Ten Day Ultimatum Chapter 135: My Benefactor

Chapter 135 My Benefactor

I walked into Chong ge’s office, still confused.

"A'Jin, sit." He lit a cigarette, dismissed the people around, then opened a drawer and threw a stack of cash onto the table.

"Chong ge... what is this?"

"Boss Rong is in Guangdong. I’ll give you the address. Go find him." Chong ge said casually.

"What?" I was a bit confused. "Didn’t you say the whole gang is on the hunt for Boss Rong? So you actually knew where he was?"

"Yes." Chong ge nodded. "The hunt for him is just a cover I put out."

"But why?"

"A'Jin, I know Boss Tong’s intentions. Rather than wanting that two million, he would rather take you under his wings. You could easily earn him another two million. But if I spill where Boss Rong’s at, well, by the code, Boss Tong’s gonna have to off him. Problem is, how’s he gonna bring you in after that?"

I frowned slightly, still unable to understand.

"So this news must stay with for now. What happens next, you’ll have to figure out once you see Boss Rong."

"Chong ge, you say Boss Tong wants to take in, but I’m still Boss Rong’s person…"

"A'Jin, the conflict is between two big shots, you’re just following orders. Boss Tong wouldn’t fail to understand that." Chong ge exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression a little sorrowful. "But you’ve disappointed him."

My expression suddenly dimd.

"Chong ge, I’m a simple man, stubborn and set in my ways. As long as Boss Rong is my godfather, he’ll always be my godfather. Now that he’s on the run, it’s only right that I go take care of him."

"You might regret it." Chong ge said through gritted teeth. "So people talk a good ga, but behind the scenes, they’ll have you doing life-threatening tasks. Others may seem noncompliant to reason, but they genuinely value you as a talent and want to take you under their wings..."

I may be simple, but I’m not foolish.

How could Boss Rong want my life?

He made train in boxing, telling to keep going even if my bones were broken—that was to toughen up.

He made fight over thirty people by myself—that was to test .

He made and Nine zai draw lots to sub in for him at the clinks—that was just to test my loyalty.

I worship Guan Yi Gor, so I understand these principles.

"Chong ge, please thank Boss Tong for ." I interrupted his words, stood up, and took the stack of cash on the table. "I’ll figure out a way to repay him for this travel fee."

Seeing that I was unyielding, Chong ge finally lost his temper. "You motherfucking ngaang geng[1] fool... Just go! You’d better die in Guangdong!" He turned his back in his swivel chair, angrily waving his hand. "Get the hell outta my sight."

Before I left, I stopped and turned around to ask, "Chong ge, why does Boss Tong think so highly of ?'"

I watched Chong ge's silhouette, still exhaling smoke in slow, deliberate puffs. He pondered for a long ti before finally speaking in a faint voice, "Because in this era, it’s hard to find soone with such a pure {jianghu spirit[2]} like yours. You know where to draw the line between gratitude and grudge, and although you’re not doing good deeds, you’re trying to be a good person. You remind of us in our younger days."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace, tossing it to without even looking back.

I caught it and looked it over—it was a small bronze plaque with the character {Tong(通)} engraved in the center.

"If, after you’ve finished your task, you want to return to the gang, this thing can help you. Now scram."

I tucked the bronze plaque into my jacket pocket and bowed deeply to Chong ge.

There are many people in this world who have done favors. After I repay the favor to Boss Rong, I will co back to repay Boss Tong and Chong ge.

...

The next day, I arrived in Guangzhou City (northwest of Hong Kong). According to the information Chong ge gave , Boss Rong was staying in a relatively upscale apartnt. Knowing that he was doing well put my mind at ease.

In the evening, I knocked on Boss Rong’s door.

There was a long pause before any sound ca from inside, and the door slowly opened to reveal him.

Boss Rong was the sa as before—no change at all compared to four years ago.

"A'Jin…?" He froze for a mont, then his face lit up with joy, but he quickly suppressed it. In the span of a single second, his expression shifted three tis, revealing a profoundly conflicted state of mind.

Boss Rong motioned for to co in. The apartnt’s décor was simple, just the basic furnishings one would need.

There was another person inside. I had thought it would be Nine zai, but instead, it was a woman.

"Rong ge… this is?" the woman asked.

"Jing Lan, this is A'Jin," Boss Rong replied, then glanced at . "A'Jin, this is my wife."

