The next day was the second day of the New Year. Grandfather and granddaughter went about their simple routine as usual.
Past the gate in the early morning, and back past the gate in the evening.
Yet for the City of Iniquity, this day was extraordinarily special and momentous.
Almost everyone in the city, regardless of their station in life, was watching and waiting on the exact same matter:
The negotiations between the three established super forces and the Azure Dragon Gang.
This would decide whether the city would plunge into all-out war in the days ahead, or if one super force was simply being replaced by another to preserve a relatively stable balance of power.
Everyone ended up disappointed. The disappointment came not because the talks broke down, but because when the agreed-upon time arrived that afternoon, the three super forces were left waiting on the fourth... and the Azure Dragon Gang never showed up.
The reason given was that Boss Dao was injured, and Major Qing was bedridden with severe wounds.
"Is Major Qing really hurt that badly, Grandpa?" The little girl, Yuan Xiaoxin, came to an involuntary halt before that courtyard gate. "Sigh, I feel a little sad. People said he looked completely fine when he came back from the seaside."
Having already developed an affection for them, the little girl had mumbled the same question several times along the way.
"It must be true. After all, this is such a major matter," the old man replied, even though the prevailing rumors in the streets suggested otherwise.
All of his trust and goodwill toward this group stemmed from Wu Xu.
The simple sincerity and authenticity in that young man could never have been an act; Yuan Youque could swear by his more than eighty years of life experience on that.
And yet, on the morning of the third day, as grandfather and granddaughter drew near the gate once more...
*Whoosh—bam!*
A short distance away, a suit of iron armor was suddenly hurled out through the open courtyard gate.
It looked like an artillery shell slamming into the ground, gouging a long furrow across the dirt.
The sight left Yuan Xiaoxin stunned.
"Whoa, iron armor..."
"Is that Second Lieutenant Shen?"
She tried to connect what she was seeing with the figures from the stories, guessing to herself.
Before she could reach an answer, with a sharp rush of wind, another silhouette appeared, swiftly scooping downward, twisting at the waist, and hurling the iron armor right back inside.
*Crash!*
*Bang, clatter, crash...* It sounded as though several others were engaged in a chaotic brawl within the courtyard.
The pair recognized Wu Xu as he was thrown out next, slamming heavily onto the ground.
Yuan Xiaoxin let out a frightened "Aah!"
Wu Xu turned his head at the sound.
Their eyes met. Grandfather and granddaughter stood there, offering him gentle smiles filled with concern.
Wu Xu picked himself up, gave them a nod, and turned around to charge back into the fight.
And so, amidst a symphony of crashes and clatter, they passed by the gate once again.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, was that person just now Major Qing?" Yuan Xiaoxin asked once they had walked a little farther away.
"Which one?" the old man asked, tilting his head.
"The one who threw the armor! Crash, bang, boom—it was way too fast, I couldn't see clearly," Yuan Xiaoxin recalled, furrowing her brow.
The grandfather pondered for a moment before admitting somewhat sheepishly, "Probably."
"Wait, isn't he badly injured?" the granddaughter asked innocently.
"Well, the grown-up world is complicated. It's only right that you don't understand."
"Oh. Does Grandpa understand then?"
Yuan Youque: "..."
No one understood what Major Qing was truly up to, just as they had no idea what kind of changes he would bring to this city.
***
The fourth day, the fifth day...
It continued all the way until the Lantern Festival.
The date was February 6, 1993.
On that morning, for the first time in his life, Wu Xu lost a one-on-one duel to He Tangtang, thereby officially descending into the lower tier of Stream Vanguard's combat hierarchy.
On that morning, after the grandfather and granddaughter had walked past, an unusual figure appeared in front of the three-story building.
He wore a long black trench coat with the collar turned up, along with a black woolen fedora on his head... which did a fairly good job of concealing his white hair.
Shu You looked up, watched the iron armor soar into the air and crash back down in the courtyard, adjusted his composure, and stepped inside.
The people in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and looked back at him.
