When I stepped out of Beihai Airport in Guangxi, my first impression was how fresh the air was!
I felt an overwhelming surge of excitement. Especially as I walked through customs, seeing people with yellow skin and black hair coming and going...
Hearing familiar Chinese... of course, much of it is in dialect.
Even so, my excitement was quickly revealed on my face.
We first flew to Shanghai, and then transferred from Shanghai to Beihai City in Guangxi.
This is a coastal city, but because there's no industry, the air quality is excellent. The abundant sunshine creates a relaxed, almost lazy feeling. Even though I've been flying for nearly twenty hours straight, I don't feel particularly tired.
As we walked out of the airport, we all felt a sense of relief. After such a long journey, the first thing we did was pull out cigarettes… For smokers, going more than twenty hours without a cigarette is truly torture.
The arrivals area at the airport exit was crowded with people. Beihai Airport is small, and the arrivals exit is also small, resulting in a chaotic and congested scene. I even saw a tour group walk by, and coincidentally, I thought I heard some of them speaking Nanjing dialect…
To be honest, I'm a little ashamed to say that when I suddenly heard my native accent, I really had the urge to burst into tears on the spot!
I stood there, somewhat dazed, with only one thought in my mind:
I'm back home! I'm finally back home!!
My first reaction was to look up at the airport flight schedule... In that instant, I had an impulse! To immediately buy a ticket back to Nanjing! To fly home!
This is the first time I've felt so close to home after being away for so long...
"Tiger!" Just as I was in a daze, I felt Tiger pat me, and then I heard that shout from afar.
I saw a lean, wiry man standing at the arrivals exit. He was wearing a baseball cap and a casual jacket. He was quite short, only about 160 centimeters tall, with high cheekbones—typical features of a southerner. But you could tell he was very muscular; although thin, he wasn't weak.
Tiger walked over, gave him a warm hug, and then pulled us aside.
"This is Xiao Wu, Xiluo. My good brother who came with me this time." Tiger introduced him, then pointed to the man in front of him: "Ponytail. 'Ma' as in stallion, 'Wei' as in tail, haha!"
Ponytail didn't seem to mind the joke about being called that. He looked at me and Xiluo seriously, then hugged us. His arms were strong; I could feel the well-defined muscles in his arms, hidden beneath his clothes, when we hugged!
"Let's go. My car is parked outside." Ponytail enthusiastically led us out of the airport.
This is a very old red Engel car with only a 1.4-liter engine, but when this ponytail drives, she's a complete madwoman!
Have you ever seen a 1.4-liter car speeding at 100 miles per hour on a city highway? And in broad daylight no less!
Listening to the engine, I was genuinely worried he'd blow the engine if he drove like that! But Ponytail seemed completely unconcerned; he even chatted with us while driving. However, our conversations were limited to the weather or some gossip. He never asked about our personal lives, not a single word.
Beihai isn't a big city. But small cities have their advantages... It's very clean here! The air in this coastal city is filled with a faint salty smell. And the climate here is warm, which is quite different from Vancouver.
We took off our coats and were only wearing shirts. Ponytail was a very hospitable host. He drove us around Beihai City and then parked the car at the entrance of a beach in Beihai.
"This is the No. 1 beach in the world," he said with a smile, pointing to an inscription on a huge rock left by a national leader. However, I always felt that this beach was quite dilapidated, the scenery was rather ordinary, the sand on the beach was very coarse, and there were even some pebbles, which seemed to be quite a distance from the title of "No. 1 in the world".
For dinner, he took us to a seafood stall near the sea. This immediately piqued my interest!
For me, since going abroad, the scene of roadside food stalls in China has become a precious memory.
We ordered a dozen Tsingtao beers, some barbecue snacks, and seafood such as scallops and squid. The four of us sat around a dirty round table.
Ciro was clearly fascinated by the scene… It was his first time back in the country, and eating in such a dirty place like the street was probably unbelievable to him…
He's a kid who grew up in Canada, and in his mind, a place like this probably wouldn't even get a license abroad! Watching us bite off the beer bottle cap, then take a sip of beer and a bite of grilled meat, and then throw the bamboo skewers all over the floor, the kid was a little unaccustomed to it.
“Our ship departs at night.” There was hardly anyone around. The woman with the ponytail pulled an envelope from her pocket and handed it to them. “These are the tickets, four in total. I’ll be going to Vietnam with you. Inside are our travel visas and transit permits. Also…”
He glanced at Tiger: "Our targets are in the same boat as us. There are two of them. I've got my brothers keeping an eye on them. Don't worry! They're at the dock right now, eating just like us." Ponytail smiled: "Don't worry about me."
Tiger nodded, put away the ticket, and then laughed, "Great job! I trust you to handle things! We've been brothers for so many years!"
Then Tiger and Ponytail exchanged a few words in the local dialect, which neither Shiro nor I could understand. However, seeing how happily they chatted, I became certain of a few things:
Tiger seems to be from Guangxi! He might even be from Beihai!
Tiger seems to come back often! At least it's not the first time he's come into contact with Ponytail!
After a few beers, the atmosphere became much more relaxed, and the man with the ponytail loosened up a bit. He raised his glass and clinked it against mine: "Brother, is this your first time back in China?"
I smiled, said nothing, and simply downed the drink in my glass. Tiger frowned slightly and glanced at Ponytail. He immediately realized he had been a bit out of line and quickly smiled, "Sorry, I tend to talk too much when I've had too much to drink. Okay, according to the rules, I shouldn't have asked these questions. I'll punish myself with a drink!"
After a few beers and a bit of sweat, the sea breeze felt really refreshing. I couldn't help but stand up, leave my seat, and slowly walk towards the sea.
With my eyes closed, I really felt an urge...
I felt for my phone in my pocket... Should I call home?
This impulse was stronger than ever before! My fingers trembled, already touching my phone in my pocket, but hesitantly, my finger didn't press the button…
Behind me, Tiger silently approached and gently patted my shoulder. I turned around and saw Tiger looking at me with deep eyes. Then he pulled me back to the table, and we raised our glasses and drank them down in one gulp!
...
At 11 p.m., we drove to the port of Beihai City.
This is the customs area. Mawei parked the car, took his backpack out of the trunk, made a phone call (speaking in the local dialect), and after a few words, smiled at us: "Okay, they've gone through customs and boarded the ship. We can go now."
I followed the three of them silently and checked the time.
11:10.
I gave a wry smile. From this morning until now, I've only been standing on domestic soil for a little over ten hours...
...
There is a very convenient way to travel from Beihai to Vietnam: by cruise ship!
Beihai has direct cruise ships to Vietnam, and the journey takes only one night. Tourism is very developed here, especially with several famous Southeast Asian cruise lines docking in Beihai, the most famous of which is the "Princess Minghui".
This is a luxury cruise ship registered in Panama that can carry thousands of people!
The cruise ship has an entertainment center, large restaurants, a bathhouse, a nightclub, and... a casino!!
Crossing the border from Beihai Customs to Vietnam is quite simple; there's a Vietnamese customs office there where you can apply for a tourist permit directly. After our luggage was checked at customs, we took our boat tickets and boarded the deck!
"Xiao Wu, you and Xiluo are staying in 307, second class. We're in 310... Watch out for the compartment next to us! That's our target."
The cabins were small but very clean, and each had a separate bathroom and toilet! For a luxury cruise ship, these amenities were quite good!
Because the ship was scheduled to depart at noon, after we went into the cabin and sat for a while, we heard a muffled blast of the ship's horn, and then I could feel the ship begin to move...
I exchanged a glance with Siro, then put down my things and stepped out of the cabin. In the corridor, we saw Tiger and Ponytail also open their doors. Their gazes were fixed on the end of the corridor ahead.
Two men had just come up the stairs at the end. To the left of our second-class cabin was a staircase leading to the deck, then a door that turned into the entertainment center. The four of us went into the entertainment center one after another.
A gambling game called "Courtesy Ball" is being played here.
My gaze fell upon the two men who were buying chips at the counter.
One of them is my goal!
Book 1, Part 1: A Man in the Martial World, Helpless in His Own Way, Chapter 161: A Sensual Murderous Intent
The man in front was very fat and tall, with a body full of thick fat. He walked with a swaying gait. Behind him, a tall man followed closely half a step away, with a serious expression. He was his follower.
This fat guy's name is Hong Da. I don't know if that's his real name or a nickname, but all I know is that he's our target this time!
His identity is very special!
Hong Da's outward identity is Chinese, but he doesn't belong to any of the Canadian Chinese community or any major organizations. He's essentially a marginal figure, moving between various Chinese factions in North America… and what makes him special is… his intricate connections with Southeast Asian drug cartels… you could even say he's one of their agents in North America…
In reality, Hong Da is half Vietnamese. He is fluent in Chinese and can also speak Vietnamese. He used to have many connections with Chinese communities in Canada's Chinatowns. The drug trafficking activities of these Chinese gangs in Canada usually sourced from Southeast Asia, and Hong Da was their contact!
But now, Hong Da has betrayed us! The Chinese gang's compromise with our Big Circle has led Hong Da to side with the Vietnamese gang... In fact, he, as a marginal figure, has no habit of pledging allegiance to any organization.
Hong Da has connections with many drug trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia, as well as many forces in the Golden Triangle region. Once he sides with the Vietnamese, the Vietnamese can get a lot of leverage from him... gain access to more drug sources, and at the same time, they will also gain intelligence on the sales networks that originally belonged to the Chinese gangs in Canada's Chinatown.
The Vietnamese are our biggest competitors in our dealings with the Hells Angels... and Hong Da is now preparing to help the Vietnamese with their drug trafficking... so, no further reason is needed.
For this reason alone, he has become number one on the kill list!
Our mission is clear: follow him to Vietnam, and when he makes contact with the Vietnamese, kill him and the contact!
But no one is allowed to touch him until he contacts his contact!
I don't understand why. But our mission is that simple; the specific reasons, those convoluted justifications, are things that leaders like Eighth Master consider and are none of my concern.
I casually took out some money and bought two lottery tickets for the game of "Kang Le Qiu". Then I found a table not too close to Hong Da, about five or six meters away. I pretended to chat with Xi Luo while pretending to play with my phone, but actually I was carefully observing the target through the reflection of the phone screen.
Tiger and Ponytail didn't stay there; they pretended to wander around, purely out of caution. They were looking around to see if there were any other conspicuous figures... We didn't want to end up like the hunter becoming the hunted!
We sat there for about ten minutes, and I quickly lost all the two hundred yuan worth of chips I'd bought. But when Tiger came over, he secretly made a gesture to me, indicating that I was safe.
Our hand gesture is simple: when he's walking, if his arms swing naturally and his hands are clenched into fists, there's a problem! Danger! Salvation!
If your palms are open, then there's no problem, continue!
The cruise ship was still sailing on the sea, and most of the tourists around were somewhat bored. Actually, there's a reason why many tourists choose to take a cruise to Vietnam instead of flying: there are many activities available on board!
The ship is registered in Panama, so it will sail into international waters at 2 PM. At that time, some special onboard entertainment will be available!
For example, "adult performances" that are illegal in the country, as well as casinos, can be allowed to operate.
On the high seas, there are no legal restrictions on these matters.
Hong Da and his henchmen sat there until 2 a.m. I went to the restroom once, and when I deliberately walked closer to him, I saw that the fat man looked a little bored. He was casually fiddling with the lottery ticket in his hand and constantly looking at the time, obviously having nothing to do.
After 2 PM, Guangbo announced that the adult program at the nightclub would begin that evening, but tickets would cost 400 RMB.
I saw Hong Da immediately stand up and lead his henchmen toward a large door inside, which led to the nightclub.
I smiled at Xiluo: "Let's go see a striptease."
Ciro's face turned slightly red. I laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "Damn, you're not a virgin, are you? Canada isn't a sexually conservative country."
When we entered the nightclub, the lights were already dark. There was a circular stage surrounded by a group of audience members. I saw Hong Da and sat in the first row. The seating here was also tiered; you had to tip the waiter before they would take you to the first row.
As soon as we entered, a ship's steward with a flashlight warmly led us inside. He asked me a question in a low voice, and I quickly took out two banknotes from my pocket and gave them to him. He quickly put them into his sleeve and then readily led us to the first row.
My seat was right across from Hongda's. The fat man had a cheerful smile on his face, and there was a bottle of beer on the table next to him.
Just then, the music started! The already dim lights in the entire venue suddenly went out! I felt a little awkward because the sudden darkness made me lose control of my target!
But soon, a spotlight shone on the stage, and a voluptuous figure slowly emerged from under the light…
This is a girl whose hair is deliberately styled in a courtly bun. She holds a mask in one hand, which perfectly covers her face. She is wearing a bikini-like outfit covered with sparkly appliqués, and a fluffy shawl draped over her shoulders...
With her other hand, she tossed her shawl around as she swayed her hips as she walked over. Then, amidst cheers from the crowd, she quickly tossed the shawl up and threw it on the ground.
People started whistling!