SES Chapter 111 Part 2

Ma Chao struck up a conversation: “Bro, you were pretty badass just now.”

Yiwansan looked up. “That kind of guy…”

He slowly sucked in a mouthful of noodles, then grabbed a napkin to wipe the broth from the corner of his mouth. “Just some punk who tries to scare people with his size. Lucky for him, I’ve mellowed out these past couple of days. Back in the day, I’d have smashed that noodle bowl right over his head.”

Ma Chao seemed doubtful, giving him a once-over. “So you can actually fight?”

Yiwansan said, “Not really. With my build, I can’t take more than three punches. But one thing—I’m not afraid to die.”

He tapped his left arm. “This? Once got broken. The guy was taller and bigger than me, but I still ran half the street with one arm dangling, chasing him with a brick. Truth is, if he’d had the guts to fight to the end, I’d have been done for. But he didn’t.”

Ma Chao looked at him with genuine respect. He fished in his pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and offered it over. “Bro, let’s be friends… Judging from your accent, you’re not local, right?”

Yiwansan shot him a sidelong glance, kept it there until Ma Chao squirmed, then finally took a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. “Nope. Just passing through.”

Cao Yanhua was waiting at their prearranged spot, bored out of his mind, choking on dust and exhaust from passing cars. His slicked-back hair soon had a gray film of grime on it, making him look prematurely aged.

It wasn’t until sundown that Yiwansan finally showed up.

Cao Yanhua grumbled, “What took you so long?”

Yiwansan rolled his neck. “Had to give him a massage. You want information, you’ve gotta build rapport first.”

“Did it work?”

Yiwansan grinned. “I even know how old he is now.”

Cao Yanhua’s feelings were complicated. He always found the wrong things to be jealous of—like right now.

Jealous that Yiwansan was more convincing as a gangster, better at handling gangsters.

After hanging around him so long, Yiwansan had figured him out a bit. “Fatty Cao, you really used to be some big shot at Jiefangbei?”

Cao Yanhua fell silent.

Back then, he was a thief. Thieves relied on being low-key, making people feel at ease and drop their guard. No way would he have stomped around with a posse, scaring folks off with a show of force.

He’d just assumed the best way to deal with loud, tough punks was to be even louder and tougher—just like on TV. But times had changed. Gangsters didn’t play by the old rules anymore.

Yiwansan said, “We’re here to dig up info for the young boss lady, not pick fights. And let me tell you, with years of experience: the highest level of being a gangster, the way I see it, is like water.”

Cao Yanhua blinked. “Like what?”

“Like water—adaptable, taking the shape of whatever it’s in. If he cooperates, you’re a hot spring, warming him up so he tells you everything. If he wants to fight, you turn into a flood, sweeping away his ancestors’ graves in one go.”

Cao Yanhua muttered, “No wonder Phoenix Luan’s lock had the five elements—gold, wood, water, fire, earth. You’re water.”

Yiwansan gave a dry laugh. “I was kicked out of my village as a kid. If I hadn’t learned to bend with the wind, I’d never have survived this long. I just talk differently to different people, hide when it’s smart, charge when it’s worth it. Folks don’t always respect it, but you know what—it lasts. You, on the other hand, Fatty, you’ve got dirt stuffed in your head. Smack you and it’s solid all the way through. Just a big ol’ dirt mound.”

The word “dirt mound” startled Cao Yanhua. Took him a while to recover.

He said, “Then my brother Luo… if he’s gold, he’s like a blade, right?”

“Yeah, kind of. But go too far and it’s no good either. You’ve heard the saying: too rigid, and it breaks.”

Cao Yanhua couldn’t stand his smug tone. “Then my little sis, the young master—she’s wood?”

Yiwansan actually hesitated, then answered, “Depends. Wood grows in different ways. Some get hollowed out by bugs, some grow into mighty trees. You know, some wood is harder than steel—iron birch, for example, twice as tough as normal steel. Your young boss lady—she hasn’t taken shape yet.”

