Chapter Fifty-Six: Damn the Sichuan Road!
...
That shameful memory...
He, the dignified "Broken-Finger Pine" of the Eastern Rise, a hardened, blood-stained tough guy whose very name could shake the ground three times over when shouted!
Was actually pinned down on the street by a big boss from Causeway Bay and rubbed against the pavement—with countless people watching... getting the living daylights beaten out of him for a full hour!
It was a miracle he made it back alive...
...
Who the hell was he, handsome Nam? Why, he was the top combat powerhouse of the Hung Lok syndicate, shoulder-to-shoulder with Szeto Sang of the Eastern Rise!!!
So starting today, Broken-Finger Pine could boast quite proudly throughout the Eastern Rise... that he could still stand after being hammered by Brother Nam for an entire hour!
...Who else could do that? ...Who else could pull that off?!
Only he, Broken-Finger Pine, hailed as the strongest meat shield of the Eastern Rise!
...
Looking up,
Daisong caught sight of the dim, yellowish signboard of the "Foliage Pavilion," a wave of familiarity rushing straight to his heart.
...
Walking up the stairs and pushing open the door,
Once a lonely wanderer bound to the flickering lamp of Buddha, now ensnared in the mortal coil by a simple foot bath...
A familiar place, with the exact same old formula...
Broken-Finger Pine walked upstairs like an old regular, changed into a bathrobe, pushed open the door to an empty private room, turned on the light, and lay down on the bed.
"Hiss!~~"
Damn, that hurt... Muddled and drowsy, he fell fast asleep.
...
A gentle knock on the door,
A young lass of twenty-seven or twenty-eight pushed her way in, and as Daisong opened his eyes and looked... My sweet lord in heaven!!!
Is this a young sister-in-law or a newlywed bride???
Tsk tsk, what an exquisite little face.
His mood, too, seemed to brighten up a bit.
The pretty woman: "Sir, are you here for a foot wash or a massage?"
Daisong stared at her infatuatedly... as if he had completely fallen, or perhaps this was just a wonderful dream...
If this is a dream,
Then I pray I never wake up...
...
My name is Broken-Finger Pine, and I am miserable...
The following is my dream, as well as my personal monologue:
...
The woman walked toward me with a smile, looking like an angel descended to the mortal realm.
The warm, gentle light shone upon her face, and a faint blush bloomed across her cheeks, as delicate and charming as peach blossoms in full spring.
Every movement and smile of hers deeply captivated me, leaving me utterly spellbound. At that moment, I admit, I had fallen.
Turns out that the bonds between people are destined from the very first glance.
...
She suddenly halted her steps,
The smile vanishing from her pretty face: "Oh dear, how did you get hurt so badly? I have some ointment with me, come here, let me apply it for you."
At that very moment,
A surge of nervous excitement welled up within my heart!
Lying lazily on the bed, I fully immersed myself in her tenderness, feeling as though the pain on my body had miraculously faded away.
Her touch was exceedingly gentle; she must have suffered a great deal of hardship in life to have hands like that.
Growing increasingly relaxed, I began to open my heart to her, asking her why she chose this line of work.
She told me: Up top, she had a gambling-addicted father; down below, a younger brother who needed schooling, and now the entire family's livelihood rested solely on her shoulders.
She asked me: Why was I so obsessed with foot baths? And added that she often saw me here at the Foliage Pavilion.
I told her it wasn't that I loved foot baths, but rather that as someone walking the underworld, life's pressures weighed on me far too heavily.
...
Just like that, two lonely souls became each other's salvation in that moment, healing one another.
I poured out the stress hidden in my heart, while she confided in me the trials and tribulations of her life.
Even though we both knew
that we might never truly feel what the other was going through, and that every word of comfort was ultimately futile.
Yet we both simply listened in silence to each other's confessions.
...
Afterward, she gave me a warm embrace.
At that instant,
My heart began to flutter, and a long-lost feeling of love surged in from all directions.
I wanted to take her away, to take her far away from this place. To roam the ends of the earth with a sword by our side, to show her all the splendor and prosperity of the mortal world.
