Seltsame Geschichten aus Tangdun

Kapitel 11

However, as we delve deeper into the whole incident, more and more factors that were not originally part of our peaceful lives have come into play.

The concerns raised by Zhang Xiaojun on behalf of the police, the underworld disputes behind Gu Datou, the heinous medical incident involving Tan Hui, the mysterious forces controlling Hua Zi and Guai Guai, and even the possible political backroom deals—none of these are things that ordinary people like us, who are powerless to even kill a chicken, can handle.

Wesley is just a legendary character in the novel.

Yan Xin and A Lei expressed their strong opposition. However, when I mentioned Yan Xin's husband, Lao Gao, A Lei's wife, Xiao Wei, and their relatives and friends in Fuzhou, the other end of the phone gradually fell silent.

We're all just ordinary people. If I can get through this, I definitely want to sign up for some Taekwondo or Karate classes to brush up on my skills.

With ten minutes left before the appointed time, I was already standing at the entrance of the hot spring park, looking up at the towering Jinyuan International Hotel.

By the way, there's a very conspicuous pyramid-shaped building diagonally opposite Jinyuan, which is the famous Pyramid Disco in Fuzhou. It's quite influential among Fuzhou's special needs group, catering to young men with buzz cuts.

The elevator stopped on the fourteenth floor.

I hesitated for a moment, then didn't immediately go out. There stood a burly man on each side of the door, his face rugged and his height at least 190cm. Since I'm a typical southerner, just 170cm tall, I could barely reach their chests.

I was only stunned for a moment. They seemed to have confirmed my identity, and bowed slightly while saying, "Brother Wang, please come this way. Brother Gu is waiting for you."

My gaze only caught a glimpse of a burly man on my left quickly stuffing a photo into his pocket, but I instinctively knew that in that instant they had scrutinized me from head to toe, probably even knowing whether I was carrying any hidden weapons.

These two are definitely not ordinary people; you can tell just by looking at their lightning-like gazes.

This was a very challenging task. I straightened my back, focused all my attention, and calmly gestured for them to lead the way.

Don't forget, my profession is journalist!

Although not one of those legendary big-name reporters, I've at least seen some of the ways of the world.

Room 1408 is just around the corner from the elevator lobby.

I glanced at my watch as usual. The minute hand pointed to 12 o'clock. Subtracting the 15 minutes I'd advanced, it was exactly 9:45, the agreed time, with an error of no more than 30 seconds. This made me quite pleased with myself.

The door to room 1408 swung open with a bang, and a young woman stumbled backward. I use the word "backward" because she was facing the door as she retreated, her hair disheveled, her steps unsteady, and she looked quite disheveled.

Gu Datou then appeared at the door, tossed a woman's handbag into her arms, and remained expressionless and silent.

My gaze lingered on the canvas bag for half a minute, and I couldn't help but gasp, because I immediately spotted GUCCI's distinctive G buckle.

This bag used to be displayed in the window of the most elegant GUCCI boutique in Dongguan. During the happy days when my girlfriend and I strolled along the street, we would always pass by there intentionally or unintentionally, and then accompany her to gaze at it for half an hour.

Two years have passed. When I recall the sweetest times, I always find myself thinking of this bag.

A very unique weaving technique. The leather at the opening is all hand-woven, and the outer pattern is pressed out with copper nails. The price is 14,800 RMB.

My monthly salary back then was only 850 yuan.

The young woman leaned quietly against the wall with her head down. Gu Datou stared silently into the distance. The two burly men remained silent like obedient children. I was lost in thought.

In this small setting, time seems to stand still.

She raised her head, her delicate face still bearing traces of tears, yet she smiled and gently kissed the man's cheek before walking past the three of us as if no one else was there. The two burly men obediently stepped aside, and the young woman patted one of them on the shoulder: "Stone, Wood, take good care of your elder brother. Come over for soup sometime. I'll introduce you to some nice girls; it's time you settled down."

Like a schoolchild being scolded by a teacher, Shi Tou meekly replied, "I understand, sister-in-law." Those few simple words were enough for me to hear a hint of sympathy and gratitude in them.

As I watched her figure disappear around the corner, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Such is often the way love is in this world. The one you love doesn't love you, and the one who loves you isn't the one you love. Gu Datou deeply loved Hua Zi, willing to risk his life for her, but Hua Zi loved Tan Hui instead. This young woman came from a wealthy family and was clearly deeply in love with Gu Datou; even I, an outsider, could sense it, yet the parties involved remained indifferent, as if they knew nothing.

