Every street boss has someone like a "front-horse"—just like ancient generals who always had a fierce, loyal warrior under their command.
This guy might not be smart, but he's definitely ruthless. Loyal to his boss to the bone. The kind who'd die for his big brother the moment he's told to.
A boss always has two kinds of right-hand men: one is the "white fan strategist," and the other is the "front-horse enforcer."
Chen Qiang's white fan was Old Goat-Beard. His front-horse was Xu Rang.
About ten kilometers from Zhoujia Village there's a place called Luo Bay. Most people living there are surnamed Luo.
Xu Rang and I were riding our motorcycle straight there—to kidnap a man.
That man's nickname was "Hunchback Luo." He was one of Tumor's top lieutenants—basically a front-horse like Xu Rang.
A few days ago, he had left Liuxiang Town and returned to Luo Bay to throw a wedding banquet for his son. He probably still had no idea that a war had broken out between Chen Qiang and Tumor.
In 1995, in the underdeveloped Southwest, information traveled slower than a lame donkey. Landlines weren't common—you had to go to town just to make a call. Most villages didn't even have phones.
So Xu Rang and I were heading there to drag Hunchback Luo back.
Chen Qiang's words were simple: If Tumor happened to be hiding in Luo's house, we kill both. If not, just bring Luo back alive.
He didn't ask us to kill Luo on the spot, and I had no clue what his bigger plan was.
Cold wind whipped past my ears. I held my jacket tight, heart pounding like a drum.
"Xu Rang… have you done this kind of job for Chen Qiang before?"
Xu Rang slowed down, turned his head slightly, and said quietly, "Old Second, stop saying 'Chen Qiang' this and 'Chen Qiang' that. He's our Big Brother."
"You say you respect him, but you don't even talk about him properly. That won't do. Not at all."
I stiffened. Why was Xu Rang suddenly lecturing me?
I didn't think much of it and brushed it off. "Alright, I get it. So… have you done something like this for Big Brother before?"
He shook his head. "No. For years, it was Old Wolf doing these jobs. After Old Wolf went inside, I started handling them."
Old Wolf? I'd never heard that name. Must've been someone from way back.
"Who's this Old Wolf?"
Xu Rang hesitated, then said, "Old Wolf was from your real brother's era. Back then, it wasn't Strict Strike yet. The streets were full of killers—he never had the chance to rise. So he didn't have any big cases on his hands. When the '83 Strike came, he just went in to 'study at university' for a few years."
"When he came out, he followed Big Brother. Two years ago, he got arrested during a job in the county. Should be out again in about two years."
I frowned. Why did Xu Rang explain so much?
"Old Second," Xu Rang said, slightly worried, "when Old Wolf comes out, stay far away from him. He got roughed up plenty by your real brother."
I almost choked on my own spit.
My biological brother—the only big boss Liuxiang Town had in the '80s—left me nothing after his death except a whole mountain of enemies.
Having a brother like that… must've been a karmic debt from my last life.
Even murder and arson couldn't wash that clean.
Xu Rang still didn't trust me. He lowered his voice and reminded me, "Old Second, unless there's absolutely no choice, don't fire the gun. Even if someone needs to be shot, I'll shoot first. You stand behind me. I'll handle the messy parts. You just cover me."
Luo Bay hid quietly in the darkness, with only a few scattered lights outlining its shape.
I stared blankly at it in the night, pretending not to hear Xu Rang's warning.
A gun's deadliest part isn't its ability to kill—hell, you can kill with a rock if you want. Humans have been killing ever since we stood upright.
We've perfected violence to an art.
What's truly terrifying about a gun isn't when it fires— it's the moment the cold barrel touches your skull.
Once the shot rings out, the outcome is already decided. The fear doesn't belong to the one staring at the barrel. It belongs to the one pulling the trigger.
If we fired a gun tonight, things would be on a whole different level. We would be criminals for life.
Xu Rang was worried I'd lose control and blow Hunchback Luo's head off.
He saw I wasn't talking and got angry: "Old Second! Do you even know what the hell we're doing tonight? Someone might die! You little bastard, stop hanging your damn head like you're dead already!"
