Love Me if You Dare: Pristine Darkness

How’s everyone doing? My family has 8 people living in a flat together, and I think it’s a miracle we haven’t murdered each other yet! Still, being socially responsible by staying at home is the way to go. One of our neighbours baked and gifted us banana muffins today ? Will you consider doing something nice for your neighbours or helping those in need right now? As always, a big ‘thank you’ to those who are working hard to keep us safe.

In this chapter, we see how Zhu Tao is working overtime to figure out where Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao are. Can they hold out until a rescue team is sent out to them? Meanwhile, we are given a closer look at Buddha’s Hand’s 5 luohans, as our heroes puzzle over who the masked killer might be (pssst – pay attention!). It seems that Buddha’s Hand himself also has a task for our heroes. Read on to find out more . . . 

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Bo Jinyan’s inference was spot on. At this very moment, Zhu Tao was straining every resource* to find them.

*T/N 焦头烂额 (jiao tou lan e) – lit. badly burned around the head (from trying to put out a fire)

They were not on the sunken boat, and neither was the information. Their bodies had not been dredged up. Zhu Tao firmly believed that they were still alive, but he had no idea where they had drifted to. Thus, he intensified the search effort along the waterways.

The gangsters on the boat were not dead, but even after severe interrogation, they had no clear idea where the stronghold and hiding place of Buddha’s Hand was. Zhu Tao was not sure how Buddha’s Hand operated internally, and how it maintained secrecy, but, from this, he could see that the organisation was under very tight control. Zhu Tao had also heard that Bo Jinyan had gone so far as to pretend to be ‘Smiling Snake’ while on the boat, enabling him to escape calamity. This made Zhu Tao laugh as well as moved him. He never imagined that this master of criminal psychology would be able to fool a gang of criminals. That this had occurred strengthened his conviction that Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan would not be easily killed.

Today, he received news that someone was secretly looking for information about Smiling Snake. This little clue made Zhu Tao wary. It should be noted that the small gang run by Smiling Snake had been utterly wiped out after the second attack by the police, such that it seemed as if they had vanished from the jianghu overnight. Zhu Tao had also ensured that the news of Smiling Snake’s death was kept secret for the time being. He had always liked to be cautious and maintain a low profile, in order to leave room for manoeuvring in future.

Thus, Zhu Tao had been considering this little clue for quite a while, inferring various possibilities.

First, who were they dealing with?

Before this incident occurred, Smiling Snake had been attacked and almost completely extinguished by Zhu Tao, and had counter-attacked in desperation. Recently, only Buddha’s Hand had significant interest in Smiling Snake.

The news of the destruction of Smiling Snake’s gang should have spread by now. If Buddha’s Hand had received the news, then it should hold back and bide its time, rather than make discreet enquiries at this time. Moreover, the enquiries are not about the whereabouts of the information, but about Smiling Snake’s name, surname, history . . .

Zhu Tao’s heart lurched violently, and an inconceivable notion surfaced in his mind. This thought made his blood boil.

Buddha’s Hand had the information!

If they had the information, this meant that Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao had also fallen into their hands — the night the boat sank had been full of darkness and confusion. It was not impossible that someone would take advantage of the situation to take them away.

However, if they had already discovered Bo Jinyan’s true identity, why go through all the trouble of making enquiries about Smiling Snake?

He once again thought about what a gangster on the boat had said: “He said he was Smiling Snake . . . he called our Yue ge ‘brother’, awfully domineering . ..”

He had deceived the gangster, maybe he had also tricked the big boss. After all, those criminal investigators are highly capable of duping people.

The gears in Zhu Tao’s head kept turning. He called over one of his trusted subordinates and repeatedly exhorted him. Finally, he said, “Keep an even closer watch on Buddha’s Hand! The best scenario is that we’ll be able to follow the trail all the way to their hideout!”

His subordinate left after receiving his orders. Zhu Tao pondered for a long time, for his conjecture was truly frightening – by an unexpected turn of events, Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan had already arrived at the hiding place of Buddha’s Hand and had gone undercover. He sighed. The other two members of the Beijing Special Cases Unit, Fang Qing and An Yan, were rushing over with an elite team upon hearing the news. If they were unable to determine Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan’s whereabouts by the time the team arrived, he might have to make his final move. That chess piece which had been hidden for the past five years . . .