As I was lost in thought, the tall, thin man turned his gaze to me: "Reporter Wang? Please come in and talk. Stone, Wood, you can go back and rest; we don't need you here. I need to have a good talk with Mr. Wang. Just have Uncle Da pick me up tomorrow morning."

He was clearly used to giving orders, issuing several commands in one breath, all in a condescending tone, leaving no room for the recipients to choose. This made me somewhat uncomfortable, but Stone and Wood, without hesitation, put their feet together, agreed, and turned to leave.

This suddenly reminded me of what Afang had told me about Gu Datou's background—he came from the Special Operations Brigade of the South China Sea Fleet Marine Corps. If I'm not mistaken, Shi Tou and Mu Tou should be his subordinates during his service, special forces soldiers whose profession was killing.

This judgment made me both nervous and excited; my fat heart began to pound wildly.

Room 1408 was a standard room, the most common type in hotels, less than ten square meters, with two beds placed side by side. The room was lit by a warm orange light—supposedly the most relaxing color. An IBM laptop was glowing on the desk, next to a stack of A4 printed papers.

Out of habit, I glanced at the laptop's LCD screen from afar—it had more than a dozen web pages open—and my body stiffened instantly.

Those web pages displayed all my columns and articles online under the pen names "aflyingfly" and "乱飞因", including even the small columns in Taiwan and Hong Kong!

This suddenly made it clear why I'd heard three different titles after entering Jinyuan: "Brother Wang," "Reporter Wang," and "Mr. Wang." The stack of printed papers next to my notebook probably revealed the last bit of information I had about myself at the Straits Talent Market.

It felt as if I had been stripped naked and thrown into the freezing snow, filling me with shame, anger, and unease.

Gu Datou casually opened the small liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of wine, handed one to me, and said indifferently, "I'm sorry to do this. But if you were to tell a complete stranger a huge secret that you've kept in your heart for more than two years, everyone would want to know more about the other person first, wouldn't you say?"

Section 26

A jasmine flower, a raindrop, a flash of lightning, a pigeon that happens to land on the windowsill—all of these have a cause and effect.

That night, Gu Datou and I talked all night long. We talked about everything from his childhood to his brothers in the army, from the remote mountains of southern Fujian to the desolate islands in the South China Sea. He treated me like a long-lost friend, speaking eloquently and without reservation.

I believe there is a reason for all of this.

He laughed heartily, saying he only hoped that when he suddenly left this world one day, someone would still know the story that happened to him and Hanako. Maybe then, I could write it into a novel, or even make it into a television series, so that people could have something to talk about over tea.

Gu Datou's story before the age of 18 was not much different from that of a child from a poor mountain village. He barely finished high school, joined the army, and distinguished himself in the military, eventually becoming a special forces soldier in the South China Sea Fleet's Marine Corps. After being discharged from the army, he went to the provincial capital to work and make a living, where he met Hua Zi by chance.

Like Afang, those simple yet happy times were so unforgettable in Gu Datou's memory that he unconsciously became immersed in his reminiscences, rambling on about those simple yet sweet little things for almost half an hour.

Unfortunately, happiness is always ended by suffering.

That day, he went to work at the Global Plaza building where the Heaven on Earth Group was located, as usual. As usual, he escorted Hanako to the elevator. Hanako playfully imitated the city women on TV and gave him a flirtatious wink, which left him somewhat dazed for a while afterward, and he even got a scolding from the team leader.

When the walkie-talkie crackled to life, he and several colleagues were setting up a cordon in front of the building. A high-ranking official at the provincial or ministerial level was visiting the group, and they were tasked with preventing suspicious individuals from entering the building.

The walkie-talkie beeped twice, and he immediately picked it up to listen. He heard sounds of fighting and heavy breathing coming from the other end, along with several men shouting and cursing. He vaguely heard words like "bitch" and "ungrateful." He paused, because he recognized two familiar voices: one sounded like his immediate superior, the security manager, and the other like the group's CEO, Liu Huatian!

The soldier's nerves immediately tensed. He called to his colleagues, and they took the backup elevator directly to the 22nd floor, where the president's office was located. To his surprise, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they saw the security manager there with two colleagues he knew. The manager immediately questioned him about what he was doing on the 22nd floor, neglecting his post!

He tried to explain, but the manager only became louder and more abusive. If it weren't for his two colleagues giving him meaningful glances, he, used to obeying orders, would probably have already obediently gone downstairs. Filled with doubt, he was unwilling to leave, yet hesitant about whether he should offend his superior and risk losing his job to find out the truth.

