RLTT CH 21

Chapter 21: Xiao Yang Park · Hot Chocolate · Cheng Jie Shen

The old district’s Xiao Yang Park could be said to be a forbidden area in the neighborhood. The reason is simple: the park’s back area is the headquarters of Hongsheng.

Behind the park, a street connects four or five buildings, all of which, according to property documents, belong to different owners. However, in reality, they are all properties of Hongsheng. The ground-floor stores are ordinary drugstores, hotpot restaurants, dessert shops, bars, and even a quaint little café, but they are all a facade. The first floor is filled with empty warehouses, while the upper floors contain rough, poorly-decorated apartments, mostly used as dormitories for Hongsheng’s underlings. Occasionally, they are also used to entertain guests. The top floor of the drugstore building was personally chosen by Wei Junlin years ago. It was once the Wei family’s property, but when they made money, they naturally moved to a mansion in the mid-levels. Now, that unit is used as a meeting place for Hong Sheng’sSeniors.

In the bar’s private room.

The door was closed, and from outside, only vague noises could be heard, like the sounds of men’s voices—more than one voice. The sounds of breathing intertwined, rising and falling, accompanied by the creaking of tables and chairs, giving off a rough and chaotic vibe. The breathing was deep and suppressed, full of restraint and release. After a while, both voices abruptly stopped, followed by a moment of silence.

By evening, the bar had started to attract some customers, though there were no unfamiliar faces. First, this wasn’t a tourist-heavy area, and second, people familiar with the area knew exactly who was running this bar. A few men who looked like idlers sat near the door, and the table was already littered with empty beer cans—at least half a dozen.

At this point, the private room door opened, and it seemed like someone had just walked out. Now, inside the private room was only one person—Mo Chao. He was disheveled, his face still flushed, and without saying a word, he picked up the sunglasses that had fallen on the floor and put them back on.

After tidying himself up, Mo Chao walked out of the private room and saw that the gangsters were standing, obviously having just seen off some important figure. Upon seeing him, they turned and greeted him, shouting “Brother Chao” one after another.

“Left? That fast?” Mo Chao walked toward the bar and poured himself a drink of water. “Sit down, don’t just stand there like fools.”

The group then sat down one by one, continuing to snack on peanuts and drink beer.

A porcelain cup was slowly placed in front of Mo Chao, the contents a pleasant deep brown color.

“It’s hot chocolate.”

Mo Chao looked up at the person who had brought it. It was a girl with green-dyed hair. He smiled, took a sip from the cup, and said, “Thanks, Yoyo.”

“What’s the plan?” Yoyo asked softly as she cleaned the bar counter.

“Plan…” Mo Chao looked around the bar through his sunglasses. “Do something big.”

“How big?”

“Young Master Yi wants to personally take action, to step onto their turf, and it has to be during the day,” Mo Chao answered calmly, as though discussing something mundane, like how to cook the chicken for the night. “He wants to make that old man kneel in front of all the uncles and members of A Club.”

Yoyo paused in wiping the cups and turned to look at Mo Chao. “Young Master Yi said that himself?”

Mo Chao shook his head but didn’t speak.

“So what are you going to do?” Yoyo asked, concern evident in her eyes as she looked at him.

“This kind of thing, do I even have the right to decide what to do?” Mo Chao slightly pulled down his sunglasses, revealing his eyes as he looked at the group of little brothers. “Hey! Listen up, these past few days, tell the people below to stay alert. In a few days, there will be something happening, and we’ll need manpower.”

They all responded in unison. Mo Chao turned back around and continued to enjoy his hot chocolate, while Yoyo remained silent.

“Mmm, I bought the vegetables and the fish. Should I chop up some char siu^[1] to add to it?” Wei Jiaxi had one arm around Yun Shaofeng’s waist, and the other hand carried several bags of groceries, leisurely walking out of the market with him.

