Fourth Cousin-Uncle

A policeman crept over. "Is the back door surrounded?" Chen Xiuqi asked. "Don't worry, Section Leader. Old Li brought his fishing net." "Then do we move?" Chen Xiuqi looked at Fang Jibai beside him. "You call the shots," Fang Jibai said with a soft yawn. Chen Xiuqi held out a hand, and Tang Yan offered him a Mauser pistol. "The baton," Chen Xiuqi said. "How about I use the baton?" Tang Yan whispered. "Give the gun to Fourth Brother." "You really have no idea what your Fourth Brother is capable of." Chen Xiuqi shook his head, took the baton from Tang Yan, and passed it to Fang Jibai. Fang Jibai gave the baton a few practice swings, feeling the familiar weight settle back into his grip. He nodded to Chen Xiuqi. "Let's move." "Wait, I'm still uneasy about the back door. I'll head around back. Strike in one minute!" Chen Xiuqi told Fang Jibai. "All right. Leave the front door to me." Fang Jibai nodded. One minute later. Clutching his Mauser pistol in both hands, Tang Yan and another officer brought a middle-aged man to the front door. They banged hard on the door. After a dozen seconds or so, a voice answered. "Who is it?" the Right Widow called out. "Xiaofen, it's me, your Great-Uncle! Something terrible has happened!" the middle-aged man wailed in panic. "Anggong's in trouble!" A loud clatter echoed from within. It sounded like a head knocking against a bed frame, followed by a man's muffled curses and a woman's flustered voice calling out, "Coming, coming!" The Right Widow had no sons, but she had a paternal half-brother. Crude and uncouth in appearance, he had earned the nickname Anggong because he resembled the spiky catfish. "What happened to him?" The Right Widow pulled the bolt and yanked the door open, asking in alarm. Seizing the chance, Tang Yan grabbed the Right Widow and hauled her outside, shoving her into the arms of the "Great-Uncle." He and his colleague then charged inside with their pistols raised. The coat draped over the Right Widow's shoulders fell to the ground, leaving her in only an undergarment. Fang Jibai caught sight of the "Great-Uncle" holding her tightly—except his hands were wandering, kneading and groping right through her thin cloth. ... A shrill scream pierced the air. "Stop right there!" Fang Jibai recognized Tang Yan's voice. Frantic footsteps thudded toward the doorway. Bare-chested and wearing only trousers, Feng the Third burst out like a gust of wind, only to freeze when he spotted the figure standing in the doorway. "Out of my way!" Feng the Third shrieked hysterically. "Get in my path and die!" Years on the streets had taught him a golden rule: never lose your nerve, even when outmatched. You had to overpower the opponent with raw aggression. Tang Yan came sprinting out behind him, frantic with worry. If Feng the Third escaped under these circumstances, the section leader would skin him alive, and he would never be able to show his face again. Then Tang Yan stopped dead, staring wide-eyed at the scene before him. Under the moonlight, Fourth Brother gripped the baton and met Feng the Third's charge head-on. *Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack, whack...* The baton in Fourth Brother's hands swung so fast it blurred into an afterimage. Feng the Third let out a string of agonized howls before collapsing into a crumpled heap on the ground. His body twitched violently, unable to muster another sound. "I knew it!" Chen Xiuqi came jogging around from the back door. Seeing Feng the Third sprawled on the ground, he stomped his feet in exasperation. "I should have warned you to go easy on him!" "He won't die," Fang Jibai said. He called out to Tang Yan, who was still standing there dumbfounded, "Catch." Tang Yan scrambled to catch the baton. Chen Xiuqi stepped forward, crouched to feel Feng the Third's neck, and checked his pulse. Standing back up, he brought his boot down hard on Feng the Third's palm, jolting the man awake with a barrage of screams. "Gag him and take him away," Chen Xiuqi ordered with a wave of his hand. "Now that he's caught, I'm heading home," Fang Jibai said, rolling his shoulders. "No way," Chen Xiuqi said. "Xiao Si, you can't leave." "Hm?" "Fourth Brother," Chen Xiuqi leaned in and whispered, "I can't do this without