However, just as he was hesitating, something happened that he would regret for the rest of his life.

Hanako's screams, filled with grief and pain, pierced his ears like a thunderbolt, jolting him from his hesitation. He kicked the stern-faced manager to the ground, then kicked open the thick oak door to the president's office several more times. What he saw before him felt like countless knives stabbing into his heart, the pain rendering him speechless.

Hanako's hands were tied behind her back by two men, and she was pressed down on the huge desk in the CEO's office. Her hair was messy, and the cheap denim shorts she had just bought last night were rolled up to her waist. The "big shot" stood between her legs, his trousers half-down, and his sinful penis was already half-inserted into Hanako's body!

Hearing the loud bang of the door being kicked open, everyone in the room turned around. The man to Hanako's right was thin, with a sallow complexion and a head of red hair standing on end; Gu Datou recognized him as Sang Biao, a local thug in the hot spring park area. The man to his left, wearing a floral shirt, was quite handsome, with a somewhat sinister air; he was A-Jian, the group's senior public relations manager. Boss Liu Huatian slumped into the sofa opposite the desk, his hands covering his face. He only looked up when he heard the noise, his expression a mixture of desolation and helplessness.

He heard himself scream like a wounded beast, swirling in like a whirlwind, kicking out twice in mid-air, sending Sang Biao and A Jian tumbling to the ground, then grabbing the stunned "big shot" and tossing him up. With just a few more presses of his hands down and a powerful upward strike of his right knee, he could condemn this man who had insulted the man he loved most to eternal damnation!

"Stop!" Liu Huatian, who had been sitting blankly on the sofa, pulled out a pistol at some point, pointed it at the head of the wooden-faced Hanako, and shouted sharply.

If that gun were pointed at him, Gu Datou would definitely kill his enemy without hesitation. Even if he were to die immediately, he would avenge this great humiliation. However, Liu Huatian, being a shrewd man, clearly pointed the gun at Hua Zi.

The dark muzzle of the gun instantly cooled his boiling blood. He slowly put the "big shot" down and reached out to help Hanako up. The moment his hand touched Hanako's shoulder, she jumped off the desk like a frightened mouse, shrank into a dark corner of the room, and hugged her head tightly with both hands, without uttering a sound.

He straightened his back, looked Liu Huatian straight in the eyes, and vowed in his heart to bring these filthy people to justice and ruin their reputations!

Liu Huatian's facial muscles twitched slightly. But compared to the panicked others, this round-faced middle-aged businessman appeared extremely calm. He quietly stuffed the pistol into the desk drawer, took out a thick wad of cash, and threw it in front of Gu Datou.

"You're the company's security guard? Well done! You stopped a serious incident that would have been extremely damaging to the company's image. Excellent skills and outstanding performance. I hereby appoint you as the Group's Security Manager, effective immediately. Here is a bonus of 500,000 yuan, as a reward for your selfless and heroic protection of me and Chief Cui during this incident!"

Liu Huatian's words betrayed not a trace of emotion; his confidence was as solid as the bundle of hundred-yuan bills before him. Gu Datou sneered inwardly. Money and power—did these big shots in the city think they could buy everything with those?

Section Twenty-Seven

On that windless night, Gu Datou and I, two men, spent a sleepless night in a five-star hotel in this coastal city.

To this day, I still don't understand why he chose me as his confidant. Maybe it's because of my profession; maybe he trusted Afang, and thus trusted me; maybe it's simply because I'm an outsider... But I prefer to believe that we clicked at first sight, that fate brought us together by chance in the sea of people, and that by chance I learned so many extraordinary stories from ordinary people.

Before continuing Gu Datou's story, I'd like to give a brief, almost descriptive introduction of him... Perhaps as time goes by, his voice and smile will gradually fade from my mind, so let me make a simple record of him here in words.

He was a man as imposing as a reef in the ocean waves. He was skin and bones, pale, with sunken cheeks, deep-set eyes, and cheekbones that seemed to pierce through the skin. I could even picture him wearing medieval knight's armor, riding a similarly skeletal black horse, traversing the boundless darkness.

But I wasn't afraid. Because of the warm smile on that skeletal face, and even more so because of his open and unguarded words. How many friends can be like that? In this era where self-interest reigns supreme, it's so rare…

Although he was involved in organized crime, and was a big boss at the highest level, I believe his hands were stained with the blood of those he fought with. Yet, he was a boss who often shed tears. On the night we had our long talk, he would often stop mid-sentence, and tears would silently stream down his face from his sunken eyes.

When faced with a choice, he silently shed tears for a long time.