“Maybe not? There’s still some fried pork chops left from yesterday. We can just heat them up tonight,” Yun Shaofeng thought for a moment, then reached out to grab some of the bags that Wei Jiaxi was holding.

“No need, I can carry them,” Wei Jiaxi waved him off, still keeping his arm around him.

The two of them walked down the street in a relaxed manner, as though they were an ordinary couple buying groceries and cooking dinner after work. A WPU car was waiting at the intersection.

“Mmm, then we’ll have fried pork chops—meat, vegetables, and seafood. Quite a feast,” Wei Jiaxi’s smile quickly faded when he saw Zhong Zai and Eva coming out of the car ahead, looking anxious as they hurried toward them.

“There’s been a situation. You two need to head back to the safe house immediately.” Zhong Zai spoke seriously, looking around as he escorted them toward the car.

“What happened?” Wei Jiaxi also began to assess the situation, noticing that pedestrians were scattering in the opposite direction, as if something had happened ahead.

“Hong Sheng and Xin Qing have clashed up ahead,” Eva opened the car door for them while speaking in a low voice. “The traffic officers have come out to block the roads and evacuate citizens. We might need to go help, so we need to reduce our numbers. You two need to head back right now.”

Wei Jiaxi paused, then motioned for Yun Shaofeng and Eva to get into the car first. He stood by the roadside, looking at Yun Shaofeng inside the car. “You go back first, I’ll go take a look.”

Yun Shaofeng immediately sat up straight, half of his body sticking out of the car door. “I’ll go with you.” Eva beside him looked surprised as well.

Wei Jiaxi quickly pushed Zhong Zai into the car to block Yun Shaofeng. “Go back now. Stay safe.”

“We’ll go together.” Because Zhong Zai was blocking the door, Yun Shaofeng could only stick his head out anxiously, but his tone was firm.

“Exactly, Senior Wei, with your current identity, it’s dangerous for you to go over there,” Zhong Zai expressed concern as well.

“No need. They wouldn’t dare touch me.” Wei Jiaxi casually closed the car door. “Don’t worry.” He watched the car drive off toward the safe house before silently continuing on his way.

Wei Jiaxi wasn’t interested in knowing how the fight between Hong Sheng and Xin Qing was unfolding. The reason he insisted on going was that he knew this area was Xin Qing’s territory. Although he already knew that Xin Qing had been exploiting the situation with Li Anna to make a big fuss, likely stirring up some trouble, this place was still some distance from their main base. But stepping onto someone else’s turf like this was definitely against the rules of the underworld.

He didn’t think Wei Jiayi had the guts for this, nor did he think he had the filial piety for it. There were two main reasons why Hong Sheng might be making a move like this. The first was that A Club was pressuring Wei Jiayi to act quickly, to avenge Li Anna—no revenge, no future support. The second reason was that Wei Jiayi, the fool, had been goaded into acting by Hong Sheng’s provocations.

Regardless of which one it was, both situations would likely require Wei Jiayi to take matters into his own hands.

Wei Jiaxi truly “missed” his reckless older brother, missed him more than he could imagine.

Ahead, traffic officers had already set up a cordon. Wei Jiaxi spotted them from a distance and also saw several plainclothes and military officers running toward the front in a hurry.

Naturally, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to get any closer. If he were recognized, he could forget about getting in. He quickly darted into an alley. The rooftops of these old residential buildings were closer to each other, so there was a chance to find a detour.

Wei Jiaxi, like a thief, climbed up a building, reached the rooftop, and slipped between the rooftops, eventually finding a way inside the blocked-off area. When he could vaguely see the gathering thugs ahead, he started descending.

Just as he was about to turn back to the main road, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

Wei Jiaxi jumped in fright and quickly backed away, only to see Cheng Jiesen standing behind him.

“…You scared me, Jiesen.” Wei Jiaxi patted his chest. “What are you doing here? At such a critical time, shouldn’t you be in the information car, coordinating everything?”

