Chapter 76 (1/2)

Put My Socks On

The sea tossed before him, ceaselessly in motion.

Xia Lei and Qin Xiang sat on a reef, a pile of empty beer cans at their feet.

“Tell me, did you really want to kill He Lao-Qi tonight?” Qin Xiang threw away the empty beer can in his hand and asked while looking at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei was silent for a bit before answering, “Before you arrived, I was intent on entering his home and finishing him off.”

“And then?” Qin Xiang prompted.

“Then?” Xia Lei paused for a bit, then shook his head, “I didn’t think so far ahead. Ma Xiao-An died saving me. Am I still a man if I don’t seek revenge for him?”

“You didn’t think much, I’d say. If you’d really gone into He Lao-Qi’s home and killed him you’d be finished too. Gu Ke-Wen would have lost just a dog but destroyed a foe like you. With the Gu clan’s power, there is no place on Earth you can escape to if you kill He Lao-Qi. You’ll be sentenced to death if you’re caught. What will your sister do if you die? What about those people who depend on you for their livelihood? Have you thought about them?” said Qin Xiang.

Xia Lei growled, “He wanted to kill me. Ma Xiao-An died because he saved me. Should I just forget it?”

Qin Xiang sighed, “You’re a smart person. There are many ways for you to have your revenge. Why choose the path of mutual destruction?”

‘There are many ways for you to have your revenge. Why choose the path of mutual destruction?’ What Qin Xiang said echoed in Xia Lei’s head. He slowly calmed down. That’s right. Going into He Lao-Qi’s home to kill him was a mutually destructive way of revenge. An evil man like He Lao-Qi had sins aplenty to accompany him into and after death. But himself? What would Xia Xue do if he died? What about the hardworking employees of Thunder Horse Workshop? They had a taste of a life that was better than what they had - would they still need to go back to constructions sites to make a living?

“Think about it,” said Qin Xiang gently, “I believe you’ll find another way.”

Xia Lei suddenly thought of Long Bing and thought ‘If I call Long Bing and tell her that He Lao-Qi wants me dead, will she help me? But I don’t have evidence. It’ll be good if I have evidence.’

Long Bing may be able to help but he first needed some evidence.

He Lao-Qi was very sly and always had other people do the deed for him while he stood far, far away, unconnected. It would not be easy at all to find evidence of him committing a crime.

Qin Xiang seemed to sense the pain in Xia Lei’s heart. He spoke softly and comfortingly, “Don’t be too broken up about it and don’t worry. Don’t ever do something so foolish again. You have to think more and plan better.”

Xia Lei nodded, “I will. Thank you.”

Qin Xiang patted Xia Lei on the shoulder, “What’s with the polite tone? We’re friends.”

Xia Lei nodded again, “Yes, we’re friends.”

“Right, I finally found out He Lao-Qi’s real identity from a friend of mine today,” said Qin Xiang.

“Real identity?” Xia Lei froze.

“He Lao-Qi is very crafty and never spoke of his real name to anyone. He’s never let anyone see his identification documents either. People in the underworld only know him as He Lao-Qi but few know his real name. I’ve found his real name and it’s Huang Yi-Hu,” said Qin Xiang.

“Hold on,” Xia Lei was confused, “These are two different names. One’s surnamed He and the other’s surnamed Huang. How can one person have two?”

People would normally assume that even if He Lao-Qi was not really He Lao-Qi, he should be He-something, and definitely not Huang Yi-Hu. Names sometimes change but the surname wouldn’t.

“My reaction was much the same as yours at first but my friend was very sure that He Lao-Qi’s real name is Huang Yi-Hu,” said Qin Xiang.

Xia Lei spoke bewilderedly, “But according to the information you gave me, He Lao-Qi’s son is named He Jia-Hao. If he really is surnamed Huang, why is his son surnamed He?”

Qin Xiang shrugged, “I don’t know either. I’m not lying to you, I swear.”

“I didn’t mean that. This is very strange… Send me back now,” said Xia Lei.

“What are you going to do?” Qin Xiang looked a little worried.

“Relax. I’m not going to do anything foolish after tonight. I want to go look for Jiang Ru-Yi. She’s the Chief of North Police Station and has access rights to the household registration system. I want her to help me see if there are any assets under the name of Huang Yi-Hu,” said Xia Lei.

Qin Xiang was struck by a thought, “You want to start from his real identity?”

Xia Lei nodded, “If what you say is true, then He Lao-Qi is a fictional character. He’s done so many evil deeds and amassed so much wealth over the years - the assets are most definitely under the name of Huang Yi-Hu. He’s using this method to wash his dirty money clean. He’s the dreadful He Lao-Qi in the underworld and a regular businessman with no criminal record in the day.”

Qin Xiang chuckled, “I knew you were a smart one. Okay, I’ll send you back now.”

Back in his neighbourhood, Xia Lei hopped off the motorcycle. “You go back. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

“You’ll be the first to know if I find out anything on my end too. And be careful,” said Qin Xiang.

Xia Lei nodded, “You be careful too.”

“Bye, Lei.” Qin Xiang rode off on his motorcycle.

Lei? Xia Lei smiled wryly as he shook his head. He really wasn’t used to intimate way of calling his name. Then again, being friends with Qin Xiang meant that he’d have to adapt to some of Qin Xiang’s unnatural habits.