Chapter 61: A Blood Debt Repaid in Blood, Consumed for a Lifetime

The Chevrolet sedan came to a halt at the base of the Wing Sing Building. Lin Tiansheng raised his head to look up, where dozens of red and green neon signs, stacked layer upon layer and dazzling to the eye, illuminated the night sky as bright as day.

"Beauty Foot Bath," "Grand Lady Tea Break," "Imperial Concubine Foot Bath City," "Peninsula Grand Hotel"...

Lin Tiansheng's gaze locked onto the sign for the Peninsula Grand Hotel. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he motioned for Deng Gengyun to follow him into the narrow stairwell. Climbing to the third floor, they pushed open the hotel doors. A brass bell chimed. The one-eyed man on duty at the front desk looked up to welcome the guests, but his expression instantly turned cold. "Two officers, what brings you to this esteemed place?"

Recognizing one of his former instructors, Lin Tiansheng wore a familiar expression. He leaned his elbow on the counter and said, "Hui-哥, I'd like to have a word with Instructor Tian."

One-Eyed Hui crossed his legs, flicked his cigarette ash, and looked displeased. "Sorry, the Peninsula only does lodging, no tea service. If you want to drink tea and chat, go to the Peninsula in Victoria Harbour."

"We're here to talk about a big business deal."

Lin Tiansheng tapped the desktop, his expression turning serious. "You can afford to be at odds with people, but don't be at odds with banknotes."

One-Eyed Hui appraised him for a moment, picked up the desk phone, and dialed a number. "Tian Sir, Ah Sheng is here and wants to discuss a business deal. Right, I'll bring him over."

"Follow me." After hanging up, One-Eyed Hui didn't even bother looking them in the eye. He led Lin Tiansheng and Deng Gengyun down a long corridor facing the street, passing rows of small rooms from which various ambiguous sounds echoed back and forth. From time to time, young women wearing camisoles and short skirts brushed past them, until they finally stopped at the door of a tearoom at the very end.

Two fired police officers were smoking cigarettes, their gazes sharp, cigars clenched in their teeth, with Black Star pistols holstered at their waists. Lin Tiansheng greeted his old acquaintances, rested his hand on his holster, and issued a warning: "Carrying service weapons, lads."

"No need to frisk them, let them come in," Tian Haishan's voice rasped.

Lin Tiansheng pulled back the curtain, led the others into the tearoom, and stood before a five-wide root-carved tea table. He bowed slightly and said, "Instructor Tian, long time no see."

Tian Haishan's gaze turned nostalgic, and he beckoned with his hand. "It's been a while, Ah Sheng. Sit down and have a cup of tea first. Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it slowly. If I can help, I certainly won't refuse."

Lin Tiansheng pulled out a stool and sat down. Across from him sat Tian Haishan, whose temples were streaked with gray and who wore a smiling expression, flanked on either side by five former police academy instructors.

The last time he had seen them was in the police academy office; this time, they were deep inside a criminal lair. Deng Gengyun kept his hand on his gun, standing guard behind his boss with an unusually tense expression.

***

Lin Tiansheng took a sip of tea, pulled out two photographs, and said, "The wife and daughter of one of my brothers were kidnapped. I'd like to ask Tian Sir to step in and kidnap his entire family as well—an eye for an eye, a life for a life."

Tian Haishan narrowed his eyes, staring at the photographs in his hand, and suddenly chuckled. "Truly a good boss, helping a brother collect a blood debt. Very reasonable."

"People from the New Territories Deng clan?"

Lin Tiansheng nodded. "Yes."

"How much of a bounty are you offering?" Tian Haishan asked. Lin Tiansheng came fully prepared and named his price right away: "Three hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Is that enough?"

One of the former police academy officers let out a scoff, a look of disdain crossing his face. Yet Tian Haishan readily agreed. "No problem. Tonight, I'll have the lads make a move."

Lin Tiansheng raised his teacup in lieu of wine and toasted, "Thank you, Instructor. Success or failure, the balance will be paid in full tomorrow."

"Ah Hui, see the Lin Sir downstairs," Tian Haishan called out.

Led by One-Eyed Hui, Lin Tiansheng and Deng Gengyun walked out of the Peninsula Grand Hotel. As Tian Haishan made arrangements for the job, one of the former instructors could no longer contain himself and spoke up: "Tian Sir, doing dirty work is a matter of risk assessment. The more high-profile the target, the more expensive it should be. Are Deng Zongliang's wife and child only worth three hundred thousand? Do they think we're the Big Circle Boys, running away after a single job!"

