Chapter 1
Perhaps it was because Fang Senyan's bowl of thick soup had touched the bottom of the pot, that after savoring the last drop, he noticed a faint, charred fragrance lingering from his tongue, down his throat, and into his stomach. Truly unforgettable.

"This," Fang Senyan said, taking a closer look, "isn't this just a common bowl of wan chai chi?" (a type of savory soup).

Wan chai chi can be said to be one of the most common street snacks in Hong Kong, usually sold by hawkers on the street, named after the small bowls in which it is served.

Although the name contains the character "chi" for shark fin, there is no such expensive ingredient in the recipe now. Strictly speaking, even chicken wings are more likely to be included.

The main ingredients of this dai pai dong (open-air food stall)'s wan chai chi seemed to be shredded shiitake mushrooms, shredded meat, shredded ham, eggs, and glass noodles. None of these were particularly special; it was just thickened with a thin layer of starch. However, the highlight should be the addition of the boss's specially made broth.

Fang Senyan wanted another bowl, so he held up his bowl and strongly requested a refill. The sallow-faced woman had already come over to collect the bowls, her face as if Fang Senyan was trying to freeload. She coldly uttered a curt "None left," and turned away, picking up a wooden tray full of bowls and chopsticks.

At this time, the male owner and two waiters, heaving and ho-ing, carried a large pot with a lid from inside and moved it to the stove. The pot, including the broth inside, must have weighed nearly a hundred pounds. The greasy wooden lid was constantly steaming with moisture, bubbling with white foam, and emitting an indescribable aroma.

Seeing this scene, some of the diners still sitting at their seats shook their heads and sighed, getting up and leaving. But the diners who had been watching from outside immediately filled the empty seats. Some people were excitedly asking their colleagues how many servings they wanted to take away.

Fang Senyan was curious and waited to see what would happen. After a while, the sallow-faced woman came out with a sullen face, grabbed a dirty notebook and a cracked ballpoint pen, and went to each seat to ask and register orders.

Fang Senyan was completely bewildered and had no idea what was going on. However, he wasn't a picky eater, and the first impression of the wan chai chi was quite good, so he pricked up his ears and listened to the people next to him order. When it was his turn, he followed suit: "Three jin of hind leg, fresh chili sauce, half a jin of mixed offal."

When a shirtless waiter, sweating profusely, brought Fang Senyan a steaming bowl, he finally realized that it was boiled dog meat! No wonder some people refused to eat it, but those who came to fill the empty seats flocked to it. The saying "Dog meat rolling three times, even immortals can't sit still" wasn't just for show.

The dog meat in front of Fang Senyan was cooked thoroughly. The hairless, smooth dog skin and tendons bulged out in clumps, trembling in the air. The snow-white broth was sprinkled with verdant and tender green onions. It was clear that special spices had been added during the stewing process. Although it was white, it had a rich aroma. The broth was also simmered with soft, mashed yellow peas.

At this time, there wasn't a single person talking around him. At this moment, the people present abandoned their identities as white-collar workers, gangsters, cops, civil servants, prostitutes, and johns. All that remained were seasoned diners. All that could be heard was the sound of slurping meat and soup, rising and falling like a symphony.

The half-bowl of wan chai chi earlier was nothing to the hungry Fang Senyan. At this moment, he could hear the "glug" echoing in his stomach as he swallowed his saliva. Driven by the atmosphere, he threw down his chopsticks and used his hands, tearing off a large chunk of tendon meat from the dog leg. After blowing on it a few times, he dipped it in the spicy garlic sauce next to him and took a big bite. He could clearly feel the pleasant sound of his teeth cutting through the delicious muscle fibers. The unique taste and oil of the dog meat mixed with the flavor of the sauce slid down his throat, and his hand involuntarily tore off a second piece.

Because the chili sauce used for seasoning was slightly salty, Fang Senyan burped contentedly after eating three large pieces of stewed dog meat. He scooped a bowl of broth to drink. Strictly speaking, the taste of the soup was light, probably only a little salt was added. However, it was quite good for rinsing the remaining taste of the seasoning in his mouth. The peas in the broth were soft and powdery, as if when he drank it, a little shake in his mouth would break the powder directly and smear it on the taste buds in the most direct way.

When Fang Senyan was eating the dog meat, he regretted it a little after the third piece, and a strong resentment appeared after the fifth piece. After taking two more bites, he finally couldn't help but shout, "Boss, give me another three jin of dog meat!"

The sallow-faced woman walked over and said coldly, "No more."

Fang Senyan: "Can't I pay more?"