I sighed. "Alright. I hear you. I'm not that reckless."
Only then did he breathe out in relief.
The motorcycle sped up toward Luo Bay. My hand stayed pressed to the gun at my waist, never leaving it.
The village was quiet, so the motorcycle roared like thunder. The moment we entered, every dog in the village started barking.
Hunchback Luo's house was easy to spot—the fanciest brick house in the entire village.
Red wedding banners were still stuck to the walls. His son must've just gotten married recently.
Xu Rang parked the bike, pulled out two knit masks that only exposed the eyes and mouth, and handed me one.
Then he took out two hatchets and two knives, giving me one of each.
Nervous, I whispered, "We brought guns… why do we need these?"
He scowled. "We're here to take him, not kill him. Even if we needed to kill him, we can't use the gun."
"Shut up. Stay behind me."
The Southwest winter was always damp and cold, but right now my whole body was heating up—blood rushing straight to my head.
Because before we left, Chen Qiang had said:
If Hunchback Luo doesn't cooperate, you can kill him right there.
Xu Rang was calmer than me. I was a rookie, but he had done plenty for Chen Qiang already.
After giving me another look that said don't mess this up, we moved toward the brick house under the cover of night.
I held a hatchet in one hand and a knife in the other. My palms were drenched in sweat.
In my head, I kept imagining— if Luo refuses to cooperate, should I chop him with the hatchet first or stab him for a "cold surprise"?
I'd never met the man, but in the underworld, sometimes your path isn't yours to choose.
Xu Rang tapped on the courtyard door lightly with his hatchet. It was late, and after a few knocks, there was still no sound inside.
Just when I was getting impatient and ready to kick the door open, a woman's voice sounded from inside:
"It's so late—who is it?"
My heart shot right into my throat.
Xu Rang cleared his throat and replied, "I'm sent by Brother Tumor. He needs to talk to Brother Luo."
The woman snapped impatiently, "Wait. He drank too much. I'll go get him."
Then she muttered loudly— "A grown man over forty and still drinking and gambling every damn day. His son's married already and he still mixes with those no-good bastards."
"I must've been cursed in a past life to have married you."
Then a man's angry voice roared: "You damn woman! Why're you yelling at night? Nagging every day—aren't you tired of it?"
"If you can't live anymore, go die!"
The woman wasn't any gentler: "You think I wanna deal with you? Your precious Brother Tumor sent people for you. Get off your ass and see what's going on!"
Silence. Then rustling—someone putting on clothes.
Xu Rang and I exchanged a look—relief in both our eyes.
Saying Tumor sent us was a trick Old Goat-Beard taught.
Tumor had fired a gun in broad daylight. Even with connections at the authorities, he wouldn't dare roam freely right now. That would be asking to get arrested.
Old Goat-Beard guessed that Tumor would hide in the houses of a few trusted lieutenants.
Hunchback Luo was one of them.
If Tumor were here, he'd recognize the lie immediately and never open the door.
Then Xu Rang and I would've kicked the door down with guns and taken Tumor out—dead or crippled.
But since Luo was coming, it meant Tumor wasn't here. All we needed was to take Luo.
Footsteps approached the courtyard door.
Xu Rang shot me a look. I understood immediately and moved to hide right beside the gate.
Creak.
The door opened.
A burly middle-aged man stepped out—half-asleep, wearing thermal pants and cloth slippers, only an outer coat thrown over.
This was Hunchback Luo. Tumor's front-horse. A man with a name in Liuxiang Town.
Before he could fully open the door, Xu Rang shot his arm forward, grabbed Luo by the hair, yanked his head back, and pressed the tip of his knife against the man's throat.
I jumped out from the side, slipped behind Luo, locked his arms by threading mine through his armpits, twisted them back, and forced his head down.
My hatchet and knife both touched his face.
Xu Rang pulled his coat aside to show the five-shot scattergun at his waist.
"Knife, hatchet, shotgun—you've been around the streets, Luo. You know damn well what it means when we bring all this."
"So be smart. Don't yell. Don't scream. Don't resist."
"It's cold. My hands are stiff. The blade is sharp.
If you scare either of us… our hands might slip—
and then your throat will be wide open."