Some endings are merely the prelude to death.
Outer district of Xuanzhu County, Hongxin Records offal shop.
Offal, as the name suggests, refers to pig, cow, and chicken innards. The good cuts of meat from animals are expensive, while offal, which is hard to clean and has a rank odor, is unappealing. However, Dongyang Xuanzhu, being a major trade port and spice production area where countless slaves pick spices on Dongyang's land, makes spices as valuable as gold elsewhere quite cheap here.
Offal prepared with spices becomes a delicacy for ordinary people to satisfy their cravings. Dashi Street is home to many offal shops, but the most famous has to be Hongxin Records, a century-old shop passed down through generations, greatly trusted by the outer city people.
And highly favored by gangsters.
Unlike the upper-class individuals who choose private rooms for secret talks, gang negotiations rely on numbers and momentum. Whenever gangs need to negotiate, they clear Hongxin Records entirely.
The two sides settle in with carriages and sit down to eat a pot of offal while negotiating a deal.
The gangs coming to Hongxin Records tonight to eat offal and negotiate are the Qinghong Gang and the Black Sun Association.
No one ate the offal.
The deal was concluded.
"Jing Zhengfeng, is this what the Qinghong Gang means?" Wu Renxing, shirtless and bare-chested, lay on the ground, looking at the gun aimed at his forehead. His expression was grim but fearless: "Now our two families are mutually dependent, and by choosing to point a gun at me, it won't be long before White Night points a gun at you too."
The vast space of Hongxin Records was now a mess, with tables and chairs scattered everywhere and hot, fragrant offal soup spilled all over. Members of the Black Sun Association drew knives, clubs, and other weapons, yet instead of shouting to fight, they retreated with fear, seeking cover.
Because the Qinghong Gang had guns.
"Who said we're mutually dependent?"
Jing Zhengfeng sat on Wu Renxing's abs, mocking him: "Did you really think your Black Sun Association was on par with our Qinghong Gang? Mutually dependent? We're not even speaking the same language."
The Qinghong Gang is the number one gang in Xuanzhu County.
The Black Sun Association is also the number one gang in Xuanzhu County.
There are two number ones because these two gangs have never fought, and their domains differ—Qinghong Gang's main members are dock workers and laborers from surrounding streets. While they collect protection fees and occupy territory, they also maintain nearby security, serving as a supplement to the inadequate public security of Xuanzhu County.
The Black Sun Association, on the other hand, engages in all illegal projects, with outer district street ruffians mostly serving as their henchmen. They have no interest in the dock laborers; their clientele comprises those wealthy individuals seeking thrills.
After all, the rich get tired of gourmet food at Notu Tower in Xiangxue Sea and might want to taste offal from the outer district.
Although both claim to be the top gang, the Black Sun Association is subtly superior to the Qinghong Gang, as its members live day by day, seeking money without fearing trouble.
However, the Qinghong Gang isn't afraid of trouble either, and the Silver Blood Association is behind the scenes preventing friction between the two gangs. Both gangs tacitly choose separate paths—everyone knows that if a 'number one gang' appears in the outer district, it will be the Silver Blood Association's turn to crush the rookies.
"When you cozy up to someone powerful, you sure get cocky." Wu Renxing sneered: "These guns were given to you by White Night, right? They don't have the convenience or time to settle with us, so they let you black eat black? But have you ever heard the term 'when the hunting dog dies, the rabbit too will be stewed'?"
"No, I didn't go to school." Jing Zhengfeng slapped him with the gun: "Speak quickly if you have something to say."
With a red mark on his face from the slap, Wu Renxing remained unperturbed. "Do you really think White Night will allow the Qinghong Gang to continue? You've helped them eliminate the Black Sun Association, maintaining peace for now. Once White Night fully controls Xuanzhu County, that's when they'll target you."
"However, as long as the Black Sun Association exists for one more day, they need you, the Qinghong Gang, to restrain us. Once all household mice are gone, the master naturally doesn't need cats. Conversely, as long as the mice exist, the cat will be kept well-fed by the master."
Jing Zhengfeng made a sound: "So you want me to let you go and then threaten White Night for more money and guns? Wu Renxing, do I look like an idiot to you?"
"I can give you an arm, and as for the heads of others, take as many as you want." Wu Renxing said calmly: "You obviously can't go back empty-handed, but you can't capture me, the king of rats, either. I guarantee, as long as I live for another day, White Night will need Qinghong Gang to continue overseeing the underground affairs of Xuanzhu County."
Jing Zhengfeng slightly raised his eyebrows and remained silent.