Cao Yanhua was about to throw in Yan Hongsha too, but since Yiwansan had just mentioned Mu Dai, it reminded him of the actual business at hand. “Fatty, things aren’t looking good.”

Yiwansan had hit it off with Ma Chao. Once Ma Chao loosened up, he started “confessing” things:

“Don’t let my tough act fool you. Cops came looking for me the other day, and I was all polite like a grade-schooler. Damn near lit their cigarettes for them.”

Since he’d brought it up, Yiwansan didn’t even need to prod. Ma Chao spilled the whole thing.

—“I remembered that woman clearly. My buddy told me two new women were running a restaurant, looked decent. I wanted to check it out, ‘cause my last girlfriend had just dumped me…

—I especially noticed her. Prettier than the younger one, but for me, too old…

—Later, she got into it with a customer, kind of fierce. I didn’t like that. Girls should be gentle, you know, soft…

—The cops asked if maybe I’d gotten it wrong in the dark. No way. The bridge lights are on at night. Plus, I’m not an idiot. Someone died—serious business. I wouldn’t just point at someone random to frame them…”

According to Ma Chao, their crew was its own little gang, even had a name—BM, short for “Brave Man.”

That night, Zhang Tong finally worked up the nerve to challenge Teng Ma Diao Tai. To welcome a new “brave man,” they held a midnight barbecue by the bridge, drinking beer and feasting.

When the food stalls closed, the guys drifted off, until only he and Zhang Tong were left. Zhang was the star, too hyped and drunk to leave. As a junior leader, Ma Chao had to stay with him.

But eventually he got tired and told Zhang Tong, “That’s enough, let’s go.”

Zhang staggered up, fumbling with his zipper. “Wait, lemme take a piss. Where’s the bathroom?”

Then he clambered up onto the bridge railing.

They’d done that before—drunk and pissing into the river from high up.

Ma Chao turned away. “Hurry it up.”

Then Zhang Tong screamed.

Ma Chao whipped his head around.

Even after telling it later to Yiwansan, his face was still pale. “Didn’t expect it. No matter how many crime shows you’ve seen, when it happens right in front of you, your legs just turn to jelly.”

In that instant, he saw Zhang Tong topple off the bridge—and a woman standing there, her hands still in a pushing motion.

“She didn’t pull—she pushed. I know the difference. Then she turned her head. I saw her face clear as day.”

“She saw me, too. Right then, I thought, shit, she’s gonna kill me to shut me up. So I bolted. By the time I hit the bridgehead, I was panicking and crashed into an e-scooter.”

That jogged Yiwansan’s memory—Luo Ren had mentioned another witness named Song Tie.

But as Ma Chao went on, he realized it wasn’t the same person.

“It was a woman, about forty, who cursed me out for not looking where I was going. If I hadn’t been so scared stiff, I’d have cursed her back.

“But karma hit quick. After I ran a bit and looked back, I saw her fall at the other end of the bridge.”

Yiwansan crouched, picked up a stone, and sketched a diagram on the ground for Cao Yanhua.

“Here’s the bridge. The left side goes into the city, the right side to the countryside. The food stalls were on the right. Zhang Tong fell on that side. Ma Chao, in shock, ran left. At the left bridgehead, he collided with the woman on the scooter—obviously coming from the countryside. She crossed the bridge, then fell on the right bridgehead.”

Cao Yanhua caught on. “So at the time, there was another witness?”

“Right. Song Tie can’t really count as an on-site witness—he only saw the young boss lady leaving. Before him, there was this woman. The police haven’t found her yet, but I think her testimony is crucial.”

Cao Yanhua nodded. “Brother Luo suspected Song Tie and Ma Chao might’ve colluded… But this woman is showing up halfway? No way she’s in on it. If we find her first, we can ask what she saw on that bridge. And if she also saw my little master…”

A chill ran through him.

He looked at Yiwansan. “Brother San, the more we dig, the more it feels like… my little master was actually on that bridge that night.”

Yiwansan didn’t answer, but his eyes said he thought the same thing.