Chapter Fifty-Six: The Northern Fierce Dragon is About to Cross the River

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“Awesome!” Xiao Wang gave Li Qing a thumbs-up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked Xiao Wang, puzzled. Still, I could roughly guess—these two seemed to be game enthusiasts. If you say Xiao Wang is a gaming nerd, I can understand; after all, many of my university roommates were hardcore gamers. I never got into it myself, partly because I didn’t have a computer and didn’t want to spend money at internet cafes, and partly because I simply wasn’t interested. But for someone as skilled as Li Qing to also be a gaming whiz? That, I found hard to believe. It’s like telling me my big brother, Sun Zhongmou, enjoys playing League of Legends on his computer—I just wouldn’t buy it.

“Yezi, you’re out of the loop. The spinning kick is Li Qing’s signature move, and the R-Flash is an especially slick combo. I’ll take you for a game one day, you’ll understand,” Xiao Wang said.

While I was chatting with Xiao Wang, Chen Dongfang stood up. His men had just beaten Tang Ranjie’s people to the ground, yet he remained perfectly calm. His composure was different from my big brother’s; the latter had a natural air of coldness, while Chen Dongfang exuded the steady confidence of someone commanding thousands of troops.

“You took ten seconds longer than I expected,” Chen Dongfang said, flicking his cigarette butt away. It bounced once on the ground—I looked over and saw the cigarette was only half burned.

From the moment the cigarette was lit, Li Qing started and finished the fight in less than half a cigarette’s time. And yet, Chen Dongfang still said he was ten seconds slow?

Li Qing withdrew the foot he’d been pressing against the back of Tang Ranjie’s head, muttering in frustration, “Damn it, I shouldn’t have tried the R-Flash.”

“Dongfang, wasn’t this a bit much for a greeting?” Tang Ranjie’s men were all down, but he, seasoned in power, didn’t show much panic. On the contrary, he questioned Chen Dongfang.

“You’re not worthy to call me brother,” Chen Dongfang replied softly.

“That’s going too far!” Tang Ranjie’s face darkened; even with all his self-control, Chen Dongfang’s naked insult rattled him.

“Compared to what you’ve done lately, I’m being generous. Last night’s incident was your doing—don’t bother denying it, it’s pointless. If I so much as give Li Qing a look, he’ll kill you with a kick. For old times’ sake, I’ll give you one chance: kneel, and I’ll let you go,” Chen Dongfang said.

Tang Ranjie’s gaze was dark and venomous as he stared at Chen Dongfang in silence.

“You can also try calling your backer, see if he can save you. If he can, I’ll let you go. If not, I’ll still kill you,” Chen Dongfang continued.

He then looked over at us. “Anyone got a coin?”

I patted my pockets, but found nothing. Xiao Wang, blushing, fished out a one-jiao coin. “Will this do?”

“Toss it,” Chen Dongfang said.

Xiao Wang flipped the coin in his direction. Chen Dongfang caught it and said to Tang Ranjie, “You have until the coin hits the ground to decide.”

With that, he tossed the coin lightly into the air.

Li Qing grinned brilliantly, but his eyes never left the coin.

I watched too, but the coin was so small I soon lost track of it. The silence around us was absolute. Soon, I heard the coin clatter to the floor.

At the same moment, I heard the sound of knees hitting the ground—Tang Ranjie’s knees. Li Qing’s foot hovered where Tang Ranjie’s head had just been. If Tang Ranjie hadn’t knelt, that kick would have landed squarely on his skull.

“You were one second too slow. That second saved his life,” Chen Dongfang told Li Qing.

Li Qing drew back his foot with a sigh, looking rather helpless. At this point, I thought Chen Dongfang was a real piece of work—his demands on Li Qing were almost inhuman. According to him, Tang Ranjie should have been dead for kneeling a second late, but Li Qing deliberately delayed his kick by a second.

One second—what does that mean?