"Boss Shu You?! ...Well look at that, it really is you! Happy New Year, Boss Shu You!"
Han Qingyu released his rear naked choke, climbed up from the ground, brushed the dust off his hands, and walked over with an extended hand.
"Greetings, Major Qing," Shu You replied coldly, ignoring the outstretched hand.
He was a mysophobe! And even if he weren't, he had no desire to shake hands with this guy.
"For Boss Shu You to grace us with a personal visit..." Han Qingyu pulled his hand back, paused, and asked with complete earnestness, "Did you come to pay New Year's respects?"
"I came..." *Pay respects my ass,* Shu You thought. *If I could, I'd have come to hack you to pieces today.*
Over the past dozen days, while the Azure Dragon Gang dragged out negotiations, they had systematically looted every last thing they could haul away from Black Hand's territory.
That included all the metal block refining equipment from the workshops, the skilled workers... and even the vehicles and decent furniture.
As the outsiders put it: they had practically dug three feet into the earth.
Shu You genuinely could not fathom how someone Chen Buer held in such high regard could turn out like this.
At the same time, after absorbing most of Black Hand's personnel and subordinate crews, the Azure Dragon Gang's fighting force had swelled to a staggering five thousand-plus, including roughly ten top-tier combatants and at least two supers.
What on earth did he need so much "money" and so many people for?!
Shu You couldn't wrap his head around it. The super forces in the City of Iniquity were typically lean, capping out at around a thousand to fifteen hundred men at most. Anything beyond that served no practical purpose.
Did he intend to use them against me? That would be utterly pointless here, wouldn't it?!
To suggest he wanted to unify the City of Iniquity would be even more laughable.
In this city, one could claim a throne through sheer power, but true unification and governance were impossible dreams.
The city was only this large and possessed only this many resources, while the desperate outlaws pouring in formed an unending, inexhaustible tide.
With those two realities set in stone, any strict laws or distribution systems were bound to collapse; they would only destroy the city's very soul.
Too exhausted to ponder it further, and unwilling to waste words, Shu You raised his hand and tossed over a cloth sack with a soft whoosh.
Han Qingyu caught it, gave it a squeeze, and hefted it in his palm. He could tell it was filled with metal blocks—standard size, fifty in all, not a single one missing.
*He really is a respectable super big shot,* Han Qingyu mused to himself before speaking up. "Still, it's so many days late..."
"I suppose you want to say I owe you interest," Shu You cut him off, his gaze sweeping across the others in the courtyard. "Say the word, and I'll pay you—consider it burial expenses for your friends."
His voice remained chilled and detached, but he was clearly on the verge of erupting.
*Can't beat him!* Han Qingyu wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.
"If I remember correctly, the opponent you defeated in your first match at the Hall of Definitive Kills was ranked fourteenth on the assassin rankings—Dirty Williams, wasn't it?" Shu You asked in a low voice, evidently still stewing with rage.
Han Qingyu nodded, somewhat baffled.
"You did beat him... because you are far dirtier than he ever was," Shu You remarked with a heavy sigh.
"So... Super Dirty Han Qingyu?"
It was Wen Jifei who chimed in, grinning.
Nearly every major figure in the City of Iniquity had a moniker attached to their name. These titles were typically meant to capture their defining traits; they sounded decent in English, but when translated, they were stripped down to crude simplicity.
Qingzi didn't have one yet, or perhaps people felt that "Major Qing" and "The King" already served that purpose.
Shu You glanced sideways at Wen Jifei, his gaze lingering on the boy's hands.
That proved he had studied Plague Chicken from a martial standpoint.
And that further proved he had genuinely contemplated going to war with this crew.
"I couldn't agree more with your assessment," Shu You said after a pause, pulling his gaze away. "Though I'm more curious—have any of you heard of my moniker?"
The group exchanged looks and shook their heads blankly.
"Seems not. That's fine; it's only natural. Over the past decade or so, very few people have dared call me by it."
Shu You pointed at himself and said,
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Narrow-Minded Shu You."
It sounded unmistakably like a threat.
Chapter 511