——

The person whom Buddha’s Hand sent out to make enquiries about Smiling Snake was an astute and unremarkable man, a jianghu veteran called Ah Ming. Only, the rumours were that Smiling Snake’s gang had been taken down, and very few people had actually seen Smiling Snake’s face. In this short time, he could not unearth any definite information.

Not two days later, Ah Ming heard that the police were also frantically searching everywhere for Smiling Snake. This made him rather apprehensive, and his subsequent actions were even more guarded.

It was with great difficulty that he worked through several layers of connections to meet someone who claimed to have once been a subordinate of Smiling Snake. In order to hide from the police, he hid so well that it was a challenge to find him.

They arranged to meet at a noisy restaurant downtown. To this end, he even paid a 30,000 yuan information fee.

The other party was a young man with unkempt hair and a bad appearance. Only the scar on the web between his thumb and index finger and his barely visible tattoos were evidence of his hidden identity. He eagerly asked for the money as soon as he set eyes on Ah Ming. Ah Ming sneered and threw the envelope of money at him. He carefully counted the money before breaking into a brief smile. Then, he thrust the money tightly into his shirt pocket and asked, “What do you want to ask?”

One by one, Ah Ming asked questions about Smiling Snake’s height, appearance, past experiences and connections, which the other party answered simply and clearly. Ah Ming then asked, “How did something like that happen on board the boat?” The other party said wearily, “I don’t know. If I had been on the boat that day, do you think I’d be sitting here today talking to you?”

“Does Smiling Snake have a lover?”

“Of course, she is so precious to him, like God knows what; he keeps her next to him all the time. We can only watch.”

Ah Ming gave another smile and lit a cigarette for him. The two of them smoked for a while before An Ming asked, “Have his eyes always been like that?”

“Always been like that,” the young man replied without looking up. He suddenly started and asked, with great suspicion, “You’ve met our boss?”

Ah Ming smiled and kept silent.

——

The autumn weather was cool and refreshing, and the sky was bright and beautiful. Jian Yao supported Bo Jinyan as they made their way downstairs. The courtyard, where four men sat playing cards, was quiet when they reached it. Zhao Kun and Qin Sheng were among them.

“Ah! Ah f**k you!” Gu An sneered as he plucked out a card and threw it on the table. The expressions on the faces of the other three turned cold, but Gu An had already swept away all the money on the table. He then looked up to glance at Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan.

“Oh, Ah She* is here,” Qin Sheng said as he greeted them. Zhao Kun lit a cigarette as usual and seemed to be indifferent to their presence. Zheng Chen looked up at them without saying anything.

*T/N 蛇 (she) = snake, the use of 阿 (ah) denotes familiarity of sorts. Because ‘Ah Snake’ sounds strange, we’ll use ‘Ah She’ instead’.

“People at the same table opposing each other measure for measure – they must be of the same status,” Bo Jinyan whispered into Jian Yao’s ear. Jian Yao maintained her persona of a cold-faced female killer and swept them a glance before pulling out a chair and guiding Bo Jinyan to sit down.

“The two of them are still whispering to each other,” Qin Sheng said with a smile. The other three also smiled. Bo Jinyan coolly replied, “Naturally.” Then he kissed Jian Yao.

“Play a hand?” Ah Kun asked. The other three also looked at him.

“How can a blind man play cards?” Zheng Chen said.

“I have my eyes,” Bo Jinyan stated.

Zheng Chen stopped his questioning. Jian Yao sat by Bo Jinyan and drew cards for him, whispering what they were into his ear. The two of them worked together extremely well. Even though Gu An and the others were veteran card sharks, they lost in the first round. Bo Jinyan had Jian Yao collect all the money as he looked towards Zheng Chen and said, “Can blind men play cards?” Zheng Chen laughed and said, “Can.” Qin Sheng said, “Aiyo, you managed to make Ah Chen laugh, the man who hasn’t laughed in hundreds of years. Snake ge, you are definitely talented.”  Bo Jinyan laughed and said, “He’s simply too juvenile.” That phrase caused all the men to laugh, except Zheng Chen.

At this time, Gu An drew out a mobile phone from his inner pocket and tossed it to Zheng Chen, saying, “You asked me to get you one. You can use it when you get outside.”

Zheng Chen caught it. It was a new mobile phone. He smiled slightly and sat on one side to play with it.

Among those people, Zheng Chen had a slightly better relationship with Gu An.

Ah Kun handed Bo Jinyan a cigarette and lit it for him. Bo Jinyan smoked it with practised movements. Qin Sheng also offered Jian Yao a cigarette, saying, “Sister-in-law, would you like one?” Jian Yao was about to accept it when Bo Jinyan said, “She can’t smoke.” He inhaled a lungful of smoke and drew a card at the same time while saying, “I plan to get her pregnant.”

These were true words. These emotions, this situation; in the midst of this group of people, Jian Yao looked at Bo Jinyan, blind and wearing sunglasses, and suddenly felt a surge of warm emotion. She used her finger to flick away the cigarette Qin Sheng was offering her and said, “Fine, I won’t smoke.” Looking up, she observed what Bo Jinyan looked like at that moment. There was a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, and he looked like a fanatic. She felt an overwhelming wave of love for him.

However, in order to survive, to wipe out this criminal gang, to find the masked killer, he could turn into the kind of person he hated, without revealing a single thing.

Amidst the smoke curling around the card table, Jian Yao looked up and surreptitiously, carefully took stock of these people. Generally speaking, these men were Song Kun’s trusted aides. However, she could sense that, although they were Song Kun’s subordinates, they were more like brothers, and their relationship was very deep.

The masked killer . . . was he among them?

The most amiable-looking person was Qin Sheng. From the past two days, it looked as if Song Kun had handed over some financial matters to him to manage. Also, he had never been seen with a gun or knife or anything like that. He had been with Song Kun for seven or eight years.

Zhao Kun, Zheng Chen and Gu An had been with Song Kun for at least three years. From the perspective of time, none of them seemed to fit the identity of the masked killer. They were all similarly brave and tough as nails, and were the ‘generals’ of Song Kun’s subordinates. Zhao Kun was the steadiest and the oldest, Zheng Chen was taciturn and the youngest, while Gu An had a brash personality, and was between them in age.

However, at this time, Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan could not possibly ask directly: Who used the axe in that case at the border a year ago? For one, the men of Buddha’s Hand would be suspicious, for another, what if the person they asked was the masked killer?

What’s more, why hadn’t the masked killer exposed the fact that they were from the police to Buddha’s Hand? Bo Jinyan explained it thus: “First of all, from the masked killer’s point of view, this is an extremely stimulating challenge. How could he end it so easily? Secondly, if he really exposed them, Song Kun would definitely investigate to get to the heart of the situation. The masked killer is hiding many secrets and is clearly not on the same road as they are. How could he be willing to lay bare his true self in front of them?”

……

Unexpectedly, Zhao Kun asked, “Smiling Snake, I heard the police are looking everywhere for you?”

Bo Jinyan smiled and inhaled before saying, “So what?” Jian Yao jolted, and was quietly ecstatic.

Zhao Kun smiled and asked, “Not planning to go back? Want to stay with Buddha’s Hand?”

Bo Jinyan exhaled and replied, “It would take a strong and courageous person to resume one’s former position and start from scratch*.”

*T/N 东山再起 (dong shan zai qi) – lit. to return to office after living as a hermit on Mt. Dongshan; fig. to make a comeback, to resume one’s former position, to return to power, to start from scratch.

Zhao Kun laughed, Qin Sheng laughed, even Zheng Chen laughed. They were laughing at this Smiling Snake, that even though he was such a capable and powerful character, his words and bearing were truly a little simple and foolish, exaggeratedly fake and put on. At the side, Gu An scoffed and said, “You think you can make a comeback with Buddha’s Hand? F**k you.” He had always been a difficult person to deal with, poking at everyone he met. Zhao Kun and the others paid him no mind.

Bo Jinyan raised his head and exhaled in the direction the sound had come from. “Whether I can or not, it’s not you who has the final word. Brave but foolish pig!”

Ah Kun and the others burst out in hearty laughter. Gu An’s face turned white in an instant, and he suffered a coughing fit due to the smoke that Bo Jinyan had exhaled his way. He was about to make a move, and Jian Yao, ever ready, was about to stop him, when a gentle voice was heard from behind them.

“Ah She, I want to talk to you about something.”

Everyone put down their cards and stood up.

It was Song Kun. He looked at Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan with a bright expression and a smile.