Yet I had forgotten,
How could a bird yearning for freedom ever be bound by a cage?
She refused my kind offer, withdrawing that smile which was half-real and half-false.
As it turned out,
From beginning to end, she was merely playing a part.
While I, fool that I was, had taken it all for truth!
At that moment, I understood.
She was never my moon; she had only granted me a fleeting gleam of moonlight.
Yet her shadow lingered in my mind for a long, long time.
I knew
I would come back.
Because her name was Number 66.
That name is etched in my mind, and I, Broken-Finger Pine, said so!
...
Along the road,
Leiyizai drove with bright, focused eyes, concentrating entirely on the path ahead, refusing to even glance at the rearview mirror.
In the back seat,
Wing-sze had regained a bit of sobriety, though she was still heavily drunk.
... Catching the familiar scent, she gently leaned against his shoulder, shivering intermittently.
Liu Haizhu stroked her hair softly, patting her shoulder whenever she looked helpless.
Soon enough, they arrived home.
Little Ni was already fast asleep; children needed to sleep early and well to grow tall.
...
Liu Haizhu asked, "Back to your room?"
Lok Wing-sze shook her head and pointed toward the sofa.
Tucking her safely onto the sofa and covering her with a blanket, Liu Haizhu was overcome by the tender emotion of the moment and couldn't resist pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Wing-sze's eyes lit up brightly: "Brother Chu, you're getting bolder, aren't you?"
"Hehe,"
Liu Haizhu blushed crimson and whispered, "Lie down for a bit, I'll go make you some hangover soup."
"Mmm,"
Wing-sze seemed to be in high spirits: "Brother Chu, I want the one with eggs, just like the one you made last time."
Liu Haizhu flashed a wide, toothy grin: "You got it, consider it done!"
...
Inside the kitchen,
Liu Haizhu moved with gentle care, his eyes brimming with tenderness.
A man who knows how to cook is truly a rare sight in this day and age.
This stubborn fellow first washed the yellow chives thoroughly, chopped them into tiny dice into a bowl, and mixed in a few drops of olive oil to set aside. He took a ham out of the refrigerator's fresh-keeping compartment, diced it finely, and beat the eggs thoroughly.
He brought a pot of water to a boil, poured in the ham to simmer for a few minutes until the aroma came out. Finally, he added a dash of fragrant vinegar for seasoning, poured the mixture into the pot with the yellow chives, and let it simmer for a short while.
The aroma burst forth instantly.
...
By the time Liu Haizhu carried it out, Wing-sze was already sitting at the dining table with a beaming smile.
...
After finishing the meal,
Liu Haizhu cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, while Wing-sze sat obediently on the living room sofa waiting for him.
When he emerged after washing his hands,
He laid eyes on her once more—
That tenderness, that beauty, that captivating charm... sent a shiver straight down his spine!
...
Seeming to have made up her mind,
She stepped forward, took him by the hand, and led him toward her bedroom.
...
At the doorway of the bedroom,
Wing-sze furrowed her pretty dark eyebrows. Huh? ...Why won't he budge?!
She turned back... her eyes filled with utter confusion???
At that very moment,
This stubborn fellow was trembling slightly with tension, beads of sweat covering his forehead... his entire body looking as though he had just been fished out of a pool of water.
Wing-sze's heart filled with instant glee. Ha, scaredy-cat to the core!
Yet her pretty face was covered in a mask of frost: "...Damn it, Three Roads of Sichuan!"
*Crack!*
Gritting his teeth, this fellow scooped her up horizontally in his arms!
...
Inside the bedroom,
The blankets were wonderfully warm. The two of them lay side-by-side fully clothed, whispering softly to one another.
Resting her head against his chest, Wing-sze murmured, "Brother Chu, do you like me?"
The fellow was still terribly nervous, merely tightening his embrace slightly.
"Wah!"
Wing-sze suddenly burst into tears.
Perhaps the alcohol had still not worn off entirely...
...Or perhaps too many things had weighed upon her heart for far too long.