaining in his right-hand zip gun, fished another bullet out of his pocket, and pretended it was his last one, loading it with an expression of deep regret. Wielding the zip gun, he slowly walked into the depths of the alley.

"Just one left?" Wang Chao loosened his neck, glanced at Hou San's knee, and smiled with a trace of contempt. "A single bullet can't kill me. We didn't get to finish our fun last time, but I didn't expect our second duel to come so soon. Did you purify yourself by fasting and bathing?"

"Did you burn incense and say your prayers?" Hou San spat on the ground. The closer he got to Zhu Dachang, the more frantic his heart grew. "I don't plan on giving you time to leisurely wash up today, but I guarantee that after you die, I will make sure you're dressed up properly—absolutely colorful and dazzling, looking gorgeous as hell."

"The last person who wanted to kill me is lying right by your feet," Wang Chao said with a crooked smile. "You can exchange notes and experience with him."

"Why the hell am I wasting words with you..." Hou San pulled the bolt, aimed at Wang Chao's head, and rapidly pulled the trigger. "Take this!"

A dazzling flash of fire erupted from the muzzle, and a bullet spun rapidly into the air, heading straight for Wang Chao's face.

Wang Chao frowned and threw himself sideways. The bullet still managed to graze his body, splashing a spray of blood. Glancing at his steadily bleeding left leg, Wang Chao struggled to prop himself against the wall and stand up. He thrust his left index and middle fingers into the wound on his left leg, dug in hard, pinched out a bullet, and tossed it to the ground. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he looked at Hou San with a sinister smile and said with a chilling voice, "I don't even need to gamble now; I can figure it out with my toes... your gun is out of ammo!"

Hou San continued to hold the gun, locking eyes with Wang Chao as he shuffled to change positions. He reached the deepest part of the alley, came to a halt beside Zhu Dachang, and said coldly, "I still have a gun. What do you have?"

Wang Chao brandished the blood-stained small knife in his hand. "A gun without bullets can't take lives, but even the smallest knife can stab a man to death."

Hou San suddenly heard a muffled groan. He lowered his head to look at Zhu Dachang, who was gradually regaining consciousness, and the rage within his chest blazed even hotter. With icy eyes, he said, "You can come over and try to see who dies first!"

Wang Chao cast a suspicious glance at Hou San, pondered for a moment, and limped over to Yang伟's corpse, placing the small knife back into Yang伟's hand. "I'm not going to wear myself out lingering here with you. The sound of gunfire just now is bound to alarm the people nearby, and the police will be here soon... But don't worry, I'll come looking for you again. Until the items are found, this matter cannot be settled. And until it's settled, I'm not going anywhere. Our ties aren't severed yet."

Hou San's eyes darted around. "The things you want are right on me. If you've got the guts, come and take them right now. Otherwise, the moment I turn my head, I might just hand them over to the police."

"You wouldn't do that. A person's eyes don't lie. You want to avenge that fat pig, and if you hand the things over to the police, you won't be able to exact your revenge with your own hands."

"Just in case you run away and I have no idea where you are, to play it safe, I'll probably still choose to hand the things over to the police and have you bastards locked up first."

"Believe it or not, I'm not leaving anytime soon, nor can I leave. How about this... I'll give you a chance. There's going to be a masquerade ball on a cruise ship in a few days. Let's make an appointment to meet there and settle our score once and for all, winner take all?"

Hou San sneered. "A trap?"

Wang Chao smacked his lips and turned to walk out of the alley. "Naturally, I'll make some preparations, and you can make some preparations too. Whoever does a better job survives."

"Fair enough! Then it's a date..." Hou San secretly pulled the bolt and abruptly squeezed the trigger. "Provided you can make it out of this alley alive first!"

Bang! A gunshot echoed through the alley.

Wang Chao whipped around, his pupils contracting violently. He desperately lunged to the side to dodge, but because of his leg injury, he was still a split second too slow. The bullet embedded itself deeply into his right shoulder. His body rocked violently a few times, but ultimately he did not fall. He shot Hou San a resentful glare, his face livid as he dragged his wounded leg and quickened his pace to leave the alley entrance.

Hou San was just about to give chase when he suddenly felt someone tugging at the hem of his jacket. He looked closely and saw it was none other than Zhu Dachang, who was on the verge of death. Hou San immediately squatted down, glanced at Zhu Dachang's stomach, and felt tears welling up in his eyes. Pressing his lips together, he said, "Dachang, hold on just a bit longer, I'll carry you back to the hospital right now..."