“He didn’t come?” Cheng Jiesen’s hands were back in his pockets, and he immediately got to the point. “There are about one or two hundred thugs up ahead, armed with knives and guns. I’ve already called the Flying Tigers into standby mode.”

“How could he not come?” Wei Jiaxi expressed disbelief. “How do you know? Did you go out and see for yourself?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Cheng Jieshen hesitated slightly. “I… have my ways.”

“What is he up to? After all this time, he’s still keeping his composure? What’s he taken, smart pills or something?” Wei Jiaxi stamped his foot, confused.

“Forget about that for now. The fight’s about to start. If anything happens, we’ll move out immediately. But I need you to stay calm.” Cheng Jiesen lowered his voice slightly. “I received a tip-off. The real action isn’t here. They’re just trying to lure the tiger out of the mountain^[2]. I need you to go somewhere else.”

“You’ve got a tip-off?” Wei Jiaxi picked up on the detail.

“We’ll talk about that later. Just head to the other side,” Cheng Jiesen sighed. “Wei Jiayi might show up there.”

“Why aren’t you deploying to that location?” Wei Jiaxi asked, surprised.

“Due to certain reasons, we can’t let them know the police are aware,” Cheng Jiesen spoke carefully. “You need to be cautious, act when the time is right, and if possible, try to get the location of where he’s hiding. That way, we can raid the place.”

Wei Jiaxi sneered. “You… want me to become a superhero? How am I supposed to do that? Who do I even ask for the location? Are you suggesting I go out there and tell them that Hong Sheng turf actually belongs to me, and have them all shut up and listen to me?”

“You… aren’t a cop anymore,” Cheng Jieshen looked embarrassed but continued, “The police need you to flush out Wei Jiayi.”

“Hah, I’m not a cop anymore, but you still need me? Listen to yourself,” Wei Jiaxi continued sneering.

“Wei… sorry, I…” Cheng Jiesen’s voice trailed off. “There’s a reason for all of this.”

Wei Jiaxi stared at him for a long time, his face tense and his eyes sharp. But Cheng Jiesen only stood there, looking back at him with a pleading expression, not avoiding his gaze.

After a long pause, Wei Jiaxi finally nodded. “Alright, I’ll take care of this. I’ll make sure you catch Wei Jiayi.”

Cheng Jiesen nodded in gratitude. “He’s on Queen Street. They’ve gone straight to Mr. Xi’s doorstep.”

Wei Jiaxi narrowed his eyes, turned, and walked away.

It was all a trap, after all. Everyone was just a piece in the game. And Cheng Jiesen, or rather, the Special Administrative Region Police, didn’t just want to make one move. They wanted to wipe out the entire board, taking down every piece. Now, Wei Jiaxi understood.

Catching Wei Jiayi wouldn’t be easy because no one knew where he was hiding.

Xin Qing wanted Wei Jiayi caught and jailed. That’s why they made the entire affair with Li Anna so public—to get Wei Jiayi out, to get him to take revenge, to force him into the open. Once Wei Jiayi was caught, Hong Sheng would lose its leader, and Xin Qing could recover all their previous losses, even gain more than before.

But Wei Jiayi had stubbornly refused to take the bait. Until today, when he was finally going to confront Xin Qing.

Wei Jiaxi didn’t know how he had managed to hold out this long or why he was suddenly willing to step out today, but none of that mattered.

What mattered was that if he went, if he succeeded, Hong Sheng would have a cop sitting in the leader’s seat, and Xin Qing’s plans would fall apart.

What Cheng Jiesen wanted him to do was take Wei Jiayi’s place and become the old Wei Jiaxi again.

The Wei Jiaxi who had been buried deep in his heart six years ago.

Cheng Jiesen didn’t just want to catch Wei Jiayi; he wanted to destroy Hong Sheng and strike back at Xin Qing.

The Special Administrative Region Police, of course, wanted the police to be the only triad^[3].To be continued…

T/L: OMG.. SO EXCITING! LET’S GOOOO ٩(^ᗜ^ )و ´-