The sallow-faced woman was impatient, even fiercer than Fang Senyan: "No amount of money will do! Eat and leave quickly, don't block my business. I have to go to the mahjong game at three o'clock!"

Faced with such a valiant landlady, Fang Senyan could only eat the meat and drink the soup with reluctance. Finally, he finished the half a jin of dog offal that was served. Only then did he realize that the dog offal was free, similar to kimchi in mainland noodle restaurants. In the end, when he paid the bill, he was only charged for three jin of dog meat, and the price was very fair. No wonder diners flocked to it.

After a hearty meal, Fang Senyan was refreshed and bought some gifts everywhere before flying to Taiwan again. Nothing happened along the way. At this time, Sanzai had followed Fang Senyan's instructions and rented a detached house near the sea, and then hired the nimble-fingered Zeng Amu to take care of Fourth Uncle's life.

When he returned home, he saw Zeng Amu sweeping the floor, but Fourth Uncle and Sanzai were not there. Fang Senyan asked about their whereabouts, and was told that they had gone to the hospital to change the dressing on his hand. Strangely, changing the dressing usually only took an hour or two, but it had taken almost an entire afternoon.

Fang Senyan knew the hospital where Fourth Uncle usually had his dressings changed. It was introduced by Da Shu, and its full name was "Executive Yuan Veterans Affairs Council Puli Nursing Home and Hospital". Because of its connection with the military, it was very good at treating external injuries.

Before Fourth Uncle went for treatment, his wound had been festering and oozing pus, but now it had greatly improved and was closing up. It was estimated that it would scab and heal in another week. Fang Senyan was suspicious, so he figured he had nothing to do and told Zeng Amu before calling a motorcycle taxi at the West Fifth Wharf to take him to pick them up.

After arriving at the Nursing Home Hospital, Fang Senyan saw many black cars parked at the entrance. He didn't think much of it and strode inside. After inquiring with the nurse at the information desk, he learned that the dressing change was on the fifth floor in the surgery department, so he went directly to wait for the elevator. He saw that there were dripping bloodstains from the entrance of the hospital all the way to the elevator door. The bloodstains looked quite fresh and probably had dripped within a few hours.

After Fang Senyan got into the elevator, he noticed that there was also blood inside the elevator, which had stained the carpet black in an area the size of a washbasin. He got out of the elevator on the fifth floor and saw that the nurses were all looking tense and frightened. The doctors in the examination room also looked flustered and spoke in low voices, as if afraid of disturbing something.

Fang Senyan tentatively took a step forward and walked towards the surgery examination room next to him. As he turned the corner, his footsteps suddenly paused slightly. He saw that the seats on both sides of the thirty-meter-long corridor in front of him were densely packed with adult men between the ages of eighteen and forty. Most of these people were smoking, looking anxious, and intentionally or unintentionally displaying their tattoos, and scars, occasionally cursing under their breaths.

Obviously, Fang Senyan had stumbled upon a scene that would usually only appear in gangster movies. Most likely, there had been a gang fight and some "big boss" had been hit. No matter what these members thought in their hearts, they had to at least pretend to be extremely sad, even if they couldn't move up the ranks, they had to show their loyalty.

Although the atmosphere looked serious and intimidating, Fang Senyan had seen all kinds of scenes. To be honest, the scene these people were putting on wasn't as shocking as a velociraptor to him. So he walked straight down the corridor.

The gangsters all stared at him with cold and wary eyes. The feeling of being "watched" in this way was indeed not very pleasant. When Fang Senyan approached the ward where a row of black-suited men in sunglasses stood neatly at the door, a gold-chained man leaning against the wall with his arms crossed suddenly stood up and blocked him: "Boy, what are you doing?"

Fang Senyan didn't want to cause trouble, tilted his head and said lightly, "Visiting a patient."

The gold-chained man said, "Visiting who?"

Fang Senyan said indifferently, "Visiting my uncle. My brother came with him to see the doctor for medication. The caregiver said it's in examination room 5Q."

The gold-chained man didn't seem like he wanted to cause trouble, so he let Fang Senyan pass.

Suddenly, an argument broke out in the examination room at the end of the corridor, quickly escalating into a loud cursing match, followed by the sound of glass breaking. Then the door of the examination room was smashed open with a crash, and a person clutching his head was thrown out. Along with him came a barrage of foul language: "Little bastard, before the results of the boss's injuries are out, no one can treat him, even the doctor has to wait here! Get out of here, you son of a bitch, change your mother's medication."

Fang Senyan's pupils suddenly contracted. The outline of the person thrown out and curled up on the ground looked very familiar. It was actually Sanzai!