you. You were the one who uncovered him, so this credit belongs to you too." "This is your turf..." Fang Jibai shook his head. "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to meddle too much from here on out." "I don't have a head for this like you do," Chen Xiuqi said flatly. "Fourth Brother—no, Fourth Cousin-Uncle, you have to help me." Fang Jibai gave Chen Xiuqi an exasperated look. "Xiao Qi, putting your Fourth Cousin-Uncle on the spot like this isn't very considerate." "You have to help me," Chen Xiuqi repeated stubbornly. "Have you thought this through? If I get involved, I'll have to submit a formal report to the Police Department afterward. When that happens, your share of the credit will be diluted," Fang Jibai said with a solemn expression. "I accept that," Chen Xiuqi said without hesitation. Beyond Fang Jibai's sharp mind, what Chen Xiuqi valued above all was his status as a Nanjing police officer. If there was one thing Chen Xiuqi understood, it was that for the fourth son of the Fang family to be recommended by the Police Department to the Police Supplementary Class at the Central Military Academy, he either had powerful connections or had earned high praise from his superiors through competence. In either case, it meant the same thing. He had backing. Without Fang Jibai involved, even if Chen Xiuqi managed to capture a Japanese spy, the credit might well be stripped from him entirely. He didn't fear superiors far away in Nanjing claiming a share; their greed wouldn't be completely shameless, and with Fang Xiao Si acting as a bridge, they would at least let him have a sip of broth. What he feared were the superiors right beside him. If the matter stayed within Danyang, he wouldn't even get a mouthful of dog shit. In the Party-state, competence counted for little. What mattered most was having people behind you. "You're sure?" Fang Jibai glanced at Chen Xiuqi. Seeing him nod firmly, Fang finally relented. "All right, then." Overjoyed, Chen Xiuqi instructed an older officer to secure the scene and silence the Right Widow and the others, then eagerly escorted his Fourth Cousin-Uncle back to the police station. ... Xuban Bridge, Lücheng Police Station. "Fourth Brother really didn't hold back," Tang Yan reported to Chen Xiuqi after examining Feng the Third. "Both of his hands are broken, and he took some heavy internal trauma." "Now you know what your Fourth Brother is capable of," Chen Xiuqi chuckled. Tang Yan hailed from Lishui and wasn't a Lücheng native, so he knew nothing of the fearsome reputation the fourth Fang son held in these parts. Fang Xiao Si's standing among the local youths had been carved out with fists, boots, and cudgels. Back in the twenty-second year of the Republic, Lücheng Town and Benniu Town fought a fierce armed clan clash over water rights. Seventeen-year-old Fang Xiao Si, armed with a single waxwood staff, had beaten dozens of Benniu youths until they wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves. In the days that followed, business boomed at the Grand Canal Liang Family Bonesetting Shop. That single brawl had cemented the boy's formidable renown across dozens of li around. More importantly, while outsiders might take Fang Xiao Si for nothing more than a violent brawler, only those who truly knew him understood that his most dangerous trait was his cunning brain. He was a sly little fox through and through. "Time is short. Interrogate him quickly before word leaks out," Fang Jibai said, accepting a cigarette from Chen Xiuqi. "You do it," Chen Xiuqi said, lighting Fang Jibai's cigarette before striking another match for his own. He drew in a breath of smoke and spoke in a subdued voice. "Are you sure you're willing to give it up?" Fang Jibai looked at him in surprise. Yielding the interrogation effectively meant Chen Xiuqi was relinquishing complete control over the case. "Willing, yes! You have to give something up to get something back," Chen Xiuqi took two fierce drags from his cigarette and said with a grim edge. "Fair enough." Fang Jibai nodded. "Is he awake yet?" Fang Jibai flicked his cigarette ash and cast a calm glance at Feng the Third, who was lashed to a wooden frame. "If he isn't, loosen Third Brother Hanliang's joints a bit to help him wake up."