A person's life is always filled with countless choices, from the smallest to the most significant.

500,000 was not enough to quell Gu Datou's anger. Just as he sneered and was about to make a move, Liu Huatian slowly took out bundle after bundle of banknotes from the drawer and threw them in front of him.

“One million, one and a half million… Don’t think I’m trying to bribe you. In this city, you and this woman together aren’t even worth ten thousand. Eight thousand dollars can buy two lives. You can kill us all, maybe you have the ability. But the police will soon issue a warrant for your arrest, and you and your woman will be hunted down like dogs, never having a moment’s peace.”

Four bundles of brand-new banknotes were piled up like a small mountain in front of Gu Datou. The door to the president's office closed silently. Several burly bodyguards pointed their pistols at him and Hua Zi. The "big shot" was curled up like a dead dog in front of the desk, while Sang Biao and A Jian were groaning softly on the floor.

Two million. This number made him dizzy. It was a fortune he could never earn in his entire life, and now it was right in front of him, within easy reach.

He thought of the poor, low-lying mountain cottage in his hometown, the gaunt faces of his relatives and neighbors in the village, his parents' backs bent by poverty at a young age, his cousin who was married off to a lame man from the foot of the mountain for a dowry of three thousand yuan, and many, many other things…

Liu Huatian's words kept drilling into his ears and into his mind.

"...You're a talent...help me open the door to the underworld, and I can share power and wealth with you. You can give your family, the woman you love, happiness; they can have whatever they want, no longer having to live with their heads down in the shadows...This two million was originally for Director Chen, but it's no longer needed..."

Just then, Hanako, who had been huddled on the ground trembling with her head in her hands, suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the door. The bodyguards, all veterans, instinctively pointed their guns at her back.

Gu Datou's eyelids twitched, and he immediately made a decision. He slammed his hand on the pile of banknotes and said sternly, "Fine, I agree!"

That one slap set the stage for the entire story that followed.

Hanako made her way out of the CEO's office. Liu Huatian watched her retreating figure and said calmly, "Don't touch this woman. I'll find someone to handle her... Don't worry, I won't kill her. Perhaps that would give her a better ending."

At the time, Gu Datou didn't understand the meaning of Liu Huatian's words. Until one day not long after, he and his gang returned from a fight with the local bullies, the Qinghong Gang, in Gulou District, and were passing by the entrance of Wenquan Park. He inadvertently saw Hua Zi and Tan Hui, Liu Huatian's private doctor, walking hand-in-hand into the park, their faces beaming as if nothing had happened.

He sat in the passenger seat of the bullet-shaped minibus, staring blankly as their figures disappeared rapidly, lost in thought, not even noticing the machete wrapped in newspaper that had fallen from his arms.

That battle had just left two scars on his rock-solid face, the gaping wounds a bloody mess, making him even more gruesome. This instilled fear in the newly joined underlings who still held a degree of disdain for their new leader; none dared to look him in the eye.

The ensuing barrage of tasks left him no time to attend to anything else.

In any city, the entertainment industry is a coveted business for both the legitimate and criminal worlds. Having firmly grasped the weakness of that "big shot," Director Chen, Liu Huatian enjoyed unparalleled success in the legitimate world; underground, Gu Datou summoned his former special forces subordinates, using rigorous training and vast sums of money to build a powerful gang that quickly wiped out the old forces in the five districts and eight counties.

Countless riches and power came rolling in.

Only in the dead of night does loneliness engulf him like a tide.

The joy we once had seems like a dream.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: We Are Destined for Such an Era

"We are destined for this era," said Gu Sanshi, a gangster boss and underworld figure.

Many people work hard to make money in their youth in order to be happy, only to find out later that they were happier when they had no money.

Gu Datou, who had always strictly adhered to military discipline, suddenly fell into depravity, smoking marijuana, womanizing, and engaging in high-stakes gambling. When fighting for territory, he would often charge into a hail of knives shirtless, fighting ten against one, and was always victorious.

He merely glossed over these bloody past events. From the collar of his robe, one could easily glimpse the shocking scars on his brown skin.

During my professional career, I've gained some understanding of organized crime. Organized crime in mainland China emerged with the reform and opening up policy, and Hong Kong police dramas served as their primary source of information.

Like in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the so-called machete commonly used as a weapon in fights is simply a thin, processed steel strip. It is usually rarely sharpened; the blade is short and pointed, requiring a forceful drag to create a horrific, gaping wound. The bleeding stops quickly, but the psychological impact on the victim far outweighs its practical benefit.