At Hongyun Restaurant, cups and glasses clinked amid lively conversation.
After they drank a round together, Li Nanshu said, "I can chip in some money."
Li Xiuwen could not help taking another look at the girl. On the surface, she appeared delicate and agreeable, but inside, she harbored ambition as well.
Zhao Dalong was setting up a fellow-townsman association in Xianghai to build a faction. It was certainly not as simple as mutual aid—perhaps he wanted to branch out on his own in the future and establish a triad.
Ding Sheng pondered for a moment before saying, "I can find you an office. As for the headache of registering the association, I'll get someone to take care of it for you."
Though he had reunited with his maternal grandfather, the newspaper tycoon, the old man now had many children and grandchildren, so his own status in the family was not high. Since he was a newcomer, it was hard to build influence within the family, leaving him no choice but to look outward. Since Zhao Dalong wanted to start a fellow-townsman association, he would go with the flow and perhaps borrow its strength later on.
Zhao Dalong turned to Li Xiuwen with a smile. "Ah Wen, what about you?"
Li Xiuwen hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "I don't have that kind of capital. I'm afraid joining would only drag you down."
Zhao Dalong chuckled. "It's fine. Just put your name down. We're just starting out; having so few people wouldn't look good."
Li Xiuwen said, "If I join, wouldn't I just be making up the numbers? Won't that cost you face?"
Zhao Dalong blurted out, "Yeah, it is just to make up numbers... Hahaha, just kidding, don't take it to heart. Ah Wen, I feel that the four of us who escaped the snake pit are blessed with great fortune and tough lives! Our luck is bound to run strong! Just because you're having a rough time now doesn't mean you have zero hope of striking it rich down the line. Am I right?"
Zhao Dalong looked toward Li Nanshu and Ding Shao, and both smiled and nodded slightly.
Ding Shao smiled. "Ah Wen, you should still have dreams. What if they come true? Before coming to Xianghai, I never imagined I'd be where I am today."
Zhao Dalong said, "Come on. With the association backing us, we can share plenty of inside information and resources that people outside could never access."
The corners of Li Nanshu's eyes curved as she gave Li Xiuwen a deeply meaningful look. She smiled faintly. "Come on, Ah Wen. Join us."
Li Xiuwen thought it over. "All right then. I'll join in and tag along."
While he was still weak, having a mutual-aid group from his hometown wasn't bad. Whether he ended up using it or not, it was still a network of contacts. In his past life, he had been too aloof, always assuming university clubs were useless—only to find after graduating and job-hunting that they actually served a purpose. In the legal profession, the law school circles in the capital banded together; knowing more people meant more internal referral opportunities for good positions. Martial arts followed the same logic. In any case, once he grew strong, staying or leaving would be entirely up to him.
Zhao Dalong clapped Li Xiuwen on the shoulder. "Think about it! In our association, we've got the heir to a newspaper tycoon, and we've got Ye Tiannan's disciple. What a future! If you're out on the streets and someone tries to bully you, just say you know my Sister Shu and Ding Shao—won't they have to think twice? Getting people to do favors will be easier too. It's a society of personal connections!"
With all four settled on it, Li Nanshu asked, "What name should we give the association?"
"How about the Shengxing Association?" Zhao Dalong said. "The foreigners bully our Great Sheng because we fell a step behind in technology, slapping tech blockades on us. We'll use the martial path to stem the collapsing tide and make Great Sheng prosper!"
"With a name like that, the foreigners in the colonial government probably won't be pleased," Li Xiuwen noted.
"True..." Zhao Dalong laughed. "See, Ah Wen, how thorough you are? You're useful after all! I'm just a rough fellow."
"Then how about Shengxing Association—using my 'Sheng'? If the foreigners ask, we can just say it was named after me," Ding Sheng suggested with a smile.
Zhao Dalong's eyes darted around, and he grinned. "Great name! When we grow big and strong later on, we can change it back to the Shengxing of Great Sheng."
"As for the presidency..." Ding Sheng murmured thoughtfully.
"If none of you mind, I'll take on the burden. Leave the dirty work to me—after all, I walk the underworld path and know plenty of people." Zhao Dalong thumped his chest, volunteering himself.
"Fine by me. Master wouldn't allow me to get too distracted by worldly affairs anyway, so you're the best choice," Li Nanshu said.
Ding Sheng smiled. "Works for me."
Li Xiuwen naturally had no objections. His heart was set on martial training; he was poor and without status, and had neither the time nor energy to involve himself in administration.
"I hereby declare! The Shengxing Association is founded! President: Zhao Dalong! Vice President: Ding Sheng! Members: Li Nanshu and Li Xiuwen! Cheers!" Zhao Dalong raised his cup.
Everyone drained their drinks. Li Xiuwen looked at the table full of delicacies and smiled. "Can we dig in now? This meal is what I really came for."
Sizzling iron-plate chili prawns, diced chicken with chilis, poached spicy beef, shredded eel with yellow chives... enough to make anyone salivate.
"Eat! If it's not enough, we'll order more! My treat, eat your fill!" Zhao Dalong said magnanimously.
Ignoring the glances of anyone else, Li Xiuwen dug in heartily.
Li Nanshu watched this with a faint smile, as if returning to the days in the snake pit when they fought over scraps of spoiled meat cha siu bao.
Zhao Dalong drank his liquor with an arm around his female companion, gazing out at the ships passing in the harbor and the prosperous neon jungle, riding high on ambition.
Ding Sheng sat impassively without touching his chopsticks; this past year he had eaten fine delicacies until he was sick of them. He calmly watched Li Xiuwen wolf down the food, his sidelong glance flitting toward Nanshu from time to time.
Zhao Dalong's peripheral vision, meanwhile, flickered toward Ding Sheng now and then.
"By the way, Ding Shao, you didn't take up boxing?" Zhao Dalong asked casually.
Ding Sheng shook his head and said flatly, "I don't have the innate physique for it, so I couldn't be bothered. Martial arts are boring anyway. Training in the bitterest cold of winter and the sweltering heat of summer, only to grow old with a body full of injuries and hidden ailments—and none of it can stop a single round from a Palm Thunder."
"What's a Palm Thunder?" Li Xiuwen asked out of curiosity.
Zhao Dalong chuckled. "That's the favorite handgun of martial artists in the underworld. It can be concealed right in your palm—compact, yet one shot can blast a trained fighter to pieces."
"Oh." Li Xiuwen continued eating and drinking. He looked at Zhao Dalong. "Is there any way to get one? The Walled City is chaotic as hell; having something like that would be good for self-defense."
Zhao Dalong said, "I'll keep an eye out for you. Those things aren't easy to come by—they're all manufactured by foreigners... very expensive."
Li Xiuwen smiled. "All right. Just let me know how much it costs when the time comes."
"Talking money hurts feelings!" Zhao Dalong agreed readily, though he didn't actually take it to heart.
Once he learned Ah Wen was doing rather poorly, his focus shifted toward Ding Sheng and Nanshu. When the Shengxing Association rose in the future, it would inevitably rely on the help of those two.
Gathering together after this year, everyone had changed.
Different social circles, different horizons.
Though gathered together, things were no longer as pure as they once were.
Such was human nature. That he was still willing to bring Ah Wen along was already loyal enough.
...
"Burp..." After several rounds of drinks, Li Xiuwen rubbed his belly. On the table were portions of untouched food he had packed up. "Everyone, it's getting late. Time to head back."
Zhao Dalong said, "All right. If you have time, it'd be best for us to gather at this restaurant every once in a while."
"Very well." Li Nanshu stood up and cupped her fists. "Take care of yourselves in Xianghai, everyone."
With that, she turned and left, her steps light as a dragonfly skimming water, soon appearing downstairs.
Watching Li Nanshu walk into the distance, Ding Sheng drew back his gaze. "I'm heading out too. Dalong, if you run into trouble, come find me."
Once everyone had left, Zhao Dalong wrapped an arm around his female companion and headed into the restroom, his face dark with displeasure—a complete contrast to his demeanor moments ago.
Chapter 26