"Third Brother, what's wrong with me... why am I so hungry..." Zhu Dachang asked with a pale face, glancing out of the corner of his eye at his own abdomen. "Oh well, turns out my intestines are broken..." He shook his head and said, "Forget it, Third Brother, you can't even carry me. You huff and puff just carrying a few dozen catties of fake jewelry, let alone 260-pound me... No wait, I've lost a few dozen catties now, but you still can't carry me."

"Stop talking this goddamn nonsense and save your breath!" Hou San could no longer hold it back, and tears finally streamed in heavy droplets from the corners of his eyes. "We're going right back to the hospital... You don't believe me when I say you're stupid—sure, I can't carry you, but I can go call a doctor! The hospital isn't even that far from here..."

Zhu Dachang tugged at Hou San's jacket once more. "Don't bother, Third Brother... Haven't all our running around and struggling these past few days just been like a monkey fishing for the moon in the water, a complete waste of effort? Don't go anywhere else, let's just talk for a little longer... Actually, I'm not stupid; that bastard is the stupid one. When I told him I ate the stuff, he actually believed it... Third Brother, I threw the file bag into a garbage can, it should be on that Yang伟 guy now," he gestured toward a corner of the wall. "I hid those two USB drives in that corner over there. Dig them out later and give them to Zhang Xiaoman..."

"Don't mention that person to me! If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have ended up like this!" Hou San said, tears streaming down his face. "I told you long ago that the fate of those who get co-opted is tragic, but you wouldn't listen..."

"Third Brother, once you hand the things over to him, you can take the money and go back to the village," Zhu Dachang swallowed a mouthful of blood. "Help me say sorry to Cuihua, and tell her to find someone else to marry."

"I'm not going back!" Hou San's shoulders shook uncontrollably. "I'm going to butcher the bastards who killed you!"

"Third Brother... listen to my advice. We're just small potatoes; we can't afford to play games with people like them. I just want you and Cuihua to live well. Don't let me die with my eyes open in grievance!"

"Let's not talk about this..." Hou San wiped the tear tracks from his face. "We still need to find a way to get back to the hospital quickly. Hang in there, I'll just find a board and drag you back. I even brewed a bowl of instant noodles for you, and I added a whole Good-Boy brand ham sausage, your absolute favorite..."

"We can't go back..." Zhu Dachang gazed in the direction of Elm Willow Village and smiled bitterly. "Third Brother, I'm sorry... Actually, there are two things I lied to you about..."

"It doesn't matter, I forgive you," Hou San thought Zhu Dachang was talking about matters concerning Zhang Xiaoman. "Stop talking, your intestines are sticking out..."

"The first thing... I actually don't like eating ham sausage. I just liked it because it had the characters 'Good-Boy' on it, and it sounded like eating it would make life really good..."

"And the most important thing—Cuihua's mother never said she wanted to marry Cuihua to Wang Mazi. I lied to you about that. I just wanted to bring you out to live a new life... But this City A really isn't a place for us to stay. It's too fake. The people are fake, the food we eat is fake, even the flowers in the garden are fake."

"Good heavens, can you even call a garden a garden when there isn't a single real flower in it? I'm sorry for making you run around in vain for so long. If I had known, we should have just stayed in the village. Not only are there real flowers there, there's also Cuihua..."

Hou San knelt on the ground, burying his hands deeply into the snow, and choked out, "It's all in the past now. Once you get your intestines stitched up, we'll go back, and we're never coming here again..."

"You're lying to me again. Your lying skills aren't even as good as mine. How can anyone live once their intestines are broken..." Zhu Dachang suddenly felt the world before his eyes growing darker and darker. "Actually, there's one more thing I managed to keep from them, and from you too. Even Zhang Xiaoman was fooled by me. Aren't I smart?"

"Yeah..." Hou San couldn't care less about asking what Zhu Dachang had lied to him about. He buried his head deep into his arms and said softly, "You're the smartest! True wisdom looks like folly; you're a person with great wisdom!"

Zhu Dachang stared toward the mouth of the alley, slowly closed his eyes as if he had returned to the small grove in Elm Willow Village, exhaled his final breath, and asked the question he had asked many times before, "Third Brother... why hasn't Zhang Xiaoman come to find me yet..."