At that moment, I heard someone exhale deeply. Turning, I saw Xiao Wang drenched in sweat, his hand hovering near his holster. I’d almost forgotten Xiao Wang was a cop. Li Qing beating people up in front of him, he could overlook as a mutual fight, but if Li Qing killed someone, there’d be no way he could just stand by.

“If he had really killed, what would you have done? How would you handle your gaming buddy?” I whispered.

“I’d arrest him, though I know I’d never win a fight with him,” Xiao Wang replied.

I smiled. Though I’d only met Xiao Wang twice, I knew this playful, chatty young officer was full of justice. I turned to look at Tang Ranjie, forced to kneel, then at the charismatic Chen Dongfang, whose gaze was lost in the distance. It all felt like a dream—who would have thought Tang Ranjie, so untouchable in Luoyang, would kneel publicly like this? I knew who his backer was: that old Liu in the capital. I’d thought Tang Ranjie would call Liu for help, but he hadn’t.

I was now intensely curious about this “Uncle Dongfang” who had suddenly returned. Who was he, to act so brazenly—and yet have the power to back it up? Was it really possible that even Old Liu in Beijing couldn’t save Tang Ranjie if Chen Dongfang wanted him dead?

“Chen Dongfang, I’ll remember this ‘generous gift’ you gave me,” Tang Ranjie said as he stood, walking away with a murderous glare.

“Did I say you could get up?” Chen Dongfang squinted at him.

He didn’t need to say more. With unfathomable speed, Li Qing kicked Tang Ranjie’s legs twice, sending him crashing back to his knees with a loud cry.

Tang Ranjie looked up, his eyes bloodshot with rage, and gritted his teeth as he shouted at Chen Dongfang, “Chen Dongfang, leave a way out for yourself! Even if you make me a dog, aren’t you just someone else’s dog? When you beat a dog, you should check who its master is!”

“When I came here, someone told me—when you beat a dog, it’s to send a message to the master. If the master forgets the rules, beat him too. You know where you stand, so don’t cause your patron trouble. Go on, get out,” said Chen Dongfang.

Tang Ranjie staggered to his feet, barely able to stand. Some of his men, who had recovered, came to help him up, but he slapped one aside. “Useless trash! Get lost!”

Though the hospital wasn’t crowded, there were still plenty of people. By now, many were watching from a distance, and I even saw several recording with their phones. By tomorrow, the news that Luoyang’s richest man had been forced to kneel would be all over the city—a devastating blow to his reputation.

At that moment, I heard Fatty whisper, “The Northern Dragon is crossing the river.”

Chen Dongfang’s sudden display of overwhelming power had stunned not just me, but also Fatty. Normally loud and brash, Fatty fell silent in Chen Dongfang’s presence. Only after Tang Ranjie and his men left did Chen Dongfang’s expression soften when he spoke to us—so different from the harsh taskmaster with Li Qing and the ruthless adversary with Tang Ranjie.

We sat outside the hospital in silence. After dawn, Xiao Wang and his team received a call to wrap up. It was clear Xiao Wang was wary of Chen Dongfang, but he and Li Qing truly got along—they kept whispering to each other, even making plans to play games together.

I sat with Fatty, both of us furtively watching Chen Dongfang, who sat alone.

Later, Chen Qingshan went out to buy breakfast. Chen Dongfang had no airs at all; he joined us for spicy soup, and after finishing, he turned to me and said, “Yezi, let’s take a walk.”

I stood up eagerly. To be honest, I’d been waiting all night for this moment.

We walked into the hospital’s back garden and found a secluded bench. He handed me a cigarette, which I quickly accepted, lighting one for him as well—waiting for this dragon to unravel the mysteries for me.

“I’ll leave after handling your Granduncle’s affairs. I have no interest in the matter at Fudigou, and I won’t interfere,” Chen Dongfang said.

I hadn’t expected his first words to feel like a bucket of cold water.

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