I lowered my head slightly and addressed her, "Da sao[3]."

Boss Rong waved his hand, signaling for the woman to leave for now. As she walked away, she kept casting suspicious glances at , and I t her gaze head-on, unyielding.

I had grown up by Boss Rong’s side and never rembered having a da sao.

"Boss Rong, where’s Nine zai?" I scanned the room, feeling that it couldn’t fit three people.

"A'Jin…" Boss Rong pulled out a cigarette. "A’Nine is dead."

My pupils trembled slightly, hoping that I had misheard. "What did you just say? What happened to Nine zai?"

"We were escaping to Guangdong when Fatty Tong’s n killed A’Nine," Rong ge sighed deeply, lowering his head in frustration.

What?

Nine zai was killed by Boss Tong’s n?

I felt my heart skip a beat, as though sothing important had been abruptly lost. Countless fragnts flashed through my mind, but they scattered like fireworks exploding in the air—every ti I reached out to grasp them, they scorched with searing pain.

I rembered when I was eleven, Nine zai laughed thoughtlessly and said to , "A'Jin, you have the strength, and I have the brains. Let’s follow Boss Rong together!"

But now, the {fist} has returned yet I no longer have my {brain}. Boss Rong and Boss Tong gave completely contradictory stories, and with just my own wits, I couldn’t figure out what had really happened.

"When did this happen?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"About ten days ago," Boss Rong shook his head. "A'Jin, I’m sorry to A’Nine, and I’m sorry to you. When you got out yesterday, I couldn’t go to see you."

I slowly sat down, my mind feeling blank.

What exactly is going on? Everything felt strange, but I couldn’t put my finger on what the problem was.

Had Boss Rong lied to … or was it Boss Tong?

At tis like this… if it were Nine zai, what would he have done?

I’m just too stupid.

"A'Jin, the clinks must have been rough on you…," Boss Rong said, "Rest here with today."

"Today?" I shook my head. "Not just today, Boss Rong. I want to stay with you… and keep following you."

"Stay with ?"

I nodded. "Yes, just like over ten years ago," I said. "You’re my benefactor. I still haven’t repaid you for all you’ve done."

Boss Rong paused slightly, the ash from his cigarette falling to the ground. "A'Jin, don’t think too much. Let’s go downstairs and grab sothing to eat," he said, standing up and putting on his coat.

I followed him out the door.

We ordered beer at a street-side stall. Boss Rong was silent, and so was I.

He ordered a dish of roasted bear paws, sothing I’d never even seen before. Watching him devour it hungrily, I thought, ‘It must taste really good, right?’

Yes, it must be really good.

And since Boss Rong had eaten it, it was like I had eaten it too.

After downing a few bottles of beer, a sense of heaviness settled in my chest.

I missed Nine zai, he was a brother to . Never did I expect that after four years in the clinks, I wouldn’t even get to see him one last ti.

Thinking of this, I opened a bottle of beer and poured it out onto the ground.

This is for you, my brother.

Seeing my expression, Boss Rong shook his head helplessly, then stood up to pay the bill. He seed to want to say sothing, but couldn’t find the words.

After a long pause, his eyes fell on the sign of a nearby videotape store. He thought for a mont, then said, "A'Jin, I know you’re not into prostitutes or drugs, but how about we catch a movie? It’ll help clear your mind."

It was a dirty foreigner’s film, called {The Terminator}.

I had never seen a film like that in my life.

But soon I realized it was because I didn't have any money to watch movies.

Though that didn't stop from liking {The Terminator}.

Were the movies all based on real stories?

It was so shocking, so intense, that I nearly forgot about what happened to Nine zai. Even after the movie ended, and the screen went black with voices spoken in English, I still remained in my seat, reluctant to leave.

If Nine zai could see this, how great would that be? He was so smart, he could have definitely told how these robots were made.

They were machines, yet they were willing to let people film them.

But sadly, Nine zai would never see this movie.

"A’Jin, I want to abandon the life of an outlaw." The sound of Boss Rong's voice ca from beside .

"What?" I turned to look at him.

"I'm getting old, I’m not suited to continue down this path," Boss Rong shook his head. "You should go."

"Go...?" I blinked. "Boss Rong, where do you want to go?"

"Don't walk this path anymore, anywhere is fine." He gave a bitter smile and said, "This world is very big, do you still rember? Vast is the world, narrowed by the petty-minded."

How could I not rember?

Those words were carved on my back.