Wu Renxing thought he was persuaded and immediately whispered: "On the night Xuanzhu was set ablaze, besides White Night's people, there was a worker supervisor who gained high prestige by commanding the battle. You know about this, right?"
"The reason I called for the Qinghong Gang this time was primarily to join forces and support him to a high position. I won't mention sentimental nonsense, just one straightforward point: once he's in power and to suppress White Night's influence, he'll definitely protect our two gangs to the death."
"This outcome benefits both you and me. Instead of having fate adjudicated by others, it's better to hold it in our own hands."
"Jing Zhengfeng, I know you are... the third master of the Qinghong Gang, a bastard of the Jing Family, the fourth younger brother of Jing Zhengwei, yet you didn't inherit a penny of Jing family wealth and grew up in the outer district eating bitter hardships." Wu Renxing whispered: "You're a lot like me, but I'm worse—because you've never experienced the Jing Family's privileges, while until the age of nine, I even had a maid assisting me when I relieved myself."
"Born into nobility, we have all ended up in this quagmire. The Jing Family looks down on you, those upper-class people look down on us, but what right do the ones lying on the lawn, sitting under trees, flying in the blue sky have to criticize us who are struggling in the mud? They are unworthy!"
"To continue living muddled and inferior in this pit, do you resign yourself to it?"
"I don't resign myself."
"It wasn't meant to be my fate, just as it shouldn't be yours."
Jing Zhengfeng looked at him for a long moment, slowly raised the muzzle of the gun, stood up from his body, and said to his subordinates, "Go, help President Wu put on his clothes."
Wu Renxing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, letting the Qinghong gang members drape a coat over him, yet he was also quite aware: "Take my hand then, you have to account to White Night—"
"No need."
A member of the Qinghong gang suddenly grabbed Wu Renxing's shoulder, and Jing Zhengfeng took the short-barreled shotgun handed over by his subordinate, and aimed it at his chest with a shot.
With a loud bang, Wu Renxing's back burst open with seven or eight round holes, and the blood dyed the coat black.
Wu Renxing looked silently at Jing Zhengfeng, but his eyes thoroughly conveyed his baffled bewilderment.
"I just don't want to cause trouble for the boss," Jing Zhengfeng sighed, "You didn't even put on clothes, this blood all over the place would look awful."
"You're a grown-up, how can you still be like an animal, bare every day, untouched by propriety."
Wu Renxing knelt on the ground, spitting blood, his face filled with resentment and hate: "You... White Night..."
"Swaying with the wind is certainly an excellent ability, but sticking to one thing is also a valuable quality." Jing Zhengfeng squatted down and said to him, "I know I'm not cunning, so I don't want to fight that group of shit brothers for the family property."
"Since the leader is betting on White Night, after all, he raised me, I can't just go against him, can I? If I win the bet, I'll see him off in old age, if I lose, at worst I'll go work at the docks."
"I'm different from you, I stand when peeing, I piss however I want. Since I'm living in this place, even if it's a shit pit, I'm not planning to turn into a fly and escape."
"By the way, White Night also told me." Jing Zhengfeng took a bowl and placed it under Wu Renxing's mouth to catch his dripping blood: "They said, Jing Zhengwei was actually a good person."
"My elder brother turned out to be a good person." He sighed, "I might not be a fool, but he surely is a big fool."
Wu Renxing seemed to nod in agreement, or maybe he was dizzy.
"But the fool I admire the most," Jing Zhengfeng said softly, "I certainly can't be a good person, but I never thought of being a bad person either. What I pursue is nothing more than the three words: follow my heart."
"That night I dared to talk back to Jing Zhengwei at the Jing Family, tonight I dare to defy your face."
"I think associating with White Night is far better than cooperating with someone like you full of bad tricks."
"After going down, remember to greet that bastard Jing Qingfu for me."
Jing Zhengfeng stood up and snapped his fingers: "Don't let this bunch of bastards walk out alive and waste the sunlight."
Bang bang bang—
As gunshots rang chaotically, the Black Sun Association members fell one by one, yellow, white, and red flowed all over the place, mixing with the richly fragrant pig offal, cow offal, and chicken offal, emitting a strange smell.
Jing Zhengfeng looked down at Wu Renxing kneeling and curled up like a shrimp: "I can now make you bleed to death, or I can give you another shot. If you want to be relieved quickly, just thank the Patrol Execution Guard's second captain."
Patrol Execution Guard...
Wu Renxing's mouth twitched, seeming to smile yet also cry: "Thank... the Patrol Execution Guard... second captain..."
Bang.
Fate, rather than being predetermined.
It might be more about forgetting when one made the choice.