The underworld was not just about fighting and killing; it was about human relationships and favors. The operational proficiency of corrupt police officers was not necessarily superior to that of the Big Circle Boys, but their advantage lay in their connections and networks, allowing them to handle figures of considerable status.

Therefore, triads preferred to hire cost-effective Big Circle Boys, but many wealthy individuals and politicians preferred to spend more money just to seek out these men.

When Tian Haishan was an instructor, he had long since stepped away from front-line duty, smiling good-naturedly every day as he mingled with the "rookies." His wrinkle-lined face, when smiling, looked benevolent and possessed the demeanor of an elder; in both life and work, he always left room for grace. But at this moment, the corners of his mouth, stubbled with white beard, curled into a smile that appeared exceptionally sinister and malicious, revealing ferocious fangs: "How could three hundred thousand be enough? Ah Sheng is still on the police force. If he wants us to work, he has to trade in 'power'."

"Ah Hui, Ah Jiu, whatever Young Master Sheng has entrusted us with must be done cleanly. In the future, I intend to feed off him for a lifetime!"

Being fired by the police force, driven out of the political arena, and reduced to underworld hitmen was the single thing this group of police academy instructors—all tainted by association with Lui Lok—resented the most. Had they not been so closely tied to Lui Lok, the people from the police academy would rarely have been touched by the Independent Commission Against Corruption storm.

Lin Tiansheng had re-raised his banner and returned to the arena; only currently serving police officers were qualified to "raise the righteous banner." The dismissed corrupt cops who had left the police force would not even have had the chance to latch onto a powerful patron had Lin Tiansheng not sought them out personally.

***

Tian Haishan was an old wolf leading a pack of stray dogs licking their wounds in the countryside. Given the opportunity to hunt, he would "bite down" on Lin Tiansheng just as they had once "bitten down" on Lui Lok.

One-Eyed Hui and Black Hand Jiu exchanged glances, identical sneers blooming at the corners of their mouths. "Very well, Tian Sir. We'll bare our claws and let him witness just how formidable the instructors of the Special Duties Unit can be!"

***

That very night, a van with its headlights on drove slowly into Ping Shan Village, stopping in front of a Tong lau tenement building. Six masked hitmen wearing tactical gear and holding M16 rifles leaped swiftly from the vehicle, rushed to the iron gate, and—moving in pairs of two—scaled the wall. They brazenly broke into the residence, and several gunshots rang out in succession, shattering the rural tranquility of the sleeping night. Soon after, someone pushed open the main door, dragging out two burlap sacks containing "live cargo."

Deng Zongliang sat on the edge of the bed with a gunshot wound to his left leg, his left hand clutching the injury while his right hand picked up the telephone. With a terrified expression, he dialed the number, shouting repeatedly, "Call the Elder! Call the Elder!"

"What is it, Ah Leung?" asked the clan younger brother on the other end of the line, his voice filled with confusion. In the past, Leung-哥 would never have disturbed the Elder's sleep in the middle of the night.

Deng Zongliang roared, "Call the Elder, you bastard! My wife and kid just got kidnapped right in front of my eyes!"

"Damn it." The younger brother was startled, hastily dropping the receiver to bang furiously on Deng Yuchang's bedroom door. "Elder, Elder! Something huge has happened!"

The old man was a light sleeper. Within moments, he was jolted awake. Slipping into his slippers, he turned on the lights, pulled open the bedroom door, and said in a deep voice, "Speak."

The younger brother swallowed hard. "Leung-哥's wife and child have been kidnapped from their home."

Deng Yuchang took a deep breath, fury blazing in his eyes. He said coldly, "How dare they enter the village! Summon the militia team. I want the police to come and find me themselves!"

A major reason the five great clans of the New Territories could assert their dominance in the countryside was that they had once formed guerrilla units to resist Japanese invaders and the British military. Several riots involving the entire territory of Hong Kong had originated in the countryside. After the establishment of the Heung Yee Kuk, the explicit guerrilla units were disbanded and converted into village defense guards, sustained by smuggled black money. Composed entirely of fellow clansmen and lineage members, they regularly trained their strapping young men. The militia team of the Deng clan alone numbered over three hundred strong, and every time they were mobilized, it caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong.